The Big Sit

MOSS POINT -- Pascagoula River Audubon Center will hold "The Big Sit" this Saturday, Oct. 30

It will happen during the Fall Fly By celebration on Saturday. Local birding experts with the Mississippi Coast Audubon Society will be present to occupy two or three locations across the Center from which point they will “sit” and count the number of species that fly by that day.

Visitors can visit any and all stations and learn much about birds and birding from these bird enthusiasts. Bring your binoculars and a thirst for knowledge! The sitting will end around 12 p.m.

8 Days of Fun at the Fair

Jackson County Leann Leann Adkins, 13, Ahalysia Davis and LeKeria Kelly walk through ride selections.

Explorers enjoy the fair while on the job at the Jackson County Fair.




















Rides, rides and more rides.



















The Jackson County Fair got started Oct. 17 with a few people trickling in, but only got better as the day and the week continued until the eight days of fall fun concluded Oct. 24.

Lighthouse Added Attraction to City's Gateway

The Round Island Lighthouse will eventually add a sparkle to Pascagoula's western entrance.

Moss Point Observes International Walk to School Day

Principal Mumford and Superintendent Staley have a lot less company at the end of International Walk to School Day than when the walk started.

Moss Point officials Ruby Hill and Sherman Bradford bring up the rear of the International Walk to School Day at Magnolia Junior High on Oct. 6. Organizer May Montgomery enjoys a some talk time with a program speaker.

The Cars Are Back in Town!

OCEAN SPRINGS -- They've been cruisin' from one Sunday afternoon to another Sunday during the weeklong 2010 Crusin' The Coast.

Thousands showed up from numerous activities, bands, shows, truckloads of food and social gatherings that started Oct. 3. Roy Tyler and Sue Nowell of Kosciusko, Miss., attended the Oct. 8 events in Ocean Springs, which was held during the evening for the first time, allowing more people to participate, said Mayor Connie Moran.

Progress Continues on MP City Hall

Moss Point City Hall was refurbished after Hurricane Katrina left three feet of water inside the building. City employees returned to building after spending about four years in trailers. Progress continues on the new city hall on Oct. 1.

Works continues on the new police station.

Work to remake Denny Avenue in front of Moss Point City Hall; widened sidewalks on Main St.

Restoration Planning

(JACKSON, Miss.) -- The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality today announced its initiation of the restoration planning phase of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process in the wake of the Deep Horizon oil spill.

Further signaling the state’s continued efforts in restoring the Mississippi Gulf Coast, MDEQ
also published a Notice of Intent to conduct restoration planning. The state’s action was mirrored by other state and federal entities who also filed a Notice of Intent in recent days.

That document is available for review on the MDEQ web site:
http://www.deq.state.ms.us/MDEQ.nsf/page/NRDA_NRDAPlanning2010?OpenDocument.

“This important assessment phase of the NRDA process marks our next step in ensuring
that the State of Mississippi is made whole from the damages caused by the oil spill.
Through this process, we will assure that all of the damages to our natural resources are
fully documented, and that we are ultimately fully compensated,” said Trudy Fisher,
MDEQ Executive Director and the state’s designated trustee of natural resources.

“Simply put, the Oil Pollution Act requires that the entity or entities who caused the
damage to our natural resources bear the cost of restoring them. Our goal since the spill
has been to make Mississippi whole and today’s announcement marks a meaningful step
on that path,” she said.

NRDA is a restoration oriented legal process by which the public is made whole for harm
caused to natural resources and use of those resources by incidents such as the Deep
Horizon Oil Spill. A formal Notice of Intent indicates that the federal government and
the five affected Gulf states (Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, and Texas) are
well underway in the identification and documentation of impacts to their natural
resources and the development of a comprehensive restoration strategy.

“While the full extent of potential injuries to our Gulf Coast resources may take some
time to define and understand, trustees have both the authority and the duty to move as
quickly as possible to develop potential restoration projects,” said Fisher, Mississippi’s trustee. “The public will be an important partner in identifying restoration projects, and we look forward to interacting with them as this important discussion moves forward.”