Pearl River voters to cast ballots at new precinct

Voters in the Pearl River community will head to a new polling location for the upcoming general election.

The Pearl River voting precinct has been relocated to the Pearl River COVID Emergency Response Facility (CERF) Building on Industrial Road.

This change is due to ongoing maintenance at the current Pearl River recreation gym, which will be unavailable for the 2024 general election in November.

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians constructed CERF buildings in all nine of Tribal communities two years ago after obtaining COVID-related recovery funds.

In late September, the Tribe formally requested the Board of Supervisors to approve the precinct change, stating in their letter, “All of our community CERF facilities are very modern, safe, well-furnished, well-lit, well-equipped, and they have highly reliable utilities.”

The letter further noted, “Our past two tribal elections have taken place at the CERF building because these facilities are very appropriate, convenient, safe, and easily accessible by Tribal voters. Additionally, all CERF buildings have large, spacious, hard-surface parking lots and are ADA-compliant.”

County Administrator Jeff Mayo said that federal pre-clearance for precinct changes is no longer required from the Department of Justice.

This relocation is considered an emergency move, according to the Tribe’s letter, which the supervisors acknowledged at their regular meeting on Monday.  

In other business, supervisors voted to:

• Approve giving deputies Cortez Peebles, Dyron Talbert, Trent Rickles, and Jonah Flake $1 per hour pay increases for completing ARIDE certification effective Oct. 1;

• Approve hiring Noah Pickett as a deputy sheriff at $16 per hour effective Sept. 24, pending completion of MLEOTA certification beginning Oct. 6;

• Approve the Sheriff’s request for $1,500 in informant fees for drug buy monies;

• Approve paying $3,000 for a contract renewal for the Flock safety cameras on Highway 16 eastbound and westbound sites;

• Approve hiring Amanda Wilkerson as jail administrator effective Oct. 1 at a salary of $54,240 per year;

• Approve paying Neshoba General $31,447 for inmate feeding during the month of September;

• Approve a permit request from Central Water Association to place a road bore along Road 844;

• Approve paying Central Electric Power Association $11,169 for permit and fee to move power line associated with bridge project on Road 739;

• Approve a writ garnishment for Jazjuan Scott in the amount of $1,303;

• Approve paying $7,715 to Crowder Engineering for rubbish landfill survey work;

• Approve seven Neshoba County school bus turnarounds at the following properties: 10231 Road 739, 10392 Road 4314, 10261 Road 525, 10040 Road 2802, 10410 Road 3401, 10111 Road 1133, and 10630 Road 771;

• Approve two Union School District school bus turnarounds at 10060 Road 1303 and 10221 Road 240

• Accept the resignation of telecommunicator Kimberly Allen, effective Sept. 12;

• Approve terminating a telecommunicator effective Sept. 23;

• Approve giving $0.50 per hour pay increase to John Mark Posey for obtaining EMD certification and to Grace Everett for six months of continuous employment with Emergency Management;

• Approve paying $16,943 to Burks-Mordecai Builders for work completed on the storage building project;

• Approve allowing Burnside Park to be used for Archery Club 3-D shoots and placement of targets;

• Accept the resignation of deputy justice court clerk Kawneea Waldrop, effective Sept. 17;

• Approve hiring Aliseria Peden and Jessica Coleman as deputy justice court clerks at $14 per hour, effective Oct. 3, pending drug screen