Ethel Mayor Gwen Sims spoke to The Star-Herald about the town’s recent successes and future opportunities.
According to Sims, the Attala County Sheriff's Department and Board of Supervisors recently donated a police car to Ethel. She said that repairs are needed on the cruiser, but when finished, the town will hire a new police officer to start patrolling in the evenings — particularly to quell recent increases in vandalism.
Since Ethel has not been able to afford a cruiser of its own, Sims said she had asked Sheriff Tim Nail to donate a vehicle to Ethel whenever the county was able to purchase new cars for the department. Nail delivered on his promise to do so.
Sims also told The Star-Herald that Pope Street, also known as Highway 739, is being paved from Hilltop Grocery to the water tower on Highway 12. Improvements to the road should be finished by next week, and Sims thanked Attala County MDOT supervisor, Cecil Barber, for getting the project done.
“We appreciate him listening to our pleas of how badly we needed the road fixed and working with us closely. It was getting in such rough shape,” she said.
A paving project leading from the Hilltop past the downtown area is currently underway. Photo courtesy of Gwen Sims.
Another project — to repave part of Drake Street on the east side of Ethel — has been put out to bid. Sims said the project has needed completion for years, and now, due to state funding, Ethel has enough money in its road and street fund to move forward on the effort. She is anticipating the project to be complete in July or August.
Sims also mentioned a potential resealing of Kings Road out to State Highway 14. District 5 Supervisor Tim Pinkard told The Star-Herald that the project will be done using state aid funding, and Pinkard said County Road 5216 may be resealed as well.
“We are planning on getting roads resealed from the Ethel city limits out to Highway 14. I don’t know if it will get done this year, but it’s in the four-year plan,” he said. “They might do some leveling on the roads this summer and then reseal them next year. That will probably be the plan.”
Sim also said a new business opening on Main Street — Merritt Snow Cones. Sims sees this as a great location for local children to play, dance, and enjoy snow cones at the pavilion in the park.
“Parents will have a chance to bring their kids up to play and have a snow cone. Let's support our local business because they live right here in Ethel,” she said.
Sims, who coordinated Ethel’s Mayday Festival this year, expressed gratitude for the event’s encouraging turnout.
“I want to thank everyone who came out and those that shopped at the Mayday Festival in Ethel. For just starting back after COVID-19, I think it was a pretty good festival,” she said. “Next year is going to be bigger and better. I just want to thank all the vendors that came out with booth spaces and the people who came to shop. They made it a great day.”
