Ceremony Friday at MDOT will dedicate Morris Hwy

The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) will dedicate the “Leonard Morris Memorial Highway” in a ceremony on Friday, August 18, at 10:30 a.m. in Batesville. The program will be held in the auditorium of MDOT’s District 2 Headquarters located at 150 Highway 51 North.
The highway will be named to honor the longtime legislator who represented Panola County from 1993 until his death in 2007. Morris is also remembered as the first African-American elected to the South Panola School Board, and for his work as executive director of the North Delta Planning and Development District and as director for Panola Partnership.
In attendance for the dedication ceremony will be Transportation Commissioner Mike Tagert, Sen. Willie Simmons (District 13), Sen. Gray Tollison (District 9), Sen. Robert Jackson (District 11), Rep. Tyrone Ellis (District 38), Rep. Latisha Jackson (District 11), Rep. Jeffrey C. Smith (District 39) and Mayor Jerry Autrey, city of Batesville.
Also expected to attend are his widow, Belinda Faye Morris, and other family and friends. The event is open to the public.
During the 2017 Legislative Session, the Mississippi Legislature passed House Bill 907 designating the portion of U.S. Highway 35 in the corporate limits of the city of Batesville from its intersection with Brewer Road to its intersection with Interstate 55 as the “Leonard Morris Memorial Highway.”
“MDOT is honored to dedicate this section of Highway 35 as the ‘Leonard Morris Memorial Highway,’” Transportation Commissioner Tagert said. “This is a fitting way to pay tribute to an individual who served the people of Panola County for so long.”
The Friday edition of The Panolian will include a special commemorative section spotlighting the dedication ceremony and the legacy of Morris’ community service.