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Logtown, one of the communities in the buffer area of the proposed Saturn missile testing site, was the scene, Wednesday afternoon. of one of the most important meetings ever held in Hancock County.
- Senator Stennis and -representative? from the national aeronautics i and space administration and the i U. S. Army Corps of Engineers,
! at Mobile, were present to give all interested parties first hand information on how the federal government would handle negotiations for the acquisition and leases of their land “to* be used in the space project.
TTie two and a half hour meeting began at about 1:15 p.m. with prayer by Rev. Cude Rousseau after which Hardin Shattuck. manager of the Coast Electric Power Association, acting as master of '■eremonies, introduced Leo W. Seal Sr., president of' the Hancock Bank, and a native of Logtown. who after a few opening remarks, introduced Senator John C. Siennis. as the main speaker of the meeting.
Sen. John Stcnnis urged property owners in the huge land tract the federal government wants for a Saturn missile testing site “not to fall into the hands of land speculators.” -
Establishment* of the Slaturn static test site, Stermis said, IsJ "ine of the most gigantic undertakings ijor peace and * military this nation has ever known.
“This ip no moon shot” Stennis told the crowd estimated at 700.^ “This program is designed to give the 4jnited States control of space.- .Whoever r controls space controls the’ -earth and I would rather have tfie United States do
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While ^The. United States at oresent maintains an over-all su-oeriorityJc^mparecT to the Soviets, tvrtennis_saifc, America is wanting se~and that
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He referred to Soviet spacemen’s orbits around the p irth •rlif-r this year and said the ’■‘•sisn- ha"? tremendous booster •’ifr tn put a man in a l’ea\y •’ Via;! into space. - - ' -“Tf they can do fhat,” Stcnnis ■id “it won’t be long before ' 3n launch vehicles irto e (-utj ng ati>«.iy *.
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;>eedi to the crowd ga'^-red in rront of the Logtown school, the rest of the program was devoted to questions and answers Those present handed in anonymous written questions.
From Washington came Kurt Berlin of the office of NASA’s general council, Lt. Col. S. L. Bwi/' of ZASVs Ir-sch program, and Fred M. Figert of i the U.S. Army Corps of S'vfinren.’. land acq. -=:itdi sion. Vai or Mussle of the real i-stale riivisioa of the Mobile di-i-'ict •' rps of Engineers, was al'« jrres nt.
The gov.-rnment has asked i-on-demnationn proc-ci-dings^ on the tract of land 'running from M.s-sit>sippi’s Pearl Riv^r ai d iTan cock iou’<t ios to T,ouis:ans's ■ ■-“T :!i;n -h
-■ontacting -people in immediate Saturn test areas for permission to enter their lands for purposes of surveys annd explorations. He stressed this in no way jeopard-zed their titles, but the surveys must be commenced very shortly.”
Appraisals cl property. Mussle aid. would begin by Jan. l with he engineers establishing an of-,
:ice in Bay St. Louis.
Negotiations for purchase .of ’and involved should start no ater than next Feb. 15 and i>y Tune 1, 1962, he said all. appraisals should be completed in this s irea.	"	*
Figert said - the 'matter was ■loaked in secrecy until the gov- .,. •rnment was ready to move be1 ' •ause “anytime the government > A'ants to acquire a large tract of 'and and any amount of publicity ^ is involved, speculators usually’* lescend on the area - and prices go up.”	t.	.	"
He S2id the go\ emmeni knows •he prices of the lands "wanted »hen it filed suit asking for con- * iemnation proceedings.	-
To another question, Figert said iroperty owners would retain min- „.
>ral rights to the land ‘acquired iy the government Where- easement has been ask’d, Figert said no buildings would ~\c allowed because sound waves -» crom the static tests ' would be langerons'to strtictures fend pre- « rented th? possibility of collapse. *
The land can be worked or farm- ‘' ■?d but no buildings would be al-Jowed. The £ovemmeHt,^be addled, would buy the property should htTowner want^to sell.* > Jt^was? explained'* that this is a federal^projec^ and that^the gov-',** eminent will paxowners" full conf-^ensation ior ^heir land. Represen-' * 'atives of the government,'it was? -pointed out, will -sit and talk over ‘he problem w’ith the landowners,
»nd will^be fair .and squaife -ylth^r: 'hem“and will "AveQrfhii^-jpos-uble to see that all parties are ,. * 'horoughly satisfied. As Stennis	::	’
minted out, “the Court ro6m will be open to you if you c&nnot agree vith the government, and in that ■ase a jury- will give the value for -our property, but he added, he»
'eels sure there will be very few_ 'awsuits.	%
Yarv and varied were the ques-.'»n;. a. ’ ^(' and aii were answered as clearly aisd simply as possible. _
It was explained that the government will, in the buffer areas,	"
buy your home, at its full value, then tear it down, and sell it back to the owner at the prevailing salvage price, if he or she desires to rebuild elsewhere. The land, subject to lease will be	*	,
bought outright, if the * owner wants to S6U. ,	,y- -	r—
Stennis i;: to rely or. th and apprai.s* engineers in predicted tha law suits res 'quisition in Mussle sai Monday enj
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