SCOTT CITY WILL BEGIN TESTING HOMES FOR LEAD CONTAMINATION

SCOTT CITY -- The city's water superintendent will soon begin testing homes in Scott City for possible lead contamination in the water.

The testing was discussed at a Monday meeting of the Scott City Council.

Water Superintendent Douglas Curnell said the testing is being done to comply with state regulations. The tests will be done through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

Curnell said no specific problems have been discovered in the city's water system, but tests will be done to comply with a new state law. The tests would detect if water pipes in individual homes are possibly causing unsafe levels of lead to be contained in the drinking water.

Water testing will be done free of charge by the city. Preliminary testing will begin soon, Curnell said, and secondary testing will begin in July. If any tests detect unsafe levels of lead in drinking water, Curnell said he will be able to tell from DNR reports which homes are at risk.

"If DNR results indicate some levels are too high, we'll have to do something to correct it," he said.

Curnell said most lead problems in drinking water caused by unsafe pipes can be avoided if residents let water run out of the faucet for several minutes before drinking it.

The city cannot conduct tests on pipes in a home unless the owner volunteers for the testing. Anyone interested should call City Hall, he said.

In other business, several residents at the council meeting said they are tired of hearing city officials publicly belittle the city's reserve police force.

Dorothy Thompson asked city officials when controversy over the reserve officers was going to stop. Some city officials have been critical of the reserve or volunteer force since a police car driven by one of the officers was hit by a train after becoming stuck on the railroad tracks last month.

Thompson said the reserve force should be commended for its volunteer work instead of being ridiculed and "cut down."

"I really think the town needs to stand behind them," she said.

Mayor Shirley Young said she agreed with Thompson. "No one can say I haven't been supportive of the police department," she said.

Thompson said the reserve officers are unfairly condemned for "doing their job.

"If they weren't doing their job, no one would have anything bad to say about them," she said.

Young said she feels it is a minority of citizens who feel the reserve officers are not an asset to the department.

Eric Schafer, a regular officer with the department, approached the council and accused two councilmen of having a personal vendetta against the department and the reserve officers because members of their families had recently been given traffic tickets.

Schafer accused Councilmen Ron Oller and John Rogers of failing to "back the police department."

Roger and Oller denied the charges. Oller called Schafer's public outburst against himself and Rogers "unprofessional."

Rogers said he had complained about an officer. But he said he had not filed a complaint against him personally, but instead had complained about an officer who had been speeding through town and tailgating another driver. Rogers said he only knew which police car was involved and not who was driving it.

Oller said Schafer should not have been allowed to make personal attacks on council members and their families during a council meeting.

"A good supervisor would have shut him down," Oller said.

Council members also discussed replacing two "Welcome to Scott City" signs along Interstate 55 with new signs. But no definite plans were approved.