TIM PRATT

Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman on Thursday vetoed the Board of Aldermen’s appointment of Susan Tomlinson to the Starkville School District board.

“It is with a heavy heart that I have decided to veto the appointment of Susan Tomlinson to the Starkville School Board,” Wiseman said in a statement. “This decision was not easy, and I have not come to it lightly. Knowing her personally, knowing her credentials, and knowing her outstanding record of service to the schools, I have no doubt that Mrs. Tomlinson could serve the school district capably and well. However, having reviewed a deep field of uniquely qualified applicants and the current needs of the School Board, I do not feel that Mrs. Tomlinson is the best fit for the vacant position.”

Wiseman went on to say it is important for a policy-making body like the School Board to be “representative of the community” it serves.

The Starkville School District is 64 percent black, 32 percent white, 2 percent Asian, 1 percent Native American and 1 percent Hispanic. If Tomlinson, who is white, were to serve on the school board, the board would become 80 percent white and 20 percent black.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

TIM PRATT

New Light Road residents Fred and Tamara Allen have attended nearly every meeting of the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors for the past six years, but the couple stormed out of the board meeting Thursday afternoon after a heated exchange with supervisors.

“That was totally out of control,” Fred Allen said Thursday evening, several hours after the meeting.

Trouble started during the public comment period, when Fred Allen presented supervisors with a packet of information on possible funding strategies for road improvement projects in the county. He also said the Oktibbeha County Hospital, when it turns a profit, should pay money back to the county for the $27.5 million hospital renovation bond issue, and cited a complicated revenue agreement in place between the hospital and the county as a precedent for a new deal.

When Allen’s three minutes were up, board President Marvell Howard struck the table with his gavel and asked Allen to return to his seat. Allen continued to speak, however, and asked for an additional minute, but Howard was insistent on the three-minute time limit.

When Fred Allen sat down, Tamara Allen stood and asked the board to listen to her husband and meet with him to listen to his ideas.

Tensions flared again later in the meeting when District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer said he was “embarrassed” by the way the board has treated constituents throughout the years.

“I think when (Allen) comes to us and brings us all this stuff, it has merit,” Trainer said.

Howard countered, however, saying all people must abide by the three-minute time limit and that not all information presented by the public should be treated as fact. He then cited Allen’s statements earlier in the meeting about the hospital giving revenue back to the county and said Allen doesn’t understand the agreement.

It was then when the Allens gathered their belongings and stormed out of the meeting, voicing their displeasure with the board as they went.

“Don’t misquote us,” Tamara Allen said to Howard as she walked out the door.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

TIM PRATT

While the number of drunk driving arrests decreased last year across Mississippi, Columbus and Starkville proved to be the exceptions.

The Starkville Police Department arrested 430 people for driving under the influence in 2009, according to statistics released by SPD Chief David Lindley. More people were arrested for driving under the influence in Starkville in 2009 than in any other year in the history of the Starkville Police Department, according to the report. It marked the third straight year the department arrested more than 400 people for DUI, Lindley said, though he had no exact figures for 2007 or 2008.

“I think Starkville has become a more popular destination for socializing and that’s certainly one thing that’s had an effect,” Lindley said of the increase.

The Starkville Police Department also hired a fourth full-time DUI enforcement officer to patrol city streets, which could account for the increase in DUI arrests, Lindley acknowledged. But the fourth full-time DUI officer only was hired because of the high number of alcohol-related offenses in the first place, he said.

“The increase in alcohol-related offenses has sparked the need for more DUI officers,” Lindley said. “It’s more like one has an effect on the other. They both affect each other. We got another DUI enforcement officer because of the high number of alcohol-related offenses and now the number of DUIs is increasing because we have another DUI officer out there.”

The Columbus Police Department arrested 165 people for DUI in 2009, Public Information Officer Terrie Songer said. By comparison, Columbus police only arrested 116 people for DUI in 2008.

So far this year, the CPD has arrested 36 people for driving under the influence.

Songer attributed the increase in DUI arrests last year to the hard work of the Columbus Police Department.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

Mayor Parker Wiseman’s veto of a school board appointment by the BOA based solely on race, not qualifications, is truly a black eye for City Hall.

With this veto the Mayor said that qualifications don’t matter, the color of your skin does. It sets a dangerous precedent for this administration. I am truly disappointed in this move.

I can’t imagine this veto standing, especially with the Fab 5 of Dumas-Sistrunk-Parker-Carver-Corey voting. Corey probably would be the target to flip his vote.

Beyond that, you have to think that this will come back to haunt Parker Wiseman politically. I’m sure this has been filed away for the 2013 cycle.

Mayor Wiseman, praised Susan Tomlinson’s qualifications, but vetoed her based upon her race. Wiseman cited the 32% white population of the district versus the 80% white representation on the board with Tomlinson’s appointment.

One note about Alderman Perkins’ candidate for the seat, Dr. Walter Conley. Under Dr. Conley’s watch as superintendent, the Oktibbeha School Dsitrict was taken over by the Mississippi Department of Education for poor performance.

I would prefer a “racially monolithic” board (Wiseman’s phrase from his veto), than adding someone who has already led a school district to DOE take-over.

Full text of veto from Mayor Parker Wiseman:
School Board Veto0001.pdf

Next question, will the BOA override with the same 5 votes who put Tomlinson there to begin with?

TIM PRATT

The Starkville Board of Aldermen Tuesday appointed a seasoned educator and volunteer to fill the vacant seat on the Starkville School District’s board of trustees, but not before city officials exchanged contentious words on the selection.

Aldermen voted 5-2 to appoint Susan Tomlinson to fill the board of trustees seat vacated by Dr. Walter Taylor, who retired earlier this month. Ward 6 Alderman Roy A. Perkins and Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn voted against Tomlinson’s appointment.

Prior to the vote, Perkins made a motion to appoint Dr. Walter Conley, former superintendent of the Oktibbeha County School District, to fill Taylor’s seat, but the motion failed when aldermen Ben Carver, Eric Parker, Richard Corey and Jeremiah Dumas voted against Conley’s appointment. Ward 2 Alderwoman Sandra Sistrunk abstained from the vote on Conley.

When Sistrunk nominated Tomlinson shortly thereafter, only Perkins and Vaughn voted against the appointment. Perkins cited Conley’s 20 years of experience as superintendent of the Oktibbeha County School District, his two years as assistant principal at Starkville High School, and the fact that Conley taught in the Starkville, Oktibbeha County and West Point school districts, as his reasons for the nomination.

Neither Perkins nor Vaughn were pleased their fellow aldermen rejected Conley in favor of Tomlinson, who volunteered in the Starkville School District for 15 years, had two children pass through the SSD and another who is a current student, and has worked at Mississippi State University in the horticulture, floristry and agriculture fields.

“I wish that we as a board could set the leadership and start moving this city forward by doing what I think is the right thing, and we need to, in my opinion, start to make decisions that reflect the best qualified applicants,” Perkins said prior to the vote on Tomlinson. “We have a statement in our employment policy saying we want to have individuals who are the best, most qualified. If we can start doing that, we will see more progress, we can see more forward movement. If we start doing that, we will find a healthier situation, healthier relationships. I wish we could just start looking at the credentials to ensure that we make the right choices, the right decisions, about things that are going to be for the overall betterment (of the city) based on credentials.”

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

TIM PRATT

The first of two public hearings on a proposed child safety helmet ordinance drew mixed reaction Tuesday night from Starkville citizens, aldermen and former city officials.

Several residents and aldermen said they were in favor of new rules which would require persons 16 and younger to wear a helmet while riding bicycles and other alternative forms of transportation, while others liked the concept but were concerned with how the measure was written.

As it stands, the ordinance doesn’t specify who would be allowed to issue citations to violators of the ordinance. It says “any authorized agent” of the city can issue citations.

The ordinance also states a parent or legal guardian of the violator must pay a $15 fine for a first offense, although it gives the parent or legal guardian the option to purchase a helmet in lieu of paying the fine.

Mayor Parker Wiseman said only city police officers and code enforcement officers can issue citations. He also said the ordinance “isn’t meant to punitive” because its goal is to get people to purchase and wear helmets while riding bicycles and other alternative forms of transportation.

“I think, in most cases, what this ordinance is aimed at and what it will do is require a helmet to be worn,” Wiseman said.

Ward 5 Alderman Jeremiah Dumas doesn’t like the idea of a police officer or code enforcement officer stopping a child without a helmet and issuing a citation.

“So if my 10-year-old is out on her bike and she gets a ticket, are they going to ask for her driver’s license?” Dumas said to a round of laughter.

Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver had a similar concern.

“Everybody laughs about this … but if my son comes in at 6 years old with a ticket, I’m going to have a major issue with that,” Carver said. “There’s going to be all kinds of profiling issues and identification of children and things like that.”

“Half of them don’t know their street address,” Carver added.

Carver also suggested the ordinance be revised to specify that only police and code enforcement officers can issue citations. He also suggested looking into ways to enforce the ordinance without a monetary fine.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

TIM PRATT

STARKVILLE — The second suspect wanted for an October shooting on North Montgomery Street was captured today in Louisiana.

Roderick D. Franklin, aka “Bam Bam,” of 203 Middle Court, Starkville, was apprehended shortly after 12 p.m. by U.S. Marshals and the New Orleans Police Department at a home in New Orleans, Starkville Police Department Sgt. Chadd Garnett said. Garnett believes Franklin, 30, was tracked down through cell phone records, but was still awaiting more information as of Tuesday afternoon.

Franklin is now awaiting extradition back to Starkville to face a charge of aggravated assault. The other suspect in the shooting, Kenyon Cannon, aka “Smoke,” of 141 Pilkington Park, was arrested in New Orleans March 8 by U.S. Marshals and the New Orleans Police Department. Cannon still is awaiting extradition back to Mississippi, Garnett said.

“I’m just glad they’re both off the street,” Garnett said.

Franklin and Cannon, who are half-brothers, were wanted for a shooting the night of Oct. 30 in the 800 block of North Montgomery. The victim, whom police have not identified, was shot several times in the head, neck and shoulder area. Bloody and reeling, the man attempted to flag down passing motorists on North Montgomery Street and knocked on several nearby doors for help before someone called 911.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.