Three members, 1 guest, City Manager, City Clerk and Police Chief met for the December City Council meeting. Members attending were Rhonda Skelton, Dianna Brannan and Joshua Marshall.

After the minutes and claims were approved City Manager Calem Woodward gave a run down on current projects which include the neverending task of filling potholes and making necessary repairs to buildings and vehicles for the winter months. Currently working on leaks and getting ready for our DEQ inspection of the wells and sewer plant. He discussed that he and County Commissioner Gary Starns were going to meet regarding a possible grant for road improvement. He stated the grant if approved required a 10% commitment from the town. As the plans are gathered, we will see how much that would amount to. Again, this is just a preliminary discussion.

The dates and times for the monthly meetings were set. This year we are going to try out having our monthly meetings starting at 6 p.m. and see how that works out. Approved holidays are New Years Day, Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus/ Indigenous Peoples Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Court dates are scheduled to 3:30 on the second Monday of each month. Megan Brooking is our Judge.

Dianna Brannan attended the 3-day mock disaster drill with Pontotoc County. The drill was for a significant Ice Storm that would cripple the area and knock out power. Plans were made for warming/ eating/sleeping stations, making sure our water and sewer generators were ready and the availability to get fuel for our generators. Allen First Baptist has volunteered the New Life Center as a gathing place for disasters. We are sure the other churches could be counted on for food, transportation or helping at the shelter. Commissioner Starns and District #1 would help with delivering sand and salt if needed. We feel like we are fairly well prepared; the weakness we feel is making sure the most vulnerable of our town would know how to get to a warming station or have food and blankets delivered. Of course, we would use social media but if the electricity is off for long then we would rely on able body neighbors to take care of them or notify someone that could help them.

Police Chief Darrell Armstrong he has had an increasing number of regarding suspicious people in town. We would like to remind everyone to be a good neighbor and watch out for your neighborhood AND even if you post it on Facebook please report it to the police department. We cannot watch Facebook at all times plus time is usually of the essence so make the call first. At present we have been getting a vague report of someone walking around town in a black hoodie acting suspicious, so if you see something, say something. We are waiting for the decals for the police car so that we can mark the vehicle.