A fallen hero will be honored by the county he once called home when Burlington-Macedonia Road is renamed for Theodore Uland “Tuc” Church.

Church’s mother, Betty Church, recently made the request to the Lawrence County Commissioners.

At its regular Thursday meeting the commissioners told Church her request was unanimously supported by them.

“Tuc” Church was 32 when he was killed during the Memorial Day 2007 holiday as he served in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The helicopter the chief warrant officer was piloting crashed in heavy enemy fire. The soldier was with the 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division.

He was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star.

“We know a mother’s heart is never comforted,” Commission President Les Boggs told Betty Church. “But this will let the world know what he did for his country. He was very patriotic.”

There is at least a minimum wait of 21 days before the name of the road can be changed to allow the county engineer to place a public notice in the newspaper, hold a public viewing and a public hearing.

At the hearing, individuals can speak for or against the change. After the hearing the commissioners must vote before the road can be renamed.

Also at Thursday’s meeting, Lawrence County Sheriff Jeff Lawless informed the commission that an additional $80,000 was needed for his supplies fund that pays for food and medicine for the jail and gasoline for the sheriff’s cruisers.

“We are struggling,” Lawless said. “We are going to be in need for more. Gas is one of our big expenses.”

Right now the sheriff’s office has an outstanding bill from a local pharmacy for $1,232 to cover medications for jail inmates.

“We cannot pay that now,” Lawless said.

Average monthly expense for medications for inmates is $1,200, Lawless said after the meeting. Those range from pre-natal vitamins to diabetic medications and supplies to psychotic drugs prescribed for the inmates by physicians.

The sheriff’s office started 2012 with a total budget of $3,302,254, $305,000 of that was allotted for running the jail. For the supplies account, $287,560 was appropriated. However that amount was reduced by almost $10,000 to cover bills from the previous year.

Boggs told the sheriff that the commission would discuss options with him later in a private meeting.

In other action the commissioners:

• Received the weekly dog warden’s report where five dogs were destroyed; 22 were adopted and none were redeemed by their owners;

• Approved the right of way permit for Larry K. and Sherry Bare to enter right of way on County Road 4, Etna-Waterloo Road;

• Approved Community Development Block Grant funds of $193,000 for 2013.