Last Edited: July 29, 2023 @ 11:42 am

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Tenn. – The Recovery Court Division of the Montgomery County Adult Probation Department held a graduation ceremony last week in the County Commission Chambers to recognize 17 individuals who completed Recovery Court requirements.

While in the program, the 17 graduates, representing 6,196 sober days, had 2,133 drug screenings and completed 304.25 hours of community service. Two graduates also gave birth to drug-free babies while in the program; a third baby is coming soon. 

Following words of encouragement from County Mayor Wes Golden and City Mayor Joe Pitts, keynote speaker Dr. Stephen Loyd, an Internal Medicine/Addiction Medicine Physician, shared his journey to recovery with the graduates, participants, and supporters. Formerly an addict himself, Dr. Loyd has been free of opioids and benzodiazepines since 2004. He shared that we often overlook the fact that more Americans live in recovery than in addiction.

 “Our brain is divided into two parts: the reward area and the frontal lobe. With addiction, the reward part of the brain takes over and the frontal lobe, which helps to make good decisions, is lost. During recovery, the frontal lobe takes up to two years to return. Don’t look at addiction as a moral failure, but as something you can overcome. Relationships are the key,” Loyd explained.

Loyd told the graduates they were turtles on the fence, explaining that they did not overcome addiction on their own. He stated that it takes people like judges, mayors, law enforcement, the DA's Office, family, and others to help.

Dr. Loyd has served as an expert witness in more than 20 federal and state cases against physicians who improperly prescribed controlled substances. He was named an Advocate for Action by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), an office of the President of the United States. He has delivered more than 500 educational lectures about addiction and prescribing controlled substances. He was an original member (still active) of the Treatment of Chronic Pain Guidelines Committee that defines pain treatment for Tennessee healthcare providers. He has worked as an Addiction Medicine Physician in inpatient and outpatient settings, specializing in caring for opioid-dependent pregnant women.

In addition to serving on multiple drug courts in Tennessee, Loyd is Vice-President of the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee appointed him as Chair of the Tennessee Opioid Abatement Council and was the Assistant Commissioner (Opioid Czar) for Substance Abuse Services with the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services during Governor Bill Haslam’s administration. He serves as Chief Medical Officer for Cedar Recovery in Tennessee and is the inspiration for Michael Keaton’s character in Hulu’s Emmy Award-winning series Dopesick.

"The Recovery Court Team and I continue to celebrate the accomplishments of our graduates. We are proud and excited about their futures. Graduates and participants have turned difficult roads into beautiful journeys. I am thankful for the support of this community in our efforts to reduce recidivism in the courts by using the recovery model. Dr. Loyd is an inspiration to us all and I am honored he was able to spend the afternoon with us. His story shows us that in the worst of times, there is still hope," Judge Sharon Massey Grimes shared.

The Montgomery County Adult Recovery Court Program is a voluntary court overseen by Judge Massey Grimes of the 19th Judicial District offered through the courts for residents involved in the criminal justice system with alcohol and/or other drug offenses. Participation in Recovery Court includes rigorous supervision, assistance accessing treatment, and aid with job placement to help participants successfully recover from addiction, abstain from drugs, and diminish incarceration expenses.

The Recovery Court Team is a diverse group of professionals dedicated to working with community partners to support participants and their family members. The Court offers two tracks and is funded partially under a grant contract with the State of Tennessee, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, and by participant fees and donations. 

For more information on the Adult Recovery Court Program, call (931) 648-8702.

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*Please note, not all graduates wanted photos and the names of those who did are identified as the photo title.

* The photo of the three ladies behind the podium are Cynthia Richards, Recovery Court Coordinator; Sherry Robertson, Director of Adult Probation and Judge Sharon Massey Grimes.

Montgomery County, TN – All offices at Veterans Plaza are closed, effective immediately due to a lack of electricity.  The Plaza and more than 1,000 households and businesses lost control at approximately 12:25. A tree came down on Central Avenue that caused issues with a power line.

It is unknown when power will be completely restored. All County offices at Veterans Plaza are expected to be open during regular business hours tomorrow.

For online services offered through Montgomery County Government, visit mcgtn.org.

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The Montgomery County Legislative Liaison Committee is developing the 2024 Legislative Agenda for Tennessee lawmakers. This agenda includes suggestions specific to Montgomery County that citizens would like addressed by Tennessee’s Legislative Body. 

Montgomery County is asking employees, community organizations, and county residents to submit legislative items for consideration. Previous year’s legislative items can be found at mcgtn.org on the County Commission page under the commissioner photos. 

Please submit items to Michelle Newell via email at [email protected] or by mail to 1 Millennium Plaza, Clarksville, TN 37040, by July 26, 2023. The Committee will review the suggested topics and formulate the agenda to present to Montgomery County’s state delegation in September 2023.

Montgomery County, TN – Andrew Kester has been selected as the County’s Director of Continuous Improvement. This position is new to the County and is responsible for designing and overseeing the activities of the County’s performance management program in support of Mayor Golden’s top priorities and departmental strategic initiatives. Kester will be responsible for developing the County’s performance management processes and providing guidance and assistance to County departments. 

Kester is a retired Army First Sergeant who has served as the Director of the Montgomery County Veterans Service Organization since 2019. Under his leadership, MCVSO earned national and state recognition for their service to Veterans. Kester has also served as a Leadership Studies Adjunct Professor at Western Kentucky University since 2015. He served as Radiologic Technology Instructor at Austin Peay State University and an Educational Coordinator and Applications Trainer at MinXray Inc. for five years after retiring from the Army in 2010.

Kester earned his Ed.D.(Organizational Leadership) from Western Kentucky University KY in 2017; his M.S. (Health Education) from Touro University, Cypress, CA, in 2008; a B.S. (Health Care Management) from National American University, Rapid City, SD, in 2006 and his A.A.S. (Medical Imaging) from Thomas Edison State College, Trenton, NJ in 2004. 

“The Continuous Improvement position is one that I feel strongly about. This position will help us align our personnel and budgetary resources in a way that serves the community even better. We know this has proved successful for the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System and look forward to great results for the County. Andrew’s education, expertise, and knowledge will help us achieve our priorities. His systematic, data-driven approach served our VSO well, and we look forward to him incorporating that approach on a larger scale,” said Mayor Golden.

“It is an honor to be selected for this position in service to Montgomery County, Mayor Golden, and our department heads in this new role. I am excited about the change, but it is also bittersweet because I love leading MCVSO. It is time for me to practice what I preach to my team. I tell them to grow and make the most of their experience and skills, and it’s time for me to do the same,” said Kester.

Kester has called Montgomery County home since 2008. He has been married to his wife Debra for 31 years. They have two children. Kyle a 1LT stationed at Fort Campbell and Jenna a sophomore at APSU.

Among the Director of Continuous Improvement’s key responsibilities are:

• Develop metrics and targets as defined by the Mayor and Department heads to establish priorities, goals, objectives and measures to track and evaluate performance. 
• Conducts and oversees organizational reviews to identify strengths and weaknesses and to evaluate operational effectiveness.
• Coordinates performance management sessions between the Mayor’s Office and departmental leadership using data-driven analysis to discuss performance, identify problems, diagnose causes and invest resources to solve issues affecting performance and achievement of the Mayor’s highest priorities as well as key organizational and departmental initiatives.
• Partners with Accounts and Budget staff to identify opportunities for organizational performance reviews of County operations with the greatest potential financial, strategic or operational impact.
• Conducts management performance analysis for departmental operations to improve work methods, set standards and increase the effectiveness of County operations.
• Develops and implements countywide performance management process, which focuses on monitoring and reporting activities.

For information about Montgomery County Government, visit mcgtn.org.

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Hello Montgomery County!

On July 1st, we begin our new fiscal year in County Government. It’s important to note that our 2023-2024 budget passed at June’s Formal County Commission meeting with no property tax increase. This was done while funding all critical public safety projects and with significant support for capital projects on our school buildings.  

Passing the Montgomery County budget is a lengthy process that takes planning from department heads, elected officials, and me - all advocating for the projects, equipment, and people necessary to meet the needs of our growing community. The budget committee members, represented by members of the full County Commission body, listened and questioned for weeks, and requested adjustments. This resulted in the presentation of a fiscally responsible budget to the full commission on June 12th.

The County’s approved budget reflects our commitment and investment in the future. It provides essential resources to improve the quality of life for our residents. It enhances our services, allows us to work on some much-needed projects, and provides a cost-of-living increase to retain employees.

Here are some key highlights of our 2023-24 budget:
1. Important Asks: We fulfilled critical requests in Public Safety for Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Emergency Management Agency (EMA), and the Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), providing them with the equipment and training resources needed to respond sufficiently to emergencies and take care of Montgomery County residents. Our Parks and Recreation Department also received funds to work on additional quality-of-life improvements in our unincorporated areas like Fredonia and Woodlawn.

2. Capital Projects: Our largest projects for this fiscal year are the construction of the public library in north Clarksville, the new and desperately needed Animal Care and Control Facility, a new Highway Department Facility, road projects in the industrial park, Sango, Guthrie and Palmyra, investments in replacement roofs for schools across the County, and improvements at the Public Safety Training Complex that will be used by emergency services personnel and the Sheriff’s Office.

3. New Employees: This year’s budget allows us to hire new employees to keep up with growth by adequately staffing our departments to best serve our community. Every high school, for example, is now budgeted for two School Resource Officers (SROs), and every middle and elementary school has one SRO. The only exception is Middle College because they have APSU Campus Police.

4. Cost of Living Increase for Employees: All County employees will receive a 3% cost-of-living increase on July 1, 2023. A 2% step increase for qualifying employees will also be applied to employee anniversary dates. We will continue to promote incremental increases for employees to keep us competitive in the job market and prevent us from falling behind. Taking care of our current employees will always be a priority.

5. New Human Capital Management (HCM) Program: We are investing in new HR software (HCM) to improve our training processes, reduce payroll processing time, and streamline hiring steps, making it easier to identify qualified candidates and shortening the amount of time between recruitment and hiring.

The passage of this year’s budget would not have been possible without the dedication, hard work, and commitment each employee brings to Montgomery County Government. Other than the department heads, elected officials, budget committee, and County Commission, I would especially like to thank our accounts and budget team for the many hours they worked during our three-month budget season. We will keep the community informed on budget initiatives and projects throughout the fiscal year through local media and our County’s social media outlets.

We are blessed with an outstanding team in Montgomery County Government, full of people who care about this community. If you have questions about the budget or any County initiatives, reach out any time. It is a pleasure and honor to serve as your Montgomery County Mayor.