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U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy, front, walks through burned forest Saturday near Glenwood Springs, Colo., with Forest Service division supervisor Dana D’Andrea of Bakersfield, Calif. Fourteen fire-
fighters died Wednesday battling a bodies were recovered Friday, and investigation into the reasons they \
State’s most livable cities have winning combination
H Commerce and beauty paid off for Tupelo, Clinton and Bay St. Louis.
By Kevin Gray
Special to the Clarion-Ledger
P'rom the northern hill country to the Delta (latlands to the placid bays along the Gulf Coast, Mississippi’s most livable cities have two things in common — commerce and beauty.
Although they differ in geography and culture, rPupe„lo, Clinton and Bay St. Louis are towns that have made remarkable strides in fusing the often-disparate elements of industry and community aesthetics.
That was the consensus of this year’s Mississippi Municipal Association, a group with more than 3,000 members in its 296-city ( membership that awarded those areas its sec- \ ond-annual “Most Livable Communities” award.
Tupelo Mayor Jack Marshall said the award validates his community’s efforts to turn a failed downtown mall into a $14 million coliseum and convention center.
“We’ve accomplished what we set out to do,” Marshall said after receiving the award at the Mississippi Municipal Association convention June 29. “It’s really something.”
The former 300,000-foot downtown mall opened as a 9,200-seat entertainment center in October 1993, attracting new retail industry without raising taxes for property owners, Marshall said.
For Clinton Mayor Rosemary Aultman, the emphasis during her first year in office was on battling crime. At the same time, she also worked on raising funds for downtown beautification programs and passing a $12.5 million bond issue to open a new high school and help refurbish other schools.
“People in different parts of the city pulled together, and I think that shows a city that is focused toward being progressive,” Aultman said “It all goes toward the issue of making life better for people. It’s an openness to new ideas.” Perhaps the success of industry mixed with public beautification is nowhere more evident than in Bay St. Louis, a historic seaport city that is the third-oldest on the Gulf of Mexico and one that relies simultaneously on antique shops and a massive casino for its revenue.
“We’re really a historic city with lots of small i stores and crafts places,” said Mayor Eddie | Favre. “What we did with the casino is put it on ‘the edge of the city. For the most part, you
wouldn’t know it’s there."_______________________
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SNICKERS
OUT-OF-SIGHT DIET
Why should I try to exercise To make my body svelte;
My scales don’t show I’ve gained ’cause I Can’t see below my belt!
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