Council hears of efforts to deter speeders

The Demopolis City Council meeting Thursday started with an update concerning efforts by the Police Department to deter speeders, especially along Walnut Street.

Police Chief Rex Flowers said a radar trailer and message board has been purchased with federal funds. Delivery is expected in another four weeks. Also ordered are two radar speeding signs which should be delivered within the next week. In the meantime, he said, a police car is being parked along Walnut Street at different locations to remind drivers to heed the speed limit.

Mayor Woody Collins said continuing efforts to reduce truck traffic along Walnut Street seem to be working. Far fewer trucks are going through the city instead of using the truck route.

City project manager Mike Baker said ALDOT has approved signage along U.S. Highways. 48 and 80, and the city limits sign on the west sign of the city has been readjusted since it was out of place.

The Council approved a resolution honoring retiring Police Sgt. Monica Oliver, who has served the city for 25 years. As is the policy of the DPD, she will retain her badge and pistol.

Demopolis Area Chamber of Commerce director David Lyons received approval to host Freedom on the River activities Sunday, July 4, at the River Landing. He said the event will include a kids’ parade, entertainment and vendors in addition to fireworks.

Patricia Moore, director of the West Alabama Mental Health Center, introduced Tanner-Lyndsey Lyons, the case manager for the local Stepping Up Initiative. WAMHC received a one-year renewable grant to fund Lyons’ position, which she began in November.

Stepping Up is a national initiative to reduce the number of people with mental illness who are put in jail or treated in hospital emergency departments. It targets inmates about to be released from the County Jail, for people involved in the local criminal justice system or people who are trying to get mental health services through Whitfield Regional Hospital’s emergency department.

The program’s purpose is to reduce the burden on jails and hospitals by encouraging and providing the appropriate community services to help those in crisis.