Mississippi County mayors meet in Osceola

Mississippi County Judge Randy Carney met Thursday with most of the mayors of towns in Mississippi County in Osceola.

Officially called the "Intergovernmental Council," the group is required by law to meet quarterly.

Osceola Mayor Dickie Kennemore welcomed his colleagues to his city and thanked Carney for organizing the meeting.

"You know, we're required by law to meet, but we haven't done so in years," Kennemore said.

Originally intended to help cities in counties distribute Act 833 moneys, which support fire departments, the meeting is a good way for the mayors to speak with each other and find solutions to problems shared by all.

Most of the mayors said that the chief complaint by citizens is the drug problem.

Carney said he was not sure how the county will solve the problem, but he and the mayors agreed to work together to combat it.

The key, Carney feels, is to get the parents and grandparents of children involved and help "phase" out the problem. He told a story of a minister's children, who were reared in the right way and still ended up going to prison over drugs.

"None of us are immune from it," Carney said. The mayors agreed.

Other issues the mayors discussed included the stray dog problem.

"We need a county dog pound," the judge said.

A few years ago, Kennemore and then-Blytheville Council member Shirley Connealy had a set of plans drawn up for a county pound near the jail. All cities in the county could help support the facility and the county could contribute on behalf of citizens in unincorporated areas.

"We took it to the county judge at the time, but he wasn't interested," Kennemore said.

All mayors agreed that the problem should be addressed as a county issue, because small towns simply could not afford to provide their own animal control facilities.

Mayor Larry Sims of Dyess told the group that his city had spent $500 last week alone in combating the problem.

Luxora Mayor Jasper Jackson sympathized with Sims, saying his city had faced the same costs. "It's very expensive to house dogs. It would cost the small towns too much to do it alone."

Dell Mayor Kenneth Jackson said his town does a very good job of controlling the dog population, maybe even too good a job.

"Our town is overrun with skunks, raccoons, rabbits, armadillos and squirrels. If there's ever a depression, we'll eat in Dell," he joked.

"Then can I bring you my dogs?" Sims asked.

In addition to drugs and dogs, several mayors, include Blytheville Mayor James Sanders, mentioned drainage problems. Blytheville is also plagued with abandoned houses.

Etowah Mayor Charles McCollom said most of his town's drainage problems were caused by persons leveling land and filling up ditches to make more farmland.

"If they'd just level toward the ditches instead of the roads. Now, the roads are lower and flood," he said.

Keiser Mayor Jerri LaRue voiced her concerns about transportation for senior citizens in her town.

Although the county's Senior Citizens Centers in Osceola and Blytheville provide transportation in those towns, there is none available in the smaller towns and rural areas.

Carney suggested that a local church might be able to transport people once a month or so in order for senior citizens to go to doctor's appointments or food shopping.

"I'll look into that," LaRue said.

Leachville Mayor Sheila Spurlock asked about the new radio system that has been installed at the sheriff's department.

"Are we going to be able to talk to them anymore?" she asked.

Sanders, who formerly served as sheriff, explained that the AWINS system will be used in conjunction with the former radio system for a while to allow smaller towns to switch over.

Only two mayors in the county were not able to attend the meeting. They were Manila Mayor Wayne Wagner and Wilson Mayor Otto Warhurst.

Carney told the mayors that they will meet again in March with Sanders serving as host. The judge encouraged the mayors to attend and participate in these meetings.

"If you have a problem in your community, then we have a problem in our county," he said.

dhilton@blythevillecourier.com