By Alexandra Hedrick and Curtis Rockwell

Picayune Item

Picayune, Poplarville and Pearl River County School Districts have cancelled classes on Thursday and plan to resume classes on Friday.

“We’re concerned about it being ice on the roads tomorrow morning,” said Picayune School District Superintendent Dean Shaw.

Alan Lumpkin, superintendent of Pearl River County School District said the district has decided to cancel classes on Thursday because they have been informed by Emergency Management officials that road conditions may still be icy in the early morning hours when students would be leaving and arriving to school.

Shaw said the Picayune School District would have to make up the days missed because of the winter weather.

Tuesday’s Picayune School Board meeting, which had been rescheduled for Thursday at noon, will still take place, Shaw said.

Also, the ceremony to honor Picayune’s Class 5A state football champs that was postponed from Tuesday to Thursday was again delayed. The team is expected to be awarded the Army National Guard national ranking trophy as part of the ninth annual MaxPreps Football Tour of Champions.

Picayune is one of just 50 schools nationwide selected for this honor. Shaw said it is not yet known when that ceremony might take place.

Shaw did confirm that tonight’s Class 5A South State boy’s soccer playoff opener against Pascagoula was still on.

“We feel like the weather will break around Noon on Thursday and that there won’t be a problem with getting the game in,” Shaw added.

Meanwhile, the Picayune post offices didn’t deliver mail to Nicholson, Carriere or Picayune on Wednesday. The Poplarville post offices said they planned to deliver mail to the Poplarville area on Wednesday afternoon.

The Wednesday edition of the Picayune Item was available in racks and at select stores and was delivered on Thursday with the Thursday edition.