The city of Oxford’s leaders had news in this week in yesterday’s papers during meetings and nature took its toll on the city and county with a winter storm and a fire. Excerpts this week are from 2011, 2009, 1997, 1983 and 1956.

Jan. 21, 2011

City OKs land purchase for new high school

The Oxford School District is set to complete the purchase of land needed for construction of the new high school.

The property, located in the Oxford Commons development, is in the area where Della Davidson Elementary School was built.

The district will spend $3,481,000 for the 65 acres and development of the road leading to it, with the owners donating an additional 10 acres.

Jan. 21, 2009

City wants gated areas to be accessible, too

Gates in Oxford have been too effective at keeping people out of neighborhoods.

New guidelines are about to be established so firefighters and emergency medics will not have the obstacle when trying to get to an emergency call.

In addition, the city will examine setting guidelines for gates and their use because there are no installation rules on the city code books.

Jan. 22, 1997

Faulkners fight City Hall, win voice in statue planning

Saying they did not want to be “stuck forever with a statue the family did not want,” the Oxford Board of Aldermen agreed to work with the family of William Faulkner to find an agreeable site and concept for a proposed statue to honor the author.

The board voted last year to erect a Faulkner statue and an unveiling is slated for September, the centennial year of the Nobel Prize-winning author’s birth.

The arts council was frustrated it was not being involved enough, a healthy magnolia tree was cut down in front of city hall and a member of Faulkner’s family wrote to the city and said her father was a private man.

Due to all of the issues, the city opted to be more transparent and work with the entities during the process.

Jan. 21, 1983

Oxford feels brunt of winter storm

Wednesday afternoon’s winter story could have been much worse.

One accident seriously injured two girls. Power crews only worked until about 1 a.m., instead of all night and surrounding communities also said it wasn’t that bad.

Volunteers kept the community abreast of weather conditions as they developed and rescue vehicles were given help getting up steep hills.

People with chains helped others home, and dispatch had a busy day.

More of the same freezing rain is likely, mixed with sleet or snow in the coming days.

Jan. 26, 1956

County’s largest forest fire is quickly stopped

Lafayette County encountered the largest fire of the year on Jan. 10 when 135 acres of timber belonging to the East Estate southeast of Tula was destroyed.

Fast work from the fire suppression crew at Tula and help from a crew from Markette kept the fire from spreading.

The most damage was suffered by the pine reproduction, some of which was only about a year old. That meant a loss of $24 per acre, or a total estate loss of $3,240.

The Mississippi Forestry Commission believes the fire was started by careless hunters or was a case of arson.