First shelter opens in Adams County

Published 5:00 pm Sunday, August 31, 2008

NATCHEZ — The first shelter in Adams County will open at 6 p.m. today.

Parkway Baptist Church, 117 Seargent S. Prentiss Drive, is opening its doors to evacuees and can house 250 individuals.

Volunteers began setting up the shelter at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

Email newsletter signup

Once Parkway Baptist is full, evacuees will then be sent to Community Chapel Church of God, 101 Oakland Drive.

The third shelter to open will be Pilgrim Baptist Church, 117 Pilgrim Road. The fourth is First Baptist Church, 150 D’Evereux Drive, and the sixth is the Fourth Street Church of Christ, 29 Fourth St.

The final shelter to open will be the Steckler Multipurpose Center building, 311 Liberty Road.

Adams County Chapter of the Red Cross Angie Brown said the Steckler building, which holds 300 people, is being reserved for local residents who have been displaced from their homes.

Brown said she believes Parkway Baptist will fill up rapidly and shelters will continue to open through the night.

City and county officials have issued a mandatory evacuation for all mobile homes and unstable residences effective noon Monday.

Adams County Sheriff Ronny Brown has issued a curfew effective for 6 p.m. on Monday.

Anyone on the streets after the curfew is in effect will be moved along by law enforcement officers.

The county courthouse and all county buildings will be closed Monday.

As of Sunday afternoon, the Isle of Capri casino has closed after receiving an order from the Mississippi Gaming Commission.

Isle of Capri Vice President and General Manager Tony Scudiero said he does not know when the casino will reopen and that safety is the only thing on his mind right now.