NATCHEZ &045; Due to the upcoming year’s tight budget the Adams County Board of Supervisors will be sending a letter to all county employees with some new requirements.

All county offices will be asked to do their part to conserve energy and save money, Board President Darryl Grennell said. Grennell asked that all lights be turned off and all county vehicles be parked at the end of each day.

&uot;It’s a requirement that we all do to show the importance of this fiscal year to employees,&uot; Grennell said. &uot;There are a lot of cars that need to be parked in lieu of being taken home.&uot;

Supervisor Sammy Cauthen said the requests were always made of county employees, but now must be enforced.

The county reduced the amount of their 2004-2005 budget in order to avoid a tax increase. County funds are down due to the loss of tax money from the closure of the International Paper plant and others.

In other business, the board heard a presentation from Jim Rourke on behalf of Concerned Citizens for Natchez Tourism. The organization is working with the city to start a new festival around the fall arts and crafts show held each year.

The Crepe Myrtle Festival will include a welcoming party, a dance, a kids fair, a cheerleader competition and a car show, Rourke said. He said the idea behind the event was to bring people to the downtown area.

&uot;We are pressing as much as possible to bring this community together,&uot; Rourke said.

Also:

4 The board approved the resignation of Cheryl McClure from the position of county extension director and the hiring of Geraldine Guyton as acting director.

4 The Department of Civil Defense received approval for a $70,600 grant from the Department of Homeland Security. The money will go to the Civil Defense office and the Sheriff’s Department. It will be used to purchase personal protection, detection and surveillance equipment among other things.

4 The county will stop using Kinard Collection Agency for garbage fee collection purposes because it is illegal to charge customers the commission fee used to pay Kinard. Because the county will not let citizens buy a car tag without paying garbage fees they cannot use a collection agency to get the money. The county’s contract with Kinard for the services expires next month.