**************ECRWSS****
LOCAL
POSTAL CUSTOMER
PRSRT STD
ECRWSS
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
EDDM RETAIL
inform. educate. connect.
38002.com
Arlington & Lakeland’s Community Newspaper
Lakeland
Commissioners Fire
Thomas as City
Manager
theview
theview
February 2015
LET’S GO TO THE HOP
By Terry Louderback
On January 20,
the Lakeland Board
of Commissioners
voted
3-2
to
Former Lakeland
City Manager
Chris Thomas
ter minate
the
employment of City
Manager
Chris
Thomas.
The motion to
terminate Thomas
was sponsored by
Commissioner Clark
Plunk, who declined
to comment upon
his decision when
contacted by this
paper before the
m e e t i n g .
Commissioner
Sherri
Gallick
seconded
the
motion.
Before voting,
Gallick said that she
had thought long &
hard about her
decision,
but
ultimately felt that
Thomas lacked the
necessary skills to
perform the City
Manager’s duties.
“This is not
about the past. It is
about
moving
forward & taking
Lakeland forward,”
Gallick
added.
“We need to invest
in someone with
background and
experience” to take
our city forward.
Lakeland Mayor
Wyatt Bunker, who
served with Thomas
on the Shelby
C o u n t y
Commission,
opposed
the
resolution, saying “I
do know Chris and
think he's done a
fine job as City
Manager.”
Voting
for
termination were
Commissioners
Clark Plunk, Sherri
Gallick, and Gene
Torrey.
Voting
against
were
Commissioner
Randy Nicholson
and Mayor Wyatt
Bunker. Director of
Planning
Jim
Photo Courtesy of Lakeland Elementary
In January, kindergarten students at Lakeland Elementary
celebrated the letter F with a Fifties Sock Hop. Find more
school news starting on page 7.
Interim
Lakeland City
Manager Jim
Atkinson
Atkinson
was
named acting City
Manager.
Lakeland Mayor
Bunker anticipates
that
new
city
manager could be an
i n t e r n a l
appointment, most
likely Atkinson.
“I think our
acting city manager
[Atkinson] has the
experience,” Bunker
commented after the
meeting. “I have
complete confidence
in him; I think he is
very capable of
taking [Lakeland] to
the next level. Not
only does he have a
lot
of
the
institutional
knowledge that we
need as a city
manager, he's got a
good vision and will
m e e t
t h e
expectations of this
board.”
Atkinson
has
been Lakeland’s
Director of Planning
and Administration
since February 2014
and
previously
served as interim
City Manager after
the departure of
Robert Wherry in
November 2013.
Atkinson joined the
City of Lakeland in
2005 and initially
served as Director of
Planning.
Arlington Community Schools Present Five-Year Facilities Plan
By Terry Louderback
A
Five-Year
Facilities Plan for
Arlington Community Schools was
presented to the
School Board at a
Special Called Work
Session on January
22. ACS Superintendent
Tammy
Mason described the
plan as a “fluid”
document that is
based on the as-
sumption that the
Lakeland School
System (LSS) will
open “Lakeland
Prep,” a joint middle/high
school
facility for the 2017-
18 school year.
However, Mason
added that Arlington
Community Schools
are under capacity,
and the current
agreement with LSS
could be extended to
as long as 15 years.
In that case, Mason
proposed that Arlington and DonelContinued on Page 5
Inside this edition...
Happenings — p 2
Arlington Plans Community Garden — p 2
Arlington Town News — p 5
School News — starts on p 7
Views from 38002 Photo Page — p 12
Area students (and
teachers) joined in
the fun of dressing
up in celebration of
the 100th day of
school. Find more
pictures on the
back cover.