Staff writer

The town of Caddo hosted the third in a series of Democratic candidate forums Thursday night. Topics ranged from the desire to re-open the Caddo Nursing Home to the handling of the jail, as well as very heated discussion between attendants.

Sen. Jay Paul Gumm and Rep. Paul Roan addressed the crowd prior to the introduction of candidates. Each candidate was allowed five minutes to introduce themselves and share with the community their plans for the future of Bryan County if they are elected.

Clay Andrews, candidate for County Commissioner District 3 was first up, stressing his willingness to get out in the community to help. Andrews said he plans to “work for you and listen.” He believes his experience in working with the Choctaw Nation through the years and being a member of the Bennington School Board shows that he is willing to work to better Bryan County.

Following Andrews, Chris Hart opened his speech addressing the immediate need to re-open the Caddo Nursing Home in hopes of offering the residents who lost their home a place to come back to. He claimed that if he is elected as commissioner for District 3 that he will “keep all roads maintained and be efficient.” Hart promised to have an open-door policy and be available to the public at all times.

Jay Perry began by laying out what being a county commissioner actually means. Perry is a life-long resident of District 3 and stated he “believes he can make a difference.” He said that the district “needs a strong voice and I will be that voice.” Perry encouraged the community not to just sit back and complain but to get out and vote. He believes that “If you don't vote you don't have the right to complain.” Perry hopes that the community will vote for a change in District 3.

Ivan Kelly, also a candidate for District 3, believes that with his business experience he can help Bryan county “get out of this struggle.” Kelly was the first to mention opposition to a sales tax increase and stated that he “will not support a sales tax increase” which was received with thunderous applause. He hopes to maintain county funds and stretch tax dollars. Kelly stated that he will not allow employees to drive county vehicles home or for private work due to the rising cost of fuel. He believes that with his past experience as a human resources employee at a nursing home that he has what it takes to help reopen the Caddo Nursing Home and that he has the business experience, work ethic and leadership skills to successfully run District 3.

Dwayne Simpson, the current commissioner for District 1 and again a candidate for said district, followed Kelly. Simpson shared that he is a lifelong resident of Bryan County and he promises to “work hard for you.” He feels his time in office has been productive and that he has worked hard to bring in grants for numerous projects in Bryan County. Simpson said he has worked to develop the 911 system for the county which began as a basic 911 service and has become an enhanced service and that within two years will develop the ability to track cell phones by using a Global Positioning System. Simpson's platform is to “work with you” in District 1.

Nancy Conner, candidate for County Treasurer started off by mentioning her long history with the county and her 30-year career in public service. Conner said that she has received numerous complaints from citizens regarding the way the treasurer's office is currently being run. She mentioned the fact that reports that were at one time easily obtainable are now “hard to come by or not provided at all.” Conner stated she hopes to “make that office and employees proud and a place citizens are comfortable to come to.”

Tambra Eggenberg, also a candidate for Bryan County Treasurer, stated that the best thing for the office is to vote to keep her there. Eggenberg has worked in the treasurer's office as first deputy for several years and believes her current experience in that area will be the best for Bryan County.

The forum deliveries continued on a cool note as activities in the back of the Caddo pavilion heated up. Harsh words were exchanged between Crystal Spence and Lana Spence, daughter and wife of the late John Spence , and James Russell and his son Billy, as the Russells became defensive as Crystal Spence attempted to snap photos of James. The elder Russell attempted to relieve the younger Spence of her photographing abilities when the incident was broke up by off-duty Bryan County Sheriff's Deputy Butch Boucher.

Following the incident Monty Montgomery took the podium. Montgomery heated up the forum a bit by quoting the current District 1 County Commissioner Simpson as saying the county commissioner's salary is set by state statutes. He believed he needed to respond to the statements made, which he believes “contradict factual documents and public records.”

Montgomery shared the fact that the state statutes set a salary range and that for Bryan County that range is from $24,500 to $44,500 and that Simpson is currently making $43,200. Montgomery stated that “Simpson is making $1,300 less than the maximum allowed by the state while other hard working Bryan County employees haven't had a raise in four years.” He insisted that if elected county commissioner he will not accept a salary increase during his term and assured the crowd that “the State of Oklahoma will not force me to take one.”

Montgomery's speech turned to focus on the Bryan County jail situation. He mentioned the fact that the county commissioners spent nearly $3 million dollars on the two jails, that it costs the county approximately $57,000 a month to operate the jails. He also said the county currently owes more than a half a million dollars on the jail project and now the commissioners want the people to vote for another sales tax to build yet another jail. Montgomery stated that he “believes a half cent or more sales tax increase would devastate the Bryan County economy.” If elected he believes that the county should operate only one jail and plans to work to add on to the present jail for less than half a million with no sales tax increase.

“This is a huge difference between my opponent and myself. He made a big mistake with the jails before. Let's not let him do it again,” Montgomery said.

The next forum is slated for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Calera School.