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Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security Ronald Moultrie, right, and Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Scott Bray speak with a UAP on a screen, during a hearing of the House Intelligence, Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee hearing on “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena,” on Capitol Hill, May 17, 2022, in Washington, D.C.
Top secret information regarding extraterrestrial life was s officially delivered to the masses. The first hearing with top pentagon officials in half a century revealed the number of UAPs, or Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, reported by pilots and service members had grown to about 400 incidents. This is up from 143 from just a year ago.
Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, Ronald S. Moultrie said transparency was important. He also said the goal was to find out what’s out there, in addition to keeping US military and bases safe.
“We know that our service members have encountered unidentified aerial phenomenon,” Moultrie stated. “And because UAPs pose potential flight safety and general security risks, we are committed to a focused effort to determine their origins.”
Other Pentagon officials stressed, the UAPs found do not appear to be of extraterrestrial origin. However, they recognized they have seen unauthorized and or unidentified aircraft since the early 2000s. Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence, Scott Bray proceeded to show a video example showing an observation in real time.
“Any given observation may be fleeting or longer,” he explained. “It may be recorded or not. It may be observable by one or multiple assets. In short, there’s rarely an easy answer.”
The Pentagon emphasized that it will be disclosing these types of videos and or evidence on a “case by case basis.” Officials stated that this is because if the UAP, indeed, represents a potential threat, these phenomena must be classified at appropriate levels.
MORE NEWS: Biden Ignored Warnings, Signs Of Baby Formula Shortage
TOPICS:CongressIntelligencenewsOANOANNPentagonpoliticsRonald MoultrieRonald S. MoultrieUFOUFOsunidentified aerial phenomena
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2022-05-18T15:12:13Z
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www.oann.com
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Congress holds first UFO hearing in half a century | One America News Network One America News Network - Breaking News Updates | Latest News Headlines | Photos and News Videos
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https://www.oann.com/congress-holds-first-ufo-hearing-in-half-a-century/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=congress-holds-first-ufo-hearing-in-half-a-century
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to supporters before signing a 15-week abortion ban into law Thursday, April 14, 2022, in Kissimmee, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Florida Governor Ron Desantis (R-Fla.) will be investing $100 million for cancer research in the state. He announced the initiative during a press conference on Tuesday. Desantis’ wife First Lady Casey Desantis is a recent breast cancer survivor and said that the state would lead the way to find a cure for all types of cancer.
“We believe that cancer initiatives is very significant in the state of Florida,” the governor stated. It’s consistently been the second leading cause of death just behind heart disease, I think that’s pretty typical for what you see around the country. Over the last year this is something that has taken a large impact on our family.”
Honored and humbled to join @GovRonDeSantis to announce a historic $100 million investment for Florida’s nationally recognized cancer centers to advance life-saving research and care. pic.twitter.com/Ga92TzrA6A
— Casey DeSantis (@FLCaseyDeSantis) May 17, 2022
Desantis added that many people in Florida have been affected in some way or another by cancer. Desantis declared that since his wife’s diagnosis he began to do research and look at what people have been able to do, that information gave him a new sense of hope.
“He stood by me the entire time, he never missed a chemo appointment,” the First Lady voiced. “Six of those sitting in there very uncomfortable and he held my hand through everything. This is a game changer, Florida is going to lead the way to find a definitive cure once and for all and it’s gonna happen here because of this leadership.”
The funding will go towards cancer centers in Florida which will increase their research funding by 60-percent.
TOPICS:breast cancerCancercancer freecancer researchcasey desantisFloridaGovernormillionnewsOANOANNprotect lifeRepublicanRon Desantis
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2022-05-19T18:39:17Z
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www.oann.com
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Fla. Governor Desantis to invest $100 million for cancer research in the state | One America News Network One America News Network - Breaking News Updates | Latest News Headlines | Photos and News Videos
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FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – JULY 14: A Delta airlines plane is seen as it comes in for a landing at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on July 14, 2016 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Several Florida residents were honored for their life saving actions to help land a small plane after the pilot suffered a medical emergency.
On Thursday, the group was acknowledged by Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center during a news conference. The group included air traffic controllers, medical doctors and passengers of the plane. Pilot Kenneth Allen was able to share his side of the story for the first time.
The 64-year-old pilot recalled the moment he lost consciousness while flying ten thousand feet above the Florida coast on May 10, forcing a passenger with no flying experience to take control of the plane.
“I remember telling Russ and Daren that I didn’t feel well,” Allen recalled. “My head was pounding and I was seeing little blue lights sparkling through here. They asked me what that means and I said I don’t know, I have a really bad headache. Then I remember them poking me on the side of the arm saying “stay with me, stay with me.” That was it, I can’t really recall anything until my guys over here were pulling me out of the airplane.”
After Allen passed out the passenger later identified as Lakeland resident Darren Harrison, can be heard telling the air traffic controller he was not an experienced pilot and that he could tell he was facing the coast.
“I’ve got a serious situation here,” Harrison said. “My pilot has gone incoherent. I have no idea how to fly the airplane.”
Harrison took control of the plane and managed to land at the Palm Beach International Airport with the help of air traffic control.
“I knew if I didn’t react that we would die,” he stated. “I reached over his body because at this point he’s unresponsive. I grabbed the controls of the airplane and slowly started to pull back on the stick and turn.”
Both Harrison and the other passenger credited Air Traffic Controller Robert Morgan for safely guiding them to the landing strip. Allen reportedly suffered a torn aorta during the incident, a typically catastrophic injury, which the Doctor’s who treated him asserted could’ve just as easily ended his life.
Less than a week after the operation Allen was up and about.
MORE NEWS: Calif. Gov. Newsom Vows More Gun Control After Texas Shooting
TOPICS:flordiakenneth allennewsOANOANNPalm Beachpalm beach gardens medical centerpalm beach international airportplanerobert morgan
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2022-05-26T22:58:29Z
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www.oann.com
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Air Traffic Controllers honored for helping Passenger land plane in Fla. | One America News Network One America News Network - Breaking News Updates | Latest News Headlines | Photos and News Videos
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W.Va. reaches $161.5M settlement with drugmakers over opioid crisis
Attorneys for the state of West Virginia reached a tentative multi-million dollar settlement with two drug companies for their role in the state’s opioid crisis.
Following a six week trial in Kanawha Circuit Court, West Virginia settled with Teva and Allergan for $161.5 million. According to Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, that’s the largest opioid settlement to date in state.
“We took a lot of risk to do the absolute right thing and it’s paid off for West Virginia,” Morrisey said.
The WV AG announced this morning his office has reached a $161,531,000 settlement with drug manufacturers Teva and Allergan.
Read more here: https://t.co/0W6lLqyCLe
— WV Attorney General (@WestVirginiaAG) May 25, 2022
The lawsuit against Teva and Allergan was filed in 2019 in Boone County Circuit Court. Prosecutors accused the companies of using “misleading” and ”deceptive” marketing tactics to ”misrepresent” the “risks and benefits of opioid painkillers.” The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated West Virginia’s overdose deaths were more than three times the national rate in 2020.
Teva said it will pay $83 million in cash and provide a 10 year supply of Narcan, a drug used to stop opioid overdoses, which the state valued at $27 million. Allergan said it will pay $51.2 million.
More than three thousand lawsuits have been filed against drug makers, distributors and pharmacies over the US public health crisis.
MORE NEWS: 1 Dead, At Least 19 Infected In Bronx Legionnaires Outbreak
TOPICS:allerganboone countyKanawha Circuit CourtnewsOANOANNopioidoverdoseSettlementTEVAWest Virginia
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2022-05-26T22:58:44Z
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W.Va. reaches $161.5M settlement with drugmakers over opioid crisis | One America News Network One America News Network - Breaking News Updates | Latest News Headlines | Photos and News Videos
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Who shot J.R.? Maybe it was Netflix
Not gonna lie, I still don’t know who shot J.R. I do, however, remember people talking about it constantly when I was a child.
I never watched “Dallas,” but I have found myself yearning for a time when television watching was much simpler. Back then, “appointment viewing” meant you were planted in front of your giant TV set when your favorite show came on. And if you missed it, well, you’d just have to wait for summer reruns or read a recap in TV Guide.
Kids today just have no idea, do they?
The advent of VCRs gave us a safety net, especially if there were two shows you liked airing at the same time.
The next day at school or work, everyone would be talking about last night’s show. Silly as it sounds, that sort of thing connects people.
I say all that to say this: There are way too many viewing options these days. I subscribe to Netflix and Hulu/Disney+, and they’ve entertained me for hours on end. Streaming services are, on the whole, a positive development. But how am I supposed to keep up?
I try to watch one show at a time, and yet my “continue watching” list is a mile long, not to mention the queue of shows I’ve added for later viewing. I just finished the final season of “Ozark” and am currently on “Under the Banner of Heaven,” but I’ve yet to finish season 4 of “Fargo” or season 1 of “Mr Inbetween” or season 2 of “Space Force.” And now we’ve got a new “Stranger Things” season that just dropped, not to mention the debut of “Shoresy.”
The problem isn’t just that there are too many shows, it’s that there are too many good ones. Yes, Netflix puts out a ton of trash, but it’s not too hard to weed through all that with a little effort.
But as Linda Holmes of NPR recently pointed out, “As a critic, I do feel overwhelmed by the amount of television – but not by the amount that's terrible, most of which I get to ignore. I feel overwhelmed by the amount that's okay. Perfectly fine. Watchable, but unremarkable.”
Those merely “good” shows are what clog up my streaming feeds. Many of them are sold as “great” by the services themselves or fans and even a few critics, because hype is everything in this crowded landscape.
Netflix just had to lay off a bunch of people, and perhaps this will motivate the company to be more discriminating with its original programming choices. We need more shows of “Ozark” quality and fewer money pits like comedy specials featuring has-beens (see: Ricky Gervais).
I haven’t even mentioned movies, most of which I still prefer to experience in a theater when possible. A lot of direct-to-Netflix films are no better than old direct-to-video movies from back in the day. There are exceptions – “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” comes to mind.
Really, my favorite part of streaming services is getting to watch older movies or shows that I either enjoyed in my youth or never got to watch. I’m not sure if “Dallas” is on any of these services, so just now I Googled the answer to “Who shot J.R.?” Turns out it was – SPOILER ALERT – his former mistress.
Wow, didn’t see that one coming.
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The East Union Urchins hoist the Golden Glove trophy after winning the Class 2A State Championship on Saturday.
Co-head coaches Jamie Russell and Chris Basil led the East Union Epic Urchins to the Class 2A Baseball State Championship win.
The East Union Epic Urchins swept Stringer 2-0 to win the Class 2A State Baseball Championship in Pearl for the third state title in school history.
Epic Urchins back on top in 2A baseball
Ethan Hitt (center) of East Union was named the series Most Valuable Player as he went 5 for 7 with seven RBIs.
PEARL - Wrap the Class 2A baseball championship in Brown and Gold as the Epic Urchins of East Union swept Stringer 2-0 with their 9-4 win on Saturday.
The Urchins rode the pitching of freshman Landon Harmon and timely hitting, especially from third baseman Ethan Hitt to the win.
Harmon tossed a 2-hitter, allowed four runs with one one earned, with six walks and six strikeouts. He went 5.2 innings and threw 119 pitches with 73 going for strikes.
"I see myself as a freshman, but no matter what it takes, I'm going to try my hardest and play like anyone else," Harmon said. "I don't think I could hear anyone in the crowd when I was pitching, I'm thinking about the pitch, how it comes off my hand, thinking how I'm going to throw the next pitch.
Harmon's teammates had his back early as the Urchins scored three runs in the first to give their young pitcher some breathing room.
"It just felt amazing, absolutely incredible," Harmon said of the early 3-0 lead. "I really thought we were going to run with them the way that we came out swinging. It was an amazing experience and pretty much dropped a weight off me because we've had some games where we only scored one run, but we still won because we just have an incredible defense."
Hitt was key in the first inning burst as he drove in two runs with his single. Jude Treadaway scored the game's first run on an error.
Hayden Roberts padded the lead in the second with his RBI single that drove in Rett Johnson for the 4-0 lead.
Johnson and Roberts struck again in the Urchin fourth as they hit a triple and double respectively. Roberts had a RBI with his hit and Connor Timms drove in Roberts with his single for the 6-0 lead.
Stringer scored all their runs in the fifth as they pieced together two hits, two walks and benefitted from an error to cut the lead to 6-4.
East Union added three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth as Hitt came through yet again with a 2-RBI single and Ben Basil followed two batters later with his RBI single to open up a 9-4 lead.
Roberts came on to close out the contest in the seventh, coaxing a fly ball to left for the first out and ending the game with back-to-back strikeouts.
Hitt was named the series Most Valuable Player for his exploits at the plate as he went 5 for 7 with seven RBIs in the two games.
"It's unbelievable, I couldn't picture us going out any other way," Hitt said of winning the state championship. "It's the best feeling that I've ever had in my entire life. I will remember this forever."
Hitt also shared his thoughts on being named the MVP of the 2A championship series.
"I knew they were counting on me today and I just wanted to pull through, I gave it everything I had. I didn't want to have any regrets when I walked off that field and I feel like I succeeded in what I needed to do.
"Man, when they called my name (for MVP), I just didn't know what to say, I didn't even know how to shake someone's hand when they gave it to me. It was unbelievable. I am very fortunate to be able to do this."
Co-head coaches Jamie Russell and Chris Basil shared their thoughts on their team, winning the title and how special the moment was.
"Key hits, that freshman on the mound that gave us a chance and a senior comes in there at the end were the keys, Russell said. "It's all about these kids, I'm so proud for them, proud of them and this guy right here (Basil) has been here 30 years, he loves these kids, he loves this community, he's always had a vision, a mission and I'm so proud he believed in me enough to allow me to come here and be a part of it. I love him to death."
"I'm really at a loss for words, we just had some outstanding young men that were very coachable, selfless, just like him (Russell)," Basil said. "Not many people would have come in the situation that he came in, knowing that I would be coming back and that we would co-head coach together and this young man, he means so much to me.
"I just want to give all the credit to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our team just tries to put God first, others second, self third and we know that we will have victory in the end. It happened this week and words can't express how I feel right now."
2a State Champions
Mainly sunny. High around 85F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..
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According to a recent Gallup poll on homeownership, only 30% of respondents say it's a good time to buy a house. A year ago, more than half - 53% – were in a buying mood.
Cayce Conti is the broker/owner of Conti Realty in Pontotoc and the president of the Northeast Mississippi Board of Realtors (NEMSBOR). The board includes five counties – Lee, Pontotoc, Itawamba, Monroe and Chickasaw – and it recently merged with the Four County Board of Realtors in Corinth, which brings Alcorn, Tippah, Tishomingo and Prentiss counties into the fold. Together, the combined board represents more than half the counties in Northeast Mississippi.
Conti said the housing market has experienced some small declines in sales in some of the counties the board covers.
"The biggest issue is home inventory," he said. Indeed, it has been a recurring problem during the recent housing boom. The NEMSBOR typically had about 1,100-1,300 homes or more on the Multiple Listing Network, or MLS, but that number has been stuck under four figures for an extended period.
Also of concern is the lack of homes for middle-income families.
"We have a good supply of high-dollar homes, but what we're lacking is mid-priced homes," Conti said. "That's what we've been looking at the the past year or so – we can't get those homes in the $135,0000-$200,000 range. That's the hottest range in the market, but also the hardest to find."
Adding to the difficulty of finding mid-priced homes, much less more affordable homes, is the cost of building a home. Supply chain shortages and shipment delays have driven the cost of materials, and builders have seen costs rise by a third since 2020. They in turn have passed on the costs to buyers.
And while rising interest rates have a strong potential to cool down housing sales, Conti said right now the biggest barrier to sales is the low inventory.
Currently, Conti said the total inventory in the market is just under 400 homes. Of those, only about 7% – or fewer than 30 – are considered mid-priced.
"That is very slim, especially with the area that we cover," he said.
Interest rates are rising, having skyrocketed since the beginning of the year. Mortgage rates that were hovering around 3% in January are now around 5.25%. That drives mortgage payments up 30%.
And mortgage rates will continue to rise as inflation remains high. With the Federal Reserve fighting inflation by raising short-term interest rates borrowing rates such as mortgages also will rise.
Conti said homeowners are being a little more cautious now with the rising rates, couple with the increasing costs of food and gas.
"It's made some difference with potential buyers because they're uncertain of the future," he said. "No doubt there's been a bit of a decline, but it's still a strong market ... If we could just get the inventory, we could sell them. The market is still good and there are still buyers willing to buy."
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CRIME REPORTS: Sunday, May 29, 2022
The following people were booked into the Lee County-Tupelo Adult Jail in connection with felony charges ending Friday at 3 p.m.
Erik Damon Baker, 37, of Shannon, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, felony fleeing, possession of a Schedule II drug, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest.
Victor Hernandez, 38, of Tupelo, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, capias for possession of methamphetamine.
Glekos Morris, 4, of Fulton, was arrested by the Mississippi Department of Corrections, violation of probation.
Clyde Plunkett, 67, no address listed, was arrested by the Mississippi Department of Corrections, violation of probation.
A Cit Point Water Association employee found several small puppies had been abandoned on County Road 870 Plantersville without food, water or shelter.
A County Road 1451 Mooreville man said sometime in 2020, someone used his personal information to apply for unemployment benefits. He said the unknown person received $2,445 in fraudulent funds.
A County Road 2646 Guntown man said his son has issues with drugs and was yelling and screaming at people. He wanted the son removed from the house. The deputy explained how to legally evict someone through justice court.
A Tupelo man said said a vehicle ran off Palmetto Road just east of County Road 261 and took out about 150 feet of five-strand barbed wire fencing.
A Brookside Court Tupelo man said his neighbor’s dog barks all day and all night long. The neighbor lives over the line in Pontotoc County. He reported the matter to the Pontotoc County Sheriff’s Office. They sent him to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office to file a complaint since that is where he lives.
A Cotton Gin Lane man got a call from someone claiming to be with Publishers Clearing House. They asked him personal questions like age and marital status. When he said he did not have a bank account, they asked him where the nearest Dollar General was and said he would be receiving something in the mail. He felt it was a scam and wanted to report it.
A Drive 2646 Guntown man said his son, 32, is on drugs and he doesn’t feel safe staying in the same house with him. He wanted deputies to remove the son. They instead told him the legal steps he could take to remedy the situation.
A North Gloster motel employee noticed a car sitting unattended in the parking lot for several days. She went over and found the windows down. She found a name on a piece of mail and contacted them by social media and called the police. Police responded and determined the car had been reported stolen.
A man said he was headed west on McCullough Boulevard when a crossed the road from the south. He slammed on the brakes and skidded off the road, damaging both passenger tires and the front bumper.
A woman said she walked into the West Main Wendy’s at 7:40 a.m. When she returned to her unlocked SUV about 5 minutes later, her purse and keys were missing.
A Monument Drive apartment manager said a couple arrived around 1 p.m. and started beating on the door, demanding to talk to her. She said the woman had already been evicted. The man was banned from the property for being involved in a shooting there.
A Rosewood Street man said one of his house’s windows was damaged by a pellet gun or some other object. He heard a loud noise around 8 p.m. but did not notice the damage until the next morning.
A Feemster Lake Road man said someone damaged a window on his shed, broke a door hinge and removed the door latch. Nothing appears to have been stolen.
A Robert E. Lee Drive business said someone stole the catalytic converter off a Ford pickup.
A South Gloster Street business said a man came into the store irate because his phone was not working. He started yelling at the two employees and pushed a computer off the counter and onto the floor. He then drove off in a white Toyota van. He was later found at a North Gloster location and was arrested for a state parole violation.
A woman said she was contacted on Facebook by someone saying she had won $20,000. All she needed to do was purchase a $200 gift card from Walgreen’s. She said someone purporting to be a Facebook friend said it was real and she had already received her money. The woman felt it was a scam to get $200 out of her.
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Pontotoc players pose for pictures with the Class 4A runner-up trophy on Thursday.
Josh Dowdy was emotional, but not because his Pontotoc baseball team had just been swept in the Class 4A state finals by Sumrall on Thursday. His tears were a product of something much deeper than a game’s result.
Back in December, Dowdy’s wife Ashley was diagnosed with breast cancer. Baseball suddenly became a lot less important. And yet, it became as important as ever.
“We were playing this year for a bigger purpose,” Dowdy said as he clutched the state runner-up trophy, and then he got choked up. “Lot of personal stuff, but these kids, they got me through it.”
With Ashley undergoing chemotherapy treatments, Dowdy became stretched thin both at work and emotionally. He wasn’t sure if he could do his job.
“I knew it was going to be a tough season, and even when I explained to the kids what was happening, I was afraid that I was going to have to miss some times,” Dowdy said. “And there were some times that I was late for practice, and my coaches are the best coaching staff, I think, ever. They took up some slack for me for having to be absent sometimes.”
The Dowdys also got support from the local baseball community, and from around the state. And the Warriors kept on winning. They swept reigning state champ West Lauderdale in the semifinals.
Sumrall, which lost only one game all season, proved to be too much. Dowdy was at peace with that.
Mind you, this is a coach who has won two state titles – one at Bruce (2012) and one at Kossuth (2016). He’s used to winning.
“I tell people, this isn’t the best team I’ve ever coached, but it’s the best unit, the best family as a team that I’ve ever coached,” he said. “Everybody gets along, they push each other. They expect greatness out of each other, and it’s made my job a lot easier.”
Ashley’s chemo is winding down, and Dowdy said she is “for the most part healthy.” She was supposed to have a treatment on Friday but instead came to Pontotoc’s game.
“My wife, she’s stronger than anybody I know,” Dowdy said, “because she allowed me to be out here and coach these guys.”
Ashley Dowdy
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Dave says: Don't buy high and buy higher later
Q. My wife and I are empty nesters, and our house is too big for just the two of us now. We talked about selling the house and moving into an apartment in a multi-use development with retail and restaurants that we go to several times a week. Then, in a year or so, buying a smaller house when housing prices go back down. How do you feel about this idea?
A. I like the idea of downsizing. My wife and I did the same kind of thing recently. But at this point, I’d say there’s about a 99% chance the housing market is not going down. It has gone down two times in the last 100 years – way back during the 1930s and again in 2008. And the market snapped back fairly fast after 2008.
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North Mississippi Medical Center recently recognized nurses during National Nurses Week:
• Lynda Hersey, RN, Nurse Manager Excellence Award.
• Kimberly Remmers, CRNA, Advanced Practice Excellence Award.
Remmers is a certified registered nurse anesthetist with Surgical Services. She joined the NMMC staff in 1992 and worked as a registered nurse in the Critical Care Unit before assuming her current role.
A 1988 graduate of Tupelo High School, Remmers earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Mississippi University for Women in 1992 and her master’s degree in nursing from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 2000. She earned a master’s degree and completed CRNA training at the University of Tennessee-Memphis in 2002.
• Angelia Brown, RN, of Okolona Medical Clinic, RN Excellence Award.
Brown has worked at Okolona Medical Clinic since 1993 after a brief stint on NMMC’s Pediatrics unit. A 1985 graduate of Pontotoc High School, she earned a degree in secretarial technology from Itawamba Community College in 1987 before completing her associate degree in nursing at ICC in 1993.
Brown was named North Mississippi Medical Clinics’ Employee of the Month in November 2017 and has been recognized in Stars Online.
• Lindsey Putman, Non-Traditional Nursing Excellence.
Putman earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing (2007) and her master’s degree in nursing leadership (2015), both from the University of North Alabama in Florence.
• Jeremy Murphree, RN, Rookie Excellence Award.
Murphree joined 3 Central in July 2021 after serving an externship and internship at NMMC.
Murphree attended Houston High School and worked in manufacturing and construction for 15 years before pursuing his associate degree in nursing from ICC.
• Lori Curry of 3 Central, Excellence in Nursing Support Award.
Curry has served as a certified nursing assistant, monitor technician and unit coordinator on 3 Central since 2014.
A 2001 graduate of Calhoun County High School, Curry completed her CNA training at Holmes Community College and phlebotomy training at Itawamba Community College.
• Hannah-Beth Crudup, LPN Excellence Award.
Crudup joined NMMC’s staff on 6 South in July 2021.
A 2015 graduate of South Pontotoc High School, she earned her LPN diploma from Itawamba Community College in 2019.
• Tammy Smith of 6 South, Unit Coordinator Excellence Award to during National Nurses Week.
Smith has served as a unit coordinator and certified nursing assistant on 6 South since 2015.
Smith graduated from Saltillo High School in 1989 and completed Itawamba Community College’s nursing assistant program in 2009 and phlebotomy program in 2011.
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Kellie Dillard and her daughter, Mary Kirk, recently restored the Barlow Burrow House in downtown Saltillo. The 1914 home is one of the few in Lee County listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The front staircase in the reception hall has two bottom steps curving around a newel post. Bead board on the walls and ceiling, hardwood floors and 8-foot pocket doors are all original to the home.
The master bedroom downstairs has a sitting area and bath that adjoin it.
The back staircase is lined with original art, some of which was created by Dillard's children, Mary Kirk and Bradley.
The kitchen features modern pendant lighting, a marble-topped island, granite countertops and a Thor gas stove and dishwasher. The tile flooring is new because the original hardwoods couldn't be salvaged.
The Barlow Burrow House on North Second Avenue in downtown Saltillo is supported by eight Ionic columns across the front and side.
The front porch has a bed swing on one end and rocking chairs on the other.
SALTILLO – About eight years ago, Kellie Dillard became interested in buying an old home in Saltillo known as the Barlow Burrow House, which had been unoccupied for several years.
The two-story Colonial Revival residence was built by Saltillo merchant Barlow Burrow in 1914. It sits on the same site as the home of his father, Capt. John H. Burrow, which was built in the 1870s.
In the fall of 2020, the home's owners, Judd and Donna Hambrick, who purchased the house and its contents from the Burrow family in 1983, agreed to sell it to Dillard.
She immediately began work to bring it back to its former glory.
"A lot of what we put into it, you can't see – all new duct work, new plumbing, new electrical, insulation, new central heat and air units," said Dillard, who teaches 10th-grade English at Saltillo High School.
The first thing Dillard did was put a new roof on the home. She also had foundation work done to make the house sit level again.
"What's neat is there was no termite damage – none," she said.
Because no one had been living in the home for a while, the landscaping had gotten out of control.
"You couldn't see the house for the shrubbery and bushes that had been there for 60 or 70 years," Dillard said. "We had to have a lot of that taken out. Locals would camp out to see all the work being done. My favorite thing about living here is all the stories people have told me about the house."
All the walls and ceilings were covered in bead board, which Dillard kept on the ceilings and inner walls. She had Sheetrock put on the outer rooms of the house for heating and cooling purposes.
Dillard had the home's interior walls painted a soft cream color, and all the woodwork was cleaned and stained to its original dark-brown color. She also added new light fixtures to several areas in the house.
"All the hardwood floors are original to the home," Dillard said. "Most of the floors were covered by carpet or area rugs, so they were in excellent condition. Only the floor in the kitchen and butler's pantry had to be tiled. The hardwood couldn't be salvaged because some of it had buckled and other parts were covered in layers of linoleum."
There are six non-functional coal-burning fireplaces in the home, and the mantels on the two fireplaces upstairs are original to the home that was built on the property in the 1870s.
The front entrance to the home consists of a single beveled glass door surrounded by sidelights of single panels of beveled glass. The fixed transom features three windows.
Except for one 18-pane window in the living room, most of the windows in the house are large double-hung sash units.
"This house was untouched," Dillard said. "Even the wavy glass in the windows is original."
The downstairs encompasses a reception hall, living room, dining room, kitchen and butler's pantry, a half-bath, and a master suite with a sitting area and bath. Upstairs there are three bedrooms and one bath.
There are two staircases leading to the second floor: The main staircase in the reception hall has two bottom steps curving around a newel post; the back staircase is off the kitchen.
Decor, landscaping
A few pieces of antique furniture, like the dining room table, were in the home when Dillard purchased it, but the rest she has collected over the past 30 years.
"Nothing in this house matches," she said. "There's Empire, Duncan Phyfe, Federal styles. The grandfather clock in the dining room was built the same year as this house – 1914. There's nothing new in this house except the living room furniture."
One of the most striking aspects of the home is the eclectic collection of artwork on the walls.
"We love tag sales, estate sales, junk sales, antiques shops," Dillard said. "There's an 1852 painting of a gentleman that hangs over the fireplace in the dining room that I got at a tag sale. I have no idea who he is. We named him Uncle Cyrus."
Dillard's mother lived in Ocean Springs for several years, and that's where Dillard fell in love with the artwork of Walter Anderson.
"I probably have a dozen or more of his pieces," she said. "I've been collecting artwork for 20 years. I just buy what I like – this house is a hodgepodge of what I like. I'm not trying to look like something in a magazine."
The outside of the home also got a transformation. Dillard had French drains installed along with an irrigation system, lighting, brick steps and walkways, and new landscape plants.
"There are two Magnolia trees out front that we kept, but had trimmed up," she said. "That's my favorite part about the outside of the house. I love the fact that they shade the house, but also that they're that old."
Work on the home was completed in November 2021, and that's when Dillard and her daughter, Mary Kirk, were able to move into the house. Mary Kirk is a student at Mississippi State University, majoring in architecture. Dillard's son, Bradley, and his wife, Laiken, live in Tupelo.
In 1983, previous owners Judd and Donna Hambrick, along with Donna's parents, Hoyle and Lois Neaves, had the Barlow Burrow House placed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its architectural and historical significance.
That's one reason Dillard wanted the home – not just for herself, but for her daughter.
"I want to get my certificate in historical preservation," Mary Kirk said. "This is the kind of work I want to do – get into older homes and promote sustainability."
Dillard said there are a lot of cool old houses in Saltillo, and she hopes more young families will buy them and restore them.
"I hoped in redoing this property that there would be a trickle-down effect," Dillard said. "I'm glad we were able to bring this old house back. I feel like I'm a caretaker of history."
Kellie Dillard
Donna Hambrick
Mary Kirk
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Today's kids don't know what they're missing
First, some historical context: I am a Baby Boomer, a child of the 1950s. I remember the first time I heard Elvis. I was in a diner with my mother and “Don’t Be Cruel,” one of the 10 greatest rock songs of all time, came on the jukebox. Mom couldn’t stand him. I was hooked before the hook.
As was the case back then, I was not “parented.” I was brought up, raised, reared, or something along those lines. This new “parenting” thing is mostly about how children feel. My parents never talked with me about my feelings. I have yet to meet someone my age whose parents talked with them about their feelings. Believe me, it was a very uncomplicated way to grow up. There were right things, and then there were wrong things, and adults didn’t give a hoot about your self-esteem. If you did the right thing, your parents left you alone. They weren’t inclined to be “involved” with you, and that was fine by all concerned. Boomers did chores and their own homework. We didn’t need adults to tell us when to play, what to play or how to play. We settled our own quarrels and we left home as soon as we could. Today’s kids have no idea what they’re missing.
I remember coming home crying one day when I was maybe 10 years old. I told my mother the other kids weren’t playing fair. They wouldn’t give me a turn! She told me they were horrible children, and she didn’t want me playing with horrible children, and to prove her point she kept me indoors, away from the horribles, for several days during which time I begged and promised to endure unfairness forevermore. I had made a mountain out of a molehill and besides, there were children in the world who had valid reason to cry, and I wasn’t one of them. Mom finally let me back outside and I never made that mountain again.
Today’s parents act like every feeling their kids have is a mountain and requires a conversation. And so, surprise of surprises, their kids have more and more feelings. I don’t think an American child has heard the thing about molehills – much less that there are children in the world who are too hungry to even cry – in 40 years. They have no perspective because they aren’t given one. They grow up thinking they’re entitled to be “traumatized” by anything and everything that doesn’t suit them to a T, which is the most destructive entitlement of all.
JOHN ROSEMOND is a family psychologist . Find him at johnrosemond.com, parentguru.com.
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JUANITA FLOYD
OPINOIN
'As long as the Lord gives me words to write'
By JUANITA FLOYD Contributing columnist
Cicely Tyson said, “Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew.”
Today marks 15 years writing as a community columnist. As a child, I really imagined the American dream of having an education, a job, a home, marriage, children, etc. I began my adult journey with having all of the above.
Then the journey changed. I was thrust into a world of divorce. I prayed and asked the Lord, “How am I going to survive? How will I raise these three children by myself?” My mother, the late Bernice Gambrel, said to me, “You are not the first to divorce, and you won’t be last. You are strong. You are a survivor.”
Circumstances following my divorce caused me to seek a different school district for my children. After one year of being enrolled in the Tupelo Public School District, I called the late-Joe Rutherford and asked if I could write an article about my first-time experience as a Black parent in the Tupelo schools. I wrote the article. It published on the Sunday before Memorial Day.
Three days later, he called and asked me to write as a community columnist. I said, “Joe, I deal with numbers, not words.” After convincing me to write, I told him, “As long as the Lord gives me words to write, I will give it my whole heart and do my best!”
I have been able to write stories about people who have never before been mentioned in the newspaper. My mother said, “I never thought my name would be in the paper — other than my obituary.” I have had the pleasure of writing about my children, grandchildren, friends, family, business acquaintances, my beloved Red Hill Community and its village of people who encouraged me as a child.
The years unfolded, and the journey changed again. The children grew up. I survived their angry years, their foolish years, their teenage years, their college years, etc. I survived life — the good, the bad and the ugly — just like my mother said I would.
As I was sitting in church on Mother’s Day, I felt a little sad because my children had other engagements and could not attend church with me that day. Minister Zell Long called me to help with Praise Service. I can’t sing like the members of the Praise Team. It was the Lord’s house, so I tried. While singing, in walks my second son, Taylor. Of course, I became very emotional.
The Praise Team ended with the song, “I Will Sing Hallelujah, Oh Lord.” Some of the stanzas were,” ...for You are the source of my supply...Thank you Jesus, thank you Lord...”
Taylor did a special tribute that had me bawling! He said, and I paraphrase, “You all know Mama can’t sing! As I walked into the church, she was singing her heart out. She put her whole heart into it! I am not a talker, but I will tell you all — my Mama put her whole heart in raising us by herself! That’s the kind of person she is…”
Both of us are crying by this time!
Taylor’s words encouraged me. They reminded me to put my whole heart into whatever I am doing. Over the years, I discovered things about myself that I didn’t know — like writing; like publishing a book; like speaking; like being a survivor. Recently, I was asked to host a show on a Christian TV network. I said to the TV manager, “As long as the Lord gives me words to say, I will give it my whole heart and do my best!”
When you face challenges in life, what will you discover about yourself? You be the judge.
JUANITA FLOYD is senior vice president of finance and administration at the CREATE Foundation and a community columnist. Readers can contact her at juanita@createfoundation.com.
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To be sure, there are immediate steps we can and should take. Author David French, in his column for the Dispatch, made a case red flag laws, which essentially would allow for, within certain parameters, the seizing of weapons of a person who demonstrates he’s a threat to others or himself. It would also prevent the individual from purchasing additional weapons. You would think this is a measure on which everyone could agree. Mass shooters almost always leave a trail. According to police, the Uvalde shooter sent a series of messages: "I’m going to shoot my grandmother," "I’ve shot my grandmother," and then: "I’m going to shoot an elementary school,"
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"Whose blood will spill, whose heart will break? Who'll be the last to die for a mistake?" — Bruce Springsteen, "Last To Die"
So when you survey last week's too familiar carnage in Uvalde, Texas — two teachers and 19 children slain at an elementary school by a demented teenager with an AR-15 — it is, yes, fair to indict the tattered mental-health system, the craven politicians, the greedy gun industry and the American firearms fetish that enabled it.
You'd hope the rest of us had some rights, too — our children, especially. You'd hope they had the right to laugh until milk squirts out their noses and then, the right to laugh at that. The right to swing on play-yard swings. The right to come home safely from school. The right to grow up.
The song quoted above was inspired by something Navy Lt. John Kerry said in a 1971 Senate testimony about the Vietnam War. By then, most Americans had concluded that war was a grievous blunder. But the government still refused to admit what was obvious to the people. "How," said Kerry, "do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam? How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"
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We need to find national unity after shooting
Our nation continues to reel after 19 children and two teachers were killed by an 18-year-old mass shooter at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. It came just 10 days after another mass shooter — also 18 — killed 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.
These shootings, sadly, are nothing new. The death tolls, while high, aren't even records. But the heinous nature of both — the children lost in Texas and the clear racist motivation in New York — have elevated the chilling effects of both.
Sadly, the more we learn about what took place in Uvalde, the worse it gets. It has become clear that the shooter was outside the school for 12 minutes before he entered. Police numbering close to 20 waited about an hour in the hallway down the room from where the shooter barricaded himself, shooting and killing students and teachers, before they breached the door and took him out. During that inexplicable delay, students and teachers inside were calling 911 begging for help.
Immediately, the debate over what to do next raged. And that is fine. The idea that any mass shooting is politicized simply from the outrage of people seeking solutions is an absurd one. Such recriminations often come from one side not liking the solutions proposed by the other side.
But what we need is not one side vs. another side. We do not need factions and fighting. What we need, desperately, are solutions. However, we will not find solutions if we cannot first find some semblance of unity.
To start, our leaders should take the stance that everything is on the table — at least at first — so everyone can be heard. No, the government is never going to take everyone's guns. Nor should they. And, no, we are not going to turn our schools into maximum security fortresses of learning. Nor should we.
But perhaps it is time to strengthen our background check laws and make the legal age to purchase magazine-fed rifles 21 like we do for handguns. And perhaps we do need to provide more funding for securing our classrooms and hiring adequate armed security for our schools.
We most definitely need to invest more money in mental health care in this country. Mississippi is a prime example of how poorly we do with providing adequate mental health care, as evidenced by our ongoing fight with the federal government over our failing system. (Not to mention the hundreds of millions Texas recently cut from mental health in its state budget.)
But these are long-term discussions that will take time. The answers are not easy, so the solutions will be neither quickly decided nor implemented. What we need in the meantime is something that can bring unity to our nation, a common goal of which everyone can be proud.
One idea would be for the nation to come together and build a new school for the children of Uvalde. We have seen the generous outpouring of support for the families of the victims in Texas and New York. The fundraising efforts to assist families with burial costs and to provide assistance in the aftermath of such tragedy has been swift and inspiring.
But perhaps we should take that further. The thought of those students and teachers having to return to that school this fall seems almost unfathomable now. We talk about mental health, so one must wonder the emotional trauma that will undoubtedly be associated with a return to those halls.
Of course, building a school is an expensive and timely endeavor, too. But through private fundraising, federal funding and even allocations from states across the country, the cost could quickly and easily be handled. Clearing red tape should be of no concern for the Texas Legislature and Congress. And certainly there are contractors there and across the country who would gladly send workforces to make the build go as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Building a new school will not solve the problem with gun violence we have in this country, but it will give us a chance to find inspiration and unity. And if we are to have a chance at finding real solutions to gun violence and mass shootings, then we are going to have to approach it as a unified people willing to work together.
Rebuilding in Uvalde could be the first step in finding that common ground.
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Shaune Holiday led Tupelo Christian's football team to the Class 1A North final last season for the first time in program history.
TUPELO – Tupelo Christian Preparatory School has parted ways with head football and baseball coach Shaune Holiday, as well as athletics director Aubrey Boren, after recruiting violations came to light.
The Mississippi High School Activities Association sent a notice of penalty letter to the school on May 23 in which it says TCPS football coaches “have been coaching independent teams of all ages during the school year.” This is considered a form of recruiting.
On Friday, Holiday and Boren – who was also an assistant football coach – were told by TCPS administration that their contracts would not be renewed for next school year.
Holiday has declined to comment. Boren and Head of School Andy Carter have not yet responded to requests for comment.
Among the penalties the school faces is the TCPS football program being placed on restrictive probation for the 2022-23 school year. The Eagles can play a regular season but will be ineligible for the playoffs.
Any athletes who were coached by Holiday or Boren on independent teams will be ineligible to play sports at TCPS next school year, as well as any transfers.
The school has also been fined $5,000.
According to the MHSAA handbook, “Any coach that coaches a student from another school renders the student ineligible at the coach’s school for the next school year.”
The MHSAA said it was notified of the allegations in writing along with documentation of rosters, pictures, tweets, Facebook posts and text messages supporting the allegations.
MHSAA executive director Rickey Neaves declined to comment for this story.
There have long been rumors in coaching circles of TCPS recruiting athletes, but Holiday has always privately denied doing so. But it’s notable that transfers have played a big role in the recent success of the football team.
The Eagles reached the Class 1A North half title game last season for the first time in program history. Saltillo transfers Hayes Dossett, Jake Prather and Jaden Warren were all big contributors, as was Philadelphia transfer Isaiah Autry.
Holiday was hired as head football coach in 2012. The program could not field a team in 2013 due to low player turnout, but Holiday eventually built the roster to more than 40 players.
TCPS became a 1A contender under Holiday, who had a record of 57-37. The Eagles were 10-3 last fall, their seventh-straight winning season.
Holiday succeeded Boren, who came to TCPS in 2008 – two years after the program’s inception – and was 21-21 in four years. Boren has served as athletics director and assistant football coach since then.
After serving as a baseball assistant for 10 years, Holiday was promoted to head coach last summer, just weeks after the Eagles won a state championship.
Aubrey Boren
Hayes Dossett
Jake Prather
Jaden Warren
Isaiah Autry
Tupelo Christian Preparatory School
Mississippi High School Activities Association
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Moore, Coe
Charles A. "Coe" Moore, 85, passed away Saturday, May 28, 2022, at Landmark Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Booneville. He was born May 18, 1937. He was of the Church of Christ faith. Coe worked for the Booneville Police Department and the Prentiss County Sheriff's Department and later drove a truck for C&C Trucking. He enjoyed gardening and working. A Celebration of Life will be at 2:00 P.M. Wednesday, June 1, 2022, at McMillan Funeral Home with Minister Ernest Jobe officiating. Burial will be in Jumpertown Cemetery. Visitation will be Wednesday from 11:00 A.M. until 2:00 P.M. at the funeral home. He is survived by his wife, Ruby Moore; two sons, Charlie Moore and Corey (Memory) Moore; one daughter, Tracey (Eddie) Owen; the mother of his children, Doris Moore; his father- in-law, William "Bilbo" Spencer; eight grandchildren, Courtney, Jayce, Jozzy, Dallas, Anna, Jonna, Jon Eddy and Kaydee; one great-granddaughter, Emberlie; and his faithful pet, Sam. He was preceded in death by, his mother, Etta Ethel Moore; three brothers, Don Geno, J.C. Geno and Feak Geno; four sisters, Ruth Geno, Arola Harris, Veona Harris and Louree Steele; and his mother-in-law, Dorothy Spencer. Pallbearers are Tim Harris, Daniel Lumpkin, Jon Eddy Denton, Stan Michel, Eddie Owen and Benny Eaton. Condolences may be left at www.mcmillanfuneralhome.com.
Charles A. Moore
Eddie Owen
Jon Eddy Denton
Ruby Moore
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Brian Thrasher, 45, passed away Sunday, May 29, 2022, at his residence in Tupelo. Services will be on Saturday, June 4th, 2022 at 1pm at Tupelo Chapel of Memories. Visitation will be on Saturday, June 4th at 11am to 1pm at ASSOCIATED FAMILY FUNERAL HOME, 109 Rankin Extd, Tupelo, Ms. You may log on to associatefuneral.com to leave your condolences by clicking on the tributes link. Our family at Associated are very honored and grateful to have been chosen to serve the Thrasher family..
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Cleveland Smith of Saltillo is silhouetted against the morning sun at Monday's Memorial Day ceremony at veterans Park in Tupelo. Although brief, the annual event serves as a poignant reminder of the sacrifices thousands of men and women have made in the service of their country.
Ret. Brig. Gen. James Mitchell salutes the flag during the National Anthem at Monday's Memorial Day ceremony at Veterans Park.
A plaque honoring veterans greets guests as they arrive at Veterans Park in Tupelo Monday for the annual Memorial Day ceremony.
Owen McCulloch plays "Amazing Grace" at Monday's Memorial Day ceremony at Veterans Park in Tupelo.
Ret. Master Gunnery Sgt. Bob Verell performs "Taps" to close this year's Memorial Day ceremony at Veterans Park in Tupelo.
Karl Rogers of Tupelo wears his 1st Air Cavalry to Monday's Memorial Day ceremony at Veterans Park in Tupelo.
'Thank you': Tupelo honors those who fought and died for their country during annual Memorial Day service
TUPELO • The city of Tupelo honored the men and women who sacrificed their time, bodies and lives in the service of their country during a brief but poignant Memorial Day ceremony, Monday morning.
Mayor Todd Jordan opened the annual ceremony, held beneath billowing Stars and Stripes at Veterans Memorial Park, by noting the purpose of gathering each year: to honor those who fought and died for the freedom to do so.
“The World War II vets, the Vietnam vets, the Gulf War vets and everyone else who fought here and overseas to keep us free,” the mayor told the crowd of several hundred people clustered around the brickwork beneath the flagpoles. “There are a lot of countries around this world that wouldn’t let us get together today to recognize that.”
Before stepping away from the podium, Jordan acknowledged the recent death of U.S. Army veteran and retired Tupelo police officer Jimmy “Cotton” McCoy, who he said served his fellow man long after his time in the service.
“Looking over the Facebook posts under his obituary, there were so many young men who posted on there that Cotton would come to their aid when he knew they were going down the wrong path,” Jordan said. “He would help them get back on the right path, and although we have many (veterans) in our presence today … I just thought it would be good to mention him because he was a true Tupelo hero.”
Following a brief invocation, Lt. Col. Tim Williams offered a brief prayer for the souls of those who sacrificed themselves in the name of freedom.
“We pray for all those who have given their all, even their lives, to protect this great nation,” Williams said.
After a performance of the National Anthem by Tupelo’s Zell Long, Ward 5 Councilman Buddy Palmer, the event’s emcee, introduced the day’s guest speaker: Spc. Edward E. Glasscock. In his intro, Palmer offered a checklist of the Vietnam veteran’s commendations, including the Aircrew Badge, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Presidential Award and the Air Medal with 16 oak leaf clusters.
For his part, Glasscock was nonchalant about his personal accomplishments.
“All those medals and stuff won’t buy you a cup of coffee,” Glasscock said with a wry laugh.
Glasscock’s comments were short, but direct, crediting God for his survival during his time in combat.
The Tupelo resident said sometimes he didn’t think he’d see home again.
“They blew us up. They shot us. They killed us,” he told the crowd. “I was scared to death, but in a war, you do the best that you can.”
Faith and prayer, he said, helped guide him through times he believed he might not survive.
“I was praying to God, ‘Don’t take me here. I don’t want to die here,’” he said.
He didn’t, and Glasscock carries his faith with him still. Speaking directly to his fellow veterans in attendance, Glasscock offered both words of comfort and gratitude.
“Know that you are here because you represent the Good Lord and our country,” he said. “Thank you for loving us and taking care of us.”
The event closed with a performance of “Amazing Grace” on bagpipes from Owen McCulloch, followed by the playing of taps by retired Master Gunnery Sgt. Bob Verell as Glasscock and Jordan placed a memorial wreath beneath the United States flag flying at half-mast.
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Ole Miss earns fourth-straight NCAA Baseball Tournament berth
OXFORD – The Ole Miss baseball team will face Arizona at the Coral Gables, Florida, regional of the NCAA Baseball Tournament. It is the fourth-straight postseason berth for the Rebels, who finished the regular season by winning eight of 10 games.
But injuries and inconsistencies in the lineup and pitching staff saw Ole Miss stumble to a 7-14 record in SEC play, seemingly eliminating them from any postseason hopes.
The Rebels rallied, however, winning seven games in a row and eight of 10 overall to close the regular season — including the program's first ever sweep at LSU — to position themselves back in the bubble conversation. Ole Miss lost to Vanderbilt in the first round of the SEC Tournament but finished the season with an RPI of 38, according to D1Baseball.
Ole Miss played Arizona in last year's Tucson super regional. The Wildcats won the best-of-three series.
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Mississippi sailor killed at Pearl Harbor finally identified
John Melton was 22 years old in October 1940 when he found himself stationed in Hawaii. Raised on a farm near Liberty, Mississippi, the youngest of three children, John had decided to serve his country by enlisting in the U.S. Navy. Shortly after completing boot camp, he arrived at Pearl Harbor aboard the USS West Virginia. It was on that battleship that he would lose his life in the Japanese attack that pulled our nation into World War II.
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Reagan: Isolationism will never be acceptable
On June 6, 1944, Operation Overlord commenced, the U.S. led invasion at Normandy that would ultimately doom Hitler and free Europe. Since that time the U.S. has played a major role in sustaining Europe’s defense and freedom. This role was formalized on April 4, 1949, when the North Atlantic Treaty was signed.
The resulting North Atlantic Treaty Organization had three purposes: (1) deterring Soviet expansionism; (2) forbidding the revival of nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong North American presence on the continent; and (3) encouraging European political integration.
Mission accomplished … so far. A great stroke for freedom and peaceful Europe.
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The end of the school year is extremely hectic for both the students and the teachers. Being a retired teacher in addition to a mother and grandmother, I am well aware of the stress that goes along with finishing the year.
After state testing, the students are ready for the summer break while the teachers are still trying to keep them engaged in learning. Daddy used to say, “They are between a rock and a hard place.” As a math teacher, I always tried to use the last weeks of school to incorporate life skills into my lesson plans.
My students were instructed in how to write checks, balance a checkbook, read a billing statement, and calculate a monthly budget. We also discussed the pros and cons of using credit cards and the importance of maintaining a good credit score.
Book learning is wonderful, but without using common sense and having some important life skills, our young people will have a rough old road to travel. I am afraid that too many of today’s young adults depend entirely too much on the internet and electronic devices. You don’t have to look everything up on the internet nor punch it into a calculator. Use that brain and common sense to figure out some things for yourself.
My granddaughter reaches for a calculator to figure the simplest of math. I tell her, “God put a calculator in your head; use it.” Can you imagine if I had to reach for a calculator every time I adjusted a recipe?
I have heard several young married women talk about having so many leftovers from a meal where they followed a recipe from a magazine or the internet. The recipe generally tells how many people it will feed.
My suggestion of adjusting the ingredients to prepare a smaller amount often sets them into a frenzy. I’d may as well have told them to go prepare the meal on Mars. Just like our multiplication facts, there are a few basic measurements that need to be memorized and filed away in that brain.
There are also some good charts online for cutting recipes. (No, the internet isn’t bad; it just should not serve as a crutch.) It might be a good idea for them to print out one of these charts to keep it in the kitchen and/or save them on their phones.
And for those of us who aren’t getting any younger and may experience spiritic senior moments when the brain is napping or taking a coffee break, these charts are handy tools to have on hand.
I am sure that y’all, like me, are always coming up with some new hack for making kitchen life a bit easier. I have found that if I take a picture of the new idea, I can remember to share it with my friends and family.
It is a fun idea to write the helpful hint on an index card or type and print it on your computer. Keep these to include in gifts such as wedding presents. If the recipient is a close friend or family member, you may want to include your own personal message as to how you came up with the idea and how you have put it to use.
I cherish everything I have learned, and I suspect your advice will be cherished by those with whom you share. Most importantly, we should never become stagnant in what we know.
Keep on learning, keep on creating, and never stop teaching. Martha Stewart would say, “It’s a good thing.” But I say, “It’s a good thing until we make it better.”
Book Learning
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OXFORD – If he’s being completely honest, Kevin Graham didn’t watch much baseball over the last few days. And the little bit he did watch largely involved Nintendo characters.
Ole Miss baseball spent the last few days in-flux after falling to Vanderbilt in the first round of the SEC Tournament. The Rebels entered the SEC Tournament likely getting into their fourth-straight NCAA regional, but as upsets happened around the country, the reality of the situation looked less certain.
So, the Ole Miss senior left fielder played a lot of Mario Superstar Baseball with roommate Banks Tolley.
“Personally, I haven’t looked at anything, couldn’t watch any baseball. Been playing a lot of Mario baseball on the GameCube of late,” Graham said with a smile. “Banks and I are in deep to that. I’ve been winning.”
The Rebels spent the last few days practicing in case their name was called Monday morning during ESPN’s selection show, the show revealing all 64 teams with the opportunity to keep their seasons alive.
After a bit of a wait, the Rebels learned that, despite a season of ups and downs, their hopes and dreams are still within reach.
No. 3 seed Ole Miss team will face No. 2 seed Arizona — a rematch of last year’s Tucson Super Regional — at the Coral Gables, Florida, regional of the NCAA Baseball Tournament. It is the fourth-straight postseason berth for the Rebels, who finished the regular season by winning eight of 10 games. No. 1 seed Miami is the host, and the No. 4 seed in the region is Canisius.
First pitch for the Rebels’ first game is 6 p.m. Friday, and the game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
Head coach Mike Bianco has been at the helm of Ole Miss for more than two decades. He’s watched a lot of selection shows with his teams. But even he admits that Monday’s felt a little different, truly not knowing which way things were going to go. Ole Miss was one of the last four teams in the field.
OleMissSelection
“I’ve never seen it that ecstatic," Bianco said. "And it’s really cool, because it’s from a group, and not to get into the minutiae of who deserves to be in and who doesn’t, but just from a personal standpoint, a team that I think is really good. A team that, at times this year, we weren’t at our best. And at times, we were really good.
“But to see them that excited to continue to play was really neat.”
But injuries and inconsistencies in the lineup and pitching staff saw Ole Miss stumble to a 7-14 start in SEC play, seemingly eliminating them from any postseason hopes.
The Rebels rallied, however, winning seven games in a row and eight of 10 overall to close the regular season — including the program's first ever sweep at LSU — to position themselves back in the bubble conversation. Ole Miss lost in the first round of the SEC Tournament but finished the season with an RPI of 38, according to D1Baseball.
“We kind of shot ourselves in the foot, ending up in this position,” Graham said. “It was tough. Even my girlfriend was asking me about it when I’d get home from practice.”
So, for a few days, Ole Miss played the waiting game. And when their name finally popped up on the ESPN graphic, it was a surreal feeling for everyone in the room. Graham said he legitimately blacked out for a second.
“We were just going nuts. Going into it ... we were hoping we were getting in. And when we saw our name, (the) place just erupted,” senior first baseman and captain Tim Elko said. “Boys are feeling great, fired up, and ready to get down to Miami.”
OXFORD – There’s a part of Tim Elko that is sick of talking about that famous knee of his. But, upon a quick moment of introspection, he’d act…
Arizona (37-23) lost head coach Jay Johnson to LSU in the offseason but had another solid season before losing to Stanford in the Pac-12 Tournament. While key players such as third baseman Jacob Berry left for LSU with Johnson, the Wildcats are still formidable offensively behind the powerful bat of catcher Daniel Susac. Susac is hitting .367 with 12 home runs and 61 RBIs and, as a team, Arizona has a batting average of .296.
Walking up to reporters from the field with his trademark smile, Elko told everyone within earshot that, “Today’s a great day.” After interviews, he walked back onto the field for practice and gave an exuberant “Let’s go!”
All the Rebels wanted was an opportunity. And they got it.
“We’re just happy we’re in, giving us a chance,” Elko said. “Because I think if you just give us a chance and let us go play, we’ll let our game talk.”
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Carr, Pat
Joseph Patrick "Pat" Carr passed away Saturday, May 28, 2022 at the Courtyards Nursing Facility in Fulton at the age of 77. Pat was born in Tupelo on September 19, 1944 to Joe F. and Cecilia Gusmus Carr. He was raised in Saltillo and graduated from Saltillo High School in 1963. While in School, he was on the basketball and track teams. Pat attended Barber College in Jackson. He was the co-owner of Saltillo Barber Shop until George Partlow retired and Pat became the sole owner. Over the course of his career, Pat worked at Tupelo Auto Sales and was also the owner of Rebel Raceway Go Kart Track from 1964 until 2005 and the owner of Pine Ridge Speedway from 1991 until 1997. In 1975, Pat joined the National Guard 155th Armed Brigade. He served as a helicopter door gunner and mechanic. Pat will be well remembered for the 25 years he served as Justice Court Judge for the Northern District. He was also a member of the Tombigbee Electric Power Association Board for 27 years. On June 21, 1964, Pat married his sweetheart, Josie Marie Ford at St. James Catholic Church. They enjoyed many happy years together. Pat loved talking to people. He was a true patriot and proud of his Confederate heritage. Pat was an active member of Saltillo First United Methodist Church and an avid collector of classic automobiles. His greatest joy was found in his sons and grandchildren. Pat leaves behind his lovely wife of 57 years, Josie Marie Ford Carr; two sons, Brian Carr (Amanda) and Shane Carr, all of Saltillo; grandchildren, Dennis Carr (Kaitlin) of Mobile, Alabama, Andrew Carr of Las Vegas, Nevada, Hanna Carr (fiancé, Jacob Christian) of the Auburn Community, Brittany Carr of Saltillo, Bryn Brazile of Cleveland, Ethan Brazile (Alex) of New Albany; sister-in-law, Cindy Carr of Saltillo; and a host of nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Judy Gusmus; and a brother, David Carr. Services honoring Pat's memory will be 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 31, 2022 at Saltillo First United Methodist Church with Rev. Tim Green officiating. Bernard Evans will deliver the eulogy. Burial with military honors will follow at Saltillo Cemetery. Visitation will be 5 until 8 p.m. Monday, May 30, 2022 at the church. W.E. Pegues has been entrusted with the arrangements. Pallbearers will be Todd Ellis, Kirk Sample, Scotty Dillard, Mike Tucker, Janson White, Mike Grey, Rocky Dunway, Willie Riley, Jason Herring, Jim Johnson, Mike Miller, and Ricky Williams. Honorary pallbearers will be Sam Woods, Jerry Guest, Bobby Williams, Dr. Johnson, Jim Bearden, Tom Conlley, and Don Bennett. Expressions of sympathy and fond memories may be shared at www.peguesfuneralhome.com.
Patrick Carr
Josie Marie Ford
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A file photo of the Itawamba Community Colleges, student services building.
JACKSON • Half a year after State Auditor Shad White alleged a community college and private business leaders misspent more than $2 million in taxpayer funds, the state Attorney General is still deciding whether to file suit to recoup those funds.
A spokesman for White told the Daily Journal that Itawamba Community College, a former college dean, owners of furniture manufacturing company Chapter 3 Inc. and a former employee of the furniture company have not repaid around $2.3 million of misspent Workforce Enhancement Training funds. The auditor's office demanded the money last October.
The auditor’s office does not have the legal authority to pursue civil or criminal sanctions against anyone, so the cases have been transferred to the state Attorney General’s Office to make the final determination whether to sue the recipients in court.
Michelle Williams, chief of staff to Attorney General Lynn Fitch, said the AG’s office is in the process of evaluating the information White’s office sent and determining if the agency wants to file a suit to recoup the funds.
Whenever the auditor sends demand letters over the Fitch's office for review, AG employees typically conduct their own investigation to weight the merits of the case.
Fitch's office could have started investigating the case toward the end of last year, but when the Daily Journal contacted the two agencies, they discovered that there was some miscommunication, resulting in a delay.
Evan as the auditor has raised serious questions about the integrity of the state-support workforce program and criminal charges continue to play out, lawmakers largely left the WET fund statutes unchanged.
Most of the demand letter recipients have denied mishandling the WET money, even as criminal cases are pending related to the investigation.
The money at the heart of the sprawling cases is collected through an unemployment insurance tax on private businesses. The funds were previously controlled by the Mississippi Community College Board alone.
The Office of Workforce Development, which has been rebranded as Accelerate Mississippi, is now tasked with overseeing that roughly $25 million tranche, though they are still required to collaborate with the college board in where the money goes.
Before the creation of Accelerate, the Community College Board oversaw WET spending alone. All the money that White’s office says was misused was while it was still under the college board’s oversight.
WET fund laws go largely unchanged, despite White's pleas
Legislators continue to pump tax dollars into the state-sanctioned workforce programs, despite White last year urging lawmakers to add more guardrails.
“Now is the time for policymakers to acknowledge there are not enough fraud-prevention safeguards in place in our workforce training program,” White said last year. “Hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent on this every year. We need to be sure the money is being used appropriately.”
This past legislative session, the Senate introduced a bill to tweak how the WET funds operate. House leadership amended that bill by directing Accelerate alone to “administer and oversee the funds.”
That language was taken out of the final version of the bill, and so state law still provides a role for the community college board.
Ryan Miller, the executive director of Accelerate, told the Daily Journal that even though there was no legislative changes, Accelerate has worked with an outside accounting firm and implemented its own internal regulations to make sure the WET dollars are not questioned in the future.
Among those internal guardrails are asking the community colleges to apply for the WET funds similar to how other government groups use a “Request for Proposal” process to solicit bids from outside vendors.
If colleges are awarded the dollars, they’re also required to submit periodic updates to Accelerate on their progress, according to Miller.
“If we’re doing this right, it will be exciting to see how Mississippians are growing in their careers,” Miller said. “And I think we’ve taken steps to ensure that.”
Defendants maintain innocence in criminal probe
Joseph Lowder, a former dean of economic and community services with ICC, and Eureda “Edie” Washington, a former employee with Chapter 3, were both indicted in October on fraud charges in connection with White’s accusations.
Lowder, who has since left the college, stands accused of producing fraudulent documents to conceal a double-billing scheme involving nearly $10,000, according to the auditor.
Daniel Sparks, a state legislator and Lowder’s attorney, told the Daily Journal his sent White’s office a response to the allegations asserting it was improper for his client to repay any of the money until the criminal charges have concluded.
Washington, on the other hand, is alleged to have fraudulently obtained over $680,000 for Chapter 3. Paperwork submitted to secure these payments allegedly contained discrepancies.
Washington’s attorney, Tupelo-based lawyer Jason Herring, largely declined to offer new comments for this story, but said he has not received any further communication from state officials since the October demand letters.
Washington has also denied White’s accusations.
David and Jennifer Schock, the former owners of Chapter 3 Inc. have also been asked to pay back the $680,000 that the company received, plus the other costs connected to the case.
Neither of the Schocks immediately responded to a request for comment for this story, and they are not accused of any criminal wrongdoing.
But the largest pot of unpaid money, around $1.2 million, involves ICC.
ICC through a spokesperson declined to comment for this story, but has adamantly denied the auditor’s allegations in previous statements and said it looks forward to refuting them in court.
The college hired former U.S. Attorney Michael Hurst to conduct an internal investigation into the auditor’s assertions. While Hurst was U.S. attorney, he publicly criticized White for not involving federal investigators in an embezzlement investigation at the Mississippi Department of Human Services.
“Based upon that internal investigation, the College strongly denies any and all allegations of illegal or improper activity by the institution or its current or former employees,” the college previously said. “Throughout all of this, ICC has continued to provide unparalleled workforce training pursuant to state law for both our communities and our state.”
At the same time,a former ICC employee named Tatiana Sherman claims that she lost her job at ICC after sounding the alarm bells over Lowder’s supposed activities in handling the tax dollars. She is suing the college in civil court.
Both Lowder and ICC leaders have denied Sherman’s claims. Her civil litigation remains ongoing.
Workforce Enhancement Training
Workorce Development
Itawmba Community College
Chapter 3 Inc
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Elkin Theatre screening ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ on its opening weekend
ABERDEEN – The chance to screen a Hollywood blockbuster on its opening weekend comes few and far between for the Elkin Theatre, but June 10 will be one of those rare opportunities with the finale to the “Jurassic World” trilogy.
“The opportunity came from our booking agent. Universal, which is putting out the movie, wants to have a big splash and wants to have it in as many theaters as possible,” said Bob Seymour, president of the Elkin Theatre Board of Directors.
“Jurassic Park Dominion,” which is rated PG-13, rounds out the second trilogy in the “Jurassic Park” saga. It stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and members of the original “Jurassic Park” cast, including Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern and Sam Neill.
The movie will be shown at the Elkin Theatre the weekends of June 10-11 and June 17-18.
“The Elkin is still planning on showing movies two weekends each month, which is normally the second and fourth weekends. The studio said we have to keep this movie two weeks in a row,” Seymour said.
Since reopening last May after a 15-month pause during the pandemic, the theatre has gone from showing movies weekly last year to monthly this year. June will be the first month for the Elkin to show two movies in a month in 2022.
“It looks a lot more positive for theatres like us now because a lot more movies are available, and fewer movies are being streamed,” Seymour said.
Tickets for the Elkin Theatre are $5, and concessions are $1. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with the movie beginning at 7 p.m.
“If you want to take your family to Tupelo or Columbus, it’s going to cost you a bundle. A person can have everything we have in the concession stand for $8,” Seymour said.
The trailer for “Jurassic World Dominion,” along with other movies, is available at www.elkintheatre.com.
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Itawamba County preps w/Ben Sutton
If the citizens of Fulton approve the city's proposed Pennies for Parks tourism tax on June 3, it will impose a 3% tourism tax on restaurant sales in Fulton and could go into effect as early as July 2022.
Voting underway today for 'Pennies for Parks' special election
The special election for "Pennies for Parks," the City of Fulton's proposed tourism tax, is underway today.
The vote was originally set for June 7 but was moved to Tuesday, May 31, due to a conflict with the primary for Mississippi's 2nd Congressional District.
"Pennies for Parks," which would impose a 3% tourism tax on restaurant sales in Fulton, would raise money for the city to use specifically for new parks, recreation, promotion of tourism and beautification of existing parks and infrastructure. The tax is projected to generate between $570,000 and $690,000 in tax revenue each year.
HB 1740, passed by the Mississippi legislature and signed by Governor Tate Reeves on April 1, requires 60% of Fulton voters to vote in favor of the new tax in order for it to pass.
Once passed, the tourism tax would go into effect as early as July this year and would remain in effect until at least July 2026, when it would first be subject to repeal.
Polls will remain open until 7 p.m. for voters.
Tupelo, Aberdeen, Baldwyn, Batesville, Booneville, Columbus, Corinth, Holly Springs, New Albany, Oxford, Pontotoc, Ripley, Southaven, Starkville and West Point all have a similar restaurant tax.
COLUMN: Southern Miss baseball deserves a little recognition this season
Circuit Clerk's office open for absentee voting, poll workers selected
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TUPELO • Authorities said a 21-year-old man was shot and killed Saturday morning, but the only other person in the apartment at the time of the shooting has not been charged.
“We have been in contact with the District Attorney’s Office about which way to go,” Johnson said. “When you are dealing with something like this and there is only limited information, the sheriff’s department wants to make sure we get everything right.
“We are not going to rush to judgment and make a decision we later regret," Johnson added. "Time is on our side. We are still waiting on several pieces of evidence to come back, as well as the autopsy.”
Deputies were called to the Auburn Apartments complex on County Road 1562, formerly known at Richey’s Apartments, around 5 a.m. on Saturday, May 28. Responding deputies reportedly found an unresponsive male who had apparently been shot with a handgun. The victim was transported by ambulance to the North Mississippi Medical Center.
Lee County Coroner Carolyn Green said the victim, identified as Usher, was pronounced dead at the hospital at 5:43 a.m. on May 28. His body has been sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Pearl for an autopsy.
“There were only two people there at the scene at the time this took place,” Johnson said. “We can also report that these two individuals were in a relationship, they were not married, but they were living together."
Johnson said in addition to discussing the case with the District Attorney’s Office, investigators met with the victim’s family Tuesday morning “to explain to them what our plans are.”
“There have not been any altercations reported to us,” Johnson said.
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Yes, we’re here again. From Columbine, Colo. (1999) to Virginia Tech (2005) to Sandy Hook, Conn. (2012) to the Navy Yard in Washington (2013) to Oregon (2015) to the Pulse nightclub in Orlando (2016) to Sutherland Springs in Texas (2017) to Parkland, Fla. (2018) to El Paso, Texas (2019). This month we’ve experienced two horrific mass shootings — Uvalde and a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, where ten Black people were killed.
There have been some individuals — including Sen. Christopher Murphy of Connecticut, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, and Randi Weingarten, President of American Federation of Teachers — who have stepped up to the plate, issuing blistering statements decrying such animalistic behavior. Murphy’s impassioned response to Uvalde was elegant, yet candid, and pulled no punches:
ELWOOD WATSON, Ph.D., is a professor of history, Black studies, and gender and sexuality studies at East Tennessee State University. He is also an author and public speaker.
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Mississippi Center for Justice attorney Rob McDuff is shown Monday, Dec. 16, 2019, in a courtroom in Winona, Miss. McDuff said on Tuesday, May 31, 2022, that a new Mississippi law provides a safeguard that could prevent naturalized citizens from being flagged as non-citizens when they register to vote in Mississippi.
JACKSON • A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit accusing Mississippi of using a discriminatory proof-of-citizenship requirement for some new voters under a law dating back to the Jim Crow era.
The new law says that if the public safety database raises questions about citizenship, the potential new voter's name must be run through a federal immigration database. Groups that advocate for voting rights and immigrants' rights said the federal database provides a safeguard to protect naturalized citizens from being incorrectly marked as noncitizens when they register to vote.
"We would prefer that there be no database matching," Rob McDuff, an attorney for the Mississippi Center for Justice said in a news release Tuesday. "There is no problem in Mississippi with non-citizens trying to vote. But given that the secretary of state created such a database matching program, (the new law) makes the situation better and decreases the number of erroneous non-matches."
"No state in the United States other than Mississippi subjects naturalized citizens to a higher proof-of-citizenship requirement for voter registration than U.S.-born citizens," the lawsuit said.
Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed House Bill 1510 on April 14, and it became law immediately. He said it "ensures that only American citizens are able to vote in Mississippi."
"There will be those on the left who will claim that we are making it harder for American citizens to vote," the governor said in a video posted to social media. "Those claims are false."
Ezra Rosenberg of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law said in the news release Tuesday that naturalized citizens should not be targeted for unequal treatment.
"Their patriotism deserves to be honored, not punished," Rosenberg said. "The addition of this new safeguard will help prevent naturalized citizens from being erroneously blocked from registering to vote through no fault of their own."
In signing the law, Tate Reeves criticized New York City, which enacted a local law in January to let noncitizens vote in its municipal elections but not state or federal elections. He said "radical activists" pushed to open the ballot box to about 800,000 noncitizens there. New York has the largest population of any U.S. city, about 8.8 million.
"We're not going to allow liberals, whether they're in New York or Washington, D.C., to tell us how to run our local elections," the governor said.
The new Mississippi law says that if the state and federal databases both raise questions about a person's citizenship status, the circuit clerk must give notice. The person would have 30 days to prove citizenship with a birth certificate, a U.S. passport or naturalization documents.
The law says if the person fails to prove citizenship within 30 days, their name will be marked "pending" in the Statewide Elections Management System until the next federal general election. That person could cast a provisional ballot during that federal election but would have to prove citizenship within five days for the vote to count. If the person does not vote in that federal election, their name would be marked "rejected" in the Statewide Elections Management System.
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CANTON • Amazon's newest fulfillment center in Mississippi is set to open in mid-July, 18 months after the company announced the project.
Joey Deason, executive director of the Madison County Economic Development Authority, on Thursday confirmed the July 18 opening of the state's third such facility, The Clarion Ledger reported. The company has other centers in Byhalia and Olive Branch.
"We are looking forward to the start of operations in July, and they are excited to get started as well," Deason said. "They've had multiple boots on the ground, working from a management standpoint for well over a year."
The 700,000-square-foot (65,000-square-meter) facility at the Madison County Mega Site in Canton is expected to bring more than 1,000 full-time jobs to the area. It will function as a holding and sorting facility for many of the products Amazon sells and ships, a place where people will work alongside robots to fill orders and deliver packages. It will also be the first in Mississippi to feature Amazon's robotics technology.
"It's my understanding that Amazon has been deploying much of those resources to other locations until this facility was up and running," Deason said. "They have obviously had some issues with supply chain. Now that they are ready, we are excited to see them onboarding people."
"I can say that the building is to a point where they are ready to go and begin operations," Deason said.
Joey Deason
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Pontotoc County Fifth District Supervisor Dan McKnight was arrested around 2:26 a.m. Sunday (May 29) by Highway Patrol officers on charges which now include felony possession of meth and four misdemeanors.
Mississippi Highway Patrol Public Affairs Officer Master Sgt. Joseph Miller reported, "On Sunday, May 29, 2022, at approximately 2:26 AM, Gary Dan McKnight of Pontotoc, MS, was observed traveling at a high rate of speed in a 2020 white GMC Sierra pickup."
"As a result of the traffic stop, Mr. McKnight was arrested and charged with Speeding, Careless Driving, No Driver's License on Demand, and Driving Under the Influence. He was then booked into the Pontotoc County Jail."
The Mississippi Burea of Narcotics assisted with the investigation and on Tuesday (May 31) afternoon an affidavit was filed in Pontotoc County Justice Court for an additional charge of possession of meth.
Bond on the meth charge was set at $5,000 and bond on the misdemeanor charges totaled $1,400.
McKnight, 49, was booked out of the Pontotoc County Jail at 4:35 p.m Sunday (May 29).
McKnight is currently in the third year of his second term as county supervisor of District Five. He first took office in January 2016.
McKnight was traveling in his District Five pickup when he was stopped on Highway 15 south.
McKnight was not in attendance when the Pontotoc County Board of Supervisors met at 10 a.m. Tuesday (May 31) for their end of the month meeting.
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There was a lot of laughing and talking going on while we ate.
Classmates line up for the delicious meal.
Mickey Gentry and Lee Gordon provided the cooking.
By Wayne L. Carter Special to Pontotoc Progress
Following the celebration of its Fiftieth Reunion in 2010, the Class of ‘60 began to meet once a month at a local restaurant. They continued to do so right up until restaurants shut down during the pandemic.
The Class of ’60 met once in 2020 in an open-air social-distancing setting, and did not meet at all during 2021, largely because the restaurant they had been meeting in changed ownership and did away with the private room in which they had previously enjoyed gathering.
During the ten years of regular monthly meetings Wayne Carter was tasked with obtaining a restaurant and reserving a meeting room and to provide a program most months. Thus, after only one meeting in two years and viral infection rates running low, several of his classmates contacted Wayne and asked him to set a place, date, and time for another Class of ’60 Dinner.
Wayne’s daughter and her family have a larger home, next door to Wayne, which is able to comfortably accommodate 25 or more indoor guests. Thus, it was there on May 10, 2022, that the Class of ’60 met and enjoyed a late afternoon dinner of chicken strips and fried catfish with all the trimmings.
Wayne had secured two friends, Lee Gordon of Nettleton and Mickey Gentry of Pontotoc, to handle the cooking chores while Wayne and his family took care of the incidentals.
A headcount of persons present for the event totaled twenty-five, including friends, family, and classmates who graduated in 1959, 1961, and 1964. Of this number, fourteen were Class of ’60 graduates and spouses.
The Class of ’60 actually grew in number following their graduation. They had two members receive their diplomas early and were in college by the May 27, 1960, graduation date. Additionally, there were six others, who had moved away from Pontotoc and, therefore, graduated from a different school, or else graduated a different year.
In reality there were 50 graduates of Pontotoc High School in 1960, but counting those eight, who are now attached to this class there is a class total of 58. Nineteen of the Class of ‘60 are deceased.
A majority of the Class of ’60 will celebrate their eightieth birthday sometime in 2022. However, nineteen members have already celebrated their eightieth birthday in a prior year or earlier this year. Two classmates will have to wait until early 2023 to celebrate their 80th Birthday. The remaining 18 members will become eighty between now and year’s end.
The evening of May 10th provided a time of fellowship and food for old friends and was enjoyed by all. The PHS Class of 1960 is alive and still going strong at eighty. Go Warriors!
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Dylan DeLucia, 5-2 with a 4.57 ERA, will get the start Friday night when Ole Miss opens NCAA Tournament play against Arizona.
'I don’t think there’s anyone that wants to play us right now': Kevin Graham, Ole Miss feeling good headed to regional
OXFORD – Ole Miss baseball didn’t win every single one of its games to end the year. But the Rebels still like their chances headed to the NCAA Baseball Tournament.
In the regional field for the fourth-straight time, No. 3 seed Ole Miss (32-22) heads to Coral Gables, Florida, to face No. 2 seed Arizona (37-23) on Friday night at host Miami.
While they had to sweat it out as one of the last teams in the field, the Rebels are confident that, now in, they are going to give themselves a chance.
Ole Miss announced on Tuesday that junior Dylan DeLucia will start against the Wildcats.
Ole Miss is 5-2 in DeLucia’s last seven starts, though the last two have been losses. He has not given up more than three earned runs in any of those starts.
After losing 14 of 21 SEC games to start the season, Ole Miss found its stride late, winning seven of nine regular-season conference games and eight of 10 regular-season games overall to end the season.
But if you ask senior left fielder Kevin Graham, he’ll tell you that even in losses to Texas A&M and Vanderbilt to close out the season, the Rebels were still playing well.
“We’ve been playing good baseball throughout, even in those losses. It wasn’t like the way we were losing early in the year. We just didn’t quite get the big hit,” Graham said. “But we’ve been playing well, and I don’t think there’s anyone that wants to play us right now.”
Graham’s return to the lineup following a wrist fracture isn’t the sole reason Ole Miss got hot to end the season — good pitching has been a major reason for the late-season success, too — but it certainly didn’t hurt.
He missed a little over a month and wasn’t quite himself when he returned in early April against Alabama. But since May 6, Graham’s average has soared from .275 all the way up to a team-best .345 (among starters), where it currently stands.
Over that 11-game stretch, Graham is 23 of 46 — a whopping .500 average — at the plate. The Rebels also won eight of those games.
“I’ve really stayed true to my approach, which is tough coming back from that injury. I think I got in a little too defensive of a mode, just trying to get the job done instead of taking my normal at-bat. But healthy again, feeling good. Just able to really be myself again."
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Legendary entertainer Dolly Parton surprises guests at the Ole Miss Women's Council for Philanthropy's Legacy Dinner with a mini concert with her guitar.
Kirsten Simpson I UM Development
Dolly Parton accepts philanthropy award from Ole Miss
By Tina H. Hahn Ole Miss
OXFORD • Legendary performer and philanthropist Dolly Parton captured the hearts of two University of Mississippi audiences during her recent visit to accept the Legacy Award from the Ole Miss Women's Council for Philanthropy.
"Storytime with Dolly" featured the special guest reading "The Little Engine That Could" by Watty Piper and talking about literacy to a packed Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. Sponsored by Regions Bank, the event was part of the OMWC Rose Garden Literacy Project.
"Regions Bank has served Oxford and communities across north Mississippi for decades, and community engagement is part of Regions' mission to improve the quality of life in the communities we serve," said Brett Shaffer, community relations manager for Regions Bank. "Education is a key part of our work, so we were honored to sponsor 'Storytime with Dolly.'
"We salute the Ole Miss Women's Council for Philanthropy and the University of Mississippi for their work to support education and opportunities for all," Shaffer added.
"The C Spire Foundation is very pleased to support the Ole Miss Women's Council and the Legacy Award since its very beginning," said Beth Pickering, the foundation's executive director. "Our values align similarly in a belief in education and mentorship that will inspire and develop students' leadership skills and future success."
Pickering called Parton a "living legend" and "an amazing example of philanthropy for all of us."
The Legacy Award recognizes individuals who epitomize the council's goals of philanthropy, leadership and mentorship. Although Parton is known as a successful country music singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, record producer, actress and author, her commitment to elevating other people is a major part of her life.
The 2020 award presentation was postponed twice because of the pandemic.
"Having Dolly here will be remembered as one of those magical Ole Miss moments, which makes the Ole Miss Women's Council family unique and illustrates the widespread appeal of the mission to create a more caring and ethical society one scholar at a time," said Liz Randall, the council's chair.
Parton and Mary and Sam Haskell are longtime friends and business associates. Mary Haskell is a member and former OMWC chair. Sam Haskell, of Magnolia Hills Productions, is the executive producer of Parton's movies and specials and recently won an Emmy for Outstanding Television Movie for the 2021 "Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square."
One focus of the popular entertainer's philanthropy is her Imagination Library, a program that sends free, high-quality books to children from birth to age 5, regardless of their family's income. The organization sends books monthly to children around the world.
"I see the unparalleled and universal appeal of Dolly Parton due in large part to her consistency in being respectful and kind to all people, and her lifelong commitment to philanthropic efforts," Randall said. "Dolly has been honest about why literacy, for example, is so meaningful to her family by citing candidly that her father could not read."
Randall said Parton transformed her childhood hardships into a way to help children all around the world.
"She took that hardship in her life and turned it into an organization, the Imagination Library, which has distributed close to 200 million books around the world – the perfect example of a philanthropist doing it for all the right reasons," Randall said. "She is elevating the lives of children, who are the most important part of society."
"Dolly loved the beauty of Oxford and the Ole Miss campus, but she especially responded to the hearts of all the people involved that she met," Mary Haskell said. "She was overwhelmed by the generosity she experienced here during her Legacy Award weekend."
At "Storytime with Dolly," the council surprised Sarah McLellan, executive director of the Lafayette County Literacy Council, with a $25,000 contribution for the Imagination Library program. Haskell shared the inspiration behind the gift.
"When the OMWC held our 20th anniversary in 2020, Dolly allowed us to auction a dinner for 10 people to dine with her at our home the evening before the Legacy Award dinner," Haskell said. "It seemed only right that we share the proceeds of that successful fundraising opportunity she provided us, so the $25,000 donation to her Imagination Library, supporting the local chapter here in Lafayette County, was determined.
"Dolly said, 'This is the first time I've ever seen one charity donate to another charity; now that's something,'" Haskell added.
"Philanthropy is contagious and works the best when it serves in all directions – this creates a compounding effect in the impact," Randall said.
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By HOWARD BALLOU WLBT-TV
JACKSON • Troublesome incidents involving women rideshare passengers and drivers have increased enough to prompt an entrepreneur in Mississippi's capital to come up with a new business.
It's a ride share service literally just for ladies that she hopes will mean safer transportation for women and she said it's the first of its kind in the Magnolia State.
Leigh Sullivan has been a rideshare driver in Jackson's metro area for more than six years now. She did the same thing in her native New Orleans before coming to Mississippi.
"And every single time I pick up a female at night, early morning, trying to get to the airport trying to get home from the airport. The first words I hear are, 'I'm so glad it's a woman. Thank God, it's a woman.," said Sullivan.
Leigh Sullivan said, "And then November second, my friend Brandy got shot here in Jackson, she got shot seven times. And that was probably the defining moment, like, Okay, now is the time."
Sullivan's friend, 36-year-old Brandy Littrell, a Lyft driver, was kidnapped on Nov. 2, 2021. She was taken to a wooded area and shot seven times, miraculously surviving the attack. Dontarius Magee, 17, was later arrested and charged with carjacking, kidnapping and aggravated assault.
"Even men are like, this is a great idea. I would love to have this service for my sister, my wife on girls' nights, my mother, whomever, their daughters," said Sullivan.
"We also have a service that does do co-ed rides. I have males and females who work that side. It's up to them. So it's just this is a division of our company," she said.
"We want to give those young ladies and all ladies, a safe and comfortable experience." Sullivan said.
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Morgan, Brenda
Brenda J. Morgan (68) passed away Tuesday, May 31, 2022 at her home in Baldwyn. She was a member of Oak Hill Baptist Church. She enjoyed working in her yard, playing in the pool with her grandchildren and shopping. Services are 3 pm Thursday, June 2, 2022 at the Baldwyn Chapel of Kesler Funeral Home with Bro. Rex Bullock and Lonnie Murphy officiating. Burial will follow in Prentiss Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be Wednesday, June 1, 2022 from 5-8 pm at the funeral home. Brenda is survived by her husband of 51 years, Johnny Morgan; her son, Stewart Morgan (Nikki) of Wheeler; her mother, Helen Scott of Booneville; her brother, Kenneth Scott (Vicki) of Booneville; her sister, Betty Glenn of Booneville; her grandchildren, Taylor Morgan, Sydney Morgan, Easton Morgan, Camden Morgan and Callie Morgan; her brothers and sisters-in-law, Bob and Jane Henson, and Billy and Joyce Kendrick; and a host of nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her father, Junior Scott; her sister, Diane Henderson; her in-laws, Jay and Birdie Faye Morgan; her brother-in-law, Bob Morgan; and her brother and sister-in-law, J.C. and Gerelene Hopkins. Pallbearers are Larry Henson, Brian Henson, Steve Scales and Henry Kennedy. Honorary pallbearers are the Wheeler High School Class of 1971, Oak Hill Sunday School class and her H.M. Richards co-workers.
Brenda J. Morgan
Kenneth Scott
Johnny Morgan
Callie Morgan
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White, Brandon
Brandon Michael White, 45, died after an extended battle with terminal brain cancer caused from Neurofibromatosis Type 1, NF1, on Saturday, May 28, 2022, at his home. He is the son of Randy White and Teresa Buse White; he was born on October 3, 1976, in Tupelo. On June 10, 2000, he married Wendy Yates White. Brandon adored children, especially his four kids. Brandon was involved with First Baptist Church of Saltillo. In his free time, he enjoyed RC Hobby Cars and playing Grand Theft Auto on PlayStation. He was extremely tech-savvy and could figure out anything on his phone. Brandon was most known for never meeting a stranger and playing practical jokes on his friends and family, especially his kids. He was always willing to help others. Brandon leaves behind his wife, Wendy White of Guntown; four children, Houston, Katie, Kylie, and Connor White; father, Randy White and his wife, Sonya, of Okolona; half brother, Austin White (Courtney) of Mantachie; best friends, Eric Welch (Brina and their children, Lilly and Easton) and Shun White (daughter, Belle); mother-in-law, Jan Helms (Ron) of Birmingham Ridge; and second-mother-in-law, Linda Ann Ensley of Shiloh Community; brothers and sisters-in-law, Misty Montague (Curtis), Mandy Sanders (Greg), Randy Sanders (Chris), Tiffany McCullom (Brant), Casey Clayton (Casey), Austin Schallock (Misty), Amberlyn Schallock, and Jesse Hawkins (Shelia); and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his mother, Teresa White; second father-in-law, Jimmy "Booger" Ensley; and three infant children. Visitation will be 5 until 8 p.m. Thursday, June 2, 2022, at W. E. Pegues, Saltillo. Services will be 12:30 p.m. Friday, June 3, 2022, at the Saltillo Chapel of W. E. Pegues with Bro. Danny Boudreaux officiating. Graveside services will follow at Keys Cemetery with Bro. Evan Wilson officiating. Pallbearers will be Chris Sanders, Greg Sanders, Curtis Montague, Justin Higgins, Austin Schallock, and Johnny Pannell. Honorary pallbearers will be Eric Welch and Shun White. Expressions of sympathy and fond memories may be made at www.peguesfuneralhome.com.
Curtis Montague
Wendy Yates White
Eric Welch
Teresa Buse White
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Pontotoc County Supervisor Dan McKnight arrested on felony drug charge
PONTOTOC • A Pontotoc County supervisor has been arrested on a felony drug charge and a handful of misdemeanors.
Dan McKnight, who represents Pontotoc County’s Fifth District, was arrested at around 2:26 a.m. on May 29 by officers with the Mississippi Highway Patrol after being stopped for speeding. He was later charged with felony possession of methamphetamine and four misdemeanors — speeding, careless driving, no driver’s license on demand and driving under the influence.
During his initial court appearance, McKnight’s bond was set at $6,400 for all charges.
According to Master Sgt. Joseph Miller, public affairs officer for the Mississippi Highway Patrol, McKnight, 49, was initially stopped when officers spotted his county-owned 2020 white GMC Sierra pickup truck traveling at a high rate of speed along Highway 15 South.
Officers allegedly discovered methamphetamine during a subsequent investigation of McKnight’s person and vehicle.
The supervisor, currently in his second term, has been released on bond. He was not in attendance at the Pontotoc County Board of Supervisors’ meeting on Tuesday morning.
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Voting machines fill the floor for early voting at State Farm Arena on Monday, Oct. 12, 2020, in Atlanta. In an advisory sent to state election officials, and obtained by The Associated Press in advance of its expected release on Friday, June 3, 2022, the nation’s leading cybersecurity agency says that electronic voting machines from a leading vendor used in at least 16 states have software vulnerabilities. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, or CISA, said there is no evidence the flaws in the Dominion Voting Systems’ equipment have been exploited to alter election results.
ATLANTA • Electronic voting machines from a leading vendor used in at least 16 states have software vulnerabilities that leave them susceptible to hacking if unaddressed, the nation's leading cybersecurity agency says in an advisory sent to state election officials.
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According to Fulton Mayor Emily Quinn, a total of 230 votes were cast. With 137 residents voting in favor of the proposed tax and 93 voting against the tax. The vote will likely stand at 58%. State law requires 60% of Fulton voters to vote in favor of the new tax in order for it to pass.
Holiday, Boren out after TCPS hit with recruiting violations
Daily Journal high school baseball rankings, May 31 (FINAL)
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Meet & Greet With Dance Like The Stars 2022 “Celebrity Dancers”
The Boys & Girls Clubs of North Mississippi invite local media to join them as they officially announce their 2022 Dance Like The Stars participants on Tuesday, June 7th at 5:30 PM at Park Heights Restaurant, 335 East Main Street, Tupelo – 2nd Floor Breezeway.
The 17th Dance Like The Stars Event is scheduled for July 30th at the BancorpSouth arena. The event was first started in 2006 and nearly 160 community volunteers from Lee, Lafayette, Tippah, Chickasaw and Union counties have participated. Volunteers agree to learn a professional ballroom dance routine with a professional partner from Tupelo’s The Dance Studio, but more importantly, they agree to raise funding for BGCNMS. The dancer raising the most money is named the event Grand Champion.
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Wicker joins in honoring America’s fallen heroes
John Melton was 22 years old in October of 1940 when he found himself stationed in Hawaii. Raised on a farm near Liberty, Mississippi, the youngest of three children, John had decided to serve his country by enlisting in the U.S. Navy. Shortly after completing boot camp, he arrived at Pearl Harbor aboard the USS West Virginia. It was on that battleship that he would lose his life in the Japanese attack that pulled our nation into World War II.
For nearly 80 years, John Melton’s body could not be identified. He was laid to rest at a national memorial cemetery in Hawaii, with a granite headstone marked “Unknown.” Yet thanks to a recent military initiative, John’s remains have now been identified for the first time. Using DNA and dental analysis, scientists have been working to identify the remains of 35 Sailors from the USS West Virginia, bringing a degree of closure for the families. John Melton’s remains will soon be returned home to Mississippi for a final burial this summer.
Although John Melton did not live to see it, the attack on Pearl Harbor rallied millions of his own generation to serve our country in uniform. Tragically, many of them never came home. Between 1941 and 1945, our nation lost more than 400,000 servicemen. Remarkably, John’s battleship – the USS West Virginia – would be salvaged, rebuilt, and returned to service by 1944. A new crew would help liberate the Philippines and would eventually reach Tokyo Bay in 1945 for the formal surrender of Japan. As we honor our fallen heroes this Memorial Day, we should remember John Melton, a son of Mississippi, and his crewmates who did not live to see the day of victory and renewed peace.
Those who died in World War II stand in a long line of Americans who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Beginning with the War of Independence, American service members have risked life and limb on the battlefield to protect our country, reminding us that freedom is never free. Most recently, in the years since 9/11, thousands of Americans have given their lives to protect us from terrorism. As a member of Congress, I have attended the funerals of fallen Mississippians. We owe them a debt that can never be repaid, and we must never forget their families.
Supporting Gold Star Families
Our nation first began recognizing Gold Star families during World War I, when we lost 116,000 young Americans in Europe. The families of fallen soldiers would often display a gold star service flag in the windows of their homes. In 1936, President Roosevelt signed a law establishing Gold Star Mother’s Day to honor mothers who had lost a son in combat. And in 2010, the Senate set aside April 5 to recognize Gold Star spouses. However, until recently there was no formal recognition for Gold Star children.
Last year, I proposed a resolution to designate August 1 as Gold Star Children’s Day. This resolution honors the unique sacrifices borne by the children of fallen service members and encourages all of us to support them however we can. The measure passed the Senate unanimously, giving Gold Star children the recognition they deserve. As we remember our fallen heroes this Memorial Day, it is fitting that we should renew our commitment to caring for their loved ones left behind.
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A local high school graduate was recently awarded WoodmenLife Focus Forward Scholarship®. The student, who is a WoodmenLife member, submitted an application highlighting her high school grades, activities and volunteerism, as well as an essay on patriotism.
This year’s $500 WoodmenLife Focus Forward Scholarship recipient is Taylor Bennett from Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton. The scholarship was recently presented at the Scholarship Awards Ceremony at the school.
“Helping students pursue their dreams of higher education is something WoodmenLife takes great pride in,” said WoodmenLife Community Outreach Advisor, Kristy White, “And providing scholarships to young members who exemplify everything we stand for is an honor. We’re excited to see where their journeys take them.”
The WoodmenLife Focus Forward Scholarship program is just one of the wide-range of valuable extras the organization offers its members. A person becomes a member when they purchase a WoodmenLife life insurance or retirement product.
Since the organization started the scholarship program in 2017, it has awarded more than $2.3 million in scholarships to nearly 4,000 students who are pursuing their education at trade schools, colleges or universities. This year, WoodmenLife will award 459 scholarships ranging from $500 to $10,000.
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Farmer's markets feature fresh vegetables, fruits, canned goods, and other locally sourced goods.
Farmers Markets in Tremont, Fulton, and Mantachie are set to open this month.
The Town of Tremont will be opening its second annual Farmer’s Market on Thursday, June 2, at 5 p.m., at the Tremont First Baptist Pavilion.
Last year the town held its inaugural farmer’s market offering a variety of locally sourced vegetables and produce. Tremont’s market will continue to be open every Thursday at that same time throughout the growing season. Vendors wishing to sell goods can call Robert Whitehead at 662-652-3366 or 662-862-3201.
Fulton’s Farmers Market, which features fresh vegetables, fruits, canned goods, and other locally sourced goods, will officially open Friday, June 10, at 2 p.m. at ICC’s Cypress Pavilion. Following Friday’s opening day, they will be open every Tuesday and Friday at 2 p.m. until all their produce is sold or until 4 p.m., whichever comes first. Vendors for Fulton’s Farmer’s Market can also call 662-862-3201 for more information.
Featuring the same fresh foods and canned goods, Mantachie’s farmers market will open Saturday, June 11, from 8-10 a.m. at Mantachie Park Pavilion. It will return each Saturday, from 8-10 a.m., throughout the summer. Vendors can contact Ed Calvert at 662-401-6962 or 662-862-3201 for more information.
Items for sale in the farmer’s market must be homegrown and/or homemade. Vendors with handcrafted items, such as wood crafts, are also invited to join. Commercial products will not be allowed.
Itawamba County Extension Officer Marie Rogers told The Times that the local farmer’s markets are a great place to find fresh produce and she hopes that this will be another successful year.
“We’re hoping this will be a great year for producers and we would love to have more of them join us and more customers come out and enjoy the fresh fruits and vegetables they bring,” Rogers said.
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Inky the Clown performs a program during a previous summer reading program at Amory Municipal Library. Local libraries are encouraging literacy through programs and activities during summer vacation.
JOHN WARD/MONROE JOURNAL FILE
Monroe County public libraries will host activities and provide reading materials to help students keep literacy on the forefront while they’re out of school for summer vacation.
The statewide theme for 2022’s summer reading program is “Welcome to the Ocean of Possibilities.”
Registration is open through June 23 for the Amory Municipal Library’s summer reading program, and the last day to submit book logs is July 7. Additionally, there are programs planned for six Thursdays throughout the summer.
“If we can get them reading and have them get library cards, we’ve done our job. We’re reinforcing what they learned and hopefully they’ll continue before they go back to school,” said Ruby Holman, Amory Municipal Library’s librarian.
Amory Municipal Library’s schedule includes Stormin’ Bob the singing weatherman June 2 at 2 p.m. and Capt. John Bishop of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office June 9 at 2 p.m. He will speak about diving, which coincides with the summer reading program’s ocean theme.
Terry Vandeventer’s Living Reptile Museum will be June 16, with shows for ages 18 months to 5 years old at 2 p.m. and ages 6 and older at 2:30 p.m. Holman noted individual children are allowed to attend only one of the two June 16 performances.
On June 23 at 2 p.m., West Amory Elementary School art teacher John Thomas will be the featured guest and on June 30 at 2 p.m., magician David Strange will perform his Strange Magic program.
There will not be a program on July 7, but Amory’s summer reading series will conclude July 14 at 2 p.m. with the Mississippi Aquarium, which also relates to the ocean theme.
“We don’t have a mask mandate but if there are children who are immune-deficient or anyone uncomfortable, they’re welcome to wear masks and they’re encouraged,” Holman said.
In addition to the programs, storytime will be held each Thursday at 10:15 a.m. at the library and also through its Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/amorylibrary.
Students can begin signing up for Hamilton Public Library’s summer reading program June 7, and the end date is July 14.
The library will host two programs this year at the Hamilton Community Center – Terry Vandeventer’s Living Reptile Museum on June 16 at 10:15 a.m. and the Mississippi Aquarium July 14 at 10:30 a.m.
“We want students to read as many books as they can. I will give them reading logs to keep up with that. Last year, we had a lot of younger ones who were pre-readers, and that’s great if mamas want to sign up for ages 2 and above. I encourage the mamas to come and get books for them because that will develop their reading skills and vocabulary. Children as early as 2 years old to sixth grade are welcome to sign up,” said Hamilton librarian Donna Johnson.
Evans Memorial Library in Aberdeen already distributed grab and go bags to Aberdeen Elementary School students and also to daycares.
“Normally, the summer reading is in June, but we elected this time not to do any in-house programming. We did 400 to 450 grab and go bags with a toy, a recommended reading list and 15 to 18 activity sheets geared toward reading, education and art,” said Evans Memorial Library Director Barbara Blair.
As of last week, the Dorothy J. Lowe Memorial Library in Nettleton did not have any plans for a summer reading program. There are no plans for Wren Public Library to have a summer reading program either.
"I still encourage children to come in and read and I'll offer them incentives. We have books and puzzles for all age groups," said Wren librarian Betty Parson.
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ABERDEEN – From improving your football game to improving yourself through yoga, the park and recreation department will offer several free activities throughout June, capped off with a game night.
The free yoga series for those 50 and older begins June 2 at 9 a.m. at the park and rec. gym, located at the intersection of Commerce and Matubba streets. It will be taught by Em Walters and be held weekly based on her schedule.
Participants should bring their own yoga mats.
“Our senior citizens also meet at the High Street Community Center from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m. every weekday. They do arts and crafts, have movie days, walk inside, play games and have a free lunch everyday,” said Aberdeen Park and Recreation Department Director Michelle Stewart.
On June 11, the department will partner with Angels in the Park for the Prepare for Excellence football camp with NFL veteran Sammie Burroughs of Aberdeen. He played with the Indianapolis Colts for two seasons.
It will be from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Aberdeen Sportsplex, followed by a fun day from 2 until 5:30 p.m.
The free football camp is for grades 1 through 12. People can register up until the day of the camp, but May 30 was the deadline to secure a T-shirt. Registration forms are available at the park and recreation department.
“Sammie has really coordinated with a lot of people from around this area – arena league players, college players and former NFL players, so he has some jewels the kids aren’t used to having at a regular football camp,” Stewart said. “We’re teaming up together and trying to bring something back for the kids.”
Vendor spots for licensed food and merchandise vendors are available for $50 each, and all proceeds benefit the park and recreation department. There will be free hamburgers and hotdogs.
Stewart welcomes donors to provide drinks and inflatables for the event.
On June 18, there will be a free game night at the park and recreation building from 5 until 8 p.m. There will also be a spades tournament at the same time, with a $20 entry fee and first-place prizes.
“I was trying to think of something everyone can participate in while the kids are out of school. We’re going to have Uno, dominoes, Go Fish, checkers, limbo, cornhole, Jenga, Connect 4 and basketball. No matter what age you are, you’ll be able to play games. We’re going all the way from Crazy Eights and Old Maids for the kids to Uno and spades for the adults,” Stewart said.
Sammie Burroughs
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Raffiel Jones of Amory, who is a member of the Mississippi State University Special Olympics Unified flag football team, plays defense against an Ole Miss player in the Mississippi Special Olympics in May. In the coming days, Jones and his team will compete in the Special Olympics USA Games in Orlando.
Since enrolling in Mississippi State University’s ACCESS program in 2017, Raffiel Jones of Amory has soaked in the experience of being a Bulldog by supporting various teams from the stands.
Beginning this weekend, though, he and his flag football teammates will be Bulldogs on the field to represent the program, the university and the state on a national level through the Special Olympics USA Games in Orlando.
“Taking a medal for the USA Games is incredible, kind of like in the actual Olympics when you see Michael Phelps leading the 1,000-yard swim team get the gold. We’re going to try to do the same thing in flag football that he does for swimming. We’re going to try everything we can but can’t make any promises,” he said.
MSU’s ACCESS program helps young adults with disabilities learn to live independently while preparing them for careers.
At birth, Jones died after losing oxygen but was brought back to life when he came out of the womb. He suffered from Pierre-Robin Syndrome and had an abnormal 4th chromosome.
Doctors said he would never be able to talk or go to school, but he proved them wrong. His disability is rare, and doctors at the University of Alabama-Birmingham were even unfamiliar with it when he went for medical care.
Jones has undergone several medical procedures throughout his life, such as having several baby teeth removed at a time and a titanium rod surgically placed in his back to keep him from hunching over.
Finding his spot on the team
Jones, 28, graduated from MSU’s ACCESS program in 2021 and still participates as a community member. The four-year program teaches life skills, academics, socialization and career development.
On the extracurricular side, Jones has competed in soccer, basketball and flag football most of the semesters he has been at the university through the Mississippi State University Special Olympics Unified Program.
“It’s great for me to interact with everyone who were my classmates at the time and just have fun playing flag football together, competing against other schools like Ole Miss, Southern Miss and Alabama,” Jones said.
“In 2018, that fall semester, we did the Unified Special Olympics Egg Bowl and played Ole Miss that night. Unfortunately, we lost,” he added.
Each title game his flag football team has won a gold, silver or bronze medal in this year has garnered points qualifying for participation in the Mississippi Special Olympics, which was held last month at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi.
The Law Enforcement Special Olympics Torch Run came through Aberdeen May 10 ahead of the games.
This year’s Special Olympics helped make for a rematch between MSU and Ole Miss.
“The only team we played was our rivals from up north – Ole Miss. It was the best two out of three. We lost the first game to them badly, by 20 I believe. We won the next two games to claim our first-ever gold medal. We gained some momentum leading into the USA Games,” Jones said.
The USA Games will be held June 5-12, with flag football to be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Jones and his teammates will leave from Jackson June 3 with a pep rally sendoff.
“We’re competing against teams from across the country and the Caribbean. Each state has Special Olympics and they’ll have their athletes with the Unified partner competing in their particular sport,” Jones said. “On a neutral site field, it gives me goosebumps thinking about it, just thinking we’re going to be on a national stage where the whole country is watching.”
He is primed for the once in a lifetime experience of his first time competing in the USA Games.
“Not many athletes in this state get to do that, and we’re some of the lucky ones. I’m thankful for that. We’re going to go out and try to have some fun. We know everything’s not about winning, which we want to and try to get the gold, silver or bronze medal, but we’ll try to do anything we can to get that gold medal,” Jones said.
As of last week, he was unsure of the schedule of opponents. His flag football team has the potential of advancing to the Special Olympics World Games in January 2023 depending on how the USA Games go.
The USA Games’ opening ceremonies will be televised on ESPN and the ABC family on networks June 5, according to its website.
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Here at the Monroe Journal, we do many different projects a year, all that we love, despite the challenges some of them might throw our way.
Probably the most fun one for our community is the one we’re getting ready to kick off next week – Best of Monroe, or the Reader’s Choice as we like to call it.
Our goal is for our paper to represent our community every single week in print and every day online, but this is the one time of the year that we really get to fully recognize all the great things that Monroe County has to offer, from our fabulous restaurants to all of our local retail stores to the medical community and so much more.
Best of Monroe currently has nearly 130 categories and once we get it going, there nearly always ends up being more to pop up.
Those categories are under five larger groups – Community, Services, Retail, Medical and Food, and under each one is where you will find things like Best Business to Work For, Best Tanning Salon or Best Ice Cream/Yogurt.
How does this work, you might ask?
You will go to the link that we will be sharing daily on our Facebook page. The voting starts on June 8 (that’s next Wednesday) and will run for two weeks, closing on June 22. Then we will publish a section with the winners next month on July 27 and be passing out certificates for everyone then.
The voting is simple – if you don’t see who you want to vote for already listed on the category, just write it in and your nomination becomes your vote. For example, if I wanted to vote for Obit the Cat as Best Pet (hey, just kidding, that’s unfortunately not one of our categories), then I would write her name in and anyone else who wanted could choose her when they went in to vote.
All the nominations will be approved by me just so we ensure that someone doesn’t get in who is in the wrong category or isn’t in Monroe County, so definitely give me about a business day to approve those. If you don’t see your nomination by then, feel free to email me, call us here at the office at (662) 256-5647 or let us know through our Facebook page. I’ll be getting those approved as quickly as I can so that everyone can continue to rack in the votes.
One of the other rules is that you can only vote once per day – so when you get to the website, it will have you log in with your email. That just ensures fairness and that you can’t vote multiple times per day.
As we have done in the past, no one will know the winners until it’s all over with – in fact, I’ll be the only one to see the votes, so if you see Paul umpiring a game or Ray covering a board meeting, they won’t have the answer. And I’m sworn to secrecy as well.
If there are any mistakes at all or I’ve left out an important subcategory or any other questions, just feel free to let me know and we’ll get it fixed as soon as possible.
And as always, the number one rule with this contest is HAVE FUN! I know we will, and happy voting, Monroe!
Melissa Meador is the General Manager of the Monroe Journal. Contact her at melissa.meador@journalinc.com.
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Early in “Grain and Fire: A History of Baking in the American South”, author Rebecca Sharpless explains both the simplicity and complexity of telling the story of the evolution of baking in the Southern United States.
“A pone made only of corn and water, butter-laden puff pastry, and a four layer coconut cake are all forms of baked grain. The people who baked such items and ate them have differed considerably, however, over the centuries…..And for the people who ate them, baked goods have ranged from simple subsistence to markers of opulent celebrations, with sweet tastes making even sweeter memories. The array of foods and associated experiences have meant many different things to people over the centuries.”
Attempting to share the history of southern baking is an almost Herculean task, Sharpless successfully takes readers on the journey of baking in the South and how multiple cultures have contributed to the legacy of Southern baking from Native American practices to those that were brought into the region from Africa and Europe.
Published by the University of North Carolina Press in May, “Grain and Fire” dives into the history of not just the edibles but the process of baking, including the tools used, the various grains, especially corn, the extensive work involved, the evolution of baked goods over the centuries, as well as some staples in the South that continue to be mainstays on our tables such as biscuits, cornbread and muffins.
“Grain and Fire” is not a casual read. It’s a thorough history and very rarely mentions a topic without delving into its history. This book, however, is for those with an interest in baking, it’s history and how the practices that are widely considered traditions developed and evolved.
Southern baking will continue to evolve with each generation, and every baker in the South will contribute to that history. With “Grain and Fire”, Sharpless establishes the history of baking in the South over the last half a millennium and shares with readers exactly why she believes the evolution will continue.
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Seth Lee has been named the new head football coach for the Hatley Tigers after spending seven years at Nettleton as the defensive coordinator.
HATLEY – Former Nettleton defensive coordinator, Seth Lee is ready to take on his new task as the new football coach for the Hatley Tigers.
Lee, a 2003 Nettleton graduate, got his start at coaching in 2008 for Amory under Pat Byrd and Trent Hammond. In 2015, Lee went back to his hometown where he spent seven years as the defensive coordinator of the Tigers.
“I’ve been coaching for 14 years now, but this is my first head coaching job,” Lee said. “It was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up on because Hatley is a really nice school, and I was looking for a for sure way to go up and this was it. I’ve played against Hatley every year that I’ve coached, so I’m pretty familiar with this area and what I’ll be up against as far as division play.”
According to Lee, the transition from defensive coordinator to head coach has been a major adjustment as the Tigers are still trying to fill in the other coaching positions.
“Coming from spring practice, it’s been a big adjustment because we’re still in the process of hiring coaches,” Lee said. “We’re going to have a completely different coaching staff because a lot of them have left to different places, so it’s just been me and one other person helping. It’s been a big adjustment coaching offense too because I’ve never had to except for junior high. Defensively, it’s not a big change because we’re going to do what I’m comfortable doing to try and make the transition as seamless as possible.”
Over the 15 days of spring practice, Lee said that he has already made a connection with his new team.
“I got the opportunity to know the kids during our spring practices, and I learned a lot about what they can bring to the table,” he said. “I had 15 days of spring practice with most of the kids, and it was a good 15 days. The only ones that I didn’t get to meet the first couple of days of practice were the baseball guys because they were still in the playoffs. When those guys got back, they fit right in for the last five days of practice.”
As the new head coach, Lee said that he plans to create a new practice environment for his team while motivating them to play hard every day.
“I’m trying to be someone that they want to play hard for and not only be someone that they like or respect, but someone that they look to for motivation,” Lee said. “We’ve had a lot of high-tempo practices where everyone has a job to do. I feel like no one can get better if they’re just sitting and watching practice, so I try to get everyone involved.”
Lee acknowledged Nettleton coaches John Keith and Ken Topps, as well as Hammond, as coaches that have taught him a lot about what it takes to be a head coach.
“People like John Keith, Ken Topps and Trent Hammond taught me a lot on how to schedule practices and keeping everyone involved instead of practicing your 11 while everyone else watches,” Lee said. “Coach (John) Keith was a big mentor of mine because he taught me how to schedule practices and study film. He’s been a great motivator and a great mentor to me.”
There is a lot of excitement surrounding Lee and the Tigers as he said that he is ready to see the group in action.
“I’m excited to see what this group of guys can do when we turn them loose,” Lee said. “We’re going to work them hard through the summer, and I’m really excited to see what they’re like when the lights turn on for the first time. When we play Hamilton, that’s going to the true testament, and that’s not going to be a give-me game because it’s a rivalry game. In practice against ourselves, we’re always going to look good, but I want to see what happens when we line up against someone else.”
The Tigers suffered a winless season last year, but Lee said that he plans to change that by instilling a winner’s mentally in his new team while constantly improving.
“If we plan to be successful this year, we’ve got to have an undefeated, want to win at any cost attitude,” he said. “We may be behind some nights, but we won’t be defeated mentally. Our goal is to get one percent better every day. We’re not going to stress too much over wins and losses because if we focus on improvement, the wins will come.”
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CATCH Kids family nurse practitioner Valerie Long is ready to welcome patients once more at the Pontotoc Clinic beginning this Monday, June 6, from 5 until 7 p.m. The clinic will be open each Monday thereafter except for holidays that fall on Monday.
CATCH Kids clinic to open doors to patients again Monday
Good news for those of you who have depended on the CATCH Kids clinic for your child’s well being. Starting Monday, June 6, the clinic will once again be open on Monday evenings to take in patients for a variety of illneses.
For the past two years because of the Covid pandemic, the clinic has only been allowed to do physicals for those who are in sports. Now they are ready to come back full force. This clinic is for children who have no insurance of any kind.
The clinic uses the space at the Banah Pregnancy Center to see patients so they have private exam rooms for the patients. “We are so grateful for this,” noted Long.
So what is CATCH kids? “CATCH” is an acronym for Community Access to Child Healthcare. It is a local non profit focused on the health needs of children in Pontotoc, Lee and Chickasaw counties. The mission of the 501(c)(3) organization is to make comprehensive, high-quality medical and dental care both accessible and available to children who are unable to obtain needed care. The care provided focuses on prevention and wellness, as well as on the treatment of acute and chronic illnesses.
Their funds come only from grants and donations. They do not generate an income from services provided and all the health care is free. The doctors volunteer their time. CATCH Kids will pay for prescriptions that are written in their clinics or in their partnering dental clinics.
In addition to Pontotoc’s clinic there are two in Tupelo and one in Okolona. The CATCH Kids staff includes: Valerie Long, FNP, Executive Director; Carol Black, Assistant Director; Kathryn Cobb, Admin. Assistant.
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The Environmental Workshop for Teachers is seeking K-12 teachers who would like to learn about natural resources for the classroom and earn continuing 3 education units.
Workshop contents will include the following topics: Adopt-A-Stream, Anti-Litter, Bird Conservaiton, Forestry, Land and Water lessons, Project Learning Tree, Sheep Production, Recycling, Soils, Wildlife Management, Water Quality and Non-point Pollution.
The workshop will be held Monday through Thursday, June 20-23, 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the Pontotoc MSU Extension Service building. The deadline for signup is June 17 with a cost of $15. This includes all workshop materials and meals. For more information please call the Pontotoc County Soil and Water Conservation District at 662-489-3563 ext. 3.
Sponsors for the workshop are Itawamba Community College, Pontotoc County Soil and Water Conservation District, Pontotoc County MSU Extension, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission and North Central Mississippi RC and D Council.
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Pontotoc County’s Juneteenth festival will kick off on Saturday, June 18 with a parade at 10 a.m. and registration of gusts at 11 a.m. The re-opening ceremony will be at 11:30 with the festival officially beginning at 12 noon.
The parade will be down Main Street and all other activities will be at the First Choice Bank Gateway Pavilion. The theme this year is "This Is Us". For the parade, organizers want to see your company, organization, church, family, etc. decorate floats, wagons, power wheels, bikes, four wheelers, trucks, and even yourselves to share the history, contributions, culture, music, fashions, and more of black people throughout time. There is no fee to enter and everyone is welcome to participate.
Local Black beauty/homecoming/prom queens, veterans, and firsts to do any activity or hold a prominent position are welcome to participate as well. Walking units are asked to utilize visual props and/or costuming to engage the audience as they move through the route.
Entries are subject to approval before the parade route begins to ensure no offensive material is used by any participant. This is a free advertisement opportunity for businesses who are looking for more exposure. Contact pontotocjuneteenth@gmail.com for an entry form.
Floats will line up in the Pontotoc Jr. High parking lot at 8 a.m. and all other entries will line up at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 18, 2022. The parade will begin promptly at 10 a.m. moving south on Main Street. Entries will be accepted through Monday, June 13.
Participant categories for the floats include: youth, civic/fraternal organization, animal, business/commercial, religious organization/institution, individual, band/drumline/auxiliary unit, dance/cheer/gymnastics unit, military and political.
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Beyond the Tracks celebrates young musician's birthday
An eclectic group gathered under the trees at Crossing on the Green Saturday for Beyond the Tracks: Blues, a Bridge and a Birthday Party.
The Union County Heritage Academy-sponsored event featured the music of Garry Burnside and his group, also featuring his young student, Gracey Williams. The concert lasted two hours but took a break to celebrate Gracey’s eleventh birthday, which was that day. Gracey got to blow out candles and the coconut cakes provided courtesy of Sugaree’s Bakery were cut and shared among the crowd. Other food was available as well, for the event.
Beyond the Tracks is an occasional series sponsored by the museum and featuring a variety of local artists.
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Northwest Mississippi Community College officials announced 240 graduates have been awarded the Career Certificate for the spring 2022 semester. Certificates were officially awarded by Dr. Michael Heindl, Northwest president, on May 6 during the college's 110th Commencement.
Cassi Jobe of New Albany
Christopher Graves of New Albany
The Career Certificate is awarded to students completing a one-year minimum of 30 hours in a specific career program. It is designed to meet the educational needs of students who are seeking preparation for employment in occupational fields not requiring a four-year degree. Students must make a passing grade and average a minimum 2.0 grade point on those courses required in the curriculum.
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Northwest Mississippi Community College officials announced 465 graduates have been awarded the Associate of Arts for the spring 2022 semester. Degrees were officially conferred by Dr. Michael Heindl, Northwest president, on May 6 during the college's 110th Commencement.
The Associate of Arts is a two-year degree awarded to students in academic pathways as well as the Associate Degree Nursing (RN) program. It is designed as the first two years of a four-year college or university program leading to a baccalaureate degree. Graduates of the nursing program are prepared to take the nursing registry exam to enter the workplace as a registered nurse. Students must earn a minimum of 60 semester hours with a minimum grade point of 2.0 on all work completed.
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Open letter to New Albany aldermen
We, the people of New Albany, know that you often have a lot on your plate and there is a matter that is on your plate today that is of great concern to many of your constituents. I refer, of course to the issue of pot shops, growing facilities, and processing facilities for marijuana and whether they should be allowed in the city we love so well.
My brother got into marijuana in the 1970’s. As a gateway drug, he graduated to alcohol, harder drugs, his health sank, and he died at 48 years of age. I saw what happened to him and, although it was tragic, what followed was also tragic. My father had never had a heart attack before, but he had two heart attacks directly after my brother’s death and died four weeks after my brother died. Technically--he died of heart failure, but he was a wonderful man. He loved all his children and what he really died of was grief—of heartbreak. I saw it. My mother had lost her son and her husband in a month. She was never the same as before. She lived 2 and a half sad years later and, after a stint in the nursing home, she too passed away as well. Drugs don’t just affect those that take them. They affect everybody. They sure affected my family, and they will affect the people of this city unless you change the planned course.
The law is terrible with pot salesmen with only 8 hours training dispensing it, but I won’t dwell upon it. Yes—people voted for medical marijuana. It is not very medical, but we will have legal marijuana in Mississippi now. There is no changing that. But—think about this. What if the people had been asked if they wanted pot shops, marijuana processing facilities, and marijuana growing facilities in their midst. How would they have voted on that. You can be sure there would have been an entirely different result. There would have been an overwhelming rejection of it. I know there has been a loud response from those that want their local pot shop. They, along with those that truly need medication, will be able to get it quite easily. They will be close by. And—there is big money for some at stake here at home so there are those putting pressure on you to get this done. They want you to commit political suicide so they can make money at the expense of the morals and tranquility of this community. They may promise you money for your campaign. But there is not enough money in the world to get you re-elected if you opt in on this. There is a tsunami of opposition to this and if you go against it you will be swept away. People have awakened, they understand it now, and they are motivated over this, and they might forget some things in time, but they are not going to forget this. In fact, I am sure there are many who will remember to remind them to remember this.
But, please, don’t just stay opted out to get re-elected. Do so because it is the right thing to do. Do so in order that our city doesn’t change into a city we don’t even recognize any more. Stay opted out for the future of your community, for your children, and for your grandchildren. This thing is wrong for New Albany. I plead with you to do the right thing. Thank you.
Bill “Pop” Thurman
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By Brandy Watson Gazette staff
Veterans honor Memorial Day with crosses to represent the fallen
Memorial Day began in 1868, first as Decoration Day, and was a way to honor soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the Civil War. It was later expanded to cover all Americans who died in service and is one of the holidays marked with crosses on the lawn of the Union County Courthouse. Veterans and American Legion members, from left, Larry Sanford, William Byers, Bobby Irvin, James Byers and Mike Bennett were placing the crosses Friday morning.
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Voting in congressional primaries will be Tuesday
A low voter turnout is expected in next week’s congressional primary elections.
The only race on the June 7 ballots will be for First District Congressman, which is drawing little interest and considered one-sided.
Vying for the Republican nomination is incumbent Trent Kelly. He is being challenged by Mark D. Strauss.
Incumbent Trent Kelly, of Union, holds the rank of Major General in the Mississippi Army National Guard with 36 years’ service. He serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Agriculture Committee, and the House Budget Committee.
Challenger Mark Strauss, of Olive Branch, unsuccessfully ran for congress in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District race in 2018 as a Libertarian. Employed in the lighting industry, he has since become a Donald Trump supporter and moved to the Republican party.
There are two contenders on the Democratic ballot: Hunter Avery and Dianne Black.
Hunter Avery of Belmont is running on a platform of cutting poverty, dealing with climate change and helping the middle class. He has worked for Caterpillar.
Dianne Black, of Olive Branch, has run her own hair salon for 40 years. She is the first Black woman to run for this congressional seat and ran unsuccessfully for State Senate District 19 seat in 2019.
The previous election for these posts in 2018 and 2020 drew only about 12 percent of the registered voters; the total this year may be less.
Since the June 7 vote will be a party primary, voters will have to choose between picking the Democratic or Republican party. The two party nominees will face each other on the general election ballot in November.
Kelly, who won a special election in 2015 after the death of former U.S. Rep. Alan Nunnelee and subsequently won reelection in 2016, 2018 and 2020, is considered the clear favorite.
The polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at all 20 Union County precincts. The one location change from the previous election is at West Union.
Voting at West Union had been occurring at the Conlee Construction building after previously moving all voting from county schools. However, the Conlee building has been purchased by Magnolia Bath and Soap for full-time manufacturing and is no longer available.
Instead, voters will go to nearby Friendship United Methodist Church at 1534 Hwy. 30 West.
Qualified voters may cast absentee ballots in Union County Circuit Clerk Phyllis Stanford’s office during regular business hours or request mail ballots through Saturday, June 4. Her office will be open from 8 a.m. until noon June 4, which is the deadline for in-person absentee voting.
One other change for voters involves the use of new Mississippi Mobile IDs.
Voters must present a valid photo ID when going to cast their ballots June 7 and the state now has a smartphone app available that serves as a verified copy of a driver’s license or other ID that can be presented. The free app can be downloaded from the Apple Store or Google Play.
The next significant election date will be Aug. 10, which is the first day to qualify to run for a seat on the Union County School Board. Qualifying only lasts a month and ends Sept. 9.
Stanford said that the First and Second County School District representatives will be on the ballot for normal terms. The Fifth District representative will be a special election.
The special election is because no one at all qualified for that post when it was on the ballot year before last. Wayne Mahon, who had held that seat, was appointed to the post until a special election could be held.
The incumbent First and Second District representatives in the seats to be voted on are Terry Cook and Mickey Basil.
The two representatives who will not be on the ballot are Mike Browning from the Third District and Daphnia McMillen from the Fourth District. The county school trustees serve staggered terms.
Other races on the November ballot will be non-partisan, for circuit, chancery and court of appeals judges.
Here are the two sample ballots voters will have to choose one from:
Democratic June 2022 Primary Election
For US House of Rep 01
0 Hunter Avery
0 Dianne Black
Republican June 2022 Primary Election
0 Trent Kelly
0 Mark D. Strauss
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Pontotoc County Fire Services Coordinator Adam Patton reported this morning (Wed. June 1) that a 90-year-old man died in a fire which destroyed his home in Sherman Tuesday night.
Patton identified the fire victim as Marvin E. Watkins, whose home was located at the corner of Third Avenue and Jones Street in Sherman.
Fire departments from Sherman, Longview and Pontotoc responded to the fire which was reported at 9:15 p.m.
"Firemen went into the burning house and were able to get him out but he was already deceased," Patton said.
"His wife was able to get herself out of the house. She said the fire seemed to have started in the rear portion of the house."
"No foul play is suspected, but the fire is still under investigation by the State Fire Marshal's office," Patton said.
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According to Fulton City Clerk Ceburn Gray, a total of 228 votes were cast. With 130 residents voting in favor of the proposed tax and 93 voting against the tax. Five affidavit votes will be counted on Wednesday. The vote will likely stand at 58% in favor. State law requires 60% of Fulton voters to cast ballots in favor of the new tax for it to pass.
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An oil drilling rig is pictured at sunset, Monday, March 7, 2022, in El Reno, Okla.
Sue Ogrocki I AP
GOP wants to know how Biden will restock depleted oil reserves
GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill want more information about how the Biden administration plans to replenish the strategic petroleum reserve after draining 180 million barrels to blunt high gasoline prices.
The Department of Energy earlier this month outlined plans for a buyback bidding process to repurchase the first 60 million barrels or one-third of the total amount to be released by the end of October.
But Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are questioning when the buyback will start.
“Given continued hikes in both fuel prices and inflation without a noted decrease in demand, we fail to see how oil prices will be lower during the proposed buyback time frame,” the Republicans, led by Rep. James Comer of Kentucky and Rep. Fred Keller of Pennsylvania, wrote in a letter last week to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
“Now more than ever, the DOE should establish policies that strive to produce more domestic energy instead of using an emergency oil supply in a failed attempt to curb inflation,” they said in last Thursday’s letter.
DOE has only said the buyback will occur in coming years and will be dependent on when future oil prices and demand are expected to be significantly lower, perhaps after fiscal 2023.
The GOP lawmakers requested a briefing on Granholm’s plan to restore all 180 million barrels. The department did not respond to a request for comment.
Biden announced on March 31 an unprecedented release of 1 million barrels of oil per day from the reserves for the following six months, totaling 180 million barrels in response to ditching Russian oil over the country’s war against Ukraine.
Critics slammed the president for tapping into the emergency supplies, accusing Biden of misusing the oil for political purposes to lower prices before the midterm elections. They also said it would drain the SPR to its lowest level since March 1984 from nearly 600 million barrels to less than 400 million.
“The SPR is intended for emergency supply chain disruptions — not as a stopgap to make up for the Biden Administration’s war on domestic energy,” the lawmakers’ letter read.
Energy analysts were skeptical the release would make a noticeable difference in the price at the pump, given that one million daily barrels only equates to roughly 5% of the 20 million the U.S. consumes each day and 1% of the approximately 100 million that is used every day globally.
Gas prices have continued to steadily climb to new all-time highs in the U.S., despite the release and other efforts by Biden to lower fuel costs. Refineries are at their capacities and global demand continues to outpace supply.
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Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles arrive for the State Opening of Parliament at the Houses of Parliament in London, Thursday Dec. 19, 2019. After spending much of his adult life in the shadow of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles has taken on a greater public role in recent years, increasingly standing in for his mother in her twilight years. In May, he presided over the state opening of Parliament, the most public symbol of the monarch’s role as head of state.
Toby Melville I AP
LONDON • It's good to be queen.
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Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin, like all of his SEC peers, is working to "embrace" a changing college sports universe.
College football will adapt to NIL, but it will look different
DESTIN, Fla.
College football has put an entertaining product on the field for years.
It has survived wars.
It has survived social change.
It will survive Name, Image and Likeness.
What emerges, though, will look vastly different from the game that has drawn us in for years, that game that stokes so many hearts in states like Mississippi that don’t have pro sports.
We’re a college market, and most of us prefer it that way.
Few us played college football and scored touchdowns for our teams, but many of us spent four years, perhaps more when finances allowed, on a campus with changing fall colors and other sights and sounds that left us spellbound.
Time and place matters to us, and we like college football more when time and place matters to the guys on the field.
College football looked different during and after World War II.
It looked different in the 60s and 70s when black athletes joined rosters and made history.
Coaches and players then, I suspect, didn’t have all the answers about the game they loved, but they knew they had to adapt with it.
Now the transfer portal allows players to change teams at the drop of a hat. By NCAA rule they can transfer only once, but here’s the catch. After earning a degree they can change schools a second time as a graduate transfer, and with sports now requiring a year-round commitment these players are always going to class. The degrees come quicker, and many do in fact have eligibility remaining after graduation.
Adapt or be left behind.
"If you don't embrace it, figure it out and try to work with it or you're not going to be here very long," Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said. "It's the world we're in."
Recruits have adapted quickly.
“I make a conscious effort to ask kids when they come in to meet what’s the most important thing to them? That has transitioned in recent years,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “Kids would say playing time, kids would say ability to win a championship, kids would say proximity to home or relationship with my coach.
“Now, a lot of times that revolves around what they can make in NIL.”
Much is made of the contracts being paid to college coaches these days.
Think about a college game where contracts are paid directly to players with no need for NIL subterfuge.
Florida’s Billy Napier, a recent addition to the SEC’s millionaire coaches club, says forget fall colors, fight songs and tugs at the heart. “It’s foolish to say players don’t deserve a piece of the pie.”
That slice of pie could make the college game look a lot more like the NFL.
“The reality is we have no contracts, no cap number,” he said.
That’s not to say college programs won’t manage those rules soon.
“As soon as you start paying people, and as soon as you don’t have contracts then look at the NFL model. They have contracts. They have free agency. They have a players association. A lot of these things don’t exist and never needed to exist in college football. As soon as people start earning money you’ve got to start thinking about how do we control those things in a way that creates uniform balance for everybody,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said.
Think about a game where college players not only sign contracts and draw salaries, but many, like their NFL counterparts, make more than their coaches.
It’s a very different thought than we’ve ever had about college football, but if COVID-19 in 2020 and NIL/Portal in 2021 have taught us anything it’s that the game is changing.
If it survives, and it has since Rutgers and Princeton lined up against one another in 1869, it’s going to look different.
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In this Nov. 18, 2003, file photo, John Hinckley Jr. arrives at U.S. District Court in Washington. A federal judge in Washington is holding what is expected to be the final hearing for would-be Reagan assassin John Hinckley before he is released from restrictive conditions he has lived under since he shot the president in 1981.
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University of Miami's 5,000-seat baseball facility, officially called Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field, first opened in 1973. Rodriguez, a former major leaguer, contributed $3.9 million to a major renovation in 2017-19.
OXFORD – The first obstacle for Ole Miss baseball was getting in the tournament. Now, the biggest issue might be getting the games themselves in.
The Rebels (32-22) were selected to the NCAA Baseball Tournament field on Monday as a No. 3 seed in the Coral Gables, Florida, region – the fourth-straight season the program has gone to the tournament. Ole Miss was one of the last teams in the field but ended its season strong, winning eight of 11 games.
The Rebels are slated to play No. 2 seed Arizona (37-23) Friday at 6 p.m., but that is looking increasingly in peril due to the weather forecast in Florida.
According to The Weather Channel, a tropical depression is set to form in the coming days in the area. Large amounts of rain are expected in the Miami area over the weekend, and it has the potential to become a tropical storm.
The current forecast in Miami looks fairly bleak for Friday and Saturday – potential thunderstorms, a 90% and higher chance of rain, and wind of up to 30 miles per hour. The forecast currently has scattered storms running from Sunday and beyond, though with far less chances of rain.
The Coral Gables regional is currently set to run from Friday through Monday, and Super Regionals start next Friday for all the regionals. D1Baseball’s Kendall Rogers said in a tweet Wednesday that it’s possible the games could get played Sunday through Tuesday if weather forces it and that he “would not expect the Coral Gables Regional to move.”
According to the NCAA manual, there are 14 different scenarios for possible postponed games for a regional. Some involve partially played games being resumed the next day, some have no games being played on a specific day and three the next day, and there are scenarios that extend the tournament to Tuesday.
Alright, here is the full list of possible scenarios should weather impact a baseball regional. Basically: a lot of options. pic.twitter.com/boTZepjrFG
— Michael Katz (@MichaelLKatz) June 1, 2022
A spokesperson from the University of Miami athletics department – Miami and Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field are the host – told the Daily Journal in an email that, “all schedule changes/updates will be communicated as soon as they become available.”
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The City of Fulton has been celebrating its heroes this Memorial Day with the city’s newly displayed “Hometown Heroes” banners.
“Currently we have 44 banners hanging on South Adams Street,” Fulton Mayor Emily Quinn told The Times. “It’s emotional seeing these go up and being displayed. They will be on display for one year. Then we will take them down and present them to the sponsors.”
The patriotic banners carry pictures and names of people who have served in the military. Their name, rank, the conflict in which they served, and the name of the person or family members who sponsored the banner are also included.
Quinn said Danny Graham approached her with the idea when she first took office.
“Mr. Graham said he had seen other towns and cities with similar banners,” Quinn said. “It was a wonderful idea. I’m so glad I took his advice.”
The response has been so overwhelming Quinn said that they are preparing to order a second batch of banners for those who missed the order in the first round.
“The deadline for this order is June 30 and hopefully those will be displayed around August,” she added.
The cost of the double-sided banners is $199. Photos can be emailed to equinn@fultonms.org or bring them to City Hall to be scanned. The link for a printable version of the form is https://www.dropbox.com/.../Hometown%20Heroes%20pdf.pdf.
Quinn said the second round of banners will possibly extend to the Tenn-Tom Waterway or down East Main. The downtown area has been reserved for the new Itawamba Mainstreet Association banners.
“We just ask that the public help us get the word out,” Quinn said. “We want everyone who would like to take part in this project to do so.”
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ABERDEEN – A Louisville Municipal School District administrator will lead the Aberdeen School District beginning with the ’22-’23 school year. Andrea Pastchal-Smith, Ph.D. was appointed as Aberdeen’s new superintendent.
She was selected from a field of 12 applicants, which was narrowed down to four finalists.
Dr. Smith comes to Aberdeen from serving as principal of Eiland Middle School in Louisville.
In addition to being a principal, her professional background includes being a chief academics officer, director of student assessment and intervention, federal programs director, English language coordinator, science teacher, assistant principal and girls’ basketball coach at schools she served, including ones in Macon and in Oktibbeha County.
In 2017, she led the elementary school she served in a ratings increase from an F to an A.
She will assume her role as Aberdeen’s superintendent July 1.
For more information, check out the June 8 edition of the Monroe Journal.
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The Toccopola Homemakers club met on Monday, May 23, for their regular monthly meeting. The meeting was called to order by the President, Margie Douglas. Margaret Ratliff gave the devotion on Flaws and Faults using Isaiah 55:8-9, Psalms 46:10, 141:3, and 139:23-24. She led in prayer.
The roll was called and volunteer hours collected by Zeda Woods. Margaret Ratliff read the minutes from the last meeting.
Pat Williams gave the Garden report on What to Plant in the Month of June. There is a lot to do in the garden, but at least it can be done at a slow pace. There were lots of suggestions for the month of June.
The Environmental report was given by Harley Ann Thorne on Pollinators. Birds, bats, bees, butterflies, beetles, and other mammals that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food! There were more interesting facts about pollinators.
The business of the meeting included: Thanking Harley Ann Thorne for working at the flea market, and a reminder if we did not give to the council table, each member use is responsible to donate at least five dollars.. The fair this year is scheduled for July 5 - 9. We need to start preparing for these days. The month of May our project is clothes donation, and the month of June is costume jewelry. In June we will play Bingo with five dollar prizes. It will be fun.
We had a time of fellowship and talked about the world events before dismissing. Our next meeting will be June 27, at 2:00. We welcome visitors and new members. Come and join us!
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In this file photo from 2019, a walker passes by the playground and one of several small statues scattered throughout downtown Fulton’s Playgarden Park.
ADAM ARMOUR I THE TIMES
Fulton’s restaurant tax narrowly misses voters' approval in Special Election (copy)
FULTON • A proposed 3% tourism tax on Fulton eateries and hotels narrowly missed the threshold of votes needed to take effect, according to unofficial results of Tuesday’s special election.
According to Fulton City Clerk Ceburn Gray, most of the 228 votes cast during Tuesday night's election were in favor of the 3% tax. Of those who voted, 130 residents did so in favor of the proposed tax — dubbed "Pennies for Parks" by city officials — compared to 93 that voted against.
However, state law requires an approval vote of 60% to impose a tourism tax; Tuesday night's vote fell just 2% short of that.
City officials said Wednesday morning there there are five affidavit votes to count, although they won't alter the results.
If it had passed, the proposed tax would have raised money for the city to use specifically for new parks, recreation, promotion of tourism and beautification of existing parks and infrastructure.
City officials estimated that the tax, which would have added to the 3% tourism tax the city put into place in 2012, would have generated between $570,000 and $690,000 in tax revenue each year.
Tuesday's vote was originally scheduled to take place on June 7, but officials earlier this month voted to bump the date forward to May 31 to avoid a conflict with the primary elections for Mississippi's 2nd Congressional District.
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Lucy Shelton Caswell, founding curator of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library Museum, examines memorabilia tied to the comic strip "Peanuts" on Friday, May 20, 2022, in Columbus, Ohio. Caswell curated a new exhibit, "Celebrating Sparky: Charles M. Schulz and Peanuts," one of a series of exhibits this year commemorating the centenary of the birth of Schulz.
Patrick Orsagos
COLUMBUS, Ohio • In a series of "Peanuts" comic strips that ran in mid-April of 1956, Charlie Brown grasps the string of his kite, which was stuck in what came to be known in the long-running strip as the "kite-eating tree."
While 1965's "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is one of the most famous cartoon TV specials of all time, the characters have also returned in dozens of animated shows and films, most recently in original shows and specials on Apple TV.
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An elderly patient is carried in a stretcher to board a medical evacuation train run by MSF (Doctors Without Borders) at the train station in Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine, eastern Ukraine, Sunday, May 29, 2022. In wheelchairs and on stretchers, in ambulances and on the station platform, they wait. Medical staff pull out ramps and wheel the patients onto the specially equipped train that will carry them westwards, away from the fighting raging in eastern Ukraine.
Francisco Seco I AP
POKROVSK, Ukraine • In wheelchairs and on stretchers, in ambulances and on train station platforms, they wait. Medical workers pull out ramps and wheel the patients onto the specially equipped train that will carry them westwards, away from the fighting raging in eastern Ukraine.
Run by the aid organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), the train is a lifeline for the overwhelmed hospitals in cities and towns near Ukraine's front lines that are struggling to cope with an influx of war wounded on top of their usual flow of sick patients.
"Since the beginning of the war, the hospital capacity in the east is under pressure," said Yasser Kamaledin, MSF's emergency project coordinator for the medical evacuation train, which includes an intensive care unit.
"The idea of this activity is to support the hospitals that are closer to the front line, to empty some bed capacity so they can receive more patients from the attacks, the conflict, but also other chronic patients," Kamaledin said.
There was still shrapnel inside him, he said as he stood on the train platform nursing his right arm in a sling under his shirt. He needed surgery but the hospital in Lysychansk, a city close to Sievierodonetsk that was also under fierce Russian attack, just couldn't cope. So he was being evacuated to Lviv in western Ukraine for the operation.
The pressure on Ukraine's eastern hospitals is most evident after an attack, when casualties arrive one after the other.
Before the war "when there was normal work, we had 10 surgeons, now we have five," said Dr. Ivan Mozhaiev. In his department, the 32-year-old is the only surgeon who remained out of five.
"Earlier we treated people from illnesses, sometimes there were traumas. Now we have to treat people from gunshot wounds," said Dr. Viktor Krikliy, head of surgery at a hospital in the eastern city of Kramatorsk.
Many medical staff have left, and the hospital has had to shut down several departments while still providing care for people from the city and nearby towns. Krikliy's section of the hospital has two surgery departments, which each used to have 15 surgeons. Now there are only six left for both. It's the same with nurses, with units operating on around half the staff levels they had before the war.
Krikliy had to operate on the wounded then too, "but the scale now and then is incomparable," he said. In 2014, it was soldiers, but this is the first time that the medical staff in Kramatorsk are seeing many wounded civilians.
"We could not even dream in the most terrible nightmare" that civilians in Ukraine would suffer such injuries, he said, describing having to operate on young children whose limbs were blown off by explosions.
"We are surgeons. Our task is to operate on the people and treat them. If everyone leaves, who is supposed to do the job?" he said. "Nobody says we are a suicide squad or looking for a way to die somewhere. But ... we do our job. And we will continue to do so."
Yasser Kamaledin
Viktor Krikliy
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Crew, Richey Gene
Richey Gene Crew, passed away on Tuesday, May 31, 2022 at the Sanctuary Hospice House in Tupelo, MS. Per Richey's wishes, there will be a graveside service at the Crew Family Cemetery, in Algoma, MS, followed by a celebration of life picnic for ALL who would like to attend, Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 4 PM. The Crew Family cemetery is located at 2854 Macedonia Road, Pontotoc, MS 38863. He was 62 years old. He was born on August 26, 1959 to Richard Lamar (Dickie) and Shelia Simmons Crew. Richey has been known for over 40 years as the owner and gunsmith at Richey's Gun Shop in Algoma, MS. He is also known nationwide for his custom forged knives. He was also a contestant on the History Channel's "Forged In Fire", season 6, episode 8, in April of 2019. Richey was a member of The Alabama Forge Council and the Southern Ohio Forge and Anvil Council. But more importantly, he was known for his love of Christ, and he tried to live his life, pleasing to God. He never hesitated to share his love for his Savior with others. For all his talents that he could do with his hands, they meant nothing compared to the love he had for his family. They were his life. Survivors include, Sherry Wilder Crew, his wife of 32 years; his children, Kenny Houpt (Christy), Kassidy Houpt (Alyssa) and Codi Crew; his mother, Shelia Simmons Crew; a sister, Tabby Vaughn (Greg); his brother, Kerry Crew; he also leaves behind eleven cherished grandchildren, Kendal, Laila, Zoey, Kanon, Waylon and Willie Houpt, Kale, Kash and Kullen Houpt, Ben Dowdy and Kace Groceman; along with one great granddaughter, Wrenleigh Brand and a great-grandson, Kolton Crew Dowdy, due in October. He was preceded in death by his father, Richard L. (Dickie) Crew, a grandson, Kolton Houpt; and his grandparents, Leroy and Adelle Simmons and Eugene Crew and Robbie Crew Williams. Pallbearers will be Bryer Vaughn, Max Crew, Adam Wilder, Cole Ward, Dillon Ward, Dennis Wilder and Randy Ward. Honorary pallbearers will be his far reaching forging family. Since the service will be graveside only, in lieu of flowers, the family request that you make donations to Sanctuary Hospice House, 5159 W. Main Street, Tupelo, MS 38803 or to the charity of the donor's choice. Online condolences may be offered at www.browningpontotoc.com.
Per Richey
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Douglas, Robert "Rob"
Robert Duane Douglas was born in Carrollton, Missouri on August 30, 1967 to the late Rodney Eugene Douglas and Catherine Lierman Douglas. After an all too brief but purpose filled life, Rob transitioned to the life hereafter on Memorial Day, May 30, 2022 from Baptist Hospital-New Albany. After graduating from Lexington, Missouri High School, Rob answered the call of duty to serve his country and served in the U. S. Air Force including a tour in Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm. A man whose heart was large and generous, Rob and his wife, Julie Brewer Douglas were married on Nov. 7, 2005. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Tupelo and have made their home here since. Rob spent almost 30 years with Air Gas. At his death he was Branch Manager of the Tupelo, MS and Jackson, TN operations. A great admirer of God's creation, Rob was an avid golfer and hunter. Always fun to be around and a great encourager, he was greatly trusted and respected by his workers and shared mutual love and admiration for his family including his wife, children and grandchildren and all his extended family. A Time of Reflection, with military honors, will take place at 5 PM Friday, June 3, 2022 from the Sadie M. Holland Chapel at Holland Funeral Directors-Tupelo with family and friends sharing memories of Rob. A private burial will take place Monday at the North Mississippi Veterans' Cemetery in Kilmichael, Ms. Friends may call on the family from 3 PM-5 PM Friday prior to the celebration of his life. For those unable to attend, the service may be viewed at www.hollandfuneraldirectors.com/Livestreaming. Rob is survived by his wife, Julie Douglas of Tupelo; his daughters, Samantha Douglas (Ethan Welch) and Courtney Crane (Tim) all of Lewisburg, Tn.; his grandchildren, Luke Sharp, Lucy Welch, Bentley Douglas, Elliot Crane and a baby girl on the way in October; his sisters, Teresa Douglas, Addie Douglas and Cindy Douglas all of Nixa, MO; his mother in law, Anita Towns of Southaven and three siblings in law, Jeff Brewer, Donna Evans and Gary Brewer and their families, several nieces and nephews, and his 4 beloved fur babies, Sargeant, Grace, Jeff and Manny. Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, 607 West Main St.-C, Tupelo, MS 38804 or to the Tupelo-Human Shelter, P. O. Box 2143, Tupelo, MS 38802. Condolences may be e mailed to hollandfuneraldirectors@comcast.net
Robert Duane Douglas
Julie Brewer Douglas
Catherine Lierman Douglas
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Pickens, Billie Mae
Billie Mae Pickens passed away on May 30, 2022 at the age of 95 at the Magnolia Place in New Albany, MS. She was born October 10, 1926 to Lonnie Jackson Pickens, Sr. and Nannie Bell Hamilton in Ripley, MS. She was a graduate of Ripley High School and Blue Mountain College. She was a member (since 1939) of Ripley Presbyterian Church where she served at various times as Secretary, Sunday School Teacher, Circle Bible Study Leader and President of the Women of the Church (WOC). She taught Business Education for 34 years (9 in Tippah County School system, 25 years at Ripley High School). Visitation will be Thursday, June 2, 2022 from 11:00 AM until the funeral starts at 1:00 PM at the McBride Funeral Home Chapel. Committal in the Chapel. She is survived by nephews: Gerald Brown (Betty), Tommy Brown (Teresa), Rachel Brown; special friend: Sandra Wilkins (Bert), Bill Thompson (Jane); great-nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; her sister: Loretta Pickens Brown; her brother-in-law: Lonnie Brown; her brother: Lon Pickens, Jr.; sister-in-law: Margaret Summerall Pickens; niece: Celesta Brown Yancey (Fagin); nephew: Eugene Brown. Officiating will be Rev. Jody Hill and Rev. Brad Crump. Pallbearers will be: Ben Reaves, Chris Reaves, Mike Long, Bert Wilkins, Tommy Benson, Adam Bryant. Honorary Pallbearers are: Cherrie Sartor Humphrey, Dimple Graves, Sandra Ford. Memorials can be made to Ripley Presbyterian Church. Arrangements by: McBride Funeral Home, Inc., Ripley, MS www.mcbridefuneralhome.com
Bert Wilkins
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Rias, Sr., James "Sonnyboy"
James "Sonnyboy" Rias, Sr., 69, passed away Tuesday, May 24, 2022, at his home residence in West Point, MS. Services will be on Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 11:00 AM at Northside Christian Church. Visitation will be on Friday, June 3, 2022 from 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM at Carter's Mortuary Service Chapel. Burial will follow at Union Star M.B. Church Cemetery.
James Rias
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Richardson, Rhetta M. Wade
Rhetta M. Wade Richardson was born on June 30, 1933, to the late Mark, Sr. and Dessie Wade in Guntown, MS. She attended the Guntown Colored School through the 10th grade and graduated from G.W. Carver High School in Tupelo, MS, in 1951. She accepted Christ at age 13 and joined Trinity C.M.E. Church under the pastorship of Rev. C. Thomas. Rhetta moved to St. Louis, MO, in 1953. For over 53 years, she attended Wright Chapel/Coleman-Wright C.M.E. Church, where she served in the Missionary Society, on the Steward Board, and as the church secretary. After moving back to Guntown in 2018, she transferred her membership back to Trinity C.M.E. Church, where she participated in Sunday school, the Missionary Society, and Bible study. She was preceded in death by her parents, Mark and Dessie Wade; her husband of 54 years, Johnny Richardson; and four brothers, James, Cecil, Charlie, and Mark Wade, Jr. She leaves to cherish her memory one son, Gregory Richardson of St. Louis, MO; one grandson, Carlos Palmore of St. Louis, MO; three granddaughters, Genea Richardson and Lavonda Jefferies of St. Louis, MO, and Ericka Conley (Cory) of McDonough, GA; one greatgranddaughter, Elle Conley of McDonough GA; five sisters, Kinlock Bell (Marshall) of Hattiesburg, MS, Annie Mayes (David) of Indianapolis, IN, and Evvie Birks, Jo Ann McGaha, and Joycelyn Berry (her devoted caregiver) all of Guntown, MS; two sisters-in-law, Mattie Wade of Guntown, MS, and Mattie Richardson Fox of Tupelo, MS; several nieces, nephews, cousins, and her Coleman-Wright church family. She also leaves her goddaughter, Phyllis Trice, and 2 play granddaughters, Katlyn Mims and Aarainne Thomas. Visitation is 3-5 p.m. Friday, June 3, 2022 at Agnew & Sons Funeral Home in Baldwyn. Funeral service will Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 11:00 A. M. at Trinity C. M.E. Church in Guntown, MS. Family and friends may sign the guestbook at www.agnewandsons.com
Trinity C. M.e. Church
Aarainne Thomas
Katlyn Mims
Guntown Colored School
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The following people were booked into the Lee County-Tupelo Adult Jail in connection with felony charges by Wednesday at 11 a.m.
Stephanie Conway, 34, of Okolona, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, capias possession of cocaine.
Timothy Dewayne Hall, 53, of Tupelo, was arrested by the Mississippi Department of Corrections, violation of probation.
Kevin Hancock, 48, of Tupelo, was arrested by the Mississippi Department of Corrections, violation of probation.
Ruth Harris, 25, of Tupelo, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, possession of a Schedule II drug.
Clifton O’Neal Hogan, 38, of Nettleton, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, aggravated domestic violence.
Dionell Demetrus Morris, 42, of Birmingham, Alabama, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, possession of a Schedule II drug.
Jamund Cornelius Randle, 38, of Prairie, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, burglary of an auto.
Randy Taylor, 42, of Tupelo, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, possession of methamphetamine.
Braxton Barron, 31, of Tupelo was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, possession of a Schedule I drug, possession of methamphetamine.
Charles Clinton Contrell. 62, of Tupelo, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, capias false pretense.
Corie Crowell, 36, of Mantachie, was arrested by the Saltillo Police Department, possession of methamphetamine.
Shonkevion Martin, 30, of Auburn, Georgia, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, possession of a Schedule II drug.
Ryan Mitchell, 44, of Sherman, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, possession of methamphetamine.
Adam Corey Ray, 41, of Saltillo, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, possession of methamphetamine, domestic violence, failure to comply.
Charles William Roden, 44, of Tupelo, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, felony bench warrant.
Camryn Walston, 20, of Pontotoc, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, possession of a controlled substance.
The following reports were filed Tuesday and Wednesday by the Lee County Sheriff's Office.
A City Point Road Verona woman took her lawnmower to a shop. Two men got into an argument, and the mechanic kept her John Deere mower.
A County Road 506 Shannon man said after they returned from horseback riding, a male acquaintance went into the garage and stole his Stihl chain saw while another man distracted him in the kitchen.
A County Road 601 Guntown man got up at 4 a.m. and discovered his county-issued garbage can was on fire. The dumpster was completely destroyed.
A Wright Way Tupelo man said someone stole his 5-by-8-foot utility trailer that was attached to his parked truck at the time.
An Okolona woman said her boyfriend went to a Ybarra drive Nettleton house and stole her lawnmower, window air conditioner and string trimmer. He also went to her house and took all his belongings.
A Drive 1163 Tupelo man said a male acquaintance was upset over a business deal that happened last year. The suspect allegedly sent the man a text threatening physical harm. The suspect has continued to make threats, vowing to get the man fired from his job.
A County Road 1463 Nettleton woman reported two suspicious people outside her house around 10 p.m. She saw a white female in the road and asked her if she was OK. The female said she needed help. The woman then saw a white male on the side of the road near the female. The female then ran east on County Road 1277. The man ran south on County Road 1463. Deputies found the man who said he was walking home and did see a female walking in the opposite direction, but he did not know who she was.
A Highway 371 Richmond man saw a white man carrying several string trimmers walking around his property around 11 p.m. He felt it was suspicious and confronted the suspect, who got into a sedan near the Dollar General and drove away headed north.
An Olive Branch man went to a County Road 1463 Nettleton residence to pick up a car for a female friend. When they arrived, a male suspect started a disturbance. Since the female has a protection order against the suspect, they called 911. He left before deputies arrived.
A County Road 270 Nettleton woman said her neighbor’s large fuzzy black dog came onto her property and attacked her dog. She texted the neighbors to let them know about the attack and was told not to text again.
A Knight Drive Saltillo woman asked for a deputy to help serve eviction papers at a County Road 683 Saltillo rental property. She was told deputies had to have a judge’s order before they could get involved in a civil matter.
A County Road 133 Tupelo woman said a man was working on her car at her place. He got it running and took it to Fulton to continue the repairs. She has not heard from him since the middle of May and learned the 2008 Chrysler is no longer at the Fulton residence.
A man went to Raybern Foods in Verona to pick up his girlfriend from work. He could smell a strong odor of marijuana. The girlfriend has complained of smelling pot on her lunch breaks as well. She told her supervisor, but nothing has been done. He added that he thought he witnessed a drug deal happen in the parking lot.
A County Road 811 Saltillo woman said he and her husband were arguing via text message. He said he was coming to her workplace to “finish the argument.” He showed up and sat outside with their 2-year-old child in the car and called her several times. She was too scared to go outside and called 911. When deputies arrived, the man admitted he had methamphetamine on him and was arrested for drug possession.
A Mitchell Road woman said while driving home from a cookout, an intoxicated female friend tried to start and altercation. When they got to the apartment complex, the friend started banging on the woman’s door.
A County Road 249 Shannon man said he was in bed around 12:45 a.m. when a female acquaintance entered the bedroom and started pushing him. She then went outside and started to break the windows of his car with multiple objects. She then set the car on fire.
A County Road 1149 Nettleton man reported a suspicious white male sitting on the ground near the intersection of his road with Highway 6. The suspect was gone by the time deputies arrived.
A Cove Lane Auburn man said he walked down to an unknown apartment to talk to a friend and was hit in the face and knocked to the ground by an unknown Black man around 7 a.m. He said the suspect appeared to be under the influence of something. He did not know the attacker’s name or which apartment he came out of.
A County Road 1310 Mooreville man said his neighbor was shooting a gun behind his apartment around 10:30 a.m. He said he heard about 30 shots.
A County Road 931 Tupelo woman said she moved in with her son about a week ago. He has not given her a key to the trailer. She called 911 around 9:30 p.m. because she believed he was inside and not opening the door for her.
A County Road 501 Shannon woman aid her husband is in the hospital. They got into an argument and he called his daughter and “told her some lies.” When she got home, the daughter was there so the woman did not stop. She said the daughter followed her to the Buzy Bee, then went back to the woman’s home to wait on her.
A woman said she is renting a County Road 1282 building to a man. She does not want a certain female at the building. The deputy explained the renter can have any company he wants.
A Drive 1287 Tupelo woman, 63, said her nephew, 25, came to her house and ate all her food. She said she is on a fixed income. When she confronted him about fixing multiple sandwiches, he cursed at her and started a disturbance. She said she doesn’t want him back on her property.
A County Road 901 Shannon woman said her ex-husband was supposed to have moved out by May 28, according to a court order. He refused to leave. He finally agreed to call his mother to come get him. But when the mother arrived, he was uncooperative. Deputies arrested the man, 59, and charged him with disorderly conduct and trespassing.
An employee of County Line Grocery on Highway 348 arrived at work at 5 a.m. and found a man passed out in a car. The 39-year-old white male was arrested for possession of Xanax.
A Birmingham Ridge Road woman is divorcing her husband, and he is not supposed to be on the property. She let him get some items out of the shed last week. He showed back up uninvited and tried to get more items.
A County Road 1390 Tupelo man, 35, said he broke up with his live-in, 26-year-old girlfriend and told her to leave. Deputies explained that since he let her live there, he would have to go through the eviction process to force her to leave. The girlfriend told deputies that she would leave in the morning.
No reports filed since May 27
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Jeff McCutchen
Kinne
OXFORD • A federal judge has thrown out a wrongful death lawsuit that blamed the city of Oxford and Police Chief Jeff McCutchen for a former policeman shooting and killing his mistress.
The action came less than a week after the same judge awarded the dead woman’s four children more than $2 million in damages from former officer Matthew Kinne.
Senior U.S. District Court Judge Glen Davidson said the plaintiffs “failed to present sufficient facts to support a plausible claim” in their lawsuit against the city and police chief. He further said that since McCutchen was not chief at the time, he should have never been named individually as a defendant.
In the opinion, the judge dismissed the claims against McCutchen with prejudice, meaning they can not be brought back up. He also dismissed most of the claims against the city with prejudice. One claim alleging inadequacies in the city’s hiring of Kinne was dismissed without prejudice, meaning that allegation can be refiled at a later date.
Clayton’s sister, Shylaun Clayton was listed as the plaintiff in the lawsuit that claimed that Kinne was in uniform, driving a marked Oxford Police Department vehicle and acting under the color of law when he entered Dominique Clayton's house in May 2019 and shot her while she slept.
When attorneys for Oxford disproved that theory, showing that Kinne’s first wife was in fact alive and well, the plaintiffs argued that there must have been another unspecified woman whose death Kinne was tied to.
Since that argument “has been established as categorically untrue,” Davidson said the motion to dismiss was warranted.
The same lawsuit also named Kinne, who was arrested days after Clayton’s death and has been incarcerated ever since, as a defendant. When he failed to respond to the civil lawsuit from his prison cell, Judge Davidson issued a default ruling against him.
In a five-page affidavit, Shyjuan Clayton detailed the suffering the children have suffered since their mother’s death three years ago and asked the judge to award the children, ages 11-17, more than $10 million. The money was for not only their pain and suffering, but also to cover the costs of therapy.
“Hope springs eternal,” Moore said. “The million-dollar question is whether his actions were within the scope of his employment. If we can show that, then the city (of Oxford) will need to indemnify (and pay Kinne’s damages). We will be looking at all aspects of the law.”
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In this file photo from November 2021, Lee County voters prepare to cast their ballots at Lawndale Presbyterian Church in Tupelo.
Primary election for U.S. House race set for Tuesday
TUPELO • Voters in Northeast Mississippi next week will have the opportunity to decide who should represent them in Washington for the next two years.
In-person voting for both the Republican and Democratic primary elections for the seat on north Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives will open June 7. Incumbent U.S. Rep. Trent Kelly and Mark Strauss are competing for the Republican nomination; Hunter Avery and Dianne Black are competing in the Democratic primary.
There are no U.S. Senate elections in the state on the ballot during this cycle.
Polls open for party primaries will open at 7 a.m. and will remain open until 7 p.m. Photo identification is required to cast a ballot; anyone in line by 7 p.m. will have a chance to vote.
Voters will be required to tell poll workers if they want to vote in the Republican or Democratic primary.
In Mississippi, voters are not required to register with a political party, so they are free to vote in one party primary from one election cycle and a different party primary in the next. For example, if voters last year participated in a Republican primary, they can opt instead to participate in the Democratic primary this election cycle.
The winner of the Republican and Democratic primaries will compete against each other during the general election on Nov. 8.
If voters have any specific questions about voting or experience trouble voting on Election Day, they are encouraged to call their local county circuit clerks for assistance.
This will also be the first time that voters will choose their representatives under new congressional maps, which state lawmakers drew during the last legislative session.
In Northeast Mississippi, the 1st Congressional District got slightly smaller when Winston County was removed and placed within the 3rd Congressional District.
The NAACP and other advocacy groups earlier this year asked a panel of federal judges to rule that the new map unconstitutionally dilutes Black voting power, but a majority of the panel declined to rule on the issue.
Northeast Mississippi
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Dwight Stevens has owned the Adams-French House for 20 years and made it his primary residence in 2008. After being on the market for six years, he is selling the Greek Revival mansion.
ABERDEEN – In a difference of 20 years and two days, local auctioneer Dwight Stevens went from signing papers closing on his home, the Adams-House House, to signing papers to sell the 1856 Greek Revival mansion to its next owners.
In that stretch of time, it has served as Stevens Auction Company’s headquarters, been gutted by a fire that led to its restoration, been featured on numerous Pilgrimage tours, served as a backdrop for two television shows and been Stevens’ primary residence.
“I had the auction to sell it and I guaranteed them a certain price. I seeded in, and there were no other bids advancing in so I just announced to the crowd, ‘It looks like I just bought a house,’ and the crowd broke out and applauded. That was the beginning of a long journey,” Stevens said. “It was an effort of love to save a very important house to Aberdeen and to Mississippi.”
In 2006, a fire caused extensive damage to the upstairs, which led Stevens to restoring it back to its original grandeur as a home. He officially made the Adams-French House his residence in June 2008.
Stevens, who also chairs Save Aberdeen Landmarks, listed the home for sale in 2016 but turned down offers until he found the right fit for its next owners.
“The new owners [Mr. and Mrs. Stan Keller of the Memphis area] will be a big asset to Aberdeen. They come with a lot of energy and excitement. The lady of the house has a nonprofit group, herself, and she does a lot of charity work, which we need. She has promised to help me keep Acker Park mowed and help with those responsibilities as well,” Stevens said.
He said the Adams-French House will be the Keller’s full-time residence.
Along with his move, Stevens will auction off his entire collection of antiques this weekend. There will be an all-day open house June 3 at the Adams-French House, and June 4’s auction will begin at 9 a.m.
“I’ve collected this over a long period of time. I collected antiques while I was getting this house ready to the point that I got enough to probably furnish it twice and I’ve had it stored. I’ll be selling all of that as well, along with all of the furniture in the house,” Stevens said.
Stevens Auction Company employee Neil Palmer said there are also festivities honoring Stevens planned for June 2, beginning with a New Orleans-style parade at 5:45 p.m. leading from the home to Acker Park, which is located across Meridian Street.
“At 6 o’clock, it will be Dwight Stevens Day in Aberdeen, and we’ll have a program in the park,” Palmer said, adding there will be food and entertainment.
Stevens, who moved to Aberdeen from Smithville, in 1981 will remain in the Aberdeen area and continue his auction company at a new location downtown.
“All the stuff I do is because I live here too. This is my hometown and I believe in everyone pulling together. When we pull together, we get twice as much done. When you pull apart, it’s a lot of energy wasted,” Stevens said.
He said there will be renovations to the future auction building downtown. He also noted Save Aberdeen Landmark’s Kimmel Bakery building downtown, which has business space downstairs and apartments upstairs, is nearly paid off from its renovation in previous years, which will generate income.
“After it builds up, we’re going to every store in town we feel like needs attention and will tell the people that we will grant them half of the cost to paint their buildings so we’re going to donate it back. This is an original dream of ours we started in 2008,” Stevens said of Save Aberdeen Landmarks.
“There are a lot of really good people in Aberdeen. There are still a lot of people who want to see Aberdeen do good. We want everybody to do anything they can do. If it’s just cleaning up and fixing up and keeping the streets clean, there’s something everybody can do,” he said.
Adams-french House
Stan Keller
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In this file photo from December 2018, the historic Adams-French House in Aberdeen wears Christmas decorations.
RAY VAN DUSEN I MONROE JOURNAL
Dwight Stevens stands in front of the historic Adams-French House in Aberdeen, an eye-catching Greek Revival-style mansion he's owned and lived in for the past two decades. After being on the market for the past six years, the home is finally being sold to a new owner.
Stevens closing out his chapter at Adams-French House (copy)
ABERDEEN • In a difference of 20 years and two days, local auctioneer Dwight Stevens went from signing papers closing on his purchase of the historic Adams-House House in Aberdeen, to signing papers to sell the 1856 Greek Revival mansion to its next owners.
In that stretch of time, the house has served as Stevens Auction Company’s headquarters, been gutted by a fire that led to its restoration, been featured on numerous Pilgrimage tours, served as a backdrop for two television shows and been Stevens’ primary residence.
“I had the auction to sell it and I guaranteed them a certain price," Stevens said. "I seeded in, and there were no other bids advancing in so I just announced to the crowd, ‘It looks like I just bought a house,’ and the crowd broke out and applauded. That was the beginning of a long journey."
Stevens called the home's purchase an act of love.
“It was an effort of love to save a very important house to Aberdeen and to Mississippi," he said.
Every homeowner faces challenges, and Stevens has certainly had his share over the past two decades. In 2006, a fire caused extensive damage to the upstairs, which led Stevens to restoring it back to its original grandeur as a home. He officially made the Adams-French House his residence in June 2008.
Stevens, who also chairs Save Aberdeen Landmarks — a local nonprofit dedicated to the restoration and preservation of historic buildings and simliar landmarks throughout downtown Aberdeen and its surrounding area — listed the home for sale in 2016 but turned down offers until he found the right fit for its next owners, a couple out of Memphis who have committed to keeping the beloved property in tip-top shape.
"They come with a lot of energy and excitement," Stevens said, adding that the Adams-French House will be the Keller’s full-time residence.
Along with his move, Stevens will auction off his entire collection of antiques this weekend. There will be an all-day open house on Friday, June 3, at the house itself. The auction will begin the following day, June 4, at 9 a.m.
Stevens said there will be some interesting antiquities up for grabs — treasures he's collected over decades.
“I’ve collected this over a long period of time," he said. "I collected antiques while I was getting this house ready to the point that I got enough to probably furnish it twice and I’ve had it stored. I’ll be selling all of that as well, along with all of the furniture in the house."
Stevens Auction Company employee Neil Palmer said there are also festivities honoring Stevens and his work on the building, which pre-dates the Civil War, planned for June 2, beginning with a New Orleans-style parade at 5:45 p.m. leading from the home to Acker Park, which is located across Meridian Street.
Stevens, who moved to Aberdeen from Smithville in 1981, will remain in the Aberdeen area and continue running his auction company at a new location downtown.
“All the stuff I do is because I live here too," he said. "This is my hometown, and I believe in everyone pulling together. When we pull together, we get twice as much done. When you pull apart, it’s a lot of energy wasted."
Stevens said there will be renovations to the future auction building downtown. He also noted Save Aberdeen Landmark’s Kimmel Bakery building downtown, which has business space downstairs and apartments upstairs, is nearly paid off from its renovation in previous years. That will help generate income to further the nonprofit's efforts.
“After it builds up, we’re going to every store in town we feel like needs attention and will tell the people that we will grant them half of the cost to paint their buildings so we’re going to donate it back," Stevens said. "This is an original dream of ours we started in 2008,."
“There are a lot of really good people in Aberdeen; there are still a lot of people who want to see Aberdeen do good," he said. "We want everybody to do anything they can do. If it’s just cleaning up and fixing up and keeping the streets clean, there’s something everybody can do."
Dwight Stevens
Partly cloudy with afternoon showers or thunderstorms. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 87F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..
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TUPELO • A 20-year-old woman was formally charged with second degree murder in the May 28 shooting of her boyfriend in the Auburn community apartment they shared.
Rachel S. Brown was detained at the scene but later released as authorities continued the investigation. Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson said investigators were able to uncover more information, and some of Brown’s statements left them with questions.
“Some of the things she was saying were not lining up with the evidence. We have to rely on the physical evidence, which doesn’t change,” Johnson said. “We filed charges against her late (Wednesday) afternoon.”
Deputies were called to the Auburn Apartments complex on County Road 1562 (formerly known at Richey’s Apartments) around 5 a.m. Saturday, May 28. The responding deputies found an unresponsive male who had apparently been shot with a handgun. A 9mm pistol was recovered at the scene.
The victim was transported by ambulance to the North Mississippi Medical Center. Lee County Coroner Carolyn Green said Kavon Usher, 21, was pronounced dead at the hospital at 5:43 a.m. May 28. His body has been sent to the State Medical Examiner’s office in Pearl for an autopsy.
“It was a domestic situation where they were living together,” Johnson said. “There was some altercation, but we do not know exactly what led to this.”
Reality Check: 100+ midterm campaign ads feature guns
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obits: Friday, June 3, 2022
Theresa Hancock Kilgore, Tupelo
Wanda Montgomery McArthur, Delray Beach, Florida
Robert Montgomery, Belmont
Rhetta M. Wade Richardson, Guntown
MEMO, FLAG, PHOTO
BELMONT - James Robert Montgomery, 69, passed away Monday, August 30, 2021 in Tishomingo County, MS. He was born in Booneville, MS. Robert was lovingly raised with his sister, Wanda in Belmont, MS by their grandmother, Evelyn Montgomery.
In school, Robert excelled in sports as a member of the basketball, football and baseball teams. In college he participated in tennis. He was always most proud of the punt, pass and kick award he won in high school. His true passion early in life came when he purchased a set of drums and formed his first band with school mates Mickey Campbell, Duane Mann and Robert Moody, called the 4 M's. He had a loft in his grandmother's garage that was his practice space for all of Belmont to hear. It was there that he developed his love for being different and outside of the norm.
Upon graduation from Belmont High School, Robert enlisted in the Navy. He went to New London, CT where is studied and earned a spot on the crew of the nuclear submarine USS Silversides. After one tour, Robert retuned to Mississippi and enrolled at Northeast Community College as an art major. As a student, Robert became well known for his paintings and sold everything he painted. During this time, Robert started the band The Juby John's and band members wore their signature high top tennis shoes. Robert was not only a consummate musician, but a savvy business person. With original band members Joe Watford, Terry Barnes and Mike McIntyre, the group cut albums and negotiated local radio play including a weekly Juby hour. Robert toured the US with this group and also played with zydeco artist Zachery Richard. In the early 2000's, Robert resurrected the Juby Johns and played once again with great success.
During his lifetime, Robert wrote and recorded 6 albums. He was a consummate creative and hard driving business person. He loved old movies, jotting down catchy phrases that he would later work into his songs. After watching a movie about George Gershwin, he noted that George said that one of his goals was to put music to the Gettysburg address. Robert set that as a personal goal and achieved it, taking great pride in that work.
Robert had huge capacity for love of friends and family, as well as many adopted pets. He leaves behind his mother, Lydia Miller, sister, Dawn Ortiz, brother, Michael Miller, brother-in-law, Fred McArthur and niece, Cheryl Fluhr. Family members who have passed include father, Edward Montgomery, beloved grandmother, Evelyn "Mamaw" Montgomery and sister, Wanda Montgomery McArthur.
A joint memorial service with his sister, Wanda Montgomery McArthur will be Monday, June 6, 3 p.m. at Allen Chapel Church, Dennis, MS with Bro. Jackie Hastings officiating. Deaton Funeral Home, Belmont, MS will be in charge of arrangements.
TUPELO - Theresa Hancock Kilgore, 93, passed from this world Wednesday, June 1, 2022, in Jackson after a brief illness. She was born on July 6, 1928, in the Darden Community of Union County, to the late William Isom Hancock and Berlin Sanderson Hancock. Theresa was a graduate of Macedonia High School and the Mississippi State College for Women. After professing her faith in Jesus Christ at an early age, she became a long-time member of Broadmoor Baptist Church of Jackson and later Harrisburg Baptist Church of Tupelo. Theresa was the wife of James R. Kilgore III, and blessed with 66 years of marriage.
Theresa and James were involved in numerous businesses throughout their careers including working with Theresa's brother, Lawrence, to establish numerous Hancock Fabrics stores in Mississippi and surrounding states, Kilgore Fabrics in Mississippi and in 1986 opened Hancock Furniture in Tupelo. In retirement, Theresa enjoyed many years of gardening at her home in Tupelo and traveled extensively with James. The pair were avid dancers. After James' passing in 2015, she moved to be with her daughter's family in Fannin and attended Pinelake Church.
She dearly loved her family, including her son, James R. "Jimmy" Kilgore IV (Linda); daughter, Susan Ingram (Richard); grandchildren, Maria Howard (Eldon), Jamie Wozniak (Nick), Tyler Ingram (Abby), Austin Ingram (Abi); and six great-grandchildren.
Theresa is also survived by one sister, Odessa Clayton. She was preceded in death by four brothers, W.A. Hancock, L.D. Hancock, Herman Hancock and Delma Hancock; and three sisters, Ruby Kennon, Claudia Dunn and Erline Edwards.
Visitation will be 10:30 a.m. until service time Saturday, June 4, 2022, at Philadelphia Baptist Church Cemetery in Etta, Mississippi. Graveside services will be 11 a.m. Saturday, June 4, 2022, at Philadelphia Baptist Church Cemetery in Etta, with Rev. Bobby Irving and Bro. Chuck Fowler officiating.
Pallbearers are Tyler Ingram, Austin Ingram, Nick Wozniak, Eldon Howard, Hunter Cupp and Brooks Wozniak.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Sanctuary Hospice House, P.O. Box 2177, Tupelo, MS 38803.
MEMO, PHOTO, AGNEW LOGO
GUNTOWN - Rhetta M. Wade Richardson was born on June 30, 1933, to the late Mark, Sr. and Dessie Wade in Guntown, MS. She attended the Guntown Colored School through the 10th grade and graduated from G.W. Carver High School in Tupelo, MS, in 1951. She accepted Christ at age 13 and joined Trinity C.M.E. Church under the pastorship of Rev. C. Thomas. Rhetta moved to St. Louis, MO, in 1953. For over 53 years, she attended Wright Chapel/Coleman-Wright C.M.E. Church, where she served in the Missionary Society, on the Steward Board, and as the church secretary. After moving back to Guntown in 2018, she transferred her membership back to Trinity C.M.E. Church, where she participated in Sunday school, the Missionary Society, and Bible study.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Mark and Dessie Wade; her husband of 54 years, Johnny Richardson; and four brothers, James, Cecil, Charlie, and Mark Wade, Jr.
She leaves to cherish her memory one son, Gregory Richardson of St. Louis, MO; one grandson, Carlos Palmore of St. Louis, MO; three granddaughters, Genea Richardson and Lavonda Jefferies of St. Louis, MO, and Ericka Conley (Cory) of McDonough, GA; one great granddaughter, Elle Conley of McDonough GA; five sisters, Kinlock Bell (Marshall) of Hattiesburg, MS, Annie Mayes (David) of Indianapolis, IN, and Evvie Birks, Jo Ann McGaha, and Joycelyn Berry (her devoted caregiver) all of Guntown, MS; two sisters-in-law, Mattie Wade of Guntown, MS, and Mattie Richardson Fox of Tupelo, MS; several nieces, nephews, cousins, and her Coleman-Wright church family. She also leaves her goddaughter, Phyllis Trice, and 2 play granddaughters, Katlyn Mims and Aarainne Thomas.
Visitation is 3-5 p.m. Friday, June 3, 2022 at Agnew & Sons Funeral Home in Baldwyn. Funeral service will Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 11:00 A. M. at Trinity C. M.E. Church in Guntown, MS. Family and friends may sign the guestbook at www.agnewandsons.com
MEMO, PHOTO, CROSS ICON, BORDER, NEW ALBANY FH LOGO
UNION/PONTOTOC - On Monday evening, May 30, 2022, Wanda L. Rainey Payne, passed away peacefully at her residence in Pontotoc following a brief illness.
Funeral services honoring the life of Mrs. Payne will be Friday, June 3, 2022, at 12 Noon in the Memory Chapel of New Albany Funeral & Cremation Care with Bro. David Hamilton officiating. Burial will follow in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery in the Mt. Gilead community of Cedar Grove, TN.
Visitation for Mrs. Payne will be from 10AM until time of service.
DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA - Wanda Montgomery McArthur, 68, of Maryville, TN and Delray Beach, FL, died unexpectedly on March 15, 2022 in Delray Beach. A beloved wife, mother and "Mimi," she was creative, enterprising and determined in every pursuit.
Wanda grew up in Belmont, MS, and put herself through the University of North Alabama, working fulltime while attending college. She had a long, successful career in the fashion industry, first as a buyer for Proffitt's and later as Account Executive at Pierre Cardin and Vice President of Accessories at Saks, Inc. She could walk Fifth Avenue in heels at record speed. Outside of work, Wanda was an avid reader with a deep curiosity for learning, teaching herself to speak multiple languages and designing her own clothing.
She was married for 41 years to her husband, Fred, whom she met, and then married, at New Providence Presbyterian Church. They lived in many wonderful places, weaving a tapestry of friendships along the way. She was selfless and loyal to those who had the privilege of calling her a friend. In later years of her life, her close community in Delray Beach filled her life with joy, sharing her love of sunshine, dancing and a champagne toast.
Wanda hosted family and friends for birthday parties and holiday celebrations where every detail for her guests was considered. Easter egg hunts on her lawn in Maryville were a treasured event for her grandchildren, who scrambled to find the eggs she filled with care. Her closet, brimming from her love of fashion, was a haven for dress up parties with little heads in colorful hats and little feet in high heels.
She was survived by husband - Fred McArthur; children - Cheryl Fluhr, Lauren Blair and husband, Peter, Elisabeth Bellah and husband, Eric, Kathleen Mosher and husband, Tom; mother - Lydia Miller; as well as her grandchildren - Parker Fluhr, Joseph and Seth Blair, Grace and Anne Lauren Bellah and Caroline and Hannah Mosher, that she dearly loved.
Wanda was preceded in death by brother, Robert Montgomery; father, Edward Montgomery and Evelyn, "MaMaw" Montgomery, who raised and inspired her.
A joint memorial service with her brother, Robert Montgomery will be Monday, June 6, 3 p.m. at Allen Chapel Church, Dennis, MS with Bro. Jackie Hastings officiating. Deaton Funeral Home, Belmont, MS will be in charge of arrangements.
Memorial donations, in lieu of flowers, can be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
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President Joe Biden congratulates a U.S. Naval Academy graduate during the U.S. Naval Academy graduation and commissioning ceremony in Annapolis, Md., Friday, May 27, 2022.
White House to look into claim Biden made about Annapolis appointment
Even the White House said it wasn’t sure whether President Biden lied last week when he told graduates at the U.S. Naval Academy that he turned down an appointment to Annapolis in 1965.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday that she “did not hear that part” of Biden‘s commencement speech. She promised a reporter that she would check on the accuracy of the president’s claim.
On Friday, Biden told graduates in Annapolis, “I was appointed to the academy in 1965 by a senator who I was running against in 1972.”
But Biden graduated from the University of Delaware in 1965, so an academy appointment would have been very unlikely.
He told the Naval Academy graduates, “I didn’t come to the academy because I wanted to be a football star. And you had a guy named Staubach and Bellino here. So I went to Delaware.”
Quarterback Roger Staubach graduated in 1965 and halfback Joe Bellino graduated in 1961.
Biden was a standout player at Archmere Academy in Claymont, Delaware, according to various reports. But a college football career never materialized. According to Mr. Biden’s 2007 memoir, he joined the freshman team at Delaware but quit the team after the fall semester.
Joe Bellino
Roger Staubach
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Make history by reading this as I 'wing it'
I don’t watch television much, according to this week’s column.
But one program I make time for between reading dictionaries and textbooks is “Masterpiece Theatre.” During commercial breaks of that program, I often find myself enjoying the Sonic advertisements where two men sit in a car and talk about offerings from the restaurant. From what I understand, the two actors “improvise” those commercials; meaning, they don’t act off a script or have any type of pre-planning. They just “wing it,” as they say in France.
Comedians often use this devise as well. And, today, newspaper columnists.
This is the first improvisational column of all time, from what my dictionaries, textbooks and “Masterpiece” tell me. I will not do any research for this, plan prior as to what I’m writing, or plagiarize off one of Dave Barry’s old columns, as I usually do.
I will simply write “off the cuff,” as they say in France, and type whatever pops in my mind, as I usually do.
You, as the reader of this historical experiment, are a part of this exercise as well. I would appreciate you staying on to the end. There will be a door prize, or not.
One of the devices I often use in my columns is lying. I have already lied seven times in this column. Please read back and figure out which statements are lies and which are truth. I’ll wait while you do that.
OK, now that you’re back with me, this column is being written in “real time,” just like that old TV show “24,” except that this column is improvised and not scripted. And it’s not about a guy played by Kiefer Sutherland who never sleeps or eats or goes to the bathroom and is always trying to solve a terrorist plot, which I’ve done a couple of times (it’s really not as difficult as they make it out to be on TV).
By “real time,” I mean that as you are reading this, it’s taking the exact same amount of time for me to type it, unless you read very slow or very fast. I type about 40 words a minute, so pace yourself accordingly.
One thing I’ve already found about improvising my column in “real time” is that it prompts run-on sentences, like this one is about to be unless I stop here. Sorry. I’m trying to keep up with the fast reader in my readership. To that guy: Please slow down. My grandmother once told me that reading too quickly would hurt your eyes. I’m pretty sure she was lying (apparently, it’s hereditary), but, please, for the sake of the other reader, slow down so I won’t have to go so quickly.
Thanks. Anyway, as I was saying, I accidently ate a box of crayons this morning. My grandmother once told me that eating crayons would cause drain bamage, but I really didn’t trust much of what she said (see “reading too fast” anecdote, 55 seconds ago), other than that part she said about kissing cats giving you trench mouth. I had no idea what “trench mouth” was, or is, but it sounded rather scary, so I refrained (mostly) from kissing cats.
So at this point, I am starting to realize that improvising a newspaper column is way more difficult than foiling terrorist plots. Usually, I get to edit, rewrite, take a nap, watch funny animal videos on YouTube, then get someone else to write my column. It takes at least 30 minutes. This has taken about two (five if you’re my slow reader. Hi, Mom).
History, though, goes at its own pace. And you have been a part of it, which is your door prize. Thank you, congratulations, and apologies.
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Arizona's Garrett Irvin got hammered by Ole Miss when the two teams squared off in last year's NCAA Super Regional. Irvin, 5-4 with a 3.22 ERA in 15 starts, gets the call today against the Rebels.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Look no further than the NCAA baseball tournament's Coral Gables Regional.
No. 3 seed Ole Miss (32-22) faces No. 2 seed Arizona (37-23) today in a rematch of last year’s Tucson Super Regional. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU and will start 55 minutes after the rescheduled 9 a.m. Central game between top-seeded Miami and No. 4 seed Canisius.
The Ole Miss game was initially set to start at 6 p.m., but both games were moved around due to a threatening weather forecast in the area.
The Wildcats took down the Rebels in three games last season, leaving Ole Miss one agonizing game away from the College World Series. The Rebels lost the opener, won Game 2 and fell 16-3 in the finale.
While the names on the front of the jerseys and hats are the same as last year’s Super Regional, every season is its own story.
“Honestly, I didn’t even really see the next team because we were all just so fired up (during the selection show). Then after, we saw it,” senior first baseman Tim Elko said. “Obviously, they ended our season last year, but it’s a brand new year. So, we’re excited to get after them.”
There will be new faces in both dugouts this time around, particularly on the Arizona side. The Wildcats are led by first-year head coach Chip Hale, who was named head coach following the departure of Jay Johnson to LSU.
Star third baseman Jacob Berry also went to Baton Rouge, and the team’s other top four hitters in batting average from last season – Branden Boissiere, Ryan Holgate, Kobe Kato and Donta Williams – all began their professional careers.
Last season, the Wildcats hit .325 as a team, fourth in the nation. This year, they are hitting .288.
According to the Arizona Daily Star’s Michael Lev, the Wildcats will start lefty Garrett Irvin today. Irvin surrendered seven runs in 1 1-3 innings in Game 2 of last year’s Super Regional, a 12-3 win by the Rebels.
“They may have lost a couple players that they had last year, but they’re still a very good baseball team. But so are we,” Elko said. “So, it’s going to be a great matchup, and we’re excited to play (today).”
From the Arizona perspective, Ole Miss looks very similar to a year ago, particularly at the plate. The Rebels’ batting order is nearly identical to what it was in 2021 as far as personnel, even if the numbers aren’t quite the same. As a team last year, Ole Miss hit .288. In 2022, the Rebels are hitting .277.
One of the biggest differences for Ole Miss this year is on the mound, as Doug Nikhazy was as reliable as they come last season. Nikhazy, who was drafted in the second round by the Cleveland Guardians, pitched 5 1-3 innings in Game Two of last year’s Super Regional, surrendering two runs with 10 strikeouts.
Junior Dylan DeLucia – who has stepped up in a big way for the Rebels as their Friday-night starter since the middle of April – gets the start against Arizona.
“I mean, it’s pretty much the same lineup. They were obviously, at one point in the year, ranked No. 1,” Arizona pitcher Quinn Flanagan said. “They obviously have a lot of talent and familiar faces from the last year. So, they can definitely hit. It’ll be a good time out there.”
The other story of today's game – and the Coral Gables Regional as a whole – is the weather forecast. Miami is currently expected to get heavy rain due to a tropical depression, which could delay games or move them to different days entirely.
College baseball teams are no strangers to schedule changes – Ole Miss had its game against Vanderbilt at the SEC Tournament delayed more than five hours due to rain – but it potentially adds uncertainty as far as the team's game day schedule is concerned, as there is no specified time for today's game to begin.
“I think the only time that really becomes a factor is if the first game gets delayed, or if there’s an extra innings where you’re just sitting around. The good thing about having a noon/seven (start) is, you’re pretty certain, without weather … that you’re going to start it Saturday, you don’t have to wait for the other team,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. “So you can eat when you’re supposed to eat, you can take your BP when you’re supposed to take your BP. Now, there’s a little tournament angst to that.”
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Pictured is the training session that was held recently with Keep America Beautiful and Keep Mississippi Beautiful.
HOUSTON – Keep Chickasaw County Beautiful, a soon-to-be local affiliate of Keep Mississippi Beautiful, recently began the process of gaining their official affiliation.
The project, which has been in the works for months, has really started to gain traction as the multiple pieces fall into place.
It started with Chickasaw Development Foundation Executive Director Patsy Gregory, who presented the idea to the newly formed Council of Mayors as a potential project.
“I had heard about Keep Mississippi Beautiful for years and had called the lady that’s over it in Mississippi, Sarah Catroulis, and she said you can either join as a city or a county and I thought it would be so nice if we could do this county-wide,” she said. “We have set up a council of mayors and when we met, we tried to determine something that we could all work on together, and I broached that idea and they thought it was a good one, everybody wants to clean up the trash, so we decided to join as a county.”
However, that was just the beginning. From there, the real work began, making this dream a reality.
The first step was securing funding.
“The Council of Mayors and I went before the supervisors and asked them to approve it, and to pay the yearly dues. Keep Mississippi Beautiful is going to pay our first-year dues, and then they agreed and did a resolution and everything, to pay the yearly dues every year after that.”
Next, they had to set up a committee and decide who would be on it.
“We set up a steering committee for it and each mayor selected two or three people to be on this steering committee.”
Then came the training.
Representatives from Keep America Beautiful as well as Keep Mississippi Beautiful recently came down and did a training session with members of the steering committee as well as other interested volunteers from the community.
This was necessary in order to gain their official affiliation.
They also had to establish a base of operations, so to speak.
“Keep America Beautiful and Keep Mississippi Beautiful came and did the training, and we are in the process of doing some leg work and presenting the information to them to become an affiliate. Keep Chickasaw County Beautiful will be housed in the CDF Building and CDF will handle all of the office stuff (Internet, Postage, etc.) The steering committee will get together soon to set up the time to go do those things so we can become an official affiliate.”
Gregory said she is excited to get the program up and running and that their goal was simple, get and keep the county clean.
“We’re going to get the county clean and everyone’s on board!”
Anyone interested in participating can contact Gregory at the CDF office at (662) 456-2321.
Patsy Gregory
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Barber, Betty
- Betty Marie Johnson Barber, 95, passed away Wednesday, June 1, 2022. She was born October 3, 1926, to Curtis and Johnnie Lou Williams Johnson in Arlington, Texas. The family returned to Lee County, Mississippi in December of 1939. Following her graduation from Mooreville High School in 1944, she attended Draughn's Business College in Jackson. When she returned to Tupelo, she worked at Central Service. She later worked in the Lee County Sheriff's Office and the Lee County Tax Collector's office. In 1981, she retired from Comfort Engineering after 13 years. In 1948, she married Griffin Barber. They were married 52 years until his death in 2000. Betty was a faithful member of West Main Church of Christ from the beginning of the congregation in 1960. She loved the church, her family, and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, a brother Hoyt Edward Johnson (Antwerp 1944) and a sister Linda Johnson Brock. She is survived by two sons, Edward Griffin (Elna) and Benny Carl, two grandchildren Lauren Elliot Barber and Edward Griffin Barber, Jr., all of Tupelo, one nephew, Tim Brock, and one niece Teresa Hutcherson both of Eggville. Visitation will be 10 a.m. until service time Saturday, June 4, 2022 at W. E. Pegues, Tupelo. A service celebrating her life will be 11 a.m. Saturday, June 4, 2022 at the Jefferson Street Chapel of W. E. Pegues with Minister Doug Greenway officiating. Burial will follow at Tupelo Memorial Park. Pallbearers will be Duke Loden, Gary Harris, W. C. Hill, Gary Smith, Bob Llewellyn, and Joey Spearman. Memorials may be made to West Main Christian Education Scholarship Fund 2460 West Main Street, Tupelo, Mississippi. Expressions of sympathy and fond memories may be made at www.peguesfuneralhome.com
W. E. Pegues
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Kilgore, Theresa Hancock
Theresa Hancock Kilgore, 93, passed from this world Wednesday, June 1, 2022, in Jackson after a brief illness. She was born on July 6, 1928, in the Darden Community of Union County, to the late William Isom Hancock and Berlin Sanderson Hancock. Theresa was a graduate of Macedonia High School and the Mississippi State College for Women. After professing her faith in Jesus Christ at an early age, she became a long-time member of Broadmoor Baptist Church of Jackson and later Harrisburg Baptist Church of Tupelo. Theresa was the wife of James R. Kilgore III, and blessed with 66 years of marriage. Theresa and James were involved in numerous businesses throughout their careers including working with Theresa's brother, Lawrence, to establish numerous Hancock Fabrics stores in Mississippi and surrounding states, Kilgore Fabrics in Mississippi and in 1986 opened Hancock Furniture in Tupelo. In retirement, Theresa enjoyed many years of gardening at her home in Tupelo and traveled extensively with James. The pair were avid dancers. After James' passing in 2015, she moved to be with her daughter's family in Fannin and attended Pinelake Church. She dearly loved her family, including her son, James R. "Jimmy" Kilgore IV (Linda); daughter, Susan Ingram (Richard); grandchildren, Maria Howard (Eldon), Jamie Wozniak (Nick), Tyler Ingram (Abby), Austin Ingram (Abi); and six great-grandchildren. Theresa is also survived by one sister, Odessa Clayton. She was preceded in death by four brothers, W.A. Hancock, L.D. Hancock, Herman Hancock and Delma Hancock; and three sisters, Ruby Kennon, Claudia Dunn and Erline Edwards. Visitation will be 10:30 a.m. until service time Saturday, June 4, 2022, at Philadelphia Baptist Church Cemetery in Etta, Mississippi. Graveside services will be 11 a.m. Saturday, June 4, 2022, at Philadelphia Baptist Church Cemetery in Etta, with Rev. Bobby Irving and Bro. Chuck Fowler officiating. Pallbearers are Tyler Ingram, Austin Ingram, Nick Wozniak, Eldon Howard, Hunter Cupp and Brooks Wozniak. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Sanctuary Hospice House, P.O. Box 2177, Tupelo, MS 38803. Expressions of sympathy and fond memories may be left at www.peguesfuneralhome.com.
Nick Wozniak
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McArthur, Wanda Montgomery
Wanda Montgomery McArthur, 68, of Maryville, TN and Delray Beach, FL, died unexpectedly on March 15, 2022 in Delray Beach. A beloved wife, mother and "Mimi," she was creative, enterprising and determined in every pursuit. Wanda grew up in Belmont, MS, and put herself through the University of North Alabama, working fulltime while attending college. She had a long, successful career in the fashion industry, first as a buyer for Proffitt's and later as Account Executive at Pierre Cardin and Vice President of Accessories at Saks, Inc. She could walk Fifth Avenue in heels at record speed. Outside of work, Wanda was an avid reader with a deep curiosity for learning, teaching herself to speak multiple languages and designing her own clothing. She was married for 41 years to her husband, Fred, whom she met, and then married, at New Providence Presbyterian Church. They lived in many wonderful places, weaving a tapestry of friendships along the way. She was selfless and loyal to those who had the privilege of calling her a friend. In later years of her life, her close community in Delray Beach filled her life with joy, sharing her love of sunshine, dancing and a champagne toast. Wanda hosted family and friends for birthday parties and holiday celebrations where every detail for her guests was considered. Easter egg hunts on her lawn in Maryville were a treasured event for her grandchildren, who scrambled to find the eggs she filled with care. Her closet, brimming from her love of fashion, was a haven for dress up parties with little heads in colorful hats and little feet in high heels. She was survived by husband - Fred McArthur; children - Cheryl Fluhr, Lauren Blair and husband, Peter, Elisabeth Bellah and husband, Eric, Kathleen Mosher and husband, Tom; mother - Lydia Miller; as well as her grandchildren - Parker Fluhr, Joseph and Seth Blair, Grace and Anne Lauren Bellah and Caroline and Hannah Mosher, that she dearly loved. Wanda was preceded in death by brother, Robert Montgomery; father, Edward Montgomery and Evelyn, "MaMaw" Montgomery, who raised and inspired her. A joint memorial service with her brother, Robert Montgomery will be Monday, June 6, 3 p.m. at Allen Chapel Church, Dennis, MS with Bro. Jackie Hastings officiating. Deaton Funeral Home, Belmont, MS will be in charge of arrangements. Memorial donations, in lieu of flowers, can be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Fred Mcarthur
Cheryl Fluhr
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Montgomery, Robert
James Robert Montgomery, 69, passed away Monday, August 30, 2021 in Tishomingo County, MS. He was born in Booneville, MS. Robert was lovingly raised with his sister, Wanda in Belmont, MS by their grandmother, Evelyn Montgomery. In school, Robert excelled in sports as a member of the basketball, football and baseball teams. In college he participated in tennis. He was always most proud of the punt, pass and kick award he won in high school. His true passion early in life came when he purchased a set of drums and formed his first band with school mates Mickey Campbell, Duane Mann and Robert Moody, called the 4 M's. He had a loft in his grandmother's garage that was his practice space for all of Belmont to hear. It was there that he developed his love for being different and outside of the norm. Upon graduation from Belmont High School, Robert enlisted in the Navy. He went to New London, CT where is studied and earned a spot on the crew of the nuclear submarine USS Silversides. After one tour, Robert retuned to Mississippi and enrolled at Northeast Community College as an art major. As a student, Robert became well known for his paintings and sold everything he painted. During this time, Robert started the band The Juby John's and band members wore their signature high top tennis shoes. Robert was not only a consummate musician, but a savvy business person. With original band members Joe Watford, Terry Barnes and Mike McIntyre, the group cut albums and negotiated local radio play including a weekly Juby hour. Robert toured the US with this group and also played with zydeco artist Zachery Richard. In the early 2000's, Robert resurrected the Juby Johns and played once again with great success. During his lifetime, Robert wrote and recorded 6 albums. He was a consummate creative and hard driving business person. He loved old movies, jotting down catchy phrases that he would later work into his songs. After watching a movie about George Gershwin, he noted that George said that one of his goals was to put music to the Gettysburg address. Robert set that as a personal goal and achieved it, taking great pride in that work. Robert had huge capacity for love of friends and family, as well as many adopted pets. He leaves behind his mother, Lydia Miller, sister, Dawn Ortiz, brother, Michael Miller, brother-in-law, Fred McArthur and niece, Cheryl Fluhr. Family members who have passed include father, Edward Montgomery, beloved grandmother, Evelyn "Mamaw" Montgomery and sister, Wanda Montgomery McArthur. A joint memorial service with his sister, Wanda Montgomery McArthur will be Monday, June 6, 3 p.m. at Allen Chapel Church, Dennis, MS with Bro. Jackie Hastings officiating. Deaton Funeral Home, Belmont, MS will be in charge of arrangements.
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outdoor briefs 6 3
Alligator season draw now open
The application period for permits in the 2022 Mississippi public water alligator season opened June 1 and will close June 10. The drawing will be held June 14.
To apply, an applicant must hold any other current Mississippi hunting license, have a working email address and pay a processing fee of $2.34. Once drawn, successful applicants will have 48 hours to complete their purchase of the $200 alligator possession permit and $25 alligator hunting license. A second drawing will be held June 22 for licenses remaining unsold from the first drawing. It is not necessary to re-register to be included in the second drawing.
The 2022 alligator hunting season opens Aug. 26 and closes Sept. 5.
Though they are most prevalent south of Highway 82, alligators may be found all across Mississippi. The state offered its first public alligator hunting season in 2005, and it has grown steadily in popularity every year since.
Permits for the public water season are limited to 920 statewide and are further restricted by geographical region. The permits are distributed across seven sub-regions of Mississippi. Applicants must choose which region they want to hunt at the time of their application.
Each permit will allow a hunter to take two alligators, both of which must be at least 4 feet long, and only one of which may be more than 7 feet long, the intention being to manage the alligator population throughout, spreading the harvest more or less equally between adult and juvenile alligators.
The Mississippi alligator hunting training course is now available online through a series of 11 video segments, and are available free to anyone. To find the videos, visit mdwfp.com, click the “Wildlife & Hunting” option in the menu, then click “Alligator Program” and scroll to the bottom of the resulting page.
Private lands alligator hunting opportunities are offered in 36 counties. Properties in the open counties must contain a minimum of 20 acres of privately owned permanent surface water to qualify for an alligator harvest voucher. Additional vouchers are issued for each additional 100 acres of privately owned permanent surface water. Each voucher allows the harvest of 2 alligators over 4 feet long, only one of which may exceed 7 feet long.
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LYNN JONES: Don't surrender to the 'Backslidin' Blues'
There is a bluegrass group, the Del McCoury Band, and one of their songs has a religious twist. The name of the song is, “Backslidin’ Blues.”
The song has a classic country theme; it is the confession of a man who has been disappointed in love, has quit going to church, and has started drinking. Here are a couple of verses and the chorus: “Now when she left, my head was spinnin’/ It all happened way too fast/ I quit goin’ to church/ I’ve gone back to sinnin’/ Since my baby put me out with the trash.”
The chorus is: “Now heaven knows I’ve been backslidin’/ To the promise land of a hundred proof/ I’ve choked down the pain/ But I can’t keep hidin’/ And I can’t seem to lose/ The backslidin’ blues.”
In the second verse, the man sends a message to the church: “So preacher tell the congregation/ ‘Cause I know they’re bound to ask/ Just say I’m on a short vacation/ And that I’ll soon come slidin’ on back at last.”
I’m not sure how many people get the blues about backsliding or sing about it, but backsliding is a common ailment. It afflicts a lot of folks.
“Backsliding” is a suggestive word. It suggests that we have taken a step up the hill toward God. We have planted our feet and taken a stand for Him. But given time, our feet begin to lose their footing, and we begin to slide farther and farther back from the place on which we were standing with God.
This slide may be so gradual that you hardly detect it, or it can be so fast that it takes your breath. Either way, you are losing ground in your quest for closeness with God.
There is nothing new about backsliding. God said to Israel through His prophet Jeremiah, “Your backslidings will rebuke you” (Jer. 2:19). Then He issued this invitation: “Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings” (Jer. 3:22).
Are you still standing where you stood in the moment when you were closest to God? If not, how far have you slid back from the place where you were standing? I wish that our fellowship with the Lord were a steady move toward a closer and closer walk with Him. Unfortunately, it often is marked by moves forward and slides back. Don’t get discouraged and give up when the slides come.
The bad news of our unfaithfulness to God is outweighed by the good news of God’s willingness to forgive us if we will turn back to Him. Repentance may be old-fashioned, but it is not outdated so long as backsliding is a part of our lives. God is a God of grace, love, and forgiveness who restores His repentant children. He will restore you! Don’t surrender to the “Backslidin’ Blues”!
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Oren Dunn Museum to ‘ham it up’ June 25-26
The Oren Dunn Museum has invited hams to set up on the grounds the weekend of June 25-26. Before you grab a knife and fork, we don’t mean the delicious kind, but those folk known as amateur radio operators.
Every June, more than 40,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations at sites like the Oren Dunn Museum to demonstrate amateur radio’s science, skill and service to our community and our nation.
Yes, hams have provided lifesaving services, even reaching from Tupelo down into the Caribbean Sea.
Allen Sudduth, a volunteer at the museum and known to other hams worldwide as “The Purple Monkey,” because of his call letters WA5TPM, told us that years ago, he was the leader of the Maritime Mobile Net for this area. Ham operators stand by on the net from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. each day for anyone in the ocean who needs help.
It so happened that this particular evening, Larry Hooker of Thaxton and Rhett White, a friend who helped him sail, were on Hooker’s 45-foot sailboat, Off the Hook, not far out to sea from Honduras when they ran into a storm and high seas.
Hooker had a friend, Randall O’Brian of West Point, another ham radio operator. Hooker checked in with him a couple of times every day. At one point, Hooker told O’Brian the vessel had encountered gale-force winds and waves, ranging from 20-25 feet. Hooker’s major concern rested in the amount of fuel the boat had to get back to Mobile.
Sudduth said the hams on the net began working.
Later that day, Hooker said he had taken on water. O’Brien called the Coast Guard to tell them the situation. The Coast Guard monitored Hooker’s vessel through the radio and the hams who were also Hooker’s ears and relays.
At about 5 p.m., Hooker reported a dire situation. Then, the hams heard from him no more that evening.
“A bunch of us stayed up all night, trying to reach him,” Sudduth said.
Early the next morning, the Coast Guard base in New Orleans called O’Brian and told him the station in Corpus Christi, Texas, had heard a call but had not located the Off the Hook. Shortly after the call, O’Brian tried to reach Hooker on the radio. He did. O’Brian called the Coast Guard again, and they contacted Hooker.
“We were able to give coordinates to the Coast Guard and stayed in touch with them all day,” Sudduth said.
The Coast Guard cutter, the Cushing, took off from Mobile, about 250 miles to the southeast. The two very tired sailors came aboard with bruises. The Off the Hook sank while being towed. It had taken on too much water.
“This is what we do. This is what we want to show people,” Sudduth explained.
During Field Day, radio amateurs will gather with their clubs, friends or groups to contact as many stations as possible, and to learn to operate in abnormal situations, such as the one that occurred involving Hooker, O’Brian, Sudduth and the rest of the net. Locally, at least two groups or clubs will set up at the museum including the Wireless Prayer Radio Club and the Tupelo Amateur Radio Club.
In addition to witnessing the hams work on their equipment, those unlicensed and curious folk who attend the free event may participate in “Get on the Air,” a program during Field Day that allows the unlicensed or newly licensed to work a station under the watchful eye of a licensed, experienced radio operator.
Additionally, Sudduth said he’ll roll out his mobile unit, equipped to attempt to contact the international space station. Work schedules of the astronauts determine when they may operate their radios. NASA reports they’re usually free most of the weekend.
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ABERDEEN – A community day at Newberger Park June 4 will feature free food, games and music while honoring a well-known citizen. Joe Lee Howard Day will be from 4 until 7 p.m., and its organizer, Edward Haynes, hopes it will be an opportunity for all citizens to celebrate as a city.
“I think it’s important that our citizens fellowship with each other. With the pandemic over the last two and a half years, we’ve gotten away from social events. I think this is an opportunity to fellowship with each other. Do away with the lines of black and white, educated and uneducated and the rich or the poor. This is an opportunity for all of us to come together and bring Aberdeen, itself, together as one. The melting pot is what we really want to bring together,” he said.
Haynes wanted to honor Howard for reasons including being a support system for people during their times of loss.
“When it comes to funerals and repasts, he’s that one guy you know is going to show up and honor the memories of that person who passed away. He knows everybody and collects obituaries as well. He’s a walking history book. If a stranger was to come through our town and ask him for directions, Joe Lee can give them everything they want to know – the best place to eat at versus somewhere to sleep,” Haynes said. “I love Joe Lee because Joe Lee loves Aberdeen. He’s an example of what we should be striving for. We can’t take people for granted. He’s an example of love.”
Events for the day include kickball, volleyball, a cake walk and relay races at Newberger Park. Reliant Health will provide health screenings, and DJ Kool Rome will provide entertainment.
Food options include spaghetti, smoked sausage and hotdogs, and Haynes said there will be photo opportunities with Howard.
The park, located near the intersection of Vine and Long streets near Belle-Shivers Middle School, also has a basketball court and playground equipment.
Hayes hopes the event will lead to an annual day in the park event.
Kool Rome
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