So many blessings for Natchez – Mississippi’s Best Community Newspaper

So many blessings for Natchez

Printed 6:30 am Sunday, October 2, 2022

Thursday morning, as a stupendous fall day dawned and an excited group of Natchezians greeted the gorgeous new river vessel Viking Mississippi, now set to deliver 1000’s extra guests to our metropolis every year, I needed to pause for a second to present thanks. God actually has been blessing Natchez, and the excellent news has been arduous to maintain up with.

Simply this week Natchez Adams Faculty District’s score shot up from a D to a B. Our public elementary faculty, McLaurin Elementary achieved an A score. And we’re approaching the completion of the state’s latest and most state-of-art highschool, Natchez Excessive Faculty, together with a totally renovated Natchez Center Faculty proper throughout from it. On high of this, NECA, Natchez Early School Academy, one in every of solely 4 such applications within the state, is now rated within the very high tier of Mississippi excessive faculties, with 200 college students enrolled in a program to concurrently earn their highschool diplomas and school affiliate levels – for gratis to their dad and mom!

Additionally this week, work progressed within the set up of recent playground tools in any respect six of town’s public parks. As well as, rest room renovations at North Natchez and Harmony parks at the moment are full, and an entire renovation of the Youth Middle at North Natchez Park is now underway. Work will quickly start on our baseball fields at Duncan Park, and new tennis courts are quickly to be added. We are also making progress within the design part of the restoration of the Duncan Park Golf Clubhouse, scheduled to begin in 2023.

Tuesday, updates have been supplied at our BOA assembly relating to the event of the historic Eola Lodge, gearing up for a 2023 renovation, and town additionally introduced plans to finish exterior renovation of the historic Illinois Central Depot situated on our Bluff, along with including public restrooms, a customer info heart, and a customer theater expertise. We additionally introduced that the personal builders who have been hoping to develop a restaurant there’ll now flip their consideration to a bigger and higher restaurant improvement on personal property they personal adjoining to the Depot the place historic constraints should not at play and a greater view of the river might be loved.

On high of all of this, town’s funds proceed to indicate huge enchancment over latest years, with gross sales tax collections persevering with to set information and new improvement persevering with to baffle occasion the pundits – looks as if we’ve got a ribbon chopping each different day currently! And October is now right here and together with it Fall Pilgrimage and thrilling concert events coming to city: Patti LaBelle, CeeLo Inexperienced and Kool and the Gang subsequent weekend on the first-ever “Blues and Soul Superbowl,” Chapel Coronary heart and the Driveby Truckers at our metropolis’s 37^th Balloon Pageant the weekend after, and Deanna Carter and our personal Eleanor Swede at Longwood Afternoon the final weekend of this month! Rather a lot to soak up – our eating places, motels and B&B’s are going to be hopping busy!

Time and house don’t permit for a lot of the opposite excellent news we’ve got to share. There’s a lot of it. Suffice it to say, we’re actually blessed. Sure, there are some I notice who discover it arduous to imagine that each one of those nice issues are occurring, however I for one am excited to have a good time the constructive. Nothing comes straightforward, and sure we nonetheless have challenges to beat as we proceed shifting ahead. However the Natchez Renewal is going on, and we couldn’t be happier. As a result of Natchez Deserves Extra.

Dan M. Gibson is mayor of Natchez.