The Mississippi House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday that, if approved by the Senate and signed by Gov. Phil Bryant, would honor Donald Zacharias by naming a portion of Hwy. 25 after the long-serving Mississippi State University president.
The legislation, HB 615, calls for the portion of the highway that intersects with Old Hwy. 25 to the Oktibbeha County-Winston County line to be renamed the Dr. Donald W. Zacharias Memorial Highway. If adopted, Mississippi Department of Transportation would erect and maintain signage along and approaching the highway leading to Starkville.
A portion of Hwy. 9 in Choctaw County, from the Choctaw-Webster line to Ackerman, would be designated the “Phyllis A. Graham-Steven B. Moss Memorial Highway.”
The bill’s chief author, Rep. Joey Hood. R-Ackerman, attempted to pass similar legislation last year, but his efforts fell short when the legislation died in conference. Hood represents a portion of Oktibbeha County.
Zacharias, the second-longest serving MSU president, died March 3 of complications from multiple sclerosis after an extended illness. He was 77.
Hood gained Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors support for a potential road designation that same month. His attempt was tacked onto a separate road designation bill last year, HB 1290, which went through two joint House-Senate conference sessions before April 4 when the measure died on the calendar.
In October, Hood pledged to file another similar bill this term.
“I don’t feel like there are any roadblocks (to HB 615’s passage), so I don’t foresee any problems in the Senate,” he said.
The designation would be the second such local honor for MSU family members in the last three years. A 2011 designation honored longtime radio broadcaster Jack Cristil’s career and dedication to the university by naming a portion of Hwy. 182 after the legendary voice of the Bulldogs.
“Dr. Zacharias meant so much to the MSU family,” Hood said last year. “We should honor him and his legacy for the university and the city of Starkville.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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