Thursday, October 16, 2025
The Refuge Golf Course
Help provide nutritious meals to seniors age 60 and over so they can remain healthy, independent, and in their communities.
(4/23/2025) – The Consortium of Planning and Development Districts/Area Agencies on Aging are requesting proposals to secure negotiated rate contracts to provide nutrition services to older adults, consisting of seven Mississippi Planning and Development Districts, comprised of 53 counties.
Interested parties may request proposal packets in writing from the Area Agency on Aging of Central Mississippi Planning and Development District, 1020 Centre Pointe Blvd, Pearl, Mississippi 39208. Proposal packets may be picked up any time after April 23, 2025, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. There will be a pre-bid conference held for vendors who have notified the Consortium of their plans to attend, at the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District office on June 4, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. The Deadline for submitting a proposal shall be 4:30 p.m., July 2, 2025. A response to the Request for Proposal stating your service interest and geographical area should be submitted on or before the date of your request for proposal. Proposals will be opened July 8, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. Successful bidders will be notified in writing. The Consortium of the PDD/AAAs reserves the right to reject any proposals in the best interest of the Consortium.

South Central MS Works and the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District (CMPDD) are proud to support the Relaunch. Reskill. Reconnect. initiative. This is a powerful workforce training program aimed at helping Mississippians gain valuable skills and re-enter the workforce with confidence.

One of the most exciting success stories so far is the launch of the Spring Heavy Civil Construction program at Holmes Community College Ridgeland Campus. This 8-week, hands-on training course is designed to prepare participants for careers in the essential field of road and bridge building and infrastructure repair. This sector is vital to Mississippi’s growth and economy.
Students in the program receive training in construction safety, equipment handling, blueprint reading, and other critical job skills, culminating in a graduation ceremony scheduled for April 25th. The goal is to provide participants with industry-recognized certifications and direct connections to job opportunities in the heavy civil construction field.
The program is powered by the Mississippi Reconnect grant and supported by a network of outstanding industry partners, including:
- Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT)
- Key Constructors, LLC
- APAC
- American Field Service Corporation
- J.C. Cheek
- Lehman-Roberts Co.
- ESI Supply
- Bracken Crane
- Puckett Rents
- Shackelford Companies LLC
- Build Mississippi
- Mendrop Engineering
- Mississippi Road Builders Association
- Mississippi Asphalt Association
These partners not only help shape the curriculum but also serve as potential employers, ensuring participants leave the program workforce ready.
“This program is a true example of what happens when workforce, education, and industry come together with a shared purpose,” said Robin Parker, Workforce Director. “We’re not just training people, we’re helping them launch careers, support their families, and contribute to the future of Mississippi.”
The Spring 2025 cohort includes a group of determined and motivated students, all recipients of the Mississippi Reconnect Grant, and all committed to building brighter futures through skilled trades.

Federal guidelines require Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) and transit service providers to develop and implement a performance-based transportation planning and programming approach that evaluates the effectiveness of transportation funding investments in maintaining and improving the operability of the overall transportation system. Performance based planning is a data-driven evaluation method used by transportation decision makers to determine the effectiveness of existing transportation investments and inform decisions on future investments in order to meet several federally required transportation performance targets set for multiple performance measure areas. The transportation performance measure areas that are required to be evaluated include: safety, pavement conditions, bridge conditions, travel time reliability, freight reliability, transit assets, and transit safety.
The safety performance measure is the only one that performance targets are required to be re-evaluated and updated annually per federal guidance. Under the safety performance area, MPOs and State DOTs are required to establish performance targets for five (5)safety performance measure areas based on a five-year rolling average of analyzed crash data. The five (5) safety performance measure areas targets are set for include: total fatalities, fatality rate, total serious injuries, serious injury rate, and total non-motorized fatalities and serious injuries. MPO’s, per federal guidance, have the option to set their own safety performance targets or support targets set by their respective state DOT. On February 12th, 2025, the Jackson MPO voted to support the updated safety targets set by the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT).
For more information about safety targets or the implementation of performance measures visit the MPO’s website, www.cmpdd.org/performance/.