Buckley announces candidacy

I, Jimmy Buckley, a resident of Pearl River County, would like to announce my candidacy for District One Supervisor. I live in the community of Whitesand, where I was reared by my maternal grandparents, the late John and Desaline Travis. In Poplarville I attended Todd Memorial School and Rosenwald High School, in Covington, La. In 1973, I became the first African American to enlist in Poplarville’s Army National Guard.

Two years later, in 1975, I entered the regular U.S. Army and in 1977 I separated from the Army at Fort Jackson, S.C. After separating from the Army, I entered Midlands Technical College, Columbia, S.C. where I learned how to operate heavy equipment. To improve myself, I later entered Rutledge College, also in Columbia, where I majored in Business Administration. Upon returning to Pearl River County, I obtained several construction jobs; namely, with the Pittman Construction Company of New Orleans, where I assisted in building streets and commercial buildings. In later years, I became employed as a truck driver with the Pearl River Road Department.

I seek the job as District One Supervisor because I believe that I can make a difference in our county’s prospect and future. In this tough economy, which plagues all of America, obtaining and keeping a job is our county’s most pressing issue. If elected, I will work with our county’s other elected officials to develop strategies for economic growth in Pearl River County. If we can create job opportunities in our county, then many of our young people, who are forced to leave the county because of the lack of jobs, will stay and rear their families in Pearl River County. Moreover, I will work with all county officials to help improve our schools and fight against crime and the spread of drug use.

Remember me on election day and cast your vote for Jimmy Buckley, for together we can — and we will — make a difference.