Category: Uncategorized

Jefferson Davis County now has an official website. The site went live Tuesday morning and will provide many services to the county. The site contains information and contact numbers for all elected officials, fire departments, county offices, etc.

A U.S.NEXT representative presented the website to the Board of Supervisors for approval at their bi-monthly meeting Monday.

The site includes a page for new residents, links to utilities, links for local attractions, photos of landmarks, a ?How do I? page, and a business start-up and assistance page, among others.

Many useful links, forms, information on county schools, Jeff Davis Lake, and local events are also included on the website.

Citizens now have the availability to pay court fines and tickets, and renew driver?s licenses through the site. In the future, it will be possible to pay property taxes on line as well as renew car tags.

The county is still in the process of adding information and working with site officials to assure all pertinent data is included.

(from article in Prentiss Headlight by Holley Cochran, dated July 20, 2016)

Ahhh?there?s nothing like a glass of clear, cool water to quench your thirst. Like so many other things in life, having safe water to drink is something we should always value and appreciate.  Since its beginning in 1971, Bear Creek Water Association, Inc. has committed to providing safe water and serving their customers with courteous, quality, and timely service. With the recent launch of their new website, www.bcwwaterms.org. Bear Creek Water is once again providing excellence and quality service to their customers.

?Our user-friendly website provides up-to-date water reports, a sign-up for alerts, conservation tips and FAQs, an online payment service, and more,? stated Nolan Williamson, general manager of Bear Creek Water Association. ?We know our customers work hard for their money, and our new website helps to ensure that we are meeting the social, economic and environmental demands of a 21st Century water utility.?

Bear Creek Water challenged U.S.NEXT to develop their customer-focused website.  ?These days almost everyone carries some type of mobile device and expects to have quick and easy access to information,? said David Crawford, CEO of U.S.NEXT. ?Our mission was to design an attractive, easy-to-use site that allows customers to be in-touch 24/7 with Bear Creek, whether to sign up for service, read a report, view water conservation ideas, or simply pay their bill at their convenience.?

Bear Creek Water realizes the importance of being able to find information fast, especially when it comes to something as life sustaining as water. With the comfortable and easy feel of the new website, customers can now feel good about being able to click a button to find out important water information when they need it.

Madison County residents will be able to watch meetings, review minutes, and fill out public records request forms, all without leaving their desks. The Board of Supervisors recently approved the “Madison County Government Transparency Initiative.”

The initiative will provide a number of benefits, including allowing board meetings to be streamed live and archived online, said District Three Supervisor Gerald Steen. The program is expected to go “live” in the next 30 to 45 days, and a tab for live board meetings has already been placed on the county’s website. “Transparency is big for us. We definitely want to set the standard, and this is another step to show that we can,” he said. Steen pointed to other things the county has done in the past, including posting agendas and board packets online for the public to read prior to meetings, something that will continue under the new initiative.

The system will be operated by U.S.NEXT, the vendor who hosts the county’s current website. The next step will be to archive board minutes, which will happen at a later date, said County Administrator Tony Greer. In all, equipment and annual contract costs will run a little more than $3,500.

Greer said the idea to provide additional access came out of an earlier board retreat. “This is one of their priorities,” he said. “The board is serious about allowing the public broad access to the inner workings of government.”

(Reprinted from The Northside Sun, March, 31, 2016.)

A website aimed at promoting Philadelphia?s assets to potential new business and industry was approved by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen last week. While the city currently does not have its own website, aldermen have discussed one on numerous occasions and most recently, met with an official from U.S.NEXT of Jackson, a company which designs sites for cities and counties, among others.

David Crawford, a representative for the company, told aldermen that they recently launched websites for Sharkey and Yazoo counties. The Jackson-based web development company boasts over 800 clients in 24 states. Crawford promised that the website, www.philadelphiams.net, would be easy for city officials to update in-house. ?If you can update your Facebook page, you can use our site editor,? he said.

Ward 2 Alderman Jim Fulton said not having a website has put the city at a disadvantage. ?All these other cities have one and I think we have been behind the times without one,? he said.

The website will cost a one time fee of $4,680 to build with a monthly fee of $39 for email service. City officials opted out of the option to have U.S.NEXT manage the site for $90 a month at this time. Young said that it is important that the city have its own website. Information about city can currently be found at Neshoba.org, a site associated with the Community Development Partnership. ?It puts us in the information age where anyone can click a button and find out everything we are doing or planning to do,? Young said. ?It is just another tool to keep us competitive in local and global markets.? 

The site will also have a mobile version and include options to have fees payable  and to upload documents like city ordinances and board minutes. Someone at city hall will likely be designated to post on the site, aldermen said. Ward 1 Alderman Josh Gamblin said that he thought it was important that city officials approve all posts before they go live on the site. Crawford said that U.S.NEXT would start building the site immediately based on mockups presented to the board.

(Article by Duncan Dent, published in The Neshoba Democrat on February 10, 2016)

In honor of Arbor Day and Tree Planting Week in Mississippi, the Mississippi Forestry Commission (MFC) announces the release of their new Mississippi Trees app. Available for download on both Android (Google Play Store), and iPhone (App Store) mobile devices.

The Mississippi Trees app is an adaptation of their popular Mississippi Trees identification handbook prepared for the MFC by the Department of Forestry at Mississippi State University. Mississippi Trees is not intended as a textbook on dendrology or tree identification. It was prepared for the citizens of Mississippi as an aid to identification of the common trees occurring in Mississippi, and to give useful information about each tree species. The Mississippi Trees app is free of charge to the public. It was made possible by a grant from the USDA Forest Service and developed by U.S.NEXT.

Common tree identification is a necessity for those who work in forestry and related fields. The forestry and forest product industry represents a large economic benefit to the state of Mississippi. Forestry has a $12.3 billion economic impact on the state of Mississippi and represents almost 70,000 jobs. Sixty-four percent of Mississippi?s total land area is covered in forested acres and timber is second only to poultry in terms of agricultural production values in Mississippi.

Tree identification is also helpful for those who simply enjoy the woods for recreational or aesthetic reasons, being able to identify the trees they encounter enhances their experience. It is MFC’s desire that this app will be beneficial to both the forestry professional and the recreational user. This app provides a convenient alternative to the printed Mississippi Trees handbook and allows people to reference the materials in the handbook from their mobile devices at any time.

Arbor Day became an official day of observance in Mississippi in 1926. Later, the second Friday in February was firmly adopted as the day on which the state would annually observe Arbor Day. February 12-19, 2016 is also Tree Planting Week in Mississippi as designated by Governor Phil Bryant’s Arbor Day / Tree Planting Week Proclamation.

Sharkey County is known for being home to the Mississippi Blues and President Teddy Roosevelt?s famous bear hunt, and most recently for the launch of its new mobile-friendly website. The innovative site, www.sharkeycounty.net, is a rich source of up-to-date information about the County?s elected officials and government services, as well as reflects the community?s rich history, promotes economic growth, and is a quick guide for residents, businesses and visitors.

To design and program the County?s new website, the Board of Supervisors hired U.S.NEXT, a Mississippi company with an extensive track record of developing apps for counties and cities. ?Being able to communicate with our citizens and provide them with useful information is an important part of our mission,? stated Bill Newman, board president. ?The team at U.S. NEXT engineered the website to help us to fulfill that mission, and I encourage people to go online and see everything that Sharkey County has to offer.?

The new site provides comprehensive and timely information including announcements, services provided by County departments, a calendar of events, frequently asked questions, a photo tour, and more. The website touches on all aspects of county government and offers users easy and efficient access to information, whether at home or office or on the road.

The City of Flowood has been chosen by Google as the strongest online business community in Mississippi for 2015.  The eCity Awards recognize one community per state as a digital capital, and other eCity winners include Boston, Denver, Atlanta, and Austin.

In determining which Mississippi community would receive the award, Google noted that Flowood’s municipal website (www.cityofflowood.com) lets citizens pay their water bill, pay court fees and reserve facilities online. The site was designed and programmed by U.S.NEXT.

?We are delighted that Flowood?s new website has helped them be selected by Google as Mississippi?s eCity,? stated David Crawford, CEO of U.S.NEXT.  ?We enjoyed working with the City?s staff and elected officials, and are pleased to see their strong efforts recognized on a national level.? 

Google also noted that Flowood has the nation’s first indoor radio-controlled car park (the only one in the nation that’s city-owned).  By generating a strong online presence, the City of Flowood has helped to create a strong digital platform for the business community.

?With 97 percent of Internet users looking for products and services online, it?s clear that success is about being connected,? said Emily Harris, Marketing Manager for Google?s Let?s Put Our Cities on the Map Program.  Google reports that 4 in 5 consumers use search engines to find information about local businesses.

A community a place to grow and thrive and is also a source of support for various needs. The launch of Clinton Community Christian Cooperation?s new website www.hello4cs.org is helping to create awareness of some of the needs in the Clinton community and to coordinate available resources and efforts to meet those needs. The new website contains information about community programs that 4C?s sponsors, FAQs, an about us section, and contact information. 

?We believe our new website will help spread the word that we are here, and we are here to help,? stated John Sullivan, President of the Board of Directors. Since its inception, the 4C?s has made a practice to partner with other groups to help those in need. Local churches, civic organizations, businesses and private donors collaborate with the agency in meeting those needs.

?The Clinton Community Christian Corporation wanted a responsive website that promotes their mission so that others in the community can get involved,? stated David Crawford, CEO of web development firm U.S.NEXT.  ?We sought to design a dynamic, user-friendly website that makes it easy to find information, whether on a computer or a mobile device.?

The Clinton Community Christian Corporation is a non-profit, tax-exempt social service agency and is governed by a Board of Directors chosen from the community. Since 1971 they have helped families with essentials of everyday living such as food, clothing, and housing repairs.

Many homes and offices have airborne pollutant levels 25-100 times higher than the air outside. In addition, recent studies show poor indoor air quality can wreak havoc on your overall health. Filtration Management, Inc., knows that air filtration systems are one of the most efficient and effective ways to clean the air in an office or home.  The launch of their new website www.filtrationmanagement.com helps the public find healthy, economical solutions to residential and industrial air and water filtration needs.

?Filtration Management wanted a website to inform the public of available products concerning residential, commercial, and industrial filters,? stated David Crawford, CEO of web development firm U.S.NEXT.  ?We were able to design a user-friendly, mobile-responsive website that makes it easy to find information such as FAQs, products, what?s new, contact information, local dealers, and product warranty registration.?

Your energy and health basically depend on clean air and clean water. Clearly, effective management of your home or office indoor air quality will result in greater comfort, better health, and more money in the bank for you and your family.

Filtration Management, Inc. offers a wide range of industrial filtration products designed for efficiency to meet the various needs of a demanding global market. Their industrial line includes HVAC filters, paint and overspray filters, dust collection, liquid filters and bags, compressor filters, and much more. Their service and support includes direct shipment to the customer, scheduled maintenance notices to the customer to clean/replace filters, complimentary literature and samples, technical assistance, etc.

Dealing with an illness or injury is hard enough without also having to decipher healthcare information and options.  Delta Health Center hopes to alleviate some of this confusion with the launch of their new website, www.deltahealthcenter.org, which provides patients with data they need ? when they need it.  The site provides medical info, plus a locations map, online calendar, news, printable forms, online video, and more.

?We see our new website as another step in our continued effort to deliver quality care and support to our patients,? stated John Fairman, CEO of Delta Health Center, Inc. ?The new site design makes it easier for patients to understand what to do to get the care they need, with information available 24/7 ? at home, at work, or on the go.?

The website was designed and programmed by web development firm U.S.NEXT. ?Delta Health Center has always put the needs of their patients first, and insisted the site be user-friendly and easy to navigate on mobile devices as well as desktop computers,? stated David Crawford, CEO of U.S.NEXT.  ?We designed the new site with mobile devices in mind because in today?s world you?re not always at your computer when a medical need arises.?

Delta Health Center, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for?profit organization, providing accessible, affordable, and quality primary medical and dental care services to residents of Bolivar, Sunflower, Washington and surrounding counties.  Their new website is another way Delta Health Center is showing their commitment to promoting healthier lifestyles and dedication to being a reliable health resource for members of their community.