Sardis City clerk hired, employee roster nears completion

By Rupert Howell
With a recommendation from the Mayor Lula Palmer, Sardis Aldermen voted unanimously to promote Assistant Town Clerk Jeannie Davis to Town Clerk during a recess meeting Tuesday afternoon.
Davis had held the position in interim since the first meeting of the month and had performed the duties prior to that upon the resignation of the former city clerk.
Palmer noted that Davis had worked under three city clerks as assistant since she began working for the city in 1998, deemed her trustworthy and recommended the promotion prior to aldermen making the position official.
The new administration rehired all city employees during the first meeting of the new administration July 5 with the exception of the police chief and assistant chief.
Steve McLarty has recently been named intermim police chief and the Sardis board voted to hire two full-time and one part-time officers during Tuesday’s recess meeting at the recommendation of McLarty.
Struggling to stay within a tight police department budget, McLarty told the board of mayor and aldermen that he was willing to work in interim through the current budget year.
Mayor Palmer warned aldermen that they may have to amend the Police Department’s budget before the end of the fiscal year to cover salaries.
The interim chief told said his goal was to have the police department fully staffed and paperwork completed so that the new chief would have time to be involved with the community and be seen.
“That’s what the board says they want and that’s what the citizens want,” McLarty stated.
McLarty said all new hires had undergone background checks with Alderman Clarence “Boo Boo” Jones noting that one of hires had previously pulled him over on a traffic stop.
“It’s okay. He handled himself professionally,” Jones assured McLarty while giving the new hire a thumb’s up.
Senior Citizens Relief Fund founder Earl Burdette is challenging churches and politicians in Panola County to provide air conditioners for needy senior citizens as part of “Operation Cool Down.”
Through the years, Burdette has used the Senior Citizens Relief Fund to provide air conditioners and fans for summer cooling, firewood for winter heating. This summer he said that he is taking a different approach, asking churches and politicians to make purchases of air conditioners themselves to be placed in the homes of senior citizens.
“I’ll get the names of the people,” he said. Further, he urged donors to “go with me to help put them in.”
Burdette said small, 110-volt, 5,000 BTU room air conditioners give people a refuge from the heat in their hot homes.
“I still go into houses where people don’t have air,” he said. “We’re right here in the Bible Belt; let’s live up to what we believe in.”
For further information about Operation Cool Down and how to help, contact Burdette at 662-519-1290.