State transportation director visits Cherokee County

By Scott Wright

CENTRE — A group of local city and county officials last week hosted the first-ever visit to Cherokee County by Joe McInnes, director of the Alabama Department of Transportation, in hopes of keeping the needs of the county prominent when future road project funds are distributed by the state.

“We had tried a couple other times to have Mr. McInnes visit Cherokee County and we were really grateful that he was able to be with us (Nov. 28),” said Probate Judge Melvyn Salter, who first invited McInnes during a visit to the director's Montgomery office in April. “He had something come up the other times but his secretary called in October and told us to circle the date and we were really glad he was able to make it on Wednesday, to come and see everything that Cherokee County has to offer.”

Among the other local dignitaries who rolled out the red carpet for McInnes — who was appointed by Gov. Bob Riley in 2003 — were state Rep. Richard Lindsey, county commissioners Kimball Parker, Elbert St. Clair and Carlton Teague, County Administrator Tim Burgess, and Revenue Commissioner John R. Roberts. Mayors Phil Powell from Centre and Edward Mackey from Leesburg were also on-hand, along with town councilwoman Ethel Sprouse from Cedar Bluff and Cherokee County County Highway Department Engineer Corey Chambers.

“We wanted Mr. McInnes to see how unified we all are as a community,” Salter said. “That's why we wanted representatives from the municipalities to be there, so he could see how we're all willing to work together to take care of some of the needs that we have.”

McInnes' visit included a bus tour of several construction projects around the Centre area, among them the new Gadsdsen State Community College campus on Highway 9/68, the site of the new Centre Middle School on Highway 411, and the Centre-Piedmont-Cherokee County Regional Airport on Highway 9 between Centre and Piedmont. Dub Ellis hosted a steak lunch at his offices in the Ellisville community, and Harley McGatha, a local business owner and member of the board overseeing construction of the new airport, took McInnes on a short flight over the county in his private plane.

“We were really grateful to Dub and Harley for making themselves available for the visit,” Salter said. “Lunch was delicious and I understand Harley flew Mr. McInnes around Weiss Lake, over Cherokee Rock Village and Little River Canyon, and up to Little River Falls. He could only stay for a couple of hours and that way he was able to really appreciate a lot about the county in a short amount of time.”

Powell said he got the impression McInnes enjoyed his visit to Cherokee County.

“We were able to remind him about several projects that are important to us that we want to see finished, and I thought it all went very well,” he said. “Hopefully, we'll see the results.”

Salter said McInnes wasn't aware of the new GSCC nursing school construction, but as a former trustee of the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, was intrigued to learn that Phase III of the construction calls for an as-yet-unfunded 500-seat state-of-the-art theater complex.

“Also, hopefully, he can make some funds available for turning lanes into the college when construction is closer to being finished,” Salter said.

Salter said he felt it was important to show McInnes the new middle school in order to convey the impression that education is an important aspect of life in Cherokee County. Salter said he also hopes the visit will convince McInnes of the importance of eventually building a four-lane highway from Centre to the Georgia line.

“We feel like Mr. McInnes is already committed to designating funds for the construction of the four-lane from Leesburg to Gadsden because he's been an advocate for Highway 411 since he took office, so we focused on the other direction,” Salter explained. “I recently saw the results of one study that indicates that by around 2030, the truck traffic from Gadsden to Rome, Ga. is expected to triple.”

Salter said he's been told officials at the Georgia Department of Transportation have indicated a willingness to extend a four-lane to the state line to meet whatever improvements Alabama is willing to make.

“If we could get a four-lane from Centre to the Georgia line and Georgia could meet us at the line, we'd have accessibility all the way to Cartersville and Bremen, Ga. and then we'd have access all the way from Centre to Gadsden and Birmingham,” Salter said. “That's going to open a world of opportunity for traffic through Cherokee County.”

Salter said McInnes was also interested to see the growth around the new Pemco International plant in Leesburg, where he visited on Wednesday to deliver a $350,000 industrial access grant that will help improve truck access into and out of the facility.

Pemco recently completed the relocation of its headquarters from Baltimore, Md. to an existing plant in Leesburg. The move has already created an additional 50 jobs in Cherokee County, and may eventually create up to 50 more. Pemco International, which ships products worldwide, manufactures porcelain and enamel for appliances.

“We are delighted to be a partner with Pemco to make this happen and we appreciate Rep. Lindsey and all those who had a hand in convincing us it was a good idea,” McInnes said as he delivered the check.

“He spent a good bit of time talking to the folks from Pemco,” Salter said. “For the development of our entire area economically, it was very important that Mr. McInnes was able to come and visit with us.”

Salter said as he got in his car to head back to Montgomery, McInnes gave him the impression that his visit went as well as Salter and the other local officials had hoped it would.

“When he got ready to leave he told us this was one of the most enjoyable experiences he's had since he became director of the Alabama Department of Transportation,” Salter said. “And I believe he genuinely meant it when he said it.”