A recent attempt was reportedly made by Blytheville Mayor James Sanders to talk with Mississippi County officials regarding their ongoing lawsuit over delinquent jail fees.
At a Monday meeting of the Quorum Court's Roads and Bridges Committee, Justice Michael White said Sanders called him Wednesday of last week. The call also included Blytheville City Council President Monte Hodges and bookkeeper LaVera Kuykendall, and the three set up with White a time last Friday to meet for an "informal talk." White said he told Sanders if the city would come up with a plan and present it to the county, that it might be possible to "take all of the lawyers out of it."
The talk was canceled, however. White said he was contacted a few hours before the scheduled meeting by Sanders, who said he had spoken with the city's Municipal League attorney in Little Rock and had been advised not to speak to the county on this issue at all. White said while he didn't agree with this stance, he did respect the city's decision to follow legal counsel.
Sanders confirmed this sequence of events, saying that the city's Municipal League attorney had already been in contact with the county's attorney.
"Our attorney contacted me and I told him I had called Mr. White," he said. "And his advice was that he is still in contact with the county's attorney and he would recommend that we not discuss it with them at this point because he is still trying to gather information on the case."
The Roads and Bridges Committee also discussed several recently completed and ongoing projects, which include two paving projects which were recently finished and a bridge which is currently being rebuilt. The bridge, which is located in the Gosnell area, had a wooden construction which was rotted out. According to Road Department Supervisor Tony Stone, it is being ripped out and completely rebuilt. Stone said the department's goal is to build two new bridges each year, and this one is slated to be finished within four months.
------
The Quorum Court's Police and Fire Committee also met Monday, to discuss the county's approaching upgrade of its radio equipment in order to be in compliance with FCC regulations and to maintain its ability to communicate with local law enforcement.
The sheriff's department is planning to upgrade its repeaters and vehicle radios to digital capabilities. So far, only one bid has been received for the job, at approximately $23,000 from Jonesboro Communications. The committee decided to wait for more bids to come in on the project and meet again within the next few weeks to address the issue further.
A new employee to the Sheriff's Department was introduced to the committee -- Etowah Mayor Bo McCullum is now employed as the county's juvenile jail administrator. Sheriff Dale Cook said McCullum was a good fit for the spot because of his extensive experience in obtaining grant money for the city of Etowah, and his ability to maintain and apply for grants which would help fund the juvenile facility.
sharris@blythevillecourier.com