TMCnet News
North Lee County water vote could tilt board majority [Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo](Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (Tupelo) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sept. 30--TUPELO -- Election results for one-third of the nine-member North Lee County Water Association Board of Directors will be announced Thursday, and the outcome could change the dynamics of a group often split by a single vote. Three incumbents on the rural water association's board will learn their fate against an assortment of challengers. Winners will be announced at the nonprofit cooperative's annual meeting Thursday evening at the Tombigbee Electric Power Association headquarters, 1346 Auburn Road. Among the incumbents, Ray Stanford has generally voted alongside three other board members to support chairman Terry Anderson, who succeeded in gaining approval of an $8.9 million federal loan to upgrade the water system. Four board members in the minority have criticized the deep credit line from the federal government as overwhelming and financially unsustainable. North Lee's board earlier this year scaled back initial plans for six water wells and six water tanks, instead constructing four water tanks and three wells. This leaves $2.1 million still available in the low-interest U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development loan, financed for 40 years. Other incumbents on the ballot, David Morgan and Paul Anglin, join two others in frequent opposition to Anderson's majority, claiming longterm financial liabilities should have led to alternatives. Challengers include former water association chairman Ken Clemons; Bo Bain; Carey Morgan, a former water association employee fired for improper activities after business hours; Vassar Caruther; Wayne Fitzner, a former board member who resigned under pressure in 2011; Terry Gurley, owner of Gurley's Restaurant in Guntown; Sam Piraino, a three-time candidate for Lee County sheriff; Verona business owner and attorney John Robbins; Lee County Justice Court Judge John Sheffield and David Summers, a resident of the area Tupelo annexed in 2012. North Lee association members who participated in the election mailed ballots to the main office in Saltillo by Friday. Each member voted for three choices among the 13 candidates to serve three-year terms. Anderson and other board members did not return phone calls from the Daily Journal on Monday. North Lee has faced criticism this year on an assortment of matters -- mismanaged finances, broken laws, noncompliance with federal loan guidelines, firing a whistleblower and proceeding with the $8.9 million federal loan. Some association members living in parts of Tupelo annexed in 2012 say they want to receive what they consider better water provided by the city, which charges lower rates. Sediment in North Lee water has caused discoloration when used to wash clothes and can have a foul odor. However, the association's water quality has dramatically improved in recent years after then-manager Dan Durham resigned in October 2011 and later confessed to falsifying federal documents about water testing, a federal crime. In September 2011, former North Lee employee Sonny Noble contacted the Daily Journal, resulting in public disclosure of improper activities of board members and leading to subsequent federal investigations. Noble was fired in April of this year after again contacting the Daily Journal with a copy of the association's fiscal year 2013 audit, a public document showing the association had broken the law, had money unaccounted for and employees not paid for time worked. After association members expressed dissatisfaction with a lack of information on board decisions and not being allowed to attend work sessions and some board meetings, board members agreed in July to open meetings to the public, even non-members. North Lee board members continue limited negotiations initiated by the city of Tupelo to provide water to residents in annexed areas. [email protected] ___ (c)2014 the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (Tupelo, Miss.) Visit the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (Tupelo, Miss.) at www.nems360.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |