Adams County supervisors said they are unsure they can provide an $800,000 payment to the county-owned airport for the coming year, a figure described by the airport’s director as necessary to operate the facility as it accommodates commercial passenger airline service for the first time in three decades.
The request was presented Monday by Natchez Adams County Airport Director Carl Beasley. Supervisors said they are working to hold down spending and provide tax relief for residents after property tax increases earlier this year.
Separately, Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of the Smitty’s Supply explosion in Roselyn. Contamination concerns remain related to the event. Pat Masburn, who lives on the Tangipahoa River about 35 miles south of the plant that stored auto lubricants and motor oil, said the incident involved a large black plume of smoke and a strong smell. Masburn also said millions of oily liquid and industrial chemical wastes were released and that the river remains darker than it was before the explosion.
In Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves announced the state will deploy more than $3 million to expand mental health services for children, adolescents, and young adults affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding is being provided through a Community Development Block Grant CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Program administered by the Mississippi Development Authority, with the money intended to modernize treatment environments and build new long-term recovery programming. The grants will support efforts including refurbishing mental health clinics and therapeutic residential facilities, healing arts programs, and a trauma-informed transitional living program.
In Louisiana, the Labor Day “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign is underway through September 7. Louisiana State Police said additional patrols will be conducted at both state and local levels during the campaign to look for impaired drivers. Louisiana State Police also said it will continue working with enforcement partners, including through sobriety checkpoints and proactive patrols.
Louisiana State Police said data from the Center for Analytics and Research and Transportation Safety at LSU shows that during the Labor Day holiday period from 2020 through 2024, 18 people were killed and 271 were injured in crashes.
Finally, the Mississippi River at Natchez-Vidalia was reported at 26.52 feet and rising.
