RECOLLECTIONS: 2014 (10 years ago) ordinance, anniversary

By Guest Columnist Daryl Lewis

• During a recessed Board of Aldermen meeting Tuesday evening, City Attorney Josh Bogen confirmed that, as of this Friday, the efforts to expand the city limits of Leland will be finalized. The new city limits now reach west to Kuhn Road, taking in Delta Group Ayres-Delta Implement Company, the FedEx distribution center, and the Dodge convenience store. Northern boundaries now stretch to include the DuPont/Pioneer Seed research facility.

• Upon recommendation of Leland Police Chief Billy Barber, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen will be reviewing a suggested new ordinance that would require owners of pit bull breed dogs to register them with the City. In addition to requiring pit bull owners to register their dogs, owners would have to provide a photo of the dog, be subject to a fence inspection by the City’s humane officer, provide proof of vaccinations and show that liability insurance covering vicious dogs has been acquired.

• The 50th anniversary celebration of Christmas on Deer Creek drew a crowd of just under 1,000 spectators who came out to watch the traditional arrival of Santa Claus. Special guests included the Munn sisters—Dale from Indianola, Patsy and Beth from Oxford, and Linda from New Orleans. Their father, the late Louis Munn, was Mayor of Leland when Christmas on Deer Creek was started. The sisters have poignant memories of their dad building the first Santa and his sleigh float in their garage when they were growing up.

• The Christmas on Deer Creek celebration will continue this weekend with a pop-up holiday shopping event. There are approximately forty retailers participating in the event, some from as far away as Atlanta and Baton Rouge. In addition, the Delta Artists Association will have several artists painting or sculpting throughout the day, and the Leland Historic Preservation Commission will set up a slideshow showing historic photographs and high-lighting some of Leland’s iconic historic properties.

• “I want our community to be reminded of what it’s like to have a vibrant downtown, and I hope our visiting businesses can get a true taste of what a wonderful place Leland is to do business,” said Melia Christensen, executive director of the Leland Chamber of Commerce. Plus, the Leland-Deer Creek Garden Club will host a Tour of Homes, including The Thompson House, the Schillig-Nichols home, Liberty Hall, the Goepel-Dean home and the Ayres home. A $30 ticket will include not only a tour of the five homes but also lunch at a local eatery.

• Leland Rotary Club President Richard Taylor recently presented Rob O’Reilly with a certificate officially naming him as a Paul Harris Fellow, those Rotarians who designate at least $1,000 to the global fund to help clean water initiatives and other Rotary projects.

• Died: Lela Rose Selby Grissom, 97, on December 4 at her home in Leland. She was born in 1917 at Valley in Yazoo County to Daniel Clarence and Mary Guion Selby, but she grew up in Yazoo City. For eight years, she worked in Lexington at the Federal Land Bank and there met and later married Perrin Grissom on August 10, 1941. They moved to Stoneville in 1946 and to Leland in 1960. She was very active in the Leland Methodist Church, was a life member of the Leland-Deer Creek Garden Club and was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

NOTE: The complete “RECOLLECTIONS” are available every Thursday on Facebook at “Leland – Our Town and Beyond Museum” and “Memories of Leland.”