(WASHINGTON, D. C.)---A U. S. Senate subcommittee Thursday approved Senator Thad Cochran's bill to name the Taylorsville post office in honor of the late Blaine H. Eaton.

The bill, S.916, now awaits action by the full Governmental Affairs Committee and the Senate.

Mr. Eaton, a native of Smith County, was a legislator and head of the area rural electric cooperative. He was also honored by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association for his distinguished service and outstanding leadership.

Senator Cochran said, "With his death in 1995, our state lost one of its finest citizens. Designating the Taylorsville Post Office as the 'Blaine H. Eaton Post Office Building' will commemorate the public service of this extraordinary Mississippian who dedicated his life to the betterment of the community and state he loved so much."

Mr. Eaton attended Jones County Junior College, where he was named Alumnus of the Year in 1984, the University of Mississippi and George Washington University Law School. He was a farmer and cotton broker early in his career and served as executive secretary to the late U. S. Senator James O. Eastland of Mississippi.

Following service in the U. S. Navy in World War II, Mr. Eaton was elected to the state legislature and served twelve years in the House of Representatives. As chairman of the Highway and Highway Finance Committee, he was a leader in successful passage of the Farm-to-Market road program. After leaving public office in 1958, Mr. Eaton was manager of the Southern Pine Electric Power Association.

He retired from Southern Pine EPA in 1982, but remained active in civic, community and church activities in Taylorsville and Smith County.