I know there’s a lot of reporting from meetings held earlier this month in this week’s edition, and I’m running a little behind. August has been the busiest meeting month I can remember in a long time, and I’m still trying to catch up. There’s even a short story about the inaugural Parks Commission meeting held earlier this month and a report from Monday’s supervisor meeting that I haven’t written yet — hopefully I’ll get to that next week.

The meeting frenzy started on the first Monday of the month, right after the Watermelon Carnival, with a marathon County Board of Supervisors meeting that stretched nearly seven hours. They worked through a long agenda that mostly revolved around the budget. By the time they wrapped up, I think even the supervisors were looking around for watermelon slices just to keep going.

County supervisors were back at it again this Monday, August 19, revisiting some of the same budget issues. It looks like the total county budget will increase by $573,436 this year, up to $6,216,397. Herald readers may recall from last week’s edition some of the items that triggered those increases. If you missed it, I don’t blame you — just imagine a conversation about pay raises and road repair costs that lasts long enough to make you wonder if time really does move slower inside the county courthouse.

One change to the coming fiscal year’s budget: our EMA directors, Stewart Spence and Jarrod Logan, each received a $500 per month raise. These guys are classified as part-time workers and together had been earning around $45,000 before the raises. They work a lot of hours, and I wouldn’t be scared to bet more hours than most of the full-timers on the county payroll.

Of course, the supervisors weren’t the only ones meeting. Earlier this month, the Water Valley Board of Aldermen also held a lengthy session. Much of the discussion centered on the city’s electric department and the challenges it has faced in recent years. From job descriptions to the leisure district, there was plenty to talk about in one of the longest city meetings I remember in a while.

The new Electric Commission has already held its first couple of meetings, covering everything from smart meters to line losses. If you ever want to test your stamina, sit through a presentation on kilovolt systems. I still can’t tell you why a 4kV system is considered “outdated.” I just know it is.

I did manage to escape the meeting grind Monday for a different assignment — an interview with Dr. Jonathan Massey, the new physician at Odom Rural Health Clinic. It was a nice break from budget talk and power line diagrams. On the way to the clinic, I glanced at my truck clock. It read 1:00, and the thermometer read 100º. A minute later it said 1:01 and 101º. I was just glad I got out before it clicked over to 1:02.

While I was at the clinic, Vicki Turnage greeted me as “John.” I told Dr. Massey I’ve answered to John plenty of times in my life, though not as much lately. That usually means somebody from Batesville has me confused with my father or my brother, who both are Johns. Vicki quickly realized the slip. She had my brother on her mind after attending the Mark Chesnutt concert in Batesville earlier this month. My nephews, Hunt Howell and Nelson Howell, are in the band that opened the show — Hunt and the Howlers. Vicki said they did a great job. I hate I missed it. That was by far the biggest venue they’ve played, and from the Facebook videos they sounded great with a strong local following.

So yes, there are a lot of meetings this month, and yes, I am behind. But if you ever need a cure for insomnia, I’ve got a stack of agendas and budget printouts that’ll do the trick.