Thursday night, the Pearl River County Board of Supervisors held its first town hall meeting in recent county history.

While the county plans to hold several of these meetings, the inaugural session was hosted by Pearl River Community College in the Technology Center, a fitting venue for a discussion about the future.

Some have complained in the past that the Board’s usual weekday morning meetings are difficult to attend for working residents, therefore making it hard for most people to keep up with the goings-on of their local government.

Yet the Board seems to be making efforts to make itself more accessible to the general public.

Board Vice President Hudson Holliday even offered to pick one attendee up the next morning

to show him the condition of some of the more severely dilapidated county roads.

The Board took questions from every member of the audience who wished to speak and addressed them fully.

Even if they weren’t necessarily pleased with the answer they had to give, they gave everyone an answer.

The importance of holding town hall meetings is not only to get feedback about ideas the county has already presented, but to gather ideas they haven’t thought of.

Not everyone is going to run for supervisor, but everyone can share a good idea, developed from life experiences in the community. .

Some local residents also brought up programs, services or facilities that are in place in other areas along the Gulf Coast.

While that can sometimes work, other times either the funding isn’t available or extenuating factors prevent them from being viable options.

It is our hope that the county continues to hold town hall meetings to generate a stronger community spirit to make our county shine like a pearl.