UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS For the Fifth Circuit

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No. 00-60372 Summary Calendar ___________________________

LURLENE ROBERTS,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

VERSUS

WALTHALL COUNTY GENERAL HOSPITAL; JAMES GRAVES, Individually and in his Official Capacity as Administrator of Walthall County General Hospital; ROBERT LEE HOBGOOD, LARRY MARTIN, TRUETT SIMMONS, IVERSON DAVIS and LOUIE HUHN, Individually and in their Official Capacities as Members of the Board of Trustees of Walthall County General Hospital,

Defendants-Appellees.

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Appeal from the United States District Court For the Southern District of Mississippi 2:99-CV-298-PG ___________________________________________________ December 1, 2000

Before DAVIS, JONES, and DeMOSS, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:*

We agree with the district court that Roberts was an at-will

employee and had no right to notice and a hearing before being

terminated. Miss. Code Ann. Supp. § 41-13-35(5)(n)(1999) gives

the board of trustees at Walthall County General Hospital

(“Hospital”) the power to enter into an employment contract, but it

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the Court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.

1 does not require the board to contract with its employees.

Therefore, in the absence of an employment contract, Roberts does

not have a property interest in her employment that entitles her to

notice and a hearing before being terminated. Accordingly,

essentially for the reasons stated by the district court in its May

4, 2000 Memorandum Opinion and Order, the judgment of the district

court is AFFIRMED.

2