A Rutledge Town Council member remained in serious, but stable condition Tuesday morning following a hunting accident on Saturday.

William Williams, who is serving his second term on the council and serves a Mayor Pro-Tem, was deer hunting in a marshy area behind his mobile home located in Ole' Acres Trailer Court when he apparently fell asleep and fell backwards from his tree stand.

"I spoke to his wife today and she told me he has three broken ribs, one of the ribs punctured one of his lungs and they had to inflate it," Rutledge Mayor Joe Dexter Flynn said during the town's monthly council meeting Monday night. "He is still passing a little bit of blood through that lung as well. There are no signs of paralysis, but he has a broken bone in his back around his shoulder, so they're concerned about that."

The Rutledge Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department responded to the accident and transferred Williams to Crenshaw Community Hospital in Luverne. Hospital officials worked to get him stabilized and later transferred him to Baptist South Medical Center in Montgomery.

"He was severely complaining with his back, so the first thing I thought about was paralysis," Flynn, who was at the scene of the accident, said. "We all need to be thinking about him in our prayers. He had a very close call and thankfully the gun didn't go off."

Flynn said Williams' absence at town hall would be greatly noticeable.

"As with all of our council, he's a very valuable asset to the city," Flynn said. "He assists me with the Water and Sewer Department when I'm not available to assist the superintendent of utilities to make decisions. We all wish him the best and speedy recovery."

In other business:

n Flynn revealed the city's new 90-gallon garbage cans, which will be used when the city starts its own garbage service in a couple of months.

n Flynn announced that the town's new, 2004 state-of-the-art Heil garbage truck, which was purchased with the help of an $86,250 grant awarded to the town by the United State Department of Agriculture. The city took out a $28,750 community facilities loan to help pay for the truck, 250 residential garbage containers, 10 commercial containers and a pressure washer, which cost $115,000.

n Announced the Eugene Hendricks had lettered the doors of the garbage truck.

n Agreed to continue negotiations with Coffee County for waste disposal.

n Approved a motion to begin negotiations for breaking the town's waste disposal contract with BFI. The town has to give the company a 30-day notice. Flynn said he hopes to start the town's garbage service Feb. 1.

n Agreed to begin advertising for a garbage truck driver.

n Agreed to look into the possibility of purchasing to Southern Link for $99 each. The phones would be used to help City Clerk Rita Brown communicate with town workers when they are away from their truck radios. If the decision is made to start the service, it would cost the town $46 per month for each phone.

n Councilman Eddie Stroud reported that he had been receiving complaints of potholes on North 4th Ave.

n Approved the Nov. 1 council minutes.