Lowndes County’s Board of Supervisors honored state Rep. Tyrone Ellis with a resolution in honor of his service in the state legislature.
Ellis, 71, resigned from his seat, which he’d held since 1980, at the end of June. Ellis, a Democrat from Starkville, represented District 38, which includes parts of Clay, Lowndes and Oktibbeha Counties.
District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks presented the resolution, which the board approved earlier in July.
“On behalf of the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors, we want to say to you we appreciate the 38 years you’ve served in the House of Representatives and we know that it’s no small feat,” Brooks said.
Board President Harry Sanders said it was impossible to list all of Ellis’ accomplishments for the Golden Triangle in the resolution. He recalled one instance from Ellis’ time with the Ways and Means Committee, when the county was trying to draw Severstal, which is now Steel Dynamics, Inc., when Ellis stood up to a Washington County colleague who was expressing opposition.
“You stood up in defense of Lowndes County and that project and said ‘This is my project,'” Sanders said. “All of a sudden the respect you had in the Ways and Means Committee and in Jackson–everybody shut up and there was no other word. When they voted, they voted to do what they needed to do to in Lowndes County.”
Ellis said he was humbled by the board’s presentation. He said he’s enjoyed working with boards of supervisors during his time in the legislature.
“We had our differences from time to time, but we managed to work back to the center and get things done,” he said. “As a result of that, I think the citizens of Lowndes County and the Golden Triangle are faring a lot better.”
Senators Chuck Younger (R-Columbus) and Angela Turner-Ford (D-West Point), along with representatives Jeff Smith (R-Columbus) and Kabir Karriem (D-Columbus) attended the meeting. Each offered comments praising Ellis’ work in the legislature.
Younger, who shared an anecdote of once coming across Ellis looking for parts for his lawnmower in AutoZone, said the representative will be missed.
“It’s going to be hard to replace Tyrone,” he said. “There’s not a Republican or Democrat in Jackson who doesn’t love the man. He’s going to be missed, big time.”
Karriem, the Golden Triangle delegation’s newest member, said he was honored to serve with and learn from Ellis in his two years so far in the House of Representatives.
“There’s a lot of institutional knowledge leaving here today,” Karriem said. “I’m just honored that he’s able to see us honor him while he’s here walking among us.”
A special election to fill the remainder of Ellis’ term, which expires in 2020, has been set for Nov. 7.
Community partnership MOU
In other business, supervisors approved a memorandum of understanding for a community partnership program with Columbus Air Force Base. Col. Nathan Miller went before the board to seek approval.
The base has invited state and local officials to the partnership program, as well as business leaders and members of civic groups and some nonprofit organizations.
The program is separate from the Base Community Council, which has representation.
“The Air Force Community Partnership Program is formalizing better what we already have been doing well, which is finding way to partner with the community to share resources, both from the community to the base and the base to the community,” he said.
“We get together and brainstorm ways that we can work together better,” Miller later added.
As an example, he said the commissary at the base recently donated food to United Way of Lowndes County to distribute to local food shelters.
Representatives of those organizations attend invitational meetings, which Miller said are set to occur quarterly. For example, he said supervisors might send one member to represent Lowndes County.
“We can’t get too big, because then you have a large group dynamic that doesn’t get anything done,” he said. “We have about 60 or 70 key players in the area that are thinking about ways that we can all work together and improve.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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