3/31/15
(Cleveland)- White County has a Land Use Plan that takes effect April first. The White County Board of Commissioners held a second reading of the different aspects of the regulation during Monday’s commission meeting and just before the board was about to take a vote Commissioner Edwin Nix made a statement that he had received a petition from White County resident Teresa Stansel with 14 signatures that call on him to refrain from voting on the Land Use issue. The petition among other things said Nix was not mindful of his oath of office, did not perform the duties of the office responsibly and is not impartial.
During the meeting Nix asked County Attorney Bill House if he had a chance to look at the document and if he saw any merit in it that he should not participate in the voting,
House said, “ I see absolutely no reason for you to have to recuse yourself.”
Nix then had this to say, “ I want the citizens of White County to know I take the oath of office very seriously and that I emphatically deny all these false accusations and will not allow these accusations to deter me in any way, or effect any decision that I make as commissioner of this county. I will continue to do my job with dignity, with honesty and respect to the office I hold and the citizens of White County that I serve as long as I’m commissioner of this county.”
Following his statement the board voted unanimously for each aspect of the regulations.
After the Land Use Plan was approved Commission Chairman Travis Turner said they have asked the White County Historical Society to help them come up with what he called “Historical Overlay” areas in the county. Turner said we have some very important and Historical areas, like the campgrounds and Sautee-Nachoochee area, and we want to protect them, “ We don’t want them degraded we want to protect them for future generations, said Turner.
