Jackson Free Press

From the office of the Mayor Tony Yarber:

Motorists are advised of road conditions on the east bound lane of Woodrow Wilson Drive, heading toward Interstate 55. There was a break on a 36-inch water line in the area. The City's team is assessing the condition of the site continuously to keep it safe for motorists. However, if possible, motorists may want to select an alternate route.

An emergency declaration was signed to expedite the process of securing a consultant for design and construction. That process can take up to several weeks, but we’re now finalizing an agreement with an engineering firm to begin design work.

The water main has been left active because it is serving critical facilities. At the same time, city engineers are working to design the repair, which is more involved because of the location, the materials for the pipe and the laying conditions. This project requires a custom built new pipe as the break occurred on a 36-inch water line constructed in the 1960s. The repair cannot be made in house. The pipe needs to be encased, requiring engineering design and a contractor.

The City's team is assessing the condition of the site continuously to keep it safe for motorists. As soon as the design is completed, the city will receive quotes to get a contractor mobilized to make the repairs.

Run-offs are old-school anyway, right?

The fate of District 79's representation in the House of Representatives will be decided on Friday by drawing straws, according to Mississippi election law. Rep. Bo Eaton, D-Taylorsville, has represented the district since 1996, but in this election he pulled in the exact same number of votes as his Republican challenger, Mark Tullos.

The two candidates tied with 4,589 votes each.

In a press release, Rep. Eaton said he will not challenge the result of Friday's straws. Technically, the loser on Friday has the right to challenge the vote and appeal to the House of Representatives, which would then decide who gets to take District 79's seat when they reconvene.

Eaton's press release said: "Whatever the outcome of the procedure, I will abide by the result and not challenge the election. I hope my opponent will agree to do the same thing."

The District 79 race straws will be drawn on Friday at 1:30 p.m. in the governor's office conference room in the Sillers Building when the governor and the secretary of state return from Israel.

Judie Gray Livingston, the woman who didn't even know her eldest child was running for statewide office before August, said she always thought he'd make a good governor.

"It was always my desire that he would run for governor," Livingston told the Jackson Free Press. "I think that's every mother's (desire)."

Livingston joined her son and daughter, Angela Gray (who is also her big brother's campaign manager), at a prayer vigil for Democratic candidates this afternoon at Smith Park.

Gray, 56, unexpectedly won the Democratic primary in August to become the party's nominee.

Meanwhile, across town, Republicans held a cook-off and rally today at the Ag Museum to promote their slate of statewide candidates.

Judie Gray said she prayed for the passage of the school funding Initiative 42 as well as for salary increases for teachers and state employees as well as infrastructure upgrades.

"This is a positive thing he's done. There's nothing negative," she told me. "He's all about the people of Mississippi wanting to improve."

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