By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor

Dexter’s city administrator has been tapped by the Speaker of the Missouri House to serve on a special  statewide transportation panel.

Speaker Steve Tilley, R-Farmington, has appointed Dexter’s Mark Stidham to serve on the Blue Ribbon Citizens Committee on Missouri’s Transportation Needs.

The unique panel will work alongside the Missouri Department of Transportation and will meet several times and locations throughout the ShowMe State to discuss local issues and funding ideas. At each meeting the committee will observe a presentation on local projects fro MoDOT officials.

“With large transportation projects being proposed, I want to make sure all of Missouri’s transportation needs are considered and that we take a close look at how they are funded,” Tilly said. “The Blue Ribbon Citizens Committee on Missouri’s Transportation Needs is a great way to check the pulse of the state by provided an opportunity for Missouri’s citizens to voice their opinions. 

Stidham, who has served as Dexter’s city administrator for 11 years, says he is honored to have been asked to serve on the special committee and helping to developed ideas and plans to improve Missouri’s transportation needs.

“I’m looking forward to listening to ideas throughout the state,” Stidham said Wednesday afternoon. “Hopefully the committee can come up with some good ideas for the future.”

Stidham said that as one of the only members of the panel from the Bootheel, he is hoping the committee will meet in Dexter to learn about the needs in this corner of the state. Duane Michie of Hayti, a former member of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, has also been appointed to the panel.

The committee will be chaired by former Senate President Pro Tem Bill McKenna of Jefferson County and former House Speaker Rod Jetton of Marble Hill.

The Blue Ribbon Citizens Committee serves as a microcosm of Missouri citizens, representing numerous interest groups throughout Missouri,” Tilley said.