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Council welcomes new members
The Caruthersville Council opened their regular meeting on April 17 with the swearing in of the new council members. Josh Rittenberry was elected into the position left open by Teddy Cheek and Sue Grantham was elected into the position released by Johnny Harmon. As Harmon rose to pass his seat to Grantham he shared a few words with the council and attendees. “I want to thank the citizens of Ward 3 for entrusting me in this position. I am grateful for this opportunity to serve you and our community. To the employees and supervisors, keep up the good work and always remember who it is you work for. To the Jones boys, there is not a finer more dedicated group of individuals as Tony and Charlie. You both do an outstanding job. Lawrence Dorroh, I appreciate all of the council you have given me. Men and women of the council, thank you for your dedication to this community and its people. It has truly been an honor to serve with you.”
As the regular session continued, Councilperson Nick Cartee brought up the tabled issue of the city employees insurance. Stating he felt the insurance committee should begin looking immediately at other options so that when the next renewal date comes around they will be better prepared.
John Ferguson from the Planning and Zoning Committee spoke about their past meeting stating resident Eric Petersen would like to have an area rezoned to C1 for a new funeral home. While resident Wendell Hoskins has an area on Carleton he would like to have rezoned. A public hearing will need to be held regarding these hearings, this was scheduled for May 15.
Chief of Police Tony Jones shared as weather warms up there have been more fight calls. Many of these fights are being posted on social media for entertainment. He stressed fighting will not be tolerated in any form and charges will be pressed. City counselor Lawrence Dorroh said there are already potential charges in place for those who take part in fighting and adults who allow it.
Jones stated crowds are beginning to gather again on East 13th and 14th. “Every neighborhood deserves peace, so we will make sure they have it,” said Jones as he explained tickets are being issued for noise ordinances and blocking the roadways.
During the Mayors report, Mayor Mike McGraw explained the airport courtesy cars transmission has gone out and he feels the expense to repair it would quite probably exceed the worth of the car.
McGraw shared, Jim Rosen of PACE Properties of St. Louis is in charge of marketing the building that once housed Wal-Mart. Rosen told the Mayor he must sell Caruthersville as a community in order to gain a potential new tenant. McGraw said, “We all need to do a better part to be positive about Caruthersville.” Currently, 6 different people have contacted Rosen regarding the property. McGraw says they will share the information on the potential tenants so that if the Wal-Mart building isn’t right for them, then perhaps another building could be found to better serve them.
The Caruthersville Nursing Center was recently purchased by Southgate. Now that it is privately owned, it will no longer be qualified as tax exempt and has been assessed at $601,420. Wal-Mart was assessed at $336,000 according to McGraw.
Teresa Tidwell of the Caruthersville Library shared about the recent grant the library received. She will turning in request for numerous new books and some special programs for robotics.
Dawn Jordan shared about the many upcoming community events that are being offered this summer. From Fun in the Sun to a new bike club, there is much happening in the City of Caruthersville and she encourages everyone to take part. More information can be found about each of these upcoming events in this weeks edition.
Councilwoman Barbara Rodgers told the group that many of the area children use the library as a place of safety. Attendees applauded Tidwell for her great work in bringing life to the library. Some 200 people from all over the area visit daily with the library being open 7 days a week. Kids can always be seen after school each day, playing on the computers, reading a book or taking part in the activities. “Many of these children are not just starving for attention and a safe place, but they are physically hungry as well,” shared Dawn Jordan. Jordan encouraged the group to stop by and visit and to do more to help our community children and families.
Discussion moved to the topic of the recent request to re-zone the property on East 7th. This area was last used as the FEMA trailer housing but has not been used since. The landowner would like to have the property rezoned to allow for a mobile home park to be put in. In the last meeting, the issue was tabled so the group would have more time to consider the proposal and speak with community members. Counselor Dorroh noted it would take a majority of the council in order for this to pass and with three members missing, it would be a good idea to hold off on the discussion. Councilperson Cartee agreed stating it would only be fair to wait until the entire board was there.