BY TRACY LEE TATE
Special to the Times
On April 26, about 100 people gathered in the Agricultural Education Center’s meeting room to celebrate the retirement of Shelton “Jr.” Arnold, the superintendent of the Union County Road Department.
The event was held on the last day of Arnold’s 34 years of service to the county. The entire road department staff (on their lunch breaks) was in attendance, as were four county commissioners, supervisors of most of the county’s departments, former road department employees who had moved on or retired, and members of the community who wanted to give Arnold a big sendoff and wish him well.
First to speak, before giving the invocation, Union County Sheriff Brad Whitehead said he would miss Arnold’s humor, patience, and dependability.
“Thanks for all the years you have supported the Sheriff’s Office,” Whitehead said. “It didn’t matter if I called him at 3 a.m. with a problem, like a tree blocking a road; he always came out and took care of it.”
Union County Supervisor of Elections Debbie Osborne and Tax Collector Lisa Johnson linked arms with Arnold and told everyone nearby that they had more than 100 years of combined service to the county.
Almost everyone there, especially the county commissioners, took a moment to make a personal comment to Arnold. The honoree was presented with a plaque commemorating his 34 years of service by Commissioner Jimmy Tallman and a custom-cut handsaw, with his initials and decorative artwork, by Christopher Griffis, the new department superintendent selected by the board.
Arnold was brief in his comments when presented with these tokens.
“I have enjoyed working here all these years,” Arnold said. “I have had good people to work with and for. So many people have helped me over the years, and I want them to know I appreciate them. I am retiring because I feel as though it is the right time, and I plan to pursue other avenues to continue to serve the county and deal with some of the problems we have. But I will miss seeing people every day and helping them whenever I can.”
