NFL player Fletcher Cox will return home to Yazoo City this weekend to serve as Grand Marshal in the Fourth of July parade.
In the June 23 meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, Mayor Diane Delaware detailed Yazoo City's upcoming Fourth of July activities.
The events will take place Saturday and Sunday, July 2 and 3.
“We will have fireworks on Saturday and a mini fireworks show Sunday night, which will be downtown,” she said.
Saturday's fireworks display, entertainment and vendors will be at the Wardell Leach Recreation Complex.
Sunday's festivities will include the B. B. King Review and other blues and jazz bands.
“And we have a new ordinance, and that new ordinance says that we will close at midnight,” Delaware said. “There will be no alcoholic beverages on the streets, but we are going to let the good times roll. I'm asking our citizens to be conscious of the fact that we're going to have a good time, we're going to enjoy ourselves. Our law enforcement officers will be out in full force.”
She said since there would be quite a few out-of-town visitors, she asked homeowners and businesses to clean their properties.
“We're working on our streets, and the city will have all of its properties in order.... (Let's) just clean our city up and welcome our visitors and our tourists to our town because we're going to really have a pretty good time,” she said.
Because of the increased traffic, Delaware urged citizens to “be patient, let's keep our emotions down as we're driving through the streets....”
A class reunion parade is scheduled for Saturday morning.
“We're asking you to please, please, please, not discharge firearms in the City of Yazoo City on the Fourth of July,” she said. “It is dangerous, it is totally uncivilized, and while it has become a custom over the years, we are going to provide you with fireworks, and we really want to have a safe city. Officers will also be out, looking for those who are discharging firearms on the fourth of July, and they will act accordingly.”
In other city council business:
• Were told that Police Chief Jeff Curtis has been elected executive vice president of the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police.
• Heard that the police department has reported a 137 percent increase in traffic citations and traffic enforcement has gone up substantially.
• Heard Yazoo City Engineer Wayne Morrison and Public Works Director Walter Williams review the proposed changes to the city's Solid Waste Garbage Collection Management System, including proposed costs of all equipment, trucks, waste containers and manpower requirements.
• Approved Russ Carter's attending the 2016 Building Officials Association of Mississippi Summer Conference July 11-15 in Biloxi to include registration, membership fee, lodging, and per diem for food.
• Approved Kaneilia Williams' travel to Cleveland July 7-9 to gather data and information in reference to grant management procedures used by the City of Cleveland, the City's Railroad Museum, the Grammy Museum, the Cleveland Music Foundation, and Delta State University's involvement in assisting Yazoo City with grants to include travel, lodging, and per diem for food.
• Approved an order authorizing the City of Yazoo City to enter into a month to month agreement with Myron McGinnis to provide janitorial services two days per week at the Triangle Cultural Center at a cost of $400 per month.
• Approved an order authorizing the Triangle Cultural Center director to obtain quotes for janitorial services for the Triangle Cultural Center.
• Approved an order accepting and requesting activation of the Brownfields grant award.
• Postponed making nominations to the Public Housing Commission, the Housing Authority Board, the Planning and Zoning Commission, and the Historical Preservation Commission.
• Approved an order authorizing the city clerk's office to obtain quotes for monthly and annual pest control services for all city properties.
• Approved an order authorizing the mayor's office to obtain proposals for an IT professional service provider to manage the information systems of the city.
Approved an order authorizing the purchase of a Ford ¾-ton crew cab truck for the cemetery personnel on state contract for $23,789 from Gray-Daniels Ford using cemetery perpetual funds.
• Approved an order authorizing a $5,000 contribution for the 2016 YAZ Summer Blast Fourth of July Celebration to the Yazoo Arts and Cultural Assoc. to promote and advertise the services and resources of the city.
• Approved the scheduling of two hearings regarding parcels that are in a state of uncleanliness, thereby constituting a menace to public health, safety and welfare. The properties are located at 1017 Ethel St. and 414 Rudy Shields Circle.
