By Donna Thornton/News Editor
The Etowah County Commission is working with the Alabama Department of Public Safety to find a new location for driver’s license testing.
Currently, the people seeking permits and licenses go to the DPS facility in Glencoe.
Alabama State Trooper Corporal Darryl Zuchelli said nothing is set in stone, however, the department is considering closing the Glencoe facility because of its age.
He said the department had requested that the commission try to find space at or near the courthouse for an office.
Commission members at the July 16 work session were anxious to find a place for an office, and planned to offer space in the old Department of Public Health building.
Zuchelli said it would be a great benefit to have a license office more centrally located, and near so many other governmental offices at the courthouse.
People from the western side of Etowah County have to drive all the way across the county to the licensing facility in Glencoe now, he said.
Zuchelli said the Glencoe site would not be closed before another site is found.
Commission members expressed the concern that if a new location can’t be found, the license office might close outright, and people from Etowah County might have to go to Jacksonville for driver’s licenses or permits.
They, too, appreciated the idea of having a driver’s license office nearer to other county offices.
“You know, when you pass that driver’s license test it feels like it’s 100 miles back to the courthouse to get the license,” Comissioner Kenney Tidmore said, getting a laugh from other commission members.