The two meetings were regarding very different topics. One of the meetings was in regards to the widening of North Hills Street, while the other was an educational meeting about Meridian Public Schools.

The meeting about widening of North Hills Street from Country Club Drive to Highway 39 was to assess the impact of the widening and gain more public comments.

Public Works Director Monty Jackson said that there has been much discussion regarding the number of lanes through the residential area.

Jackson says the comments from the meeting will be turned in to the Mississippi Department of Transportation for evaluation.

Concerned citizens packed a special meeting of the Meridian Schools Board Tuesday night.

No changes came from the meeting. Parents expressed concerns about leadership in the schools and aggravation that meetings are being held with no results.

"It just goes on like that. I"m looking for someone out there to take a lead and make a decision," said parent Chris Both. "We've talked enough. I want to see some accountability there. All of them are just talking."

"I didn't expect there to be great detail at this point. I'm just glad we're starting a dialog," said parent Becky Glover.

Board president Edward Lynch said a state of emergency has been declared for Parkview Elementary School. It was burned recently in an arson incident.

The declaration allows the school system to bypass the usual 30-60 day bidding process to get repair work going, so it can be ready for students sooner.