Christmas City ushers in holidays; other news and notes

Ron Meyers’s annual Christmas City gift show bows this weekend at the Coast Coliseum, signaling a trove of holiday happenings in coming weeks.

Local authors Jamie Ellis and Jane Shambra, who penned the historical tome “Biloxi,” will have a book signing at the affair on Saturday at noon. (For more on “Biloxi,” click here.)

Among the other events this weekend are the KNS production of “Oliver!” at the Saenger Theater, Bill Medley and Sam Moore at the Beau Rivage, Tayna Tucker at the IP, and Clarence Carter and Sunny Turner at the Hard Rock.

For details on these and other entertaining events, click here.

Council to discuss comprehensive plan, firearms measure

The Biloxi City Council has two meetings scheduled for Tuesday in the auditorium of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Municipal Building. In the first meeting, at 10:30 a.m., council members will discuss the city’s comprehensive plan, and in a second meeting, at 1:30 p.m. council members face an agenda of 10 measures, two of which deal with the discharge of firearms in the city.

During the morning meeting, councilmembers will receive an overview on the update of the city’s comprehensive plan, a document that is designed to help guide growth and quality of life improvements in the city. To see background on the project, as reported in a recent issue of “Planning” magazine, click here.

During their afternoon meeting, councilmembers will have the first reading of an ordinance designed to deal with complaints about the discharing of firearms during hunting season along the Tchoutacabouffa and Biloxi rivers. A separate resolution seeks assistance from state and neighboring law enforcement officers in enforcing firearms laws.

Other issues on the agenda: a twice-tabled resolution regarding the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act; $49,000 in funding for Moore Community House; $20,500 for repairs to gym floor at the the Donal M. Snyder Sr. Community Center; and a settlement payment for the housing of city prisoners at the county jail.

To read the agendas for both meetings and available resolutions, click here.

Biloxi Public Schools to offer free H1N1 vaccinations next week

Students in Biloxi Public Schools will have a chance to receive free H1N1 vaccinations next week at individual schools.

Parents were being sent an “H1N1 Toolkit” today that includes a parental consent form that must be signed before vaccinations are conducted. The toolkit also includes a schedule of vaccinations, a Q&A about H1N1 influenza and the vaccine, and a letter from the Mississippi State Department of Health.

For details on the vaccinations, click here.