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February 7, 2010

Darrell Hicks to seek county commission place 1 seat

By Benjamin Bullard The Cullman Times

CULLMAN — Republican Darrell Hicks of Holly Pond joins a growing field of contenders hoping to replace an incumbent seeking a second term to a seat on the Cullman County Commission.

Hicks is seeking the nomination for the county commission place 1 seat, which represents the east side. The seat is curently held by Doug Williams.

Hicks, who presently oversees the Walter water authority in addition to working in the farm supply business and raising cattle, said obtaining a stable water supply for Cullman County is “an issue that must be addressed.”

He is in favor of the county partnering with the city of Cullman to secure the Duck River reservoir for its future water needs, and opposes an alternate proposal that would seek to draw water from Smith Lake for the county.

“I’m all for the Duck River project,” said Hicks. “We’ve been studying this thing for 20 years. We’ve got a permitted project and now it’s time to move forward on it. It’s time to stop wasting money seeking alternative water sources. We need only to look back to 2007 and 2008 to know it is time to proceed with the Duck River project. I am not for getting water out of Smith Lake.”

The proposed Duck River dam would create a 640-acre lake and a six-mile pipeline with a 32 million gallon per-day capacity. The reservoir would resemble the one at Lake Catoma, currently the county’s sole water source.

Hicks deferred to the will of the people concerning the upcoming half-cent sales tax ballot to supplement a strapped county school budget with locally-generated funds.

“It’s already on the ballot, and the commission has already decided on that issue,” he said.

A self-described fiscal conservative, Hicks said he knows the associate commissioner position requires an official who will be a custodian of revenues allocated to the county.

“I pledge to use our tax dollars wisely, so you will get a dollar’s worth of service for each dollar spent,” he said.

Hicks holds a master’s degree in education from Auburn University and has taught agribusiness at both West Point and Holly Pond high schools. He is a deacon at Walter Baptist Church. He and his wife Pat have been married for 42 years and have one daughter.

He has served on the Cullman County Commission on Education, the state Agricultural Center board and the state Vocational Advisory council. Hicks has also served as secretary for the Festhalle farmer’s market board.

Qualifying for statewide and local elected offices begins March 2 and ends April 2 at 5 p.m. The party primary elections will be held Tuesday, June 1. The general election is Tuesday, November 2. The associate county commissioner position pays $40,000 per year.

Also contending for the place 1 seat  is republican incumbent Williams, who announced his candidacy Saturday. Williams was unavailable for a full story by press time. See next Sunday’s edition of The Cullman Times for a full story on Williams’ candidacy.



* Benjamin Bullard can be reached by e-mail at bbullard@cullmantimes.com or by telephone at 734-2131 ext. 270.

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