Biloxi will pick up an honorary citizen Friday night when Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway honors Marlin Miller, the Fort Walton Beach, Fla. sculptor who has created more than a dozen sculptures from standing dead trees in the Biloxi medians of Beach Boulevard.
Holloway will honor Miller on Friday night at the Biloxi High School football stadium, during halftime of a football game between Biloxi and Fort Walton Beach. The game begins at 7:30.
“We commissioned an artist to do five trees for us several months after Hurricane Katrina, and we never envisioned that we would have nearly two dozen of them today,” Holloway said. “And we owe it all to Marlin, who was so inspired by the initial work that he took on the project over the past several months and has refused to take any money for his work. Rarely a day goes by that you don’t see a local resident or a visitor admiring these sculptures or taking pictures of them.”
In all, Biloxi has 20 sculptures in the median of Beach Boulevard, stretching from Casino Row to Rodenberg Avenue. Fifteen were created by Miller, and his final effort, a couple of humpback whales west of the Biloxi Lighthouse, will be completed over the next several months. Miller has also created several sculptures for neighboring Coast cities.
“Marlin Miller has created a series of landmarks in our community, and we want him to know that we sincerely appreciate his gift to this community,” Holloway said. “We also wanted to make sure the people of Fort Walton Beach knew how great of a guy he is.”
To learn more about the Katrina sculptures in Biloxi and to see videos and photos of the work, click here. click here.
News and notes
Council addition: Council President Bill Stallworth has added two items to the agenda for the City Council’s special meeting Friday: a $100,000 donation to Moore Community House, and $100,000 to Back Bay Mission. The council will also consider overriding Mayor A.J. Holloway’s veto of the FY ’09 municipal budget. The meeting begins at 9 a.m.
Comprehensive photos: The city has wrapped up its initial meetings to see input for the update of the comprehensive plan. To see photos from the meeting Wednesday night in Woolmarket, click here. To see photos from this morning’s session in west Biloxi, click here.
Gaming revenue: Biloxi’s eight casinos reported , $714,000 off August 2007, which was the largest August in the history of legalized gaming in Biloxi. To see Biloxi’s monthly report click here.
