It took 50 years to drum up support and make initial plans and six more years for the project to wend its way through funding approvals and construction.

But on Saturday morning, those who had a hand in the Okhissa Lake project &8212; as well as dozens of locals just looking to get a glance at the project &8212; gathered at the lake to celebrate the cooperation that made it happen.

&8220;This is a joyous occasion of celebration. The entire community became involved in making this happen,&8221; said Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., keynote speaker for the ceremony held in tents near the shore of 1,075-acre lake. &8220;I congratulate all partners in this project (and) the citizens of Franklin County who made this happen.&8221;

Such partners included the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service and other agencies, including the Mississippi Department of Transportation, which approved roads to the lake.

Cochran received much praise from other speakers &8212; and two standing ovations from the crowd &8212; for chairing the Appropriations Committee that passed funding for the project. In all the project, located in the Homochitto National Forest near Bude, has been a $10 million investment.

Cochran and other speakers also praised Mary Webb, publisher of the Franklin County Advocate newspaper, for supporting the project and pushing the players to make it happen.

While Saturday&8217;s ceremony was held to mark the finishing of the lake&8217;s dam &8212; at 97 feet, the tallest earthen dam in Mississippi &8212; Cochran also said he looks forward to the day in 2007 when the lake will be opened to the public.

And while a call the Forest Service sent out last year for asking for proposals from developers to build cabins, campgrounds, a marina and the like at the lake received no responses, Cochran said he&8217;s confident the day will come when such businesses are a reality.

&8220;This will be a great natural resource for the surrounding communities,&8221; Cochran said.

Other speakers seconded that statement.

&8220;This is going to become a well-known place for recreational activities, and the economy should be greatly enhanced,&8221; said state Sen. Bob Dearing, D-Natchez.