TOPIC • C1
PULSE • E1
hAPPY LADY
hOME & GArDEN
Schultz’s life a patchwork of activity
Battle rages against backyard critters
SUN DAY, MA rch 7, 2010 • $1.50
SPOrTS
Vicksburg tourism If you build it, they will come
ON ThE bUbbLE Loss to Tennessee keeps Miss. State in tournament limbo b1
WEAThEr Today: Partly sunny; high of 67 Tonight: Mostly cloudy; low of 41 Mississippi River:
30.7 feet Fell: 0.4 foot Flood stage: 43 feet
A9
DEAThS • Rosa Lee Stevens • Lucille G. Sanford
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TODAY IN hISTOrY 1850: In a three-hour speech to the U.S. Senate, Daniel Webster of Massachusetts endorses the Compromise of 1850 as a means of preserving the Union. (Critics bitterly denounced Webster for endorsing a compromise which included a provision for returning runaway slaves to their owners.) 1876: Alexander Graham Bell receives a patent for his telephone. 1926: The first successful trans-Atlantic radio-telephone conversations take place, between New York and London. 1945: During World War II, U.S. forces cross the Rhine River at Remagen, Germany, using the damaged but still usable Ludendorff Bridge. 1965: A march by civil rights demonstrators is broken up in Selma, Ala., by state troopers and a sheriff’s posse.
INDEX Puzzles .................................. B8 Dear Abby ........................... B7 Editorial ................................A4 People/TV ............................ B7
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ONLINE www.vicksburgpost.com VOLUME 128 NUMBER 66 5 SECTIONS
Boosts expected in coming years; various offerings seen expanding
The impact
This is the first in a series of stories by staff writer Steve Sanoski and journalism students from the University of Mississippi. On Monday: Success might come at home, and the Vicksburg National Military Park.
Dollars /employment
THE ROAD
Tourism Expenditures Direct Tourism Employment FY 2009. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$209,700,963 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4,010 (16.2%) FY 2008. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$208,821,811 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4,160 (17.2%) FY 2007. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$213,451,203 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4,200 (17%) FY 2006. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$213,615,384 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4,170 (17.4%) FY 2005. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$221,944,503 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,300 (17 %) Source: Mississippi Development Authority Division of Tourism
By Steve Sanoski ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com From Civil War battlefields, antebellum homes and historical museums to outdoors adventures, Delta blues and riverboat casinos, Vicksburg tourists are attracted to the River City for myriad reasons. “Vicksburg is easy to sell. It really is, because if you name it, we got it,” said Elmerree Bradley, supervisor of the Mississippi Welcome Center on Washington Street, which welcomes about 150,000 visitors a year and offers a picturesque view of the Mississippi River and the river bridges. “And they come for it all.” Tourism directly accounted for about 4,000 jobs in Vicksburg and Warren County in 2009 — about 16 percent of the entire workforce — according to the Mississippi Development Authority Division of Tourism. Visitors to the city and county spent an estimated $209 million last year. Those numbers have dipped steadily in recent years, and the MDA Tourism Division is predicting a stilllagging economy will cause industry indicators to slide a little further this year. But with new museums on the way, the 150th anniversary of the Civil War nearing and continuous refinement of marketing and advertising efforts by the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau, those in the local tourism industry are optimistic stagnant tourism numbers will climb in coming years.
VICKSBURG TOURISM
Gaming Vicksburg’s casinos pay a 3.2 percent revenue tax to the State of Mississippi that is divided — with 10 percent going to schools, 25 percent to Warren County and 65 percent to the city. A second revenue tax is an 0.8 percent share of the state’s 8.8 percent revenue tax. It is split based on population proportions between Vicksburg and Warren County. Each casino is also required to pay $150 for each gaming device annually to the city. Riverwalk Casino opened as the city’s fifth in October 2008. Here are the total collections in recent fiscal years:
AHEAD The project Five journalism students from the University of Mississippi spent two days in Vicksburg last month — to gather and report on the future of tourism in the area. Their stories, directed by reporter Steve Sanoski and Executive Editor Charlie Mitchell, are being published today through Friday.
City County Schools FY 2009. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,933,512 . . . . . . . . . . . .$2,908,961 . . . . . . . . . . . . .$789,606 FY 2008. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,938,382 . . . . . . . . . . . .$2,909,057 . . . . . . . . . . . . .$790,059 FY 2007. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,019,109 . . . . . . . . . . . .$3,025,041 . . . . . . . . . . . . .$821,661 FY 2006. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $8,107,785 . . . . . . . . . . . .$3,470,482 . . . . . . . . . . . . .$943,028 FY 2005. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,853,449 . . . . . . . . . . . .$2,954,754 . . . . . . . . . . . . .$802,510 Source: Mississippi Gaming Commission
Lodging Revenue, occupancy rates and average daily rates in Vicksburg as reported to Smith Travel Research. Demand is the total number of rooms sold, excluding complimentary stays, and revenue is the total amount collected on all room rentals: Demand Revenue Occupancy rate Average daily rate 2009 . . . . . . . . 430,562 . . . . . .$30,583,363 . . . . . . . . . 51.7% . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$71.03 2008 . . . . . . . . 458,936 . . . . . .$35,069,765 . . . . . . . . . 66.0% . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$76.24 2007 . . . . . . . . 410,038 . . . . . .$29,539,805 . . . . . . . . . 61.1% . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$72.04 2006 . . . . . . . . 417,799 . . . . . .$28,460,546 . . . . . . . . . 63.2% . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$68.12 2005 . . . . . . . . 409,442 . . . . . .$25,716,841 . . . . . . . . . 64.8% . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$62.81 Source: Smith Travel Research
In development Two new museums will open near the floodwall murals, splash fountain and playground at the City Front Catfish Row Art Park within two years.
With the retired MV Mississippi IV as its centerpiece, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Interpretive Center broke ground in November and is expected to be completed in the spring of 2011. The $16 million interpretive
Aline Carambat
Andrew Mullen Scott
Elizabeth Pearson
Donica Phifer
David Hopper
center and museum will feature interactive exhibits on the Corps’ efforts to improve navigation and limit flooding on the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Exhibits on life surrounding the lower Mississippi River are also
planned, as is a walkway and observation deck. One block away down Levee Street, the longvacant, 103-year-old Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad See Tourism, Page A6.
Hills a test for runners, walkers By Tish Butts tbutts@vicksburgpost.com At the ripe young age of 80, Murray Collum crossed the Run Thru History finish line on Saturday morning with a time of 1 hour, 14 minutes Race coverage and, like many other on B1, B3 and B4 racers at the annual Vicksburg showcase race, found the course challenging. He said he has run in about 25 of the 31 annual races through the Vicksburg
merediTh spencer•The Vicksburg PosT
See Run, Page A9.
Participants in the 31st Annual Run Thru History begin the 10-kilometer run at the Vicksburg National Military Park Saturday morning. More photos/www.vicksburgpost.com
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