City officials name Heiselt to SSD Board

February 16, 2011

A Starkville man will begin a five-year term on the Starkville School District Board nearly one year after applying for a previous open seat. 
On a 4-1 vote, the Starkville Board of Aldermen selected Eric Heiselt to fill the seat being vacated by Bill Weeks.  Heiselt will begin March 8.  Ward 6 Alderman Roy Aâ€™.  Perkins voted against the decision. 
He first was a candidate for the seat being vacated by Dr. Walter Taylor last year.  The board first selected Susan Tomlinson to fill the slot, but Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman vetoed the action.  In his veto last March, Wiseman said he disagreed with the â€ślevel of attention that the Board of Aldermen gave to the importance of diversity in representation in evaluating the candidates for the position.â€ť
Ultimately, the board appointed the Rev. Lee Brand Jr. to the post. 
On Tuesday, the board first voted 2-3 on the nomination of Juliette Weaver-Reese, with Perkins and Ward 2 Alderwoman Sandra Sistrunk casting votes in favor of her and Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver, Ward 3 Alderman Eric Parker and Ward 4 Alderman Richard Corey voting against the decision. 
Then, they affirmed Heiselt, the director of outreach at Bagley College of Engineering at Mississippi State University. 
After the selection, Heiselt said he was excited about the chance to â€śserve the citizens of Starkville, especially the children of Starkville,â€ť he said. 
â€śThe biggest thing I want to make sure is that the community feels comfortable coming and talking to the school board, knowing that we canâ€™t solve every problem, (but) we take every challenge seriously,â€ť Heiselt said. 
The board interviewed but but did not vote on Alfreda Outlaw or Doug Bedsaul. 
In a separate matter, the board voted 4-3 to to hold a public hearing on proposed amendments to the cityâ€™s sidewalk ordinance.  Carver, Sistrunk, Corey and Ward 5 Alderman Jeremiah Dumas voted in favor of the hearing, while Parker, Perkins and Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn Sr.  voted against it. 
In unrelated matters, the board approved the final plat for The Creamery at Central Station Phase II, located in a C-2 general business zoning district on South Montgomery Street and Highway 12 Extension Phase II, a final plat located in a C-2 district on Highway 12 East. 

Editorâ€™s note: Additional items of interest from Tuesdayâ€™s Starkville Board of Aldermen meeting will appear in Thursdayâ€™s edition of the newspaper.