The first quarter of 2006 indicated a strong hope for the futureof Lincoln County and its residents, from the return of thousandsof soldiers from Iraq to great strides in the area of medicine.

Medicine may have been the largest sector of growth for thetown. King’s Daughters Medical Center opened the Quick Care Clinicin March while also moving forward in its plans for an $11 millionexpansion of the hospital. The county also received stateauthorization to move forward on a long-awaited mental healthcrisis center in March.

January

The historic Harrigill Building on Jackson Street was demolishedJan. 4 to make way for a new structure for First United MethodistChurch. The building had stood in downtown since 1937.

Dr. J. Kim Sessums was recognized by the Mississippi Senate Jan.12 for his artistic talents. Sessums designed and sculpted theMississippi African American Monument at Vicksburg NationalMilitary Park, among other projects. The monument was unveiled anddedicated in 2004.

The last soldiers of the 155th Brigade Combat Team returned toMississippi from a tour in Iraq Jan. 19. The brigade was thelargest Mississippi National Guard unit to deploy to a war zonesince World War II and was composed of nearly 3,500 soldiers,mostly from units in the local area.

County circuit clerks began receiving the new touch-screenvoting machines in January. The machines slowly trickled in atfirst, but each county had its allotment of machines by electionday. The arrival of the machines prompted nearly a year-long effortby election officials to educate the public and work throughseveral controversies that erupted about their usage.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Recovery Centerin Brookhaven closed Jan. 28. January saw an end to many of theHurricane Katrina recovery efforts, including the closure of FEMA’sdebris dump.

February

Dozens of members of the Army National Guard’s 155th BrigadeCombat Team, including several from this area, joined lawmakers andthe Guard’s top brass Feb. 2 in tributes to the 3,500Mississippians who spent a year in Iraq. They also remembered the14 state Guardsmen who didn’t make it back alive.

The 43rd annual Brookhaven Camellia Show broke records Feb. 4with more than 1,384 entries from across the South. It was the mostentries ever recorded for the event.

March

The King’s Daughters Medical Center Quick Care Clinic opened toa strong showing March 1. A steady flow of patients passed throughthe clinic throughout the day. The clinic is designed to treat abroad range of minor injuries and illnesses and helps relieve thepressure on the hospital’s emergency room and provide care when apatient’s primary doctor is unavailable.

Brookhaven residents searching for a safe place to walk, cycle,job or skateboard took a step forward in early March when workbegan on a new multi-purpose recreational trail at Brookhaven CityPark. The trail was completed within three months.

Union and Confederate troops set up camp on the steps of theBrookhaven Military Memorial Museum March 4 to emphasize the roleof Lincoln Countians in the Civil War. Organizers hoped the livinghistory exhibit would draw attention to the museum, whichmemorializes the sacrifices of residents in all of America’swars.

The state gave official approval March 6 for construction tobegin on a mental health crisis center in Brookhaven that willserve 10 counties in Southwest Mississippi. The project had beendelayed since 1999 because the construction had been funded but noappropriation had been made to staff the facility. The statelegislature on March 6 finally passed a bill authorizing fulloperational funding.

A Lincoln County man accused of bludgeoning his grandmother todeath in October 2004 pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced tolife in prison March 10.

There were no injuries March 12 in a minor mishap at theBrookhaven Municipal Airport when landing gear collapsed on a 1948Swift 145 two-seater passenger plane. The plane slid off the runwayinto a marshy area after the collapse.

Lincoln County’s population remained up by more than 2,500people in March from Hurricane Katrina evacuees continuing to livein the area. Many were still undecided on whether they would returnto the Gulf Coast or remain here.

Criminal charges were dropped March 27 against a WessonAttendance Center school official for allegedly not informingauthorities when a handgun was found in the possession of a studenton campus. The school official had maintained his innocencethroughout the ordeal.

A Hurricane Katrina evacuee from Louisiana staying in Magnoliawas killed by a shotgun blast March 31 at a Brookhaven hotel. Theman had begun to put down permanent roots in the area. No arresthas been made in the case, which is still under investigation.