Aldermen, city officials stand behind police department in the midst of Ellis trial

Police Chief Barry Tate describes the planning involved with the recent parade hosted in the City of Kennett, along with the appreciation he has for the departments that gave aid to the city during the large turnout. Following Tates description, the council reassured the chief that the city is behind the police officers 100 percent concerning the issue. Staff photo by Joshua Payne

Kennett Police Chief Barry Tate said, "I never dreamed in my law enforcement career that we would be on CNN, but unfortunately, right now, we are."

He added that he would like to personally thank McVey and Mayor Roger Wheeler, Sr., for their support and involvement in the meetings the department has hosted in the last couple of weeks involving the incident.

Tate noted that he believed the parade went very well although it 'could have been a lot worse.'

"We had not problems at all and no arrests were made, to my knowledge, unless another department did it," Tate said.

Tate explained that several departments needed to be thanked for their assistance with the march.

"If you are going to commit a crime in the City of Kennett, yesterday would have been a bad time, because everywhere you looked there was either a highway patrol car or deputy sheriff," Tate said.

He added that the event went over pretty well but involved a lot of planning.

"This is the biggest event that I have ever been involved in," Tate said.

He also noted that the Dunklin County Sheriff, Bob Holder, stepped up, 'as usual, and helped quite a bit.'

"We actually have a long way to go because we still have a trial and we still have to deal with this," Tate said. "I don't know how long this is going to go but I hope it ends tomorrow or the day after and we never hear from it again."

Wheeler commended Tate and his department for the job that was completed during the march.

"At my request, I ask the department to not position themselves to where a confrontation could take place and they responded well and brought respect to the department," Wheeler added.

McVey noted that the department acted appropriately and that Tate acted very well in planning and receiving cooperation for the event. He added that the cooperation included the Dunklin County Sheriff's Department, Stoddard County, Pemiscot County, Sikeston, Mo., Highway Patrol, FBI, ATF, and Department of Justice.

"The event went smoothly without disruption and there were plenty of opportunities for disruption," McVey said. "The Police Department should be commended for its work."

Crafton added that the event overshadowed the importance that the city stands behind the officers involved in the arrest three years ago.

"I don't want the good job of the officers three years ago to be overlooked," Crafton said.

McVey informed Tate that he was asked by CNN earlier in the night to comment on the city's stand on the issue and he informed the reporter that the city stands behind the officers and the reports completely because they did them right.

Also during the meeting, Street Commissioner Randy Carter informed the council that the department was still working to repair streets around the city.

He added that the city had another collapsed portion of a street on Third Street and that the department would be looking to correct the issue within the next few days.

In regards to the compost, Carter explained to the Council that the brush pile was still smoldering from the recent burn to the amount of water trapped in the bottom of the pile.

He also noted that the compost received a total of 10,192 loads from January 31 up until November 7, which was the day of the burn. Since November the 7, the compost has received an additional 243 loads, according to Carter.

He informed the council that the compost expansion needed to be completed at this time.

"The gates have been ordered and will be in next week but we need to put some more base material," Carter said.

He added that the compost would have to dispose of the wood chip piles before the base material could be placed.

During the Miscellaneous portion of the meeting, Alderman Larry McDowell approached the council with three subjects.

The first subject was a recommendation from the police committee to hire Trina Bell as a Kennett police officer through the COPS grant that the city recently received.

The council approved the hiring of Bell who will receive approximately $1,700 per month.

The second subject from McDowell was to receive the council's approval for the police committee to pursue the acquiring of a drug dog.

Alderman Mark Ellis informed the council that he had been made aware of a program where the Air Force will donate dogs to agencies such as the city without the proper funds to purchase the animals.

The dogs are donated because they have failed the Air Force Program.

Ellis explained that the Air Force Program is very strict on the animals.

"The Airforce has so many dogs that they don't have the time to work with each individual dog very long and they will donate it to the agency," Ellis said.

Once the dog is donated, Canine Unlimited will take the time to train the dog for a $2,500 fee, according to Ellis.

McDowell and Ellis both informed the council that the committee would like to pursue collecting the funds to purchase a dog.

The council approved the police committee to pursue the raising of the funds needed to purchase the training for a donated dog.

"That is a great idea and I would like to see it happen," Wheeler said.

"This is not only good for the city, but the entire county through the Sheriff's Department," McDowell said

The council also approved a third recommendation from McDowell to have an ordinance proposed for a future meeting which would limit the parking in the outer circle of the Kennett Square to two hours.

In other matters that came before the council:

* The council was informed that an ordinance would be presented at the next meeting to set the filing dates fro the regular city election on April 6, 2010;

* The council was informed that an ordinance would be presented at the next meeting to set out criteria for the Chief of Police to use judgment with public safety, along with the city's interest and interest of individual's desiring to hold a parade or march within the city;

* An ordinance authorizing the mayor to appoint one member of the council as a non-voting member to each of the official boards in the City of Kennett;

* The low bid of $1,502,834.75 was accepted from R. L Persons Construction Company for the Airport Improvement;

* and The council approved the request of $10,000 in additional funds to complete the dog pound project following an inspection from the Department of Agriculture earlier in the day.

The next Kennett City Council meeting is scheduled at 7:30 p.m., on December 1, 2009.