The time is still ripe for all regions of Mississippi to develop leadership and take advantage of interest in the state kindled by Hurricane Katrina, Gov. Haley Barbour said Thursday.

 

“I don't know how long it's going to last, but we have an unprecedented opportunity,” Barbour said.

Addressing the Vicksburg Rotary Club, the governor spoke of how the “indominable spirit” of Mississippians was part of Toyota's rationale in choosing Mississippi as the site for its next manufacturing plant.

 

Barbour quoted former Gov. Kirk Fordice as saying, “The hardest thing about getting a business to come to Mississippi was getting them to come the first time.”

 

“Now, people are giving us a second look,” Barbour said

 

A favorite to win re-election, the Republican governor also touted education funding as a first-term accomplishment, adding he will continue to increase education spending if re-elected.

“Our new (revenue) estimates show $345 million is (in new money) available. About 90 percent of that will go to education,” Barbour said.

 

Barbour also castigated House Education Committee Chairman Rep. Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, for holding up about $10 million of additional funding for programs including dyslexia screening and having experienced teachers work with newer educators. The debate has been part of last-minute negotiations as the Legislature finalizes allocations for the budget year starting July 1 and House leaders pressed for programs they prefer, including more funding for at-risk youths.

 

Barbour said learning problems displayed in children in upper grades can be diminished if screening is done to detect the dyslexia, which he said affected his wife's twin sister in early childhood.

 

“A third of our public school teachers quit within the first three years and half quit in the first five years,” Barbour said. “These young teachers don't quit over money. They quit over discipline,” adding that pairing veteran teachers with new hires would allow classroom management techniques to be shared.

Barbour was not the lone Republican candidate for office at the monthly gathering of Rotarians.

 

Attorney and Vicksburg native Delbert Hosemann and Secretary of State candidate said after the meeting he favors full publication of 16th Section land owned by school districts across the state.

 

“There should be a central location for the public to view them,” he said.

 

Among his themes of creating a more “business-friendly” office, he favors the criminalization of embezzlement from licensed liability companies, currently not a crime in Mississippi, he said.

 

Hosemann also said he has faith in the touch-screen voting machines in use in many of the state's elections.

Hosemann, 59, practices with Phelps-Dunbar LLP and is a graduate of St. Aloysius in Vicksburg. He holds degrees from the University of Mississippi and Notre Dame, as well as a master's in tax law from New York University.