Dogging it: Tempers flare at council meeting

By Doug Russell, News Editor

McCURTAIN, July 16 — It could have been the scene from a movie, with city officials trying to remain calm as irate citizens shot rapid-fire words and dropped a few profanities that exploded like hand grenades in the town council chambers Tuesday night.

On this side, a room full of people who feel like an outsider is trying to muscle them around. On the other, town officials who say they are trying to improve the community while trying to operate within the letter of the law.

The regular meeting of the town’s council got off to an inauspicious start when it began 15 minutes late, and didn’t get better until the meeting’s close more than an hour later. At issue was everything from how council positions were filled to the way the town’s police department operates, from what time bars in McCurtain close to not having a lot of fun at the Fourth of July street dance.

Very little of which was on the council’s agenda for the meeting.

Former council Chairwoman Barbara Porter was not at the meeting Tuesday night. She had, instead, submitted a letter of resignation. Council member Melvin Blaylock attempted to explain that the board couldn’t just appoint someone else to fill the position, or even formally accept Porter’s resignation since the item was not on the meeting’s agenda. “We’ll have to do that next month when we can get it on the agenda,” he said.

To the cheers of many others, one man accused board members of “running things the way you want instead of representing the people,” even as he refused to listen to an explanation of the way governments for towns McCurtain’s size are supposed to be operated.

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