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Drainage issues prompt heated exchange between T'ville mayor, councilman Drainage issues prompted sharp exchanges between Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Day and council member Charles Allen at Monday's council meeting. Allen asked at the beginning of the meeting for drainage to be added to the agenda and when it came up Day acknowledged that recent heavy rains had caused water problems around the city but he explained that city crews were working on them. Allen shot back that it was all only "talk, talk, talk." He said, "There are major issues in every district. I want us as a body to put some money into drainage." He mentioned several drainage woes and said he did not want to make the issue personal but said there is a pipe in front of his house that was put in incorrectly "and the water was just turned loose." Day bristled. "I beg to differ" and said he has kept the council informed of drainage issues and remedies that have been made. Allen responded, "We listen at this over and over again." Day agreed that there are major problems but said they can't be corrected over night. "Ninetyfive percent of the pipes were put in 40 years ago. In 75 percent of the drain boxes, water can't even get into the box because they are too blooming high." In response to Allen's request for the council to be involved, Day asked for a list of problem areas from each council district and said if he didn't get a list the problems couldn't be addressed. Allen fired back that he could take a couple of rolls of film to Wal-Mart and have pictures of problem areas for the mayor that night. Day said part of the problem is making sure that a fix in one area does not cause problems somewhere else. "We could spent $3 million on storm drainage and not touch what needs to be done," Day said. Other business Chris Beckner was hired as a CDL truck driver for the city. Proposed by-law changes for the Thomasville Fire Department were approved as presented by Fire Chief Mark Sims. Firemen have already ratified the changes. A new fire truck is coming soon and Sims said it would have to go into a bay where the education and safety trailer used for school programs is kept. He asked if a bay could be installed at Fire Station 2 to house the trailer, saying too much money had been invested in it for it to sit outside. He said he would not want to spend more than $50,000 on an addition. No action was taken on the request. Mayor Day told of a plastic injection molding company that will locate an $8 million plant in Thomasville soon and said other projects are in the works too. He said the hospital is looking at attracting three new doctors by the end of the year. A resolution with the Alabama Department of Transportation was approved for a new industrial access road from Highway 43 to the south industrial park. Grant funds of $750,000 have been secured for the route.
A parade permit was approved for the Dravitan Club to hold a motorcade from the Johnson Shopping Center to New Hope Baptist Church Monday, Jan. 15 as part of the observance of Martin Luther King's birthday. The motorcade will start about 9:45 a.m.
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