FERRIDAY, La. &045; Residents of Ferriday and the surrounding areas have varying thoughts, concerns and ideas about the incoming mayor and what needs to be done for the community.

Gene Allen takes office July 1. He beat incumbent mayor Gene McGlothin in an election last month.

Chris Vaughn, a pharmacist at Vaughn’s City Drugs, said he would do his part to assist in helping the community.

&uot;We’ll be willing to work with him,&uot; Vaughn said. &uot;We’ll do our part.&uot;

Vaughn said he hopes Allen would also continue with the downtown revitalization project that had already been sent into motion.

&uot;It’s really the best thing that the town has going,&uot; Vaughn said. &uot;If they can take care of that and the water. Maybe eventually we can get some industry back in here.&uot;

Garry Duncan expressed his concerns about the new administration.

&uot;I’d like to see some jobs back here,&uot; Duncan said, &uot;decent paying jobs where people in Concordia Parish can make a living.&uot;

Necole Robinson, an employee at Subway in Ferriday, said there was a problem with stray dogs in Ferriday and hoped that Allen could do something about it.

And Robinson said she thought of Allen as a nice man who was well known, and she wished him and his administration good luck.

Elijah Banks and Thomas Keyes also offered well wishes to Allen and his staff.

&uot;I think he’ll be a very effective mayor for Ferriday,&uot; Banks said.

Keyes added Allen could &uot;do a lot for upgrading the community.&uot;

&uot;He has a vision for community growth,&uot; Banks said. &uot;If he is surrounded by good leadership, staff and people, he’ll do well.&uot;

Both Keyes and Banks said that they hoped Allen would look into the following areas: streets, housing and downtown development.

Elijah also hoped Allen could help improve the job market in Ferriday, with attention towards &uot;small, community-minded businesspeople so we can have a better tax base.&uot;

Homer Hewitt, owner of Hewitt’s Archery in Ferriday, is optimistic about the incoming mayor.

&uot;We want to support him and see if we can help Ferriday grow,&uot; Hewitt said.

Hewitt said that he liked what Allen had to say during his campaign, especially concerning abandoned automobiles in the town.

&uot;I hope the community as a whole can pull together and achieve those goals,&uot; Hewitt said.

Valorie Williams shared a personal story about Allen’s character.

Williams said that one day she was traveling through Vidalia.

She had a tire blowout and was stranded with her children.

Both Williams and her children were walking along the road when a stranger offered them a ride.

&uot;I was walking with the kids and Allen picked us up like any good Samaritan would,&uot; Williams said.

Williams didn’t know who he was at the time but later found out.

She said that she was grateful for what he did and they have been friends ever since. &uot;He’s a good person,&uot; Williams said. &uot;If he can help you, he’ll help you. He doesn’t look at color.&uot;

Dolly Breland also expressed her compliments about Allen and said she hoped that he would keep up the streets. &uot;I really don’t know anything about his administration,&uot; she said. &uot;I think that he is going to do great.&uot;