Council members take center stage in Lanett
BY JOHN BRICE
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
LANETT — With only the approval of invoices on the agenda, comments from council members became the focus of discussion during the Lanett City Council meeting held Tuesday, Jan. 20. District 1 Council Member Denise Zachery presented a plaque of recognition to Lanett Police Chief Denise McCain.
“This plaque is for the 2025 National Night Out police-community partnership — Rookie of the Year Award 2025 — recognizing outstanding participation in America’s Night Out Against Crime,” Zachery said. “This is presented by the National Association of Town Watch to Lanett, Alabama.”
Chief McCain joined Zachery at the front of the chamber to accept the plaque and address the council.
“This is the first year ever for the city of Lanett to be recognized — 20 years without a National Night Out,” McCain said. “This could not have been accomplished with just the police department. It took the community, all of our churches, our sponsors and our council members who participated. I want to thank everybody because it took a family — a village — to get this plaque awarded to Lanett.”
District 2 Council Member Krisse Story was next to speak, expressing gratitude to citizens who helped make this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations meaningful.
“I want to say thank you to the children of West Shawmut for the amazing Martin Luther King breakfast that you all put on yesterday,” Story said. “It was really a benefit to our community. The food, of course, was amazing — [they] make the best pancakes. We appreciate you all for what you do continuously, what you pour into District 2.
“I also want to say thank you to Lambda Zeta Omega for the MLK event that you all hosted yesterday,” she continued. “It was also in District 2. Thank you again for all that your sorority does in our community. It does not go unnoticed, and we appreciate what you do.”
District 3 Council Member Brad Lynn echoed those sentiments and shared his experiences attending multiple MLK Day events.
“I also was able to go to the services yesterday at the church breakfast and then the Mount Hermon service and the lunch to go,” Lynn said. “I want to thank the people of both churches and the volunteers. It was great to get together with everybody. The service at Mount Hermon, especially with all the youth participating, was probably one of the most impactful events that I have ever been to. It was a wonderful celebration of Dr. King’s life and his life’s work. I would just like to thank the community for putting that on.”
Lynn also provided updates on progress at the Lanett airport, including the resignation of Airport Manager Craig Stapleton.
“The lease is in the final stages,” Lynn said. “We are having it reviewed by our legal counsel, Mr. Gray. Hopefully, we will have the ground lease shortly to be able to build the hangars at the airport. I would also like to call on Mr. Stapleton. I received his letter today. We are going to miss him, and I appreciate everything that he has done. I just want to publicly thank him for his work, and we will get to work on that right away.”
In other business
• District 4 Council Member Charles Bagley thanked the city’s electric department for addressing streetlight outages and also recognized the Fire and EMS departments for managing a consistently high call volume.
• District 5 Council Member Kim Roberts reported that an unauthorized mechanic business operating out of a private residence had ceased operations. She also noted that sanitation ordinances are being updated, with increased enforcement planned.
• Greater Valley Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Carrie Wood, provided the council with updates on recent activities and upcoming events organized by the chamber.
