Can’t never could
Source: Mississippi 811 Magazine
His parents taught him he could do whatever he set his mind to do. “Can’t never could,” they said. Jeff Patterson’s “can do” determination propelled him to a state championship in track and field in high school, a successful business, a great family, and in 2008, into the office of 2nd District County Supervisor in Alcorn County.
While he is relatively new to the job, Patterson has accomplished a lot in a short period of time. He has replaced $40,000 worth of culverts, and he is working on the third new bridge in his district. The old wooden bridge could not safely hold more than 6,000 pounds. Because of this, school children are riding an extra 2.5 hours each day to get to and from school. The new bridge will also provide access to the area by emergency vehicles. All are costly projects, but Patterson found a way.
He has purchased land for new headquarters and released bids for a new shop building. He purchased a mobile home from government surplus that was left over from Katrina to use as offices. He did all these things because “can’t never could,” and he did these things for the people in his district.
“It’s not about me, or any elected official,” said Patterson. “It’s about what we need to be doing for the people.” Patterson believes in a little government, but an effective government. But doing the right thing is not always easy. “I haven’t always done the most popular thing, but I think I always did what needed to be done. When this country got started, there were a lot of good men in government working to protect the health and welfare of the people, and that’s my job; that’s what I am here to do.”
Doing the right thing also involves Mississippi 811. Patterson believes in damage prevention and not only uses the 811 service, but promotes the benefits to others and attends the local Damage Prevention Coordinating Council meetings. He learned the real value of damage prevention not long after he took office.
About three months after he became supervisor, a lady told Patterson that she saw a hole in the road near her house on the way to the county meeting that night. After the meeting, Patterson went to investigate and found a large, rusted culvert about ready to collapse. It needed immediate attention and he secured the area for the night.
Early the next morning Patterson hesitated about calling 811 because there was only two feet of earth between the road and the headwall of the culvert. Not enough he surmised to contain any buried utilities. But to be on the safe side, he made an emergency locate request. When the notified utilities arrived to mark their lines, they located a phone cable, a three-inch, pressurized sewer line and a six-inch water line all in the same small space.
“That taught me a lesson,” said Patterson. “Common sense told me there was not enough room for utilities, but I’m glad I didn’t listen. If I had damaged that sewer line, and it contaminated the water, the people in my district would have been in serious trouble. I would have been in serious trouble!”
There are approximately 150 miles of roads in Patterson’s district. That translates to 300 miles of road ditches. “Your road ditch is the most important part of the road,” Patterson said. “If you keep the water off the road, it’s going to last longer, so we spend a lot of time maintaining the ditches.” This routine maintenance most often puts buried facilities in conflict with the work.
“Actually, the worst place to put a utility line in is the ditch,” said Patterson. “But we have a lot of roadways that have been here for many years, and most of the time, we have no way of knowing what’s in the ditch or what’s in the easement.” So Patterson calls Mississippi 811 before he begins any work, and he does it for the people in his district. “I don’t want to see them without water, gas, or phone service because of something I neglected to do. Once again, my role is to protect the health and welfare of the people in this district.”
Patterson, however, suggested that a set of standards or guidelines establishing a certain depth for buried utilities would help protect them.
Patterson campaigned for the job with a goal of preparing the county for the future. “When I leave this office, I want this district to be ready for whatever comes our way,” he said. “And who knows what that might be, but I want us to be ready. I believe we have the right personnel. Providing them with the right tools and developing the proper plan for success are critical elements in being prepared.”
When asked what he would like the people in Alcorn County to say about him at the end of his tenure, he paused for a moment and replied with a smile, “That I treated everybody fairly, and that I did the best I could do. Even if they couldn’t agree with my position, I would like for them to be able to say that Jeff Patterson is a fine Christian man.”
