By Tiffany Green

STAFF WRITER

BAILEYTON — The Baileyton town council announced the opening of the 14th senior center in the county. The grand opening and ribbon cutting will be today at 10 a.m.

All Baileyton retirees and seniors are invited to attend. Lunch will be provided, along with music, door prizes and games Mayor Johnny Dyar said.

“We hope Baileyton area seniors will come and enjoy this facility every week,” Dyar said. “We will provide them with card tables, games and whatever they need to enjoy fellowship with each other.”

Floyd Bradford and friends will provide the seniors with entertainment and music.

The town has not yet determined how often the center will be open, but hopes that within the next few months, they will open on a weekly basis.

For more information on the senior center, call Baileyton town hall at 796-6447 or the Cullman County Commission of Aging at 734-1241, or for free transportation to the center call CARTS at 734-1246.

The senior center will be located in the basement of the Baileyton Health Clinic, next to the town hall.

Dyar announced the medical clinic will soon re-open.

Dr. Richard Bucco, who currently has a practice in Dodge City, will operate in the afternoons and on Saturday. A nurse practitioner will be there when he cannot. He will continue his Dodge City practice. The facility is set to open sometime in March.

The clinic will not accept Medicaid patients, but will accept Medicare and other insurance.

Town clerk, Pat Gilbert said Bucco is waiting to get his Medicare numbers, which he expects sometime in March. After that the clinic will be ready to open.

“Dr. Bucco wants to hire a receptionist from the town,” Dyar said. “Anyone interested should bring their resumes to the town hall.”

Dyar also announced the town park will be closed until further notice. The town will be taking down some old trees and replacing them with new ones.

“You can plant a tree in memory of a family member or a veteran,” Dyar said.

New town clerk Pat Gilbert was hired in November. The previous clerk, Ruth Rose, had let it be known she would quit after former mayor Paul Bailey’s term was over, Gilbert said.

Gilbert said she was asked to do the job and she accepted. Gilbert has 10 years experience as a federal clerk and supply technician. She has previously worked for the Anniston Army Depot as well as Redstone Arsenal among other places. She has also worked at the Baileyton Supermarket for the past 12 years.

She will be working part time, every afternoon, from 12 noon-5 p.m. Her pay rate will be paid $10 an hour.

The council also approved plans to mail out the minutes of each council meeting.

“Mayor Dyar promised to do this when he ran for the council and will now do it as mayor,” Gilbert said.

She said before he was mayor, the former council did not want to mail out the minutes, so he would deliver them door-to-door.

“We use the voter registration list and only those who have asked for them not to be mailed to them won’t get a copy,” she said.

She said they have budgeted for it when the new yearly budget was done. About 170-180 letters were mailed out after the last meeting.

So far the mayor has received a positive response for mailing the minutes.

“He received about 25 phone calls after mailing the minutes,” Gilbert said. “He got a good response after mailing the minutes.”

The town also hired a new town maintenance supervisor. Troy Patterson will work 40 hours a week for $10 per hour. Patterson previously worked at Chesley Oaks golf course.

The council has received three bids for a new storage building to be built for the town. Gilbert said there are a lot of items stored in the basement of the town hall that could cause a hazard. She said the town needs somewhere for those items as well as a place for the park equipment.

Gilbert said they sent out letters to people who have previously done work for the town and others who were interested. The mayor and council have not yet reviewed the bids, but she said they will announce the winner at next months meeting.

The council also opened an account at Stewarts Auto Parts in Holly Pond. This will be for the upkeep of the town’s 2001 Dodge truck and anything the maintenance supervisor will need. The mayor, council and Patterson will be authorized to use the account.

The council also decided to continue the town website which is done free of charge. Jack McGee, of Baileyton Computer Shop, LLC will continue to maintain the site with no cost to the town. The previous council has set aside money for the site, but McGee said he has never received money and will continue to update it and no cost, Gilbert said. She said the site is currently down with technical difficulties, but he hopes to have it up and running soon.

The council also:

‰ Announced the resignation of bluegrass festival organizer Wayne Bishop.

‰ Announced new park board members and new park director; new members are Chris “Bo” Tipton and Jason Smith; and new park board director is Danny Arrington.

‰ Will continue to carry full coverage insurance on the town 2001 Dodge truck, as advised by the town attorney.

‰ Budgeted $5,000 for the volunteer fire department.

‰ Tiffany Green can be reached by e-mail at tgreen@cullmantimes.com or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 221.