By John Howell Sr.

Batesville resident Debra Jones was in the right place at the right time during the Mississippi Municipal League (MML) Conference in late June to accept an award recognizing Batesville for its smoke-free ordinance passed in 2010.

Jones had attended the conference in Biloxi with her sister, Eva Longstreet, a Coffeeville alderman, when the two decided to attend a press conference that followed the business meetings and seminars.

“Little did we know that they would be presenting awards during the press conference,” Jones said.

The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) used the occasion to recognize all 58 Mississippi municipalities that have passed laws for 100 percent smoke-free workplaces. The recognition coincided with announcement that Mississippi had been awarded second place recipient of the Smokefree Air Challenge award from the American Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANF) Foundation. The award acknowledges states that excel in passing laws for 100 percent smokefree workplaces, according to a news release from MSDH.

Batesville is one of 58 Mississippi cities with a comprehensive ordinance banning smoking in public places. An additional 10 Mississippi cities passed smoke-free ordinances last year, according to MSDH.

“We hope this activity at the local level demonstrates the widespread public desire for a comprehensive statewide policy,” a MSDH spokesman said.

But Jones found that Batesville’s elected officials were not at the press conference, (though she quickly noted that they had attended all of the business sessions and seminars during the event), so when the MSDH representatives asked, “Was anybody else present from Batesville, I said, ‘I might as well accept it and take it to them,’” Jones continued.

And she did. During the July 3 board meeting, she presented the award to the city with alderman Eddie Nabors accepting on its behalf.

Jones is a Coffeeville native who moved away and found a career with the State of Michigan from which she retired. After she and her husband moved to Batesville in 2008, Jones soon began regularly attending meetings of the city’s mayor and aldermen.

“I just like to be nosy and know what’s going on,” she said, laughing.