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Chancery Clerk Johnny Hayward (seated) listens as Mike Slaughter with Slaughter and Associates Urban Planning Consultants in Oxford discusses county redistricting at the supervisors’ meeting on Dec. 6. Staff Photo / Galen Holley
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By GALEN HOLLEY
Staff Writer
The Grenada County Board of Supervisors is turning to a planning firm in Oxford to finish a redistricting job that another firm couldn’t.
The board voted unanimously Thursday to end its year-long working relationship with the Stennis Institute at Mississippi State University and to retain the services of Slaughter and Associates Urban Planning Consultants in Oxford.
“I think we need to move on this quickly,” said County Attorney Jay Gore III, shortly after Mike Slaughter made his presentation to the board.
The supervisors voted unanimously to fire the Stennis Institute and to hand over to Slaughter the data they’d been given, including maps.
“We can work with this information and have something for you shortly,” said Slaughter.
When the U.S. Census is conducted every 10 years, counties are required to reassess their district boundaries.
The 2010 Census showed that Grenada County had some rearranging to do, according to District Two Supervisor and Board President Chad Bridges.
The supervisors held three work sessions with representatives from the Stennis Institute, Bridges said. They went over various considerations, including road mileage in each district and minority populations.
Every supervisor agreed that the maps they received from the Stennis Institute on Dec. 3 were not accurate.
Slaughter said he is familiar with Grenada County. He lived here from 1977-81 and worked under County Engineer Jack Willis, he said.
His firm has handled redistricting for 36 counties, cities and school districts in the state, including Batesville, Winona and the South Panola School District. The firm is currently handling redistricting for Leflore County as well as annexation and redistricting in Batesville and Clarksdale.
For the full story, see the printed edition of the GrenadaStar.
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