[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 6855]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              KEN MURPHREE

 Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to commend Ken 
Murphree of Tunica for his distinguished service as president of Delta 
Council this year.
  Delta Council is an economic development organization representing 
the 18 Delta and part-Delta counties of northwest Mississippi. Delta 
Council was organized in 1935 to bring together the agriculture and 
business leadership of the region to focus on the challenges which face 
the economy and society of the Delta.
  Ken Murphree has served admirably as president of Delta Council; and 
with his distinguished record of public service as a county 
administrator for DeSoto County during its early years as a growth-area 
for the Memphis metropolitan region, and more recently, as the county 
administrator for Tunica County, MS, he has provided careful and 
responsible leadership for orderly economic growth in our State. The 
growth of the local tax base in Tunica County, MS, resulting from the 
rapid expansion of the gaming industry in that area, has ben 
characterized as a model and a standard by which other rural growth 
areas are measured.
  Ken Murphree has been a strong proponent of Delta Council's programs 
of education and health care during the past year. His history of 
involvement in transportation improvements has served Delta Council 
well this year. The progress being registered on the development of 
Interstate 69 and the U.S. Highway 82--Mississippi River Bridge has 
also benefited from his leadership.
  Ken has coordinated the activities of Delta Council in a way which 
has brought consensus throughout the region in areas such as flood 
control, industrial development, higher education funding, and 
transportation improvements.
  Ken has been a leader in his community, and as he concludes his year 
as president of Delta Council I congratulate him for the contributions 
which he has made to this special region of our country. I look forward 
to his future contributions in improving the quality of life for our 
citizens in the Mississippi Delta.

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