Category: The Natchez Democrat

 

NATCHEZ — Congressman Bennie Thompson announced that Natchez Adams School District with 23 other K-12 educational systems would be awarded $50,000 for outstanding achievements in building and implementing sustainable clean energy improvements.

Natchez Adams School District has been recognized for its outstanding achievements in the Energy Champions Leading the Advancement of Sustainable Schools Prize (Energy CLASS Prize), Congressman Thompson said.

“I am incredibly proud of the Natchez Adams School District for their dedication and success in the Energy CLASS Prize,” he said. “Their commitment to improving energy efficiency and creating healthier learning environments exemplifies the positive impact that thoughtful, sustainable initiatives can have on our schools and communities. The additional funding awarded today will further support these vital projects, ensuring that our students and teachers benefit from safer and more sustainable facilities. Congratulations to Natchez Adams School District for leading the way in energy management and sustainability.”

NASD Superintendent Zandra McDonald-Green shared the district’s excitement for receiving the recognition on Thursday.

“Natchez-Adams School District is elated to be recognized for our participation in and awarding of the Energy CLASS prize,” she said. “During Phase 1, the district ensured that key employees were trained on energy conservation and implementing energy efficiency initiatives throughout the district. The district was recognized because employees attended all of the required training, funds were used to further advance the district’s efforts for energy conservation, and we were able to combine our training and resources to improve our school environments.”

School districts celebrated their energy successes over the past year in a virtual graduation ceremony held by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Renew America’s Schools program and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

This initiative focused on capacity building and implementing critical clean energy and health improvements in high-need K-12 school districts. By providing live trainings, coaching, and a cash prize to each local educational agency, the program enabled school districts to lead their own projects to assess energy use, boost energy efficiency, and update facility infrastructure, creating healthier and more sustainable learning environments.

To kick off the ceremony, Ms. Keishaa Austin, Acting Principal Deputy Director of the Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP), announced that 23 educational agencies, including Natchez Adams School District, would be awarded $50,000 for their achievements in Phase 2. This additional funding will enable these school districts to continue investing in energy infrastructure projects that reduce utility costs and create healthier learning environments for students and teachers.

Green added Phase 2 funds will be used “to continue our efforts at energy efficiency initiatives throughout the district.”

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This article was written by The Natchez Democrat. To view the original article on the Natchez Democrat’s site, Click Here

 

NATCHEZ — The Concord Quarters Juneteenth celebration, presented by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), served as a reminder of what the Juneteenth holiday is about. 

This celebration brought families and friends together to have a fun day together. Nestled in a community that is rich in culture, Concord Quarters served as the perfect backdrop for a Juneteenth celebration. The celebration included a variety of activities including cornhole, learning about the history of Juneteenth, a history of the cowboy, and a stick horse rodeo. 

The celebration served as an educational backdrop for the children. They watched a video on the history of the holiday and participated in a fun activity by Jamal McCullen, which gave all the younger and older kids a sense of what the holiday is all about. 

“As a former teacher, I am used to this sort of thing. It’s just a bit different when it comes to different age groups,” McCullen said.

Adams County Supervisor Warren Gaines stopped by to give the visitors a brief history of the cowboy along with a stick horse rodeo coordinated by Clint Dickson. During his brief lecture, Gaines mentioned that Adams County has the best cowboys in Mississippi.

The celebration, along with its fun activities, was a fun way to start off the Juneteenth festivities, as the holiday is coming up on Wednesday, June 19.

The post Concord Quarters Juneteenth celebration: Commemorating freedom and community appeared first on Mississippi’s Best Community Newspaper.

This article was written by The Natchez Democrat. To view the original article on the Natchez Democrat’s site, Click Here

 

NATCHEZ — Another year of Fishing with Fathers and Friends has been a success. Fifth Ward Alderman Ben Davis has been partnering with this event for the third year. Families from all over the area enjoyed a nice day of fun and bonding.

“This event not only strengthened the bonds within families but also showcased the strong sense of community we have here. It’s a testament to the collective effort and support from our community,” said Ryan Porter, Natchez Parks and Recreation director.

The newly renovated Bob M. Dearing Natchez State Park was the ideal place for families and friends to enjoy a day of fishing. For fathers, taking their children fishing is not just about teaching them how to catch a fish but also about imparting wisdom, patience, and a deep respect for the environment.

“The joy and happiness on these children’s faces is truly heartwarming. It’s a testament to the positive impact this event has on families and children, providing them with role models and memorable experiences,” Alderman Davis shared.

The park’s scenic views allowed everyone to enjoy an excellent, peaceful fishing session and appreciate nature. With everyone fishing on the piers and those in their boats floating quietly across the water, it was a fun day for all and created lasting memories.

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This article was written by The Natchez Democrat. To view the original article on the Natchez Democrat’s site, Click Here

 

NATCHEZ — U.S. Veteran John “Captain Jack” Kerwin, who served 25 years total in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, recently celebrated his 98th birthday, or as he put it, “I’m now pushing 99.”

Friends of Kerwin gathered last Sunday at the Miss-Lou Military Museum at 107 Jefferson Davis Blvd., where they celebrated Kerwin and remembered their dearly departed friend G. Mark LaFrancis, a fellow veteran who founded the museum and died late Friday, June 7. Kerwin offered a moment of silence for LaFrancis before cutting into his birthday cake.

“He was a friend. A close friend,” Kerwin said.

Lt. Col. Larry Smith said the museum which hosted the party meant a lot to LaFrancis and will “continue to honor his memory through continued support to veterans, their families and the hometown community of Natchez.”

The museum operates regular hours on Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and on special weekends.

Kerwin and his friends celebrated in good spirits as he sang Strip Polka and exchanged fond memories.

Kerwin is well-known as the veteran who walks for a mile every day carrying a cane on his shoulders through heat and rain and as a teacher of archery, hunter’s safety and tai chi classes to seniors and young scouts and 4-H club members, which he still does in his ripe age.

Tai chi is an ancient Chinese exercise almost like a dance that can be used for health and meditation.

Kerwin also gives great hugs, at least to all the ladies who came to call on his birthday.

The post ‘Captain Jack’: Local veteran celebrates 98th birthday appeared first on Mississippi’s Best Community Newspaper.

This article was written by The Natchez Democrat. To view the original article on the Natchez Democrat’s site, Click Here

 

NATCHEZ — Joseph Smith of BlackNatchez.org has continued his work to spruce up buildings and the area around the MLK Triangle at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street and St. Catherine Street in Natchez, but his choice of paint colors is not sitting well with some in the city.

The Natchez Preservation Commission on Wednesday night discussed briefly photos it had received of buildings Smith and other volunteers have painted on St. Catherine Street at the Triangle.

“That’s an issue for the code enforcement officer,” said Andy Sartin, chairman of the city’s historic preservation commission.

The commission said it had not been asked to approve the paint colors, which Sartin described as “Caribbean-like.”

By city ordinance, any change in paint colors or architecture or the like must be approved by the city’s preservation commission to make certain they do not take away from the historic nature of the property in the district. The MLK Triangle is in the city’s historic district. The City of Natchez, along with Zion Chapel AME Church and the Downtown Natchez Alliance, has plans to create a park-like area at the triangle known as Hiram Revels Plaza, honoring the first Black man to be seated in the U.S. Senate. Revels was also a pastor at Zion Chapel. Later, Revels also became president of Alcorn State University.

Smith said he is not being defiant of any city ordinance and has tried multiple times to be heard before the preservation commission.

Smith said he has submitted three applications over the last several years to the city’s planning department seeking approval for plans to beautify buildings in the area. Smith said he has never received a reply, response, or acknowledgment of any of those three applications.

“This entire project has been an ordeal,” he said. “I don’t own those buildings that have been painted. The Thompson family owns those buildings and has given up permission to spruce up the buildings at our own expense. Most of the public thinks they look fantastic. That’s the feedback I’ve gotten.”

Smith said he has submitted applications to the planning department since Rico Giani’s tenure as city planner.

“We are not intentionally defiant,” Smith said. On Tuesday, the city attorney called me, and I went to (city planner) Frankie Legaux’s office. The third application I turned in last September was still in a folder in a file in a desk drawer. In fact, I intended to go to the preservation commission meeting on Wednesday to talk with them, but I simply forgot about it.”

He said he thinks the rules and regulations in the city’s historic district are not readily available to people who need to know about them.

“I had concerns and expressed to the mayor, the city attorney, and Ms. Legaux that I should not have had to wait a year or longer for some kind of response. If there was a problem or something wrong with my application or if it was incomplete, why didn’t someone communicate that with me,” Smith asked. “When the young people painted murals on the wall about two years ago for MLK Day, no one even then gave me any rules or regulations or clarity. Even this week, the police visited me and brought me a text message to show me. Where is the paperwork? I am trying to comply, but this seems ridiculous.

“Earlier, when we had the meeting about the tire plant (Oct. 17, 2023), I shared with the mayor that we had made these applications, and no one called us. I sent him a screenshot of the latest application because I wanted him to see the dates on it,” he said.

Smith said he does not think he is being targeted. He thinks the problem rather is antiquated systems and government inefficiency.

“I feel like the process should be streamlined. I don’t think it is intentional. I think it’s inefficient on the part of the government. The form was in a file folder in a desk drawer,” he said. “Things could be automated. With the technology we have today … These applications could be in a queue waiting to be acted on.”

Smith said he is concerned the city is not open to progress, particularly the progress younger citizens seek.

“I’d really like to make the point that if the city were more open and collaborative in its embrace of younger people, many of its problems could be overcome quite easily. The city seems to be wedded to only the systems and ideas of the past, which puts it at odds with those in the community who are hungry for progress.

“We have had an overwhelming response from the public about the paint; people have donated money and benches and lights because they want Natchez to be a place where progress is evident. People have also stopped by and shared ideas they say have fallen on deaf ears,” Smith said. “I wonder if it’s possible for Natchez to be a place that preserves and honors history while creating space for innovation, vibrancy, and youthfulness.”

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This article was written by The Natchez Democrat. To view the original article on the Natchez Democrat’s site, Click Here

 

NATCHEZ — A dog often seen roaming the neighborhood behind Parkway Baptist Church was hit by a car at some point early Wednesday morning.

Natchez Animal Control and Southside Veterinary Clinic are urgently trying to find the owner.

Ashely Comer, who works alongside her son Nash Sanders at Natchez Animal Control said the dog, a large male mix-breed, was often spotted in the neighborhood behind Parkway Baptist.

“He’d apparently had been bedding down somewhere,” she said. “The vet said he looked otherwise healthy so he belongs to somebody.”

A citizen brought the dog into Southside Veterinary Clinic early Wednesday morning saying they’d found the dog after he was hit by a car.

“It was sometime before 7:40 a.m. this morning,” said the clinic’s manager Tammy Breithaupt.

“He’s still alive but we need to find the owners before we release any medical information.”

In an urgent attempt to find the owners, Natchez Animal Control shared the dog’s photo on social media.

“We need an owner to step up,” the post said. “It needs medical attention!”

Anyone with information about the dog may contact Animal Control at 601-807-1263 or Southside Veterinary Clinic at 601-653-4706.

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Editor’s Note: The above gallery includes all 19 dogs who are available to adopt at the Vidalia Dog Pound before it closes on July 1. All of the dogs are fully vetted and spayed or neutered and all adoption fees are waived for the 19 remaining dogs, who must find new homes by June 30. Visit them at 501 Sycamore St. between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., or to inquire about adopting an animal at the Vidalia Dog Pound, call 318-336-6257.

 

VIDALIA, La. — Deedee Roberts, who for more than eight years has run the dog pound near the Vidalia water treatment plant at 501 Sycamore St., posted on her personal social media page this week that all 19 dogs currently housed there need homes before the end of the month.

In her post, Roberts announced that the oversight and operation of the pound would transition to the Vidalia Police Department beginning July 1.

This raised concern for many friends of the Vidalia dog pound who’ve supported it through the years after it was brought back from a deplorable state under a previous administration.

“I want to clear the air,” Roberts said. “I don’t want this to be a witch hunt after the city or anybody. Nobody is trying to do something bad. They’re taking over it because I won’t be here forever. They’re taking it over to give the Police Department a try. They have better liability coverage than we do at the utility department where I work. The town wants the liability and expenses to go from the utility department back to the police department.”

The pound itself is set to remain in the same location for the time being, but when the town begins expanding the water treatment plant, which is in close proximity to the pound, it will have to move eventually, Roberts said.

Before Roberts took the helm, the dog pound was a kill shelter run by the town police and in “horrific shape,” she said.

Former Vidalia mayor Hyram Copeland’s administration enabled Roberts to build a new no-kill shelter near the older one with a complete vetting and adoption process.

Roberts said she has worked for the town for 23 years. She is currently working in the utility department full-time, running the shelter on the side. Since she’s started, close to 1,000 animals have been rescued and found homes, she said.

“On paper, it’s 888, but it’s closer to 1,000. I find dogs that I know on the street and I take them home to their owners.”

Roberts said all the dogs currently at the pound need homes before the police department takes over so that they won’t need to carry the burden of those animals.

Police Chief Joey Merrill said his department running a pound instead of long-term housing animals in a shelter is a “better fit for the city.”

Rather than put animals down, Merrill said they would be vetted out to other certified shelters such as Concordia PAWS.

“We will have a place to bring dogs when we pick them up for whatever reason and interact with Concordia PAWS and other places in case we have to house the dogs for any length of time,” Merrill said. “Having a stray or loose dog is against our town ordinance, so if we pick them up the owner pays a fee to get them back. We should be able to run it with no extra expenses.”

Merrill said those who see a loose dog should still call Vidalia Police dispatch and the town’s animal control officer will come collect the dog.

Roberts said the traditional $50 adoption fee is waived for all animals that remain at the dog pound until June 30.

She thanked everyone who have been supporters of the shelter for the past eight years.

“We get donations from the community and not just our community but all over the United States,” she said. “We’ve used Natchez Veterinary Clinic and Dr. Gregg (Gregg Veterinary Hospital) in Vidalia. We wouldn’t have existed without them.”

To inquire about adopting an animal at the Vidalia Dog Pound, call 318-336-6257. Currently the pound is open daily from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 501 Sycamore St.

“All of these dogs are completely vetted. They are spayed or neutered and heartworm-negative. They’re ready to roll and they’re all good dogs,” Roberts said. “They need credible, good adopters. They aren’t going to just anybody.”

Roberts said vet references are required and a fenced-in yard is preferred but not required depending on the type of housing arrangement.

Roberts said every time she has called Merrill for help, he supported her and “I hope others will step in” and do the same for him.

Her main concern is finding homes for the dogs.

“I have concerns about everything going on in this entire parish,” she said. “We all work together, myself, Concordia PAWS and the Natchez shelters but all shelters are brimming overfull and it’s been that way for a few years. It’s sad because we have four and it feels like we’re not knocking a dent in everything.”

The post Vidalia Dog Pound closing? Director seeks to ‘clear the air’ appeared first on Mississippi’s Best Community Newspaper.

This article was written by The Natchez Democrat. To view the original article on the Natchez Democrat’s site, Click Here

 

NATCHEZ — A trail ride benefit for a local child who beat cancer but is now a candidate for a lung transplant has been postponed due to bad weather last weekend.

Lilly Anne Bryan, who just turned 11 years old, is in her second week in ICU at a Texas Children’s Hospital after testing positive for rhinovirus, which is a common cold but dangerous for her.

Horseback riding is one of her favorite activities.

Though she previously beat cancer after a seven-year battle, her lungs are failing due to damage from chemotherapy.

The medical issues she is facing now would have to be resolved before she can move forward with a transplant.

A benefit ride is planned to take place at David and Paige Carlton Carter’s Double C Ranch, located 1087 Hutchins Landing Road, Natchez.

Previously scheduled to take place last Saturday, David Carter said it has been postponed for Oct. 5, when hopefully there will be clear skies and Lilly Anne will be well enough to attend herself.

After the trail ride, an evening of music, dancing, Jambalaya and fun for everyone is planned, Carter said.

Homegrown musicians Bryce McGlothin and Tyler Gregg of “Easily Distracted” will kick off the music followed by The Logan Sanders Band of Nashville, Tennessee.

The event will also include raffles, live and silent auctions.

Proceeds will benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, but most will go to Lilly-Anne’s family to help them with their move to Houston for the transplant.

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This article was written by The Natchez Democrat. To view the original article on the Natchez Democrat’s site, Click Here