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Aldermen still mulling juvenile curfew after second hearing From left, Mark Ballard, Sandra Sistrunk and Lynn Spruill
Aldermen plan to wait two to four more weeks before a final vote on a citywide juvenile curfew, following a second public hearing on the matter Tuesday at City Hall.
Police Chief Mark Ballard, who fielded aldermen’s questions at the hearing, has asked for an ordinance establishing a juvenile curfew and truancy law to decrease auto burglaries and, in turn, mitigate juvenile crime.
If passed, the curfew would apply to ages 17 and under. It would run from midnight to 5 a.m.
As mentioned in the first public hearing in May, many variables contribute to juvenile crime, Ballard said, but auto burglaries are often the key component in Starkville. Minors steal firearms out of vehicles and then use those weapons to commit violence, he said. Just this year, 36 firearms have been stolen out of vehicles as of Tuesday, he said.
Aldermen receive update on Starkville park finances, new hours
STARKVILLE Starkville Parks and Recreation Executive Director Brandon Doherty updated the board of aldermen on the department’s finances, upcoming projects and amended park hours at a board work session Friday.
Currently, Parks and Recreation has outlined 90 projects to complete over the next few years. These plans include building a bathroom at the J. L. King pavilion, replacing the gym floor at the Outlaw Center and installing cameras, gates and lights at Moncrief Park. Doherty said the department examined each park and figured out the needs of them individually.
Brandon Doherty
Starkville, Oktibbeha considering juvenile curfews
Lynn Spruill
Authorities in Starkville and Oktibbeha County are weighing whether to implement a juvenile curfew in an attempt to decrease crime among teenagers and pre-teens.
Oktibbeha County supervisors announced Monday they would host a public hearing to address the potential of a juvenile curfew in June. Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill said after she heard the county was considering a curfew, she wanted to establish one as well.
“We are at a crossroads in my opinion,” Spruill said in the city board of aldermen’s work session April 30. “We have had activity north, south and in the middle of our city, and I think this is a time to recognize, to some extent, that we want parents to do it, but parents don’t seem to be parenting like they need to be.”
Residents concerned about crowd size, violence at McKee Park Starkville city officials, led by Ward 2 Alderman Sandra Sistrunk, speak at a town hall meeting at McKee Park Thursday evening. Sistrunk presented both short-term and long-term plans for creating a safer environment in city parks. Tyler B. Jones/Dispatch Staff
Tytus Brown mentors kids at McKee Park every week through his mentorship program, Brothers Against Violence.
While he and his kids were not at the park Tuesday night when a drive-by shooting occurred just after 9 p.m., he said they had been there just a short hour prior. He said the situation upset him because he aims to prevent violence at the same place violence had occurred.