It was HOT at the Neshoba County Fair this past week. As a lobbyist for my alma mater, The W, I attended on Tuesday, which was Universities and Colleges Day. I enjoyed spending time with W President Nora Miller and others who came from the Columbus campus. ESPN was also there filming the harness races.
In addition to my work for The W, I am the registered lobbyist for the Town of Oakland. Not many towns this size have a registered lobbyist, but when I “retired” from paying work, I offered to do that for the town since I had a lot of experience at the State Capitol. Then The W called and it seems like I forgot what “retire” is supposed to be!
Thankfully, we have had some relief from that heat dome. Let’s hope it will stay this way for awhile.
James and I drove over to the Longhorn Steakhouse out from Sallis Friday night. This is the area of Attala County that he grew up in and his cousin owns the Longhorn. His almost 93-year-old aunt, who worked there until last year, heard we were there and came up from her house to visit with us at the restaurant. There were car tags from all over in the parking lot. It has gotten quite a good reputation and we enjoyed it. My classmate, Patrice O’Brien, told me her brother Sam and his wife, who lived in Thomastown, used to love to eat there.
Sanaa Cooper of Oakland received the highest score in the English Language Arts (ELA) testing taken at the end of the school year. Test results were just revealed this past week. Sanaa is an 8th grader at Coffeeville High School. ELA is a core subject in schools which covers language, reading, speaking/listening and writing. Those are powerful skills for success not only in other academic areas but also in life beyond the classroom. Congratulations, Sanaa! She is the daughter of Alishia Bland.
Tiffany Ross Carr and her daughters, Julia and Francie, from Texas were in town Sunday afternoon visiting with her dad Tommy Ross and her great-aunt Margaret Ross. Janet Ross Caulder, Paul and Teresa Ross, Ginny Toole Sosebee, and I also enjoyed the visit.
Emily-Jo Wiggins received word last week that she has been accepted into the Oxford Artists' Guild. We are all so happy for her. She is a gifted photographer. Some of her work can be seen at Lens2canvas.com.
Leyah Windom, the youth representative to the Oakland Area Chamber, has been invited to join the Beta Club based on her grades, exemplary character and service to school and community. Congratulations, Leyah!
Don’t forget the Kids in the Park Back to School Celebration this Saturday at the James Riley Swearengen Walking Track and Park in Oakland. There will be lots of fun and games and food beginning at 10 a.m. and ending at noon.
It was exciting to learn that my nephew, Ross Burney, recorded an interview with State Agricultural Commissioner Andy Gipson during the Water Valley Area Chamber of Commerce’s Watermelon Carnival as part of the Farm-to-Table: Make Mississippi Healthy Again! I’m keeping watch on the commissioner’s website to see the interview when it’s posted.
Both Mississippi State’s Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center and the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio are selections among 54 national finalists featured this year in Venice, Italy, at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, a premier international architectural showcase. That’s quite an achievement, but the reason it caught my eye is that the U.S. Pavilion exhibition theme was “PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity.”
Porches used to be just an important part of our lives in the South (maybe other parts of the country, too, but I was born into the Southern Porch Traditions). You visited on the porch, shelled peas on the porch, rocked a fussy baby, or ate homemade ice cream. When I visited my grandparents in Yazoo City in the summers, as soon as we ate supper, we headed for the big wrap-around porch and people were strolling up and down the street, waving to my grandparents and friends or even coming into the gate to share some news.
At my Oakland grandparents, where my mom lives now, we grandkids loved to get in the porch swing. We may have overloaded it once upon a time and it may have fallen down with a bunch of us in trouble with my Granddaddy! We still love that front porch and many a visit, a deep conversation, and grandkids piling onto the swing happen as often as we gather. When it gets chilly, we can move to the sun porch, which actually used to be my Aunt Fae Ross’ beauty shop before she and Uncle Thomas built their house out on Highway 51 and incorporated a beauty shop.
Don’t forget the Oakland School reunion on Saturday, Aug. 9, at the Bob Tyler Fish Hatchery at Enid Lake. People will start gathering at 10:30 a.m. It’s potluck, so bring a dish and enjoy the company!
Congratulations to the Oakland Chamber Executive Director Sue Donohue Smith for placing third in the Watermelon Recipe Contest last week at the Watermelon Carnival in Water Valley. Sue is a really great cook. A good thing, too, since she owns Sue Can Do Baking and Catering!
Oakland Tidbit: More than 20,000 vehicles a day move through Oakland at I-55 with roughly 4,600 per day combined on highways 32 and 51.
Don’t forget to share your news with me at oaklandareachamber@gmail.com.
