Bassfield says goodbye to longtime mayor

   
    BASSFIELD, Miss. (AP) - More than 200 mourners said their
goodbyes to longtime Bassfield Mayor Buford C. Blount at a funeral
ceremony that included the Bassfield High School football team.
    Blount died of a heart attack last week at the age of 87.
    Among his accomplishments, Blount is credited with the idea of
taking a 44-mile section of abandoned rail line that cuts through
Bassfield and turning it into the Longleaf Trace, which attracts
thousands of visitors annually.
    Blount also was known as a proud supporter of the football team,
which recently won the state Class 3A championship. Team members
lined a section of the Longleaf Trace during Saturday’s ceremony as
Blount’s flag-draped casket was rolled by.