Lexington Water/Is J.J. Gone for Good?

A reader has contacted us about problems with water in the small Lauderdale County town of Lexington, specifically pressure. We've always been very impressed with current mayor Sandra Killen-Burroughs, so we went straight to the top to get some answers, and here they are:

Low water pressure is a problem that we have from time to time in Lexington. Here are some of the reasons we have issues with water pressure. The town of Lexington used to own their very own well to provide/sell water to their customers. (We currently have over 900 customers). Of course, ADEM administers the permits to operate a well such as we had. From my understanding, someone from a previous administration (not sure if it was a former Mayor or former Council member) refused to abide by the guidelines that ADEM had set forth, therefore, ADEM condemned use of the well for the Town of Lexington.

At that point, being cut off from our own source, the town was forced to have to purchase water from outside sources. Those outside sources are East Lauderdale Water and Loretto Water, both having to travel long distances to even get to our customers. We’ve been told consistently since May of 2016 that there is a new well coming online soon to supply our town with more water pressure. We are still waiting for that new source but we are very hopeful that it will be soon. 

Please be aware that the New Mayor and the New Council has made it a top priority to find our OWN water source here in our own town to provide water to our customers. In January, we applied for $3 million grant for this project. We should hear back from that grant process very soon. If that grant is not approved, we will try another route and I am open to suggestions. Right now, I have four locations of possible wells that we can use to supply our customers. I am committed to doing whatever it takes to get us our own water source.

Another issue with our water pressure is that our two water tanks are empty. Why? The former administration was supposed to be doing monthly maintenance on those tanks. Well, that was not being done, SO they hired some shady character to do the work and he took the money and ran without doing the work. The very first order of business that the NEW council and I took was to seek out a reputable company to come in and submit bids to get both tanks refurbished and up and running immediately. We went through seven proposals and decided on one to complete the work ASAP. The contract has been signed and the company will start that work in May. That work will be completed in three weeks after it is begun and we will fill the tanks. That will help a lot with the water pressure.

We received a CDBG grant from the state last year to replace the oldest part of the waterlines in the town. That is a $308,000 grant and that work is scheduled to begin very soon. Robinson & Sons from Haleyville won that bid and will start ASAP. We actually have a public hearing on this project on Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. at the Lexington Senior Center. This will be the final public hearing scheduled before construction begins.

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An update on John (JJ) Common:

1. He's currently being housed in the Lauderdale County Detention Center.

2. His previous suspended sentence of 17 years has been reinstated; he's awaiting transfer to the state prison system.

3. He still faces seven felony charges, four of them Class A felonies. Franklin County District Attorney Joey Rushing is currently conferring with federal authorities to see if they wish to prosecute Common. 

4. If the feds don't want J.J., he will face a Franklin County grand jury.

5. It's doubtful Common will receive parole on his 17 year sentence. Any federal sentence will be served after the state sentence. If prosecuted at the state level, it's most likely Common will be sentenced as a habitual offender, which could put him away for life.

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Just think, all those years as a crime writer with the TD, and Tom Smith still doesn't know the difference between parole and probation.