To the Editor:

After reading a front page article entitled “Sardis demotes SPD chief,” in the Tuesday, July 10, 2007, edition of The Panolian, I was startled at the inaccuracy on some of the information printed.

The mayor, board of aldermen, and citizens of the City of Sardis have benefited greatly from our ability to maintain a truthful, open and respectful relationship with our local press, The Southern Reporter and The Panolian. They have done us a great service in terms of promoting our city. However, I feel that both of these newspapers did a great disservice to our city when they printed that, “The mayor blamed the non-notification of the newspaper on the city clerk, Odessa Johnson, who was on vacation Monday.”

I, as mayor, called an emergency special meeting, which was held on Monday, July 9, 2007, at 10 a.m. As usual, proper notice was given regarding the meeting. Non-notification to the newspaper was an honest oversight on my part. I never placed blame on anyone for not having notified the newspaper and certainly not the city clerk, who as you accurately reported was on vacation. The meeting agenda involved personnel matters which sometimes require executive sessions which the city invites the press to sit in on as a demonstration of our openness to the press and our confidence in their accurate reporting.

I appreciate the value, power, and influence of the press. The Panolian and The Southern Reporter have no doubt, served as friends to this city in the past.

We trust that relationship to continue.

Sincerely

Alvis L. Dye