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Waveland man gets citizenship award
JEANNE-MARIE BELL Special to The Herald
Waveland Civic Association President James A. Lagasse received an award for distinguished citizenship from the Waveland Board of Aldermen Wednesday.
?I can?t say enough" about Lagasse?s contributions to civic, church and community concerns, said Mayor John Longo. ?He's completely dedicated to the Jerry Lewis Telethon, and stayed up 48-hours around the clock at City Hall to receive pledges over the phone during the annual Labor Day telethon.?
Lagasse served as regional chairman for the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. Hancock County pledges to the campaign totalled $44,846, Lagasse said.
One Lakeshore muscular dystrophy victim received $6,000 in aid from the organization, Lagasse said.
In another matter, the aldermen discussed the 25 mph speed limit on Nicholson Ave.. which Lagasse said was confusing to motorists coming off Waveland Ave., where the speed limit is 35 mph. Signs on Nicholson Ave. had been vandalized, adding to the problem.
Longo said as a ?congested area" with heavy pedestrian traffic, he preferred the lower limit. "We?d rather leave it low than raise it and have a child killed,? he said. The board post-
poned a decision on the situation until its Jan. 6 meeting.
In other business, the board accepted three bids from Lad?s Construction Co., Bay St. Louis, for the rehabilitation of three Middletown properties, under the Small Cities restoration project. Two other homes in the project will be re-bid, since they were not within 15 percent of estimates of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The aldermen agreed to reexamine several properties previously advertised as public menaces and slated for demolition. The question arose whether the owner of one home now occupies the property.
?We have to do something if these properties are health hazards and menaces, but I am not in favor of throwing anyone out,? Longo said. A city ordinance permits demolition of homes declared public menaces, with the cost levied against the property owner.
The board also approved a $700 payment for preliminary survey expenses to R.C. Engineering and Construction Co. of Pascagoula for inspection of gas pipelines which must meet federal safety requirements.
An up-dated preliminary report from the U.S. Bureau of the Census, presented at the meeting, shows the 1980 population to be 4,223, a revision over the earlier count of 3,859.


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