Although the final meeting of December was brief last Tuesday, Poplarville aldermen voted to remove the stop signs on Martin Luther King at the intersection of Railroad and Dauphine Streets.

Some motorists traveling west were ignoring railroad crossing signs and stopping on the tracks while waiting for traffic to move through the stop sign, aldermen learned.

The board agreed that the stop signs were intended to help motorists to more safely cross Martin Luther King from Railroad and Dauphine Streets. Because two school teachers spoke to the mayor about their concerns over adults stopping with children on the tracks, he felt the board needed to address the issue.

After discussion, the board felt like motorists exercising poor judgment could jeopardize lives and subsequently decided to remove the signs.

Shirley Wiltshire initially believed the signs should stay, saying, “People should never stop on the tracks. They should always stop behind the white line until they can safely cross the entire track. I have enough sense to watch ahead and not stop on the railroad track.”

Police Chief Charlie Fazende added, “Along with a driver’s license, we’ve got to use a little common sense.”

Aldermen agreed it takes common sense for motorists to watch ahead and make sure they stop behind the white line until they can safely cross the tracks. In this situation, however, the group decided the stop signs were not worth the risk to local citizens.

The board also discussed the opening of the new Domino’s Pizza under construction on the Mississippi Highway 26 bypass just west of Burger King. The take-out restaurant is scheduled to open between Christmas and New Year’s.

In the spirit of Christmas, Poplarville High School students brought their talents to the board meeting by performing at City Hall for local government leaders.

The 12-member Pop Choir, under the direction of Janet Kennedy, performed three of their favorite holiday tunes before Mayor Billy Spiers and the Board of Aldermen prior to the board’s final meeting of 2008.

The students, performing choreographed moves while singing, brought smiles throughout the board room and garnered expressions of appreciation from the mayor and aldermen.

Students who performed were Callie Buras, Miranda Buckley, Megan Hamada, Frank Henry, E.J. Hodge, Ryan Johnston, Alexx Kennedy, Brianna Matthews, Michael Schilling, Maggie Toomer, Mollie Toomer and Ethan Smith.

In other business, the board voted to add Anthony Scharenbroch to its part-time firefighter roster and send John Hancock and Heath Johnson to a water supply and pollution control short course.

City Hall will be closed at noon Christmas Eve and will reopen at 8 a.m. Monday, December 29.