Monday night at the Clinton City Council meeting, Clinton Mayor Carolyn Peters received some pointed comments and questions from a long-time resident.

Levi Sturgeon, who has served on the DeWitt County Board but because of an address change did not return to the County Board, spoke before the Council Monday night. Mayor Peters appreciates the concerns and questions brought forth, and says she has nothing to hide in the way she appoints the members of the Dr. John Warner Hospital Board.

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Mayor Peters explains when she was looking for hospital board members last year, she was up front with what she was looking for in her candidates. She was looking for candidates who had a strong financial background, some experience in business administration, or experience in the medical field.

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The Mayor feels not every board member is going to bring all the experience and knowledge she is asking for but she feels together, they have enough knowledge to run the city-owned hospital. She feels the Board needs people that can address the needs of the day within the hospital.

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It was Sturgeon's contention the Mayor's reasoning for not allowing him the opportunity to serve on the Board was not valid. The Mayor told him he could not serve because he lived in Bloomington, which was outside the hospital's service area. The Mayor maintains her stance that he lives outside the hospital's service area.

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The Mayor believes if you were to talk to the board members individually, you would find out they want to serve the community and do what is best for the hospital. She says they are trying to move the hospital along by making good decisions and through providing sound leadership.