Employees working for Marengo County government will receive July 4 and 5 off thanks to a vote June 11 by the Marengo County Commission.

Except for a no vote by Commission Chairman Charles Moore, the commission approved a motion by Commissioner Freddie Armstead to allow county employees to have Thursday, July 4 and Friday, July 5 as vacation days.

In other action from the meeting, resident Charlie McGee complained about trash fires being set across from his home on County Road 53 near Uniontown. Neighbors have been burning household garbage late in the evening for over a year-and-a half.

Commissioner George Baldwin said something would be done about the problem on Tuesday.

McGee said his child has asthma, and the smoke from the trash fire is a health problem.

The commission approved a request from Eddie Thornhill of Marengo Forest Products to close an unnamed road near a church in the Calvary community. The road, which adjoins the Rembert Hill Road, had been maintained at some expense as Thornhill oversees the forest property of Mildred Kirkham.

He said some $7,000 had recently been spent to improve the road, and teenagers with four-wheel trucks had torn the road up again.

After a short executive session, the commission voted to give a road department employee a one-step raise.

Drew Johnson and Cecila Etheridge were reappointed to the board of the Department of Human Resources.

The commission approved a renewal with the AlaTax company to collect sales taxes for the county.

Commissioner Ken Tucker made mention of the recent $2.4 million in grant money awarded by Governor Don Siegelman to volunteer fire departments around the state. "Our folks would be eligible," he said. "They just have to submit an application and met a few requirements."