Oakland Part Of Main Street Effort
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Representatives from the 91 cities and towns with Main Street Mississippi attended Capitol Day recently. Oakland is a member and was represented by Linda Ross Aldy.
Oakland News
By Linda Aldy
Friends of Ginny Toole Sosebee are so saddened to hear about the sudden death of her husband, Richard, last week. Ginny grew up in Oakland, the daughter of Martha Magee Toole and Terry Toole, and after college and living in Atlanta, moved back to Oakland with her husband, Richard. He was a contractor and she opened the cutest antique shop downtown, hosted tea parties, and became the center of downtown. Their son, Andrew, was born while they lived in Oakland. They originally bought and renovated the Hill house next door to my mom’s before building a beautiful house on “the park road.”
My son now owns the house that Richard lovingly worked on. They have been such a part of our lives. They attended Oakland Methodist Church for years before they moved to Batesville. I call Ginny my little sister, as she and my sister Carol became playmates and best friends for life. A celebration of Richard’s life will be held at 4p.m. Saturday, March 14, at the Batesville First Methodist Church.
Oakland is a member of the Mississippi Main Street Association. Main Street, with 91 member towns across Mississippi, works to improve local communities, specifically their downtown areas. Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann addressed the group during both a press conference at the Capitol last week and a luncheon following the press conference.
“Showcasing Mississippi and our small towns is fundamental to selling our state,” Hosemann said. “From small-town Main Streets to our largest tourism destinations, tourism drives economic development, strengthens small businesses, and returns direct investment to our communities.”
“I want to see my grandchildren grow up and live here in Mississippi,” he concluded. He also announced that SB 1716 passed with full support in the Senate. It had previously passed with unanimous support in the House. HB 1716 is the general appropriation bill for the Mississippi Main Street Revitalization Grant Program. Grants are available to Main Street members via a selection process for up to $500,000 with a matching requirement.
Dr. Kelle Barfield and Linda Ross Aldy enjoyed visiting at the event. They are former colleagues from Entergy. Kelle is President of Mississippi Main Street and Linda is the official director for Oakland’s Main Street. The Oakland Area Chamber supports the membership for Oakland.
It was well attended by Main Street directors from all across the state. I was delighted to have time to visit with my friend and former Entergy co-worker Kelle Barfield of Vicksburg. Kelle serves as President of Main Street and has done some amazing work in Vicksburg where she owns a downtown bookstore and serves on the Warren County Board of Supervisors. She is also an international consultant on nuclear issues and literally travels the world.
We are now officially in our Spring “tornado season” which runs March, April and May. Review your weather plan and be weather aware. Tornadoes can occur at any time during the year but are most common in those spring months, with a secondary season in November. They can occur at any time of the day.
From the Miss. Department of Transportation website:
“If you are in a car, do not try to outrun a tornado. Take shelter in a sturdy building nearby. If none is available, get out of the car and get into the lowest part of the ground, such as a ditch.
“Never take shelter under highway overpasses. Many are not constructed properly to provide adequate shelter, especially as the wind speeds increase as the tornado passes over.”
Margaret Ross and Janet Ross Caulder attended the fourth birthday party of Garrett Ross in Grenada last weekend. Garrett is the son of Richard and Meagan Ross and grandson of Rich and Jennifer Ross. Mother said that Garrett looked each of his guests in the eye as he thanked them for his gifts. If they weren’t looking at him, he continued to repeat his thanks until they looked at him!
The Oakland Baptist Church held its delayed Valentine banquet last week with a Hawaiian-themed dinner. Mother said it was wonderfully decorated and included some guests from Hebron Baptist Church in the Grenada area. She was surprised to see a former co-worker from Grenada Clinic there. Louise Brown and Mother had worked together in the 1980s and had not seen each other since.
I am checking on the issues at Cossar State Park, which I’m told remains closed following the ice storm.
While Spring is in the air, there are still reminders of the 2026 Ice Storm Fern as communities throughout North Mississippi, including Oakland, await debris removal. This photo was taken on Oak Street.
Sister Carol reports that Spring has definitely arrived in Oakland where everything is blooming and looking beautiful against the backdrop of the ice storm damage. As with other towns in the path of the ice storm, there is still recovery underway. The primary evidence of the storm is debris stacked and awaiting pick-up and the trees with broken tops. Hopefully, they will soon be filled with leaves and begin their recovery.
With the blooms comes Spring Break for many schools. I took my two oldest grandchildren and their mom to Laurel for the first few days of their school holiday. If you haven’t been to Laurel, it is an amazing and vibrant town, especially in the downtown area. The HGTV “Home Town” Show has really created a buzz there. We had some wonderful food as well. I love Mimmo’s Ristorante Pizzeria, which was perfect for adults and kids. On our way out of town, we discovered Edgar’s Steak House for Sunday brunch. That appears to be where the locals eat! The kids’ favorite shop was Shug’s Cookie Dough & Candy Bar, which we did for dessert one day.
Throughout our visit, the people serving us in stores and restaurants and at the beautiful Lauren Rodgers Museum were so helpful and kind. It truly felt as though we were just visiting with neighbors.
Let me know if you have news to include. Contact me via email at oaklandarea chamber@gmail.com or text or leave a message at 601-853-3942.
