Pascagoula 'sweet spot' has residents working to enhance its charm
PASCAGOULA -- A group of south Pascagoula residents is
making strides in beautifying their neighborhood and preserving its
charm.
Members of the Bayou Yazoo Neighborhood Association addressed the City Council's regular meeting Tuesday.
Martha Gallahue outlined the association's goals -- defining the area, cleaning up sites such as Ford Street Bridge, asking the city for trash receptacles to help curb littering and working with the Audubon Society to expand the birding trail through the neighborhood.
The Bayou Yazoo neighborhood is off Pascagoula Street across from Trent Lott Middle School, north of Lake Yazoo. It is part of the Main Street District, and Gallahue called it a "sweet spot" in the city that is quaint, with smaller homes and a lot of wildlife and natural beauty.
"We're trying to preserve that," she said. "And we're looking to define ourselves within the community."
But the area has its issues, including drainage problems that have caused some flooding concerns, as well as the need to dredge the bayou, which residents said hasn't been done since the 1970s.
"We're looking to work with the city to make it as gorgeous of a place as it can be," she said.
Mayor Jim Blevins said what the association is doing is "much along the lines of what this council wants to do -- one street, one area at a time."
He said flooding is a challenge throughout the city, but "dredging and drainage are high on our priority list."
Earlier in the meeting, Blevins and the City Council congratulated the Resurrection Catholic School junior high football team, which won the state championship in its division.
About two dozen young men and their coaches gathered at the front of council chambers to receive a certificate and a city of Pascagoula T-shirt from the mayor.
"This is a proud moment," Blevins said.
Members of the Zonta Club, coming off last weekend's successful annual arts and crafts festival, asked the council for approval of a Nov. 25 gathering at Round Island Lighthouse to kick off a campaign against violence.
The council also authorized city staff to solicit proposals for a citywide marketing campaign that would incorporate new ideas with some of what the city already has in place -- such as its logo, said Jen Dearman, director of community and economic development.
The campaign would build on the theme "Only in Pascagoula," which came out of a Mississippi Development Authority initiative. The target audience would be both visitors and residents, Dearman said. "There is not a whole lot of awareness of what the city has to offer."
In other business, Blevins said the city is moving forward in cleaning up the Belair Shopping Center on Old Mobile Highway. The city is talking with the owners and developing options that call for dismantling the property in the first quarter of 2014, said city attorney Eddie Williams.
Members of the Bayou Yazoo Neighborhood Association addressed the City Council's regular meeting Tuesday.
Martha Gallahue outlined the association's goals -- defining the area, cleaning up sites such as Ford Street Bridge, asking the city for trash receptacles to help curb littering and working with the Audubon Society to expand the birding trail through the neighborhood.
The Bayou Yazoo neighborhood is off Pascagoula Street across from Trent Lott Middle School, north of Lake Yazoo. It is part of the Main Street District, and Gallahue called it a "sweet spot" in the city that is quaint, with smaller homes and a lot of wildlife and natural beauty.
"We're trying to preserve that," she said. "And we're looking to define ourselves within the community."
But the area has its issues, including drainage problems that have caused some flooding concerns, as well as the need to dredge the bayou, which residents said hasn't been done since the 1970s.
"We're looking to work with the city to make it as gorgeous of a place as it can be," she said.
Mayor Jim Blevins said what the association is doing is "much along the lines of what this council wants to do -- one street, one area at a time."
He said flooding is a challenge throughout the city, but "dredging and drainage are high on our priority list."
Earlier in the meeting, Blevins and the City Council congratulated the Resurrection Catholic School junior high football team, which won the state championship in its division.
About two dozen young men and their coaches gathered at the front of council chambers to receive a certificate and a city of Pascagoula T-shirt from the mayor.
"This is a proud moment," Blevins said.
Members of the Zonta Club, coming off last weekend's successful annual arts and crafts festival, asked the council for approval of a Nov. 25 gathering at Round Island Lighthouse to kick off a campaign against violence.
The council also authorized city staff to solicit proposals for a citywide marketing campaign that would incorporate new ideas with some of what the city already has in place -- such as its logo, said Jen Dearman, director of community and economic development.
The campaign would build on the theme "Only in Pascagoula," which came out of a Mississippi Development Authority initiative. The target audience would be both visitors and residents, Dearman said. "There is not a whole lot of awareness of what the city has to offer."
In other business, Blevins said the city is moving forward in cleaning up the Belair Shopping Center on Old Mobile Highway. The city is talking with the owners and developing options that call for dismantling the property in the first quarter of 2014, said city attorney Eddie Williams.
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