Poplarville

Upon speaking to various people in Jackson, I learned that the Mississippi Municipal League (MML) is setting up a program where cities in north MS adopt sister cities in the south that were affected by hurricane Katrina.

I thought this was a great idea and asked to be given the name of a city still in need that hadn't been adopted yet. Smaller towns were having more difficulty with this as a majority of relief efforts have been focusing on larger areas such as Biloxi/Gulfport. The city suggested was Poplarville (pop. around 2,601 at the last census). I motioned at the last board meeting that we adopt Poplarville and in doing so see in what ways we can lend assistance to them. It was passed by the board and so I have been in contact with some city officials down there.

Their sole fire station was destroyed in the storm. Their police station suffered damage as well and had to have 3" of water pumped out of it. They've been able to restore power and water/sewer. Various homes and businesses were destroyed and of the businesses left, many of them received their goods from distributors out of New Orleans. Needless to say it will be a while before they fully recover.

Currently they are worked with FEMA to set up a temporary fire station. Once fire/police services are fully re-established then they said they will provide us with a list of whatever items they need.

Comprehensive Plan Workshop Scheduled *Important*

At Tuesday's board of alderman meeting city planner George Rummel gave a brief update on his work on the comprehensive plan for the city. It was at this meeting that the board requested a public workshop be held for the purposes of educating the public on the plan and changes made since when Shelly Johnstone was city planner. It is both an opportunity for citizens to learn about this plan and also to ask questions/provide commentary. Confirmation was made today for the time/location:

Greensboro Center
Tuesday, September 27th, 2005
6:00pm until 9:00pm

If there is any one meeting that you, my readership, attend this year, I would encourage it to be this one. Why? Once this plan is approved, and it will be soon, it will lay the foundation for the future growth of the city for the next 25 years. Although for some of you who are students who may not be in town much longer, you will have friends that will stay, along with possible younger brothers/sisters and maybe even one day children who will become residents of Starkville. Ask yourselves what you want to see for this city and then come to this workshop with those ideas in mind.

If you would like to read the current copy of the plan, it can be downloaded from the city's website:
http://www.cityofstarkville.org/government/documents/Starkville_Comprehensive_Plan.pdf

Starkville's Budget

Last Thursday, September 15th, the board passed the upcoming F.Y. '06 budget. If you are interested in learning more about Starkville's budget, you can download both of budget committee chairman Matt Cox's presentations below:

F.Y. '06 Budget Expenditures
F.Y. '06 Budget Revenue

The documents illustrate sales tax growth, distribution of funds, and other areas of concern.

In addition, the board of aldermen meet again tomorrow at 5:30pm at City Hall. City Planner George Rummel will be making a presentation concerning his modifications to the city's comprehensive plan.

To my readership...

I promise that I have not dropped off the face of the earth. After a brief hiatus, I will resume reporting on local city happenings and various other topics this week.

Not another one!

I really hope that this projected path for hurricane Ophelia by Accuweather is incorrect. This is the peak hurricane season and it's not impossible that yet another hurricane will strike the coast.

Former Mayor Passed

Former Starkville Mayor Mack Rutledge, 72, passed away. He had been sick with cancer for some time. Funeral services will be held at 2pm today at Welch Funeral Home.

MSU 36 - Murray State - 6

I'm a bit late in posting this; however, the MSU football game on Saturday was great. I think that Murray State provided a good warm up for the real game that will take place next week: MSU vs. Auburn at Auburn. I believe that that game will give a good indication as to how MSU will fare for the rest of the season.

At the game I had the honor, along with the rest of the board of aldermen, to watch the game from President Lee's skybox. The view was great as I was right on the 50 yard line. We were each allowed to bring one guest, so I took my dad with me. Here's a picture of us with Bully:

Mississippi Power Update

Mississippi Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company, provides much of the power used in southeast MS including the coast. They have been emailing all city officials throughout the state with daily updates on the latest information on how the effort to restore power is going.

The latest email received from them said, "Service was restored to more than 13,000 customers Sunday and we were able to re-energize several additional substations, including Picayune, Bay St. Louis, Waveland, Richton, Poplarville, Shubuta, and Carriere."

They divide the area of coverage in MS into three areas: Coast, Pine Belt, and Meridian. As of yesterday their progress in restoring power to those three districts were:

Coast 22,281 30%
Pine Belt 23,534 40%
Meridian 28,503 76%

Chief Justice Rehnquist Passed

News is just now breaking, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist of the Supreme Court, has just recently passed away. This couldn't come at a worst time as our nation's attention is already focused on one tragedy and will drain both congresses and the president's attention as they prepare to appoint a new justice when they are also attempting to handle the situation in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Job Offer for Refugees

Synergetics, in Starkville, has an interesting response to the problem of Hurricane Katrina. For those with computer experience who are stranded and staying in Starkville for any given number of months until one can return back to the coast, Synergetics is offering temporary jobs for those who are here and want to work until which time they can return. The offer is being made to allow those who are stranded here to experience some degree of normalcy and consistency while here. I don't believe the owners set this up with any desire to use the people who are out of a home, but rather to provide them with a job opportunity while they are stranded miles away from their home and work.

Interesting Article on Fox News

I have a tendency not to watch Fox News because I feel they have an inherent bias, although I have been impressed with their coverage of Hurricane Katrina. I was surprised; however, when I read a rather scaving article on the Republican Party from the views section of Fox's website.