Huge throng turns out for Sports Hall of Fame ceremony

A record crowd of about 450 turned out Sunday evening to help celebrate the latest entries into the Biloxi Sports Hall of Fame, a collection of 17 stars representing an array of sports.

Five former Biloxi Dodgers, three local club boxers and a nationally renowned boxing referee were among those honored during a two-and-half hour banquet at the Biloxi Civic Center.

Amateur boxing champions Wayne Kopszywa, Richard Frentz and Forrest Rodolfich were selected as a group induction. Similarly, a group of former standouts with the Biloxi Dodgers were chosen: George Wright, Freddie Wright, Andrew Wright, Randolph “Kitty Kat” Peyton and Frank Gill.

Freddie Steinwinder III was named to the prestigious Biloxi Sports Hall of Fame after a laudable career as an amateur boxing referee and an even more noteworthy professional career that included officiating more than 1,000 bouts.

Baseball star Mark Graham was the only unanimous selection this year. A member of the Biloxi High School Hall of Fame and Delta State Sports Hall of Fame, Graham had a .373 career batting average for the Statesmen and set a NCAA Div. II single game record with 9 RBI.

Inductee Gene “Guppy” Ganucheau won a state football championship at Biloxi High, a national junior college football title at Mississippi Gulf Coast, and was a star tight end for the University of Kentucky.

Coaches Ronnie Farris (baseball), John Pugh (basketball) and Barbara Ferrill (softball) also were selected this year, along with Biloxi High distance runner Walter Blessey IV, Indians football star and track speedster Ronald Bond and BHS quarterback Richard “Rick” Pitalo.
See photos from the Sunday night affair

 

TD 9 expected to turn to northeast mid-week

National Weather Service forecasters, in an overview released this morning, say Tropical Depression 9 is expected to move northwesterly in the Gulf of Mexico and be in the mid-Gulf in the next two days before curving to the Northeast later in the week.

However, the same report says the track and intensity “still has a large degree of uncertainty,” and the tropical depression is expected to strengthen into a tropical storm.

“At this point, we suggest that everyone continue to monitor the forecasts closely,” Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich said today. “There’s no reason to be alarmed. Just have a plan and work your plan.”
See the forecast info from this morning
How to create a storm plan

 

Cable One hosts a day for ‘Katrina, Camille’

Cable One, as part of the city’s storm and flood outreach efforts, is airing a host of Camille- and Katrina-related programming today on its Cable Channel 69 in Biloxi.

The programming began at 10 a.m. this morning and will run continuously throughout the evening.

Cable One viewers can see the city’s original award-winning documentary “Katrina & Biloxi: A Story of Resolve & Resilience,” “A Lady Called Camille,” along with a special about the history of the Croatian-American Cultural Society featuring former Mayor Danny Guice, and Mayor A.J. Holloway’s speech to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, presented in January 2006, months after Katrina devastated Biloxi and the Gulf Coast.
See A.J. Holloway on Katrina and Biloxi online now
Get The Complete Katrina Experience now

 

City crews focusing on sand, edging on U.S. 90

The city on Tuesday morning will have multiple crews working on U.S. 90 to remove sand and trim medians on east and central beach in Biloxi, working their way to DeBuys Road later this week.

A Parks & Recreation crew of 14 laborers will be focusing on the northern median from Oak Street working westward, beginning at 6 o’clock Tuesday morning, with the goal of covering eight miles, to Veterans Avenue no later than Wednesday. The Parks & Recreation crew will be on U.S. 90 from 6 a.m. to noon, allowing workers to complete routine park maintenance in the afternoons.

Meantime, the Public Works Department has two five-men crews working from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. throughout the week.  One crew is using heavy equipment to remove sand from the sides of U.S. 90 and another trimming grass from sidewalks on the north side of U.S. 90.

“We actually started on U.S. 90 on Friday down at Myrtle Street and we’ve worked westward, reaching Holley Street,” said Public Works Director Billy Ray Allen. “We have a separate crew on sand, and if manpower becomes available, we’ll add a third crew to speed things up even more.”

Motorists are reminded to use extra caution when approaching work zones.

 

News and notes

I-110 inspections complete:  Inspections of the I-110 draw bridge, which were scheduled to run through Thursday, are complete.  This ahead-of-schedule accomplishment means no more nightly lane closures.  To see traffic advisories in and around the area, click here.

Budget meeting: The City Council has called a special meeting for tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 to continue discussions of the municipal budget for FY 2017, which begins Oct. 1. Among the scheduled topics for Tuesday: Public Works and Engineering departments, water and sewer operations, and the port division.

The week that was: To see the highlights from last week from the departments of Fire, Police and Community Development, click here.