WALTHALL — Webster County leaders have taken initial steps to commemorate the life of a local fallen soldier through a memorial highway designation. Justice Court Judge Rebecca Ellison (District 2) appeared before the Board of Supervisors on Nov. 30 concerning the matter. She asked the board to adopt a resolution supporting designation of a segment of U.S. 82 in Webster County to honor the memory of the late Marine Cpl. William Justin "Coop" Cooper. State Rep. Joey Hood, according to Ellison, said such a resolution was needed before legislation could be passed to make the designation. If named in honor of Cooper, the Mississippi Department of Transportation will erect signs along and approaching the segment being considered and maintain them. The board then unanimously voted to request the Legislature designate that part of U.S. 82 from the intersection of Highway 182 West, west to the Webster/Montgomery County line in honor of Cooper. Randy Rico (District 3) made the motion to do so and Eudy Morris (District 1) seconded. Cooper, who was from the Edgeworth community, was killed while supporting combat operations in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. The scout sniper and team leader was killed May 29, 2008, after a bullet pierced his body in the chest, just above the body armor he was wearing. He was 22. That 10-mile segment of U.S. 82, if so designated, will adjoin another stretch also named in honor of a local fallen hero. In August 2014, the segment of U.S. 82 in the county between the east and west intersections with Mississippi 182 was designated and named the “Keith Alan Crenshaw Memorial Highway” in honor of the late Eupora police officer who was killed in the line of duty in 2013. Other Business Also on Nov. 30, the board voted to pay invoices of Willis Engineering, Double S and Ste-Bil Grading on two Emergency Road and Bridge Repair projects. The board also voted to accept the donation of a framed picture of the Board of Supervisors of the 1976-80 term (Dean Hall, Jack Knight, James Dean, Jimmy Crowley and Womack Henley) The donation was made by Ann Hubbard, Douglas and Janet Hubbard. Also in the picture is then-state Supreme Court Judge R.P. Sugg, a Webster County native who swore them in. The picture once hung in the Progress-Times office. In addition to previously reported business on Nov. 16, minutes of that meeting show the board voted to allow District 4 to hire Peyton Collums as a temporary road hand effective that day. Dec. 7 On Dec. 7, the board approved motions to: • place upon the county inventory eight portable Mississippi Wireless Information Network radios, which the Webster County Emergency Management Agency obtained at no cost to the county through the CARES Act. Webster EMA will issue the MSWIN radios, which provide statewide coverage, to emergency service agencies. • allow the Department of Human Services office in Eupora to add a phone line back at the request of county Director Annie Patterson. • endorse the Mississippi Association of Supervisors' legislative agenda for 2021. • hire Peyton Copley as a full-time deputy, Cameron Hickey as a part-time deputy and Ben Pruitt as a pat-time jailer/dispatcher at the Sheriff's Department. • spread upon the minutes final approval of the assessment roll. • accept bids for annual goods and services. Henry "Peanut" Henley questioned the board about a bridge project. District 4 Supervisor Paul Crowley said he would consult with county Engineer Karl Grubb and get back with him.
