Oxford and Ole Miss will honor former football players Eli Manning and Patrick Willis on April 12 with Eli Manning-Patrick Willis Day, which was approved by Oxford Board of Aldermen Tuesday.
Manning and Willis will be honored for their accomplishments during the 2007 NFL season.
Willis was named 2007 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and earned All-Pro honor during his rookie season for the San Francisco 49ers, leading the NFL with 226 tackles.
Manning's 2007 season ended with a 17-14 victory over the New England Patriots as he earned the honor of Super Bowl XLII Most Valuable player.
Oxford Mayor Richard Howorth said the April 12 honors will take place at the University of Mississippi.
The Board of Aldermen also continued their discussions Tuesday on the L-O-U Transit System, approving an inter-local agreement with the university and Lafayette County that would amend the budget of the grant proposal submitted to MDOT.
The budget amendment asks MDOT to consider providing additional funds in the transportation grant for the purchase and operation of a handicap-accessible van.
City Planner Tim Akers said he was approached by the county to look into a van that "would have the ability to go into unincorporated parts of the county to pick up potential riders in need of handicap transportation."
"It's badly needed," Alderman Pat Patterson said. "It's clearly a great idea, but one van won't get it,"
Howorth said one bus is a beginning.
"That's what we are going to start with just in the same way we are going to start with quote six buses," Howorth said.
The van will cost approximately $32,000. If MDOT accepts the amendment, the state will cover and 80 percent of the cost of the van and 50 percent of the operational cost with the city, county and university equally covering the remaining 20 percent and 50 percent of the cost.
Akers said MDOT told him the city can make an amendment to the grant proposal, but MDOT cannot guarantee that they would consider the budget amendment because the board is reviewing the grant application now.
"If they award our grant before the amendment is received the amendment will not be considered," Akers said.
