STARKVILLE, Miss.—On the first and third Tuesday of every month, Alvin Turner, Ward 7, walks up to the podium in front of the Starkville, Miss., Board of Aldermen and Mayor Lynn Spruill and reads his community reports from a sheet of notebook paper on which he scrawled down key points.
He said he has rarely missed a Starkville Board of Aldermen meeting since 2004, when he settled into city life in Starkville after growing up in Oktibbeha County near the county lake dam. But he’s been attending the meetings regularly since the 1980s, Mayor Spruill told the Mississippi Free Press.
“If I miss a meeting, they’re (city leaders) going to check on me because ‘That’s not like Mr. Turner to miss a meeting,’” he told the Mississippi Free Press on Dec. 3.
On a Tuesday evening in 2005, he was walking near Louisville Street to get to the board of aldermen meeting at Starkville City Hall on Main Street when a drunk driver struck him and the force launched him into the grass. Thankfully, he did not break any bones. After he returned home that evening, he realized he did not have his gloves, so he returned to the scene and noticed the side mirror from the car that hit him in the road.
He brought the mirror to the police station, and after that, the Starkville Police Department volunteered to chauffeur him to and from the meetings to keep him safe.
Turner is now 65 years old, walks with a cane and often wears a neon safety vest for visibility. He still carries around a flip phone, which he has repaired with clear masking tape. He has epilepsy, which causes grand-mal seizures that prevent him from driving, and rheumatoid arthritis, which causes parts of his body to be stiff from doing strenuous work as a child.
“The doctors told me I could live with it, as long as I keep myself occupied and not stressed,” he said.
When he’s not at a board meeting, Turner is an active member of the Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. He hangs out in his neighborhood or at the local barber shop and gets feedback from the community to report at the meetings. He said that when he receives information, he engages in critical thinking to determine whether the topic is relevant to bring up to the board. After the meetings, he goes back and updates the community.
“Some people, they won’t come to the meetings and let the people know … (so), they tell me, and then I let them know—that way they can’t say, ‘Nobody told me,’” Turner said.
‘Consistent (and) Concerned’
Usually, Turner is the only person to speak during the citizens’ comments section of the meetings. Ahead of Election Day each year, he encourages citizens to vote and be active members of the community, and he will warn people about potentially negative effects of electing certain candidates. Otherwise, his comments focus on safety in the community.
“To me, he’s one of my best constituents because he’s always at the board meetings. He’s always got some comments,” Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn told the Mississippi Free Press on Dec. 4. “He’s a very upstanding citizen, very. He’s going to go vote. That’s one thing he’s going to do.”
Vaughn said he admired Turner for his dedication and consistency. In the 16 years that the alderman has been on the board, he said he could probably count how many times Turner missed a meeting because he always shows up unless he’s sick.
“I think a lot of Alvin, not just because he’s one of my constituents. I think a lot of Alvin because he’s consistent in what he does and he’s very concerned for the city,” the alderman said. “(And) not just around him … He gets concerned about what goes on in the state and what goes on in the world.”
Defending Pecan Acres
In 2018, Turner said he was particularly outspoken in defense of his neighborhood, Pecan Acres, which is conveniently located behind Highway 12 near several restaurants and stores, when developers wanted to seize the land to build commercial businesses. He also noted that he and many of his neighbors were elderly and had disabilities that would make it hard to relocate to a new residence “out in the boondocks” across town on Highway 182. Pecan Acres is near a SMART bus stop, letting residents ride the bus around town, but the proposed relocation did not have a bus stop.
“How can you go along with someone that wants to move people that’s in a good location for money?” Turner said.
Alvin Turner recalled attending an aldermen meeting in which he spoke during the citizens’ comments section and walked out of the meeting while Vice Mayor Roy A’. Perkins was speaking, which Turner said shocked the Ward 6 alderman.
“I spoke my piece, I got my walking stick and my paper, and I walked out,” Turner said, noting that Perkins chased after him, saying “Mr. Turner, Mr. Turner!” but Turner ignored him and kept walking.
He said both the developers and the person leading the reconstruction idea suddenly died in the midst of planning the project, so the plans did not come to fruition.
Vaughn noted Turner’s passion for his neighborhood and recalled the discussion around relocating it.
“Now, he didn’t take that too well when we talked about changing locations for Pecan Acres,” the alderman said.
‘One of My Heroes’
Turner said he was thankful to live in Starkville for three reasons: Firing a gun is illegal in city limits; the sanitation crew picks up the garbage twice a week; and maintenance is quick to reply to work orders at his apartment.
He spoke highly of the city’s current aldermen and Mayor Lynn Spruill. The citizen also said he had a deep level of respect for the Starkville Police Department, especially after he viewed police academy trainings for a couple of months and watched the K-9s in action.
Mayor Spruill called Turner “one of my heroes.” She said she reviews her notes, which include his comments, in the staff meetings the city has on the Wednesdays after board meetings.
“I am inspired by his dedication and his continued interest in the community and his willingness to share and be a part of making Starkville the best she can be,” she told the Mississippi Free Press on Dec. 4.
Do you know a Mississippian you believe deserves some public recognition? Nominate them for a potential Person of the Day story at mfp.ms/pod.
