County Commission Tasked with Fulfilling Legal Obligation from 1988 Lawsuit

The Wayne County Commission met in regular session on Tuesday, January 20, 2026. All commissioners were in attendance: Tom Mathis, Logan Shull, Patrick Butler, Alvin Creecy, Kathryn Staggs, Tyler McDonald, Colby McDonald, Sherrie Powers, Vickie Petty, Jeremy Heard, Stan Hanback, David Martin, Stephen Pevahouse, and Rickey Kelley. Also in attendance were County Executive Jim Mangubat, County Clerk Stan Horton, and County Attorney Andy Yarbrough.

Mrs. Darlene Carroll addressed the commission first, asking that a portion of Highway 128 in Clifton be dedicated to the late Fred Gillham. The commission approved the request, which will go before the Clifton City Commission on February 2nd.

Next to address the commission was Ms. Debra Shaw with Voices of Savannah. Ms. Shaw has worked with the city and the county to establish a site in Waynesboro that provides services like the group offers in Savannah, including food, temporary housing, and drug counseling/assisting admission to rehab for drug addiction. The site serving Wayne County is located in the lower portion of the former Wayne County Medical Building next to Wayne Medical Center and is being leased by the Voices of Savannah group with Ms. Shaw at the helm. There have been some complications with getting the site up to code and suitable for the needs of different clients, but after renovations and modifications, the location is now ready and servicing clients’ needs. Ms. Shaw’s question to the commission was in regard to why she received two utility bills for the site. After a discussion about the location of water meters and the needs at the site which have not yet been met, County Executive Mangubat said he would contact Waynesboro City Manager John Hickman about the meters and bills, and he will send County Maintenance Supervisor Casey Jones back to the site to evaluate any other problems.

Stephanie Pearson with the Wayne County Republican Party spoke next and announced that delegates for the upcoming judicial caucus would be chosen on Monday, January 26, at 5:00 p.m. at the Wayne County Ag Center. To become a delegate, you must be a bona fide Republican, which means you must have voted in at least three of the last four Republican primaries. The term “bona fide” ensures that candidates running under the Republican banner in primaries are truly loyal to the party and its platform, preventing non-Republicans from hijacking the nomination. Sixty delegates will be elected for the caucus, which is on Saturday, February 7, at the AgriPark in Pulaski, TN.

The final citizen to address the commission was Jeff Thompson, who spoke briefly about his desire to see economic growth in the county. He also said he would like to see a “community chest” type of fund where jurors who serve on Wayne County jury panels can donate their jury pay back to the county for needed services.

Wayne County Maintenance Supervisor Casey Jones came before the commission next on a personal matter. He asked the commissioners’ forgiveness for negative comments he has made in the past about their decisions on some different things, and said he knows what a difficult job they have. Mr. Jones said he appreciates every commissioner and county official. County Executive Mangubat told Mr. Jones that he had his forgiveness.

The commission went on to approve the minutes of the previous meeting, notaries, and budget amendments.

Under old business on the agenda, Commissioner Powers asked if the Hospital Board of Trustees had met to discuss the hospital contract with Maury Regional. County Executive Mangubat said he anticipates having a Hospital Board meeting in March.

Commissioner Mathis asked about the boiler at the hospital, which under its current state is expected to fail the upcoming inspection. He asked County Executive Mangubat to schedule a meeting with the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce to get an extension on the inspection, taking into account the upcoming installation of the new boiler.

On the agenda under new business was a lawsuit filed by the late Mrs. Margaret Gallaher in 1988 that resulted in a judgment against the county which has neither been followed nor fulfilled. Perhaps the most stunning aspect of this is how it was “forgotten” for nearly 40 years.

County Attorney Andy Yarbrough was asked by County Executive Mangubat to explain the lawsuit and judgment. Attorney Yarbrough said that in 1988, Mrs. Margaret Gallaher filed a lawsuit against the county on the grounds that the water at her home was contaminated due to dangerous pollutants disposed of by Mallory Capacitor Company at the old county landfill. [Editor’s Note: Mallory Capacitor Company conducted operations at their facility located on Belew Circle in Waynesboro until 1984. Operations at the manufacturing facility contaminated soil and groundwater, resulting in the location being declared a Superfund site by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1989.]

Attorney Yarbrough explained that Mrs. Gallaher previously obtained water from a spring that was downstream from where Mallory disposed of dangerous pollutants. A judgment was filed in favor of Mrs. Gallaher, ordering the county to construct and maintain two clean and usable water supplies no later than July 1, 1988, for the Gallaher property. The county failed to follow the instructions in the judgment, and the late Mrs. Gallaher’s descendants have now come forward seeking a solution and asking that the county fulfill their responsibilities according to the judgment.

County Maintenance Supervisor Casey Jones said he recalled that at one time a temporary reservoir was constructed on the Gallaher property that was filled by water trucks hauling water to the property. He said the reservoir was not meant to be permanent and eventually became non-usable.

In recent years, the county has attempted to find a solution to the problem by drilling for new well water sites. There have been three attempts by well drillers to find clean, uncontaminated water on the property, and none of the drilling sites have produced acceptable water.

After the passing of Mrs. Gallaher, no one lived in her house or on the property for some time. Attorney Yarbrough said that her children and grandchildren met with him recently, stating that they intended to build on the property and needed a solution to the water problem immediately. The family presented a proposal to the county which contained two options. The first proposed option is for the county to pay the Gallaher family $3 million to essentially get out of the judgment and let the family handle the water problem. The second option is for the county to finally fulfill their obligation and somehow find a way to provide clean water for the family.

Commissioner Patrick Butler, who most know is also an attorney, said that he had carefully reviewed the judgment and the county must fulfill their obligation to provide clean water to the Gallaher family. He said that no one in the room (meaning the current County Commission and County Executive) was responsible for this situation and probably knew nothing about it until now.

Commissioner Butler went on to say that $3 million was a lot of money that the county just does not have and cannot spend to get out of the Gallaher water judgment, and other commissioners agreed.

A few different options were discussed to fulfill the county’s obligation to provide unpolluted water to the Gallaher family, including drilling for clean water in other locations on the property and filtration systems for the water already there. Commissioner Kelley asked if anyone had considered running water lines to provide Waynesboro city water to the property. Mr. Jones said the cost would be astronomical to run the lines six miles out to the property, and it may not even be possible to pump the water there if the lines were installed.

Wayne County JECDB Director Rena Purdy said she would check into this more to see if state or federal government assistance might be available. She pointed out that the government had helped in the past with water pollution such as this, and assistance might be available for this situation as well.

Commissioner Powers said this is something that obviously needs to be addressed as soon as possible. She said the Gallaher family needs to know that the county is sincere about finding a solution, and the county needs to send this to whatever committees need to make any decisions on it as soon as possible. Ms. Purdy recommended that it go before the Capital Improvements Committee on January 22.

Department reports were next. Sheriff Shane Fisher gave a statistical report on his department, and said he is almost at full staff status now with the two officers who recently graduated from the academy and two who are in the academy now. He then asked for the commission to approve renovations at the building on the Tennessee-Alabama state line where the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office made a huge marijuana bust a few years ago. After renovations, the building will be used as a training center for his department. The request for approval was voted on and approved.

Solid Waste Department Assistant Director Lindsay Ross said she was in the process of writing a detailed report of changes to be made within the department that will save money. The report, which Ms. Ross said would be finished in February, will contain details of the proposed changes and finalized costs and numbers.

Highway Superintendent Chuck Moser asked for approval to add four tenths of a mile to Levi Hollow Road on the county road list. He then asked for approval of the 2026 county road list. Both requests were voted on and approved.

Wayne County IT Director Mike Floyd concluded the meeting with a brief report, stating the backup project was complete with images being made so the system can be restored if it crashes, and all firewalls would be up to date by the end of January.

With no further business to come before the commission, the meeting was adjourned.