NATCHEZ — The Adams County Supervisors have a message they want to send the county, and the world — “We are one.”

That’s the motto they adopted at their first meeting of the year.

President Darryl Grennell said the idea of the motto was first discussed at the supervisors’ retreat late last year. The inspiration for it was derived from comments made by the speaker at the dedication of plaques at the federal courthouse honoring Adams County’s veterans.

“She said, ‘This community, we are one community,’” Grennell said.

Freshman supervisor Angela Hutchins made the motion to adopt the motto, and when Grennell asked if the motion had a second, Supervisor David Carter — also new on the job — said, “I strongly move (so), sir.”

Because it was the first meeting of the new term, the supervisors spent most of the meeting tending to housecleaning items — approving bonds, appointing and re-appointing county positions and electing officers.

Grennell was re-elected president, and Supervisor Mike Lazarus — the only other veteran on the board — was elected vice-president.

The board also hired a new attorney, Scott Slover. He takes the place of Bobby Cox, who served as board attorney for the last four years.

“I will be hitting the ground running, and I will meet with each of (the supervisors) to find out what he needs,” Slover said.

One of the housecleaning items the board took action on was to adopt a policy regarding the distribution of public information.

County Administrator Joe Murray said that if the supervisors did not have a policy in place they would be obligated to provide information within 24 hours of a request.

Having a policy in place would extend that period to seven days, he said.

“(The request) may be a stack of papers, and that may be impossible to do in a day’s time,” Murray said.

The policy is to help give administrators time to properly address an information request, Lazarus said.

“I want the public to know we are not avoiding giving (information to) the newspaper or whoever is asking for this,” he said.

In other news:

-Carter officially resigned from the Natchez-Adams County Recreation commission.

He said he had to do so since it was a position appointed by the board of supervisors.

-The board appointed Johnny Williams the permanent head of maintenance for the county.

Williams has been acting as the interim head for some time, Murray said.

-The supervisors appointed Sammy Gaines as the interim road manager and Shemeka Ware as interim inventory clerk until permanent replacements could be hired.

Those persons already in county positions not mentioned were re-appointed.