Lynwood Easterling is doing his homework before taking his seat on the Adams County Board of Supervisors.

&uot;I’m meeting with everybody I can and reading anything I can get my hands on before January,&uot; Easterling said.

Elected this November to the board of supervisors from District 5, Easterling is due to be sworn into office in Chancery Court at 10 a.m. Dec. 30.

Since his election, Easterling has been a constant sight around the County Administration Building on State Street.

From sitting in on every supervisors meeting to quizzing other supervisors and office staff, Easterling has been making his rounds.

&uot;I want to be very active,&uot; he said. &uot;I look forward to working not only with the other supervisors but in cooperation with the mayor and board of aldermen.&uot;

Easterling said he has plans to stay in touch with his electorate after he’s sworn into office with neighborhood meetings.

&uot;I want to be the kind of supervisor who gets in the community,&uot; he said.

While some elected officials send out mailings to their electorate, Easterling says he prefers a personal touch.

&uot;I’d rather have meetings and be out riding and mingling with people,&uot; he said.

As a retired postmaster, this is something Easterling can take the time to do.

Right now, he’s cramming for an orientation session for new supervisors in Jackson on Dec. 16.

With a large binder spread open in front of him on his kitchen table, Easterling has been working his way through the manual.

Easterling said he will have several goals when he reaches office.

First, he would like to see Adams County use its natural resources to its best advantage.

&uot;We have all this wood for furniture, why can’t we locate a furniture factory down here instead of just shipping it down to the stores?&uot; he said.

As a member of the board of the Adams County Water Association, Easterling also said he knows the quality of water available to residents of the county.

&uot;Natchez has some of the purest water anywhere, &uot; he said. &uot;Why can’t we look into a bottled water operation?&uot;

Easterling said he would also like to lobby the state Legislature to return a portion of state sales taxes to the counties in which they are collected.

&uot;I do feel any monies we receive have got to go back to county employees,&uot; he said.

One of the new discoveries for Easterling as he prepares for office has been the duality of responsibility for county supervisors.

&uot;You’re elected by a district, but you must act for the benefit of the entire county,&uot; he said. &uot;Once I’m on that board, I’m no longer supervisor for District 5, I am a county supervisor.&uot;

Pursuing industry for the county will be a continuing responsibility for all supervisors, Easterling said.

And bringing jobs to Adams County will likely be Easterling’s top priority in office.

Scenes of joblessness and poverty from his door-to-door election campaign still haunt him, Easterling said.

&uot;I still remember seeing families needing jobs,&uot; he said.

&uot;Families where both parents were working, and no one was there to watch the children.&uot;