Saturday, November 12, 2005

The following appears courtesy of the SunHerald -
The rubber boot rose high into the air, landed with a dull thud androlled within just a few feet of a bucket inside two white circlespainted on the ground. The crowd let out a cheer and the welly boot tosscompetition ended just as it began, with smiles all around.Welcome to the first and possibly last Wee Mini Scottish Highland Games,hosted by Karen and Jeff Green at their Long Beach home on Country FarmRoad Saturday afternoon.These games were the substitute for the 20-year-old Celtic Gamesnormally hosted by the Highlands and Islands Association, a Scottishheritage group made up of expatriates, Scottish descendents and generalCeltic enthusiasts from all over Mississippi.The official games ? which draw up to 3,000 people annually ? werecanceled because of "tha’ wee storm," so Scotland native Karen Greendecided to host a smaller version in her expansive backyard for 50 or sofriends, relatives and anyone who managed to hear about it."The folks who lost everything, they need something like this," Greensaid.As its name indicates, these were a seriously miniaturized and somewhatsilly version of the centuries-old Celtic games, which normally involvepicking up large or heavy objects and throwing them as far as you can.The welly boot toss competition stood in for the caber toss, in whichcontestants try to throw a 19-foot long, 120 pound poll end over end.The games also included a tug of war and a fishing competition in theGreen’s pond. Former firefighter Mike Bass of Long Beach was the runawaywinner with a 6-inch perch.The main similarities between the Wee Mini Games and the actual eventwere the abundance of fermented barely drinks - namely beer and scotch -as well as a significant number of men in skirts which the men calledkilts.While the men claimed the pleated, plaid and airy designs are quitemanly in Scotland in addition to being traditional Scottish dress withsignificant historical and genealogical meaning, their appearance didnot vary greatly from the getups many of their wives were wearing.The colors and design in kilts have significant meaning, Green said,with the variations in kilts symbolizing a person’s family, geographicarea or country.To that end, Green recently submitted a design to Scotland’s TartanAssociation and the Mississippi State Legislature to be the officialstate tartan.Maggie Bass, also a Scot, said she admired the design.Bass, whose husband was the fishing competition winner, said she lovesMississippi for its people and weather, a large part of the reason shehas been here over 20 years.While her home, which lies just north of Magnolia Street in Long Beach,sustained major damage after the hurricane, it was livable. She said thehurricane has done nothing to dampen her enthusiasm for her new adoptedhome."You have to put up with something to live in paradise," Bass said. "TheBritish Consulate called to help get me away after the storm, as I amstill a subject and they knew I lived here. I told them I am not goinganywhere!"As the afternoon wound down, the promise of a ceili, or Celtic music jamsession, had the group upbeat. With several bagpipers, bodhran(traditional Celtic drum) players, guitarists, a singer and an accordionplayer in attendance, the night was sure to be long.

4 Comments:

Blogger High Power Rocketry said...

Great stuff man... Im glad this page is still up.

Bathroom Review
Rocketry

4:43 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

eNewsletter from the Governor’s Commission

on Recovery, Rebuilding, and Renewal

Monday, November 14, 2005

www.GovernorsCommission.com



A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN, JIM BARKSDALE



Dear Friend,



The Governor’s Commission continues its work. During the past week, the Governor’s Commission continued holding town hall-style meetings for several counties including Scott, Simpson, Smith, Jasper, Jackson and Hancock counties. These meetings are great forums for us to gather information and ideas and I encourage you to attend and participate in the town hall meetings being held in the next few weeks.



The Governor hosted a conference call with county supervisors last week on adopting good land use practices, like the International Building Code (IBC) and SmartCode (deals with architectural and zoning standards). Please urge local officials to adopt these policies, if they have not already done it. They need to know that the public supports them.



We’ve received many inquiries about the new FEMA Flood Recovery Maps. Next week, FEMA’s Flood Recovery Maps will be made public. These new maps will give communities and landowners a better idea of how they can rebuild in the new flood zone.



Additionally, the issue of housing continues to be a top priority and point of discussion for the Governor’s Commission. Governor Barbour is working with FEMA to break some new ground on a better way to temporarily house our displaced citizens. To best help our citizens, we are working with local communities on a new temporary transitional housing plan. If there are developers with land parcels in the southern six counties that are convenient to shopping and work, we would like to discuss this housing plan with them.



This transitional housing concept results in a planned community designed to eventually accommodate permanent housing, rather than just a temporary trailer park. However, because this is a new concept, FEMA has a more limited capacity to move forward with this type of temporary housing development, so there will be a bit of a "first come, first served" arrangement as we begin this effort. Eventually, we hope most of the FEMA housing will be in this type of neighborhood development.



The Governor’s Commission is open to facilitating an agreement between local officials, developers, land owners, FEMA, and other stakeholders to move this process forward.



Included in this eNewsletter is information about upcoming town hall meetings and other events; links to recent news stories about the work of the Governor’s Commission; an update about the Governor’s discussions with supervisors about land use plans; more information about the SmartCode; links to interim reports from several Issue Committees, and other information. Thank you for your interest in the Governor’s Commission.



UPCOMING EVENTS AND NEWS



The Governor’s Commission is hosting several key events in the upcoming weeks. These events include:



A legislators briefing on Tuesday at the Orange Grove Community Center in Gulfport—Tour from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and Briefing from 12:00-2:00 p.m.

Mississippi Renewal Forum, Phase II is being held Nov. 30-Dec. 2 at the Imperial Palace.



UPCOMING TOWN HALL MEETINGS



The Governor’s Commission continues to host town hall meetings in hurricane affected areas of the state. The following is a list of upcoming town hall meetings. All town hall meetings are open to the public. Please make plans to attend one of the following meetings in your community:



LAMAR, PERRY & FORREST COUNTIES

Monday, November 14, 2005

6:00 PM

Lake Terrace Convention Center

One Convention Place, Hattiesburg



PASCAGOULA

Monday, November 14, 2005

7:00 PM

Pascagoula High School Gym



GREENE & WAYNE COUNTIES

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

6:00 PM

Wayne County Library

1103A Mississippi Drive, Waynesboro



STONE COUNTY

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

6:30 PM

MS Gulf Coast Community College (Perkinston Campus)



HARRISON COUNTY

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

5:00 – 7:00 PM

Orange Grove Community Center (Gulfport)



GAUTIER

Thursday, November 17, 2005

6:00 PM

Location TBD



ADAMS, WILKINSON, & FRANKLIN COUNTIES

Thursday, November 17, 2005

6:30 – 8:30 PM

Natchez Convention Center Complex (211 Main Street)



NEWTON, CLARKE & LAUDERDALE COUNTIES

Monday, November 21, 2005

6:00 PM

Union Station, 1901 Front Street, Meridian



PIKE, WALTHALL, & AMITE COUNTIES

Monday, November 21, 2005

Time and Location TBD



LINCOLN, COPIAH, & HINDS COUNTIES

Monday, November 28, 2005

Time and Location TBD



JEFFERSON DAVIS, LAWRENCE, & MARION COUNTIES

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Time and Location TBD



MOSS POINT

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

7:00 PM

Location TBD

RECENT NEWS STORIES ABOUT THE GOVERNOR’S COMMISSION

Pascagoula citizens to hear renewal plan

http://www.gulflive.com/news/mississippipress/index.ssf?/base/news/1131707751175690.xml



Governor’s Commission holds public hearing in Lucedale

http://www.gulflive.com/news/mississippipress/index.ssf?/base/news/1131707743175690.xml



Latham: Housing top priority

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/local/13128399.htm



Diamondhead hosts renewal panel

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/breaking_news/13126721.htm





GOVERNOR BARBOUR AND SUPERVISORS DISCUSS LAND USE PLANS



Recently, Governor Barbour hosted a conference call with supervisors from George, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Pearl River, and Stone counties to discuss long-term recovery plans for each county as well as the Governor’s role in assisting supervisors in post-Katrina efforts, particularly on land use planning

Governor Barbour urged each of the counties to establish strong building codes, like the International Building Code standards and smart-code for planning purposes, and suggested that supervisors stall any non-essential permitting until these land use practices are in place.

During the conference call, Governor Barbour offered the counties assistance for long-term recovery, including:
• Funding from MDA for comprehensive land use and recovery planning;

• A technical assistance team, organized by The Governor’s Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal, state agencies and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), that will work with local county teams to develop a master plan for each county;

• Coordination from the Governor’s Commission and Governor’s Office to identify financial resources to implement each county plan;

• Long-term help from the state during the implementation of each county’s recovery plan that works side-by-side with the Board of Supervisors.

Also, the Governor re-emphasized that he is prepared to immediately provide these six counties with expert planners at no cost to assist them during this interim period.

PRELIMINARY REPORTS AND NEWS FROM ISSUE COMMITTEES



The Governor’s Commission is comprised of several different committees including County/Regional Committees and several Issue Committees. This week, the Housing Committee has a new Chairman, John Walton, and Vice-Chairman, Fred Carl.



Interim Reports from several of the Governor’s Commission’s Issue committees are becoming available. The Interim Reports provide preliminary assessments and suggestions submitted by the Governor's Commission Issue Committees and do not represent final proposals. They merely are reflective of the discussions of the Committees and should not be construed as representing the position or recommendations of the Commission. Click on the links below to see interim reports from several of the Issue committees and be sure to check our website regularly for new information:



Finance

http://www.governorscommission.com/press/finance.html



Health and Human Services

http://www.governorscommission.com/press/hhs.html



Intermodal Transportation

http://www.governorscommission.com/press/intermodtrans.html



Infrastructure

http://www.governorscommission.com/press/infrastructure.html



Non-Governmental Organizations

http://www.governorscommission.com/press/nongovorg.html



Small Business

http://www.governorscommission.com/press/smallbusiness.html



Tourism

http://www.governorscommission.com/press/tourism.html



For a complete description of the Issue committees, their leadership, and specific area of focus, log on to: http://www.governorscommission.com/description/



The Governor’s Commission also includes members from across the state, primarily from South Mississippi. For a complete list of the membership, go to:

http://www.governorscommission.com/commission/



WHAT IS THE SMARTCODE?



You may have read or heard about the term SmartCode recently. The SmartCode is a combination zoning, coding and architectural plan that is tailored to individual Gulf Coast towns. It acts as an overlay to existing zoning and building codes. It’s flexible, in that residents can still opt to use their town’s pre-existing building codes. Adopting SmartCode can mean shortening times to apply for and receive building permits. It can also mean that when developments adopt SmartCodes, the municipality may assume certain burdens in maintaining connecting roads to those areas.

Principles of Smart Growth:

1. Preserve community identity

2. Create livable neighborhoods

3. Maximize returns for public investment (reduce cost to taxpayers by limiting infrastructure; avoid high-cost maintenance problems, without sacrificing capacity)

4. Improving transportation choices

5. Protecting natural habitats and watersheds



GOVERNOR’S COMMISSION CONTACT INFORMATION



Governor's Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding, Renewal
800 Woodlands Parkway, Suite 200
Ridgeland, MS 39157
Phone: 601-956-0349
Fax: 601-991-3240
info@GovernorsCommission.com
www.GovernorsCommission.com



here's the ne3wsletter i get from the governors commission i don't know if any of you get it but it may be good to pass this to people in affected areas

10:09 AM  
Blogger Red Rover said...

Thanks for the delightful story.

3:43 PM  
Blogger Cie Cheesemeister said...

We have a Scottish Highlands festival in Estes Park every year. Maybe your Wee Scotch Games could become a tradition if enough people wanted them. The world needs fun things like this!
Peace.

11:17 PM  

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