DECATUR -- As the sun rose on Wednesday, Nov. 5, the residents of Decatur awoke to find they had elected a new mayor.
Bob Tharp, former city councilman, defeated incumbent mayor Charles Linam in a close race during the 2014 general election on Nov. 4. Although Tharp won 56 percent of the votes in Decatur, the margin he received was only 30 votes, 133 votes to Linam's 103. He will be sworn in as Decatur's mayor on Jan. 1, 2015.
"I am honored to be elected as mayor of the city of Decatur and hold it as a high, high honor and will work hard to make the citizens of Decatur pleased and comfortable with how I provide leadership," Tharp said.
Tharp and his wife Joy moved to the Decatur area in 1986 from Strafford, Mo., where he served as that city's mayor from 1979 to 1982. He also served on the Strafford City Council and the Greene County Missouri Planning Commission.
"I lived in NWA in the Decatur area for 29 years, four of those years I spent in the county, west of Decatur," Tharp said. "My wife Joy and my family have been involved with farming operations and enjoyed that environment."
In the early 1990s, Tharp was elected to the Decatur School Board, where he served for six years. He later served as a justice of the peace on the Benton County Quorum Court until 2006.
Tharp moved his family into the Decatur city limits in 2010, just on the west edge of town. He became more active in the community, serving on the Decatur Economic Development Committee and the Decatur Chamber of Commerce.
"Four years ago we moved into the city limits of Decatur, two years ago I was elected to city council," Tharp said.
When Tharp takes office in January, he has big plans to move the city forward and continue to spur the growth that Decatur currently knows.
"As I begin this new chapter in my life, I am going to schedule a town hall meeting in the old gymnasium (community room) at city hall. The purpose of that is for me to get to know people, find out the issues on their minds for the city of Decatur, what they would like to see us do in the future as we look to develop 5-, 10- and 20-year plans," Tharp said. "I am also looking for people to step up, become part of the teams that we will be developing and engage themselves in the city government so we can make a difference and continue building this town as it has grown under Mayor Linam's leadership. I want to continue that path and make it even stronger," he said.
Part of his plan is to start a Decatur Historical Society, centering around the Decatur Depot, to help preserve the rich history of the community. He wants to bring together all the long-time residents and record their stories of the past for the future generations of Decatur residents.
The most important goal Bob Tharp wishes to achieve under his administration is to bring a sense of civic pride to a community that, in the early 1950s, nearly disappeared off the maps. He wants a Decatur that people would be proud to live in, work in and play in.
"My dream is that we have growth to support our current employment base and future employment base to the level that people will want to move to our town, to provide support to our city employees, to bridge the gap between our awesome volunteer fire department and the city, and to continue the dream of an aquatic park at Veterans Park started by a former mayor," Tharp said.
General News on 11/12/2014