Public servants remembered

Traffic was stopped on Fourth Street in Mount Vernon on Monday as a giant flag was unfurled in honor of Officer Tony Stallings funeral sendoff.

By Lois Mittino Gray

After the Pledge of Allegiance, Mount Vernon Mayor Steve Loehr called for a moment of silence to remember Officer Tony Stallings and Street Commissioner Jim Kilgore and their families at the May 6, Mount Vernon Common Council and Water Utility Board meeting. The Mayor thanked everyone and added, “Once again, I am proud to be from this small community for their concern. I was so impressed with the immense respect that was shown for Officer Stallings at his funeral by the entire community. Folks were lining the streets along the route, as well as coming out of businesses to show respect. It was a very impressive funeral. Officer Stallings and Commissioner Kilgore are deeply missed and will never be forgotten.”

Water Utilities Superintendent Chuck Gray gave his report at the Water Utility meeting.

He was pleased to announce that the Second Street Water Main Project is “just about finished and they are paving now.” The Mulberry Street Water Tower is finished after a complete cleaning and painting, is now being filled, and will be back in service soon. “There have been four good sized leaks around town that we have been working on as well.”

Two filters at the water plant have failed, but Gray assured Board members they are just from normal wear and tear. Number Three filter should be down about two weeks and Number four has already been fixed.

Local resident Paula Rudibaugh piped up from the audience saying, “There was a big leak in my block on Eighth Street. When I looked out my door, all I could see were the tops of the working guys’ heads. They were working so deep in that hole. I was very impressed and I would like you to tell them I said they did a really good job.” Gray smiled and replied, “We are very fortunate, we have a great bunch of maintenance guys. They do a great job.”

During Legals of the Mount Vernon Common Council meeting that followed, a public hearing was opened by the Mayor for comments on an ordinance concerning sewage pretreatment and discharge limits and fees for hauled waste. This has been discussed at several meetings to begin receiving hauled waste from other cities and agencies at the city’s sewage treatment plant and rates to charge for the service. There were no comments, so Loehr closed the Public Hearing. Councilman Andy Hoehn made a motion to pass the ordinance on third reading. A roll call vote was taken by Clerk-Treasurer Sitzman and the motion carried. She will label it number 26-14.

The Mayor also stated, as a follow up from the last meeting, Attorney Beth Higgins has given them a snippet of some of the regulations concerning ORVs (off-road vehicles). He added this is just for them to read over and they will have a brief discussion at the next meeting.

In District Reports, Third District Councilman Hoehn noted the big hole on Smith Road is fixed and it looks good. He said the water level is up in the pond, but Mayor Loehr added, “It is leaking again.” Fourth District Councilman Rusty Levings reported he has a meeting next week concerning the residential speeders in Lawrence Addition. It is an issue he has been studying and working on for several months. “I’m slowly plugging away at it and may soon have answers for you,” he told his fellow councilors.

Councilwoman-at-Large Jillian Brothers reported that Spring Sports are now in full swing, and the park fields are filled with families. She mentioned the ‘Feeding the Future’ summer school lunch program, since it is coming up soon. “Just a reminder that this is not income based and is available for all students in the summer when school is out. The main ‘station’ is at the Point Township campus and there are four or five locations where food can be picked up. Those will be listed on social media, and information will also be going home with the kids.”

In Mayor’s Announcements, Mayor Loehr stated the Hagemann Event Center is coming along very well. “On June 1, they will be bringing in the steel. You should go out and see how much is going on out there,” he observed. “Work on Tile Factory Road is in progress. They did hit a snag with CenterPoint Energy, which was resolved. Now it is AT & T that is dragging their feet some in moving poles.”

“Second Street is looking a lot better,” he continued. “Lastly, July 1 will start the 250 Relay America. It will be coming through Mount Vernon around October 10 and/or 11. This should be an interesting event. Folks will be needing a place to spend the night, and they will need to be fed,” he explained.

The Mayor also said new banners went up today marking the nation’s 250th Birthday, and the corner park has trees and landscaping scheduled.