James Lee has clear goals in mind as Adams County’s coroner.

Lee said he wants to provide quality service and to save county money in the process.

&uot;I take this job very seriously,&uot; he said.

That is one of the reasons he was pleased when Laird Funeral Home donated a 1990 Chevrolet van to his department.

&uot;This van, in my opinion, was a blessing and a gift,&uot; said Lee, who announced the donation at this week’s supervisor meeting.

Other local funeral homes — George F. West, Webb, William & William and Robert D. Mackel — agreed to donate funds to paint to refurbish the van.

Lee, who is a respiratory therapist and a minister, said the van could save the county between $3,000 to $4,000 a year.

With the van, the county can now transport bodies from the scene of a death to the morgue at Natchez Regional Medical Center when necessary.

Since Lee became coroner in January, he said county taxpayers have had to pay an outside source, such as a funeral home or an ambulance service, to transport bodies about 15 times. Each trip can cost the county about $100 to $300, he said.

&uot;If (a body) has to go to the county morgue, the van is going to save us money,&uot; Lee said.

The coroner’s office may decide to take a body to the morgue if a family has not yet decided which funeral home they want to use, if the death resulted from a criminal case or if an autopsy is needed, Lee said.

And to further improve his department, Lee received permission from the supervisors this year to set up a coroner’s office on South Wall Street. &uot;In my opinion, it’s almost imperative for the coroner to have a working office in order to provide the services to the county,&uot; he said.

Lee estimates he has dealt with more than 200 coroner cases, or about 50 percent of the deaths in Adams County. Some deaths — such as some hospital deaths — are not coroner cases, Lee said.

But the oddest of his cases, took place this week, when an employee at Gloucester Plantation found what turned out to be animal bones between two walls of the house.

&uot;I guess that was the most bizarre case I’ve had,&uot; he said. &uot;We were glads to be able to remove them and get them identified.&uot;

Lee, whose office is lined with thank you notes from some of the families he has assisted, said he loves being a coroner because he loves helping people. He said he draws on his ministerial skills in almost every case. &uot;(The families) want to know you are concerned about them,&uot; he said.

He also wants to help families find closure to their loss. &uot;My goal is that if someone dies in Adams County under coroner jurisdiction we are going to find out the cause of death,&uot; he said.