I would like to take this opportunity to announce my candidacy for the office of Mayor of Belmont.  The decision to run has come after many hours of serious thought and prayer over the past few months.  I sincerely appreciate the many people who have offered encouragement and urged me to seek this office.

Even though I know most of you I still feel the need to introduce myself for those who may be new to the community or those who, for whatever reason, I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting.   My family moved to Belmont when I was beginning the second grade and, with the exception of several years living near Tupelo after graduating from college, I have been here ever since.  I am a proud graduate of Belmont High School, Northeast Mississippi Community College, and Mississippi State University.  For the past 24 years I have been employed as an Industrial Engineer and am presently a Process Engineer for Tiffin Motorhomes in Belmont.  My wife, Peggy, is a teacher at Belmont Elementary School and we have three children who are all students at Belmont Schools.  I am a member of Belmont United Methodist Church where I serve as Lay Leader and am a Certified Lay Speaker in the Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church.  I am a member of the Tishomingo County Development Foundation, immediate past chairman of the Tishomingo County Tourism Council, and a member of the Board of Directors of the North Mississippi Medical Center Iuka Hospital.  I also serve on the Advisory Board for the Workforce Development Council at Northeast Mississippi Community College. For the past four years I have had the honor of serving on the Board of Aldermen for the Town of Belmont.

The past few years have been tough ones for our town with many people experiencing job losses as area businesses closed.  I, myself, was among hundreds of people who had to find other employment during this time and consider myself very blessed to be working here in Belmont and not forced to drive hundreds of miles per week to work.  Most experts tell us that we are in for more hard times before the economy turns around.  That is one of the reasons I believe that our next mayor needs to be someone with an understanding of what businesses are seeking when they are looking to locate, relocate, or expand, and I feel that my experience would be beneficial in representing our town to the few companies who are growing as we compete with many other towns and cities for these precious jobs.  In addition, I feel that our next mayor should be someone who has at least some experience in local government and understands how it works and who also knows what resources are available to help the local communities.

During the past four years I feel we have made some significant improvements in our town that I am proud to have helped bring about.  Our fire department now has a paid professional chief and qualified officers who spend more time at the station so they can respond quicker to fires and other emergencies, and we are working hard to lower our rating so citizens will pay lower insurance premiums.  Our police department has new patrol cars paid for without using your tax money.  When the ambulance service was considering leaving Belmont, we renovated the building and negotiated a lease that will keep it here while paying for the renovations through this lease agreement.  Both of our city parks have had improvements made including new playgrounds, new fences at the ball fields, picnic tables added, trees planted, and tennis courts resurfaced.  We have built a new sewage lagoon that should serve us for many years and are in the planning stages of new collection lines in several parts of town.  When our garbage collection contractor kept raising rates, we purchased a truck and began our own collection service and have been able to do this without raising our rates, even when the cost of fuel rose to record levels.

Four years ago I ran for alderman with no promises other than to work as hard as I could and to do what I felt was right for the town.  I was overwhelmed by the vote of confidence you gave me during the election and I pray that I haven’t let you down.  I love this town and as your mayor I simply promise that I will continue to do all that I can to help it grow and provide better opportunities for our people. Hopefully, I will be able to meet with each of you in person to discuss the upcoming election, but if not, I want to ask you to be sure to vote on June 2^nd and I hope you will consider allowing me to help Belmont move forward.

Sincerely,

Buddy Wiltshire

First off,  Haley Barbour was sworn in for his second term in office.   Also, Bubba Carpenter and Mark Duvall were sworn in for
their first terms as representitive for the First and 19th Districts.   Billy McCoy was re-elected speaker of the house by a one
vote margin, which has more impact on us than most folks realize. 

We learned of a future development at Bay Springs that could have a huge ecomomic impact on the area.  Plans are still being
devoloped with construction beginning as early as April 09.   The potential for the area is still not yet realized by most. 

The Belmont Football team went 1-9 in 2007, but surprised everyone with a 4-1 start to the 2008 season.   The Cardinals opened
with a huge win over Mooreville, then traveled to Tishomingo County for that all important rivalry game.   Belmont was pushed
around for 3 quarters, but pushed back in the 4th qtr with a 96 yard drive that overcame three 4th down conversions, a dropped pass in the end zone, and a clock that all but ran out.  But in the end, Parham to Poole gave Belmont a win that will stand out as one of the best in Belmont history. 
Then, a win over Red Bay completed the impressive start, moving Belmont to 4-1 and suddenly, a lot of folks started paying attention.   Belmont finished the year 6-5 and has folks eyeing the next season as one with tremendous opportunity.  

Belmont Girls made it to Jackson for a first round game, and the Boys said goodbye to Coach Elmore and hello to Coach Edmondson.  

Ralph Mann, owner of Mann Oil Change, died suddenly of a unexpected heart attack, reminding all of us that life can change without warning. 

Mac McAnally won CMA musician of the year award, bringing pride to all of Belmont. 

Tishomingo County had new faces on the Board of Supervisers, most of whom came in with promises of jobs and new economics.  Their timing was perfect, as jobs disappeared like water down a drain, as the nation’s economy took a nosedive.  09 presents a real challenge to these gentlemen as voters have never been patient.

Obama is elected President, and this affects every person in the county and country.   Time will tell. 

Belmont turned 100 this year,  as did Tishomingo.   The Car show and Bear Creek Festival, along with the Christmas Parade did not disappoint.    US Rep Travis Childers showed up at the Festival. 

2009,,,, we are here and I hope you are ready for us.

David, Haley, Hobie, Rachel

David and Rachel Credille came by this past week.  David is one of my oldest friends.  We grew up together, spent the night at each other’s house, and got into a lot of trouble together.  David coaches at Angleton Tx.  He is the Offensive line coach.  They finished 9-4 with a second round loss in the playoffs.  He showed me some video tape of their team….. They look fast and quick. 

Hobie is a full grown 18 year old, who graduates this year.   But it didn’t seem right, seeing all of them wearing Texas gear.   Haley sure has grown too, turning into a beautiful young lady.

David, Haley, Hobie, Rachel

The Joe Jones Family

Thank you for a great turnout….. Thanks so much to the performers and to all of the help. 

Well, it can be done.  I am going to leave the tab at the top of the Belmonttimes.com website on the right side.  Click on that each day, read what is there and by next Christmas, you will have completed the entire Bible.  This comes from The Blue Letter Bible online site, which I consider the best online resource on the Internet. 

One thing that helps me is the audio at the top of the Scripture page.  It helps me not to read too fast, which I tend to do. 

So, take the challenge.   Make it a part of your day.  Tell others.  Tell your teenagers.   What greater gift can a child give their parents than the gift of reading the entire Bible.

Now, if I could get Jerry McAnally to start a blog with daily commentary, I would really have something to brag about.  Jerry is as deep in the Bible as anyone I know, and has a tremendous talent for simplifing things down to an understandable level.

Author and former Ole Miss All American and NFL’er Paige Cothren wants you to have some of his books.  Paige told me that when the Lord changed his life, he promised the Lord that he wouldn’t make any more money off of his secular work.  After having already written several books, Paige changed his writing style and his characters found the Lord along with the author.  So, Paige is giving away his books, all of the ones he wrote before he was saved. 

Paige’s latest series of books are set in Tishomingo County.   One of the books in the series was “At the End of the Swinging Bridge”. 

“Walk Carefully Among The Dead” was my favorite book by Paige and is required for all football fans, especially Ole Miss fans.  Paige takes you into a football world that most folks never knew existed, the 1950s Vaught era at Ole Miss.  Any coach who tried to do to his players what was done then would surely be tried for attempted murder. 

Paige came by and took me to lunch the other day.  He said he felt sorry for me after the whipping his Rebels gave my Bullpuppies the other day.  He agreed with me that Snead is a SEC caliber QB, the only one Ole Miss has had in a long time other than Eli.  He also agreed that State hadn’t had one since John Bond, and that was a long time ago, but that we might have one in Tyler Russell (Meridan QB who signed with State).  Paige really likes Houston Nutt, didn’t care a lot for the previous coach, and thinks MSU fared much better in hiring a new coach than Tennessee or Auburn. 

It is a great honor that I have to be able to call Paige a friend.  Paige has been where most of us only dream, but he is humble and very thankful for the Lord’s blessings in his life.  He has spent a great deal of his life trying to give back to others, and that is an experience that transcends all others. 

Can you tell I am trying to hold my gut in?