Dr. Ronald W. Snow

Dr. Ronald W. Snow passed away May 12, 2018. He was retired Professor Emeritus from the Social Science Research Center at Mississippi State University where he was a Research Fellow in the Mississippi Alcohol Safety Education Program. His research related to drinking and driving has been published in state, national, and international journals.

Ron was born in Twin Falls, Idaho on April 4, 1943. He grew up on farms in Southern Idaho and Eastern Washington, but farming was not in his career path. Ron met and married his wife, Sue in 1965 while studying at Central Washington University. He and Sue moved hand in hand through homes in five states and were blessed with two sons before moving to Starkville in 1978. During those years of their lives, Ron graduated with a M.A. degree from Arizona State University, taught geography at Georgia Southern College, earned a PhD at the University of Illinois, taught at Michigan State University, and worked with the water quality program in Aberdeen, SD.

Ron's passions were classical music, American history, foreign travel, and Turner Classic Movies. Every morning began with an hour of classical music that he truly loved. And Ron had seen his favorite western movies so often that he would say to Sue, “Don't miss this part” or “This scene is a classic”. A special time of the afternoon for him was the hour that he enjoyed a fine cigar and a small glass of brandy. He made many true friends at his monthly Cigar Club social.

Ron is survived by Sue, his wife of 52 years; his son Wesley (Shauna) Snow of Boise, ID; his son Andy of Ft. Collins, CO; three grandchildren, Samantha, Grayson, and Quinn; and his sister Peggy (Larry) Hagan of Tekoa, Washington.

A memorial service for Dr. Snow will be held Thursday, May 17, at 1:00 p.m. at Betheden Lutheran Church. A map to the church is provided on the funeral home website at www.lowndesfuneralhome.net

Starkville Utilities General Manager Terry Kemp told the Starkville Daily News on Monday that the oldest sections of the city's water and sewer system are between 30-40 years old, including the section that ruptured.

After identifying the source of the break, Kemp said the utility company will use 24inch solid sleeves to repair the line. For the time being, the city will use a collection system at the Trim Cane Water Association to minimize the amount of flow coming back to the plant on Sand Road.

“(Repairs) will be several thousand dollars, but we will give an estimate to the Board of Aldermen on Tuesday night once we see what those sleeves are like,” Kemp said.

Ward 2 Alderman Sandra Sistrunk, who serves as budget chair for the board, told the Starkville Daily News on Monday that the repair funds will likely come from the city's water and sewer department in the form of revenue bonds.

“When we issued road bonds, they were general obligation bonds, with the full faith and credit of the city standing behind the debt,” Sistrunk said. “Revenue bonds are funded out of the revenue stream of the enterprise funds, so the water and sewer department will pay for it.”

Funding can be a tricky issue for many communities in Mississippi, highlighting a problem that isn't just being seen in Starkville.

According to the 2017 Infrastructure Report Card compiled by the American Society of Civil Engineers, Mississippi is facing

As city crews address the most recent infrastructure problem at the wastewater treatment plant, Sistrunk reiterated that the problems are not isolated to Starkville.

To localize the scope of the problem, though, Sistrunk cited a pipe failure underneath South Montgomery Street in February that caused traffic headaches and impacted water service for many in the area.

“To me, what happens is, the infrastructure gets put in 40-50 years ago and once you've incurred that initial expense, most places do not plan for the inevitable failure of the system,” Sistrunk said. “We are starting to hit a point in time where we are going to have to make some investments in repairs and upgrade.”

This could likely be done with the aforementioned revenue bonds.

Sistrunk said the bonds are intended to be self-sustaining funds for the utility, that are charged out at a rate to allow the utility company to have the money to make necessary repairs.

“Starkville, like most, is probably undercapitalized to make all of the repairs they need to,” Sistrunk said. “We have been more reactive when dealing with problems when they occur, but we are trying to move toward a plan where we can go in and make more wholesale repairs, get things back up to speed, but it is a capitalization issue, and probably means there will need to be borrowing.”

According to Sistrunk, other larger municipalities, like Jackson, are facing infrastructure problems on a much wider scale, which can put a strain on an already slim budget. The state Legislature did, however, take steps to help remedy the problem in Jackson by allowing the city to have a 1 percent local sales tax.

“If we could have that we could get this fixed pretty quickly,” Sistrunk said.

Kemp said Starkville Utilities has been working closely with the Board of Aldermen to iron out the best approach in addressing infrastructure issues moving forward.

“We've been very proactive on the electric side addressing some issues over the years and we have started that same type process on our water and sewers,” Kemp said. “But you start with a plan then it takes a while to develop and that's driven by financial needs, too.”

The longterm infrastructure plan for the city, according to Kemp, starts with major work to the city's sewer system, along with part of its collection system across the city.

“(Sewer problems are) one thing we really wanted to start tackling this summer and next year as kind of a major focus as it relates to infrastructure,” Kemp said.

Sistrunk then commented that it's not a matter of if, but when the next infrastructure problem arises, which can present a messy, expensive and disruptive burden to city officials and taxpayers.

“I will say we don't value those services enough … we just take them for granted, so when something goes wrong it's sort of a shock to us,” she said. “I do think (Kemp) and the utilities department have a goal of developing a plan for how we tackle these and money will be the next issue.”