The Henderson County Commissioners' Court voted to authorize a temporary burn ban for the county. The decision was part of the court's regular Tuesday morning meeting.

Even though it rained the day before the meeting, which County Judge David Holstein noted happened the last time the court had to make a decision on a burn ban.

All but two of the county's fire department chiefs requested the ban.

Precinct Two Commissioner Wade McKinney made the motion to approve a 30-day burn ban to last through midnight, March 11. Precinct One Commissioner Joe Hall seconded. Violating the ban will be punishable by a fine of up to $500. Burning for agriculture and construction reasons is permitted, but a local fire department or the sheriff's department must be notified.

On a similar note, the court also approved the 2009 interlocal agreements between the county and the volunteer fire departments.

McKinney said, "There was an issue last year concerning Enchanted Oaks and their eligibility in this."

McKinney made the motion to approve the agreement with authorization for Judge David Holstein to sign necessary documents. Hall seconded.

This interlocal agreement will apply to all volunteer fire departments in the county.

County Sheriff Ray Nutt was there to give a report on the jail expansion.

"Looks like everything's running smooth," Nutt said. "We're finalizing work on fire alarms as well."

Submitted payroll issues were presented to the court. McKinney made the motion to approve and Hall seconded.

There was a pair of plats to approve. The motion for the first was made and seconded by Precinct Four Commissioner Jerry West and Precinct Three Commissioner Ronny Lawrence, respectively. The motion to approve the second was made by McKinney and seconded by Hall.

A contract for an online auctioning service to dispose of law books was up for approval. The motion to approve was made and seconded by West and Lawrence, respectively.

While there were no 2009 budget amendments to approve, there were some 2008 amendments left over. McKinney made the motion to approve them and Hall seconded.

The court authorized bill payment for 2008 and 2009. The 2008 bills totaled $3,859.13; McKinney and Hall made the motion and seconded, respectively. The 2009 bills reached $118,779.14, and Hall made the motion here with McKinney seconding.

Finally, there was a single bid for the court to consider. It was for roof repair on the front part of the judicial complex, which will cost around $6,540. The work will have a one year warranty.

West made the motion to approve the bid and Lawrence seconded.