Special Election for Ward IV seat to be announced next week

Published 9:37 am Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Next week a date will be set for a special election to fill the now-vacant Ward IV Alderman seat. The election is needed after the sudden passing of Alderman Ulysses ‘Coach’ Howell over the weekend. Howell suffered a major stroke on Friday and passed at a Memphis hospital late Saturday night.

Per state law Oxford’s Board of Alderman must declare the seat vacant and will announce a special election to fill it. This will take place during their regular meeting on May 21.

Howell was the longest-serving official on the current Board, spending the past 26 years as the Ward IV Alderman. There is also the need for a new mayor pro-tem as Howell also served in that capacity on the Board.

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Born in Brandon, Howell began serving the City of Oxford in 1972 when he joined the Oxford School District as a coach and social studies teacher. He retired from OSD in 2009.

Hodges Funeral Service has announced funeral arrangements on Tuesday. A viewing will be held on Friday at L. Hodges Funeral Service from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with the funeral service being held at the Tallahatchie-Oxford Missionary Baptist Missionary Building at 20 Highway 334 at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Following the funeral service Howell will be laid to rest at the Oxford Memorial Cemetery.