The voters of Jones County will determine in November what happens to the water fountains in front of the Ellisville Courthouse.
Beat 2 Supervisor Larry Dykes was the main proponent of the move to put the issue on the November ballot, saying that his constituents that he has talked to, both black and white, want a voice on the matter.
“We didn’t get a chance to do that (vote) on the flag,” he stated. “Let’s not take it on ourselves to move them. Let the people decide.”
When Dykes made a motion to that effect, three of the other four supervisors concurred. The 4-1 vote now shifts the destiny of the water fountains into the hands of Jones County voters. Beat 5 Supervisor Travares Comegys was the lone dissenting vote, stating that the issue was divisive and that putting it on the ballot would likely just intensify the social divide.
“We’ve been put in these positions to make these type decisions,” Comegys said. “If we put every decision on the people, what would be our jobs?”
Comegys had earlier made a motion that the supervisors create an exploratory committee to study where to move the water fountains, but his motion died on the floor for a lack of a second.
Beat 4 Supervisor David Scruggs asked, before the vote on Dykes’ motion, if all Jones County voters or just the ones in Judicial District 1, where the Ellisville Courthouse is located, would have a chance to vote on the water fountains.
“The whole county,” answered Dykes.
The supervisors will now be tasked with forming the language for the ballot measure.
The water fountains became a focal point for the supervisors two weeks ago when Donnie Watts spelled out his reasons to the board members as to why they should pass a resolution to remove the fountains, which were labeled “white” and “colored” back during an era when black Mississippians were not allowed to drink from the same water fountains as whites in Jones County.
The labels on the fountains have long been covered with plaster and then plaques.