Jackson Free Press

The Delta-Democrat Times is reporting:

Three legislators who represent all or parts of Washington County - Reps. Willie Bailey and John Hines and Sen. Johnnie Walls - want the public to know that they haven't been sitting around and doing nothing while the burn center slipped from Greenville's hands. [...]

The focus of their comments centered around the closing of the burn center at Delta Regional Medical Center on July 31 and efforts to revive it in some way through legislative efforts, including an attempt to get the issue on the agenda of one of Gov. Haley Barbour's special sessions this past summer.

The latest on the burn center is the circulation of a draft report from a commission appointed by Barbour to study the burn center issue. The committee's recommendation, due for presentation to Barbour this month, at this point is to save money by relying on other states to provide Mississippians' burn care.

"I knew when that commission was appointed and set, that the handwriting was on the wall," said Bailey. "The governor didn't want the burn center to stay open here, so he sets up this commission so they can make the recommendation and he won't look bad."