A Ribbon Cutting Ceremony was held on Thursday, October 29th for Pearl Municipal Broadcasting and the City of Pearl Building & Grounds Department. They share the 20,000 square foot facility located next door to Pearl City Hall that was formerly the Pearl Police Department. It was originally a part of the old Pearl High School. That building was added just few years after the main high school was built in 1948. The front part of the building facing Old Brandon Road houses Pearl Municipal Broadcasting, consisting of WPBP 104.5 Radio, which can be heard on the radio, online or on your phone and PMBTV that can be seen on Comcast Channel 20 and U-Verse Channel 99 and online at cityofpearl.com. PMBTV Sports was the dream of the IT and Communications Director, Frank Hutton. Beginning 6 years ago with Pearl High School Football, the games are broadcast live. PHS Broadcasting students run the cameras, replay, audio, graphics and the video board at the stadium. The PMBTV facility is an extension of their classroom. Through the partnership with PHS next fall, those Broadcasting students will able to earn college credits while they are in high school. PHS will be the only high school in the state to offer that program. Building & Grounds, Urban Forestry and Maintenance Departments are all located in the back section of the building. They maintain all city property and buildings and they are also an integral part of the two large festivals held in Pearl every year: Pearl Day Festival and Jingle Bell Market. Calvin Breland is the Director; Bubba Wixson serves as Maintenance Manager and Mitch Sills is the Grounds Supervisor. Everyone’s favorite part of the newly remodeled building is the Urban Forestry Board Room. The walls are covered with solid pine log siding and the centerpiece of the room is a 14 foot long table that was handmade by the Urban Forestry Staff. The wood was milled from a tree that was over 1100 years old and had been submerged in water for 200 years in a swamp in Louisiana. The hardware and table legs were from an old barn that was built in the 1800s in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Two long benches were also made from this same exotic wood. Congratulations to both departments and thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to the city of Pearl.
