OPINION By: Phyllis Bailey

Working in Marshall I never cease to be amazed at what I will hear next. This week it is all about the buzz, “did you hear someone called the Governor’s office, and Bryan Hughes about Robert Johnson’s presentation to the City Commission, and tried to get him fired?” No I had not heard, so I did a little investigating to see what happened and where it all started.

Let me start out by saying, I love Marshall, but with the goings on that take place here, it’s like reading an interesting novel. The more you read the more you learn, and as you go into each chapter the plot thickens.

A meeting was recently held at City Hall relating to the Urban Land Institute’s ability to provide the City of Marshall with a study that will provide one of the initial steps in moving toward the development of a Downtown Plan. The study would be done at the expense of some independent downtown business developers. The purpose of the meeting was to determine exactly which area of Marshall the study would focus. In attendance were, City Manager Frank Johnson, Assistant City Manager, Janet Cook, Main Street Director, Bo Ellis, and Downtown Advocate, Shawne Somerford. The possibility of the Texas Historical Commission providing a mini resource team to work in conjunction with ULI was also discussed as a possibility.