Beautifying and Bettering Downtown Ackerman

CHOCTAW COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Improvements are already being seen in downtown Ackerman.

Last week, the board of alderman approved a plan for a new team of local leaders in the community.

The team is called Aspire MS.

The Mississippi Development Authority funds the program, which has teams in certain counties across the state.

Most people know the strengths of their hometown, but they sometimes find it hard to communicate that to others.

That’s where the Aspire MS team comes in, and they’re not only trying to make their city more attractive to outsiders, but also help those who already live there.

Looking at your town through the eyes of a visitor.

That’s how the Mississippi Development Authority is training the Choctaw County Aspire MS Team.

“When we started doing that, you know, there are some things that maybe we thought we would like to improve, not only to bring visitors here to stay and to live, because this is a great place to live, but also to make it better for the people who are here. We want to have people to stay here. We also want businesses to come here,” says team member, Deanie Graves.

Graves and Juli Hughes are two locals who were chosen to be a part of the team planning for Ackerman’s future.

“This was something the Mississippi Development Authority offered to us and we thought it was a great idea and so we became involved. All of our team are leaders and we’re always looking to do things to better our community,” says Hughes.

Last week, city leaders approved almost $10,000 to fund projects.

“What we do is, we choose some projects to do, some goals. We make sure that we know they are doable and we make sure that we have some idea about how it would impact the community and then we get it done. One of the things we’ve done already is to be involved in the Main Street area.”

They’ve already made some progress in beautifying downtown, going from this, to this, with more plans in store.

“Phase 1 and put some trees in there. We will put Sunset Maples and Chinese Elms. They will be probably twelve foot trees. They’re going to be tall trees and then we will come in Phase 2 with some shrubs, mulching, and perennial flowers.”

Mayor Tim Cutts says on top of making the town more appealing, he’s also hoping to make the community stronger.

“Long term goal is leadership. Leadership, taking reins, and pulling things and heading us in the right direction.”

The team has already launched several promotional platforms for Ackerman, including a new website.

 

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