Board of Supervisors says it plans to enforce 1999 ordinance

Yesterday at around 11:25 am, the Board of Supervisors addressed those that showed up for a meeting that was mistakenly labeled a public hearing by a member of a local newspaper and an employee of the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department in a social media post. The meeting was in regards to the construction of an opioid treatment center.

Robert and Sherri Thigpen have begun renovation of a property on Sycamore Road that was previously known as the Swim Hutch. The Thigpen’s intent for the use of the building is to provide space for Crossroads Treatment Center which specializes in Opioid Use Disorder by using Methodone and associated counseling services.

Board Attorney Joe Montgomery told the crowd gathered that this meeting was not a public hearing. Montgomery told the crowd that the board has an ordinance that was adopted in 1999 that it will enforce in regards to the proposed treatment center. Montgomery read aloud a summary of the ordinance and then closed the meeting thanking those who were present.

Yesterday, at around 3:00pm, WRJW News received an unsolicited statement via email from Robert and Sherri Thigpen. The statement reads as follows:

“ Robert Thigpen, Sherri Thigpen and a representative from Crossroads Treatment Center were invited to attend a meeting with the Pearl River County Board of Supervisors in Executive Session on Wednesday, April 18, 2018, at 11 am. We received no written notification, only a phone call. When we arrived at the meeting, we were informed that the board of supervisors was holding a public hearing across the street at the courthouse. We were escorted to the board’s meeting room only to find an empty room at which time the board attorney, Joe Montgomery, came in and spoke with us. At no time did we have the opportunity to meet with the Board of Supervisors. We received no notification of any public hearing regarding our property; only a phone call asking us to attend an Executive Session with the Supervisors. We were not prepared to present information at an unannounced public forum. We were also told that there was going to be a video shown during this Public Hearing that Officials put together. We were informed that the intent of the video was to depict Crossroads Treatment Centers to the public. The content that was to be presented in this video was NOT provided by or authorized by Crossroads Treatment Centers.”