TH URSDAY, mARcH 11, 2010 • 50¢
SpORTS
Job service dies in tiff over stimulus
BLOWING IN THE BREEZE
By Shelia Byrd The Associated Press
JACKSON — The Mississippi Department of Employment Security was in jeopardy after a bill reauthorizing the agency died under a On A5 deadline Wednesday Some bills amid a fight to force live, some die Gov. Haley Barbour to accept $56 million in stimulus funding. House Labor Committee Chairman Rufus Straughter, D-Belzoni, didn’t bring the bill out for a vote in time to meet a legislative deadline for the House and Senate to act on bills originating in the opposite chamber. The Senate bill was amended by his
INSIDE
cHANgINg HANDS Youth baseball, softball return to city B1
WEATHER Tonight: Partly cloudy; low near 52 Friday: Scattered light showers; high near 67
See Employment, Page A10.
Mississippi River:
City spends $19,000 for VTR T-hangars
26.1 feet Fell: 1.1 foot Flood stage: 43 feet
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By Steve Sanoski ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com
DEATHS • Darlean Patton Flowers • Joseph James King Jr. • Maud Esther Lee • Billy E. Ramsauer • Leon Stewart
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TODAY IN HISTORY
1861: The Constitution of the Confederate States of America is adopted during a convention in Montgomery, Ala. 1942: As Japanese forces continue to advance in the Pacific during World War II, Gen. Douglas MacArthur leaves the Philippines for Australia. (MacArthur, who subsequently vowed, “I shall return,” kept that promise more than 2 1/2 years later.) 1985: Mikhail S. Gorbachev is chosen to succeed the late Soviet President Konstantin U. Chernenko. 2005: A judge, court reporter and sheriff’s deputy are shot and killed at an Atlanta courthouse; Brian Nichols, suspected of killing them and a federal agent, surrendered a day later at the apartment of a woman he’d taken hostage, Ashley Smith. (Nichols was later convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.)
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ONLINE www.vicksburgpost.com VOLUME 128 NUMBER 70 2 SECTIONS
merediTh spencer•The Vicksburg PosT
An American flag waves in the background breeze as Roy and Sue Campbell’s Japanese magnolias bloom on Bowmar Avenue Wednesday, a true sign that spring is on the way. With the overnight
rains cleared out, the National Weather Service this morning was forecasting sunny skies until a few clouds and possibly some light showers move in Friday.
With support of the City of Vicksburg and Warren County, the Vicksburg-Tallulah Regional Airport in Mound, La., is moving forward with plans to build a T-hangar similar to one currently under construction at the city-owned Vicksburg Municipal Airport. Wednesday, the board of mayor and aldermen OK’d a request by VTR — which the city owns in equal shares with Warren County, Tallulah and Madison Parish — for $19,210.75 to help secure an engineer for the project. “We’ve already completed grading and banking for a new set of T-hangars, and what we need to do now is complete the engineering portion of it,” Benny Terrell, VTR board chairman, told the mayor and aldermen. “We have received funding from the three other See City, Page A9.
Vicksburg tourism
Annual events are foundation for return visits These stories are the fifth in a series by staff writer Steve Sanoski and journalism students from the University of Mississippi. On Friday: The VCVB agenda. By Steve Sanoski ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com Vicksburg’s annual events and festivals such as River-
fest, Tapestry, the Run Thru History and Four Seasons of the Arts are the framework on which much of the city’s regional tourism hangs. The events are key in generating the overnight stays sorely needed by local business owners and hoteliers and define the city’s identity for many visitors.
“The cultural heritage products we have in Vicksburg are always going to drive traffic here, but it’s the special events and programs
Bill Seratt
that really keep visitors in the market longer,” said Bill Seratt, Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director. “They also help get the word out to potential visitors that there’s always something fun and entertaining to do in Vicksburg.” However, as the events are generally organized and
operated by volunteer boards with limited funds, they’re annually challenged when it comes to advertising and promotion. “For us, it’s always a money thing,” said Erin Hern, who has been a volunteer Riverfest board member for five See Events, Page A10.
‘Immersion’ experiences increasingly important
By the numbers Annual events with average attendance Miss Mississippi Pageant ................................................... 10,000 Riverfest................................................................................. 6,000 Tapestry .....................................................................................500 Run Thru History ................................................................... 1,000 Over The River Run ...................................................................600 Governor’s Cup Youth Sports Tournament ....................... 6,000 Old Court House Flea Market/Downtown Fall Festival ... 3,000 Downtown Independence Day Celebration ....8,000 to 10,000 Downtown Mardi Gras Parade............................. 4,000 to 6,000 Downtown Christmas Parade .............................. 4,000 to 6,000 Four Seasons of the Arts ...................................................... 5,200
Sources: VCVB/Vicksburg Main Street Program
By Aline Carambat For The Post “Tapestry” is designed to tap into the increasing desire among visitors to immerse themselves in history — not just view sites where events happened and look at architecture and furnishings. The second year of Tapestry, by coincidence, kicks off today. For the next four
Betty Bullard
Carolyn Stephens
weeks, each Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and
Monday, 16 local attractions will offer special presentations at specific times. “What we’re doing is putting a bright light on history,” said Betty Bullard, vice president of the Vicksburg Bed and Breakfast Association. “We’re part of an education venue and we take that pretty seriously.” See Immersion, Page A10.
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 and Friday.
Aline Carambat
BANNERS
Andrew Mullen Scott
David Hopper
Donica Phifer
601-631-0400 1601 N. Frontage • Vicksburg, MS
Elizabeth Pearson