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THE SEA COAST ECHO, HANCOCK TODAY SPECIAL EDITION, JUNE 29, 1997-3
Kiln fastest growing area in the county
BY BETSY GAGNET
If you listen closely, you can almost hear the growth going on in Kiln and the sur-ounding areas.
What you hear are hammers banging and saws whirling as the fastest growing part if Hancock County tries desperately to keep up with a population rise.
“Kiln is not like Kiln used to be, it’s just growing so much,” said Billie Lyons of ..yons Insurance Agency, and area native. “You used to know everybody and now you lon’t know three-fourths of them.”
Lyons said she, like most people are delighted with the growth the small town is experiencing.
“The majority of the people are excited about the growth, ” she said. “I think most )eople want to see it grow.”
Kiln was put on the national map last January when native son Brett Favre led the jrreen Bay Packers to a Super Bowl victory in New Orleans.
Business owners delighted in the boom to business, quickly ordering souvenirs to satisfy the fans.
Even without the Super Bowl, the Kiln area was attracting attention from people ooking for a place to settle in.
New subdivisions are springing up all over the central and northern part of the :ounty.
“There are so many new homes being built up here,” said Lyons. “Anywher you go rou see houses (being built).”
New businesses have begun to appear up and down Highway 603.
Weekends see crowds of people gathered at local restaurants.
A new post office is scheduled to open this summer and the Hancock County Library System recently received authorization to apply for grant funding on the construction of a new library for the area.
Coast Electric is investigating the possibility of locating a service center in the area. The company has an option on 30 acres near the junction of Hwys 603 and 43.
Voters recently approved a $20 million bond issue by the Hancock County School District for the construction of two new schools and renovation to several existing ones.
A study done prior to the bond issue identified the Kiln area as the fastest growing area.
“Firetower Road down toward the Interstate (showed the most growth),” according to Hancock County School Superintendent Terry Randolph. “That’s not to say there is not growth north of that, but right now the study is showing that area.”
A new elementary school will be located on Kiln-Delisle Road within the Kiln fire and water district, according to Lyons who serves on the Hancock County School Board.
Plans call for a new middle school to be located in close proximity of Hancock High School.
Lyons said the growth is reflected not only in the amount of new construction, both private and commercial, but in the increase of local business.
“Casinos have done a lot (for the area), but we’re getting a lot of business not casino related,” Lyons said. “People are wanting to move here because it’s a great place to raise a family, and because of the land available.”
Although land prices have increased over the last several years, Lyons said there is still land available for purchase.
What will all the changes bring to the small community?
Lyons for one is optimistic.
“In the county I think you are going to see more of a community involvement (from residents),” she said. “We’re already seeing it, we saw it with the (school) bond issue.”