City, county pledge services to OCHM

May 27, 2012

By NATHAN GREGORY
sdnreporter@yahoo.com

The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors and the Starkville Board of Aldermen have agreed to provide funding to the Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum for the installation of a pavilion.

The city and county’s contributions are a combination of funding and in-kind services.

OCHM Board of Trustees Chair Joan Wilson said installation of the pavilion will include removing a portion of the museum’s parking lot.

“We will be putting up a pavilion that will be built by Mississippi State University architecture and landscape architecture students. All that work is volunteer,” Wilson said. “(The county pledged) in-kind services for materials (including) gravel, concrete, soil and dirt. The city has donated in-kind services with physical labor.”

Wilson said the museum will soon also have new solar panels donated by Synergetics.

“Synergetics is donating some solar panels that will be used for demonstration purposes of solar energy,” Wilson said. “The museum is (already) a showcase of the best practices of water retention and water flow. Now we’ll look at solar energy. (The changes will make OCHM) one of Starkville’s true green spaces.”

Local organization Friends of the Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum has also donated three new display cases so OCHM can have more temporary exhibits.

Oktibbeha County District 2 Supervisor Marvell Howard said providing the services are important in ensuring the museum’s continued success.

“I think the heritage museum is a large part of teaching history for generations to come,” Howard said. “They’ve made tremendous improvements around the facility, and our support shows a commitment from the county to continue to support their educational goals.”

News editor Carl Smith contributed to this report.