BLUE MOUNTAIN – Kelsey Danielle Nelson of Vardaman has been invited to join the Pi Tau chapter of Beta Beta Beta, the National Biological Honor Society, at Blue Mountain College.

Beta Beta Beta is a society for students dedicated to improving the understanding and appreciation of biological study and extending boundaries of human knowledge through scientific research. She has also been selected to serve as Vice-President of the chapter in the fall of 2013.
Nelson is a senior Biology major at Blue Mountain College where she is a member of the BMC softball team and served as Class President her junior year.
She is the daughter of Damon and Tania Nelson of Vardaman.

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Houston firefighters Robert Goza, from left, Jonathan Blankenship and Billy Watkins stand at the new fire station site with the tanker truck that will be housed in the facility. The lot at the corner of Harrison and Jefferson streets was cleared in preparation for construction.
(Photo by Floyd Ingram)

HOUSTON – It’s spring and dirtwork at the corner of Jefferson and Harrington streets will soon sprout a new fire station for the city.

The Houston Board of Aldermen teamed up with the Chickasaw County Board of Supervisors last week and used county equipment to clear and grade the lot just south of the Square in Houston and adjacent to the current Houston Fire Station.

“They let us use their excavator and Ricko (Nichols, Street Department Superintendent) dug it up,” said Houston Mayor Stacey Parker. “The county also let us use two of their trucks to haul off the dirt.”

The site will now see a concrete slab poured and a 50-by-52 foot metal building constructed to house three city fire trucks.

“Right now we’ve got three trucks that we can’t put under a roof,” said Houston Fire Department Captain Jonathan Blankenship. “We’ve got a brush truck and tanker that are out in the weather. We’ve also got a pumper that is being repaired and when we get it back we really won’t have anywhere to put it.”

Blankenship said fire trucks must be kept above freezing so as not to spring gaskets and ruin pumps in the winter. He said sunshine in the summer degrades hoses, rubber and plastic.

“Fire trucks are a major investment for any department,” said Blankenship. “They will last a lot of years if they are maintained, driven correctly and kept inside.”

Parker said the city borrowed money to get construction of the fire station started and is looking to do much of the work themselves.

The three-bay building will face south and trucks will roll onto Harrington Street.

Houston recently took delivery of a new mini-pumper that has taken much of the workload off larger pumpers.

Blankenship has repeatedly said 60 percent of the department’s calls are medical related and responding with smaller trucks is more economical and leaves the tankers and pumper ready to respond to true fire calls.

The new fire station will not immediately improve the city’s fire rating.

Houston has a Class 7 fire rating. Moving to a Class 6 would not dramatically reduce insurance rates for homeowners and would probably require to the city to hire additional personnel, build and staff a new fire station, up grade water lines and therefore raise taxes.

Houston currently has six full-time firefighters with two per 24-hour shift. The department also has about 20 volunteers.

Dirt removed from the Harrington Street site was used to fill in a ditch next to the Kids Park at Joe Brigance Park.

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We are pleased to see the City of Houston and Chickasaw County working together on the site that will soon house Houston fire trucks.

Supervisors loaned a back-hoe and two dump trucks to the city to clean off the corner lot at Harrington and South Jefferson last week. The dirt was then hauled to Joe Brigance Park to fill in a ditch.

Too often elected officials forget the City of Houston is in Chickasaw County and vice-versa. That also goes for the towns of Okolona, Houlka and Woodland and each of our respective school districts.

In this time of limited government revenue, our cities, schools and county need to look to each other for help with projects and specifically maintenance of infrastructure, real property and buildings.

Each of these entities has equipment and skilled personnel who can perform work efficiently and effectively and most importantly, at a reduced cost.

We hope the leaders of city, county and school boards never hesitate to go before another entity to ask for help and we hope each elected official will politely ask the questions and get the answers they need to support these joint-venture projects.

Yes, there will be times when boards can’t get together on a project. And yes, there do need to be certain agreements drawn up to define who is responsible for what and to ease questions of cost and liability.

The fire station project is probably one of the easier projects for the City of Houston and Chickasaw County to join hands on. The Houston Fire Department is often called to crank up and roll to fight a fire in the county. County volunteers are quick to lend a hand when the pager goes off on a city fire, too.

But as we look around, we see other projects that will need a united effort between the county, schools and municipalities. Centralized dispatching, economic development, road maintenance, use of inmate labor, athletic facilities, juvenile crime, industrial park improvements, disaster relief and parking lot repairs are just a few of the projects that are on the horizon.

We hope the elected officials of our county, our cities and our schools continue to work together for the benefit of all who live and pay taxes in our community.

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Over the past several hunting seasons, Mississippi deer hunters have harvested some of the largest white-tailed deer on record. Mississippi is beginning to be acknowledged as one of the top white-tailed deer states in the nation.

This was recently highlighted in the June/July issue of Outdoor Life magazine. Outdoor Life ranked Mississippi seventh in the nation for producing large bucks.

This ranking was based on four criteria for each state: number of bucks qualifying for the Boone and Crockett records program, hunter density, cost of guided hunts, and hunter friendliness in terms of laws and regulations.

The top ten states were ranked as follows: Kentucky; Kansas; Indiana; Iowa; Minnesota; Illinois; Mississippi; Nebraska; Ohio; and, Oklahoma.

To view the full Outdoor Life article, visit www.outdoorlife.com/whitetailscale.

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HOUSTON – Getting elected can be the easy part, it’s being an effective leader and administrator that moves a town forward and makes a community better.

Houston Mayor Stacey W. Parker has completed the “Professional Development” level of the Certified Municipal Officials (CMO) program from the Mississippi Municipal League (MML). The MML has been a longtime advocate of training and education for state city leaders.

“The Professional Development level of the CMO program gives our municipal leaders the opportunity to focus on personal growth and improvement in leadership skills,” said MML Executive Director Shari T. Veazey. “Those who have completed all three levels of the CMO program have made a strong commitment for self-improvement and as a result will be more effective municipal leaders.”

The MML Certified Municipal Officials program has three certification levels: Basic CMO, which focuses on the basics of municipal organization, law, finance and land use; Advanced CMO which provides training in community and economic development; and the professional Development CMO level which requires 40 hours of course work and encourages the improvement of skills such as public speaking, writing and interpersonal communications.

Those earning the professional Development level must first complete the Basic and Advanced levels of the program.

Parker is entering his third term as Mayor of Houston. Prior to becoming mayor he served on the City Board as Alderman-At-Large.

Parker recently defeated his Democratic Primary Election opponent 665 to 157.

“We’ve done some things in Houston over the last four years,” said Parker after the primary election May 7. “We did a $1.5 million bond issue that paved 10-plus streets. We leased property at the airport and made $12,000 and a mill of taxes raises $18,000. We’ve done a lot to strengthen our parks and recreation program and paved the walking track at Joe Brigance. We also refinanced some bonds and will save the city $600,000.”

Parker said he hopes to develop a soccer field for Parks and Recreation. He wants to see more streets paved and more hidden infrastructure such as water and sewer pipes upgraded.

“And we need to be creative and make economic opportunities happen,” Parker added. “We are working with existing industry to keep jobs here and we stand ready to bring new jobs to Houston, too.”

Established in 1931, the Mississippi Municipal League is a private association representing 288 municipalities in the state. The mission of the MML is to help cities and towns excel.

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Residents of Chickasaw County are being invited to a GED assistance program at 2 p.m., June 15 at the Excel Building in downtown Okolona.

The luncheon is for anyone 18-years-old or older who does not have their GED or high school diploma.

Speakers include Excel’s Larry Davis, Jan West of Itawamba Community College, Keisha Bogan of Americorps Vista/Job Junction and Sister Elizabeth Brown of Excel.

The program is free to the public.

Also included will be information on the Job Junction Adult Work Readiness Program. This service provides adults with the skills to be more employable by creating resumes and preparing for job interviews.

For more information about Saturday’s event call Dellcine Brown at 542-8307.

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HOUSTON – Hometown vendors are being sought for Homecoming set for Saturday, June 29 on the Square in downtown Houston.

Local churches, civic clubs and non-profit groups are being urged to get a booth and use the annual event as an opportunity to raise funds for their organization.

“We have been careful through the years not to just throw it open to anybody, because we don’t want it to become something commercial,” said Mary Smith, vendor coordinator for the Homecoming 2013 Planning Committee. “We offer the booths for free but we do have some guidelines we ask people to follow.”

At the top of the list is booths that sell anything must benefit schools or non-profit organization. Homecoming is a family-oriented event and vendors are not allowed to sell certain items. Booths must also register with the Homecoming committee.

Smith said booths are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis and she urged people not to wait until the last minute.

“We have people who have been coming for years and we like to put to put food booths together in the same place,” said Smith. “Homecoming is something very special to Houston and we like to keep it nice and neat.”

Groups or organizations wanting a booth at homecoming are asked to call Smith at 456-3382.

As always there will be something for everyone at this year’s Houston Homecoming celebration as a well-rounded mix of music has been scheduled for the afternoon event.

Those attending the annual downtown event on the Courthouse Square will not only get the traditional food, fun and fireworks, they will hear gospel, country, jazz and solo acts.

Acts slated for this summer’s event are:

• TIM WARREN BAND. This group will be the feature act and brings together local talent and national musicians. Billed as a country act, the band has more of a mellow Nashville sound with several more modern numbers.
• GREG DILLARD. This solo act has a voice that is recognized across Northeast Mississippi. Dillard will entertain the crowd with a number of local favorites.
• ONE WAY. This gospel quartet has developed a local name for itself having brought their ministry and performed at several local churches. One Way was a crowd favorite at this spring’s Flywheel Festival.
• THE OVER-THE-HILL JAZZ BAND. Made up of Houston talent, this group of older gentlemen sings with a gusto enjoyed by the young and the young-at-heart. The group plays traditional jazz, swing and those sweet tunes enjoyed by all generations. The band made its first local appearance in years at this spring’s Flywheel Festival to rave reviews.

And while the tradition and fun of Homecoming won’t change, other details of the giant block party will.

Fireworks will be shot from a vacant lot northeast of the square and the location will be roped off for safety.

Committee chairmen have already started soliciting donations for this year’s event.

The Houston Homecoming Committee has announced the following schedule of events for this year’s celebration.

• 4:45 p.m.- Veteran and Children’s Parade.
• 5 p.m. – Vendors open booths.
• 5 p.m. – Entertainment begins.
• 9:15 p.m. – Fireworks.
• 10 p.m. – Event closes.

For more information about Houston Homecoming 2013 call the Chickasaw Development Foundation at 456-2321.

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Houston Civitan PLUS President Scott Murphree helps his grandaughter, Haley Murphree with the casting contest at the Houston Hawg Caller Fishing Rodeo at Davis Lake Saturday. The annual event aims to introduce kids and families to the fun of fishing.
(Photo by Floyd Ingram)

DAVIS LAKE – It wasn’t all about catching fish, but it was all about having fun.

The annual Kid’s Fishing Rodeo was held at Davis Lake Saturday morning with kids taking part in a casting contest, eating hotdogs and of course getting to fish.

“I love catching fish,” said eight-year-old Maddox Clouse, who was fishing with his father Vince. “I’ve caught bigger ones but this is fun.”

And getting family to have a little fun fishing was the goal of Saturday’s event that was open to kids ages 4 to 17.

“We do this to get kids interested in fishing and hopefully their parents will see how much fun it is and keep taking them fishing,” said Wayne Parish, President of the Houston Hawg Callers Bass Club. “We’ve been doing this for years and it’s always a lot of fun.”

The club has been hosting the event since 1997 and has seen mornings when several hundred kids showed up.

“We have asked the Houston Civitan Club to join with us and help put this on,” said Parish. “The Forestry Service buys the trophies and waives the gate fees for this event.”

Parish also thanked Grocer’s Pride and Frito Lay for the food, drinks and snacks served at Saturday’s event.

“This was our first time to help with this event and we try to do as many community service projects as we can,” said Houston PLUS Civitan Club President Scott Murphree. “I brought my family and this really has been a lot of fun.”

Civitans and Hawg Callers fanned out around the lake to help kids bait hooks, take fish off the line and offer tips on how to catch the big one.

Kids fished from 7 to 10:30 a.m. And then were treated to hot dogs, chips, soft drinks and sweets.

Trophies and medals were given for the largest, smallest and most fish caught in different age categories. Prizes were also given for the most points scored in the casting contest.

The club is considering moving the annual fishing rodeo to coincide with the National Day of Fishing in early June. Members said while Saturday’s weather was great, an early June date might be better for fishing.

“Fishing is one of those sports that everyone can do and enjoy,” said Parish. “I found my love of fishing when I was a kid and it has never stopped. We hope that happened with a few kids here today.”

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Dr. Allison Vaughan Jones

Special to the Chickasaw Journal

JACKSON – Dr. Allison Vaughan Jones, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Vaughan of Houston, received her M.D. from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson May 24, 2013.
She graduated with a 3.97 GPA and was in the top ten percent of her class. Allison received multiple awards and scholarships while in medical school including the 2011 Douglas Willis Memorial Fund Scholarship, awarded to a sophomore student who exemplifies promise in medicine, scholarship and good character; the 2011 and 2012 American Medical Association Foundation Scholars Fund Scholarship, awarded to a student for superior academic performance; the 2012 Miller Pitman Medical Scholarship, awarded to deserving medical students based on academic achievement; and the 2013 F.A. Hunt Scholarship, awarded to a senior medical student for academic excellence.
She was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha in March 2013, a medical honor society which recognizes scholarly achievement, leadership, character, community service and professionalism.
Allison plans to begin her residency in Dermatology at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Memphis in July.

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HOUSTON – The summer construction season has several businesses in and around the Square in Houston in the process of renovation or repair.

The biggest job is the renovation of the future home of Watkins, Ward & Stafford CPA on the west side of the Square, with work on water lines by the city and repair of buildings on the east side of the Square coming in a close second.

“The city can’t renovate and repair buildings, but when we see people doing something with their property, we look for opportunities to help,” said Houston Mayor Stacey Parker. “It’s great to see businesses invest in downtown. That’s good for Houston.”

Shane Pettit is working to renovate the Jeremy Harrell building for Watkins, Ward & Stafford. He said they are renovating the building from front to back.

“We poured a new sidewalk – with the city helping to haul off the old concrete – and are busy putting in offices,” said Pettit. “I’ve got about a three-week deadline and we are very busy.”

Pettit said there will be a lobby behind giant plate-glass windows, nine offices, a conference and computer room, a break room and even a shower. He said they are also rewiring the building and installing decorative doors at the front and back.

“It’s going to be nice and we are very excited about being downtown,” said Jason Brooks, CPA with Watkins, Ward & Stafford. “The Square offers a lot for businesses like ours and we wanted to be downtown.”

Brooks said renovating the building will do a lot for downtown and his business.

“We opened at our current location in August and have already outgrown it,” said Brooks. “We have plans to hire two people immediately when we get in that building and will bring in other staff to work with our clients during our busy time of the year.”

Ricko Nichols, Houston Street Department superintendent, said a new six-inch waterline has been laid in the alley on the west side of the square.

“We have also installed two new fire plugs,” said Nichols. “We have replaced three new valves and have plans to replace or add about six or seven more.”

Nichols said in some places the pipe downtown is 50-years old.

“We got a $360,000 ARC (Appalachian Regional Commission) grant that is helping with the water and sewer downtown,” said Parker. “This is part of a plan. This doesn’t just help one person or business, but it’s one step in the direction we want to go. This is part of an opportunity we had presented to us and we took it.”

Parker said the city is also working on a water/sewer project that stretches from Airport Road to Houston High School.

Parker pointed to work to repair the Neal Colbert building on the east side of the square. The back wall has been replaced after it collapsed during bad weather this winter.

That work will see the roof, east wall, door and floor replaced in the building occupied by M.J. Express.

“And I want to thank people like Tom Byrne and Steve Pearson for taking the lead on renovating buildings downtown,” said Parker. “Mike Colbert has renovated the building he is in with more to come.

“Franklin Lowe is doing his part and there are others who are doing their part,” said Parker. “It takes us all and when one business renovates or repairs, it helps everyone and it helps Houston.”

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