Germantown residents fill Public Safety Education fills vacancies

The Germantown Board of Mayor and Alderman unanimously approved two residents for appointment to the Public Safety Education Commission by consent.

Clifford Priestly and Melissa Peyton will serve a one-year term on the commission.

The vacancies occurred after the chair and secretary resigned earlier this year.

Priestly works for Collierville Police Department as a school resource officer. Melissa Peyton is an oncology nurse and works at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Alderman Dean Massey, the board's liaison to the commission, said he wanted to have individuals with experience in public safety and medication. He sees the experience as valuable to issues the commission commonly sees.

The approval is the second time Massey has tried to fill the spots, but this approval was made Sept. 10 with no discussion.

Two citizens, John Peyton, husband of Melissa Peyton, and Jon Riley were rejected by the board in a 3-2 vote after a heated debate at the Aug. 13 Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting.

John Peyton is the administrator of a social media group and website called "Developments in Germantown" where citizens discuss the different projects in the city.

Riley is a military veteran and has over 10 years of experience in law enforcement.