A conference of Mississippi small-town mayors scheduled for Friday has been postponed until spring because of limits on air travel.
The meeting was to be held at the Sutton Administration Building on the campus of Mississippi Valley State University, with Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck delivering the main address.
The university still would like for Tuck to speak and will select a new date that fits its schedule and hers, said Del Stewart, executive assistant to university President Lester C. Newman.
The theme of the gathering is "Creating Livable Communities in Rural America." Mayors will learn how to obtain technical assistance to solve problems in their communities. They will hear ideas on how to write grant proposals, shop legislative ideas to leaders and find financial aid in other ways.
Topics will include community and economic develpment, technology, transportation, infrastructure, crime, health care, and tourism.
Speakers scheduled to attend include Dr. Sylvia Johnson, international epidemiologist for the United Auto Workers, and Everett Exposé of the Centers for Disease Control.
Stewart said the plan is to bring in federal officials who can help mayors find funding sources. However, many goverment officials are not scheduling any "unroutine" flights in light of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Mississippi Valley State University is serving as host of the mayors' conference for the third consecutive year.
Stewart said Dr. Newman wants the event to be about more than just obtaining information. The goal is to have something measurable come out of it, he said.
To that end, MVSU will "adopt" some communities at the meeting and assist them over the next year in securing aid. The university will adopt Itta Bena and two or three others, possibly drawing names out of a hat, Stewart said.
"All Americans, regardless of race, ethnicity and economic status, deserve livable communities," Newman said in a statement. "All must share equitably in the American dream of communities that area safe, healthy and where our children can obtain a quality education in order to prepare them for emerging technologies."
A panel on rural education might also be added, now that there is more time to plan, Stewart said.
Leonard Spearman, who works in the U.S. Department of Education and leads the White House initiative on historically black colleges and universities, has asked about getting his department involved in such a panel.
