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The Magnolia Flag 1861-94
"Go, Mississippi"
Official State Song
Words and Music by Houston Davis
Verse:States
may sing their songs of praise
With waving flags and hip-hoo-rays,
Let cymbals crash and let bells ring
Cause here's one song I'm proud to sing.
Choruses:
Go, Mississippi, keep rolling along,
Go, Mississippi, you cannot go wrong,
Go, Mississippi, we're singing your song,
M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I
Go, Mississippi, you're on the right track,
Go, Mississippi, and this is a fact,
Go, Mississippi, you'll never look back,
M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I
Go, Mississippi, straight down the line,
Go, Mississippi, ev'rything's fine,
Go, Mississippi, it's your state and mine,
M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I
Go, Mississippi, continue to roll,
Go, Mississippi, the top is the goal,
Go, Mississippi, you'll have and you'll hold,
M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I
Go, Mississippi, get up and go,
Go, Mississippi, let the world know,
That our Mississippi is leading the show,
M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I
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SNOWDEN: JACKSON SITE "UNSUITABLE"
State Representative Greg Snowden (R-Meridian)
issued the following statement on Wednesday, June 7, 2000, in response to
Tuesday's announcement that a Mississippi Department of Agriculture committee
has recommended Jackson for a proposed $35 million Mississippi Arts and
Entertainment Center.
The announcement that this informal committee has
recommended Jackson over Meridian was completely expected and is not a setback
for Meridian's efforts to land the center. In truth, the committee's
recommendation of the 25-acre Lakeland Drive site significantly strengthens the
argument that the center actually should be located on the 175-acre Bonita Lakes
property in Meridian. Several critical points must be borne in mind:
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The Stennis Center's report makes clear that
the center will be successful in either Jackson or Meridian. The committee
itself has agreed with this, because it (the committee) voted in April to
put the center in Meridian if Jackson is not successful in coming up with a
suitable site. |
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Lester Spell has promised his Department's
full support for the center whether it is located in Jackson or Meridian. In
speaking yesterday to the Meridian media, Commissioner Spell flatly said:
"It never has made any difference to me what location was ultimately
decided on, whether it be Meridian, Vicksburg, Jackson or Gulfport." |
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The Stennis Center report gave Jackson a
slightly higher "weighted" score than Meridian, although Meridian
had a slightly higher "unweighted" score. The Stennis report
indicates that its "weighting" criteria are subjective and
preliminary, and certainly open to interpretation and discussion. Further,
the Stennis report explicitly states that if one goal is to spread economic
development around the state, as neighboring states have had the foresight
to do, rather than simply concentrating everything in the capital city, then
Meridian would enjoy the edge. (The Georgia counterpart is located in Macon,
while Alabama's is in Tuscumbia). |
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The argument that Jackson is "more
accessible" is a hollow one. Meridian, too, is centrally located.
According to the analysis performed by the Stennis Center, Jackson is only
18 miles closer, for the average Mississippian, than is Meridian. The
difference in relative travel time to and from the two "finalist"
cities therefore is essentially insignificant. |
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The proposed Meridian site (at Bonita Lakes)
is 175 acres on a secluded and pristine wooded lake, yet it is situated less
than one mile from Interstate 20-59, a new regional shopping mall, and
numerous modern lodging and restaurant facilities. In short, the Bonita
Lakes site is ideal for the center. The Stennis Center agrees, scoring the
Meridian site as a perfect "10." |
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The proposed Jackson site (Lakeland Drive) is
only 25 acres. In addition to being far too small and much too congested,
the location (a mere home run away from Smith-Wills Stadium) is patently
unsuitable for Mississippi's showcase arts and entertainment center. The
scheduling conflicts alone would prove a nightmare and an embarrassment.
Jackson residents living nearby are already complaining that the committee's
recommendation is a bad idea, and that putting the center next to
Smith-Wills will result in an eyesore and a traffic hazard. Jackson has
taken its best shot, and Jackson has come up short. Insisting on the Jackson
site is like trying to cram a square peg into a round hole. |
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The Mississippi Legislature as a whole, and
not this informal committee, will make the final decision as to where the
center will be located, and whether to build it at all. |
There is no way, in my judgment, that the
Legislature can responsibly accept the tiny Lakeland Drive site put forward by
Jackson proponents. I am confident that when my colleagues in the House and
Senate are given the opportunity to choose between the minuscule Lakeland site
and the spacious and beautiful Bonita Lakes site, Meridian will win hands down.
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