Dalton Roberts
The Hamilton County Commission made us very proud Wednesday with several of their decisions. The purchase of the McDonald Farm in Sale Creek means jobs, jobs, jobs. There is so much potential with this property. Not only will our county reap the harvest, but Rhea and Bradley County stand to benefit. It will be exciting to watch for preliminary plans.
Commissioners also gave the green light for a new vocational school at the Mary Ann Garber site, and a portion of the old Combustion plant will be re-developed by PUREGraphite generating hundreds of jobs. This is long overdue.
I’m especially excited about a new vocational school. I graduated from Kirkman Technical High School in 1965 and value greatly the concepts I learned. There’s someone else who would be pleased with commissioners' actions.
The last time I talked with the late Hamilton County Executive Dalton Roberts was with former County Commissioner Curtis Adams over lunch. He told me he worked hundreds of hours on bringing new jobs to the county. Then I asked Mr. Roberts about his regrets during 12 years as the top county official. Dalton looked me straight in the eye responding as only Dalton Roberts could, “Not pushing for and getting approval for a new technical school like Kirkman.” He said there was money and it could have happened had he pushed harder. He said it was a mistake to close Kirkman without a comprehensive plan to replace the school. Dalton told me not everyone is college material. He believed there would always be a need for trained skilled individuals. Dalton attended and later taught at Kirkman Technical High School.
Thank you Hamilton County Commissioners for your three decisions that put the people of our growing county first. I imagine Dalton Roberts is smiling right now.
Earl Freudenberg
Kirkman Tech