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Pastors pray to halt Choctaw casino
Monday, May 21, 2007
By BRAD CROCKER
The Mississippi Press
OCEAN SPRINGS -- With arms outstretched toward land where the Mississippi Band of Choctaws want to build a casino, more than 50 Jackson County residents prayed Sunday for God to never allow that plan to be realized.
More than a dozen speakers, mostly local pastors with the Jackson County United for Families, offered prayers at the intersection of Miss. 57 and Firestone Road across the highway from where the tribe has proposed building a $375 million casino with more than 2,300 slot machines, a 400-seat buffet and a hotel with 1,100 rooms, theater, indoor and outdoor pools and a fitness center.
After being lobbied by the pastors' group, and after seeking opinions from the state Legislature, the Jackson County Board of Supervisors ap-proved a non-binding referendum on the proposal that will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot.
"Satan's up to something; he's up to this. He's rallying the troops," Charles Rodgers said during his prayer, which focused on moral decay he associated with gambling. He also prayed for those "who are playing with sin and trying to hold (God's) hand at the same time."
Many of the speakers said their stance was nothing personal against the Choctaws, who they hope will change their plans from a casino to something more productive for the community.
They added that they knew their stance was not likely popular with some residents and there were concerns that those who voted against casinos in Jackson County 16 years ago may approve one now because of economic benefits.
Before the Choctaws can break ground on the casino and resort, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and Mississippi governor's office will have to approve the project.
At the Southern Gaming Conference held in Biloxi earlier this month, Jason Giles, an attorney for the National Indian Gaming Association, said gaming officials also look at potential harm to the communities near a proposed casino and the distance the casino is from the tribe. The proposed project in Jackson County is more than 200 miles away from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indian's Reservation in Choctaw, Miss. In the last 19 years, only three off-reservation casinos have been approved, he added.
Despite Gov. Haley Barbour's stance that he would not approve gaming outside areas where it already exists, and claims from gaming experts that getting one approved in Jackson County would take years, the Christians who gathered Sunday were not buying any of it.
"We have to stay the course," Rodgers said. "This is something we cannot afford to let go by."
Michael Barnett said he believes God has other plans for the property and prayed that God "not only change (the Choctaws') minds but change their hearts about gambling in general."
Carl King, spokesman for the ministerial association, said he wants the tribe to build "something much more beneficial to the community than a casino."
Like other pastors, King said he has met with residents who have lost everything they have by gambling and consoled family members who have dealt with loves ones who committed suicide.
"The evils, they're over and over and over again," King said.
Bill Marduca heard about the prayer meeting Sunday from one of his prayer networks. He said since Hurricane Katrina opportunities, good and bad, have presented themselves, arguing that a casino is not an answer.
"Gambling does not bring a lot of healthy things with it," said Marduca, who said he is concerned about the effect on future generations if the casino is approved.
Marduca also asked for blessings for the tribe but felt "the land is being targeted for evil purposes." He, too, preferred that the Choctaws reconsider their plans and provide an alternative option that benefited families and the community.
Ira Groff, a member of Crossroads Church of the Nazarene -- near where the meeting was held -- said he is also worried about families.
"You hear about people winning money but you never hear about the families that are destroyed by gambling," said Groff, who said he has witnessed people who take "the few dollars they had for their family's support and try to get more money."
More of the meetings will be scheduled before the November election is held, King said.
David Aultman, who said "the truth is" that locals have heard from mortals but now need to hear from God, also asked that those opposed to the casino "gain victory over apathy, gain victory over ignorance."
He said the issue "is not about us" but future generations. |
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