State
Kemper plant makes power with gas from coal for first time
AP
DEKALB, MISS.
Mississippi Power Co. says that the power plant it's building in Kemper County has generated electricity using gas produced from coal for the first time.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/business/article107838177.html
Dantzler Street Bridge renovations to aid in ecotourism of the Pascagoula River Audubon Center
Mississippi Press
MOSS POINT, Miss. – Residents, Moss Point Mayor Billy Broomfield, and Jackson County officials met at the Dantzler Street Bridge Tuesday morning to hold a ribbon cutting ceremony to show the improvements made to the bridge.
Residents upset over losing road to landfill
WAPT
Residents in a Madison County neighborhood are fighting to keep Rouser Road open.
http://www.wapt.com/article/unicorns-were-real-fossils-prove-it/5934357
CMU awards emergency sewer work, appoints GM
Madison County Journal
CANTON — An emergency no-bid contract with Utility Constructors Inc. to video and clean out sewer pipes in the city was approved by the Canton Municipal Utilities Board of Commissioners during a special-called meeting Friday morning.
http://onlinemadison.com/Content/Default/News/Article/CMU-awards-emergency-sewer-work-appoints-GM/-3/592/38702
Madison hosting Recycle Day Saturday
Madison County Journal
Keep Madison the City Beautiful wants to assist homeowners with fall clean up.
On Saturday, Oct. 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the organization will host Madison Recycle Day at Tulane University at the corner of Main Street and Highway 51.
http://onlinemadison.com/Content/Default/News/Article/Madison-hosting-Recycle-Day-Saturday/-3/592/38708
Gov. Bryant issues partial state-level burn ban
Clarion Ledger
Gov. Phil Bryant has issued a partial state level burn ban effective immediately for 52 counties.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2016/10/12/partial-state-level-burn-ban/91941640/
Drug drop off program returns Oct. 22
Itawamba County Times
It’s time to crack open the medicine cabinet and check the dates on all those orange bottles because Itawamba County’s drug drop-off program is returning later this moth.
http://djournal.com/itawamba/2016/10/12/drug-drop-off-program-returns-oct-22/
Mississippi center to note Roosevelt's 1902 teddy bear hunt
AP
ONWARD, MISS.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is starting construction of a visitor's center for seven wildlife refuges in the Mississippi Delta.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/state/mississippi/article107759412.html
Partisan divide shapes Mississippi budget discussions
AP
JACKSON, MISS.
Mississippi lawmakers are on separate tracks as they discuss state taxes and spending, with divisions defined largely by political party.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/state/mississippi/article107804682.html
Oil Spill
BP and black communities
The Apalachicola Times
A regional summit in Apalachicola last summer, focusing on developing strategies to enable black communities along the Panhandle to secure monies stemming from the BP oil spill settlement, has led to what will soon be a non-profit community development corporation.
http://www.apalachtimes.com/news/20161012/bp-and-black-communities
Regional
State takes another step toward eventual construction of a river diversion for coastal restoration
The Advocate
A project that would divert a part of the mighty Mississippi River into coastal wetlands to help build and stabilize Louisiana’s shrinking coast took another step forward Wednesday.
National
U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions Hit New 25-Year Low
Power plants switching from coal to natural gas and renewable energy sources helped with drop in first six months of 2016
WSJ
U.S. carbon dioxide emissions fell to a new 25-year low during the first six months of 2016, helped in large part by power plants switching from coal to natural gas and renewable sources of electricity, according to a Wednesday report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-carbon-dioxide-emissions-hit-new-25-year-low-1476298479
US fossil-fuel emissions lowest since 1991
AP
SAN FRANCISCO
The United States pumped out the least climate-changing pollution from fossil fuels in the first six months of this year than at any such period since 1991, federal energy officials said Wednesday.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/nation-world/article107766017.html
A Gas Line Has Two U.S. Agencies in a Climate Change Dustup
Bloomberg
A $1.4 billion natural gas line proposed by TransCanada Corp. is pitting two U.S. government agencies against each other and drawing attention to how major energy projects are reviewed.
Five Chemicals Fast-Tracked by EPA for Possible Control
Bloomberg
Five chemicals that the Environmental Protection Agency says pose particular hazards due to how long they persist in the environment, how they bioaccumulate up the food chain and their toxicity are being fast-tracked for action to reduce exposures to them, the agency announced Oct. 11.
http://www.bna.com/five-chemicals-fasttracked-n57982078382/
Powerful greenhouse gases in focus at global climate meeting
AP
JOHANNESBURG
Greenhouse gases that are more powerful than carbon dioxide are the focus of a global gathering this week in Africa. Experts say cutting hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, is the fastest way to reduce global warming. The United States is among the countries that want the world to quickly phase out the use of HFCs, and Secretary of State John Kerry is arriving Thursday to encourage a deal.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/nation-world/article107905912.html
US Declines Prosecution of Government Worker in Mine Spill
AP
U.S. prosecutors have declined to pursue criminal charges against an employee of theEnvironmental Protection Agency over a massive mine wastewater spill that fouled rivers in three states, a federal watchdog agency said.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/us-declines-prosecution-government-worker-mine-spill-42764004
Press Releases
Governor Phil Bryant Appoints Jolynne Trapani to Commission of Marine Resources
Jackson, Miss. – Gov. Phil Bryant announced today that he has appointed Jolynne Trapani to the Commission of Marine Resources (CMR).
Trapani will fill the unexpired term of Commissioner Ernie Zimmerman, who recently passed away. Her appointment is effective immediately, and will expire on June 30, 2018.
She has been the co-owner of Trapani’s Eatery for 21 years, a well-known restaurant that was the first to open back up on Beach Boulevard in Bay St. Louis, Miss., after Hurricane Katrina.
The CMR is composed of five members appointed by the governor for four-year terms to represent the following areas: commercial seafood processors, nonprofit environmental organizations, charter boat operators, recreational fishermen and commercial fishermen. Trapani has been appointed to the seat representing nonprofit environmental organizations.
“Jolynne’s decades of experience and knowledge as a Gulf Coast business owner will serve her well on the Commission of Marine Resources,” Gov. Bryant said. “Her restaurant has been a staple in the community for many years, and I know she is well-suited to fill this unexpired term.”
“I am honored and would like to thank Gov. Bryant for this appointment. I look forward to working with our Director Jamie Miller and his staff, along with my fellow commissioners,” Trapani said. “I understand the importance of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources to our environment, recreation, and commerce as it relates to the entire state, not just the Gulf Coast.”
“Jolynne Trapani is a great addition to the Commission on Marine Resources, and I look forward to working with her to continue the important work of our agency,” said Jamie Miller, Department of Marine Resources Executive Director.
Trapani is a member of the Coastal Conservation Association—Bay Chapter and also a member of the Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain.
She was a founding member of BART (Bay Area Recovery Team), responsible for bringing the Bay St. Louis Harbor into existence. She also has served as a commissioner on the Historic Preservation Commission, chairing a number of events.
Trapani is actively involved in the Hancock County Chamber of Commerce and was awarded the Business of the Year for 2011. She has also been recognized by Coast Magazine’s Top 40 under 40 as a nominee.
Trapani received her Bachelor’s Degree in Business from William Carey College and currently lives with her family in Bay St. Louis, Miss.
Her appointment must be confirmed by the Mississippi Senate.
###
*U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Partners Break Ground **on Theodore Roosevelt Visitor Center*
Onward, Miss. – Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant and U.S. Senator Thad Cochran joined David Viker of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wildlife Mississippi representatives and other partners to break ground for a 5,000 square-foot Theodore Roosevelt Visitor Center. The future visitor center will be located at the Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge.
The visitor center will recognize President Roosevelt’s conservation legacy and the importance of the Mississippi Delta’s diverse wildlife and natural resources. It will honor President Roosevelt’s famous bear hunt of 1902.
President Roosevelt teamed up with freed slave and renowned hunter Holt Collier in pursuit of Louisiana black bear. The president’s refusal to kill a restrained male bear during the hunt was widely publicized at the time and resulted in the creation of a stuffed toy known today as the teddy bear. The future visitor center is located on property near the site of the 1902 hunt.
“Today’s groundbreaking marks the culmination of more than a decade of collaboration and cooperation between the Service and its partners to ensure President Roosevelt’s conservation legacy endures,” said Viker, the Service’s National Wildlife Refuge System chief in the Southeast Region.
“The Theodore Roosevelt Visitor Center is becoming a reality because of the unwavering commitment of Senator Cochran, Wildlife Mississippi, and numerous other supporters.”
Soon after the Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge was established in 2004, Senator Cochran began championing a vision for an interpretive center to promote and educate visitors of the rich conservation history and wildlife diversity in the Mississippi Delta. The Senator was instrumental in securing $5.6 million for the planning, design, and construction of the future interpretive and educational visitor center.
“Mississippians embrace balanced efforts to preserve our best natural assets for enjoyment by generations to come,” said Cochran, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “The Mississippi Delta region is home to many of America’s most important natural and culture assets. I look forward to the completion of the Theodore Roosevelt Visitor Center, and the many educational and economic opportunities it will bring to the Delta.”
The groundbreaking ceremony marks the start of construction. A marginal crop field near Onward will be the location of an interpretive and educational center with lifelike dioramas, interactive exhibits to educate and engage historic interpretations, state-of-the-art audio-visual productions and an educational classroom/auditorium.
For more than a decade, the Service searched for a suitable site in the Mississippi Delta for a visitor center. In 2015, the Service received a donation of six acres from Wildlife Mississippi for the future visitor center. Based in Stoneville, Wildlife Mississippi is a nonprofit conservation organization that works statewide on wildlife habitat conservation, conservation policy and education, and outdoor recreation.
“This visitor center will highlight the most famous hunt on American soil and the world’s most famous toy, the teddy bear,” said James L. Cummins, Wildlife Mississippi’s executive director. “More importantly, it will recognize the foundational system of public land conservation established by President Roosevelt, one that is thriving today in the Mississippi Delta. Wildlife Mississippi is pleased to have donated the land for this center and appreciates Senator Cochran, Congressman Thompson and the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service for their work in making this a reality.”
The Theodore Roosevelt Visitor Center will be a destination on the Blues Highway, the legendary route along the Mississippi River that celebrates the rich history and culture of the Mississippi Delta. The visitor center represents one of the most significant investments in tourism infrastructure across the Delta region south of Greenville, Mississippi, in recent memory. The refuge expects 10,000 visitors annually when it opens in 2018.
“I am delighted the Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge is growing with the addition of a visitor center,” Governor Bryant said. “President Roosevelt loved the outdoors. This center will be the perfect way to honor his legacy, highlight his historic hunt in Mississippi and boost tourism in the South Delta. I thank everyone involved for making this project a reality.”
Simon Roosevelt, President Roosevelt’s great-great grandson, and Ann Marie Parker, Holt Collier’s great-niece, participated in today’s groundbreaking as well.
“Theodore Roosevelt certainly was delighted that his visit here in 1902 led to the creation of the first toy bear, beloved by so many children ever since. And certainly he was proud that the publicity surrounding his decision not to shoot the bear during his hunt could serve as a strong and public example of the exercise of what has come to be known as Fair Chase Hunting,” said Simon Roosevelt, great-great-grandson of Theodore Roosevelt. “He would be honored that the place of this now famous hunt - and the only National Wildlife Refuge to bear his name - should have both an important role in the recovery of the Louisiana black bear and the continuation of the best hunting tradition. How excellent that we break ground today on the Theodore Roosevelt Visitor Center, a place to educate present and future generations of these good things and highlight the life of his friend Holt Collier.”
“I have been following this effort since the Holt Collier National Wildlife Refuge was dedicated over ten years ago,” said Anne Marie Parker, the great-niece of Holt Collier. “I thank all of those involved for their continued perseverance to make this visitor center a reality. There are a lot of people who have done good things in and for Mississippi. We need to continue to highlight them and their efforts, and this Center will help do that.”
The groundbreaking for this visitor center comes on the heels of the removal of the Louisiana black bear, the animal at the center of the celebrated 1902 hunt, from the endangered species list earlier this year.
Like the partnership that will make the visitor center a reality, the Louisiana black bear’s recovery resulted from decades of conservation work by a partnership of federal and state agencies, private landowners, and conservation organizations.
The visitor center will be a gateway for promoting and interpreting the conservation and management of more than 230,000 acres of federal and state-owned public lands within the Mississippi Delta. The Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge was established for conservation purposes and is the only national wildlife refuge named for a U.S.
president. The Holt Collier National Wildlife Refuge was established in
2004 for the conservation, maintenance, and management of wildlife and was the first national wildlife refuge named for an African American. These public lands are part of a complex of seven national wildlife refuges comprising more than 86,000 acres in the heart of the Mississippi Delta.
For more information about Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge and the future visitor center, visit www.fws.gov/southeast or www.fws.gov/refuge/Theodore_Roosevelt/.
