[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 87 (Tuesday, June 18, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E912]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING TOREY BELL

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 18, 2013

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a 
remarkable civil servant, Mayor Torey Bell.
  On March 29, 1996, Torey ran for the Office of Aldermen and was sworn 
in and appointed as the Vice-Mayor of the Town of Doddsville, MS on 
July 2, 1996. He was overwhelmingly elected on June 2, 2000, garnering 
nearly 90 percent of the vote. During his campaign, he pledged to help 
reunite the town by: focusing on cleaning up failed State's reporting; 
documentation; seeking a stable building for operation and town 
business; community beautification; gaining a collaborative approach to 
water and sewage; having safer streets in all neighborhoods; and 
restoring fiscal responsibility to city government.
  Mayor Torey Bell Administration began the task of moving forward in 
accomplishing the Mayor's four top priorities: improving community 
education and awareness for all elderly and children; creating better 
water control procedures and policies; providing economic development 
opportunities for all town residents, and making sure residents feel 
safe in the neighborhood in which they live by ensuring that the city 
is fiscally sound. Mayor Bell also is focused on achieving self-
sufficiency and full democracy for Town of Doddsville and taxpayers and 
improving their health outcomes.
  A native of Sunflower County, Mayor Bell has tirelessly advocated for 
the residents of the Town for more than 20 years. His dedication to 
children and their families has been the hallmark of his service in 
both city government and the non-profit sector. His lifetime of public 
service to the Sunflower County can be best summed up by a singular 
governing philosophy--``that a man's heart plans his way, but God 
directs his footstep.''
  His disciplined approach to public service was born from humble 
beginnings. He grew up in a single parent home and some apartment life 
in Sunflower, Mississippi until marriage brought James R. Haywood, Sr. 
in his life. Although his parents were limited to the things they could 
offer the family of four boys, they instilled in their sons a solid 
work ethic, strong community ethics and deeply rooted values. Mayor 
Bell attended East Sunflower Elementary and Ruleville Junior High 
Schools, and graduated at the age of 17 from Ruleville Central High 
School, where he excelled in school social relations, High School pride 
support and sports.
  Despite his athletic talents in basketball and baseball, the Mayor 
chose to continue his education and service by joining the Army during 
the Gulf War. After returning home, Mayor Bell became an Orderly and an 
Ambulance Driver at the South Sunflower County Hospital. While serving 
the community in the medical field, he went to Mississippi Delta 
Community College where he graduated from the Emergency Medical 
Technician program. He later went to work for the Northern part of the 
county community by joining the North Sunflower County Hospital team, 
where he worked with many others as well as the Walter B Crook Nursing 
Facility, X-Ray Department and surgery team. He later joined the ranks 
of Sunflower County Sheriff Department to continue his county-wide 
service. Subsequently, he was accepted and admitted into the 10th 
District Masonic Fraternity and later, joined the Order of Eastern 
Stars.
  Mayor Bell began his community service career with local summer 
baseball teams and basketball leagues. In Sunflower County, he 
successfully advocated for innovative policy initiatives on behalf of 
children with very little resources, limited positive mentoring and 
recreational events and chaired the initiative that lead to the 
uncovering of abusive administrative powers, fraudulent spending, poor 
child educational environment and unfair labor within the County school 
institution.
  In 1999, Mayor Bell was appointed to serve as mentor and supporting 
counselor for the Collaborative Mayor's Initiative for Sunflower and 
Bolivar County small towns. He spearheaded the implementation of 
several initiatives to address the developmental needs and community 
awareness to help direct Mayors to productive partnerships and 
implement policies that would support overall growth and developments.
  In his first term as Mayor, he helped lead a successful campaign to 
purchase and renovate a real estate office to become Doddsville first 
official City Hall. Within that same year, he joined others to improve 
water quality and replace out dated equipment to improve the water and 
sewage system. Later, he began another campaign to rescue nine lots 
seized by Mississippi Home Corp in the NR Subdivision to help build 
single family homes with a multipurpose community center in the Town of 
Doddsville.
  Mayor Bell's dedication to his community and the residents inspired a 
successful campaign for re-election to office in 2004, with no 
challengers in the primary. During his second term as mayor, he 
collaborated with Special Committees throughout the State to help 
educate and bring awareness to help control and Prevent Youth Violence, 
and supported HIV/AIDS initiative. While working to establish this 
support, Mayor Bell worked to obtain enough funds through MDA to rehab 
all senior citizens owned homes in Doddsville to Energy efficacy homes.
  Mayor Bell worked long hours to lead the community into efforts to 
improve the Council's operations, transparency and oversight for 
capacity, and was a true champion for positive quality of living for 
kids and senior citizens. Eventually, the Mayor worked to help improve 
fire protection in the community by obtaining land to construct a fire 
truck's house and a fire truck for the community. The Mayor's diligence 
resulted in those goals being met in September of 2007. Later, Mayor 
Bell worked with others to help gain funds to improve streets 
throughout the community. His love for his community allowed him to 
start community property clean ups, advocating for the saving of the 
town's post office and jobs, obtain funds to meet the state's mandates 
for sewage system by-waste products and is currently working to 
establish partnership to help residents with home purchasing, financing 
and credit management.
  Mayor Bell has lived in the Doddsville neighborhood for more than 17 
years. His wife, Lisa, is an outstanding public school accountant in 
the Cleveland Public Schools and currently seeking office as town 
Alderman for the 2013-2017 term. He has four children, Torey Bell Jr., 
Simeon, Nathan and Nigel. Mayor Bell is the oldest of four sons of 
Deloris Jean Haywood and James R. Haywood Sr. He gives credit to his 
success as a public servant to God first, teachings from his mother and 
father, support from his wife and family, a trusting and dedicated 
board of aldermen, Gregory Associates, Gardner Engineering, a faithful 
city clerk and a supportive Mentor.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Mayor 
Torey Bell for his dedication to serving others and giving back to his 
community.