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Fite will seek his 6th term as judge |
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Thursday, 10 January 2008 |
Saline County Judge Lanny Fite has announced that he will seek a sixth term.
Fite, a Republican, has a simple answer for seeking another term: “I like public service.”
Having spent 20 years in the private sector, Fite, 57, said government “can be hard to work in. What works in the private sector doesn’t always work in government.
“Everything is open to the public. It can be a steep learning curve coming into government. You have to work within the rules and regulations.”
But for Fite, all those challenges are worth it. He said he likes to set goals and see them through.
Recent accomplishments during his time in office include the completion of the new Saline County Regional Airport, new Saline County Detention Facility and establishment of a grant department.
Fite noted that the jail has features to expand and that through the grant department, more than half a million in grants have been obtained for county projects.
Handling Saline County’s continued growth will remain a challenge, Fite said; however, growth is a good problem to have, he noted.
“We’re now where we thought we’d be in 2010. We’re dealing with growth and the problems that growth brings, but I’d much rather work with the growth than not.”
Fite said the county’s projected population is a little more than 100,000. The estimate will come in May, he said, noting the county doesn’t require building permits like cities, so tracking population can be more difficult for the county.
Obtaining a long-term water source is one of Fite’s main goals. “Water allotment is most critical for Saline County,” he said.
The Saline Water Alliance is seeking a long-term water source from Lake Ouachita in working with its water purveyors. A long-range water plan for Saline County is in the works and awaiting approval from the U.S. Corps of Engineers. Funding is another issue associated with that plan, and the SWA is working with officials on the best way to obtain funding.
Fite also is working with the Saline County Economic Council to bring high-skill, high-wage, high-demand jobs in the county.
Other goals include completing the new office of the sheriff’s department at the jail on Neeley Street; completing the courtroom and support facilities for the new circuit judge, which will occupy the current sheriff’s office on Main Street; and offering weather radios to every household in Saline County.
Fite and his wife, Sherri Adams Fite, have two children: a daughter, Kellie Turner and husband Joel of Southeast Asia, and a son, Adam Fite of Conway. They have two grandsons, Jack and Max Turner. Fite is the son of Genevieve Mitchell of Traskwood.
A 1968 Benton High School graduate, Fite served with the Army in the Vietnam War. For 17 years, he was owner of Arkansas Asphalt. He is a board director for Central Arkansas Planning and Development and for Metroplan, of which he also is past board president. He is a member of the University of Arkansas Strategic Planning Committee, a board of director and secretary-treasurer of Longhills Inc., past president of the Benton Lions Club and past board of directors member of Central Arkansas Economic Alliance.
Fite is a member of Holland Chapel Baptist Church where he serves as a deacon. He also is a member of the Benton Area Chamber of Commerce. He was named Benton Citizen of the Year in 2003 and the 2002 winner of the Jack Evans Regional Leadership Award.
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