News

Many homes and businesses destroyed in wake of storms; 11 fatalities reported in surrounding counties
A storm system ravaged through the Pine Belt Sunday afternoon, April 12, 2020, causing extensive damage in Covington County and the surrounding counties.  Two strong tornadoes ripped through the county with winds estimated to be in excess of 200 miles per hour, possibly EF4 or EF5s.
The first tornado traveled through Walthall, Lawrence, Jefferson Davis, Covington, Jones, Jasper, and Clarke counties.  The second tornado caused more damage in Walthall, Lawrence, Jefferson Davis and Covington Counties.
The power of the storms was evident by the damage to the homes, churches, farms, and businesses throughout the county.  The first tornado is reported to have been on the ground for more than 103 miles.
There have been no deaths in Covington County reported at press time  but there were injuries.  Eleven fatalities are confirmed in other counties.
More than 22,000 people in the Pine Belt area are without power and many without water.

The Mayor and Board of Aldermen have been closely monitoring the developments related to the situation with the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The public health and safety of our employees and the Citizens of Collins will always be our number one priority. The City has taken what we feel are a series of appropriate precautionary measures to protect the public health and safety of employees and the Citizens of Collins. Therefore, we will follow the guidelines from the President of the United States concerning the Coronavirus for America listed below:

Do Your Part to Slow the Spread of the Coronavirus

Avoid Social Gatherings in groups of more than 10 people.

Avoid eating or drinking at bars, restaurants, and food courts; however, use of drive- thru, pickup, or delivery options is highly encouraged.

Avoid Discretionary Travel, shopping trips, and social visits.

Do not visit nursing homes or retirement or long-term care facilities unless to provide critical assistance.

Practice Good Hygiene:

Wash your hands, especially after touching any frequently used item or surface.

Avoid touching your face.

Sneeze or cough into a tissue, or the inside of your elbow.

Disinfect frequently used items and surfaces as much as possible.

**This does not prohibit our citizens from visiting a variety of places, including grocery stores, restaurants,  gas stations, banks, parks, churches, nail salons and gyms so long as the necessary precautions are maintained to reduce the transmission of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

A large crowd gathered in the Collins Civic Center to hear Representative Michael Guest, keynote speaker for the annual general membership meeting of the Covington County Chamber of Commerce, on Tuesday, February 18, 2020.   Everyone enjoyed a dinner provided by Shady Acres followed by recognition of guests by Chamber President Tommy Morgan.
Speaker Michael Guest, U.S. Congressman representing Mississippi’s Third Congressional District, was introduced by State Representative Noah Sanford.  Congressman Guest spoke about the low unemployment rate, the growth of lower and middle-income jobs, the strength of the stock market, and how Mississippi’s economy has benefited from a strong national economy.  He concentrated on 3 main areas of strength in Mississippi.
First he discussed the value of private businesses such as C-Spire, Sanderson Farms Poultry, and the Nissan and Toyota automobile manufacturing plants, which provide thousands of jobs to Mississippi workers and millions of dollars of revenue flowing through the hands of consumers, investors, and government.  He also told listeners that Amazon plans to build two distributions centers in Mississippi.
Second, he spoke about the benefits of having a strong National Guard presence in the state.  He informed Chamber members that Mississippi Guardsmen provided assistance in locating terrorist Al Baghdadi in Iraq, they are involved in helping protect U.S. airspace over Washington, D.C. and that Camp Shelby provides world-class training to military and National Guardsmen from all over the United States.
Third, he discussed  the military suppliers located in Mississippi such as Raytheon Corporation in Forrest  and Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula.  Raytheon serves as a hub for production and testing S-Band radar equipment, employs more than 800 people and produces radar for U.S. fighter jets, air-defense radar and other electronic warfare technology – some of which will be used by U.S. warships built at Ingall’s Shipyard.  Ingalls builds some of the world’s most modern and sophisticated warships in the world.  It  employs 11,500 employees, is the largest supplier of U.S. Navy surface combatants, and has built nearly 70 percent of the U.S. Navy fleet of warships.
He concluded by saying that, “In the United States, all men and women have the opportunity to work hard and achieve success”, and that we need to continue to strive to preserve our Republic.  The greatest threat to our Republic,  he said, is the growing rise of socialism.
Rep. Noah Sanford in his legislative report updated the crowd on events which have transpired so far in the 2020 legislative session, and said his focus was going to be on legislation to propose more funds to the Dept. of Corrections and for criminal justice reform, specifically legislation to require prisons to separate dangerous inmates from non-dangerous inmates.  He also said legislation has been proposed which would fund pay raises for State Employees and teachers.
Executive Director Marie Shoemake introduced Covington County’s Miss Hospitality for 2019, Larsen Sanford and Little Miss Hospitality Emma Grace Massey.  Larsen Sanford then presented Covington County’s Miss Hospitality for 2020, Laka Till to the members.  Chamber President Tommy Morgan presented closing remarks, thanked the members and guests for their help and participation and closed the meeting.

The 23rd annual Black Heritage Celebration of Covington County culminated with a parade on Saturday, February 22, 2020.  The theme “Remember the Struggle” was highlighted throughout the day.
Grand Marshals for the parade were Pastor Tony Duckworth, B. Joyce Barron Fairley (unable to attend), Lee Edward Gilliam, Coach Jeremy Jones, Markel “M.J.” McLaurin, Fenton Pope, Terry Price, and Peggy Weary.  Other honorees were charitable, educational and service organization award recipients.
The Battle of the Bands took place Saturday afternoon at Collins High School.
Residents came out to enjoy the celebration which included touring the heritage museum, live entertainment and much more.

The Collins Rotary Club recently recognized Paul Harris Fellowship recipients (pictured from left) Melinda Lott, Danny Frank McDonald and Patricia Speed.  This is a special honor for those Rotarians that chose to contribute to the Rotary Foundation and help international projects such as literacy, world hunger and other humanitarian efforts.  Pictured (far right) with the recipients is the newly elected club president-elect Josh Clayton.

    Laka Till was crowned Covington County’s 2020 Miss Hospitality Friday, February 14, 2020, by Covington County’s 2019 Miss Hospitality, Larsen Sanford, at the Covington County Chamber of Commerce in Collins.
She is a 2019 graduate of Seminary High School and currently attends Pearl River Community College as a Medical Assistant/Nursing major.  She received the Hunter Atwood Memorial Award and the Citizenship Award.  She was the top female archery shooter and was part of the 2018 Homecoming Court.  She is the daughter of Chris and Shalinda Till.
Laka will take part in the 71st annual Mississippi Miss Hospitality Competition July 17 and 18, 2020, in Hattiesburg.  This program was established in 1949 under Governor Fielding Wright and the Mississippi Legislature.  Throughout this time, the program has championed the state’s tourism and economic development sectors while supporting Mississippi’s best and brightest young women.  Contestants are eligible for more than $100,000 in scholarships and prizes.
As Covington County’s Miss Hospitality, Laka will spend a week in Hattiesburg participating in the state competition and judging.  Contestants will be judged on a one-on-one interview, panel interview, Mississippi speech competition, community commercial, and evening gown.
This will be the 35th year for the Covington County Chamber of Commerce to sponsor the Covington County Miss Hospitality Scholarship Program.  On the local level, scholarships were provided by Jones College, William Carey University, the University of Southern Mississippi, and The News-Commercial.  Laka was awarded a full-academic scholarship to Jones College and a cash scholarship from The News-Commercial.