by Hunter Dawkins

Business owner, entrepeneur, volunteer, fundraiser and pretty much everything else for the city of Long Beach was spoken about the Southern Linen Services President David Fayard, as he won the 2019 Aline Doherty Citizen of the Year at the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce Breakfast with the Mayor.  The event was held at Wednesday morning at the University of Southern Mississippi-Gulf Park campus in Long Beach.

Long Beach Mayor George Bass and the City Chamber of Commerce President Jennifer Glenn described Fayard as someone that doesn’t ask many questions, other than asking what he can do.  Glenn expressed that Fayard often is willing to contribute if it means to better the city of Long Beach.

Even with the presentation of several awards, the morning breakfast hosted involved the Mayor speaking about the different projects completed or the progress of the Friendly City on others.

The large issue of the speech was about the many drainage projects  the city finished or close proximity.  Bass discussed a 95% conclusion on the public works department with flooding projects and thanked director Joe Culpepper for cleaning 26 miles of drainage.

“The city is working hard for the local residents,” said Bass, disclosing the promises kept when the new municipal administration took over.

Of the 127 applications submitted to the BP Restoration Funds committee, Bass applauded the city for having pertinent projects, stating, “these will change the face of Long Beach.”  Addressing the notice of the Beatline Parkway project, the mayor conveyed this being a valuable asset and the city should know about the bill grant by late November for funding this evacuation route.  “The west end of Harrison County is forgotten,” said Bass.  “This temporary fix is vital to Long Beach.”

In examination of questions of the casino, Mayor Bass explained the city was negotiating with the developers of the casino. “We need to do the right things for the citizens of Long Beach,” said Bass.  “We want citizens to be proud of the business developing.”

A final announcement came of the new dog park off Daughtery Road.  The mayor described this as an amenity and noting that more people will be visiting and traveling here with a convenient dog park.  The grand opening for the FETCH Dog Park will be on October 14 at 5:30pm, according to the mayor.

Additional awards were given to J.J. Sobaszek as the Public Works Employee of the Year, Detective Eli Zacharias as Officer of the Year, and Lionel Viera as Firefighter of the Year.

The Long Beach Chamber of Commerce officially reported the Taste of Long Beach will occur on the night of October 24 at the Senior Citizen Center off Daughtery Road.