Jewett gains new officer-in-training

By Cornelia Grace Harrison News-Herald Reporter

JEWETT — Village Council met together on June 5 and began with public comment from resident Amber Truax, who expressed concern about speeders on her street.

“We don’t have a speed-limit sign down here. We have a lot of young children who play and people are speeding very badly.” She explained her own children are under six and she’s constantly worried about them being hit by a car. She suggested having a police officer sit at that end of town to try to deter people from breaking the law.

“I would like to see maybe getting a speed-limit sign or some cops sitting down here at the church,” she said. “It’s every day.”

Council said they agreed that speeding was an issue, but weren’t sure of a solution. One council member pointed out that when officers sit in an area, people stop speeding but as soon as the officers leave, the speeding starts up again. It’s only a deterrent as long as an officer is highly visible. Village Administrator Mike McBee was planning on adding speed-limit signs throughout the village and said he will make sure that he adds one to Truax’s street.

Chief of Police Ron Carter shared that the department is going to have a new officer-in-training, introducing Ron Carter III, his son.

“He went to the academy and passed state certification today,” Carter said. “He offered to help out down here. He’ll obviously go through a training program before he’s on his own, but we were fortunate to find someone willing to come here.”

Carter’s son is planning to gain experience before moving on to another department for full-time work. Carter assured council that while Carter III is working in Jewett, he will not be under Carter’s supervision, “I will not oversee anything he does, if there’s a complaint or issue then it goes to the mayor, or given to [another officer], but I’ll have nothing to do with it.”

During McBee’s report, council once again discussed the issue of residents blowing grass clippings into the roads. Grass clippings in the road are not just an annoyance for McBee, who spends a lot of time keeping the roads clean, but they are also a hazard. Grass clippings, whether wet or dry, create