Southaven Alderman Hoots wants “In God We Trust” returned to car tags

DeSoto Times Tribune story

Southaven Alderman Charlie Hoots announced today he is opposed to the new Mississippi car tag design that removes the words “In God We Trust”.

Hoots said, “My ward, state district 20, and our state as a whole are made up of mostly God fearing, God trusting Mississippians who should be allowed to continue to express their faith on the vehicles they drive, and on the tags their hard earn dollars fund”

Hoots continued, “In understanding that a small minority may seek to have a tag without this language that an option should be offered to them, just as offered in neighboring Tennessee. Far too often, we hear we should silence our beliefs to appease others. This must end, and restoring the language that honors our God on our vehicles is a great issue to start taking our voices back with. “

Hoots shared he is glad to see the brown design retired, though, and congratulates the winner of the new design that highlights our beautiful magnolia.

The Dept of Revenue changes tag designs every four years- 2019 was the first year they included the language “In God We Trust”.

Hoots vowed that addressing this issue and ensuring In God We Trust is restored will be his first action if elected

The two-term Southaven Alderman is running for the new house district 20, which includes Southaven and Olive Branch in the north part of DeSoto County.

The Republican Primary election is August 8th, 2023.

HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION ENDORSES CHARLIE HOOTS

The Home Builders Association of Mississippi has endorsed Charlie Hoots his bid for the Mississippi House of Representatives (District 20).

 Pat Nelson, Executive Vice President of The MS Home Builders Association, traveled to Southaven to officially make the endorsement.

“Charlie has always supported builders in Mississippi, and we are proud to support him, he has a passion for Mississippi and DeSoto County” Nelson said.

The two term Southaven Alderman is running for the new house district 20 that includes Southaven and Olive Branch in the north part of DeSoto county.

“I am so honored to have their faith and support and I plan on working hard to make sure Mississippi stays a great place to work, live and raise a family,” said Hoots.

“One of my main objectives is ensuring DeSoto county receives the adequate, and fair, share of state funding- this funding will strengthen our quality of life and infrastructure and indirectly benefit the construction industry, an industry that is vital to all local economies” Hoots continued.

The Home Builders Association of Mississippi (HBAM) is a statewide trade organization affiliated with local home builders which assists in “Building a Better Mississippi” by promoting, advancing, and protecting the housing industry.

The Republican Primary election is August 8th, 2023.

Hoots begins campaign for State Representative

Story from DeSoto County News

 

Hoots has officially qualified to be on the ballot and now he starts the campaigning, as Southaven Alderman Charlie Hoots has announced his candidacy for state Representative.

Hoots, who represents Ward 2, is running in the Republican primary for the newly-drawn District 20 House seat.

Hoots, who was a photojournalist for WREG-TV for more than 30 years, today works as Executive Director for the Mississippi State Parks Foundation, a statewide nonprofit where he works with businesses and legislators to raise money to help restore Mississippi’s state parks.

He also founded and today coordinates the Colonial Hills Neighborhood Watch program.

Charlies Hoots (Photo credit: Stan Carroll)

During his time as aldermen in Southaven, Hoots has been part of a board that has delivered millions of dollars of investments in infrastructure, increasing police and fire budgets to add additional personnel and locations to enhance public safety, and economic development through tax incentives to businesses.

“As alderman- my record speaks for itself: it shows I’ve effectively led on the issues – particularly in ensuring my Ward received our share of resources,” Hoots said. “It shows I’ve held true to the values we share. Unfortunately, we don’t have that in Jackson right now and we must change that.”

District 20 is a new district that came about due to redistricting.  It runs on the west from the Southaven Colonial Hills neighborhood along the state line into Olive Branch to U.S. Highway 78, and down to Church Road and state Highway 305.  It includes Carriage Hills, Greenbrook North, Ansley Park, Summerwood, Country Place, Eastover and The Cherokee Valley subdivisions.

The election will be decided in the Republican primary on Aug. 8, as there is no Democrat challenger in the November general election.Hoots has a website, https://www.charliehoots.com/, where more information is available.

 

Hoots leads foundation for state park improvements

BY: Bob Bakken DeSoto News

When Southaven Alderman Charlie Hoots is not reviewing what is happening with the city, he is busy being the chief bell ringer and fundraiser for a foundation that looks to help improve Mississippi’s state parks.

There are 25 state parks in Mississippi and they had a lot of visitors last year; about a million or so to be exact. They’re expecting about 1.5 million to visit and camp at the parks this year.

What many visitors have noticed when they came to the parks, like Wall Doxey near Holly Springs or John W. Kyle near Sardis Lake is this: they are not in real good shape, facilities are deteriorating and are in disrepair.

Hoots, who says he enjoys camping, has also noticed the worsening condition of the state parks when he visits.

“I’ve spent a lot of time the last three years in state parks,” Hoots said. “They’re in bad shape, they’re run down and need a lot of repair. The last 5-10 years the parks have really gone downhill.”

At a Mississippi Municipal League meeting Hoots attended, he asked someone presenting on the parks about that. Hoots learned a foundation had been formed to raise funds to make some repairs and after a few phone calls, Hoots accepted the position as the foundation’s executive director. He has held that post since January.

The person Hoots spoke with was Jennifer Head, who is the Deputy Director ex-officio. Head has worked with several state agencies and has been with the state Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks department for 10 years.

The Mississippi State Parks Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization, is a separate entity but works with the state Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks department.

“This is something that is going to be solely for the state parks in Mississippi,” explained Hoots. “We can do a lot of the little stuff and cosmetic things that can make the parks a lot nicer and revamp some of the things that would be way down on the list for the state to do.”

Charlie Hoots, Mississippi State Parks Foundation Executive Director

The mission has sent the Southaven resident on the road across the state appealing for money. Early on, Hoots said he has found success in fundraising from around his home, seeing about $100,000 coming from DeSoto County alone.

Outdoor recreation is an important part of a quality of life. The Outdoor Industry Association reports that 58 percent of Mississippians participate in outdoor recreation each year and 54 percent select a location to visit within 100 miles of their home. Trails, parks, and playgrounds are among the top five reasons people consider when they choose a home.

Money, or the lack of it, has been a major issue for the condition of Mississippi’s state parks over the years. The legislature had typically cut funding for state parks,

Now lawmakers, with the ARPA allocation to handle some of the major repairs, have started to address the issue.  It also helped that of the 1-1.5 million who visit MIssissippi’s parks, about 75 percent live in the state. Many of them vote.

“There’s so many people who are campers and they’ve been around and seen these needs and are wondering why things are in such bad shape,” Hoots noted. “The Legislature has probably cut about $10 million out of the parks budget over the past 10 years. I believe we should be leading the charge about promoting our state parks.”

Hoots believes the Foundation can supplement the Legislature’s appropriation by earmarking funds it can raise for some items that may not make the Legislature’s to-do list, or find itself lower on that list.

“I’ve had a ton of people reach out to me since we started to say how thankful they are that someone is doing this work,” said Hoots. “This foundation can be something to be reckoned with because of the supporters and what we’re doing.”

The Mississippi State Parks Foundation currently has a social media presence with a Facebook page, currently followed by more than 2,000 accounts. A website for the Foundation is also under construction.

To learn more about the Mississippi State Parks Foundation, contact Charlie Hoots at 901-870-0676, or email charlie@msstateparksfoundation.org.

New Jobs Coming To The West Side of Southaven

Real Jobs…

The Southaven Board of Aldermen approved a 810,000 square foot warehouse on Stateline Road west of the railroad tracks and west of Highway 51 last board meeting.

This warehouse will have close to 100 employees and is the first
new business of this size to be built in the West End District in years.

These are the kind of things that will make new restaurants and businesses want to open on Stateline and Hwy 51….