Archive
April 27th, 2013
No we are not discussing a morning talk show, but the Oak Hill mixed doubles pairing of Kim Kelly and John Wesley Williamson have had similar success to “Regis and Kelly.”
To subscribe to the E-edition, please click here.
You did it West Point and Clay County.
We will have our share of photo opportunities in the coming months that should include politicians and economic developers breaking ground, shovels in hands, with industry executives.
To subscribe to the E-edition, please click here.
December 8, 1993, then President William Jefferson Clinton signed into law the document that nearly brought the United States economy to its knees. The North American Free Trade Agreement. This piece of paper opened our doors to cheap, overseas goods that don’t have to pass the rigorous testing processes or meet standards set in the U.S. to make sure the things we buy are safe. Owners of manufacturing facilities only saw that they would not have to deal with unions, striking workers or even pay their workers a minimum wage. They could make billions instead of millions!
Friday was a special day for Clay County and West Point.
There was a special session for a special community that everyone present knew deserved better than being at the bottom of employment statistics, like it has since over 1,000 jobs were lost at the closing of Sara Lee.
To subscribe to the E-edition, please click here.
Monumental. Extraordinary. Thrilling. And historic to say the least.
Yes, it was an exciting day for West Point Friday and a great day for the entire state of Mississippi with Mississippi lawmakers passing an act securing incentives for Yokohama Tire Corporation, which is slated to open in Clay County in 2015.
To subscribe to the E-edition, please click here.
November 1, 2012 was a typical cool fall morning.
The Clay County Board of Supervisors slowly started to trickle in at the Prairie Belt Powersite, located on Hazelwood Road north of town.
To subscribe to the E-edition, please click here.
April 26th
House Bill One, which has been named the Gibbs-Turner Economic Development Act has passed both houses in the legislature, and it is now law.
Angela Turner spoke to the Senate body before the vote today, endorsing the bill.
"As you know, Clay County has taken a hit," Turner said. "We are excited about the project coming to town."
Turner says that this has been a team effort.
"This is a major project for the state," Turner said.
The bill passed with no opposition in the Senate at 12:36 p.m.
Representative Tyrone Ellis, who represents a portion of Clay County helped push a clean House Bill through moments ago after Rep. Steve Holland had added an amendment to the bill that would include incentives for Cooper Tire.
Holland's arguments are that should help existing industry, something MDA executive Brent Christensen has said many times.
However, Ellis raised the point that it was not known by MDA or the state what exactly Cooper Tire needs in terms of incentives.
The initial commitment agreed upon by the Yokohama Tire Corporation spells 500 jobs in Clay County by 2015.
Brent Christensen, Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority told lawmakers today that phase one is projected to be in operation by 2015.
Yokohama employs 17,000 people worldwide, and if all four phases of this project are done at Clay County's Prairie Belt Powersite, West Point could be the home of 2,000 more.
"These phases are going to be in operation in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2023," Christensen said.
