New Albany loses two men who’ve been long-term assets to the community
The city of New Albany, the County of Union, and the surrounding community recently lost two men who have long been strong positive influences in our community. Yesterday, NEMiss.news was informed of the death of former Northern District Transportation Commissioner Zack Stewart; today we learned of the death of Johnny Payton, Director of the New Albany Streets Department.
Zack Stewart
Zack Stewart was a long time New Albany resident, five term Northern MS Commissioner of Transportation, and one of the most influential men in the development of Mississippi’s interstate Highway program.
By others’ description of him, Zack was “an engineer, politician, builder, active community supporter and a co-creator of the project that created over 1000 miles of four-lane highways across Mississippi, resulting in the establishment of I-22.” By his own definition, Zack was “the best tree climber in Mississippi,” a skill acquired through his many years of coon hunting.
In 1987, Stewart was Northern District Mississippi Highway Commissioner and New Albany’s John David Pennebaker was Union County’s representative in the Mississippi legislature. The “1987 Four-Lane Highway Program” was introduced into the state legislature. It called for the creation of a network of four-lane highways in Mississippi. At that time Interstate 55 (north-to-south) and Interstate 10 (east-to-west) on the Gulf Coast were the only completed, modern four-lane highways crossing Mississippi. Surprisingly, a bill to fund and build the highways passed both houses of the state legislature. Governor Bill Allain vetoed the bill, and the legislature overrode Allain’s veto and passed the law with just one vote to spare. The fight was a long one, but Stewart, Pennebaker and others stayed the course for years.
In 2015, when about a hundred state and national officials gathered in New Albany for the official opening of I-22, they recognized Stewart and Pennebaker as the two living persons who deserved much of the credit for the occasion.
In September 2024 the New Albany Bridge across the Tallahatchie River, built during Zack’s days as commissioner, was officially named Zack Stewart Bridge.
By any definition, Zack Stewart was a successful, creative, tough man who said of himself that, “If I have a key attribute, it’s this: if I decide I want something, I stay with it until I usually get it.” That attitude helped him to produce a lot of good things for his state and his community over the years.
Johnny Payton
Johnny Payton has been a closely followed part of the New Albany sports’ scene for many years. In 1985 the W. P. Daniel High School team had 36-0 season, largely due to the coaching of Harvey Childers and the many abilities of Senior Johnny Payton. That record procured the Mississippi Class 3A State Championship for New Albany’s Bulldogs. Payton was named a North-South Allstar and was voted Most Outstanding Offensive Player.
Payton and his high school coach Childers both went to Northeast Mississippi Community College in the Fall of 1985. They were state champions again in their first college year, with several other trophies to follow. In 2023, Payton was elected to the NEMCC Sports Hall of Fame.
By the time Payton was honored with the Sports Hall of Fame induction, he had long since returned to the home town he loved and become Director of the Streets Department in his hometown of New Albany. His department is responsible for maintaining the city streets and for the regular household collection of solid waste.
In this capacity, he was also a champion. Through the years, and through all the extremes of weather and demands of public service, Payton headed a department known for its dedication to doing its job well.
In 2018 Payton and his employees were the honored recipients of The Main Street Service Award.
In 2022, Payton and his employees were named the year’s Christmas Parade Grand Marshalls. A good time was had by all.
Both of these outstanding men faced uphill health battles in their latter days. Both of them continued with their duties and service for as long as possible. We send our condolences to the families and loved ones of Zack Stewart and Johnny Payton. We thank them for sharing these two champions with the community for all these years.
As of the writing of this post, there was no official information was available regarding the funeral services. NEMiss.News will post that information as soon as it becomes available.
More about Zack Stewart: https://nemiss.news/zack-stewart-where-is-troy-mississippi/
More about Johnny Payton:https://nemiss.news/new-albanys-johnny-paton-to-be-inducted-into-nemcc-sports-hall-of-fame/
