Community

A lighting project worth nearly three quarters of million dollars will soon make travel safer for everyone while welcoming visitors to Collins.

The project, approved by the Collins Board of Aldermen, will improve lighting along U.S. Highway 49 and Mississippi Highway 184, also known as Main Street.  The new lights will be LED, which are more energy efficient and often brighter than others forms.  LED lighting often lasts longer than traditional lighting, too.

“We’re very excited about it,” Mayor Hope Magee Jones said.  “The lighting is just going to light our city up and make it even more visible for our community and bring a lot of exposure for people who are traveling on the highways.”

The lowest bid int he amount of $699,737.10 came in from Webster Electric.  A federal grand administered by the Mississippi Department of Transportation will pay for 80 percent of the cost while Collins is responsible for 20 percent.

Director of Public Works Bob Shoemake explained some existing infrastructure will be used.

“The poles that are existing, we’re going to put new arms on them and new LED lights and require them with new underground wiring.  That will all be improved greatly,” Shoemake said.

The lighting project should be completed in late 2019.

Voters in Collins will soon make the decision of whether or not to allow liquor to be sold inside the city limits.
Back in June, a group of Collins citizens submitted a petition which required city leaders to hold an election if there were enough verified signatures.
“We are doing what’s requested by the citizens and required by the state,” Mayor Hope Magee said. “I’ll voice my opinion at the poll when I cast my vote.”
City Clerk Suzette Davis explained a petition must include 20 percent of a municipality’s qualified electorate to trigger an election. Over the past few months, her office has been verifying each person’s signature. Out of a grand total of 539         names on the petition, only 372 were valid; however, it was over the required amount of 345 valid signatures, which is 20 percent of Collins’ 1,727 registered voters. According to Davis, some rejected because of non-registered voters or people signing twice.
The election is set for Tuesday, October 30, 2018, from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. All voters will cast ballots at the City of Collins Civic Center at 3320 Highway 49. Absentee voting began September 24 and will continue at City Hall from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.  City Hall will open special hours for absentee voting from 8 a.m. until noon on Saturday, October 20 and Saturday, October 27.

The City of Collins has announced rate increase that will take effect October 1, 2018.  The new rates for sewer are $14.00for 3,000 gallons or less,and $3.35 per 1,000 gallons thereafter.

The garbage rates will increase to $12.00 per month for residential, $20 per month for small commercial and $100 per month for large commercial.

The City of Collins is hosting the first annual Family Fourth on Wednesday, July 4, 2018, at the Collins Civic Center. The event will be held from 5-9 p.m.

Featured activities will include a children and pet parade. Children ages 0-12 years may ride on bicycles, in wagons or walk in the parade. They are encouraged to decorate the bikes, wagons, etc. in red, white, and blue. Pets on a leash with their owners are invited to participate in the parade as well.

Other activities include live music with a special presentation by the Covington County Mass Choir as well as a hula hoop contest, pie eating contest, sack race, three-legged race, food, fun and more.

The public is invited to bring lawn chairs and attend this free event which will end with a fireworks display.

For more information about this upcoming event, please contact Collins City Hall at 601-765-4491.

The City of Collins will host its first annual Family Fourth celebration on Wednesday, July 4, 2018, at the Collins Civic Center.  The event will be held from 5-9 p.m. and will feature Covington County’s Mass Choir, a children’s parade, games and activities, entertainment, food and more.  The public is invited to bring lawn chairs and enjoy this free family event!

For more information, contact Collins City Hall at 601-765-4491.

The 29th Annual Okatoma Festival will be held on Saturday, May 5. As a part of the day’s celebration, the Okatoma Festival parade will be held at 10:30 a.m. in Collins. This year’s theme is “Home Sweet Home”. Participants are encouraged to enter floats, four wheelers, trucks, cars or golf carts. Due to safety concerns, walkers will not be permitted to participate in the parade with the exception of bands, color guard and the Camp Shelby Youth Challenge. For more information or to receive an entry form, call Collins City Hall at 601-765-4491 or visit www.cityofcollins.com.

Molly Speed of Collins was crowned Covington County’s Miss Hospitality. Three contestants competed for the title. Speed will represent Covington County in the state Miss Hospitality pageant held July 20-21, 2018, in Hattiesburg. This year’s contestants included Speed, Dakota Lepard who placed second alternate and Anna Saucier who placed first alternate. Mississippi’s hallmark hospitality is beautifully displayed through the tradition of the Mississippi Miss Hospitality Competition. Held in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, the program brings together the state’s best and brightest young ladies in competition for the title of Mississippi Miss Hospitality – a title that comes with a ticket to travel across the State of Mississippi and the responsibility of promoting Mississippi’s economic development and tourism industries. The mission of the Miss Hospitality Competition continues to be the identification of a young woman between the ages of 18 and 24 to serve as a goodwill ambassador for one year, showing hospitality to everyone she meets. The program allows young women to continue the tradition of beauty, grace, and dignity, while celebrating the intelligent and gracious qualities of today’s modern woman. The Miss Hospitality tradition began in 1949 under Governor Fielding Wright and the Mississippi Legislature. Since then, the program has called the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Starkville, and now Hattiesburg its home. Presented by VISITHATTIESBURG™, the City of Hattiesburg, and The University of Southern Mississippi, the Mississippi Miss Hospitality Competition offers more than $100,000 in scholarships and prizes to young women from across the state. Molly Speed, 23, is the daughter of Wilford and Nancy Speed of Collins. She is a graduate of Presbyterian Christian School, University of Mobile and is currently seeking a graduate degree at the University of Southern Mississippi where she is studying psychology. Speed is active in her community where she has organized basketball camps, worked in Vacation Bible School, traveled on mission trips and helped with two natural disaster recovery efforts. She’s also organized community service projects for Lady Eagle basketball. Her hobbies include basketball and intramural sports. Speed plans to graduate from USM and impact the lives of young people through education and athletics. Her goal is to leave every place she comes in contact with better than she found it.

The six announced Republican candidates for District 3 Congressional post will participate in an April 2, 2018 forum at the Collins Civic Center. Incumbent Representative Gregg Harper joined over thirty other members of the United States House of Representatives who will not seek re-election in 2018. Harper served five terms as Congressman for Mississippi District 3. The Covington County Republican Party and the Covington County Republican Women are hosting the forum so that District 3 voters can have the opportunity to meet each candidate from 6-7:00 pm. The forum will begin at 7:00 pm with each candidate discussing the issues that he seeks to address if elected Congressman. There will be a follow-up question and answer session. Announced candidates are state Senator Sally Doty, an attorney of Brookhaven; Morgan Dunn, Managing Director of Vestra LLC, a health care consulting firm based in Magee; Whit Hughes, Jackson, Baptist Health Care Systems; Michael Guest, Brandon, Rankin County District Attorney; Perry Parker, retired international investment banker, Seminary, MS and a native Covington Countian; Katherine Tate, Tupelo, an educational consultant. March 1, 2018, was the qualifying deadline. At this time there are no announced Democratic candidates. The Republican Primary Election is Tuesday, June 5, 2018. The public is invited to the April 2, 2018, CCRP Forum, Collins Civic Center, Highway 49, 6-8:30 p.m. to meet the candidates, judge their issues, and question concerns.