The city of Poplarville is growing — a self-evident fact when you look at the changes that have occurred and are occurring. Having grown up in what was once a sleepy stop on the railroad I can attest to many changes just in my 50-something years here. Others could document much more.
One indicator of that growth is the expansion of city boundaries now being proposed to the west, south and east and that is covered briefly in one of our front page stories this week. There will be many more articles on this topic as more details emerge. As with any change there are always negative and positive aspects, some of which depends on a person’s point of view.
Many years a go a high school friend summed up his opposition to growth for Poplarville — it would change the nature of this town from a comfortable, safer place to live to a larger, more complex city with all the attendant negatives associated with large groupings of people.
On the flip side, those who favor growth see a different aspect, one that can be summed up by looking at where many of your high school graduates end up: Anywhere but here. It has been drummed into our heads that to advance in the world you have to be successful and for good or ill that means getting a good paying job. For a long time those good paying employment opportunities were not here or not close enough to allow people to live here and commute. Growth can change that for the better.
Over the years that image of having to move away has changed a bit. Expansion of better technology and improved means of transportation allow people to live further from their places of employment. Also, growth of nearby larger cities have created a spill-over effect as people seek a quieter, safer place to live. Unfortunately, that spill-over dovetails back into the negative aspect of growth for the small, rural areas. We can run from growth but it catches up to us and changes us in many ways — some very subtly, some more apparent.
What are a few of the physical changes here? In the 1950s, Highway 11 was the main north-south artery of transportation with Highway 53 to the south and Highway 26 the east-west corridor. Growth on Highway 53 in town was nonexistent as best I can remember until the building of the high school. There were only two grade schools in town, 1 through 12 at the Lower Elementary and the Todd Memorial school on what was then East Beers St., now Martin Luther King Drive. Pearl River Jr. College was still in the same location but with a smaller footprint, i.e. no technology building, coliseum, ballfields (other than the now football practice field) or many of the current housing buildings.
A small grove of tungnut trees shaded a ramshackle building where the Kangaroo quick stop now sits and homes could be found on the Poplarville Plaza site. The Poplarville Park with its walking track had a large Community Center building, a swimming pool, a ballfield and tennis court and, near the railroad track, a Scout Hut and a hamper mill that made crates or barrels related to the tung industry (I think). Sorry, I’m going on 50 years of memory here.
There was an ice house adjacent to the railroad tracks at the end of the street past BankPlus and a dental office occupied the building where Brother’s Keepers formerly ran their aid ministry. Part of the empty lot near the Kountry Kitchen was one of the town’s main grocery stores and the older part of the former restaurant across from Longleaf Farm and Garden used to be the Farmer’s Co-Op. Where Longleaf is was the town’s railroad station and across from that was Orr’s two-story boarding house.
The list goes on and on and maybe at some point I can touch on more of the changes. The point is, growth is happening. Whether that growth is negative or positive is something we as citizens can impact and to some extent control. If we want it to be positive we have to take a proactive attitude — someone will have to take the lead. Does this area, does Poplarville, have anyone willing to do that? We sometimes wonder.
Butch Weir
Editorials
Changes abound in Poplarville
- Editorials
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Whatever courts decide, pardons mess poorly handled
The Greenwood Commonwealth:
Former Gov. Haley Barbour’s pardon fiasco is getting more intriguing and mysterious by the day.
In the latest development, The Associated Press reported that some of the files for the 198 pardons issued by Barbour in his last few days in office are missing. Among the missing files are those for the five inmates, including four murderers, who worked as trusties in the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion. -
Teen pregnancy requires serious discussion, not just platitudes
By The (Jackson) Clarion-Ledger:
In his State of the State address, Gov. Phil Bryant set out as a policy for his administration to tackle the issue of teen pregnancy — a formidable goal. -
Costa Concordia incident shows importance of hydrologic science
From the Univeristy of Southern Mississippi:
The recent maritime accident involving the cruise ship Costa Concordia validates the need for advances in ocean mapping and navigation technology, according to faculty in The University of Southern Mississippi Department of Marine Science who specialize in hydrographic science. -
State budget process should be reasonable discussion
By The (Biloxi) Sun Herald:
Mississippi’s budgeting process has drifted far, too far from the bottom line.
As a prime example, we cite the state Department of Health, which contends it needs at least $30 million to meet basic needs and an additional $6 million from the state to match a $13 million grant for life-saving medications. -
Judge correct to alter ruling on legal fees
By The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune:
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier amended his decision to create a fund for payment of potential legal fees in the BP oil spill litigation, appropriately removing unwarranted penalties for people and businesses who opted out of the court fight. That’s a welcome move. -
Cutting Health
By The (Jackson) Clarion-Ledger:
Officials at the Mississippi Department of Health are stunned by a proposed slashing of its state funding to $20.7 million — the lowest level it has seen since 1990, when it received $20.3 million. -
Bill requires ship channels be dredged to proper depth
By The (Opelousas, La.) Daily World:
Two days before Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., was to meet with our editorial board — a Panamanian-flagged coal freighter was magically transformed into an exclamation point.
The 73-foot ship, the Rondeau, was easing its way down the Mississippi River near Venice and was about to enter the Gulf of Mexico when it ran aground. -
Perhaps it’s time for state to consider lottery for school funds
By The Natchez Democrat:
Is Mississippi ready to gamble with its future?
The Legislature will decide, but maybe it’s time to give the matter serious thought.
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Schools at top of state’s ‘to-do' list for development
By The (Jackson) Clarion-Ledger:
During the excitement of the new Legislature being seated and statewide officials being sworn in, Mississippians may not have noticed that a new “blueprint” for the state’s development was also launched. -
Both hopeful, dire plans out for coastal restoration
By The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune:
The state’s updated plan for coastal restoration lays out two vastly different pictures of the future for Louisiana — one dire, one hopeful. In the first, nothing is done to combat the complex forces that have already caused this state to lose 1,883 square miles of land since the 1930s. - More Editorials Headlines
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Whatever courts decide, pardons mess poorly handled






