FERRIDAY, La. — In Ferriday, the talk of the town is what issues the town’s mayor-elect, Glen McGlothin, and town council members most need to address after they are sworn in July 1.

And the issues Ferriday citizens and business owners would like to see addressed first include finding a new source of water, revamping efforts to fight crime, bringing in higher-paying jobs and cleaning up litter and rundown properties.

It’s the topic of conversation at the post office.

&uot;We really need jobs, is the main thing,&uot; resident Odell Williams. &uot;If there are no jobs, the town doesn’t have any money to do anything with.&uot;

And the bank.

&uot;Finding a water sources that’s better than the one we have now — the dead end of Old River — should be a top priority,&uot; said bank customer L.G. Finn, noting that improvements in the pickup of debris like limbs and leaves should also be addressed.

And the drug store.

&uot;The litter problem is a big concern,&uot; said Chris Vaughan, co-owner of Vaughan’s City Drug and president of the town Chamber of Commerce, adding that paying police more and sprucing up downtown should also be high on the list. &uot;It’s a matter of enforcing the ordinances that are already in place and working with prison labor, the civic clubs and other groups to keep our town clean.&uot;

In fact, it is difficult to find someone in Ferriday who doesn’t have an opinion of what the new administration’s first order of business should be.

For Stephanie Scott of Ferriday, it should be finding a new source of water for the town – which was plagued by a 124-day boil water notice late last year and, before that, had several years of recurring problems with high manganese levels making the town’s water brown and smelly.

For Patricia Hawkins, better water quality and tearing down structures that are abandoned and in disrepair should be the top priorities, while Sheila Harris would like to see town officials attract new businesses to town so people wouldn’t have to drive so far to get to better-paying jobs.