DISPATCH STAFF REPORT

The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors will hold a meeting tonight to discuss the county’s 2010-2011 budget.

Supervisors are urging citizens to attend and get a first-hand look at the county’s financial situation. The board has discussed a possible tax increase and wants to show residents why an increase may or may not be necessary.

The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Oktibbeha County Courthouse.

TIM PRATT

STARKVILLE — The largest crowd on record packed McKee Park Saturday for the city of Starkville’s sixth annual Travis Outlaw Day.

Outlaw, the former Starkville High School basketball star who now plays for the New Jersey Nets, was on hand as between 1,500 and 1,800 people turned out for food, games, prizes and more than a half-dozen competitions, said Markeeta Outlaw, Travis’ mother.

“It was by far the biggest crowd we’ve ever had,” Markeeta Outlaw said. “Everything was good. Everything was beautiful. We’re glad the weather held up.”

As part of the day’s events, Outlaw made a $20,000 contribution to the Starkville Boys and Girls Club.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

DISPATCH STAFF REPORT

The Starkville Tea Party is set to host a town hall meeting Sept. 4 at the city’s Sportsplex to allow the public to quiz candidates for the 3rd Congressional District U.S. House of Representatives seat.

Incumbent Rep. Gregg Harper and his challenger, Democrat Joel L. Gill, will discuss issues facing the nation and answer written questions from the audience.

Sid Salter, Clarion-Ledger editor/columnist and “Super Talk Radio” personality, will serve as moderator.

The event begins Sept. 4 at 11 a.m. at the Sportsplex, located at 405 Lynn Lane. The public is invited. For more information, e-mail Starkville Tea Party starkvilleteaparty@gmail.com or call 662-418-8115.

TIM PRATT

As Golden Triangle Planning and Development District Executive Director Rupert “Rudy” Johnson walked along the edge of Miley Drive Friday morning, he looked west and eyed Southwire and Clark Distributing Co.

Johnson then looked east, where he saw 1.5 acres of swampy woodland, then Pritchard Engineering and Dancing Feet Academy in the distance.

“How many sidewalks do you see around here?” Johnson asked. “None. How many people do you see walking around here? None. It’s an industrial park. Why would anybody want to put a sidewalk in an industrial park?”

He recently asked city officials the same question.

The Golden Triangle Planning and Development District wants to construct a new 14,000-square-foot building just north of the existing GTPDD offices on Miley Drive for local senior citizens. It would serve as a community center with activities and events for the more than 2,000 seniors who use the GTPDD annually, Johnson said.

But according to the city’s sidewalk ordinance, passed by the previous Board of Aldermen in May 2009, the GTPDD would be required to construct roughly one-fourth mile of sidewalks along Miley Drive and C.C. Clark Road before the city issues an occupancy permit for the new building. The project already is expected to cost $1.6 million, Johnson said, plus an extra $25,000 for the sidewalks, as required by the city.

Sidewalk to nowhere

“Why should we spend $25,000 for a sidewalk that goes to nowhere?” Johnson said, looking up and down Miley Drive, where no sidewalks were in sight. “It makes absolutely no sense to put a sidewalk in an industrial park.”

Johnson’s situation isn’t unique. The sidewalk ordinance has drawn scorn from developers and property owners since it was passed last year.

According to the ordinance, sidewalks are required in all new single-family residential and commercial subdivision developments. The ordinance also requires sidewalks in all other new non-single-family residential or non-agricultural development projects, or when construction improvements on an existing property equate to 50 percent or more of the appraised taxable value of the property.

Starkville’s current Board of Aldermen has enforced the ordinance since they took office in July 2009. The board’s unwillingness to grant variances caused at least one developer to pull a proposed project out of the city, while several others have complained regularly to city officials, saying the ordinance creates a patchwork of walkways around town. In some areas, such as newly constructed Fire Station 5 at Reed Road and Highway 25, a sidewalk is built in front of the structure, but the concrete ends at the neighboring property line, where there are no more walkways.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

TIM PRATT

The Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department is asking for the public to help identify and apprehend three men suspected of stealing a motorcycle Wednesday from a local apartment complex.

At about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, witnesses say three black males loaded a dark 2006 Suzuki GSX onto the back of an early-1980s Chevrolet pickup truck and left the apartment complex, although Sheriff’s Department Commander Brett Watson would not disclose the name of the apartments on Thursday. The truck, described as two-toned brown and tan with silver tips on the exhaust pipes, was last seen heading south on Old Mayhew Road toward Bardwell Road.

The first suspect appeared to be in his mid-30s, about 5 feet, 10 inches tall and roughly 200 pounds. He had a dark complexion, a gap between his teeth, a close haircut and scruffy facial hair, the sheriff’s department said. He was wearing blue jeans and a gray T-shirt.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.