Decatur council meets new police officer

DECATUR — In its final meeting of 2022, on Dec. 12, the Decatur City Council discussed the school zone speed limit issue that was brought up by a concerned citizen during the November meeting. The council also got the chance to meet the newest addition to the Decatur Police Department.

Steve Grizzle, Decatur police chief, introduced officer Dnae Reo Blow to the council. Officer Blow, or Reo, joined the police force as a patrol officer in November.

During the citizen comments portion of the November council meeting, Brian and Karne Kley expressed their concerns about the safety of school kids walking and or playing along Rooster Street, especially before and after Decatur High and Middle School in the early morning and midafternoon.

Rooster Street runs north and south on the east side of Decatur High School. It is a main thoroughfare that links State Highway 102 (Roller Avenue) to Decatur High School via Stadium Avenue and the residential areas to the southeast. The Kleys’ main concern was for the children that play near this street, as well as the foot traffic that transitions through the area.

Decatur Mayor Bob Tharp responded to the Kleys’ request, stating that “he would get some speed limit signs put up if it could be zoned as a school zone.” (December council minutes)

Tharp asked Chief Grizzle to check into the state regulations on school zones.

The Decatur City Council meets on the second Monday of each month in the conference room at City Hall at 6 p.m. Any Decatur citizen wishing to address the council should contact the city clerk’s office at 479-752-3912. The first 30 minutes of each meeting are devoted to citizen comments. Citizens wishing to address the council have five minutes to talk.

NOTE: Two days after the Dec. 12 meeting, the city put up 20 miles per hour speed limit signs on Rooster Street and an additional one near the corner of Ninth Street and Stadium Avenue. Motorists transiting through this area are asked to keep a constant vigil for pedestrians and observe this speed limit.

Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS A new speed limit sign on Stadium Avenue warns motorists that they are entering a school zone and to slow down in this area just southwest of Decatur High School. The City of Decatur erected this sign at the request of several area residents who feared pedestrians walking in this area might get injured by a passing vehicle.