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The Lincoln County Board of Health is continuing to search for a new director for the Lincoln County Health Department after Judy Collins, the previous director, was dismissed earlier this year.

“We are in the process of finding a replacement,” said Lincoln County Judge Executive Woods Adams. “We are working with the state to help us in the process. In a perfect world, we hope to have the position filled within a month.”

After her dismissal, Collins requested a public hearing on Sept. 11 to challenge her dismissal. Although she was not present at the hearing she requested, former employees of the health department who worked under her were there to voice complaints about the issues with the department under her leadership. There were numerous complaints about the health department having a hostile and toxic work environment under her management and an extremely high employee turnover rate.

Adams explained that she was dismissed for failure to fulfill her essential duties. It is reported that while she was director of the Lincoln County Health Department, new businesses and homes in the county were stalled as there was no one to do sewer/septic inspections or restaurant inspections.

Adams said the department’s interim leadership is working on catching up on inspections in the county and correcting the deficiencies in the department.

“We realized a change needed to be made,” Adams said. “I think we are heading in the right direction. We have an excellent interim team in the meantime, which will be a benefit for the whole county.”