By John Howell
Sandra Darby was re-elected South Panola School District Board of Trustees’ president, Lygunnah Bean was elected vice-president and Buddy Gray was elected secretary Tuesday night by fellow school board members at the start of their January meeting.
No other nominations were voiced, and all took office by acclimation.
For Darby, it was the first meeting of her third term on the trustee board, following her re-election to the seat in November.
Trustees, guided by SP Superintendent Tim Wilder, moved quickly into the night’s business, including consideration of a proposal by Panola County Emergency Operations Director Daniel Cole for the district to purchase a trained explosives detection dog.
“Even before our bomb threat, I had been working with this with Daniel Cole,” Wilder said.
Cole has proposed a partnership where the district buys the dog and pays for its training for $11,500. In return, the county would be responsible for the cost of the dog’s handler, housing, feed, insurance, certifications, insurance and other expenses.
The dog would used for emergencies countywide, but an emergency at a school would have priority for its use, Cole’s proposal states.
The agreement is subject to approval by Panola supervisors and school trustees.
Wilder said that one dog is not sufficient to search the high school or junior high buildings without requiring considerable time.
“We had three going full-time; it took us about three hours,” Wilder said of the January 13 bomb threat at South Panola High School that forced students and teachers to be evacuated to the junior high gym and auditorium for about five hours.
“The high school is so large,” Wilder added.
“It would give us a head start,” Wilder said, while dogs from surrounding jurisdictions are on their way to assist. “If we did have a problem, we’ll find it quicker.”