BY ANDY TAYLOR
chronicle@taylornews.org

A Caney resident who has been the subject of nuisance complaints took a swipe at city councilors Monday, saying he would contact the American Civil Liberties Union about the council’s practice of starting each meeting with a prayer.

Kenith Butts was present at Monday’s monthly council meeting as part of the council’s ongoing efforts to enforce nuisance ordinances at his property on North State Street. Butts was cited by the City of Caney on Christmas Day for harboring fowl, which is against city ordinances.

Butts said the ordinance was created specifically against him, however Mayor Dale McBride denied Butts’ assertion and suggested that he take his concerns to municipal court.

That’s when the conversation shifted from fowl to prayers. Butts said he would consider cleaning up his property if the council were to remove the invocation at the opening of each meeting. Butts said he found the prayers to be offensive and that he would contact the ACLU about the matter.

Tempers flared during the course of the conversation. Councilor Joe Taylor reacted by saying Butts should leave the meeting. Butts began walking out of the council chambers before turning and taking one final dig at the council. He reportedly said that he would soon move from Caney and that he hoped the community would blow up when he leaves.

Butts will return to the council meeting in February to discuss the removal of unwanted materials from his property. Butts has until the second week in May to have his property completely cleaned up. He will also appear in municipal court on Feb. 2 to answer the charges of harboring fowl.

Butts reportedly said the the Feb. 2 court date would conflict with he and his wife’s wedding anniversary.

In other business transacted at Monday’s meeting, the council:

• reappointed the Montgomery County Chronicle as the official city newspaper for legal notices for 2010.

• issued a payment request for $13,147 for Bulldog Building Systems, a construction firm that is designing the City of Caney’s new fire station at Third and Spring streets.

• issued a payment request for $31,395 for the rehabilitation of four local homes that qualify for the City of Caney’s home rehabilitation program.

• learned that the City of Caney could qualify for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for labor and materials associated with snow and ice removal following the Christmas Eve blizzard. Don Whitman, city administrator, said the City of Caney incurred almost $4,000 in overtime labor, materials and fuel costs in the removal of snow and ice from city streets.

The information will be forwarded to Jim Miller, Montgomery County Emergency Preparedness Director, who will ask for a presidential declaration to be made allowing Montgomery County to qualify for FEMA assistance.