During the most recent meeting of the Cherokee County Commission a special tribute was awarded to Mr. Earl McPeak, as a Proclamation was signed honoring him for his outstanding service to his community, to his country, to his fellow man and for his heroic efforts in the Armed Forces,

Proclamation in Honor of Mr. Earl W. McPeak

WHEREAS, Mr. Earl W. McPeak was born in Vancouver, Washington on November 19, 1922; and

WHEREAS, his family moved to the Banks, Oregon area when he was three years old; and

WHEREAS, Mr. McPeak began working at a very young age, cleaning school chalkboards for fifteen cents per week; and

WHEREAS, in high school he bought a 1930 Ford Model A pickup and hauled ten-gallon cans of milk to the Banks, Oregon Cheese Factory before school each morning; and

WHEREAS, after graduation from high school in 1941 he began attending Pacific University studying Pre-Med; and 

WHEREAS, in 1944 Mr. McPeak was drafted into the Army Infantry where he was a scout. He spent a short time in North Africa and Italy and earned the rank of T5 Corporal prior to leaving the service; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Earl W. McPeak knew at a young age that he wanted to have a career which involved trucks. Over the years he hauled berries, timber, milk and many other things—whatever it took to keep the trucks on the road; and

WHEREAS, he eventually started his milk hauling business, called Dairy Express. At that time, he owned three asphalt trucks and twenty-three milk tankers. His trucks hauled milk from Oregon, Idaho and Washington; and 

WHEREAS, he sold Dairy Express in 1972. He then opened a shop to build, repair and sell over the road, and stationery, stainless steel tanks; and

WHEREAS, Mr. McPeak retired fully in 1990 and moved to La Conner, Washington with his wife, Marjory, where they boated and enjoyed the Puget Sound area; and

WHEREAS, in 2017, he and Marjory moved to Centre, Alabama to be with their daughter. He continues to be active in St. Phillip’s Episcopal Church in Fort Payne and enjoys spending time with neighbors and working in his yard.

NOW, THEREFORE, we, the members of the Cherokee County Commission, do hereby sign our names and affix our seal to this proclamation to honor Mr. Earl W. McPeak to commemorate his one hundredth birthday and his exceptional list of accomplishments.

*

In other business, the Commission appointed Barry Cochran, Jamie Maples and Tommy Miller to the Cherokee County Health Care Authority – Wayne Clanton to the Northeast Alabama Water & Sewer Authority and Approved hiring Lala Stowe as Probate Clerk;

Approved Solid Waste Exemptions for 2023 as presented by the Cherokee County Health Care Authority;

Approved the Liability Coverage Renewal and Property Program Renewal with the ACCA for 2023;

Approved hiring Frank McDaniel as a Heavy Equipment Mechanic at the County Highway Department;

Approved renewal of the Blue Cross/Blue Shield for March, 2023 though February, 2024;

and also approved ARPA Funds for the Cherokee County Rescue Squad in the amount  of $20,000.

The next meeting of the Cherokee County Commission is set fr Monday, January 9th at 10:00am in the Cherokee County Administration Building on the Cedar Bluff Road in Centre.

;