Newton County has made some great strides in the last four years.
Two of the places that may h
ave seen the biggest strides were in Newton and Decatur. Both communities said goodbye to their mayors on June 30, and both former mayors David Carr and Pat O’Neill really left their communities’ leadership positions on high notes.
David definitely was able to see one of his biggest projects through to the end. If you didn’t know what that was, it’s the Biewer Sawmill project. David would be the first to tell you that he really didn’t do much, except not mess it up. He gives the credit to former Mid-Mississippi Development District executive director Rusty McMillan.
But the truth is that Biewer wouldn’t have made the commitment to Newton if it wasn’t for a team of folks from East Central Planning and Development, Newton County Board of Supervisors and the City of Newton. It’s one of the best examples of collaboration that I’ve seen in a few years.
Everyone worked together to make sure the deal went through, and it all starts at the top with David. I think that project is something our county will be thankful for in the future.
In Decatur, Pat has been a hard worker helping the town obtain a number of grants. To be honest, I don’t know how Pat has been able to keep everything straight. As he left office, Decatur is still in the process of working through about three or four major grants.
Some of the accomplishments that Decatur has made includes upgrades of the city’s infrastructure when it comes to roads, sidewalks and its water system.
The town got some big bucks from grants. Many of these projects were needed, but there’s no way Decatur could ever raise taxes enough to pay for them.
Ever since I’ve been here, there’s always been some kind of construction going on. And with the continual expansion of East Central Community College, these upgrades have become ultra important.
And we’ll continue to see the fruit of Pat’s labor as these grants continue into the new administration.
I’m glad that I can call both Pat and David friends, and I’d like to congratulate them on their hard work.
