Here are the polling places for the Tuesday, June 2, General Election:

• Precinct 1 — Fire Dept., 2288 Adcox Rd.
• Precinct 2 — Criminal Justice Center (police dept.), 328 So. Main St.
• Precinct 3 — National Guard Armory, 1300 Hwy. 11 So.
• Precinct 4 — South Side Elementary School, 400 So. Beech St.
• Precinct 5 — High School Auditorium, corner of Goodyear Blvd. and Kirkwood St.

Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.

• Opponents ask, Why should city taxpayers fund a connection to a private development outside the city limits?
• Judge orders gate be opened immediately for one-way traffic, two-way later
• City ordered to upgrade and improve Cooper Road from gate to Hwy. 43.

POPLARVILLE, Miss., Friday, May 29 — Circuit Court Judge Prentiss Harrell ruled yesterday in favor of a group that wants to open the Cooper Road gate as a traffic outlet for Hide-A-Way Lake, even though the development is not in the Picayune city limits, a source said.

However, a spokesperson in the Pearl River Co. Circuit Court Clerk’s office said no judge’s ruling in the case had by 4 p.m. today been filed. 

Picayune City Attorney Nathan Farmer said late tonight that the fact that the ruling has not been filed so far is not unusual. He said the judge dictated his opinion into the record.

And that ruling did not bode well for Picayune taxpayers.

Farmer said the judge’s ruling requires the gate be opened immediately so traffic can exit Hide-A-Way onto Cooper Road, and that later when entry is upgraded, the judge ordered traffic be allowed to flow both ways, in and out of Hide-A-Way. 

His order also requires Picayune to improve Cooper Road — from the gate where Cooper Road deadends at the Hide-A-Way property line all the way to Hwy. 43 — up to Miss. Dept. of Transportation standards for a collector road. The order gives Picayune 60 months, or 5 years, to do that.

In addition, the judge ordered that Hide-A-Way contribute $60,000 to the project over the 5-year period, or $12,000 a year.

Farmer said he will discuss the matter with the council the next time the council meets. The council is scheduled to meet again on Tuesday, June 2. He said the discussion would be in a closed-door, executive session.

“I will meet with the council and go over our legal options, ” he said.

The hearing lasted a day and a half.

Opponents against the opening say it would allow too much traffic each day down Cooper Road. Hide-A-Way has only one outlet now onto Hwy. 11. When the gate is opened at the back of Hide-A-Way, it will connect Lakeshore Drive to Cooper Road, which empties out onto Hwy. 43 at the picture show and Winn-Dixie shopping center in North Picayune just off I-59 Exit 6.

Sources close to the city say that the City Council will have to decide whether or not to appeal the ruling. Upgrading the road will cost the city a lot of money. The City of Picayune has had several big budget shortfalls lately and right now has no extra money to do anything.

One source close to the city said that if the city has to improve Cooper Road, the project could cost into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. And under the judge’s order the city is required to do exactly that.

Opponents have argued that Picayune taxpayers should not be obligated to pay for an additional outlet to Hide-A-Way Lake, which is a private development and not inside the city limits.

Besides traffic from Hide-A-Way now given the right to use the road, commuter traffic from three subdivisions and an apartment complex pour out into the road each morning and for the return trip home in the afternoon. The road right now is little more than a service road just off I-59 at Exit 6.

A Hide-A-Way security official said the gate will be open beginning on Monday, June 1, for traffic to exit Hide-A-Way between the hours of 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. There will be no entry by the gate to Hide-A-Way until the road and gate exit are upgraded, he said.

Gate at end of Cooper Road is open 6:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m. for exit out of Hide-A-Way

• (Developing; more to come)

• Fast Work: Complaint on Tuesday, Clean by Thursday! Wow!

PICAYUNE, Miss., Friday, May 29 — Ann Dupont Bennett, who lives at 308 Dozier St., appeared before the city council on Tuesday, May 26, and thanked the council and city workers for promptly taking care of a ditch problem she outlined to the council at its Tuesday, May 19, council meeting.

At the May 19 meeting she told the council that the ditch, which drains between Dozier Street and West Side Elementary School, had reached the “unbearable” stage, with high weeds, stagnant water, odors and dangers from snakes. She said she had stepped on one and her neighbor claimed she had killed 20 snakes crawling out from the ditch.

Mayor Greg Mitchell then asked Chad Frierson, the city public works director, to check into Mrs. Bennett’s problem, report back to Mrs. Bennett on what he had found and then get with City Manager Harvey Miller with a plan of attack.

Urgency was added to the task when Councilman Jerry Bounds said that the snakes could pose a danger to West Side students who play near the ditch. The ditch runs behind the school.

By Thursday, May 21, city work crews had the ditch cleaned out. 

“I would like to thank Chad Frierson for coming out there, looking at the ditch and getting the job done,” Mrs. Bennett told the council. “It was done by Friday because I went out and took pictures of it, and I want to thank everyone who had a hand in cleaning up the ditch.”

“Thank you, Ann,” Mayor Greg Mitchell replied.

Bennett inspects a clean ditch behind her home at 308 Dozier

PICAYUNE, Miss., Thursday, May 28 –  City Clerk Priscilla C. Daniel said that she does not look for any problems during the Tuesday, June 2, General Election.

City Clerk Daniel

“It went smoothly last time (the Democratic Second Primary); I don’t expect anything less this time. These poll workers are really conscientious, and we have a good group of workers. I don’t look for any problems; I really don’t,” said Daniel.

City workers today at 3 p.m. tested the voting machine counter with a test deck of ballots, and it checked out okay. In addition, Daniel said, poll workers have attended three seminars on voting procedures since the mixup between Precincts 1 and 3 occurred in the May 5 First Republican Primary.

A mixup in voter registrations has resulted in that race being held again Tuesday in conjunction with the General Election. Daniel said the mixup on the registration of voters between Precincts 1 and 3 has been rectified and double-checked.

She also explained the process of voting by affidavit ballot and the set-up for voting in the revote for the Precinct 3 council seat held by Republican Anna Bales Turnage. She is being challenged by fellow Republican Jason Todd Lane, who won the first round on May 5 by a vote of 59 to 57.

However, Turnage protested the results, charging that some of her supporters were turned away from voting in Precinct 3 because of a mixup between Precinct 1 and 3 registration books. On May 18, the city Republican Executive Committee ruled in her favor 3-1, setting a second election for that seat in conjunction with Tuesday’s General Election.

Voting in Precincts 1, 2, 4 and 5 will be simple; there will be only one ballot and you can vote for whomever you want to. But it will be different and little more complicated in Precinct 3.

In Precinct 3 there will be two separate elections: one, the General Election, for mayor between State Sen. Ezell Lee and Republican candidate Ed Pinero, and the Special Election between Lane and Turnage. There will be two separate polling booths, two separate ballots and two separate set of poll workers.

Everyone can vote in the mayor’s race, but voting in the Precinct 3 Special Election is regulated in this way: if you voted Democratic in either the First or Second Primary, you cannot vote in the Special Election. If you did not vote in the First or Second primaries or voted in the Republican First Primary, you can vote in the Special Election.

Whoever wins the Special Election for council will ocuupy the Precinct 3 council seat, since there is no other opposition.

Daniel also said that if you are sure you are registered in a certain precinct, and you show up to vote in that precinct, and if your name is not on the books, or some mixup occurs, you can request an affidavit ballot and vote under protest. The poll workers have to by law furnish you an affidavit ballot. The affidavit ballots are then checked later, and if the ballot is found to be valid, it is counted. If not valid, it is not counted.

The race for mayor between Lee and Pinero will be on each ballot since candidates for that office run at-large, in every precinct, citywide. The current mayor, Greg Mitchell, chose not to seek re-election.

Here’s a rundown on how each ballot will look:

Precinct 1: For mayor: Ezell Lee and Ed Pinero; for council Republican incumbent Larry Watkins, who beat Republican challenger Jeff Lossett in the first primary to win re-election. So far, Watkins is the only incumbent to win re-election outright.

Precinct 2: The mayor’s race, and the race for the council seat between Independent Lynn Bogan Bumpers and Democratic incumbent Donald L. Parker. Parker won a first primary Democratic victory against two challengers to move into the General Election to face Bumpers. Bumpers ran against Parker four years ago and lost by only 11 votes. Bumpers is manager of the Baylous Funderal Home and her mother, Mabel Bogan, owns the funeral home.

Precinct 3: The mayor’s race, and the Special Election for the council seat between incumbent Turnage, a teacher, and challenger Lane, an anesthetist at Highland hospital.

Precinct 4: The mayor’s race, and for council Democrat Larry E. Breland, Sr., a retired teacher, who won a first primary victory against incumbent Councilman Leavern Guy, who has served on the council for 24 years. It was a stunning upset victory for Breland. He is automatically elected since he faces no other opposition.

Precinct 5:  The mayor’s race, and for council Wayne Gouguet. Gouguet won a Republican First Primary victory over two opponents, Howard Alexander and Jeff Harrington. Incumbent Republican Councilman Jerry Bounds chose not to seek re-election. There is no other opposition for the seat.

The City Election Commission manages the General Election, while the city Republican Executive Committee is in charge of the Special Council Election in Precinct 3. Members of the Commission are J.P. Burns, Mabel Smith and Gladys Vaughn. Members of the committee are John Pigott, Susan Wilson, Ann Parker, G. Gerald Cruthird and Cecil L. Watkins.

Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. on June 2. Counting was over quickly at 8 p.m. during the Second Democratic runoff for mayor between Lee and Mark Thorman, and stretched into midnight during the May 5 first primary. Officials don’t expect the count to be over quickly and believe they will have the final results before midnight.

Amber Hinton, city accountant, checking vote counting computer

• A long, drawn-out discussion seems to indicate that if you are throwing a party with a lot of loud noise that might drift across to the neighbors’ houses, you might check with the city permit dept. However, if you are just throwing a family “get-together,” with just talking and socializing, you probably don’t have to worry about it.

PICAYUNE, Miss., Tuesday, May 26 — If you are planning on throwing a party at your house in the near future, you might want to check with the city permit dept. and see if you need to get a city noise permit.

That was seemingly the conclusion of a long discussion between Councilmen Leavern Guy and Donald L. Parker and Councilwoman Anna Bales Turnage in today’s council meeting.

Here’s how the conversation went:

Guy: “The other thing was the garthering for parties, having to have a permit in order to have a party.”

Turnage: “Like parties at our home or parties at the park?”

Guy: “At their homes; we need to look to see if there is a rule that would apply. Summer is approaching.”

Deputy Chief David Ervin: “Currently, if they plan to have music outdoors; we already have had two or three requests on that. The noise ordinance already covers that if there is going to be some sort of outside music or entertainment that would disturb the neighborhood.”

Guy: “That’s good; I did not realize that.”

Turnage: “My question is how are you going to regulate just a family party in the backyard. When I think of a party I think of a large party at a park, and a large family gathering. I just don’t see how you are going to regulate that. I had a party for my brother’s graduation and there were 60 people there. We had slides and entertainment for the children; do you mean I would have to get a license for that? I can’t see you requiring people to have a permit for having a barbecue in their backyard.”

Guy: “So the noise ordinance would cover that. That would be inclusive in that ordinance.”

Turnage: “No, if someone had a music box in their backyard, they don’t have to get a permit right now. Am I correct? If you have a party at your home and you have a radio going, people don’t come up here to buy permits for that.”

Ervin: “No, it would not apply to that, but if they had a stage set up for a band or a DJ spinning records, yes, it would cover that and they would need a permit.”

Guy: “What I am talking about, so that you won’t misinterpret what I am saying, is that if you have a…and you (Ervin) answered my question, if you have a partyand there is loud music involved then you need a permit.”

Ervin: “That’s correct.”

Guy: “And that’s under the noise ordinance and it is already on the books.”

Ervin: “Yes, Sir.”

Guy: “We don’t have to do anything other than enforce it.”

Ervin: “That’s correct.”

Guy: “So if anyone is having a party, and there is going to be loud music involved, then they are going to have to get a permit from the city. If you have a family barbecue and there is going to be loud music then there is a need to get a permit.”

Ervin: “That’s correct. It’s a $10 permit that must be posted at the party, so that if we get a call complaining of noise from the party, we can go and check and see if the permit is valid. The permit is written for the number of hours the party is expected to last.”

Guy: “So that is on the books as of now. I did not realize that that was included in our ordinance.”

Councilman Jerry Bounds: “Mr. Guy, did you mean parties playing loud music or just people standing out in the yard talking real loud.”

Guy: “Mainly, music. What we don’t want to insinuate is that families cannot have gatherings like Anna mentioned.”

Turnage: “But when you brought it up, you said parties, and I even had a graduation party and there were 60 people there. Am I the only one that thinks this. People don’t know that they have to get a permit. It needs to be posted on the internet. So if you are going to enforce it, you need to give people a chance. I don’t think I violated any ordinance. So let me get this straight: if I have a birthday party for my child and I have a jumping trampolin, water slide and I have music and I have a lot of guest, I have to come get a permit for that?”

Ervin: “If you have some sort of outside entertainment that is going to generate some noise out over the neighborhood, then yes.”

Turnage: “In other words if it’s a radio I would not have to come and get a permit.”

Ervin: “I don’t think so unless it was a mighty powerful radio.”

Parker: “I think we are talking about two different kinds of parties…I think I can say something that will enlighten us. I was called one Sunday about a graduation party. It wound up the highway patrol was there, the city police was there, the county deputies were there; one officer had a shotgun drawn; and I had to talk to the city police and the party participants to get things calmed down. These type parties do erupt here in the city. And that’s why we need something to help prevent or control these type parties.”

Turnage: “I know what you are saying, but the way it was first presented was not that way.”

The council took no further action on the matter, other than to discuss it.

• Some kids might be ordered to “pull up their pants” if ordinance drafted and passed

PICAYUNE, Miss., Tuesday, May 26 — Councilman Leavern Guy today asked City Attorney Nathan Farmer to explore the possibility of including in the city’s indecent exposure law a ban on the practice of “wearing your pants below your buttocks.”

The style, popular among youth and called “low-riding,” results in the exposure of the youth’s underware, and some have reported seeing youths exposing the entire posterior portion of their anatomy.  Some social observers say the style originated in the U.S. prison system and spread when youths began to ape the style in an effort to look “cool.”

Guy told the council that the council had talked about it several times but never did anything about it. 

 ”I would like for us to look into it and see if we could include that practice in the rules for indecent exposure,” Guy said.

He told Farmer, “I think we should look at enhancing the indecent exposure ordinance.”

The “low-riding” style has infuriated some citizens and politicians.

In Louisiana, State Rep. Derrick Shepherd, a Democrat from Morrero, La., has introduced a bill into the state legislature that would fine persons wearing “low-riding pants” $500 or six months in jail or both. “I am sick of seeing it,” he told fellow legislators as he filled the bill.

Others are thinking about banning the style, too. In Atlanta, the school board passed regulations forbidding the style, the Charleston, S.C., school board is discussing the issue and some cities in Tennessee are looking at passing laws to ban the practice.

• (Developing; more to come)

• Vote was 5-0 with no objections
• Turnout for hearing was real light
• Next council meeting is June 2

PICAYUNE, Miss., Tuesday, May 26 — The City Council today adopted a no-smoking ordinance, mainly aimed at restaurants, following a year of revisions to the ordinance and debate over it.

The ordinance will now be printed in the local newspaper and will become law 30 days after its publication date.

The vote was 5-0. Voting yes were Councilman Jerry Bounds, Councilwoman Anna Bales Turnage, Councilmen Larry Watkins and Donald L. Parker and Mayor Greg Mitchell. Councilman Leavern Guy was absent. Guy arrived five minutes late and the ordinance was voted on and passed before he arrived at the meeting. 

After the council meeting, Guy said his being late was not intentional. He said he works in New Orleans and experienced delays. “If I would have been here, I would have voted for it. I favor it.”

City Manager Harvey Miller was also absent. He was out of town on business.

City Attorney Nathan Farmer wrote six versions of the ordinance  before it was actually adopted today. It was modeled after a Gulfport ordinance but was not as broad.

The ordinance prohibits smoking within 3 to 5 feet and inside of a restaurant, and a restaurant is definded as an establishment that serves a certain percentage of its sales in food. Private clubs, like the VFW, are exempt.

The fines are small but could add up if offenses are repeated. Both customers and business owners can be fined if they violate the provisions of the ordinance. Violation of the law is a misdemeanor.

The public hearing on the ordinance lasted only about five minutes. No one objected to its passage. Only a few scattered individuals attended the hearing, mainly city dept. heads.

Before the council adopted the ordinance,  Asst. Police Chief David Ervin said police officials had reviewed it and were comfortable with the ordinance.

Watkins motioned it be adopted and Turnage seconded the motion.

The council meets again on June 2.