Bill Would Name Road After Zacharias

JACKSON (AP) – The Mississippi House has passed a bill that would dedicate a portion of Mississippi Highway 25 in Oktibbeha County to the late Donald Zacharias.

Zacharias was president at Mississippi State University from 1985-97. Only founding president Stephen D. Lee served longer. He was Western Kentucky University’s president before coming to Mississippi State.

Zacharias died last March of complications from multiple sclerosis after an extended illness. He was 77.

The Commercial Dispatch reports that the House passed the bill Tuesday. It now goes to the Senate for more work.

House Bill 615 would designate that portion of the highway that intersects with Old Highway 25 to the Oktibbeha County-Winston County line as the “Dr. Donald W. Zacharias Memorial Highway.” State transportation officials would put up and maintain the signs.