The Harrison County Board of Supervisors approved $15,000 in county funds to support a restoration and interpretation project for the Mississippi City Cemetery, a county-owned historical burial ground adjacent to Central and Pass Road Elementary schools.

Melanie Davis, who identified herself as representing Central and Pass Road Elementary, told the board the cemetery contains veterans from the Civil War through Vietnam, several headstones that have been toppled or overtaken by tree roots, and an overgrown perimeter fence. Davis said students in partnership with the Historical Society and the Coast Guard Auxiliary (the presentation referred to "CPs" and a petty officer) have researched gravesites, produced walking-tour materials and proposed phased restoration work.

Davis and partners asked the county for $15,000 to purchase materials: a new front gate, lumber and hardware for fencing, walking-tour signage and a lockable brochure box with QR codes linking to student research and online cemetery records. She said the labor will be provided by volunteers and that USM anthropology students have assisted with previous cleaning and documentation.

Supervisors discussed procurement rules and directed the project to follow normal purchasing procedures for quotes; county crews agreed to assist with removal of large limbs and heavy debris outside the $15,000 materials budget. A motion to fund $15,000 from the county's general fund carried unanimously.

Board members also suggested publicizing the project through the county's public-information office and noted that additional state historic-preservation or grant opportunities could be pursued for long-term conservation work.