By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
Tanner native and Limestone County District 3 Commissioner Derrick Gatlin was elected to office in 2022, and is seeking to serve us for another term. As a teenager, Derrick began his career as a public servant when he joined the Tanner Volunteer Fire Department. A WWII/Pearl Harbor survivor by the name of Gilbert Crutchfield served as a mentor for Derrick teaching him not only how to fight fires, but how and why to serve other people. “I love helping people,” he said simply, and that is why he chose to let a stable, predictable career go, and made the choice to be an elected public servant. It is also why he is running again — there is still a lot to do, and he wants to help. It is said that firefighters are hardwired to run into a burning building, and anyone in the public sector will tell you that sometimes it feels like several buildings are on fire at the same time.
Each district in Limestone County has its own “flavor” and set of challenges. Some are largely rural; some work concurrently with the City of Athens and are more focused on classic urban concerns. Derrick has Calhoun College, Mazda-Toyota, Eli Lily, the Technical Center, and Pryor Field as part of his purview. Additionally, Derrick is the one that has to deal with the literal crazy growth that is part of East Limestone County, and the wild ride that goes along with potential annexation attempts along the county line.
There are several things that have been accomplished in District 3 and throughout Limestone County that make Derrick glad he took the plunge and got out into the “deep end” of being a commissioner. Here are some of them:
· Eli Lily Plant
· Improving the Technical Center
· Calhoun College improvements
· 10,000 sq. foot Animal Shelter
· Purchase of the Soule plant on Hwy 99 — will house the county engineering and sanitation departments
· Added 50 beds to the Limestone County Jail
· New Athens-Limestone Career Center
Here are some more details as well as plans for the future: “District 3 has some of the most traveled roads in Limestone County, and there are roads we have fixed that hadn’t been repaired in 25 years. We’ve gotten 103 miles of that taken care of,” said Derrick. District 3 was also in great need of new road equipment, as a lot of it was worn out, and that was one of the reasons roads hadn’t been kept in repair.
Derrick knows that with added growth there is going to be a need for an expansion of the jail, and possibly its replacement. One of the projects that is coming is the expansion of Mooresville Road. The days of a “skinny road” being able to handle county traffic flow are clearly over, and with Mazda-Toyota along with Eli Lily, people need to be able to get to and from work efficiently.
Due to be completed in early 2027 is the Aleut Hanger at Pryor Field, which is a project of Strata-G Solutions. Pryor Field is in District 3, and its upgrade is an important part of helping Limestone County grow well. The Aleut Hangar is a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility known as an MRO. It will be able to handle large fixed-wing aircraft such as a Lockheed C-130, and up to four Chinook helicopters at once, including their blades. There will be 50 added jobs associated with the Aleut, and it will be a place that will provide support service for the Department of Defense, all the military branches, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and commercial aviation.
I asked Derrick what have been some of his favorite projects as the District 3 commissioner, and I figured that seeing as his grandparents had a dairy farm, and Derrick also had a successful career in the commercial ice cream business, it would be some of the things mentioned above. Nope. There are two annual events that mean the most to Derrick Gatlin. One is the Limestone County Sheriff’s Special Needs Rodeo, and the other is the Birdie Thornton Center Valentine’s Day Ball. “People are what this is all about, and someone once said, ‘If you’re not growing, you’re dying.’ To see the kids enjoy the rodeo and the adults enjoy Valentine’s Day is the fulfillment of that statement. It is true growth and quality of life.”
I asked Derrick why I should vote for him, and he said, “I have always wanted to help people, and I want to take it to the next level.” If this is what you are looking for in a District 3 commissioner, then Derrick Gatlin would appreciate your vote on November 3.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
