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LONG BEACH — Shawn and Lynne Montella wanted to live in Long Beach once they married, because they liked the community and the schools. Lynne had grown up here; Shawn originally hailed from Ohio.
Both began businesses here – she, a hair salon and he, a coffeehouse, but when Hurricane Katrina struck their building on Jeff Davis Avenue, Shawn Montella considered moving somewhere else.
He even received a few offers on the building damaged by Katrina, but his wife wanted to come back after four months of living in Ohio.
“It’s a little scary, but my wife and daughters really wanted to come back,” Shawn Montella said.
The Montellas have two daughters: Brennan, 19, and Tanner, 9.
Recovery has been slow, he admits, but now the family wouldn’t live anywhere else.
Long Beach has that effect on people. Devastated by Katrina, the city is beginning to show real signs of recovery with new businesses opening throughout the city, a new hotel on U.S. 90 and a new City Hall under construction.
Jeff Davis also is being revamped with curbs and sidewalks, underground cables and decorative street lights and landscaping. City officials also plan on building a $1.6 million town green on the land where Harper McCaughan Elementary was before Katrina.
The school district is building a new school on Pineville Road, which Superintendent Carrolyn Hamilton expects to open in October.
The city has other projects under way this year, including replacing water and sewer lines throughout the city, as well as repaving roads.
The new senior center opened this spring. Two other projects are slated for completion this year: work on the harbor and water and sewer lines on 28th Street.
Shawn Montella said it’s the place he and his family want to call home.
“I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” he said. “It’s home. People are friendly and it’s where we want to be.”
Population: 17,000
Background: Got its big start in the lumber days after the ancient yellow pine forests were chopped down. By the early 1900s this was the self-proclaimed Radish Capital of the World, producer of the much-coveted Long Red that looked like a carrot and was favored in Northern beer halls. When it was dethroned by the button radish, Long Beach became a popular residential community with a reputation for good schools.
Key roads: U.S. 90 and Jeff Davis Avenue
PUBLIC OFFICIALS
Mayor: Billy Skellie, 863-1556
Ward 1 Alderman: Gary Ponthieux, 216-4183
Ward 2 Alderman: Bernie Parker, 868-2116
Ward 3 Alderman: Kaye Couvillon, 324-4090
Ward 4 Alderman: Ronnie Hammons Jr., 863-3626
Ward 5 Alderman: Mark Lishen, 575-8583
Ward 6 Alderman: Carolyn Anderson, 863-8082
Alderman at large: Leonard Carrubba Sr., 229-3524
City Clerk: Rebecca Schruff, 863-1556
City Attorney: Jim Simpson, 863-6534, ext. 2
Meeting times: The Long Beach Board of Aldermen meets at 6 p.m. the first and third Tuesday of each month at the Long Beach School District administrative office on Commission Road. Mailing address: P.O. Box 929, Long Beach, MS 39560.
LONG BEACH SCHOOLS
Administrative office: 19148 Commission Road, Long Beach; 864-1146.
Harper McCaughan Elementary: 113 Quarles St., Long Beach; 863-0478; grades: K-5; recent enrollment: 375.
Long Beach High School: 300 East Old Pass Road, Long Beach; 863-6945; grades: 9-12; recent enrollment: 865.
Long Beach Middle School: 204 N. Cleveland Ave., Long Beach; 864-3370; grades: 6-8; recent enrollment: 645.
Quarles Elementary: 111 Quarles St., Long Beach; 864-3946; grades: K-5; recent enrollment: 416.
Reeves Elementary: 214 St. Augustine Drive, Long Beach; 864-9764; grades: K-5; recent enrollment: 444.
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