Political divisions stifle small town

DELTA -- When the Delta Board of Aldermen met for a regular meeting Aug. 7, there were two vacancies, and only one of the two remaining members was present, along with Mayor Carol Collins.

Despite lacking a quorum to do any business, the minutes of the meeting show that two residents, Dale Hobeck and Brenda Hargrave, were sworn in as replacement aldermen, and business proceeded as usual. Some Delta residents are now questioning the appointment of Hobeck, Collins's brother-in-law, as a possible violation of the Missouri Constitution's ban on nepotism.

Minutes of the meeting don't indicate who named the two, nor do they show whether the one alderman on hand, Dennis "Slim" Bowers, approved the new officials.

"Due to the resignation of Alderman Gary Diggs and Alderman Billie Snowden, it was determined that at this time two new aldermen should be sworn in before any further business could be conducted," the minutes state. "Citizen Brenda Hargrave and Citizen Dale Hobeck took their oaths and were sworn in by the City Clerk."

But witnesses to the events, including Bowers, said Hargrave and Hobeck were appointed by Collins. The constitution bans public officials or employees from naming or appointing "to public office or employment any relative within the fourth degree, by consanguinity or affinity." The penalty is automatic removal from office.

"Well, it really wasn't what you call voted on," Bowers said in an interview. "We were told to find somebody if we could. I had a couple of prospects and the mayor said, 'I have somebody if you don't care.' That is how it happened. I don't have any problems with anybody if they are going to help."

Collins and Snowden, who had resigned to take the job of city clerk, were vague in their recollections of the events. There is no taped recording of the meeting.

"It has to be an appointed position," Snowden said. "The mayor does it, with approval of the board." But Snowden didn't recall whether Collins made the actual appointments, nor does she remember if any vote took place. "I can't remember that far back."

"To tell the truth, I don't remember," Collins said. "They were the only ones who were interested."

The Missouri Attorney General's office, which generally handles investigations of nepotism, holds training seminars for public officials that remind them that ignorance of the law is no excuse. No complaint has been filed against Collins, spokesman John Fougere said.

Hargrave served for about a month. The minutes of Sept. 11, like those of Aug. 7, show that a new member, Rick Cobb, was sworn in as her replacement but do not record how his name was presented or whether the board took a vote.

Delta, in southwest Cape Girardeau County, is a Class 4 city of just more than 500 people. It is split into two wards, each with two aldermen. Bonnie Bradshaw is serving as the fourth person on the board of aldermen.

But the geographic division isn't as real as the split between Collins and some residents, a divide that is symbolized by a missing wall.

Removing a wall

The wall, which once separated the office of Collins from that of city collector Beverly Keesee, was removed under orders from Collins when Keesee changed the lock on her office door. But both women still use their separate doors as though the barrier had never been touched.

Keesee, collector since 2002, and Collins, mayor since April, keep their backs to each other when they are in the office at the same time and, when they speak at all, accusations fly over who is failing to do their duties and who is taking care of business.

"I ain't had nothing but problems out of you since the day I got here and I have had it," Collins said to Keesee in front of a visitor to city offices in the Delta Community Center last week.

In reply, Keesee said: "I've tried to be nice. I am through listening and talking to you."

The past year has been a period of turmoil. Evidence of the difficulties, in addition to removal of the wall, are:

• None of the four aldermen won their term at the polls. In the case of one seat in Ward 1, the current officeholder, Cobb, is the fourth person in the seat since it was filled at the 2005 election.
• The city's notice of election, which should have included a call for candidates to fill all four board seats, listed only the two regularly scheduled seats. The two filled by appointment will also be on the ballot, with an election to fill the remaining year on the terms.
• Collins and Keesee are also clashing over whether Keesee is fulfilling all her duties. Collins claims that she has the authority to direct Keesee to take on any task necessary, while Keesee contends the mayor is asking her to perform duties that have never been part of her job.

The last day to file for aldermanic seats is Tuesday. Declarations of candidacy must be notarized. The city republished its notice of elections, and posted the notice at the Community Center and other locations around town. However, the notice, which was not prepared until this past week, is dated Dec. 5.

No need for separation

The wall was removed -- along with the wall separating Collins' office from the clerk's office -- because there was no need for separation. But Keesee suspects that Collins wants access to her records when she is not at her desk.

Keesee said she changed the lock to prevent tampering with her computer records. She said that she gave a key to Collins following her election last year, and one day she came to the office and the door was open and her computer appeared to have been accessed.

She said, she said

The city is working to gain a grant for upgrading the town's water and sewer systems. Keesee, who handles water and sewer billing and collections, isn't being cooperative in allowing a new system to be installed that gives needed information to win the grants, Collins said.

"Mrs. Keesee has been resistant to everything we have tried to do," Collins said.

Keesee, however, said Collins has repeatedly sought to undermine her and force her to resign. The new computer program is a smoke screen to hide those intentions, Keesee said. "I can't get along with her," she said. "I have tried."

Two aldermen, Bowers and Cobb, said they dislike the constant contention between Collins and Keesee but said they can do little.

Keesee "has done a wonderful job," Bowers said. "She was just put in a predicament of do it this way or else, and it really went further than it should."

For Cobb, the differences between Keesee and Collins are evidence of a personality clash, not a split among townspeople. "I don't think anyone is in the wrong but I don't think everyone is in the same sheet of music," Cobb said. "I think it is just a lack of communication and one person wants to be as hard-headed as the other person is."

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126