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I have been one of the lucky few to have been able at a point in my life to call the iconic Adams-French House home. It was an honor and privilege to be a part of the grand lady’s history. My brother, my cousin and their spouses started their lives together at the church and mansion.
Someone a couple of weekends ago asked what I would miss most. The one thing that I treasured there was going down to the chapel early on Sunday mornings as the sun rose to turn on some music and be at peace, be at home and be with the Lord.
The key to the mansion was recently passed to its new owners, and the walls of the house will have another chapter of history recorded in time as the Dwight Stevens era ends. It was the most memorable and remarkable time. Care was unmatched in the history of this landmark, which is easily seen throughout the world as a unique place, being the residence and treasured home of the owner of one of the top auction houses in the world, Stevens Auction Company, and its owner, John D. Stevens.
To our citizens and the home’s new owners, Mr. and Mrs. Keller, we welcome you, we thank you, and we pray God's blessing upon you always in this piece of American history and our city’s most precious treasure. And from my heart to Save Aberdeen Landmarks, Dwight and the citizens of Aberdeen, it was my privilege to have been a part of the lives and events that have shaped the families and their histories during the hundreds of events during the last many years which I have been a part of planning over these precious moments. I would, of course, say my favorite will always be Christmas at Adams-French. I wonder why? LOL.
An era which saw the mansion almost lost ends with it restored to its complete original grand state and with hopes and history to make the keys to the kingdom pass as the Keller era at Adams-French begins at the dawn of a new day! Best wishes!
Property Management and Events Planning
Stevens Properties LLC
Save Aberdeen Landmarks
I agree totally with Bob Secrist’s letter on guns, and no sarcasm implied or intended, there are some problems that cannot be solved this side of Heaven by any human minds, and guns are one of those dilemmas with no solution. (Yes, I was serious when I said get rid of gun laws).
Offhand, I can think of the following gun manufacturers – Winchester, Remington, Colt, Glock and Smith and Wesson. I’m sure gun collectors can name another dozen or more. Now, consider if each gun maker manufactures and sells many thousands of their wares every year, that’s easily a million more guns every year, and I’m sure I am wildly underestimating that total.
So, how many new guns, on top of what’s already in public and private hands, would that be in only five or 10 years? Five million more, 10 million more, 20 million more? What gun law, of any kind, could keep up with that?
Now, some say no other major nation in the world has the number of guns in private hands that America does. They don’t have crazy mass shootings every time you turn around like we do. I’m sure those statistics are accurate, but so what? They mean nothing here. No one’s going to have a magic wand and make hundreds of millions of guns vanish, so what people of other cultures do or don’t do means squat.
They aren’t us, and we aren’t them. We are exponentially the most heavily weaponized country on the face of the Earth and we always will be. Whether that’s a blessing or a curse or both, it’s not going to change.
I don’t care at all if people have pistols, rifles, shotguns, whatever, that’s fine. To each his own. Shootings are like traffic noise on a highway. We tune out the racket, shrug off and move on. If you have 50 or 100 guns or more and an intruder shows up, you only have two hands. Who’s going to fire the other 48 or 98 guns at them? Do you have remote controlled triggers? Trip wires? Booby traps? What’s the point? You have an arsenal, whoopee for you. Now what do you do with it?
Go in any sporting goods store or pawn shop and you will see racks and racks of guns everywhere. It would make more sense to give a free gun to every adult over age 18 and hope for the best instead of splitting hairs.
Trying to work out who gets a gun and who doesn’t. Arm every Black adult, every Hispanic, every Asian, every Jew, every Muslim, every immigrant, every Christian, every white, everywhere. Flood the market with free guns.
The number of guns versus the number of people are so out of whack already that arming every single adult makes more sense than anything else. And yes, I am serious. It’s the only answer there is. Arm everyone, accept whatever the consequences may be and be done with it. If good guys with guns are the answer, make sure every good guy gets a free gun. What’s the point of sarcasm when the genuine numbers are more outrageous than anything a comedian could invent? America is armed to the teeth, and we will keep piling up more arms as long as any of us live. This is who we are – accept it.
We aren’t scared of dictators but we’re scared of our neighbors. If gun companies gripe about free guns, ignore them. They’ve got their money. They won’t go broke.
Mr. Secrist is correct. Any weapon will do, although it’s worth to kill. Noting that no one entered gas chambers or ovens voluntarily, they were forced in at gunpoint. (I’d fight back and take the bullet quicker than choking to death or being cooked). And communist regimes starved people to death by stealing their food and crops at gunpoint.
That might have been tougher using just knives, but history’s history. I agree that the people turning en mass to God here in America would change everything but how will you get them to go if church means nothing to them? At gunpoint, maybe? (Now that is sarcasm).
One note on prayer in public places like schools. From my own personal experience, I give you my word on this. When teachers surprised kids with a pop quiz, practically every kid silently prayed to God for help. They may not have been the most serious or proper prayers but, oh yeah, we prayed. And God is anywhere and everywhere all at once.
If He couldn’t do that, He wouldn’t be God, so depend on it. God is standing in every classroom all day, every day, with every kid, and He doesn’t need the permission of any politician, court, army or human government to do it, either. (Yes, God was at that school in Uvalde, Texas). God has no limits, not now, not ever.
If that’s inconvenient for someone’s politics or individual beliefs, too bad. He’s God, not you, not me, not the guy behind the tree.
Richard Wilkinson
P.S. Recently, at their state convention, the Republican party of Texas officially approved the idea of having their state secede from the U.S. I think they should go ahead and do it. No one will miss Texas. Let them go.
The book of Habakkuk Chapter 2:1-4 revels a modern-day event that parallels today’s fast-paced world. God’s servant couldn’t understand why the righteous were forsaken and the wicked prospered.
God told Habakkuk to go and in modern-day terms rent a billboard and place it by the superhighway. He was instructed to print in big bold letters, “Make it plain that those who run (or drive fast) can read it.” The message was, “The just shall live by faith.”
Well, Monroe County doesn’t have a billboard to call attention to God’s message. However, His vision is still the same. Prayerful, those who drive slow or fast on Highway 45 in Aberdeen will have a 120-by-64-foot aluminum cross pointing to the symbol of our faith. This cross will be well-lighted and visible for all faiths and believers, showing our stand as Christians.
We want to take Habakkuk’s advice and proclaim God’s presence in our generation with this symbol of God’s sacrifice. Approximately $60,000 has been given towards this project. We are God’s creation. He is the same God of Habakkuk, thus, “the just still lives by faith.”
Bob Secrist
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Gatewood, Mary Ann Norvell
On Sunday, July 10, 2022, we gathered to Celebrate the life of Mary Ann Gatewood (Memaw or Aunt Ann). She was born on May 29th, 1937 at home and she departed this life on July 8, 2022 at her home located on the same property that she lived on her entire life. She was a lifelong homemaker and loved her community of Muddy Ridge. She believed it was the most beautiful place in the world and had no reason to ever leave. Mary Ann enjoyed cooking, sewing, and many other tasks around the home but her passion was her family, along with her church family and her community. She was a member of Oak Grove Methodist Church where she attended faithfully for over 70 years. She was married to Bobby Gatewood for over 64 years. They were married on January 4th, 1958 at the West Corinth Tabernacle in Corinth, Ms by the Rev W.E. Sharp. Mary Ann is survived by her husband, Bobby, and their two sons, Kent Gatewood and wife Nicole and Terrell Gatewood and wife Tammy. Mary Ann was Memaw to four grandchildren, Danielle Johns (Marshall), Joshua Hall, Ryan Gatewood (Katie), and Lauren Maness (Tanner). She had six great grandchildren, MacKenzie, Haden, Parker, Maggie, Mig, and Stella. Mary Ann had a large extended family that were more like her kids than nieces and nephews including Dewayne Norvell (Amy), Ron Norvell (Candy), Kim Walker (Brian), and Reggie Norvell (Melody). Her lifelong friend and sister in law, Annie Bell Norvell, was never far from her side. She was preceded in death by her parents, Thomas Bartlett Norvell and Minnie Mae Champion, and her brother Odell Norvell. Ripley Funeral Home invites you to share memories with the family at ripleyfuneralhome.com
Terrell Gatewood
Bobby Gatewood
Haden
Annie Bell Norvell
Thomas Bartlett Norvell
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HOUSTON – The City of Houston voted to adopt a floodplain ordinance last week, a move that could improve the insurance rates of the citizens within the city.
“We don’t have to do a floodplain agreement, but our citizens would not benefit from potentially better insurance and things like that if we didn’t have this agreement in place,” said Code Enforcement Officer Jonathan Blankenship.
What the ordinance says, essentially, is that any work done in a floodplain area must be permitted.
“If they do any type of work, even if it’s putting a new roof on a shed in a floodplain zone, it has to be permitted,” said Blankenship.
He also said that education is going to be key in this, letting people know that there is this document in place and what that means.
“The most critical thing is that people that live in a floodplain area, or buy property in a floodplain area, know to get a permit before they do anything.”
However, this does not take the power of the city to issue permits, it is simply concerned with activity that takes place in a floodplain area.
“We still have control of property in our town as it relates to permitted use, this document give us conditions for variances and it basically says that what the whole plan is; it’s not so much to keep your house from flooding if you build in a floodplain, but what you do in a floodplain affects everybody else,” said Alderman at large Barry Springer, who also acted as Mayor Pro Tem for this meeting.
He went on to elaborate that basically it is about the flow of water through floodplains and diverting that water could have disastrous consequences.
Ward 1 Alderman John Fred Lancaster also offered his thoughts, saying that there was one key aspect of this that needed to be seen to.
“We just need to make sure we follow it,” he said.
Lancaster made the motion and Ward 3 Alderman Matt Callahan seconded it.
The motion passed.
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Members of Boy Scout Troop #39 left last week for a 72-mile hiking trip through the Rocky Mountains at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico.
ABERDEEN – For the past few months, members of Boy Scout Troop #39 have strapped on backpacks and hiked at Blue Bluff to condition themselves for the trek of their lives at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico.
This trip is the first time Boy Scouts from the troop have been since 2013. Troop #39 was signed up to go in 2020, but the program was canceled due to the pandemic.
“It’s a physical adventure but it’s an experience in itself. They call it the Philmont experience, but it’s the teamwork, the companionship, the overcoming, the seeing, the doing – it’s just the whole gamut that makes it,” said scoutmaster Matthew Gilmore.
Philmont is owned and maintained by the Boy Scouts of America, and the elevations on the hike range as high as 12,441 feet through the Rocky Mountains.
Scouts on the trip are Joseph Crandall, John Thomas Gilmore, Ethan West, Thomas Oakes, Jurdan May, Braden Dilworth, Holden Baggett and Kasey Coker. Accompanying adults are Gilmore and Rubel West.
“We camp, we wake up, take camp down and put it in our backpacks and hike anywhere from five to eight miles that day and set up camp again. We’ll be 10 days on the trail and we’re hiking in the 72-mile range,” Gilmore said. “We call this type of camping no-trace camping. We want to go out and enjoy and leave no trace that we were there. We don’t pick anything up, we don’t disturb anything, we leave it for the next person who comes by to see it the way we saw it.”
Scouts will do a service project while on the trail and will have the opportunity to earn badges in areas such as hiking and backpacking.
“The badges are not the main concern of this camp. It’s the adventure and the teamwork. We’ll have a devotion each night and a ton of stuff to see and do,” Gilmore said. “Every other day, we’ll go to staff camp, and they’ll have some type of program for us to do. It may be rock climbing, mountain bike riding, black powder rifle shooting, spar pole climbing or mountaineering, which could include beaver trapping.”
He added there may be homesteading opportunities, including lessons on milking cows.
“It’s our hopes these boys will come back better leaders and team players,” Gilmore said.
Troop volunteer Rocky Kelly said the Philmont experience teaches scouts to work together and overcome adversity.
Troop #39’s pancake breakfast, which is held in conjunction with Aberdeen’s Pilgrimage, is its main fundraiser and provides for opportunities such as Philmont.
“Our local troop is totally funded by that one fundraiser out of the year, and we’re fortunate to have the support of the community through that one event during the Pilgrimage. We’re going to continue to do it, and the support from the community is what keeps us in the situation where we can meet and can go on camp outs and do what we’re going to do,” Gilmore said.
He added scout law teaches participants how to be thrifty and provide for themselves, which is a lesson learned through the fundraiser. Through the pancake breakfast and any other activity, older Boy Scouts mentor younger ones.
“All the badges these boys earn are tools to teach those individual things those badges represent, but it’s more of a tool to teach them teamwork, leadership, responsibility and to do something right the first time,” Gilmore said.
Several former scouts still help support the troop’s needs, and longtime scoutmaster Frank Herndon is still affiliated as unit committee chairman.
“We’re sponsored by the Methodist Men’s Club through the Methodist church. He is the representative for the Methodist Men,” Gilmore said.
Matthew Gilmore
Philmont Scout Ranch
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The Amory Police Department arrested Jeffrey A. Johnson, 41, of West Point and charged him with possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine). Monroe County Justice Court Judge Adrian Haynes set bond at $20,000. As of Monday morning, he was being housed at the Monroe County Detention Center.
William T. Stafford, 24, of Smithville was charged with possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine). Judge Haynes also set bond at $20,000. Stafford was being held at the Monroe County Detention Center as of Monday morning.
Jeffrey A. Johnson
William T. Stafford
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A tree caused damage to MedStat's Amory location during a storm that came through the area July 9. Even though an ambulance sustained damage, additional ones have been made available to Monroe County so there's no disruption of service.
The tree that struck the building was reported down at 4:25 p.m. Saturday.
AMORY – MedStat’s Amory location was struck by a tree during a July 9 storm front that swept through the area. The storm damage occurred at 4:25 p.m., and there were no injuries.
Even though an ambulance was included in the damage, there’s no disruption of service.
“We’re not down any ambulances. We have a spare one up there and we’ll have another spare before the day’s over with so there’s no disruption at all,” said Eric Sprayberry, MedStat senior operations supervisor Monday morning.
The building was damaged, and the ambulance had damage to its windshield, driver’s side door, top lights and the fiberglass extension on top. Additionally, an employee’s car was damaged.
He said MedStat is temporarily housed at Heritage Inn and Suites until repairs to its location alongside Ritter Road are completed.
“They’ve got to get the carport part torn off and rebuilt. I think after they get it torn off, we’ll be able to resume operations there,” he said.
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In fact, I’d recommend a trip to one of those naturalization ceremonies for many of the people I saw whining on social media about how they didn’t feel like celebrating on July 4. You know the ones I’m talking about, men and women who assumed that world-weary attitude about how flawed we were, how much inequity there was, how cruel it was to erase rights (that never existed in the first place, Planned Parenthood) and how ridiculous those brainwashed patriots were. Gun violence, misogyny, racism, xenophobia, transphobia, classism and all of the other ills in Pandora’s Tupperware were trotted out to remind the rest of us that we were idiots to raise the flag, place hand on heart, and give thanks.
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Kimberlin
In his first few days on the job, Brad Kimberlin has already learned something about the Tupelo Christian Prep football team: It’s a resilient bunch.
Kimberlin has been hired as head coach and as the school’s athletics director. He replaces Shaune Holiday, whose contract was not renewed after the Mississippi High School Activities Association determined the program had committed recruiting violations.
“It is a unique challenge, but I have been pleasantly surprised at the kids that we have and their passion, and they’re just quality individuals,” Kimberlin said. “They seem like they’re on board. They’ve gone through a pretty rough bump here, but there is a lot of good here, and we’re just going to continue to build on that.”
TCPS went 10-3 last season and reached the Class 1A North championship for the first time. The Eagles were 57-37 during Holiday’s 10-year tenure.
He wasn’t the only departure as a result of the MHSAA findings.
Aubrey Boren, who was AD and an assistant coach, was also let go. And at least two key players are gone, with receiver and defensive back Layth Holiday – Shaune Holiday’s son – and offensive lineman Isaiah Autry both transferring to Itawamba AHS.
“A lot of legacy was left, and I knew Aubrey, and he did a phenomenal job building the athletic program,” Kimberlin said.
The 56-year-old is jumping back into coaching after a four-year absence. He had been working for the Wolf River Hospitality Group, but the football field kept calling to him. It’s not the first time he’s made this transition.
Kimberlin left a financial planning business in 2003 to coach at Northpoint Christian in Southaven, and he was there for 10 years. He had also coached there from 1990 to ’93. After leaving Northpoint the second time, he was a paid volunteer at Harding Academy in Memphis from 2014 to ’18.
“This was not something I was actively searching for, so I do feel like some doors have been opened,” Kimberlin said. “I’m just following God’s calling and seeing how it all came together.”
Brad Kimberlin
Tupelo Christian Eagles
Aubrey Boren
Layth Holiday
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Bill Benson, seen in this Aug. 2, 2021 file photo, is the appointed Lee County administrator, as well as the elected chancery clerk.
Lee County saw significant increase in assessed property values
TUPELO • Taxable property values in Lee County saw significant growth according to tax information provided by the county tax accessor, with only one municipality recording a decrease in values.
Over the last year, Lee County’s assessed values increased by a net $49 million, which Lee County officials said should translate into more revenue for the county in the coming fiscal year.
“Assessed values increasing shows that the county is growing, and that is good for everyone,” County Administrator Bill Benson said. “We are in the top 10 of property values in the state.”
Benson said he was unsure how much this increase would affect the county's overall ad valorem tax revenue, noting that other factors such as homestead and industrial tax exemptions can significantly impact how much revenue the county gets.
The majority of municipalities in Lee County also saw an increase in assessed value, with Tupelo seeing the most growth over the last year. It saw an increase of about $16.6 million in its assessed property values after a couple of years of stagnation in personal property. The city’s real property last saw a significant increase in 2020. However, the city’s personal property had not seen a jump since 2019.
Real property is land and any structures or other valuable investments that are physically attached to the land, such as crops and timber. Personal property includes all property not attached to the land, such as vehicles, inventory and anything a homeowner or company owns within its property. Personal property also includes intangible property such as bank accounts, franchises and intellectual property.
When asked why he believed there was a stark increase, Benson pointed to the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, among other factors.
While other Lee County municipalities saw growth in property values, Guntown’s values decreased by $124,000 over the last year. Benson said two commercial refrigerator manufacturers, Master-Built and Nor-Lake, moved most of their inventory from their factories, causing the dip in assessed personal property there. Master-Built moved a little over $1 million in inventory, and Nor-Lake moved about $340,000 out of Lee County.
Benson noted that, though Guntown’s assessed values would have shown growth along with other municipalities if not for the liquidation, the city’s real property values raised slightly.
“They just moved inventory. It may come back next year,” he said.
Net assessed values of taxable properties
Baldwyn: $2 million increase
Guntown: $124,000 decrease
Nettleton: $23,700 increase
Plantersville: $44,949 increase
Saltillo: $1.5 million increase
Shannon: $220,300 increase
Sherman: $70,000 increase
Tupelo: $16.6 million increase
Verona: $449,394 increase
Lee County Schools: $23 million increase
Baldwyn Schools: $9 million increase
Nettleton Schools: $715,000 increase
Tupelo Schools: $16.7 million increase
Tax Appraisal
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Greetings from the Town Square Museum. Hope everyone had a great Independence Day celebrating the 246th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Recent visitors include Linda and David Ray of Pontotoc with grandsons Riley and Mason; Jenna Patterson of Pontotoc; Elise Richmond of Pontotoc; Jeffrey Plunk of Pontotoc; William Carter of Pontotoc; Tonie, Rusty, Marshall, and Lisa Panes with Minny and Granny Joyce Panes; and Beverly Cummings of Pontotoc.
Mr. William Carter donated two books that had belonged to his grandfather or great grandfather Emmitt Carter. The books included The Life of George Washington (1844) by M. L. Weems, Rector of Mount Vernon Parish published by Joseph Allen, Philadelphia and Elements of Meteorology, (1855) with questions for examination, designed for schools and academies, by John Brocklesby, A.M., professor at Trinity College, Hartford published by Pratt, Woodford, Farmer and Brace, New York.
Beverly Cummings of the Friendship Community brought an antique wooden ironing board, which was donated by her son-in-law Stephen McBrayer of Pontotoc.
William Bramlett donated three LP record albums "Sing His Praises" by The Keynotes, which included Gerald Waldrop, Hollis Ishee, Roy Caldwell, and Ellouise Boyd Dalles. The recording was produced by The Keynotes, Photo by Terry Wood, Engineer Ray Harris, Album Coordination Dave Hall, and Layout John D. Hall and recorded at Trace Studios, Tupelo, Mississippi. The ten songs include many favorite hymns with the rich harmony of the group, accompanied by Ellouise Dallas, pianist, and Roy Caldwell, bass guitarist.
Rick Hardin of the Woodland Community donated various items including four hand fans; school handbooks including Itawamba Junior College 1966-67, Church Street School 1960-61, and Pontotoc County (Algoma) 1968-69; Algoma High School August 1942 "Favorite Songs of the People"; "A Series of Expository Sermons on the Book of Revolution (1942) by Rev. Paul S. Rhodes, D.D. Pontotoc, Miss.; "Family fare" food management and recipes U.S. Dept of Agriculture; "Jams, Jellies, Preserves, Pickles and Relishes" (1959) by Mississippi Agricultural Extension Service; "The Clarion" October, 1946 Fulton, Miss. by Rev. A. M. Overton and and other pastors; "A Minister of Christ A Brief Sketch of the Life and Work of J. A. Rogers" by A. M. Overton second printing 1996; and Along the Trail With Lewis and Clark Second Edition (2001) by Barbara Fifer and Vicky Soderberg with maps by Joseph Mussulman; December 24, 1981 Pontotoc Progress newspaper clipping "County Seats Have Meaningful Names" and a menu from Lodge Elysian located south of Pontotoc. This lodge was a favorite place for dining, especially groups and many times included live music. Many of you will remember the late sixties-early seventies band "The Sounds of Time" This group consisted of local muscians Donny Roye, Al Prater, Rick Hardin and Cecil Stegall, which entertained at the Elysian at various Hospital parties. Mike Dillard has talked about played there as well.
Thanks for the donations that bring back so many memories.
Reminder: The Pontotoc County Historical Society will present Dr. Carl Rollyson, William Faulkner Scholar and Biographer on Monday, July 18, 2022,at 6:00 P.M. at the Pontotoc Community House. Everyone is invited with no charge. This program is also being sponsored by the Mississippi Humanities Council. Information on the tour of local sites relevant to William Faulkner by Faulkner historian Jack Elliott will also be announced as soon as possible.
Everyone have a blessed week. Stay cool as possible!
I am sending a photo from the Pontotoc Progress July 7, 1977 "Historic Inauguration of Firsts..." in which the first black and first female were elected and sworn in to serve on the Pontotoc City Board of Aldermen.
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Compton, Sr., Benny "Ben" Edward
Benny "Ben" Edward Compton, Sr., 87, of Ripley, MS passed away on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, in Sugar Land TX, he is survived by his wife Sandra Reddick Compton. Funeral services will be held at Lakewood Funeral Home Chapel, 6011 Clinton Blvd., Jackson, MS, 39209, on Saturday, July 16, 2022, at 11:00 AM with visitation one hour prior. Ben was born on November 20, 1934 in Grundy, VA. to the late Wallace Compton and Corra Kiser Compton. He graduated from Dublin High School in 1954. He retired from the United States Air Force with 23 years of service. He married his first wife, Shirley Dodson Compton, they had 3 children. Ben's passion for aviation lead him to continue his love of aircraft while teaching Aircraft Mechanics at the Technical College in Ripley, MS. This lead to settling down in Ripley, MS, where he and his wife Sandra worked with the City of Ripley to create "The Compton Center". This is a place where Seniors can go to do any type of crafts that their heart desires, from crocheting, knitting, sewing, flower arranging, ceramics and wood working, under the direction of Kim Hellums, Besides his family he loved golf, traveling in their RV and wood working. Ben is preceded in death by his parents, brothers Theodore "Ted" Compton, Jackie "Jack" Lee Compton, sister Frieda Compton Howell and 3 infant siblings. Former wife Shirley Dodson Compton, Mother-In-Law Evelyn Thomas, brother-in-law William Dalton "Bubba" Thomas and sister-in-law Bobbie Patterson. He is survived by his wife Sandra Reddick Compton, children: Lynn Adair Compton, Cyde Compton Gregersen (Martin), Benny E. Compton, Jr., Beau Reddick (Donna), Jon Reddick (Nora Lee). Grandchildren: Mischel Faltysek, Erik Gregersen (Krista), Angela Gregersen Sneed (Jackson), Hunter Reddick, Chase Reddick, Sandra Reddick Allen, Jon David Reddick. Great Grandchildren: Lane Gregersen, Kooper Faltysek, Lexie Faltysek and Elle Gregersen. Special friend Gene Pell. A Memorial service will be held Sunday, July 17, 2022, at First Baptist Church Ripley, MS, at 1:00 p.m.
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Mullins, Danny Z.
Mr. Mullins was born in Ripley, MS to the late Jay Z. Mullins and the former Ann Antwine, who survives. He grew up in Walnut and attended high school there. Working at Delta Faucet for over 20 years, he resided in Pinson, TN for the last 25. In his leisure time, he enjoyed hunting and was a talented taxidermist. He liked to collect guns and loved his pet dog, "Roam". Most of all, he deeply loved and cared for his children. He leaves his wife, Barbie Mullins of Pinson; two sons, Jay Thomas Mullins (Keisha) of Corinth, MS and Hudson Mullins of Pinson; his mother, Ann Spence of Crump, TN; two brothers, Robert Mullins of Walnut and Curtis Nelms, Jr. of Crump; a grandchild, McKenna Wadkins; and a host of aunts, uncles, cousins and in-laws. In addition to his father, he was preceded in death by maternal grandparents, Vera and Fred Hodum; and paternal grandparents, Charlie and Gladys Mullins. Memorials may be sent to the Rogers Springs Cemetery Fund, c/o Rogers Springs Church of Christ, PO Box 629, Middleton, TN 38052.
Jay Thomas Mullins
Mckenna Wadkins
Fred Hodum
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FBI considering relocating Oxford office, local officials say
OXFORD • The FBI is looking to relocate the bureau’s Oxford office to a city in the Delta, according to state lawmakers and city officials who are pushing back on the plan.
Oxford’s mayor and state lawmakers who represent the city at the Capitol told the Daily Journal that they have been informed that federal leaders are looking to move the Oxford office to either Greenville or Greenwood.
Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill, an independent, said she’s concerned that if the office is relocated to another town, it could disrupt the routine coordination of many federal law enforcement agencies that are located in Lafayette County.
“This is an economic development issue, but more importantly, this is a law enforcement issue,” Tannehill said. “I am 100% committed to keeping this office in Oxford."
Katie Greenleaf, a spokesperson for the bureau’s Jackson office, did not directly confirm or deny if the office is planning to relocate — or why such a move might be considered — but she did say they are “actively engaged with all of our state and local partners, including those in Greenville.”
The Mississippi branch of the bureau has a main office in Jackson, the state’s capital, with satellite offices, referred to as resident agencies, in Oxford, Columbus, Southaven, Gulfport, Pascagoula and Hattiesburg.
Sen. Nicole Boyd, R-Oxford, said that the bulk of federal criminal cases are conducted out of the Oxford office, and the relocation of the local FBI office could lead to unintended consequences.
“I’m deeply concerned about what this would do to law enforcement efforts in north Mississippi,” said Boyd, who is also a former prosecutor.
Republican Rep. Clay Deweese of Oxford similarly said that because Oxford is centrally located in north Mississippi, he worries that the move would cause federal officials to travel long distances to conduct routine business.
“Just think about the logistics of moving from north Mississippi to Greenwood or Greenville,” Deweese said. “That’s now a long way.”
It’s unclear what the potential timeline is for relocating the Oxford resident agency or who would be responsible for approving the move.
Other federal agencies such as the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the northern district and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are also located in Oxford, which is one of the largest cities in North Mississippi.
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According to the Mississippi Department of Revenue’s monthly sales tax diversions data, there were increases and decreases from previous reporting periods for Monroe County’s municipalities.
Both Aberdeen and Amory’s totals for the May report, which is reflective of April purchases, were increases from the previous month but decreases from the same time in 2021.
Aberdeen’s total for the month was $76,386, compared to $74,239 last month and $79,739 last year.
Amory had a total of $217,531, whereas last month’s total was $214,933 and last year’s total was $229,668.
Nettleton’s total of $48,832 was lower than last year’s $49,985 and last month’s $52,084.
Smithville had a total of $6,303, which was higher than $6,275 last year but slightly lower than $6,311 last month.
Hatley’s $3,777 was an increase from $3,252 last year but a decrease from $3,959 last month.
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Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach speaks to reporters during the NCAA college football Southeastern Conference Media Days Wednesday, July 21, 2021, in Hoover, Ala.
Butch Dill | AP
Mississippi State players, interview schedule released for SEC media days
Mike Leach will hold court shortly after lunchtime at 2022 Southeastern Conference Media Days on July 19 in Atlanta.
The third-year Mississippi State head coach is set to hold his main media session at the College Football Hall of Fame/Omni Hotel from 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. during the event’s second day.
Alabama coach Nick Saban, Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea and South Carolina coach Shane Beamer are also slated to speak to media that day.
Mississippi State will bring three players to speak from 1:55 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. Defensive lineman Jaden Crumedy and linebacker Nathaniel Watson will make their first appearances at media days; wide receiver Austin Williams will return for the second straight year.
SEC media days is returning to Atlanta for the first time since 2018.
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Democrats want new presidential nominee
A poll in The New York Times on Monday showed that nearly two-thirds of Democrats want somebody else, anybody else, besides Mr. Biden to run on the party’s ticket in 2024.
It wasn’t a poll by a conservative-leaning group or reported by a conservative outlet such as Breitbart. It was 64% of Mr. Biden’s party, as told to one of the most liberal news outlets in the U.S.
Hours after that devastating poll was released, the president tried to take a victory lap of sorts on gun control by hosting an invitation-only celebration on the South Lawn of the White House.
What happened? Mr. Biden was heckled by one of his invited guests in what should have been one of the safest, most stage-managed political spaces in America.
The heckler, Manuel Oliver, the father of a student killed in the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, stood up and yelled at the president during his speech. He challenged Mr. Biden to take stricter action on gun control.
Mr. Biden responded as if he were hoping to push his abysmal approval ratings even lower. He barked at the father of the slain student, who was wearing a photo of his 17-year-old son, Joaquin, on his T-shirt: “Sit down!”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president met with Mr. Oliver before the event and that Mr. Biden “understands what loss feels like.”
Also this week, the inflation report for June will be released on Wednesday. It won’t be pretty.
A New York Times/Siena College poll found that the president has an approval rating of 33%. Mr. Biden’s job approval has sunk to a 76-year low for a president at this point in his first term. Correction — his only term.
Only 26% of Democratic voters said the party should renominate Mr. Biden in 2024. Among Democrats younger than 30, the survey found, 94% don’t want Mr. Biden to be renominated. Just 5% of that age group said they want Mr. Biden to run again.
“Lots of sobering numbers in here,” tweeted David Axelrod, an adviser in the Obama White House. He found comfort in polling that shows, even as two-thirds of the president’s party doesn’t want him to run again, Mr. Biden still leads former President Donald Trump by 3 percentage points in a hypothetical 2024 matchup.
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Arizona, tweeted, “Looks like the NYT doesn’t even want Sleepy Joe anymore. America deserves a better leader.”
Mr. Biden will turn 80 on Nov. 20, and 33% of respondents who want a different Democratic nominee in 2024 cited the president’s age as a concern. David Gergen, an adviser to four presidents, said it’s “inappropriate to seek that office after you’re 80 or in your 80s.”
Asked about the New York Times/Siena poll, Ms. Jean-Pierre said erroneously that “92% of Democrats support this president.” (The survey showed 70% of Democrats approve of the job Mr. Biden is doing and 85% have a favorable opinion of him.)
“There’s going to be many polls. They’re going to go up, they’re going to go down,” she said. “This is not the thing that we’re solely focused on.”
The survey found that only 13% of Americans believe the country is on the right track. Perhaps one of them is former President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat who was driven out of office in part by high inflation.
At this point in Mr. Carter’s presidency in 1978, 66% of voters disapproved of the job he was doing on inflation. For Mr. Biden, 71% disapprove of the president’s handling of inflation, CNN reported Monday.
The Labor Department on Wednesday is scheduled to report on the inflation rate for June, which some economists are forecasting to top May’s rate of 8.6%, a 40-year high.
The White House said Monday that it expects June’s inflation report “to be highly elevated,” mainly because gasoline prices hit record highs last month.
“The president’s No. 1 economic priority is tackling inflation, and looking ahead, there are a number of reasons why we expect those high prices to ease over the coming months,” she said. She cited executive action, including steps to promote business competition. “We understand what the American people are feeling. We understand that inflation is hurting families.”
The conservative Committee to Unleash Prosperity, co-founded by Trump policy economist Stephen Moore, said Monday that it believes inflation has peaked, although June’s rate will still be above 8%.
The group said four indicators of inflation, including commodity prices and interest rates on 30-year Treasury bonds, “are all pointing to a gradual fall in the inflation rate in the months ahead.”
“We expect that in the coming months the inflation rate will fall from 8.6% to the 5 to 6% range,” the committee said. “Alas, that’s still well above the Fed target of 2%. Inflation is coming down because demand is falling (in large part because of the recession) and because the Fed has begun to raise interest rates, thus reducing monetary growth.”
The federal government will report on the second-quarter gross domestic product on July 22, at which time Americans will know whether the U.S. economy is officially in a recession — generally defined as two straight quarters of negative growth. Many economists believe the U.S. is now in a recession after the January-March period.
Gas prices have eased in the past two weeks from their $5-per-gallon peak. Still, even if inflation declined slightly in June, high consumer costs are foremost among voters’ concerns.
In a Monmouth University poll released last week, respondents said their biggest concern was inflation (33%), followed by gas prices (15%), the economy (9%) and everyday household bills (6%). In the survey, 42% of respondents said they are struggling to remain where they are financially.
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Now the clinic is asking the state Supreme Court to rule on the issue.
In the motion that was denied, attorneys for the clinic said, “By July 25, Mississippians will have been without abortion access for over two weeks. They will have been denied their rights under the Mississippi Constitution to privacy and bodily autonomy, as they are compelled by the state to endure the risks of pregnancy and bear children against their will. The deprivation of constitutional rights, and the harms of forced pregnancy and childbirth, are substantial and irreversible. Absent relief from this Court, the harm will continue.”
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The breakdown of the family hurts us all — and we can address it
By SHAD WHITE Guest columnist
What do these two issues — labor force participation and crime — have to do with one another? First, they cost taxpayers a lot of money. That’s my concern as State Auditor. Fewer adults in the labor force mean our businesses will struggle. We will have less economic activity and less tax revenue to fund roads, schools and police as a result.
Crimes costs us, too. My office estimates each new homicide costs taxpayers between $900,000 and $1.2 million. Those costs come from the expense of investigating and cleaning the crime scene, treating the victim if they need care before they pass away, prosecuting the defendant and imprisoning the guilty.
Here’s something else these two issues have in common: they have fundamental causes rooted in the dissolution of families and the lack of fathers in the home. Social science backs that up. If you grow up in a home without the added discipline that comes from two parents, your economic fortunes are bleaker and the likelihood that you’ll be in prison is higher. Strong families have an easier time teaching discipline, providing structure and imparting all the soft skills that prepare one to be a good contributor to society. Parents can also provide the role modeling necessary to keep kids away from destructive peers. Parents must raise their children so the streets don’t.
So if these problems are so fundamental and often go back to the family, what can be done to address them? The answer for the Left is often, “Give people more stuff.” That won’t help. History is full of stories of the failure of government giveaways. We also know that this kind of insane spending has fueled inflation, which hurts — not helps — working families.
There are potential solutions, though. I’ll mention two that I’ve seen. The first is the JROTC program — the junior military program — at Jackson Public Schools. It’s a small program that has achieved big results. Former military service members run it. They take a group of students — often students from troubled homes — and teach them discipline, military history and basic life skills. The program graduates have a 100% high school graduation rate, a 95% college acceptance rate and nearly perfect school attendance. That’s amazing compared to the general population of Jackson Public Schools. And as an Auditor, I love the fact that those results are audited regularly by a team from Fort Knox, Kentucky. JROTCs should be expanded.
SHAD WHITE is the 42nd State Auditor of Mississippi.
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Justin Rashad Johnson, 27, of Verona, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, two counts of sale of buprenorphine.
Kristie Lauderdale, 53, no address listed, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, possession of a Schedule II drug, shoplifting.
A County Road 2890 Pratts man left the house to go to work around 5:45 a.m. and found an unknown white male with blond hair and no shirt asleep in his truck. Nothing was missing from the truck, and there was no forced entry.
A County Road 1349 Tupelo lawn care business was loading vehicles to start the day and discovered the catalytic converter was missing from one of the trucks. Someone cut the device off over the weekend.
A County Road 712 Plantersville man caught two males on his property by the creek around 8:30 a.m. He informed the pair that they were on private property and needed to leave. The suspects “bowed up” at him before they got in their vehicle and left.
A County Road 748 Tupelo woman said a black dog has been hanging around her property for the last few weeks. She has tried to run the dog off, but it won’t leave. Recently, it started growling at her and her child.
A man went by his County Road 1460 Tupelo shop and discovered that 80 pounds of copper wire was missing. When he looked around, he noticed that the catalytic converters had been stolen from two vehicles and someone cut the front bumper off a Honda van.
A County Road 598 Plantersville woman, 62, called 911 and said she wanted a report on file because there were two men on her property running fiber optic cables in the area. She doesn’t like them being on her property, near her house without them telling her they are there.
A Yon-O-Mail Trail Lake Piomingo woman said someone stole her two push mowers and a five-gallon can of gas from the back of the property.
A County Road 1325 Eggville woman, 85, said she hired a Mantachie handyman to do some repairs on her house. They have been working on one bedroom for more than four weeks and have not finished it. She has paid the man more than $55,000 in cash but hasn’t seen any of the work crew in almost a week. She said she hired someone else to finish the job because she was living at the residence without air conditioning or running water.
A Tulip Trail Tupelo man got home around 2:30 p.m and could smell something burning in his house. He started looking around and found where a white cloth had been stuck in a hole in the exterior siding on the back corner of the house. The cloth had been set on fire but went out before it caught the house on fire. He fired an employee a few weeks ago and knew that man had been charged with arson in the past. He did not know if the former employee was responsible.
An East Garrison woman said she was asleep when her husband came in and disturbed her. He left, but when he came back, they got into an argument. He turned off her air conditioner. She took the Fire Stick out of his television. He then threw a cigarette at her, hitting her in the arm.
A County Road 111 Shannon woman said a man and woman came over to visit around 9 p.m. The man, who she only knows by a nickname, started an argument with the other woman and tried to get her to leave with him. The woman tried several times to get the man to leave, but he refused. After he finally left, she called 911.
A County Road 1389 Saltillo man said he was at a cousin’s house down the road when another cousin started an argument, accusing him of taking the second cousin’s dog. When the man tried to leave, the suspect pulled a gun and threatened the man. He said he left and drove back home. The suspect followed him, parking in the roadway and threatening him again.
A County Road 870 Plantersville couple returned home around 9 p.m. and found an older Ford Ranger pickup sitting next to the side of the road by their driveway. There was a gas can on the hood. When the truck was still there an hour later, they called 911 to report the abandoned vehicle.
A County Road 1325 Tupelo woman was awake after midnight waiting on her husband to call at 1 a.m. from work. Around 12:45 a.m., she heard someone knocking on her front door. Since both her guard dogs were killed within the last two weeks, she was scared. She could not see anyone outside because the windows were fogged over.
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Wade, Walter
Walter Wade (W.D.), age 80, was born November 15, 1941, in Blytheville, Arkansas. He was born to the union of Moby & Mary Ellen Wade. He departed this life on July 5, 2022, at Union County Health & Rehab in New Albany, MS. He accepted Christ as his personal Lord and Savior at an early age and joined Palestine Baptist Church. He lived in New Albany, MS and later relocated to Ripley, MS where he met and married Minnie Wade, his lovely wife of 30 years. He was a veteran of the United States Air Force where he worked as a jet mechanic. He also worked at Wood's Tire Store in New Albany, MS for 46 years. He leaves to cherish his memory his wife, Minnie Wade of Ripley, MS, one half-brother Willie Smith (Gladys) of Peoria, IL, several children and grandchildren as well as a host of nieces, nephews, family and friends. No visitation. Funeral Service will be Saturday, July 9, 2022, 11a, at Foster & Son Funeral Home Chapel, Ripley, MS. Interment will follow at Ripley Cemetery, Ripley, MS. To view and sign the guest registry, please visit www.fosterandsonfuneralhome.com.
Walter Wade
Minnie Wade
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Lucy King will return to guard the frame as the New Albany keeper for the 2022-23 season.
New Albany's Marbella Ortega battles a Saltillo player for the 50/50 ball during Thursday's Saltillo summer tournament match.
Coach Bert Anderson and his New Albany Lady Bulldog Soccer team made it to the 4A State Championship before losing to Stone 4-0.
Anderson shared some of the major things that the Lady Bulldogs worked on during June's summer practices and scrimmages.
"We not only lost a lot of production from Jo (Pittman), Caroline (King) and the other seniors but we lost a lot of our leadership on the field," Anderson said. "So we really emphasized every time we stepped on the field to either practice or play games we all needed to work to be better than we were the day before because it's going to take a team effort to keep our program where it is now and not fall off any.
"It was a long 4-5 weeks of not only battling the heat but also a very competitive summer schedule but I can honestly say the last day of the summer games was the best we had played as a team."
Part of the summer schedule also involved camp for many of the New Albany players and Anderson addressed the importance of that.
I was very excited for camp this year because for the first time we had all returning players attend camp," he said. "Being able to have four days of camp with training from college coaches and being able to scrimmage other schools is always a plus. It was good to have all the girls together with nothing but soccer to think about all day and night."
The activities of June were extremely important to Anderson's younger players since many were getting actual on the field time to develop their game.
"The seniors that graduated were over 3/4 of our offense and the anchor of our defense," Anderson said. "We have several options to be able to fill those gaps but it will have to be from several girls stepping up and filling those voids.
"The girls have to be willing to step up and get out of their comfort zone but we have several that are capable of doing it. They just have to be confident in themselves to be able to do it for the team."
Anderson talked about key players that will be returning that he will be looking to for major contributions on and off the field in leadership roles.
"We all know Sammi (Doyle) will have to play a huge role on the attacking side of the ball but the key is to having players like Rosa (Lopez), Marbella (Ortega), Lilly Shannon or even Kiristen (Knox) stepping up to relieve some of that pressure off Sammi so she won't have to do it all by herself," Anderson said. "Toward the end of the summer games they started to get some things worked out but now we know what we need to work on during the pre-season.
"I believe with Ingrid Ojeda), Sara Jane (King) and Lauren (Hobson) having a good summer they will be able to continue and try to fill the gap for us in the midfield. Mia (Regalado, Maleni (Gonzalez) and Heidi Clayton) had one of the better summers out of everyone of working on the back line and really working together knowing they didn't have Catherine Truemper behind them anymore since she graduated.
"Lucy (King) will need to continue to improve as she has every year but we are expecting her to play a bigger role for us to really solidify the back line and give us as many clean sheets as possible to keep us in every game."
New Albany Soccer
Bert Anderson
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Dr. Dwalia South
Pictured is the cover of Dr. John Hey's book "God's Little People."
SOUTHERNISM: “God's Little People”: A Physician's Odyssey in the Land of the Unborn
By Dr. Dwalia South
During my hurried lunch break on a recent Friday in late June, I stood in the check-out line in our local Food Giant and with great interest overheard two young folks' discussion of the day's 'breaking news.' What caught my ear was this... “Hey, I just heard the Supreme Court shot down somebody named Roe V. Wade. What did that Wade fellow do anyway?” I bit my tongue, chuckled, shook my head and went back to work.
Returning to the clinic, the staff was talking about that same revelation they had just seen on their smartphones. Several of them (all under 40) were asking a similar question, “What exactly WAS Roe v. Wade anyway?” These young healthcare workers were born into a “Post-Roe Decision” world and those names meant nothing to them.
I had a flash back to my Senior year some 50 years ago when the bombshell ruling was made. Arguments about the relatively taboo abortion issue had been on the national radar since 1971-- basically throughout my entire high school career.
Vividly, I recall that that it was an important enough issue that those of us on staff of the school newspaper, the Highlander, even wrote editorials about it during that time. I remember that one of my arguments against the legalization of abortion was the very simple notion that ending the life of an unborn child was tantamount to playing God. I also argued we should recall that there were many babies born “illegitimately” throughout history who had become renowned world icons. One example, King William the First (AKA: William the Conqueror, or William the Bastard) became the first Norman king of England in 1066. Thus, for the past 1,000 years all of England's monarchs are descended from that “accidental conception.” A few other examples of history-making 'bastard children' given were the scientific and artistic genius, Leonardo da Vinci, Confucius, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Paine.
To name a few more VIP's born to unwed mothers, how about Marilyn Monroe, Oprah Winfrey, and Steve Jobs? Just think, there would be no Apple Computers if Job's mother had chosen to terminate her pregnancy rather than giving him up for adoption.
Since Roe v. Wade determined in January 1973 that the US Constitution granted women the legal liberty to choose abortion, the potential lives of over 63 million babies have been ended before they had a chance to begin. I'll wager we lost a few geniuses in that number.
A Very Timely Gift Arrives
Several weeks prior to SCOTUS striking down the Roe v. Wade decision by overturning the present day Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling, I received an extremely timely surprise in the mail – a book written and shared by my fellow Mississippi Family Physician, Dr. John Hey. Dr. Hey's beautiful and powerful book is an easy-to-read and hard-to-put-down memoir of his ongoing half-century of doctoring in the Mississippi Delta town of Greenwood. Dr. John Hey has delivered over 1,500 babies thus far during his career. He graduated from Mississippi College in 1960, the University of Mississippi Medical School in 1964, and commanded a medical unit in Vietnam in 1966. He is an ordained teaching elder in his local congregation, Grace Bible Church. He is a lecturer in medical ethics, and has taught numerous medical students as their preceptor and Associate Clinical Professor of Family Medicine with UMMC. In addition to Family Medicine, he is board-certified in Sleep Medicine, a charter fellow of the American Geriatrics Society, and is the medical director of a local nursing home in Greenwood. Thus, he has throughout his career epitomized the true “womb to the tomb” practitioner of Family Medicine. He's done all that and he is one heck of a good storyteller as well, as shown by this remarkable book he has written. “God's Little People” is a small volume that makes a giant statement: that human life should be cherished and protected from the time of conception all the way to the grave.
Rather than simply praising this book, which Dr. Hey presents in 'lessons' rather than chapters, I will share an excerpt that should hold a special significance to all primary care practitioners who have no doubt experienced similar difficult ethical dilemmas during their careers. As so many of us are hard-wired to be “people pleasers,” it takes a courageous physician not to acquiesce to the passionate (but often misguided) requests of our patients.
Dr. Hey writes in 'Lesson Nine: When the Patient and Her Family Insisted on an Abortion':
“My secretary told me one morning that there was an older man and his wife and their young daughter waiting to see me. They wanted to have a conference with me to seek my advice. I was not their family doctor, but they were well known in the community as upstanding, good people. The gentleman was an elder in their church and well respected.
They came in with their college-age daughter, and we sat in my office with the door shut. They began by saying, “We have a problem we want you to help us with. Our daughter is just finishing college and she has a scholarship to get a master's degree at a very good school, but she is pregnant.”
They continued, “She and her boyfriend agree that they won't be able to marry at this time, but after she gets her master's degree, they'll have more freedom. They also agree, and we concur, that there is no way they could take care of a newborn baby. The only possibility would be to have this baby aborted.”
Apparently, she was only a few weeks pregnant and they wanted me to find someone ethical and competent who would perform the abortion for them and save the young couple's future.
I immediately shot up a “flare prayer,” asking the Lord for guidance. Then, I told them that I appreciated their confidence in me, but that I really could not recommend an abortion.
They asked why, and I said, “Well, for one thing, it's such a dangerous procedure.”
And the girl's father said, “Well, I've heard that it's pretty straightforward now.”
“Oh, no. In fact, half the people involved in the procedure are killed during an abortion.”
They looked puzzled, but then finally smiled and said, “Oh, you're talking about the fetus.”
I replied, “Yes, they just don't seem to survive the abortion at all, and that's a serious matter. As a physician, I'm pledged to try to preserve life, not to destroy it, so I just can't have a part in doing something like this.”
They said, “Well, we think the options are narrowed down to this one, which would be the best.”
They asked, “What are you talking about? Emotional disturbance or guilt?”
“Yes, that's part of it, and that's very hard to deal with. I know people who never really get over that. It always brings a profound change in everybody's life when a baby is lost. But, I'm talking about really long-term consequences.”
They looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“I'm talking about a thousand or fifteen hundred years later, because I think God will be very negative toward all of you for causing the loss of life of this innocent child.”
They looked at each other, and to my surprise and thankfulness, they did not erupt in anger at me. Instead, they said, “We've never even thought about all this, Doctor. Thank you for your counsel, and we'll let you know later what we decide.”
I did not hear any more from them. Then almost a year later, the grandmother came into my office holding this little baby in her arms and said, “I want you to see this child that you saved!”
She said that she and her daughter and her boyfriend talked about it and they decided that they wanted to go on and have the baby. They would worry later about her master's degree and her career. This grandmother was gushing on about how wonderful that little baby was. He was her little grandson, and she was so thankful to have him. She wanted to thank me.
I thanked them for coming in and telling me, and then I thanked the Lord for allowing me to play a part in saving that little baby.
In my career, I can remember five cases in which my counsel resulted in babies not being killed. They lived!”
This was but one of the many poignant “Lessons” shared by Dr. John Hey.
Copies of this book as well as the Kindle version are available on Amazon. Signed copies of the book are available on www.littlepeoplebook.com
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Jacob Hamblin, a 6-foot-6 transfer from Wheeler, has been a force for Blue Mountain over the summer.
Rising senior Koda Hayles is on the mend from an offseason surgery sidelining him for almost two months. Still, the Blue Mountain guard has been a stable piece since transferring from Mantachie.
Over 25 games this summer, Blue Mountain has stacked up more than its fair share of wins.
It’s a continuation from what the Cougars accomplished in Joe Dan Roberts’ fifth year as the head coach at Blue Mountain, where they notched a 17-11 mark and a first-round Class 1A playoff appearance.
Picking up the number of wins they have has come many various forms this summer. The Cougars have won their share of blowouts, but also some sloppy ones, too. That’s something that puts a smile on Roberts’ face at this point in the year.
“I look at it and say, ‘Look at what we’re doing, with what we need to work on,’” said Roberts. “The good thing is it’s a lot of simple things, the fundamental aspects of the game. And I knew we’d have some issues with finding a leader on the floor, but to still win, even though it’s winning ugly there’s a lot of good mixed in at times that we’re glad to see and thankful for. There’s a lot of work to do, still, but it is good to know we’re doing something to be successful.”
The noted improvement on the floor is highlighted with the additions of a pair of transfers: Jacob Hamblin from Wheeler, and Koda Hayles from Mantachie.
Hamblin is a 6-foot-6 do-it-all forward that averaged 7.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 blocks per game for a Wheeler team that went 25-5 last season and reached the second round in the 1A playoffs. He was efficient, too, knocking down 52% of his shots, including a 36% clip from 3-point range.
Hayles was a top scorer for the Mustangs in 3A last season. His move to Blue Mountain not only provides a lift to the guard spot, but helps on the bench as well, where his dad Shane will assist Roberts after leading Mantachie for one season. Shane Hayles coached Nettleton girls in the four seasons prior to his stint in Mantachie.
With all the new faces in the program, chemistry was a major question mark heading into the summer months but Roberts said his team has welcomed the help with open arms.
“We’ve got good kids. We’ve worked on just being good people, so they’ll embrace you,” he said. “The kids will embrace anybody. We are tweaking some things that are a little different, and there’s a headache with that, but we’ve picked up two good kids, a good coach, and a good person, too. It’s been a blessing on the bench, for sure.”
Both Hamblin and Koda Hayles are rising seniors, which by default, catapults them into leadership roles from Day 1.
Hamblin has played that part quiet nicely, leading the team in scoring and rebounds over the summer, but his work behind the scenes has been paramount since his move to Blue Mountain back in March.
That same month, Koda Hayles was limited by an oral surgery that caused him to refrain from physical activity for 6 to 8 weeks. Since then, the senior guard has been trying to catch up, gaining 11 pounds since the start of the summer and working out the kinks with his new team.
“Jacob came in, and he’s very driven. He wants to do well,” said Roberts. “That can be contagious and it has been in a good way. And Koda is just a clever guy with a lot of skill. Koda went a couple of months on near bed rest with his mouth wired shut with that surgery, so he’s just now getting back to where I think he was during last season. He’s struggled but he’s fought through it, played through it and gradually you see him getting back to where he was. Hopefully, we can spend the rest of the summer and fall progressing from there.”
The transfers’ gelled quickly with the duo of returning starters: Javari Hall and Keshun Tyler.
Hall, a lot like Hamblin, is a tall, lanky forward that can do multiple things on the court. And Tyler matches the defensive energy and go-getter mentality that Hayles has displayed so far this summer.
But more so than fitting in with the new guys, Hall and Tyler both have taken their games up a level and it showed on the scoreboard for the Cougars – even if neither are a finished product just yet.
“I don’t think we’re seeing yet from Javari what he can do,” said Roberts. “He has – kind of like his brother – a feel for it but he’s a little timid. We need him to come out of worrying about messing up and making mistakes and just go.”
“Of course that’s not (Keshun),” Roberts continued. “Physically, they’ve really worked. Javari has hardly ever missed a workout. Keshun doesn’t miss a lot. All of that is really paying off and they’re making a jump, plus the experience they’ve had for a couple years now, I think they’re just a step ahead of where they were.”
Blue Mountain’s lone Achilles’ heel this summer has been depth. The four aforementioned players basically played all the varsity minutes for the Cougars with a fifth starter mixed-and-matched depending on matchups or who was available.
It’s a point of emphasis for Roberts, who knows that the development of the rest of the roster is vital to what could be a special season on the horizon.
“There’s such a difference in the younger guys and the bigger guys,” said Roberts. “With the physicality, you expect the younger kids to obviously struggle a little bit, but this is a small younger group of guys. So we’ve tried to give them some time and let them find themselves in some JV games without getting them to beat down. … Ultimately, being around these older guys, seeing them, the work ethic that these guys are putting in, they’ve got to step up and catch up. And we do have some kids that played quite a few minutes – probably more than they were ready for last year in varsity – but they still need time to develop.”
“I really think if we can maintain, keep working on getting stronger, and a little skill work through the summer, the bulk of our work is going to come in August, September and October,” Roberts added. “We’ve got to really push them. They’ve spent a lot of time trying to mesh together as best and quickly as we could. We feel like we’ve got an identity there. Now, these young guys just have to seize the opportunity that is there for them to fit into what we’re trying to do.”
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Among the featured athletes on the top plays (from left): Dallas Payne (FB), Briley Pitt (SB), Kylan Blackmon (MBK) & Tate Dickerson (GLF).
Year-In-Review: Pair of touchdowns headline top plays of 2021-22 season at NEMCC
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is part one of a three-part series that highlights some of the best performances from the 2021-22 athletic season at Northeast Mississippi Community College.
BOONEVILLE • Northeast Mississippi Community College student-athletes had no shortage of outstanding individual moments during the 2021-22 academic year.
The following are five of the top plays from Northeast's 10 intercollegiate athletic programs during its 73rd year of competition inside the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
#1 Anderson's Grown Man Touchdown
The first career collegiate touchdown reception for Caleb Anderson (Brandon) could not have come at a better time during the annual gridiron "Battle of the Tigers" against Coahoma Community College.
Anderson's score increased Northeast's advantage to 14-6 just before the halftime break. The Tigers held on to defeat Coahoma by a 21-20 margin after Steven Edwards (Sardis) reeled in an interception with less than a minute to go in the fourth quarter.
The final full week of February was filled with drama for the Northeast men's basketball team as it reached the championship game of the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) Tournament.
Briley Pitt (Trinity, Ala.) finished her softball career at Northeast in a tie for the second most home runs in program history with 16. However, it was her robbery of a potential homer by Jones College that will be remembered during the Tigers' postseason run.
#4 Dickerson's Long Distance Birdie at Nationals
Dickerson's tee shot on the par-three fifth landed on the green approximately 40 feet from the hole. He took care of the remaining distance on the first putt attempt for what turned out to be his only birdie of the round.
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3 to 4 tablespoons pickled jalapeño slices, chopped, plus 1/4 cup pickling liquid
In a large bowl, whisk together the jalapeños and their liquid, the oil and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add the arugula, radishes, cilantro and half of the pumpkin seeds, then toss. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in the avocado. Transfer to a serving bowl, then sprinkle with the remaining pumpkin seeds. Serves 4.
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Standards report card meeting set for grades 1 and 2
The Pontotoc County School District will have an informative meeting for parents of North and South Pontotoc First and Second graders on standards based report cards this Sunday, July 17 at 2:00 in the activity building behind the elementary school.
The staff will explain the new report card and answer any questions you have. If you have a kindergartener starting this fall, your meetings will be held at a different date. This is for first and second grade parents only.
Greatest Mission Baptist Church will have Vacation Bible School July 18-22, 6-8:30 p.m. with commencement July 24 at 6 p.m. The Bible school is for pre-K through sixth graders. The theme for the week is Big Fish Bay, Hooked on God’s Mercy.
Auditions set at the Main
Here’s a little taste of the show, an earthquake jolt has freed a poltergeist and it’s creating dangerous mischief! Things are especially at their worst at the Asylum for the Extremely Tense People! If you want to take a part in this hilarity and fun, make sure you come audition. The dates are Friday-Saturday, July 22, 23 from 12 noon to 2 p.m and Monday and Tuesday July 25, 26 6 to 7 p.m.
Concert series wraps up next two Thursdays
The 2022 Free Summer Concert series will wrap up at the First Choice Bank Pavilion over the next two weeks. On July 14 The Cody Riddle Band will sing at 6 p.m. and July 21 Joe Austin and the Tallahatchies will sing at 6 p.m.
Blood drive set at Turnpike Aug. 6 for Selena McGregor
Revival services are set at Palestine United Methodist Church beginning this Sunday, July 17, with services continuing through Wednesday, July 20. Bro. Harold Robinson will bring the messages. Potluck at 6 p.m. with message at 7 p.m. The church is located on the corner of Salmon and Palestine Roads. Everyone is invited to join us for this special time of worship.
By Faith benefit yard sale set
The ladies at By Faith Baptist church will have a benefit yard sale Thursday through Saturday, July 21-23. Thursday we will begin at 8 a.m. and Friday and Saturday at 7 a.m. It will be held rain or shine in the air conditioned fellowship hall.
Revival services set at Liberty
Revival services will begin at Liberty Baptist Church in Pontotoc County, this Sunday the 17th and go through Wednesday the 20th. Services will start at 7:00 P.M.
Speakers will be Bro. Gerald Finley, Bro. Lane Finley, Bro. Derrick Finley and Bro. Donnie Finley.
Scattered thunderstorms in the morning, then partly cloudy late. High near 90F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..
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This Saturday, July 16, Jack Elliott, retiree of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, will lead a tour of William Faulkner sites in Pontotoc. The tour will start at the Town Square Museum and Post Office at 4:00 PM.
This event is being held in conjunction with the Pontotoc County Historical Society's summer program which will feature Dr. Carl Rollyson, biographer of William Faulkner.
The tour will include several sites in the city including the location where Murry Faulkner, William's father, was shot and almost killed years before William was born. Also, attendees will visit the location where William's youngest brother, Dean, was killed in an airplane crash along with three young men from Thaxton. William had given the airplane to Dean, and the tragedy haunted William for the remainder of his life. Other sites will be visited as well.
Elliott has performed extensive research on the Faulkners, and he will tell the fascinating stories associated with the sites. This tour is free and open to the public.
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Normally, returning only three starters would seem to be a negative for the IAHS volleyball team.
But with many members of the youthful Lady Indians squad having earned significant playing time coming in off the bench in the 2021 season, head coach Jeffery Mann instead sees a squad ready to meet the challenge.
"We will be youthful, but it will be experienced youth," Mann said. "The girls that played some varsity last year will be ready to step into a full-time varsity role I think."
Young players stepping up will be critical if the Lady Indians are to compete in a tough Region 2-4A. IAHS earned a 14-9 record in 2021, but their 3-5 region record was only good for third place, just short of the top-two finish required to reach the postseason. Pontotoc, last year's Region 2-4A champion, went on to claim the Class 4A state title, while Caledonia placed second in the region and was eliminated by Pontotoc in the North Half championship by Pontotoc.
"It's a really tough division alignment for us," Mann said.
Leading the charge into the 2022 season will be juniors Maddi Flemming and Kylee King, starters at middle hitter and setter, respectively. The pair are the most seasoned Lady Indians and will play a critical part in their game plan. Behind them, though, Mann thinks he has plenty of girls who are ready to fill starting roles for IAHS.
"They are the most experienced and play a big role in what we do," Mann said. "There is a chance for about 10-12 girls to step up this year and help us."
Mann highlighted junior Kate Stevens in particular as a player stepping up for the 2022 edition of the Lady Indians volleyball squad. He's been impressed with her work ethic, her effort, and her growth as a player.
"She's really just hit her stride as an athlete," Mann said. "She knows her role and works hard in that area. She works really hard on her passing. There's a good chance she plays the libero position for us this year and doesn't come off the floor often. She gives 110% every play, and I have a lot of confidence in her."
But IAHS will need more than just a handful of players rising to the challenge to take the next step and reach the postseason. Mann is excited to see which of his girls will become the contributors the Lady Indians need to succeed in 2022.
"I'm ready to see which ones are up to the task," he said.
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Global Outreach International seeks community support for parenting program
TUPELO • An unexpected 18-month training and supplies grant has given the missionary care organization Global Outreach International to empower local families.
The organization is preparing to implement the Raising Highly Capable Kids program, a 13-week parenting program developed by the educational nonprofit Rezilient Kidz.
Leanna Hollis, director of prayer and community outreach, said the need for a parenting program to help families, especially in difficult situations, has been a persistent conversation. Global Outreach already focused its efforts to support children through continued involvement with the Fillmore Center, Tupelo Public School’s alternative school.
Hollis’s desire to start the program was partially sparked by July 24, 2021, one of the deadliest days for Lee County in recent history. Five shootings occurred in a 24-hour period, including Tupelo’s first triple homicide. Five of the six suspects were teenagers. The hope is that reaching parents can help prevent violence.
“So many people wanted to be able to do something, to make a difference,” Hollis said. “This gives people an opportunity to participate.”
Global Outreach International is encouraging interested parties to sign up by Friday, July 15, to attend its vision casting event. Participants can still attend the vision casting program after the deadline but may not receive materials.
Through presentations, discussions and activities, the goal is to tap into another form of Global Outreach International’s local outreach by supporting parents directly, Hollis said.
“It’s too good of an opportunity to miss, but it’s a little too big for one person to pull off,” Hollis said. “It’s got to be the community having to come together, and I think we will.”
The program consists of weekly Monday night sessions with small groups of 10 to 20 participants starting early-September and ending mid-December.
Parents will have the opportunity to get together and build community. There is no fee, but it requires commitment for the duration of the program. To encourage parents with younger kids to attend, childcare is offered for ages 5 years and younger.
The nonmonetary grant includes a regional coordinator who will share vision casting with stakeholders, like churches, schools, and nonprofits. A meeting will be hosted Aug. 4 at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers of City Hall to encourage community involvement, explain the program and establish next steps.
In order for the program to succeed, Global Outreach International is seeking churches and organizations that will adopt a week to help with food, childcare, and being a cheerleader for parents.
Hollis is seeking facilitators who will lead sessions for the entire 13-week period. A two-hour facilitator training session will be held on the evenings of Aug. 28 and Aug. 29. However, the community response has already been impressive, Hollis said.
Global Outreach International aims to host two 13-week sessions a year, with its second offering in the Spring. There’s a potential to host multiple groups participating simultaneously if there are many volunteers. Hopefully, parents will find tools that will help them parent better, problem-solve and learn ways to be encouraging, Hollis said.
“One of the things that I see that kids don’t always have is a vision for what life could be like,” Hollis said. I hope that the parents will leave the program well equipped and enthusiastic to support their kids to be the best they can be.”
Those interested in attending the vision casting event can contact Hollis at lhollis@globaloutreach.org.
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Renick’s rural background, quick mind will serve Mississippi well on the TVA board
STARKVILLE • William “Bill” Renick Sr. of Ashland is a solid choice by President Joe Biden to represent Mississippi’s interests on the Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors.
“Well, Momma got sick, and Daddy got down, the county got the farm, and we moved to town. Papa got a job with the TVA; he bought a washing machine and then a Chevrolet.”
At inception in 1932, the TVA was designed to bring electric power to those who had none when only about ten percent of rural American households and only two percent of rural Mississippi households had electricity. TVA, now the nation's largest public utility, today supplies electric power to about 10 million people in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.
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On Monday, July 4th, 2022, hundreds of Pontotoc County residents —all decorated in red, white and blue and proudly displaying the American Flag, paraded down Main Street in Pontotoc to celebrate the 246th anniversary of America’s independence as a nation.
A little rain lowered the early morning’s hot temperature but it couldn’t dampen the smiles of those who were proud to be Americans.
It was the parade’s young people and little children who lifted my spirits the highest. Celebrating a birthday —no matter one’s age— is always special.
Yes indeed, celebrating the birth of a nation or a newborn child is reason galore to launch a parade.
In Pontotoc, students are still being taught American history— which includes the good and the bad over the past 246 years.
It’s my prayer that these children — and their children and grandchildren — will celebrate America for as long as God allows this nation to stand.
Our never ending prayers are needed for the residents of Highland Park, Illinois, where seven were murdered and at least 30 wounded by another senseless shooting during their Fourth of July celebration.
We will never understand such murders, but if we stop our parades and hide in our houses and stay home from school, then the people who were murdered will surely have died in vain.
On July 4 from the South Lawn of the White House, President Joe Biden gave a little speech. I read President Biden’s remarks several times over.
In a part of that speech President Biden said, “ We’ve been tested before, just as we’re being tested today. But we’ve never failed because we have never walked away from the core beliefs and promises that define this nation. Chief among those promises is the proposition that we are all created equal.”
I disagree with a portion of Biden’s assessment and I agree with several points. But I guarantee you that the President and I disagree over the meaning of core beliefs and promises. And I believe that Joe Biden means the “created equal part” doesn’t include unborn innocent babies.
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." That’s a core belief that I don’t believe President Biden and I share.
I believe in always standing and honoring the American Flag because of the hundreds of thousands of service men and women who have died defending our freedom. If you want to kneel or protest do it some other way. Oh it’s true, thousands of soldiers died giving you the freedom to insult their ultimate sacrifice, but it will never be right.
I believe we are still a nation that believes in God. It’s a free country but I believe the majority of Americans believe and trust in God.
God made us all in His image. We come in different skin colors, but God loves us all. Christians believe that God sent his Son Jesus as a savior for the entire world.
All lives matters. All races matter. Black Lives Matter and corporate America don’t have a copyright on who matters most in this country.
Racism is not determined by skin color. I’m not systemically racist because I’m an old white guy who voted for Donald Trump.
No sir, any and all racist thoughts and remarks I’ve ever uttered came from my own sinful heart, not the pigments in my skin.
And why does Hollywood applaud when actor Samuel L. Jackson calls Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas an “Uncle Clarence?” Because such a racist slur bolsters the liberal narrative which opposes the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
After all Justice Thomas has only graduated law school, served on the bench and actually studied the U.S. Constitution his entire career. Judge Thomas knows that the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee the right to have an abortion. It’s not there. That issue is now to be decided by the electorate in all 50 states.
Meanwhile, Samuel Jackson has made commercials with Spike Lee, watched ball games and made lots of movies full of gun violence, explosions and profanity.
C’mon man, even the President can figure that one out.
I believe that the need and importance of the family is a core belief that defines this nation. The erosion of the family— not having both a mom and a dad in the house— makes it tough on lots of single parent households. But single moms and dads and grandparents have raised some of the most outstanding people the world has ever seen.
I believe that the need for “a rule of law and order” is a core belief shared in this country. Maintaining law and order depends on law enforcement officers.
The idea of defunding the police is for fools. Just look how that idea is working out in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York?
During his July 4 speech, President Biden also said, “Liberty is under assault- both here and abroad. In recent days, there’s been reason to think that this country is moving backward, that freedom is being reduced, that rights we assumed were protected are no longer. A reminder that we remain in an ongoing battle for the soul of America, as we have for over 200 years.”
Here again I beg to differ.
Mr. President, liberty is being exercised. This country is waking up and moving forward.
Millions of Americans — from sea to shining sea— are indeed praying for the soul of America. They’re just not praying for the same things as you.
Millions Are Indeed Praying For The Soul Of America
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Faulkner biographer, Carl Rollyson, will visit Mississippi as the guest of Bob McGee and the Pontotoc County Historical Society, as part of a "Faulkner's Mississippi" tour, promoting his two volume biography of Faulkner that was published just as the pandemic unleashed. Carl Rollyson’s biography of Faulkner seamlessly weaves his life and work into a successful reinterpretation that makes Faulkner pertinent to twenty-first century concerns. The author's visit is funded in part by a grant of the Mississippi Humanities Council.
Historian, Jack Elliott, will conduct a tour of William Faulkner sites in and around Pontotoc on Saturday, July 16. Dr. Rollyson will be a part of this tour as well. Rollyson will be a guest speaker in Pontotoc on Monday, July 18. He will speak at noon on July 19 in New Albany at the Union County Heritage Museum. A free brown bag lunch will be provided for attendees. While in New Albany, Rollyson will tour the William Faulkner Literary Garden and visit the Faulkner birth site. The two-volume biography will be available for purchase at the museum bookstore. Rollyson then plans to speak at the Yoknapatawpha Conference Wednesday or Thursday, July 20-21. He will tour Ripley with Jack Elliott as part of the Yoknapatawpha Conference on Thursday, July 21.
Dr. Rollyson will conclude the week's activities as the guest speaker in Ripley on Friday, July 22 with a luncheon at Grace Cafe at noon, an event coordinated by Melinda Marsalis and Ripley Main Street Association. The public is invited to attend the event in Ripley on Friday at Grace Cafe, located at 108 S Commerce St, Ripley, MS 38663, and participants will buy their own lunch.
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This house looks like one you might find in the country club in Ripley, but with a 90212 zip code, it costs millions more.
It's not uncommon to see succulents growing in people's front yards. Aren't they beautiful?
The home I picked out for us in my imagination game as I walked through Beverly Hills. The charm of this home made it my favorite.
I met David Hankin and his sweet Bernedoodle, Kopi, while on my morning walk through Beverly HIlls. David actually went to law school at Vanderbilt. He's lived here in the neighborhood for 25 years. His dog is named after the LA Kings' star player, Anze Kopitar, who is his wife's favorite player.
Not a hotel-- a residence.
FGG and I spent nearly a week in California for a pre-Independence Day getaway. Amongst our Cali destinations was one of my personal favorite places to stay: none other than the legendary Beverly Hills.
Beverly Hills has a global reputation for its celebrity residents and guests, grand homes, and flagship stores along Rodeo Drive. Steps from Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus are a series of residential streets, each one more beautiful, eclectic, and charming than the next.
We stayed at a fancy little boutique hotel, The Mosaic, on Spaulding Ave., just steps from Rodeo Drive. While there, my love and I laced up our sneakers, grabbed our cups of coffee, and took to the streets of downtown Beverly Hills to enjoy morning exercise ritual. I am sure FGG was annoyed that I frequently lagged behind on our otherwise brisk walk to take pictures of all the pretty homes (and also to text house pics to Bella). The houses in Downtown Beverly Hills might not be the giant, sprawling mansions you see on The Kardashians (although giant mansions DO exist there-- just not in this zip code, which is 90212. You're thinking of 90210 when you're thinking sprawling estates). In fact, many of them resemble homes you might see in Historic Downtown Ripley or in the country club. The biggest difference? These homes, which ranged from Hansel-and-Gretelesque doll houses to Spanish-style McMansions, are multi-million dollar dwellings because of the zip code.
I have an active imagination, and I love strolling the streets of a city and imagining what it would be like to live there. I have a tendency to “pick out our house” in every city or town we visit, no matter the location: Laurel, MS, Charleston, SC, San Francisco, CA, Denver, CO…you get the idea. My imagination takes over as I wander streets previously unknown. Hey, I can’t help myself: I just so happen to LOVE looking at homes! After all, FGG and I own a Florida estate company for a reason! Strolling the streets of a beautiful city or town (in great weather, obviously) is right up there on my list of simple pleasures (along with thrift store shopping and eating wings at a dive bar with FGG).
I am always interested in home prices wherever we go. The lowest price of a piece of residential real estate in Beverly Hills is right under $1M. I wondered out loud how much some of these Beverly Hills homes must cost. FGG jokingly reminded me of the old adage, “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.” I also wondered how much a house like ours would go for in this neighborhood. A quick Google search revealed that the price per square foot in Beverly Hills is about $592. Based on my calculations, our 4,560 sq ft Ripley home would cost around $2.7 million in Beverly Hills! I thought about the differences between Ripley and Beverly Hills, with its perfectly manicured lawns and idyllic streets, refreshingly free of both litter and stray animals. "Reality" here was as intoxicating as the fragrant rose bushes lining many of the sidewalks. As I absorbed every visual detail of the landscaping, architecture, and "vibe" of each property I passed, I wondered what the lives are like of the people who dwell in these abodes. What were their stories? I was certain that many of the homes were rentals and were not owner-occupied. Rents can range anywhere from $4500-$350,000 A MONTH in Beverly Hills! The further I traversed the residential neighborhoods, the more questions popped to my mind. Had any of these residents ever been to Ripley (my guess was: probably not). I wonder what these Beverly Hills residents would think if they came to our town. Would they be able to be happy in Ripley? Would they welcome a slower pace, or would they feel restricted?
I then wondered: How many of these families are happy living here? Greeting a few local residents as they passed, sometimes accompanied by their sweet dogs, and hearing the variety of accents of those that responded, in turn, to my greeting (I identified British, Yiddish, Polish, and New York accents, to name a few), the journalist in me sincerely wondered about all the ways these people's daily lives might differ from ours.
I am not a stranger to moving around, and I’ve been blessed to live in some beautiful places. I was raised in a middle-class family in the suburbs of Boston in a modest, well-kept home. My grandparents valued education and helped my divorced mother pay for private school education for my younger brother and me. Many of my school friends lived in jaw-dropping mansions, and that's when I developed an appreciation for beautiful homes.
Right after undergraduate school, I lived in Hawaii on the island of Maui for five years. I taught sixth grade at a Catholic school, shared an in-house apartment with a roommate, and tutored in my free time for some very wealthy families. Many years later, after retiring from teaching and starting my real estate business, I purchased a beautiful home of my own outside Orlando, Florida. At one time, I also had a home in a gated community in the Great Smoky Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina, which was nice, but nothing as grand as some of the gated estates in the Biltmore area and other wealthy parts of town.
Now, I live in Ripley, Mississippi—by choice. FGG and I were on our way to move to Evergreen, Colorado (another beautiful, upscale place) in 2020, before we decided to buy the old family home here instead. I have been asked so many times by Ripley residents, “I bet it was a culture shock moving here—do you like it?” And, so many times, they are surprised when I say that I do. So much of our happiness and contentment in life is dependent upon mindset. It is just as easy to be miserable, crying into your damask silk pillow from behind the double-doors of your multi-million dollar home as it was to be totally fulfilled, living your best life, in Ripley, with a sense of gratitude and appreciation for the simple pleasures small-town living offers us: caring neighbors, friendly greetings from strangers as we walk the square, people who wave as they drive by, a lower cost of living than many areas of the country, beautiful Mississippi Hill Country scenery, beautification projects and development (due to the efforts of Ripley Main Street Association), and the joy of watching our city evolve before our eyes from a sleepy little hamlet into a center of vibrant local businesses. From a reporting perspective, I am so grateful that violent crime is virtually nonexistent in Tippah County, and that, for the most part, as a news reporter, I mostly get to report on the good happenings and good people here.
No matter where you decide to hang your hat and call home, true wealth is measured in terms of appreciation and gratitude for your life.
Here are some of the photos I texted Bella from one of our morning walks around Beverly Hills. It was a fun way to start the day before hitting the spa, shopping, or seeing the sights. I hope you enjoy admiring these eclectic homes as much as I did!
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Pam Wooten
Long-time Tippah County teacher, Pam Wooten, died on June 18, 2022. Wooten was deeply respected in her community, admired by her former students, and incredibly loved by her family and friends.
Pam Wooten was born February 15, 1954, in Walnut, Mississippi, to the late John and Agatha Wall. While growing up in Walnut, she helped her mother in the café, spent time with her friends, and enjoyed her childhood home.
A graduate of Walnut High School, Wooten was involved in many activities, including cheerleading. She majored in Education at Northeast Mississippi Community College and participated in Chorus. She later earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Education from Mississippi State University. She first met her future husband, Junior Wooten, while student-teaching for him at Walnut High School. The couple was married for forty-seven years and had one daughter, Whitney, who is also an educator.
In addition to being full of life, adventurous, and having a heart of gold, Wooten was an innovative teacher. She started the very first Gifted Education Program in the North Tippah School District. She provided her students with endless opportunities to showcase their talents and made every student feel important. She hosted special banquets, creative music programs, and amazing movies of the school. She taught in every school in the North Tippah School District, impacting the lives of hundreds of students. Wooten was recognized for her excellence as an instructor multiple times. She received the Star Teacher Award three times, as well as the North Tippah School District Outstanding Educator Award. Pam was also presented with the Mississippi Association for Gifted Children Outstanding Advocacy Award twice, and the “All Bleed Red” Conference Community Leader Award.
After retiring from teaching, Wooten taught voice lessons, enjoyed flower arranging, and spending time with her family, friends, and beloved pets. She loved writing poetry for others, being outside, collecting antique dolls, playing the piano, and listening to music. She also enjoyed art, photography, and calligraphy. According to her obituary, “She was a beacon of hope to those around her, encourager of talents, and a beautiful soul.” Wooten was a member of Pocahontas Baptist Church, the Mississippi Association for Gifted Children, and the Southern Antique Doll Club.
Henry B. Adams once said, “A teacher affects eternity; (she) can never tell where (her) influence stops. Pam Wooten’s legacy will continue to live on through her family, cherished friends, and former students.
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RIPLEY • The old adage, “When one door closes, another one opens” is true for Four West, a newer, trendy Ripley clothing boutique.
On Friday, July 15, Four West will open at its new location, 102 E Jefferson St. Cutie Patootie Boutique, which previously occupied the retail space, is now exclusively online, featuring live sales events through their Facebook page: facebook.com/cutiepatootieboutique2021.
Four West owners, Mary Clifton, 19, and Ellis McBride 18, grew up only a few houses from each other on Highway 4 West, hence, the boutique’s name. Both young entrepreneurs are excited for Four West’s expansion, moving from its 105 North Main Street location off the square to the new, larger retail space.
“Our vision is to help people showcase their individual style by offering the latest trends. We also want to help each customer feel confident and beautiful by offering styling tips and services. We can’t wait to help you find your next favorite outfit,” said Clifton.
Four West’s hours of operation are from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The store is open from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays, and closed on Wednesdays and Sundays. For more information, contact the owners through their Facebook page, call (662)587-1618, or email shopfourwest@gmail.com.
Macs and Milli, a new children’s boutique, also opens on the square on Saturday, July 16. The boutique occupies the space adjacent to Jefferson St. Tap Room at 114 East Jefferson Street (the former location of The Locker Room, which has moved off the square to 511 E Walnut St, Ripley).
Macs and Milli will carry girls’ and boys’ clothing, sizes newborn to 14, toys, books, and baby essentials. The shop will also offer a baby gift registry, “Birthday Buckets,” & “My Christmas Wish List,” which, according to owner, Paige McMillin, are “registries for the kiddos to help out family and friends for those special gifts – when grandmother, Aunt Sue, or your friends need help finding that birthday gift or Christmas present.”
Opening this business has been a dream of McMillin’s for years. She said, “I’m so excited to start this new journey here in my hometown and join other boutiques and businesses in growing our little town of Ripley.”
Macs and Milli will be open Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and on Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information, please call or text Paige McMillin at: (662)587-1432.
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OKOLONA – The Chickasaw County Board of Supervisors accepted a warranty deed for the Okolona Courthouse earlier this year, and last week, they accepted a corrected deed.
“A few months ago, the Masonic Lodge signed the deed [to the Okolona Courthouse] and there were some issues with the wording on that, so we have corrected that and that is what I have today,” said County Administrator Norman Griffin, Jr.
The building, which stands on Main Street in Okolona, has been owned by the lodge and the county has leased the bottom two floors for court and county offices, however, they had been looking to potentially either acquire this building or construct a new, standalone courthouse in Okolona.
The reason is that there is historical preservation money available for the building, however, it is not accessible if they are leasing the building like they have been.
The lodge will still be able to use the top floor.
The language that was corrected was also approved by the State Auditor.
“The State Auditor’s Office has given their approval of this correction.”
District 3 Supervisor Russell Brooks made the motion to accept the corrected deed and District 4 Supervisor A.L. Adair seconded it.
The motion passed 4-1, with District 5 Supervisor Margaret Futral voting against it.
Brooks then made a motion to contract Belinda Stewart Architects to work on getting a historical preservation grant for the building, and Adair seconded it. The motion also passed.
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Among its many amenities, Magnolia Hall features common collaborative study areas, and some have televisions that can be mirrored to student computers. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 10 a.m., July 14, at the entrance facing Main Street in Fulton.
Itawamba Community College will formally open its new residential facility, Magnolia Hall, following a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m., July 14, at the entrance facing Main Street in Fulton.
The 72,000-square-foot three-story residence hall has 246 beds, customizable halls/wings for separated male and female occupancy, and two efficiency apartments as well as one for the hall director. The facility features common collaborative study areas, and some have televisions that can be mirrored to student computers. The building is also outfitted with the latest controls for both HVAC and lighting and with a new access control system that allows entry via their student ID card to their hall door, wing, and room. Requirements for residence include a preferred ACT score of 24, maintaining a 3.0 GPA and active in ICC student involvement/leadership opportunities. WAR Construction, Inc. of Tuscaloosa, Ala. was the general contractor, and PryorMorrow PC, the architect.
“This residence hall will provide an opportunity for 246 additional students to experience the total college with on-campus housing,” said ICC President Dr. Jay Allen. “Even with the addition of this state-of-the-art facility, ICC still has a waiting list of more than 500 students for campus housing. We express our appreciation to those who played a role in the construction of this much-needed facility, especially to our Board of Trustees.”
Tours of the facility and simple refreshments will follow the ribbon-cutting. The public is invited to attend.
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Finally, in the most closely watched case of the year, the Supreme Court overturned its 1973 precedent in Roe v. Wade, bringing an end to 50 years of nationwide abortion-on-demand.
This case was successfully argued by the state of Mississippi in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. In its opinion, the court declared that Roe was “egregiously wrong,” the Constitution does not in fact protect a right to abortion, and abortion policy is now returned to the people and their elected representatives.
With these decisions, the Supreme Court has corrected its past overreach and applied the Constitution fairly and straightforwardly. This new majority is helping restore the court’s proper role within our system.
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Criteria for selection for Alumnus of the Year include successful completion of at least one semester as a full-time student at ICC five years prior to the current year as well as merit and achievement which have brought fame and honor to either his/her community or ICC.
ICC’s Athletic Hall of Fame honors former athletes, coaches or individuals who have excelled or those who have made major contributions to intercollegiate athletics while attending or employed by ICC. Athletic Hall of Fame inductees must have been out of school at least 10 years. Additional criteria to be considered are accomplishments and support of ICC.
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Londa Choate and her daughter Sonja Morin, stand at the Boguefala Creek Bridge on Dorsey-Evergreen Road named in honor of her late husband, Sam Choate.
Pastor Sam Choate
Samuel David “Sam” Choate began his calling as a pastor in 2010. It was something he continued to do for the next nine years. He first began ministering to people while enjoying his favorite pastime, fishing. Both ministering and fishing remained a focal point in Choate’s life until his death from a sudden illness on June 21, 2019.
“He loved fishing more than anything,” Choate’s wife, Londa said. “It was there that he began ministering to people at Tombigbee River. Before he became a pastor, they called him ‘Pastor of the River.’”
Choate said her husband would often bring people he met on the river to their home to pray for them, but his prayers didn’t end there. More often than not, his conversations with God ended with the couple helping to meet the individual's needs. His wife recalled when Sam discovered a young disabled man in a wheelchair that did not have the means or finances for a secure ramp. She also recalled how he shared the gospel while working as a handyman for Charles and Mary Hodges, as well as while he served as a caretaker for local cemeteries.
“After Sam met the young man in a wheelchair, I started a fundraiser to come up with the money and we were able to get a ramp accomplished that changed his life,” she said. “As he would be working, people would come to visit their loved ones at the cemetery and he would end up going to their home to help them with many of their projects and then praying with them.”
Before moving to Mississippi in 2000, the couple lived in Zambia for eight years and started eight bible colleges in four countries: Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia. Students from the colleges helped host nine crusades.
“During the crusades, 13,000 souls came to know the Lord,” she said.
Since moving to Mississippi, the Choates continued to take part in month-long mission trips to several nations.
The Choates have one daughter, Sonja Morin. She and her husband, Jr. have three children, Jacob, Isaac, and Jeremiah. They also have two great-granddaughters, Nycole and Davina. At the time of Sam's death, they were three weeks shy of having been married 42 years.
Choate said she couldn’t thank people in the community enough for the kind gesture of naming the bridge that crosses Boguefala Creek on Dorsey-Evergreen Road in honor of her late husband. Local friends and family attended the event in late spring along with friends from North Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, and Canada.
“It's a blessing to have Sam honored in this way. I truly appreciate those in the community who desired to do this and many thanks to Third District Supervisor Terry Moore for his help,” Choate said. “We always looked for ways to bless people and just like this, we always received more of a blessing back."
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Itawamba County Board of Supervisors have approved a recommendation by election commissioners to move one of the county’s 28 voting precincts.
During last week’s regular board meeting District 5 Election Commissioner Steve Johnson recommended that the Clay precinct be moved from the Clay Community Center to Pine Grove Church of Christ fellowship hall located at 216 Johnson Road North.
Johnson told the board that issues with the amenities of the Clay building, such as lighting, heating and cooling, it made sense to go ahead and move the voting precinct to a more fitting location prior to November’s general election.
“Pine Grove’s fellowship hall is handicap accessible, has a kitchen, no issues and parking will not be a problem,” Johnson told the board.
The Clay Community Center aka the old Clay schoolhouse has served as the polling place for decades for Clay residents which makes up the largest voting precinct in the fifth district. Now privately owned, the building was previously used by the Clay Rural Community Development Council (RCDC) until the group disbanded several years ago. In May 2020 the Itawamba County School District accepted a $65,000 bid for the property from Allison Wallace, owner of 3G Properties. Wallace was the only bid submitted. Currently, Unity Broadcasting, a Christian-based television station is housed in the building with a contract ending next year.
Concerns over the aging building prompted election commissioners to appear before the board and request the move be made prior to the next election.
“It just makes sense to go ahead and do it now that way there is no confusion in the future,” Johnson continued.
The board voted 5-0 in favor of the move. Circuit Clerk Carol Gates said the voters registered in the Clay precinct will receive a letter concerning the move. According to Itawamba County Board of Supervisors Attorney Bo Russell, approval from the Justice Department is no longer necessary when moving a precinct.
Request to raise precinct pay, poll workers pay on the horizon
Gates told the board her upcoming budget request would include raising precinct pay, poll worker pay, and upgrading the current voting system.
Gates said the rental fees for polling precincts would increase $25, moving the rate from $75 to $100. The county pays each precinct facility a fee for use of the building for elections. Her new budget request would also include increasing poll worker pay by $25. Workers pay would increase from $100 to $125. For poll workers who pick up the boxes the increase would go from $120 to $145. Election commissioners agreed with Gates future recommendation to the board.
Election Commissioner Chairman Tommy Gholston said securing poll workers has been an ongoing issue.
“We’re hoping the raise in pay will help,” Gholston said. “I’ve been doing this several years and it gets tougher every year to get people.”
The local election commission has five members, one representing each district in the county. The commission’s current makeup includes James Dickens from 1st District; Amanda Hinds McFerrin from 2nd District; Matt Hudson from 3rd District; Tommy Gholston from 4th District; and Steve Johnson from 5th District. Gholston also serves as the commission chairperson. The primary function of the commission is to work alongside Itawamba County Circuit Clerk Carol Gates to ensure the election process runs fairly and smoothly.
“Poll workers are hard to find,” District 3 Election Commissioner Matt Hudson told the board. “I was calling folks the night before the election to try to fill spots that were vacant from late cancellations.”
Those present agreed with Gates in hopes that the increase would make the job more appealing to those willing to serve. Each primary election requires five poll workers with general elections requiring only three.
Upgrade to voting system discussed
Gates also told the board the upgrade in the voting system would be included in the circuit clerk’s upcoming budget for the board’s approval.
“We would be upgrading to the DS200 Ballot Scanner System. With this system we would be going back to using paper ballots,” Gates told the board.
The DS200 Ballot Scanner system is a portable electronic voting system that uses an optical scanner to read marked paper ballots and tally the results. This system allows for paper ballots to be immediately tabulated at your polling site.
Gates told the board that with grants and available funds, the cost to the county would be approximately $12,000. Electronic poll books would remain in place at each precinct she said.
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Wendy’s Restaurant located at 415 Interchange Drive in Fulton recently held a ribbon-cutting for its new state-of-the-art facility.
Following the Wendy's Restaurant ribbon-cutting, cake and refreshments were served by none other than, Wendy.
Guest at the Wendy's ribbon-cutting enjoyed a raffle for prizes and other giveaways.
Wendy’s Restaurant located at 415 Interchange Drive in Fulton recently held a ribbon-cutting for its new state-of-the-art facility. The previous building was destroyed by fire last February. The newly remodeled eatery features exterior upgrades and innovative interior design elements to enhance the Wendy’s restaurant environment and dining experience for guests.
Fulton Mayor Emily Quinn thanked the company for rebuilding and commended their swift efforts to get the restaurant back in service.
“On behalf of the city, we welcome Wendy’s back. We were devastated when the building was lost, this business is a huge part of our community,” Quinn said. “The fact that it took only four months and 14 days to rebuild is outstanding.”
Vice President of Operation at Carlisle Corporation Greg Jones also addressed the crowd.
“One thing we did not get the opportunity to do is to thank the fire departments. Not just from Fulton, but also those from the surrounding communities, we thank you all,” Jones said. “With adversity comes blessings and opportunities and we were able to build a new state-of-the-art building.”
Jones presented Fulton Fire Department with a donation on behalf of the company.
“We are very pleased with how everything turned out with the remodeling, and we believe our guests in Fulton will just love it,” Brian McDaniel, SVP Carlisle, a leading franchisee of the Wendy’s Company said in a recent press release. “It’s been an honor and pleasure being part of the Fulton community over the years, and this remodeling investment signifies our intention to continue to be a vibrant and visible member of the community for many, many years to come.”
Carlisle is a family-owned, hospitality and real estate business based in Memphis, TN. Carlisle owns and operates over 170 Wendy’s restaurants across 8 states in the Southeast. Carlisle Wendy’s restaurants are well known for delivering world-class service and great-tasting food to their guests. Carlisle’s operational excellence and leadership have been recognized throughout the years by Wendy’s.
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AMORY – Several anonymous donors recently established a fund through the CREATE Foundation to meet needs of the Amory Police Department, and others are invited to help.
“The donors hope these initial gifts will encourage other citizens, organizations and businesses to make contributions to the fund to ensure the Amory Police Department is well-equipped to keep the community safe,” said CREATE Foundation President Mike Clayborne in a press release.
To date, more than $20,000 in contributions has been made, but the APD has needs that exceed that amount. There are no administrative costs through the CREATE Foundation, and 100 percent of donations support the department.
Like many others, the police department has faced rising costs for its needs through inflation.
“We spent nearly $7,000 in uniforms and depleted our uniform budget very quickly. We’re changing some of the uniforms to be more climate-controlled for the summer,” said Amory Police Chief Ronnie Bowen.
Another need is portable breathalizers for six new patrol units provided by the city and kits to perform narcotics testing on the streets. There’s also a need for rear seat organizers in the new patrol units for officers’ equipment.
“One of the things that everybody looks at when they’re deciding where they want to live is, ‘How safe is the community?’ Clearly, one of the most important things about this is your local police department and the protection you provide for the citizens of Amory. We’re very pleased to play a small part in supporting the great work you and your team do,” Clayborne told Bowen during an announcement of the fund.
“We try to go out there every day to make it a better place for people to raise their family and work and live. Everybody in this has a heartfelt desire for the city they work for and wants to make a difference. It’s a calling. You don’t do it for what you’re paid, you do it because there’s something in you that makes you want to make a difference,” Bowen said.
He said the department solicits people’s prayers first, followed by donations.
According to the press release, fund advisors will consider requests from the APD for equipment and supplies unable to be supported through the normal budget process.
“Our police department is very appreciative of the financial support from local citizens. These gifts will enhance the safety of our officers doing their job and the safety of our citizens,” Bowen said in the press release.
Anyone who wishes to support this fund may earmark donations as the Amory Police Department Special Project Fund to the CREATE Foundation at P.O. Box 1053, Tupelo, MS 38802.
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Jeremy Sims, PT, DPT, Cert. DN, hopes to spread more awareness of the benefits of physical therapy through his new practice in Amory, Sims Physical Therapy and Balance Center.
AMORY – In late June, Hatley High School Class of 2014 graduate Jeremy Sims opened his practice, Sims Physical Therapy and Balance Center. Long-range, he hopes it acts as a means to change the culture of traditional physical therapy and how it’s viewed by patients.
“I’m doing one-on-one practice. I’m doing manual therapy, which allows people to come and get the service. It’s not just an exercise you can do at home. It’s changing the culture of, ‘Oh, we’re actually promoting something inside the body to happen, to heal and to create longer lasting results. We’re changing the culture with the one-on-one and the skill set and really raising awareness of all the benefits that physical therapy can truly do that people just don’t know yet,” he said.
Sims Physical Therapy and Balance Center addresses issues such as aches, pains, stiffness, mobility restrictions and dizziness, in addition to helping fall-risk patients.
“A big part of my practice is manual therapy, which is very different from most traditional PT clinics. I don’t do exercises as the focus. I still believe in that but I do a lot more manual therapy. Those include dry needling, spinal manipulations, cupping and instrument-assist soft tissue mobilization,” he said. “I’m creating a healing response in the body. The body has a natural healing response that when you stimulate it, it starts the process of further continuing to heal. With those techniques, I’m repairing the tissue, I’m regenerating it and I’m really remodeling the tissue and makeup of it – not just for now but for longer lasting results that carry on.”
Sims said patients involved in car accidents in previous years have found success through manual therapy.
“Basically, you’re quieting down a nervous system and rewiring it in a way to promote that healing and promote function,” he said.
Sims added manual therapy helps the pain subside quicker because it calms the body’s system. He said the method helps free up mobility, which is part of the healing process.
“Once you have that, you can further use your exercises to further promote the enhancement of what you’re trying to achieve from it,” he said. “Basically, you’re freeing it up, you’re getting it moving and you’re solidifying what you just achieved and carrying it over with the exercises.”
In addition to physical therapy needs, the practice also focuses on balance issues, such as dizziness and vertigo, and helps patients who uses devices, such as walkers and canes.
“If you have the room spinning sensation, there’s different maneuvers that I can take the patients through in usually about two to three rounds in your first session or two,” he said.
Sims said it’s common to care for fall-risk patients.
“They have to lean on the shopping cart at Walmart or use a walker or cane everywhere they go. These are the people who truly need therapy, but we haven’t promoted the profession enough with those people. When you see someone in here with a walker or a cane who can hardly walk across the floor or step across the curb, give it several sessions and they’re walking no problem with no device. You’re changing their lives significantly. With the profession, I want to promote education and awareness of the benefits of physical therapy,” Sims said.
Through the practice, he wants to create better health in the community.
“I really wanted to help the community that has invested in me all these years and really give back,” Sims said. “I want to further help people do what they want to do to help people and serve in this community.”
His sister, who is also a physical therapist, helped inspire his fascination of the field.
“She was really the first one who got me into the profession. I remember in my early high school days, she was starting her PT school in Memphis and would come back and tell me different little things and I’d try to either memorize the words or where the muscle or ligament is on the body and would try to learn it,” Sims said.
Following high school, he attended Itawamba Community College, which helped further lead him on his path into health care. He continued his education at Mississippi State University, majoring in biological sciences, and William Carey University in Hattiesburg to earn his doctorate of physical therapy.
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Members of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office and Aberdeen Police Department are recognized during July 9's Blue Day in the Park at Acker Park.
Deputies Sam Mitchell, Allen Cooley and Laron Griffin listen as a speaker expresses appreciation to law enforcement.
Winners of the M-17 pageant make their way down the parade route on Commerce Street.
Audriona Crosby plays Taps to honor members of law enforcement who lost their lives.
Debi Pearson speaks about her son, the late Monroe County deputy Dylan Pickle, and his love law enforcement as Dwight Stevens listens.
M-17 Pageant winners pose for a photo with members of law enforcement.
ABERDEEN – A July 9 event centered at Acker Park paid homage to local first responders’ dedication to the safety of Monroe County. Blue Day in the Park, which was sponsored by Save Aberdeen Landmarks, featured a parade through downtown, a lunch, activities and words of encouragement for law enforcement and their families in attendance.
“Most people don’t tell you thank you for your service, and that’s why we’re doing this today. We want to thank all of you,” said Save Aberdeen Landmarks Chairman Dwight Stevens.
Monroe County Sheriff Kevin Crook expressed appreciation for the public’s support.
“It encourages us to go out and do what we do everyday. We know there are other communities, even close to us, that don’t have the support that we have and we don’t take that for granted,” he said. “With the people of our community, when they’re at a time when they’re at their worst or something really bad is happening is probably 98 percent of the interactions we have. When we have a chance to come here and there’s not a fight happening and we have a chance to actually talk to people, we appreciate it.”
Mayor Charles Scott said first responders are always there when the people need them.
“If it wasn’t for our responders and if it wasn’t for their dedication to their duty, a lot of us would be hurting so I’d like to thank them,” he said. “They’re out there doing their duties, and those are the things you ought to really pay attention to,” he said. “There’s so much work you don’t see that’s going on on a daily basis, and that’s the most important to identify – the work they’re doing to stop things before it happens. I really appreciate all the hard work they do on a day-by-day basis.”
A bell was rung to honor first responders who lost their lives.
“Thank you for our peacemakers. Thank you for our way makers. Families, this is a special day to honor you because I know this day can be most difficult for a lot of you,” said Toni Reece, said of family members present who lost someone.
Proceeds from Blue Day in the Park benefited the M-17 Scholarship to honor late Monroe County deputy Dylan Pickle.
His mother, Debi Pearson, said the community has been supportive after she lost her son in July 2020. She also reflected on Pickle’s love for being a law enforcement officer.
“He accomplished everything, literally everything, that he set out to accomplish from the start. I know where he’s at,” Pearson said.
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ABERDEEN – A reoccurring topic the board of supervisors has addressed for years regarding delinquent garbage bills could possibly get some reprieve in Jackson.
State law mandates delinquent garbage bills are attached to addresses rather than to former property owners who generated the bills, which has led to hurdles for many people inheriting such outstanding bills in obtaining their license plates.
During July 8’s supervisors meeting. District 16 Rep. Rickey Thompson asked for relief for a Monroe County resident responsible for paying $3,000-plus delinquent garbage bills from 2005 and 2008 associated with property he owns. The bills were created by a previous owner.
After hearing first-hand struggles that not only residents but county supervisors have gone through with the state law, Thompson committed to try making a change.
“You can change that law down there. The statute of limitations is terrible; they go back to 1990 and ’89 sometimes, and we can’t do anything about that because it’s the law y’all passed, not us,” said District 2 Supervisor B.R. Richey.
The state law predates Thompson’s tenure in the Mississippi House of Representatives.
Richey suggested attaching delinquent garbage fees to the responsible party’s driver’s license rather than a person who may purchase the property years later. Many times, delinquent garbage liens have been missed in the process of title searches.
“I understand everybody’s frustrations. There are 122 representatives and 52 senators, which means we’ve got to get together on the same page and make people aware,” Thompson said.
Board attorney David Houston said supervisors have addressed similar instances with delinquent garbage bills numerous times. Supervisors have tried lobbying for a change in the state law with no luck.
District 1 Supervisor Joseph Richardson said board members have seen the heartache residents have been through when faced with large garbage bills they didn’t create but are still responsible for paying.
Thompson asked for Houston to write a letter to give him a starting point to work on and said he could talk to other state representatives about the issue.
“Laws sometimes need to be changed, and this is one of those laws we really need to start looking into,” Thompson said. “All it takes is one voice to get things moving, so I’ll start talking to the rest of them that this is a constant thorn that’s been with everybody when it comes to garbage bills.”
Board president Hosea Bogan wanted for constituents to know the law has been in place for a while and supervisors cannot go against it or any law. Supervisors do not make state laws; the Mississippi Legislature does.
Federal building renovation
Demolition work on the Thomas G. Abernethy Federal Building in Aberdeen began ahead of schedule last week, and Judge Sharion Aycock gave a report to supervisors.
Birmingham-based Brasfield & Gorrie is the lead contractor, and Aycock said the company has completed several public works projects, such as courthouses.
“The contractor was chosen over a year ago and has been at the table with us for over a year. They’ve been at the table with us designing the building ready to build. What that means is that construction will be expedited. Now that we have a set of plans for the design, we don’t have to go out and bid that, which saves lots of time,” Aycock said.
The anticipated length of construction time is 21 months, but there’s a possibility it could be completed ahead of then. The U.S. District Court is anticipated to move back to the building in spring 2024.
Everything on the inside of the building, including heating and cooling, will be replaced, and a new vestibule will be added to compliment the building. The Post Office will remain open during the construction.
Aycock noted the contractor is in need of a 4,000- to 5,000-square-foot climate-controlled storage space, and county officials suggested a particular location at the Prairie Industrial Site for consideration.
Several workers with the project are also seeking temporary housing for its duration.
Aycock thanked Sen. Roger Wicker, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Congressman Trent Kelly for their efforts to help secure $24.3 million through Congress to fund the project, as well as supervisors for their support.
County officials, in turn, thanked Aycock for her efforts through to keep the court in Aberdeen, saying it was because of her drive and persistence the project is coming into fruition.
“I think everyone in this room owes you a tremendous debt of gratitude for your leadership in moving this thing forward. Had it not been for you, judge, this would still be vacant down the road. It was your leadership and your leaning on the right people to get this done,” Houston said.
In late 2017, members of the community met with U.S. District Court officials and representatives from the federal building’s owner, General Services Administration, and Aycock stressed concerns about mold issues and the need for remediation.
“I don’t think this community understands how important it was to have that meeting in December 2017. Everybody spoke up, and that was the turning point. I think after that, Washington and central office in D.C. started realizing we really did have a problem and had to do something about it,” Aycock said.
During his input later in the meeting, District 4 Supervisor Fulton Ware talked about how the federal building’s renovation and efforts to restore the Parkway Hotel across the street will be good for Aberdeen.
In other business, Ware was approved to donate $1,000 from his rural recreation department for the Aberdeen athletics boosters club.
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Amory's Morgan Mitchell finished second in goals and points, while leading in game-winning goals for the Lady Indians in her sophomore year.
Lee Adams/ICCImages.com
Morgan Mitchell was also selected to the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference North All-Star team as a sophomore.
AMORY – Amory’s Morgan Mitchell was nearly ready to hang up her cleats after graduating from Itawamba Community College, but a first-round loss to Pearl River Community College pushed her in a different direction.
“When Pearl River put us out, I told my dad, ‘I can’t be done with it’,” Mitchell said. “I thought I was going to be done with soccer when I graduated ICC, but after we lost that game, I told my dad that I can’t stop playing.”
That same drive after the tough first-round loss led Mitchell towards continuing her soccer career with the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
“I’d say what separated this opportunity from the others was since it’s a service academy, it’s a great opportunity for what I want to do,” she said. “I eventually want to get into law or politics while continuing to play soccer, but whenever you graduate there are a lot more opportunities from there than at other service academies. I actually talked with the Coast Guard Academy and got accepted when I was in high school, but I decided to go to ICC because I didn’t think I was ready to go. Over the last two years, I think I’ve matured a lot more at ICC, and I think I was more ready now.”
With the growth in maturity came an advancement in leadership, time management and skills on the soccer field, according to Mitchell.
“I definitely think I became a better leader while I was there, and I think I got better skill-wise,” Mitchell said. “I became able to play more positions because in high school I only played forward, but I was able to play wing at ICC. So going into the Merchant Marine Academy, I’ll be more flexible as a player. Also, I think my time management has gotten better because soccer really helps with being on a schedule.”
Like many 2020 graduates, the burden of COVID lingered and left many student-athletes with questions about how their first season would turn out. Mitchell faced similar problems as her freshman season was abbreviated and played in the spring, instead of the normal fall timeline.
“You didn’t really know what to expect because I went in thinking that we were going to play in the fall like we did that past year,” Mitchell said. “It definitely affected not just me but everyone else because it was so different, and I usually play club soccer in the spring, so not being able to play then affected me going into ICC. We started in March and finished in the middle of May, then we turned around and had to move in early for preseason. It was pretty challenging not getting a break, but I was used to it since I played club all throughout high school.”
After her abnormal and hectic freshman year due to COVID, Mitchell shined in her second year at ICC, finishing second in goals with four, second in points with eight and leading the team in game-winning goals with two. Mitchell was also selected to was selected to the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference North All-Star team as a sophomore.
Mitchell credited Amory soccer coach Nathan Clayton for her preparing her for collegiate-level soccer and training her throughout the years.
“Coach Clayton has played a big part in my preparing me because he’s trained me when I was younger and just having him as a coach helped a lot,” she said. “I’ve known him for years, probably before I started playing select, so I was like younger than 10 out at the high school soccer field practicing with him. He was always on me pretty hard about how I played, so I definitely think having someone that expected a lot out of me as a coach really motivated me.”
This year, the Mariners’ women’s soccer team will play its first official season as a Division III team in the Skyline Athletic Conference. Mitchell believes that her two years spent at ICC will benefit her at the next level, and she is excited to play for the team in their first official season.
“I think having two years of playing experience under my belt will help me a lot there because whenever I jumped from high school to college, it was a big adjustment because everything is faster in college,” she said. “We have a smaller roster, but I’m really excited about playing in their first season. I have an extra year, so I’ll play for three years starting this year and won’t play my senior year.”
With being so far away from home, Mitchell plans to lean on the support of her family and friends when dealing with adversity.
“My family and friends have been super supportive, so I think just keeping them close will help me out a lot,” she said. “I think I’ll be okay when I’m there for a little bit and get more adjusted to the environment. When soccer starts, that’ll help me out a lot because I’ll have something that I’m used to. My family has been super supportive of me through the whole process because it’s a long process just to apply, and my friends are excited and want to come to New York to watch me play.”
Mitchell also saw a tremendous amount of support from her community after Mississippi Representative Trent Kelly made a Facebook post, announcing her appointment to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.
“It made me feel super good because it was one of those things where I didn’t know how people would react to me going there, but seeing people reach out to me made me feel loved and supported,” Mitchell said.
Now that she is off on her new journey, Mitchell’s goals are to get her degree, win the conference in soccer and continue to improve as a player.
“I eventually want to get my law degree, and I wouldn’t mind being a JAG officer. After you graduate, you can either take an appointment to any branch or work a civilian job, but I don’t know what I want to do just yet,” she said. “I definitely know that I want to get my law degree and be an attorney or get into politics. As far as my soccer goals, I would just like to win the conference and keep improving to be a better player like I did at ICC.”
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Hatley's Jaxon Knight averaged 21 points for the Tigers as a junior and will return to the point guard position in the upcoming season.
Hatley's Jaden Haro took a starting role late last season and will return for his senior year.
Hatley's Cayson Williams was a force for the Tigers down low last season, averaging eight points and eight rebounds as a sophomore.
Hatley's Josh Griffin posted 14 points in the Tigers' scrimmage against Hickory Flat this summer.
The Hatley Tigers applied the old saying “practice makes perfect” to their summer plans as they worked diligently towards improvement.
“I feel like our summer has gone really well, and most of my core guys came back,” Hatley coach Jake Smith said. “That’s helped out a lot because they know the system, and we’re adding stuff into it and some of these guys are playing harder than they usually have. We went to a camp at Southern Miss to start the month of June, and we won four out of six games there. We’ve played a game or two every week, which is something we didn’t do last year, and it’s been important for us because we missed out on a lot of opportunities to get better last year.”
One thing that has been the Tigers’ main focus over the break has been their ball movement, and Smith believes that his team has improved in that area.
“That’s one thing that Coach (Chris) Moody and I have been telling the guys is to make the extra pass,” Smith said. “Early on, we didn’t do that a lot, and we’d get into situations where we’d swing the ball once or twice and take a shot instead of making the extra pass to the wide-open man. In our game against Hickory Flat, Josh (Griffin) had like 14 points because we understood to keep feeding the hot hand. We really showed what we’re capable of in that game, and I’m proud that we’re starting to understand how to play team basketball.”
Along with sharing the basketball, the Tigers have been locked in on running different defensive schemes to keep their opponents guessing.
“Defensively, we’re trying to add a couple of new plays so we’re not stuck playing one type of defense because I think that really hurt us last year,” Smith said. “A lot of teams watched film and knew how to pick apart our zone, so we’re trying to give teams different looks. When these guys play hard and give their full-out effort on defense, we’re a hard team to beat because we’re scrappy. We’re a smaller team, so I tell them all the time that we have to do all the little things like taking charges, diving for loose balls and boxing out on defense in order to compete.”
Upcoming senior Jaxon Knight and junior Cayson Williams were huge pieces to the Tigers’ success last season as Knight averaged 21 points, while Williams averaged eight points and eight rebounds.
“Everything has really come together, and all of the guys have picked it up and improved since last season,” he said. “Jaxon (Knight) is the leader of the team as far as scoring and running the guard position, and Cayson (Williams) has improved tremendously since last season. His overall effort on defense has changed, and now he understands that it’s okay to come out of the game, take a break and go back in with that same intensity.”
Smith also sees Griffin, Jaden Haro, Greyson Wardlaw, Jarrett Mitchell and Rhett Pickle as big contributors to his team.
“Josh (Griffin) has improved a lot as far as scoring the ball as we saw in the Hickory Flat game,” he said. “Jaden went from a JV player to a starter last season, and he’s one of our main guys now, and Greyson gives us a spark with his shooting. Jarrett played a little last season, but he’s been playing a lot for us recently, and Rhett helped us out a lot towards the end of the season. He’s picked it up and understands his role on the team. I can’t really say one guy has impressed me over the summer because they’ve all improved so much.”
Smith believes the chemistry that his team has formed along with the overall improvements that his players have made will be beneficial for next season.
“We have a better understanding of each other, and we’re trying to build on what we did last year,” Smith said. “We’re starting to play together because our first game at the camp was awful compared to other games we’ve played over the summer. We were very selfish at the start of the summer, but we’ve grown a lot and have become a complete team that shares the basketball.”
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By Jonathan Wise Sports Writer and Galen Holley Sports Editor
TUPELO- The North Mississippi Indians rallied to knock off the Pontotoc Red Sox 5-4 last Thursday in Senior American Legion baseball action at the King City Classic, the annual tournament hosted by the Tupelo 49ers.
Both teams got runners on in the early going but could not capitalize. The Indians got a one-out walk in the top of the 1st, but Jay Huggins was caught stealing, and Pontotoc pitcher Ethan Conlee ended the frame with a strikeout. In the bottom of the 1st Peyton Aldridge reached on an error and stole second base for the Red Sox, but he was stranded when Indians pitcher Cole Kendrick got a strikeout and fly out.
The Indians’ Ethan Kimbrough walked, and Jesse Roberts followed with a one-out base hit in the top of the 2nd, but again the Red Sox got out of it unscathed. Logan Stewart lined a single to left-center for the Red Sox in the bottom of the 2nd. Jayke Logan’s subsequent fly ball dropped after a collision in the outfield, allowing the first run of the contest to score. Logan advanced to third on the play, but Kendrick kept it a one-run game with a strikeout and groundout.
Connor Graves reached on an error for the Indians in the top of the 3rd. Then with two outs, Carson Rowland drilled an RBI double off the left field wall to tie it 1-1. The inning ended when Red Sox’ third baseman Brice Deaton (Pontotoc High School) made a nice catch on a foul ball, just reaching over the top of the fence to snag it after a long run. Pontotoc then put together a 3-run bottom half of the frame. Darius McNeal drew a walk, followed by a single from Aldridge. An RBI single from Deaton gave the Red Sox the lead again. A second run came home on the play after an error on the throw to third base, and later a passed ball allowed Deaton to score to extend the lead to 4-1. A pair of strikeouts stranded two and kept the Indians within striking distance.
Kimbrough led off the 4th with a single. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and ultimately scored when Trevor Dickerson came through with a two-out base hit. After Kendrick worked a one-two-three bottom of the 4th, the Indians threatened again by loading the bases in the top of the 5th on a pair of walks and a hit by Ty Clayton (Pontotoc High School). However, they would come up empty against Logan, the new Red Sox pitcher.
The game swung quickly after two quick outs in the top of the 6th. Graves and Huggins drew walks, advancing to second and third on a wild pitch. Stewart entered to pitch for the Red Sox, and an error at third on a ground ball from Rowland plated Graves to cut the deficit to 4-3. Then a grounder to the right side of the infield from Clayton resulted in another error that allowed two runs to score and put the Indians ahead 5-4. Roberts entered on the mound for the Indians in the bottom of the 6th and retired the side in order to close out the game.
"He's signed to play basketball and baseball at Northeast, so we've been without him during June because he's been attending basketball workouts," said Kyle. During his basketball career at Pine Grove, Rowland averaged 18.4 points per game, and on the baseball diamond he was .309 career hitter with 14 homers and 80 RBIs. Kyle added that Pontotoc's Garrett Pound has pitched well recently, and is progressing in poise and control on the mound.
The last weekend in June the Indians played in a tournament in Columia, Tenn. They defeated teams from Baldwyn, and from Gatlinburg, Tenn. They lost to Columbia and to a team from Evansville, Indiana.
The Indians will play a double header against the East Mississippi Red Birds tomorrow night at Caledonia, games start at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Kyle said they will also play in an 18U Dizzy Dean World Series this weekend at Snowden Grove, times and games TBD.
Pontotoc Red Sox
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The Pontotoc County Supervisors have finally found a steady stream of money that will allow them to do some major road paving in each of their districts. The board will combine monies from the federal government with bond monies that they have sought. The bonds that were issued have a cap of $20 million.
Paying back bond monies in years past would have required the board to raise taxes by adding mils to the next budget year. However, the county will now draw use tax from internet purchases across the county and they estimate some $1.6 million will flow into the county coffers because of it, and the bond payments are estimated to be $1.3 million and whatever is left over above that will be used for road work as well.
Supervisor Board Attorney Phil Tutor said this is unheard of for the most part. “This is a generational opportunity,” he said. “I’ve never seen it in my lifetime without having to put 4 to 5 mils on the tax payers to pay it back.”
For instance the last bond project was for the Pontotoc County Detention Center which was built in 2006 opened in 2007. That project has cost the tax payers 2 mils throughout these years and it is just now about to be paid off. This coming bond issue will also be a some 15 year bond, but no mils will have to be allocated to pay it off.
Chancery Clerk Ricky Ferguson agreed, “We can’t have a very big showing on the roads with the money they get on an annual basis, but with this we will be able to build better roads.”
“Doing a major infrastructure takes a lot of money and this county, just like others, don’t have a lot of dollars for this. We now have the federal money through the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act),” said Tutor. “Supervisors want to use it to build roads and bridges.”
Tutor said that the importance of ARPA monies to the county is they are grant monies that the county doesn’t have to pay back. “And each district will have money to build in their district,” he noted.
According to Ferguson, the county received some $6.4 million but $2.4 has been designated to other projects leaving $4 million to spend on road construction.
Ferguson said that they were able to negotiate a certain amount that they wanted to pay back on the bonds, “We asked the investor to allocate us a $1.3 million bond payment,” he said.
And now that the county has this good news the supervisors and the county engineer are fervently assessing each road to decide which roads to build or re-build.
“The priority roads are the heavily travelled ones,” Ferguson noted. “These will be asphalt roads, not just chip and seal. We are going down to the dirt. This is not a pothole fix but a complete rebuild. We are going to widen some roads and make them safer. Folks are going 60 miles an hour on a road that was designed for 30 mile an hour travel”
However, now that the plans have been set into motion, don’t expect to drive on a new road by Christmas. These things take time.
“We are a little bit ahead of the curve,” said Tutor. “We are trying to get in line first, because other counties are doing this as well. We hope to get the roads under contract by the end of the year and don’t anticipate building until next year.”
Ferguson said that each supervisor has submitted three to five priority roads and the engineer will do a cost analysis. “But getting some of these roads up to par will allow us to free up road repair work to build rather than spending monies on patching.”
Tutor said the monies could not have been offered to the county at a better time. “Being able to combine the ARPA grant with the bond money is a good fit. And having the on line tax money coming back to the county is by far the best revenue stream for us. For years the supervisors have looked at ways to do this without increasing taxes and now we can.”
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Indians edge past Red Sox in sixth-inning rally
By Jonathan Wise and Galen Holley Pontotoc Progress
TUPELO • The North Mississippi Indians rallied to knock off the Pontotoc Red Sox 5-4 last Thursday in Senior American Legion baseball action at the King City Classic, the annual tournament hosted by the Tupelo 49ers.
Both teams got runners on in the early going but could not capitalize. The Indians got a one-out walk in the top of the first, but Jay Huggins was caught stealing, and Pontotoc pitcher Ethan Conlee ended the frame with a strikeout. In the bottom of the first, Peyton Aldridge reached on an error and stole second base for the Red Sox, but he was stranded when Indians pitcher Cole Kendrick got a strikeout and fly out.
The Indians’ Ethan Kimbrough walked, and Jesse Roberts followed with a one-out base hit in the top of the second, but again the Red Sox got out of it unscathed. Logan Stewart lined a single to left-center for the Red Sox in the bottom of the second. Jayke Logan’s subsequent fly ball dropped after a collision in the outfield, allowing the first run of the contest to score. Logan advanced to third on the play, but Kendrick kept it a one-run game with a strikeout and groundout.
Connor Graves reached on an error for the Indians in the top of the third. Then with two outs, Carson Rowland drilled an RBI double off the left field wall to tie it 1-1. The inning ended when Red Sox’ third baseman Brice Deaton (Pontotoc) made a nice catch on a foul ball, just reaching over the top of the fence to snag it after a long run. Pontotoc then put together a 3-run bottom half of the frame. Darius McNeal drew a walk, followed by a single from Aldridge. An RBI single from Deaton gave the Red Sox the lead again. A second run came home on the play after an error on the throw to third base, and later a passed ball allowed Deaton to score to extend the lead to 4-1. A pair of strikeouts stranded two and kept the Indians within striking distance.
Kimbrough led off the fourth with a single. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and ultimately scored when Trevor Dickerson came through with a two-out base hit. After Kendrick worked a one-two-three bottom of the fourth, the Indians threatened again by loading the bases in the top of the fifth on a pair of walks and a hit by Ty Clayton (Pontotoc). However, they would come up empty against Logan, the new Red Sox pitcher.
The game swung quickly after two quick outs in the top of the sixth. Graves and Huggins drew walks, advancing to second and third on a wild pitch. Stewart entered to pitch for the Red Sox, and an error at third on a ground ball from Rowland plated Graves to cut the deficit to 4-3. Then a grounder to the right side of the infield from Clayton resulted in another error that allowed two runs to score and put the Indians ahead 5-4. Roberts entered on the mound for the Indians in the bottom of the 6th and retired the side in order to close out the game.
"He's signed to play basketball and baseball at Northeast, so we've been without him during June because he's been attending basketball workouts," said Kyle.
During his basketball career at Pine Grove, Rowland averaged 18.4 points per game, and on the baseball diamond he was .309 career hitter with 14 homers and 80 RBIs. Kyle added that Pontotoc's Garrett Pound has pitched well recently, and is progressing in poise and control on the mound.
The last weekend in June the Indians played in a tournament in Columbia, Tenn. They defeated teams from Baldwyn, and from Gatlinburg, Tenn. They lost to Columbia and to a team from Evansville, Indiana.
The Indians will play a double header against the East Mississippi Red Birds tomorrow night at Caledonia, games start at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Kyle said they will also play in an 18U Dizzy Dean World Series this weekend at Snowden Grove, times and games to be determined.
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Bryan Jackson from Texas presented the gospel through motorcycles at Family night at the fair last week.
South Pontotoc fourth-grader Bryley Robbins said he rode dirt bikes himself, so he wasn’t easily impressed, but even Bryley couldn’t help being awed by what Bryan Jackson was doing on his motorcycle.
“I like the wheelies,” said Bryley, not taking his eyes off the visiting stuntman from Texas. Jackson put on a spectacle at the Pontotoc Ag Center last Wednesday, one that included flames, an LED screen, and even a Gospel message.
“We’re here to love on people, and to share the love of Jesus,” said Jackson, who travels the country with his wife, Tina, using motorcycle stunts to spread the Good News.
Jackson kicked off his spectacular by riding a custom modified ATK 250 motorcycle. He demonstrated how he set a world record of sustaining a wheelie for 10.6 miles. In setting the record, Jackson drove at just under 10 mph., he said, maintaining the wheelie for one hour and four minutes.
Jackson then switched to a 2022 Beta, an Italian motorcycle he said he was "training" to be in his show. This machine he rode sitting backwards, as he told a story from his childhood about determination and endless possibilities.
During a brief intermission from performing stunts, Jackson, 60, shared his testimony. He came to Christ in 1972, Jackson said, He grew up riding motorcycles with his parents and brother, and even his grandparents were into riding, back in the 1920s. Over the years, Jackson won several national championships, as well as a Vet Championship, and a USA Championship. He also compiled an impressive list of injuries, including undergoing numerous surgeries, as well as having internal plates and bone screws inserted.
At the core of his message, Jackson said, is the belief that it’s OK to have passion in using and honoring the gifts the Lord gives us, and to share those gifts with others for the glory of God’s kingdom.
In the second half of his show, Jackson used fuel canisters mounted on his bike to shoot flames as he rode wheelies, then he switched to 3-wheel ATVs as he continued to amaze.
For the finale, Jackson rode a 3-wheeler customized with a roll cage. He brought the machine to the center of the arena, manipulated the gas and brakes, and turned the whole thing over in a complete, forward roll.
Kendyl McKnight of Bruce was sitting front-and-center with her grand-daddy, and she watched the show with rapt amazement.
“I love it when he does wheelies and stuff,” said Kendyl, 8 years old, as she smiled and shouted over the blaring Christian contemporary music. She said her uncle Brian rode motorcycles too, but not like this.
Wesley Miller, an 8-year-old from South Pontotoc, was equally impressed.
“That last part was my favorite,” said Miller, referring to the trailing flames from the motorcycle, and the forward-rolling 3-wheeler. “I like the things he said, too.”
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Pontotoc's Emily Warren will compete this weekend in Hattiesburg for Miss Hospitality.
In January Pontotoc’s Miss Hospitality Emily Warren started on a journey to put Pontotoc on the map and she has loved every moment. This week she is in Hattiesburg to make our county shine state wide through her smiles and grace.
“I have found so much joy being able to connect with the people of Pontotoc County and more specifically the next generation of Mississippians,” Warren said.
She said that she wants to make an impact on others, no matter what path of employment they will choose. “One of my priorities has always been to pour the same love and encouragement I received growing up into the people who will be our future.”
And she is quick to admit that she has had some great examples in front of her. “I have grown up seeing the impact other local titleholders have had on my community and around the state,” she said. “The love and support they gave me really encouraged me to follow in their footsteps.”
Mississippi is the only state that has a Miss Hospitality Pageant. The first one was held in 1949. This pageant provides opportunities for young ladies age 18 to 24 to spread that hospitality across the state and throughout the country.
The competition allows the young ladies the opportunity to earn some of the $100,000 in scholarships available to Mississippi colleges and universities. They will also be able to learn more about Mississippi's rich heritage and to develop their own interview, public speaking, and interpersonal skills.
The contestants leave the experience with new friendships, increased confidence, and a deeper understanding of all that Mississippi has to offer.
But what about the one who walks away with the crown and title? She serves as Mississippi's goodwill ambassador.
Miss Hospitality participates in several events throughout her year of service that promote economic development and tourism in the state. She traditionally attends the Governor's Conference on Tourism and the Dixie National Rodeo.
She represents Mississippi as one of several public figures at the annual Mississippi Day in Central Park in New York City. She also takes part in various parades and ribbon cuttings throughout the state.
Emily knows the importance of her role not only on a state level but especially on the local level.
“Miss Hospitality is centered around promoting tourism and economic growth on local and state levels. This is so beneficial for Pontotoc County by giving a larger platform to share all the fantastic things we have to offer on a state level and beyond.”
Since she has lived in Pontotoc all these years, and there are so many great things to talk about, she said it was a challenge to come up with her commercial for our county.
“Coming up with my commercial for locals was challenging initially because I was not really sure what I wanted to specifically highlight, but once I figured it out it’s actually been an idea I’ve stuck with for my state competition as well.”
And she gave us a sneak peek idea of what it will be, “My commercial highlights the family friendly atmosphere of the Tanglefoot Food Truck Park which I feel best encapsulates the spirit of Pontotoc County’s hospitality,” she said.
When she landed in Hattiesburg last Sunday, July 10 she has since been in a whirlwind of activities, starting with rehearsals that afternoon. Monday saw more rehearsals and a tailgate party and Tuesday she toured Hattiesburg and did some community service projects followed by a Breakfast at Tiffany’s party that evening.
“Wednesday morning (today, July 13) I will have my one-on-one interviews with the judges, more rehearsals, and a relaxed camping party this evening.
“Thursday is full panel interviews and full dress rehearsals.
“Friday morning I will have my Mississippi Speech, an autograph party at Turtle Creek Mall, rehearsals, and preliminaries that evening where I’ll perform my hometown commercial and complete in evening gown. Saturday we have a farewell brunch and finals that evening!”
And if you catch a sense of excitement in her voice, it is because she is indeed excited and ready to compete, in fact, she is not even nervous, “My prep team has worked extremely hard to ensure I feel as prepared as possible for state competition, so I’m not really feeling nervous, just excited for the week!”
A different angle that the contestants had to work with this year was through social media. You will see all kinds of interesting things about Pontotoc on her facebook page.
“Each contestant has been challenged to share specific posts through our social media challenge, and judges will actually choose a social media winner who will receive additional scholarships. I have had a lot of fun creating content and exploring not only Pontotoc County but all of Mississippi as well!” she enthused.
With her final competition coming up Saturday, if you would like to wish her well through flowers, gifts or cards they can be sent to:
US CONFERENCE SERVICES
EMILY WARREN
MISS HOSPITALITY
118 COLLEGE DRIVE BOX #5102
For UPS Packages
MISS HOSPITALITY - ATTN: TIFFANY HAMMOND
USM RECEIVING
2609 W 4TH STREET
HATTIESBURG. MS 39401.
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An architect's rending of what the spray park will look like.
Aldermen vote to buy splash pad among other agenda items
New Albany is getting a new spray park, but it probably won’t be ready until next year.
Aldermen voted to accept a bid from Landscape Structures to provide a facility for $194,738.54. A second bid of $215,329.70 came from Spray Park Structures.
The new park will be at the same location as the old one and will feature a variety spray patterns and sizes.
The spray park will not have a slide, which would have greatly increased the price. In fact, when aldermen voted to purchase the park, they did not have a funding source allocated. Mayor Tim Kent said they probably would need to take the money from the city’s general fund and move it into the swimming pool account.
Delivery and construction time is 144 days, which is why the park probably won’t be ready this season.
Although public hearings on zoning and cannabis were set for next month, some property pubic hearings were on the agenda.
Property at 605 Baker, 610 Baker, 614 Baker and 609 Martin were up for possible condemnation as being uninhabitable for some time.
Tiffany Johnson spoke to the board saying she had learned that she owned part or all of the properties and was their representative. She said she was willing to demolish the 614 Baker structure but has plans to renovate the others. Aldermen questioned why nothing had been done sooner but she said she had only recently learned of her ownership and had been in touch with city officials since then. She said she was paying taxes on and cleaning the property and has met with a contractor to establish a plan.
Eventually, the board did vote to condemn the 614 Baker property, giving the owner 30 days to demolish it or the city would then do so. She will work with city officials to better determine the feasibility of saving the other three and report back to the board.
In general business, Fire Chief Mark Whiteside read a proclamation honoring building inspector and zoning administrator Eric Thomas for being chosen Mississippi Building Official of the Year.
In departmental business, light, gas and water manager Bill Mattox got permission to purchase a used service truck for the gas department for $49,999, to make a $356,014.25 payment to Roberts Construction Company for work on the new municipal building and $67,207 for a 2,500 KVA transformer.
Police Chief Chris Robertson received permission to sell 11 seized vehicles. He said some are not running and some are total losses. The better ones may be sold on the GovDeals website and he may just seek bids on the others. One of the vehicle might be usable as a courtesy car for the New Albany-Union County Airport.
Robertson also said the computer software his department is using is obsolete and has become unreliable, causing financial errors.
New court software from Delta Computing would cost $19,500 for the licensing fee, $175 per month maintenance and $400 per month for access to the computer server. Robertson was to have one or more alternative sources this week so aldermen could vote.
Park and rec director Chase Jeter told aldermen that the electronic message board by the highway at the sportsplex is wearing out and its components are obsolete. He said a new board with better resolution would cost $83,000 and the old board still might be useful somewhere. No action was taken on the matter.
Fire Chief Whiteside presented a metal plaque to aldermen that will go on Station 2 in appreciation of all they have done for the department.
He also brought up the question of establishing an Emergency Medical Services District, which Union County supervisors are considering now. Aldermen decided to take no action until the board attorney could attend the county’s public hearing on the matter to learn more about it.
In planning and zoning, Eric Thomas reported that the planning and zoning board had approved Ben Coleman’s planned mixed use development at 291 Starlyn Dr. and a siding variance for High Point Coffee Roaster at 605 Hwy. 15 North.
Mayor Kent read a proclamation recognizing the New Albany Tennis Team as the 2022 Class 4A State Champions, although no one was present to accept it.
Finally, the board approved solid waste and sanitation fee changes.
The cost to put material in the landfill is going up to $4 per ton in August, in line with the operator’s having to increase his fee due to fuel and other costs.
The monthly sanitation fee is going up from $9.95 per month to $11.95 per month. Mayor Kent noted that the rate has been the same for a long time and neighboring cities are already charging $19 or more.
Also changing is the fee for the city to provide a trash truck. The city street department will place a truck at a location over the weekend and pick it up Monday to dispose of contents. The old fee has been $75 while the cost will go up to $125.
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Professional biographer Carl Rollyson , PhD, Professor of Journalism at Baruch College, City University of New York, has published more than 40 books.
The Union County Heritage Museum will host Rollyson at a book talk and book signing on Tuesday, July 19, at noon regarding his recent two-volume biography of New Albany native William Faulkner.
A brown bag lunch is available at 11:30. The event is free.
A prolific writer, blogger and speaker, Rollyson is the author of 14 biographies for adults, and four biographies for children. His biographies of Rebecca West and Amy Lowell, and his study, A Higher Form of Cannibalism? Adventures in the Art and Politics of Biography, were supported by NEH Fellowships.
Three of his biographies of Marilyn Monroe, Dana Andrews, and Walter Brennan are part of the Hollywood Legends series published by the University Press of Mississippi.
His first book, Uses of the Past in the Novels of William Faulkner, remains in print. His two-volume biography, The Life of William Faulkner, and The Last Days of Sylvia, were both published in 2020. University Press of Mississippi will publish William Faulkner Day by Day in November 2022.
First scheduled to speak in New Albany in 2020, his visit has had to be cancelled twice due to the pandemic. This year, he will speak in New Albany, Pontotoc and Ripley while in the area.
With access to previously unpublished materials, Rollyson has created a life of Faulkner for the new millennium. With access to previously unused materials, Rollyson presents the richest rendering of Faulkner yet published.
In addition to his own extensive interviews, Rollyson consults the complete—and never fully shared—research of pioneering Faulkner biographer Joseph Blotner, who discarded from his authorized biography substantial findings in order to protect the Faulkner family.
Rollyson also had access to the work of Carvel Collins, whose decades-long inquiry produced one of the greatest troves of primary source material in American letters related to Faulkner.
This first volume, “The Life of William Faulkner: The Past is Never Dead 1897-1934,” follows Faulkner from his formative years through his introduction to Hollywood. Rollyson sheds light on Faulkner’s unpromising, even bewildering youth, including a gift for tall tales that blossomed into the greatest of literary creativity. He provides the fullest portrait yet of Faulkner’s family life, in particular his enigmatic marriage, and offers invaluable new insight into the ways in which Faulkner’s long career as a screenwriter influenced his iconic novels.
Integrating Faulkner’s screenplays, fiction, and life, Rollyson argues that the novelist deserves to be reread not just as a literary figure but as a still-relevant force, especially in relation to issues of race, sexuality, and equality. The culmination of years of research in archives that have been largely ignored by previous biographers, The Life of William Faulkner offers a significant challenge and an essential contribution to Faulkner scholarship.
Rollyson takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the composition of Absalom, Absalom!, widely considered Faulkner’s masterpiece, as well as the film adaptation he authored—unproduced and never published— Revolt in the Earth.
Volume 2 of this monumental work will be released in November 2022.
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Photo by Roderecka Wright
By Brandy Watson New Albany Gazette
Local woman set to Dance like a Star
A large brick building that is set at the edge of town, surrounded by a chain linked fence. Games and playground equipment fills the outside spaces, while inside the lobby walls are adorned with inspirational quotes and daily schedules. A friendly receptionist answers back-to-back phone calls while also greeting visitors. The laughter of children playing booms from the gymnasium and the space is filled with a happy, yet extremely organized, ambiance. A man whose stature and comport alone demands respect walks in, and dozens of children quietly take their place in the floor and on the bleachers to listen to what he has to say. Their respect and admiration for him is clear.
This is the scene at the local chapter of the Boys and Girls Club and the man is Marquel Conner, a New Albany native who was a part of the club his last two years of high school and whose own children currently attend, has served as the Unit Director since 2014. “Boys & Girls Club is a safe haven for all youth in our city starting at age 6-18,” says Conner, “We cater to our youth by providing programs and activities that center around good character and leadership, healthy lifestyles and academic success. I am the unit director and my duty is to ensure a safe and positive environment at our center daily, make sure all of our core programs are run daily, community involvement, school interaction and uphold organizational duties.” Conner, who is active in his church and serves as a musician there in his spare time, is passionate about the club and says the chances and opportunities to do things for kids that they've never done, and trying to show them that there are better ways to go about certain things in life is what he loves most about being the Boys and Girls Club director, but most of all that he gets to stress the importance of education and school work.
The impact that Boys and Girls Club has on the community is why Shaletha Knox, a New Albany native who works as a benefit program specialist at the Division of Medicaid, agreed to participate in the organization’s yearly fundraiser Dance like the Stars, a dance competition in which 10 dancers compete to be the grand champion. All of the Boys and Girls Clubs in Northeast Mississippi will be represented. Like Conner, Shaletha’s own child, daughter Caddisyn Armstrong who is an upcoming 4th grade student in New Albany Public School District, attends the club and will also be dancing. Shaletha is the first Dance like the Stars participant whose child is a member of the Boys and Girls Club. When Knox was asked to participate, she didn’t hesitate despite the grueling twice-per-week practice schedule and her own admission that she has “five left feet” and can’t dance, because she says that she sees how much her daughter benefits from the Boys and Girls Club. The practices take place at the Dance Studio of Tupelo and Shaletha is working with a professional dancer, who will be her partner at the fundraiser. She says the love and safety of the staff, the friendships that she makes, the encouragement and building of character and leadership skills are all things that Caddisyn loves about the club. Although Knox has not been as personally involved in the club activities in the past, she plans to become more hands-on since agreeing to the dance fundraiser and seeing how much is involved in keeping the club going. Each dancer, Knox says, is asked to raise money and every cent that she raises goes directly to the New Albany club. She encourages the community to volunteer with the Boys and Girls Club, to not only give but go by and see for yourself the impact that your money has. Marquel Conner adds, “We have such a strong unit because our New Albany School District supports us in nearly every way that you can imagine! Strong support from our community and schools equal successful students and the club is all about our youth. You never know, the next mayor, lawyer, doctor, teacher, business owner or loan officer may come out of this very building. Boys & Girls Club is a safe and positive place for kids! We are a non-profit and the public can help by donating financially, joining our local advisory board, volunteering or contacting our center to help with coordinating/recommending guest speakers for our youth.”
Dance like the Stars benefitting Boys and Girls Club will be held on July 30 at 6:30 p.m. at the Bancorpsouth Arena. General admission tickets are $20, and an admission plus dinner option is available for $50.
Photo credits: Roderecka Wright
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Northeast Mississippi Community College currently offers open registration for the Fall 2022 semester for those looking to further their education.
Northeast officials are committed to having a traditional schedule of in-person classes for the Fall 2022 semester, however, if face-to-face classes do not suit a potential student's schedule, do not fret. Northeast is the top school in the state of Mississippi - in both the four-year and two-year college ranks - and is the second-best community college in the nation for online education.
Office hours are Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. and from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m. (noon) on Fridays. The college is closed on Saturdays and Sundays.
For online courses, the last day to add or drop a full-term in-person course is Thursday, August 25 and Tuesday, August 23.
Thanksgiving Break
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“Receiving National Main Street Accreditation is a prestigious designation and we congratulate each of these communities in Mississippi for this significant achievement," said Michelle Jones, MMSA Board President. "Main Street programs play a strategic role in making Mississippi more competitive by being a catalyst for economic development."
In 2021, Mississippi Main Street's Designated Communities generated 193 net new businesses, 49 business expansions to existing businesses, 603 net new jobs, 58 building rehabilitations, and 241 downtown residential units. In addition, 95 public improvement projects were completed as well as 14 new construction projects in historic downtown business districts. More than $186 million was invested by the public and private sectors in 2021, and more than 28,452 volunteer hours were recorded.
"MMSA evaluates each of our local Main Street program's performance annually, and we work in partnership with Main Street America to identify the local programs that are committed to comprehensive revitalization and achieving meaningful community outcomes," said Thomas Gregory, MMSA Executive Director. "We congratulate all of our nationally accredited programs and remain committed to assisting every community to achieve this status of recognition."
Mississippi Main Street Association
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Lone Star girls state championship 1949 team
Union County Heritage Museum
Jim Wilson, Joe Hensley, Ewart Autry grabbling, or noodling
Nominate your local sports hero for upcoming exhibit
Sports unifies a community like nothing else.
There is no doubt about that. Nothing is more exciting than local teams and athletes playing their hearts out. We the players, the parents, and the families of the teams and the athletes know what this means to the community.
And as the Union County Heritage Museum gets closer to fabrication and installation of The Sporting Life of Union County, staff and volunteers are busy gathering stories, photos and objects. A plea is being made to the general public to help this project by nominating athletes from your schools and communities.
This ambitious project has been in the works for more than a year. Design 500, an exhibit design firm located in Memphis, is working with the museum to make this happen. The front hall gallery of the museum will be filled with objects, photos and stories of great athletes and great moments from the sports life of Union County.
“We have had some fabulous people as athletes and as coaches. National League players in football, baseball and basketball, as well as wonderful collegiate and high school players who make our community proud,” said Jill Smith, director. “We have found almost 100 state championship teams from Union County.”
Glen Howe, Armintie Price Herrington, John Stroud, Johnny Stroud, Eli Whiteside, Marcus Green, John Wayne West, and so many others who have worked and sweated to create sports history in Union County are included. More great local athletes are the top players in tennis, softball, golf, track and soccer.
If you know of an athlete who has played on college teams, has been a high school All-American, has played on a state championship team, please nominate them for this exhibit.
There will be a searchable database included with photos, video and more.
Hunters and fishermen and dog trainers, boxers, and more are part of this Union County tribute to the sporting life. Gordon Simmons and Clyde Morton are two of the great dog trainers from this county.
Are there others?
“Please help us by submitting a nomination form. If you have photos that you do not want to donate or other materials, we can scan those and give your originals back,” Smith said.
“We are daily searching for athletes who should be included, and we know that we have not found everyone. We hope that you, the people of the community, will reach out and submit athletes,” she said.
Forms can be picked up at the museum as well as emailed. Call 662-638-0014.
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Christopher Cody "Bubba" Daniel, 30 of Blue Mountain, passed away July 02, 2022, at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford surrounded by his loving family.
A Christian, Chris was born September 25, 1991, in New Albany to Bobby and Rhonda Hall Daniel. He received his education from the Myrtle School System and was a mechanic and auto body man for many years as long as his health allowed.
New Albany Funeral and Cremation Care invites you to share memories with the Daniel Family at nafuneralsandcremations.com
Ms. Pratt was preceded in death by her parents, two sisters, Reba Jubert and Mary Louh McClure, one grandson, Cory King, one great grandaughter, Sailor Smith and two nephews Allan and Justin Anderson.
James Donald "Bing" Wildman, 78, passed away on Tuesday, July 5, 2022 at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo. He was born August 8, 1943 in Sherman, MS to Fred Leo Wildman and Jamie Lee Davis Wildman. His name was synonymous with law enforcement in and around New Albany and Union County. He retired from New Albany Police Department, and even after retirement had helped the area departments when needed. Over the years, he had served as Assistant Chief of Police, Chief Deputy of the Sheriff's Department and as a constable. He enjoyed fishing, camping and playing dominos. He was a member and deacon of Blue Springs Baptist Church.
Funeral services will be at 2:00p.m. Friday, July 8, 2022 at United Funeral Service with Bro. Gary Yates and Bro. Jeff Watts officiating. Burial will be at Glenfield Memorial Park. United Funeral Service is honored to be entrusted with these arrangements.
He is survived by his wife, Pat Seger Wildman, and his daughter, Robin Wildman, both of Blue Springs; two brothers, Danny Wildman (Shelia) of Moss Point, MS and Fred Wildman of Pantego, TX; two granddaughters, Savannah Wildman and Peyton Wildman; and a great granddaughter, Lailey James Wildman.
He was preceded in death by his parents; a son, Ronald Jeffrey Wildman; and a sister-in-law, Lura Wildman.
Pallbearers will be Chad Glasson, Clay Keener, Joe McDonald, Jeff Chism, Ricky Rorie, Joe Bryant, Tim Pannell and Clay Hogue. Honorary pallbearers will be his Parks domino gang, law enforcement officers and Wayne Martin.
Visitation will be Thursday, July 7, 2022 from 4:00p.m. until 7:00p.m. at the funeral home.
For online condolences and guest registry, please visit, www.unitedfuneralservice.com
Bessie Mae Campbell, 94, passed away on Friday, July 8, 2022 at Union County Health and Rehab in New Albany. She was born July 3, 1928 in Union County to the late DeWitt and Govie Campbell. She was a homemaker. She enjoyed reading, particularly The Bible and the Guidepost Magazine, cooking, and watching soap operas. She was a member of Cornersville Baptist Church.
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Supervisors set hearing on county redistricting Aug. 15
Some New Albany residents will find themselves living in a different county supervisor’s district next month.
The Union County Board of Supervisors received the proposed map showing new district lines reflecting changes in population this past week.
The five districts are supposed to contain as close to the same average population as possible for even representation. Each Census shows how numbers have grown or decreased in the past 10 years and if the deviation is more than five percent, moving the boundaries is required.
Based on the 2020 Census, the Second, Third and Fifth supervisors’ districts needed to make changes. The Second District needed about 480 fewer residents, the Third District needed about 330 fewer while the Fifth District was short by about 580 people and needed to add some.
Elliott and Britt Engineers won the contract to redraw the district map and supervisors said they were able to make all the needed population shifts inside the New Albany City Limits.
That means no one living outside the city will change supervisors, but some people in town will find themselves in a different district.
This is particularly relevant in that all county, district and state officials will be up for election next year and candidates will be announcing Jan. 1. Some city residents will be voting for a different set of supervisor candidates and a potential candidate might have to run in a district he or she does not live in currently.
A public hearing will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Aug. 15, in the boardroom at the chancery court building for anyone who is interested or wants to comment. The new district lines probably will be adopted after that.
The population and district changes also affect the East Post and West Post justice court judge and constable offices, although residency in either is not required to seek offices as long as the candidate lives in the county.
The official 2020 Census shows the Union County population at 27,777, an overall growth of about 2.3 percent over the past decade. The racial makeup of the county was about 81 percent White, 15 percent Black and four percent Other, but is shifting to 78 percent White, 16 percent Black and seven percent Other (with some rounding).
Glenfield and the medical district are mostly in the First District. Hwy. 30 West of I-22 and the Martintown Road area are in the Second District. The Third District is mostly north and south of the city limits but Carter Avenue connects the two parts. Much of south New Albany and the southern side of Hwy. 348 are in the Fourth District. The Fifth District includes most of the historic North Side of New Albany, the area east of the high school and Hwy. 30 East down to Hwy. 348.
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The photo is one of the works from Pontotoc Artist Gail Morton's Seymore Prater Series.
Visual Storytelling: Six Mississippi Voices is a unique art exhibit that opens this Friday, July 15, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Union County Heritage Museum in New Albany.
Six different styles of artwork with six different voices from across Mississippi kick off the Literary Fest in New Albany. Each year a series of programs, exhibits, community reads, writing workshops and writing competitions offer the community unique opportunities to learn, enjoy and celebrate the art of storytelling.
This year is no exception. The Visual Storytelling show and sale features Pontotoc artist Gail Morton showing her Seymour Prater Series. Her three-dimensional ceramic works, as well as paintings, focuses on stories of the well-known Pontotoc clairvoyant.
Rebecca Browning of New Albany will exhibit detailed print work featuring her studies of nature and the joy that it brings from her Union County meadow gardens. Her attention to the detail of nature and the joy of creation is communicated through her work.
Terri Hester Cribb of Madison, Miss. focuses many of her paintings on light. Although she is legally blind, she does not see it as a hindrance. “I always have to pay close attention to light, shadow and color in order to navigate any new environment. I walk through a world that is made up of abstract impressionist and realism,” she said.
Randy Jolly of Vicksburg is the director of the Samuel Marshall Art Galleries and Instructor of Design at Mississippi College. His work encompasses a variety of media and his work explores personal symbols and how they impact his storytelling. “I try to explore art and art making as a means of communication and another way to express feelings and desires,” he said.
Miriam Wahl is a professor of the Art History Department of Mississippi College. She grew up on a farm in Panola County, and the work she is showing is part of a series “On the Farm,” which is an ongoing record of a time and place so precious, but no longer accessible. “I feel compelled to record these memories if only for myself,” she said.
Rosanne McKenny from the Mississippi Gulf Coast likes to balance her artwork in a balance between revealing too much detail and leaving parts unsaid. She was raised by American parents in Italy and had the opportunity firsthand to appreciate classical art. She and her husband work at a Christian mission hospital among the rural poor and her stories explore the essence of human experiences common through many cultures.
The opening will feature the live music of Wendy Jean Garrison of Oxford who is a well-known slide guitar player.
The opening is free and open to the public. The exhibit will continue through August.
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There’s good news and bad news for residents who live on County Road 81, also known as Airport Road.
Construction of a new bridge over Jasper Creek near Cotton Plan is nearing completion. That means residents will no longer have to detour but it also means cut-through traffic from Blue Mountain and Ripley will likely resume.
Third District Supervisor C. J. Bright said the project, which was started in March, was supposed to take about six months and the contractor may run over some but work is nearly done.
There is no good detour around the construction area. Drivers coming south on Hwy. 15 should just remain on that highway. Those on CR 81 can cut over to Hwy. 15 on County Road 82, although that is still considerably out of the way if you live on the north end of CR 81.
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These tomatoes were "Braxton's tomatoes in 2022"
Question: Since the pandemic, are our younger ones staying outside more and learning from their activities there?
Answer: At least one book has been published about the importance of our children's place in the outdoors. Over a decade ago, the Lee County Master Gardeners talked about a book The Last Child in the Woods (Louv, 2005) that examined this phenomenon. Read years ago, a couple of Louv's arguments still resonate and connect.
Louv's first claim is that children's involvement in imaginative, sustained activities in the natural world is free; therefore, it is not a part of a marketing focus. That daily afternoon playhouse-building beneath the trees, often with dirt-and-leaf creations mirroring indoor tables, required no money, just free play-building under a canopy of green. According to research, though, since children's independent, imaginative activity brings no money to a business world, there hasn't been a focus on their getting out into the natural world, a most relevant place for children (Louv, 2005).
Others may argue that children playing outside for an extended time might be hurt if without continuous adult supervision. (Remember being outside--in that backyard conducive to play--and climbing pecan trees there? One reached for a weaker limb. Then, that one hit the ground --) Yet, Louv stresses the importance of outside free-play or activity, valuable for lessons learned (Louv, 2005). What might they make of that backyard dirt, grass, honeysuckle vines, a row of plum trees, and a sweet gum?
And, our current observations can connect to that research today--
Covid put a lid on most of our goings-on in the summer of 2020. That year, ten-year-old Braxton planted a raised bed beside his house in town. There, he grew watermelons and green beans, gathering 40 beans--a first time experience--for their summertime dinner. For more fun, the moonflower seeds, brought to him from the Library Yard Sale that year, yielded large shrubs. His moonflowers continued with huge blooms, fascinating friends there at night as they moved outside to find the iridescent, white blooms.
His current gardening can show some summer work in 2022. An impromptu interview showed his perspectives and his often independent work.
First of all, his plants differ some from those of his pandemic garden. This year, there are no moonflowers, maybe due to the uniqueness of those seeds, gifted. This time he planted tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, jalapenos, and watermelons. And, answering a question about his most challenging plant--"Sweet potatoes." Why? He doesn't know when they'll be ready and wonders how to know that. In some thoughtful reverie, he hears, "Harvested in the fall." (MSU P2784--Wait 90 to 120 days and before soil is below 60 degrees and not too dry).
Which of his plants does he consider the best? Without hesitation, "Tomatoes. We've eaten some of those. This morning I picked twenty--" To some surprise, he answered, "They're cherry tomatoes."
Has there been what he considers an unusual gardening incident? This rising seventh grader told of how a product could be brought into the garden to help protect plants. "I don't know what it's called, but there's a powder that you sprinkle over all the plants. You have to wash your hands and any--yeah, produce--that you pick." ("Insecticides" from MSU Extension tells how to use Sevin and any other powder. Always follow label instructions.)
In summary, he showed his garden from the beginning to its current rows--"First planted at the end of May." (School was out and here was a much-needed outside commitment.) When asked about his growing area as a raised bed, he didn't think so, as "It is one 2x4 in height, and put together by my Papaw Sutton. My granddaddy built it." More specifics followed. "I got my first tomato plant on June 5. (It sounds as if he has kept a gardening calendar of some kind.) Lately, in addition to the tomatoes, he has gathered "a cucumber, a bunch of jalapeños, and-- there's a baby watermelon."
Knowing that he would be away for a week, he wondered how he might care for his plants. Help in watering and gathering the crops would work. He ended with, "I check it and water most days, sometimes every other day."
In a shared response to the above interview, Claude Jones, well-known Pontotoc gardener, commented after some reflection, "The thing about gardening is that after that first seed is planted, there is a seemingly timeless expanse of days until the last dying stalk of it ends in late fall. Daily, plants need checking or tending in some way. It is work."
Finally, Louv (2005) suggests solutions to his research-based arguments. "The harm to children and society with their decreased exposure to nature is a 'nature deficit disorder.' Direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development and their physical and emotional health."
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Special to the Progress
The second Miss Mississippi Volunteer pageant, held Saturday night at the Performing Arts Center in Tupelo, is proud to present its new titleholder – 24 year old Columbus native, Hannah Perrigin.
Having competed throughout the past week in the phases of private interview, talent, fitness and wellness in swimsuit, evening gown, and a Top 5 onstage question, Perrigin was awarded a $10,000 scholarship to further her education and a host of other awards and sponsorships in addition to the title.
“Being crowned Miss Mississippi Volunteer means more than just a title to me,” Perrigin said. “It means that every no in my life has led me to this yes, and I am ready to get to work for this incredible organization.”
Perrigin is a 2020 graduate of the University of Mississippi, where she earned a Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies and currently works as a Content Marketing Specialist at Anytime Fitness, covering multiple territories across the Southeast. She is a certified personal trainer and trained model.
Her personal platform, Defined by Me, inspired by her own life’s journey, focuses on providing at-risk individuals with the inspiration and tools to define their own destiny. She has volunteered with United Way, CASA, and other non-profits to empower youth and adults facing adverse life circumstances.
Also crowned on Saturday was Miss Mississippi Teen Volunteer, Elaina Uzzle, a 16 year-old from Lawrence County. Elaina’s platform, Sunsets for Suicide, focuses on advocating for mental health and suicide prevention. She is an upcoming 11th-grade student at Lawrence County High School. During the pageant, she was recognized with the Overall Interview award and preliminary Fitness and Wellness award. She performed an original spoken word piece titled “What Is Normal?” for her talent.
“I have devoted so much time and effort to helping those who struggle with anxiety and depression,” Uzzle said. “Being recognized for that work but also having this title and opportunity to do that on a larger scale means so much to me.”
Perrigin and Uzzle will dedicate the next year to serving their home state through furthering their platforms, empowering young women through the Miss Volunteer America Pageant system, and serving as the official partners for the Mississippi Highway Patrol’s D.R.I.V.E. campaign, promoting safe driving habits to young drivers across the state and working to reduce the state’s historically-high teen driving fatalities.
Additionally, they will represent Mississippi at their respective national pageants held in 2023 in Jackson, Tenn.
The Miss Mississippi Volunteer Pageant is the state branch of the Miss Volunteer America Pageant, a nationwide, non-profit, service-oriented scholarship program based in Tennessee that seeks to empower young women across the country through educational scholarships and extraordinary opportunities. The organization awarded over $90,000 in scholarships to its 20 contestants at the competition.
For more information about Miss Mississippi Volunteer, please contact Director of Media and Public Relations Rachel Shumaker at 662.419.2056.
Hannah Perrigin
Of Columbus
Crowned 2022 Miss Mississippi Volunteer
Mississippi Volunteer
Elaina Uzzle
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GREENVILLE • The U.S. District Court’s ranking judge in Mississippi has ordered a former Amory High School teacher facing child pornography charges to remain in federal custody until his trial.
On Wednesday, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Debra Brown overruled a magistrate’s decision to allow Toshemie Wilson, 46, of Okolona, to be released on an unsecured bond. Following an hour-long hearing at the federal courthouse in Greenville, Brown granted the government’s motion to revoke a release order and to keep Wilson in custody for the duration of the criminal proceedings.
“Under any standard of review, the release order and conditions ordered by the Magistrate Judge are wholly insufficient to address the risk of danger Wilson poses to the community,” Kline said in the motion.
The original release order would have limited Wilson’s use of the internet but allowed him to keep his cell phone. The government argued that was inadequate because victims reported that Wilson recently reached out to them through text messages and Instagram.
Wilson’s alleged activities came to light in early November 2020. According to law enforcement officials, a search of his phone and other electronic devices revealed numerous images and videos of Amory High School male students in sexual positions and/or performing sexual acts.
Kline
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Consider: During 2019, drive-ins accounted for just 2.9% of total box office revenue. But during the summer of 2020, thanks to the COVID-19 lockdowns, drive-in theaters generated as much as 95% North American box office revenue.
Third, drive-ins needed lots of kids, and the Baby Boom era produced plenty of those.
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Davis, Virlon
Virlon Garrett Davis, 96, passed away Monday, July 11, 2022, at Countrywood Assisted Living in Mantachie. She was born May 15, 1926, to John and Willie Garrett. She was a member of Booneville Church of Christ, and was a lifetime member of the Freed-Hardeman Associates. She was a school teacher for 43 years. Virlon enjoyed flowers and yardwork. A Celebration of Life will be at 2:00 P.M. Thursday, July 14, 2022, at McMillan Funeral Home with Minister Jim Estes officiating. Burial will be in Jacinto Cemetery. Visitation will be Thursday from 1:00 P.M. until 2:00 P.M. at the funeral home. She is survived by one sister, Wynell Tompson; one niece, Brenda Dunavent; two nieces-in-law, Janet Coker and Mitzi Thompson; three great-nephews, John (Dixie) Cartwright, Kevin Thompson and Keenan (Kacy) Thompson; one great-niece, Melissa Roberts; two great-great-nephews; and three great-great-nieces. She was preceded in death by her husband of 18 years, R.C. Davis; her parents; two sisters, Laverne Coker and Edith Garrett; two nephews, Tommy Coker and Keith Thompson; and one niece, Lynn Downs. Condolences may be left at www.mcmillanfuneralhome.com.
Virlon Garrett Davis
Mitzi Thompson
Brenda Dunavent
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Mary Johnson, age 65, was born January 16, 1957 in Tippah County, MS to the late Thomas and Vera Prather. She attended Walnut High School. She was married to the late Willie "Doc" Johnson. She worked at Biltrite for over 20 years. Everyone called her, "Susie". She truly loved her family. She leaves four children to cherish her memory: Carla Dixon, Charlotte Leatherwood, Samantha Johnson and Stephan Johnson. Visitation will be Friday, July 15, 2022 from 12p-7p at Foster & Son Funeral Home, Ripley, MS with the family present from 5p-7p. Funeral Service will be Saturday, July 16, 2022, 3p at Bethlehem MBC, Falkner, MS. The body will lie in state one hour prior to service at the church. Interment will follow at Ruckersville Cemetery, Falkner, MS. To view and sign the guest registry, please visit www.fosterandsonfuneralhome.com.
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Cainan Boyd Allen, 38, of Mooreville, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, Mississippi Department of Corrections probation violation.
Steven Brasher, 34, of Mathiston, was arrested by the Saltillo Police Department, possession of methamphetamine.
Zachary Chaffin, 30, no address listed, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, violation of probation.
Cole Mauldin England, 21, of Tupelo, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, felony possession of marijuana, disregard of a traffic device.
Mary Lynn Grady, 44, of Horn Lake, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, possession of a Schedule II drug.
Stacy Johnson, 41, of Shannon, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, possession of a Schedule II drug.
Gary Kemp, 49, of Nettleton, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, possession of a weapon by a felon.
Sylvester Lewis, 32, of Baldwyn, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, possession of a Schedule II drug.
Kala Denae Randolph, 32, no address listed, was arrested by the Plantersville Police Department, Mississippi Department of Corrections probation violation.
An Old Trace Drive Baldwyn woman said three stray dogs have appeared in the neighborhood. The dogs are young and have been getting into people’s trash.
A County Road 2768 Baldwyn man said three black dogs were dropped off at his house. He was advised to carry them to the animal shelter.
Omega Motion in Saltillo said someone in a silver Nissan Maxima pulled up Sunday morning. A tall, slim Black male then cut the catalytic converter off one of the company’s pickups. The suspect backed out of the parking lot so the tag number was not captured on video.
A man went to check on his Highway 178 Mooreville property and found a tent out back. He found two men back there, one of whom had been evicted and removed by a constable. He told them they were trespassing. Deputies told the suspects they needed to leave and not return.
A Pontotoc man said he was in the process of moving and parked his 2011 Chevy pickup at a friend’s County Road 931 Saltillo house for three weeks. When he called to say he was ready to get his truck, the friend said he was not getting his truck back and to not come. The man later learned that the friend had sold the truck for $6,500. He contacted the buyer, who at first said he could come get the truck. The buyer then decided he needed $6,500 before he would turn over the truck.
A Highway 6 Plantersville man said someone tried to force their way into his house while he was away. The bedroom window was broken, and the curtains were pulled through the hole. The bed was in the way and blocked entry to the house. He suspected a male acquaintance from Nettleton could be responsible.
A County Road 1023 Plantersville woman ended her relationship with her now former boyfriend and set his belongings outside. When he arrived, he started calling her, begging her to come home. When she got home around 10:15 p.m., she found her lawnmower covered in paint. The ex- “appeared from the woods” and started cleaning the lawnmower. When he sprayed her with water, she told him to leave because she was calling 911. He left on foot. She said he is back on crystal meth, and he is concerned for her safety.
A Drive 57 Palmetto woman got home around 10:30 p.m. and thought she saw a man come from behind her house, walking east across the property. There was also a suspicious white car parked in the road just east of the house. She said it might have been her brother, who recently bonded out of jail. Deputies checked the area and found no one. Deputies also checked the car and its occupant, determining it had nothing to do with the woman’s call.
A Presley Circle woman said someone entered her unlocked car during the night and stole about $3 in change. Her doorbell camera showed a Black male entering the car around 12:30 a.m., rummaging around and then walking away.
A man said his wife stopped at Dodge’s Store to get something to eat Saturday and did not lock the car. He later discovered his Sig Sauer pistol was missing.
An East Bristow Drive man said an unknown male came to his house last week and threatened him. He aid he has also been receiving crazy text messages from an unknown number. He said he doesn’t have any enemies that he knows of. He wanted a report in case something happens.
Employees at the South Gloster Walmart said a man who has been banned from the business had returned and was trespassing. The officer knew the suspect by sight and knew he had several outstanding warrants for failure to appear in court. The 28-year-old white male was arrested and carried to the Lee County Jail.
A man aid he was hired by a company to help with construction at the Tupelo Children’s Mansion. He was paid by paper check. When he tried to deposit the check, it was declined as having insufficient funds.
A man said he parked his father’s car in the parking lot at the Lane Furniture Belden plant. After his shift, he discovered someone had hit the car, damaging the front bumper and the left head light and turn signal.
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The Punch List: What to do in the Tupelo area
The Association for Excellence in Education (AEE) will host Mingle at the Museum on Thursday, July 14, at Tupelo's Gumtree Museum of Art. The fundraiser will begin at 6 p.m. and feature wine and craft beer tastings and appetizers for attendees to enjoy. Established in 1983, AEE facilitates funds solicited from community contributions through innovative grants that are awarded annually, benefitting parents and children of the Tupelo Public School District.
Mississippi State University associate professor Alex Bostic will have his art come to life this month at the Gumtree Museum of Art in Tupelo. Bostic's "Paintings From Life" will take centerstage at the museum until July 29. A reception celebrating his real-life inspired paintings will take place Friday, July 15, beginning at 5 p.m. at the Gumtree Museum of Art in downtown Tupelo.
Music superstar Olivia Rodrigo will make her way to Oxford's Lyric on Thursday, Sept. 1. The 19-year-old former Disney Channel star has risen to the top of the pop music charts with hits like "good 4 u" and "traitor." Tickets for the teen star's performance start at $124 and can be purchased online.
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Vitalant Senior Account Manager Melinda Murphree presents Randall Wigginton of Smithville with a surprise presentation after a blood donation in late June brought his total donation to 55 gallons of blood.
Balloons and a certificate greet Randall Wigginton at the offices of Vitalant in Tupelo. Over the decades, Wigginton has donated 55 gallons of blood.
On June 29, the 73-year-old hit a milestone of 55 gallons of blood and platelets donated. When he showed up for his regular donation, he was greeted by a smiling staff with a cake, balloons and framed certificate commemorating his dedication to helping others.
"They really did it up nice, and I appreciated that," Wigginton said.
Melinda Murphree, donor recruitment supervisor for Vitalant in Tupelo, said having someone donate as frequently and as much as Wigginton is certainly welcome, but isn't typical.
"Every donor is special, but Randall has certainly exceeded the mark and is very dedicated to the cause," Murphree said.
She said the office staff refers to the day Wigginton makes his regular visit as "Randall Day."
"When Randall comes, it's his day," she said.
Wigginton's first blood donations, while serving in the U.S. Army as a 19-year-old at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, were less altruistically motivated.
"If you donated blood, you got a day off," Wigginton recalled. "That's how I first started. That's the first blood that I ever donated."
He'll be the first to admit that it wasn't the most generous of motivations.
"But that was it," he said.
Over time, his reasons for donating have changed. Wigginton has donated blood or platelets approximately 442 times since 1983 when Vitalant, then known as United Blood Services, would host blood drives his workplace at ITT Engineered Valves in Amory.
While working, he'd donate anytime he had the chance. Now that he's retired, Wigginton donates every two weeks — 26 times per year.
"I've been retired eight years now, and I haven't missed my two-week donation unless we were on vacation (or because of) sickness," Wigginton said.
He began donating platelets in 1996. Platelet donation is a longer process than donating blood, but platelets — part of blood that forms clots to stop or prevent bleeding — are a critical need for cancer patients.
Every person's platelet count is different, but Wigginton attempts to donate enough platelets to help at least two people, and sometimes three, during each visit.
It can take anywhere from an hour and 45 minutes to two-and-a-half hours to donate, Wigginton said. Luckily, the office has a television and refreshments available for donors.
Wigginton has gotten to know the Vitalant staff pretty well over the years. In fact, he's been donating platelets for longer than most of the staff has worked there.
Platelet donation has become so much a part of his regular routine that Wigginton said he almost feels obligated to continue.
"I don't feel right if I do miss an appointment for some reason, which is very seldom if ever," Wigginton said.
"My wife and I have been blessed with many years now, and this is just one way I can give back," he added.
It feels good to know without a doubt that you've helped someone, Wigginton said, and he plans to continue donating platelets for as long as he can. Vitalant staff joked with him as he was recognized for passing the 55 gallon mark, that his next goal is 100.
"They've told me over there that as long as I am physically able and healthy enough, that I can continue to give as long as I want to," Wigginton said. "And I plan to do it as long as I can."
Just how much blood has Wigginton donated?
Smithville resident Randall Wigginton has donated 55 gallons of blood and platelets since 1983. If you're struggling to visualize how much blood that is, allow us to help.
The average human body contains 1 1/2 gallons of blood.
Holstein cows have roughly 10 gallons of blood.
The gas tank of a Northeast Mississippi-manufactured Toyota Corolla can hold 13.2 gallons of fuel.
A standard bathtub can hold around 42 gallons of water (and roughly the same amount of blood).
An elephant has 65 gallons of blood in its body (just 10 shy of the amount Wigginton has donated.)
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NETTLETON – Nettleton Main Street’s busy month of activities continues July 16 with its First Saturdays series on Young Avenue. The monthly event was rescheduled so it wouldn’t conflict with Main Street’s 4th of July activities July 2.
Saturday’s event begins at 4 p.m. with an inflatable bounce house, food vendors, cornhole tournaments and entertainment.
There will be amateur and advanced divisions for the cornhole tournaments, and people may register on the Nettleton Main Street Association’s Facebook page.
Local radio station 95.1 The Farm will play music from 4 until 6 p.m., followed by live music by Southern Discomfort from 6 until 8 p.m. and Nine Lives Gone from 8 until 10 p.m.
There will also be alcohol sales from 4 until 10 p.m.
Nettleton Main Street will also host a Back to School Bash July 30, which compliments tax-free weekend. Several local businesses will host open houses and sales.
Nettleton Main Street Association
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AMORY – During July 5’s board of aldermen meeting, Amory Utilities Manager Mike King requested consideration of a one percent rate increase for retail electricity rates to bridge budget gaps.
“We’ve had a lot of inflation, and our sales volume declined slightly during the pandemic. Our TVA recovery credit will drop from 2.5 percent to 1.5 percent, and our net income is projected to decline a little bit. Our payment on the new bond is anticipated to increase by $100,000,” he said.
Aldermen approved the request, along with drafting a resolution for King to send to TVA.
All rate changes from TVA take place on Oct. 1.
“A bill for $200 would increase to $206. We’ll probably be looking at the same thing next year,” King said.
Mayor Corey Glenn shared his experience fielding several phone calls about fireworks being shot within the city limits during the July 4 holiday.
“The police department got worn out,” he said.
Shooting fireworks in the city limits is illegal, and Glenn suggested posting a reminder about Amory’s fireworks ordinance next year on social media.
Ward 1 Alderman Mike Edgeworth shared a suggestion based on a conversation he had with an official from another city at the Mississippi Municipal League conference.
“There are two days a year where they allow fireworks in the city. That gives the people the freedom to shoot fireworks while it takes away the police department’s burden of getting so many calls. Maybe this is something we can look at for the future,” he said.
Glenn was undecided on the matter.
“I don’t have a preference either way. I like the celebration part but if it is a law in the city, we obviously need to enforce it,” he said.
In other business, the board approved the appointment of Charlotte Baker to a term on the Amory Municipal Library board to fill the unexpired term of Diane Bryant, who resigned.
“She has served a term previously. She has long been actively involved in the mission of the Amory Municipal Library,” said librarian Ruby Holman.
Baker’s term of service will expire in July 2024.
Items tabled from previous meetings continued to be tabled pending further study, including a citizen’s request for a fence around the children’s playground at Panther Park.
“I know we’ve had a lot of conversation about that. I continue to favor a linear fence across the front. I’m not in favor of fencing around the back based on how the topography falls off,” Glenn said.
Glenn closed the meeting requesting prayers on behalf of Ward 4 Alderman Glen Bingham as he recovers from illness.
Corey Glenn
Mike Edgeworth
Glen Bingham
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ABERDEEN – Students in grades six through eight are invited to participate in a summer camp next week intended to set their future career goals sky high. Aberdeen High School’s JROTC program will host an aviation camp July 18-22, which is sponsored by Atmos Energy.
There is no cost for attendees, and the camp is from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. daily.
“The purpose behind the camp is to make more kids aware of aviation- and aerospace-related careers,” said Aberdeen High School JROTC instructor Maj. Allen Williams. “I see this as being another kind of spoke in the wheel of what we’re trying to do where the aerospace science academy is concerned.”
The Aberdeen School District is considering implementing an aerospace science academy, which would be the first of its kind in Mississippi.
With next week’s aviation camp, there will be an orientation session, lessons in aviation history and guest speakers on Monday. On Tuesday and Thursday, students will spend time learning about aircraft at the Monroe County Airport.
Tours are scheduled on Wednesday at the Columbus Air Force Base and Aurora Flight Services, and Friday will culminate with a guest speaker focused on the drone industry ahead of a graduation ceremony.
“They’ll have exposure to professionals in the aviation and aerospace industry,” Williams said.
He hopes aviation camp will help develop an early fascination of flight for younger students.
“We want to plant the seed because this is something we hope to establish and continue to grow. We take the holistic approach to exposing kids to aviation and the aerospace industry, and part of that is engaging kids at a younger age. We’re not just restricting ourselves to these types of activities during the school year.
“I think doing these types of things in the summer months allows us to keep that pump primed for interest with the kids at the high school level. Ultimately, my desire is that we push some of this philosophy to our middle school level so we’re engaging kids at the fourth through eighth level as much as we do in ninth through 12th grade. When we’re successful at creating awareness at the fourth- through eighth-grade level, then we get into the polish mode in nine through 12,” Williams said.
As of last week, more than 20 students were signed up, and there are still available slots. To register, go to https://forms.gle/rT9LoVWyLrqJjamu9.
Allen Williams
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Institute for Organization Management, the professional development program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is pleased to announce that Kelly Martin, IOM, workforce and community development director of the Monroe County Chamber of Commerce, has graduated from the program and has received the recognition of IOM.
Awarded to all graduates of the Institute program, the IOM graduate recognition signifies the individual’s completion of 96 credit hours of course instruction in nonprofit management. In addition, participants can earn credit hours towards the Certified Chamber Executive (CCE) or Certified Association Executive (CAE) certifications. Nearly 1,000 individuals attend the Institute annually.
“Institute graduates are recognized across the country as leaders in their industries and organizations,” said Raymond P. Towle, IOM, CAE, the U.S. Chamber’s vice president of Institute for Organization Management. “These individuals have the knowledge, skills and dedication necessary to achieve professional and organizational success in the dynamic association and chamber industries.”
Since its commencement in 1921, the Institute program has been educating tens of thousands of association, chamber and other nonprofit leaders on how to build stronger organizations, better serve their members and become strong business advocates.
Institute’s curriculum consists of four weeklong sessions at four different university locations throughout the country. Through a combination of required courses and electives in areas such as leadership, advocacy, marketing, finance and membership, Institute participants are able to enhance their own organizational management skills and add new fuel to their organizations, making them run more efficiently and effectively.
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I’ll admit that reading the criminal affidavit against a former teacher accused of producing and possessing child pornography recently was pretty sickening. What’s even more sickening is the fact that some of the allegations stated go back to more than a decade ago.
I realize there’s a line between accusations and a jury’s determination but according to evidence recovered and detailed in the affidavit, the question is how did this allegedly happen again and again and again?
Back when I was in high school, there was a teacher fresh out of college who had a relationship with an underage student. Plenty of us knew but didn’t say anything, so I get it to an extent. Finally, her parents somehow found out, and he was ultimately sentenced to Mississippi Department of Corrections custody.
No matter if you’re a teenager or a Baby Boomer, opening up is sometimes hard to do, but the longer we bottle up those things keeping us distraught, the more damage it does.
From the listening end, be the person who people can open up to and really pay attention when they do.
No matter where you live and how sheltered some of us choose to be, there are dark things happening all around us.
One of my former co-workers, Emily Paul, saw it first-hand years ago while covering local law enforcement executing a search warrant on a registered sex offender. The next day, she asked to never be sent to a story like that again.
The same person had prior charges and as time went on, he continued to push the limits of his freedom, posing a little more danger to others and mental instability each time.
In what I’d call Emily’s crowning career moment, she met with the judge who set his bond following one of the arrests and explained the dangerous trend he was on and asked if something could be done.
She saw something, said it, and the man’s bond was revoked. He is currently serving prison time after being convicted for fondling. I still can’t be more proud of what Emily did.
Did she prevent a young person from being scarred from life? Maybe so. Did she potentially save a life? Who knows?
We love watching superheroes fight off bad guys at the movies, but none of us can fly or shoot laser beams from our eyes.
We can, however, encourage others to be comfortable sharing whatever is troubling them and we can all generally be better listeners. We can speak up and follow up when we know something is seriously wrong.
A downside with some of those trusted listeners is sometimes they can take advantage of situations and prey on others. Be careful when it comes to that type of person. If something seems off about a phrase they say or something they do, don’t laugh it off.
There are plenty of dark things happening around us, and we can live happier lives shrugging them off and staying naïve to the fact.
However, that house down the road with traffic in and out may be a dope house that could ultimately contribute to somebody overdosing. That 33-year-old person you see walking the same route with a backpack every day may be running product contributing to somebody’s addiction. That unmistakable troubled kid with nobody to talk to might be considering something he can never undo.
Parents, talk to your kids. Kids, don’t be afraid to talk to your parents. There are lots of heavy topics that make for some awkward and embarrassing conversations but sometimes you really need to have those talks.
Emily Paul
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Stepping out of your comfort zone to get the job done is a big part of growing and maturing, and that is something that I have been doing over the past week.
Now that most summer practices and games have come to an end, we have entered the real dog days of summer, but of course, the show must go on. I have taken this sluggish period to work ahead on stories, figure out ways to improve my work and dabble in the art of feature writing.
I have learned that feature writing can be fun and challenging at the same time because it challenges writers to turn regular news stories into more compelling, personal stories.
This whole concept of feature writing was fairly new to me as I have only written a few feature stories in my college courses at Mississippi State, writing about a former NFL player from the area, how COVID affected local journalists and things of that nature.
I also did a story for the Chickasaw Journal on Houston’s Luke Hancock after Mississippi State won the College World Series, but even with my limited experience, I still found myself a little nervous going into my first big feature for this week’s paper.
Despite having my own personal doubts, I did not let that hinder me during the process, and I became more and more comfortable listening to and telling these people’s stories.
We started the week by interviewing Amory’s Morgan Mitchell, who decided to continue her soccer career with the United States Merchant Marines Academy. Mitchell’s decision received a lot of attention on social media and getting the opportunity to learn even more about her story was pretty interesting, to say the least.
After that, we interviewed Hatley’s Emilee Slade and Amory’s Andin Johnson. These two were considered high school standouts for their respective schools and after solid years at Meridian Community College, they both have committed to universities.
Slade committed to play softball at the Mississippi University for Women, while Johnson committed to play baseball at the University of North Alabama. One cool takeaway that I got from their interview was how much they have continued to improve at the next level.
Lastly, we talked with Amory’s JJ Jernighan about his journey from walk-on athlete at Mississippi State to earning a scholarship. Jernighan’s story really hit close to home for me considering our parents are close friends, and I have known him since we were kids.
Listening to him talk about everything that he has gone through to get to this point was really inspirational, and I am excited to tell his story along with the other blessed athletes that I have interviewed.
Working on stories like these not only allows me to share people’s stories with the public but also helps me become a better reporter. These four interviews have made me more comfortable conducting them, and I am excited to do more feature stories in the future.
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Mississippi State lands program-record 116 student-athletes on SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll
Mississippi State saw 116 student-athletes named to the 2022 SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll, announced Wednesday by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and the conference office.
The following criteria will be followed: (1) A student-athlete must have a grade point average of 3.00 or above for either the preceding academic year (two semesters or three quarters) or have a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 or above at the nominating institution. (2) If a student-athlete attends summer school, his/her grade point average during the summer academic term must be included in the calculation used to determine eligibility for the Academic Honor Roll. (3) Student-athletes eligible for the Honor Roll include those receiving an athletics scholarship, recipients of an athletics award (i.e., letter winner), and non-scholarship student-athletes who have been on a varsity team for two seasons. (4) Prior to being nominated, a student-athlete must have successfully completed 24 semester or 36 quarter hours of non-remedial academic credit toward a baccalaureate degree at the nominating institution. (5) The student-athlete must have been a member of a varsity team for the sport’s entire NCAA Championship segment.
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OXFORD • Oxford and University of Mississippi police have executed a dozen search warrants and conducted numerous interviews in connection with the search for a 20-year-old student who has been missing since early Friday morning.
Jimmy “Jay” Lee – a 5-foot, 7-inch, 120-pound man with black and blond hair – was last seen leaving the Campus Walk Apartments on July 8 at 5:58 a.m. The Black male was wearing a silver robe/housecoat, a gold cap and gray slippers. His black 2014 Ford Fusion was towed from the Molly Barry Trails apartment complex Friday afternoon. Officials believe Lee may have been visiting someone at the apartment complex at the time of his disappearance.
According to an update released Thursday afternoon, Lee’s car was carried to the state crime lab for processing. The joint investigation has conducted around a dozen search warrants on both physical properties and digital items – like phones or computers. They are still waiting to get the results of some of the searches.
On Thursday, the Associated Press reported that Oxford police had released a recording featuring Lee's father, Jimmie, pleading with the public for help in finding his missing son.
“If anyone knows anything or sees anything, say something. Contact law enforcement. Just tell them what you know," Lee's father said.
Law enforcement officials say they have spoken with many people about Lee's disappearance.
On Wednesday, law enforcement agents and police dogs searched specific areas within the Oxford city limits. In the press release, police said they appreciates the support for the missing man and his family but what it needed right now is information.
Crime Stoppers has pledged $1,000 for information leading to Lee being found, according to various North Mississippi news outlets.
According to the Associated Press, Lee is a Jackson native and public policy major. He's a graduate of Murrah High School.
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Carruthers, James L.
James L. Carruthers, 91, passed away Monday, July 11, 2022, at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo, MS. Services will be on Saturday, July 16, 2022 at 3:30 PM at Greenwood Cemetery. Visitation will be on Saturday, July 16, 2022 from 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM at Greenwood Cemetery. Burial will follow at Greenwood Cemetery.
James L. Carruthers
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Orman, Norma Jean
Mable "Jean" Orman, 87, passed away, on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, at Dugan Memorial Home, in West Point. Ms. Orman was born January 26, 1935, Oktibbeha County, the daughter of the late Mack Rushing and Minnie Mavis Froshour Rushing. After her mother's death, she was raised by her aunt, Pearly Ruth Froshour Elliot, of St. Louis, MO. Ms. Orman was a member of Calvary Baptist Church, West Point. In her early years, she worked at KnickerbockerManufacturing inWest Point. She later returned to school and earned her degree as a Licensed Practical Nurse. She worked as an LPN in the emergency room at the hospital in Aberdeen, MS for several years. She also helped transfer patients, riding with them in the ambulance. She later worked at the West Point Nursing Home and at Dugan Memorial Home, both in West Point. Ms. Orman was married twice - first to Ivis Blackwell, and then to Charles Orman, both of whom preceded her in death. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her aunt, Pearly Elliot; brother, Charles L. "Sam" Rushing; and son-in-law, Dale Strickland. Survivors include her children: Russell Blackwell (Tina) of Medina, TN, Teresa Strickland of West Point, MS and Mark Orman of West Point, MS. Ms. Orman had 9 Grandchildren: Ashley Jae (Robby), Tonya Staten (Michael), Brittany Orman, Allen Orman, Steven Orman, Shannon Blackwell, Melanie Monaghan (Mark), Lee Jolly (Rachel), Mary Thomason (Colby), and 18 great-grandchildren. Pallbearers will be Russell Blackwell, Shannon Blackwell, Harrison Klutts, Robby Jae, Michael Staten, and Colby Thomason. Honorary Pallbearers are: Ray & Betty Crane, Traci Ruth, the Nurses & Staff of The Windsor Place, and the Nurses & Staff of Dugan Memorial Home. A private family graveside service will be held at Greenwood Cemetery in West Point, MS, with burial to follow. Calvert Funeral Home of West Point is in charge of arrangements.
Brittany Orman
Mark Orman
Ruth Froshour Elliot
Dugan Memorial Home
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Derrick Armstrong, 38, of Calhoun City, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, possession of a controlled substance.
Derrick Cook, 42, of Taylor, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, possession of methamphetamine, Mississippi Department of Corrections parole violation.
Greg Eid Jr., 30, of Mooreville, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, Mississippi Department of Correction probation violation.
Matthew Fowler, 34, of Guntown, was arrested by the Guntown Police Department, Mississippi Department of Correction probation violation.
Leopoldo Gomez, 37, of Los Angeles, California, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, possession of a firearm by a felon.
Katrina Hickman, 19, of Blue Springs, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, possession of methamphetamine, trespassing, disorderly conduct, no insurance, possession of paraphernalia, domestic violence.
A County Road 778 Verona woman heard a loud noise outside just before 9 a.m. She walked outside and saw her camper laying on its side. A gray Chevy SUV had hit the camper. It also ran over the neighbor’s mailbox before fleeing, heading east.
A Virginia trucking company leased a 2017 Peterbilt truck to a County Road 683 Guntown trucking company. The driver of the truck was supposed to be in Atlanta on Monday to drop off the truck. They called and the driver said he was 20 minutes away, but never showed. They called the Guntown company several times but got no reply. The GPS on the truck pinged in Guntown. A deputy drove to the address and found neither the truck nor signs of the trucking company.
A County Road 1534 Tupelo man said someone removed the fuel line and damaged his Murray lawnmower in an apparent attempt to steal gas. He said an acquaintance has stolen from him in the past and could be responsible.
A Hutch Hill Lane Saltillo man said as he was headed to work, he noticed a pistol on the side of County Road 885. He picked up the Taurus 9mm and carried it to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
A Birmingham Ridge Road woman, 38, said her ex-husband, 39, showed up uninvited and began trimming the yard. He then put pork chops on the grill. She has a permanent restraining order against him through chancery court. She said this is a continuing problem. He just shows up at her residence and texts her all the time.
A County Road 1201 Nettleton woman said when she got out of her car, a neighbor yelled at her from his front porch. This is an ongoing problem because he “is always bothering” them.
A North Gloster Street man said a male acquaintance has been harassing him by phone. The suspect is accusing the man of threatening to kill the suspect and running him off the road. He said he got a call from an unknown number, and it was the suspect and the man’s ex-girlfriend saying they hoped this sent him to prison. The man said the suspect is spreading lies and he wants it to stop.
The South Gloster Walmart reported a man who had been banned from the business was trespassing around 10:30 a.m. Police arrived and told the man he needed to leave.
A Woodlawn man said someone entered his possibly unlocked Jeep Grand Cherokee during the night. He found his wallet on the driver’s seat. There was nothing of value in the wallet, which is why he left it in the driver’s door pocket. When he checked further, someone had gone through the center console and stole his 9mm pistol and two magazines. The thief also took his credit card holder and $80 cash
A Belk employee watched a woman attempt to steal two pairs of shorts, a children’s outfit and a bottle of Clinique make-up remover. She was detained for police and cited for shoplifting.
A Belk employee watched a man attempt to steal a $128 bottle of cologne. He was detained for police and cited for shoplifting.
A woman said she was inside a North Gloster beauty supply business when a female approached. She said the suspect has been in several altercations with the woman’s sister. When the suspect realized who she was, the suspect punched the woman in the face and then left the store.
A Gameday Haircuts employee said a customer left a holstered and loaded Smith & Wesson five-shot revolver in the bathroom. The .38-caliber handgun, which had not been reported stolen or missing, was turned over to Tupelo police.
Witnesses pointed out the suspect to officers arriving at a West Franklin Street altercation around 3 p.m. The suspect was walking away with his fists balled up and initially refused several commands by police to stop. He was arrested for disorderly conduct. The female victim of the original call said she and her boyfriend were arguing over a cell phone. She admitted there was some shoving involved but it never escalated to blows.
A Salvation Army female employee went to an individual to talk about cleaning for room inspection. The conversation turned into an argument, and she walked away. The man jumped her, knocking her to the ground and then punching her about 10 times with a closed fist. There was a cut on her left elbow and blood coming from a wound on the back of her head. The suspect fled the scene before police arrived.
A woman said she was walking up North Green Street after 7:30 p.m. when a male acquaintance approached and began harassing her. He asked her several times to have sex with him. When she refused him, he pushed her to the ground, slapped her in the face with an open hand and punched her several times. When he left, he stole her Motorola cell phone.
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Mean sense of humor comes directly from wild
The Old Man ground his teeth, trying hard not to grin. I, on the other hand, was having no trouble with laughter. My hand was swollen to several times its normal size. I expected several years would pass, at least, before I next cracked a smile.
Our pontoon boat was attached to the winch on its trailer with a rope and a heavy-gauge carabiner. The clip-point on the boat was tucked under the deck’s leading edge. It was a spot that sheltered the metal loop from breakage. It also sheltered a huge nest full of wasps from the winds of highway travel.
We’d transferred the contents of the truck bed to the boat deck and were almost ready to get in line for the ramp when I reached to release the clip.
While the road winds hadn’t blown the wasps off their nest, it hadn’t made them calm and happy either. I don’t know how many times I was stung, but it was plenty. I dashed away from the truck, waving both hands over my head and demonstrating the outer reaches of my vocabulary. These acts drew the Old Man’s attention. He quickly deduced the trouble and devised a remedy.
As wasps buzzed angrily in every direction, he scratched around in the truck until he found a paper cup. This he filled with gasoline from the boat’s tank. He got close enough to see the nest under the boat deck, then served the wasps a cup of fuel with minimum drama.
I watched this from one side of the ramp while I contemplated the pain in my hand in great detail. I assumed we’d be heading home for treatment, but I was wrong. After he’d dispatched the wasps, the Old Man unclipped the boat and made ready to launch without a word to me.
If I had asked to go home, I’m sure he’d have taken me, but I decided on the spot not to whine, and so went on fishing.
I did rig up a way to put an ice chest on a seat next to me, the better to keep my right hand poked down among the cubes.
“The ice will melt if you keep the lid open like that,” the Old Man said, looking at me.
“It’ll be alright,” I said with what I hoped to be the right amount of disdain.
I thought about the mean-spirited caprice of nature several years later as I stood knee deep in gumbo mud, high on the side of a Colorado mountain.
Wading through sticky mud to the point of exhaustion was a pursuit I’d had plenty experience at near home. Chasing elk up the side of a mountain was a new challenge that had just recently taken command of my sense of adventure. Putting the two together was a cruel trick of nature.
Cruel, in fact, is the only sort of trick nature seems to know.
We weren’t in the middle of a stalk at the time, a fact that gave me more concern than relief. I’ve no doubt nature will find a way to make up for this mistake in comedic timing somewhere down the line. That’s when it’s best to remember to laugh through the tears.
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Campsites hosted by Tentrr are supplied with tents set up on wooden platforms and contain a real bed and mattress. Adirondack chairs, fire pits and much more are standard as well. The convenience and comfort bridge many barriers for prospective campers.
Kevin Tate | Daily Journal
Tentrr offers primitive campsites ready to go
TISHOMINGO STATE PARK • In camping parlance, the term “primitive” specifically means camping without electricity or running water. It often generally means digesting a healthy dose of misery as well, but one company is proving that’s not at all the case.
Sleeping under the stars in the fresh air of a tent while lying on a high-quality queen mattress is part of the appeal offered by Tentrr. The company’s primitive campsites come equipped with all the necessary gear in place and assembled. Its offerings deliver the convenience of a cabin and the appeal of a natural site, one already set up and ready to enjoy.
“With everything that’s happening in the world, people need the outdoors more than ever,” said Todd King, Tentrr's vice president of marketing. “Tentrr provides that opportunity for people to get outside. It a way to get away, a way to escape. Our premise is to provide that space and nature can change the tilt of the Earth.”
Tentrr’s readymade opportunities to try primitive tent camping are available at eight state parks in Mississippi. Those handiest to the northeastern corner include Wall Doxey, J.P. Coleman and Tishomingo State Parks.
“One of the key things missing from our society is conversations,” King said. “What is the foundational element of where conversations happen? Around a campfire. We believe anyone can enjoy a campfire, take their guard down a bit and have great conversations. It’s where it’s easiest to see we have far more similarities than differences.”
Nationwide, Tentrr’s offerings include sites on both private and public lands. The company was founded in 2015 and currently offers campsites in 43 states and Puerto Rico. Its partnership with Mississippi began in January of this year, and bookings became available the following month.
“The response in Mississippi has been amazing,” King said. During the pleasant weather of the spring months, more than 300 Tentrr stays were booked by state park visitors and generated scores of positive reviews.
“Mississippi has been an outstanding partner,” he said. “They identified a need they had but couldn’t fulfill. It’s been a winner all the way around. Seeing the energy around this initiative, we’re proud to be a part of this in Mississippi.”
“We’ve been very pleasantly surprised with the response to it,” said Janice Scalf, with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. “People really like being able to get out in nature and camp with some key conveniences while still not being inside a building.”
Tentrr handles the reservations online at www.tentrr.com and the state is paid a commission on the site rentals.
The company’s offerings appeal to a broad range of customers. Tentrr campers come from every age. They’re individuals and couples, they’re experienced campers as well as those not yet familiar with the inside of a tent. The two criteria they all share is a love of spending time in the outdoors and a strong preference, given the choice, of not sleeping on the ground.
“We find the prospect of sleeping on the ground to be the number one deterrent to camping,” King said. “When you eliminate that, you get a much more positive response to the impulse or the invitation to go.”
Tentrr sites come equipped with a large canvas wall tent pre-assembled on a wooden platform. Each has a queen bed and a comfortable mattress. There’s a basic restroom facility and a propane heater inside the tent, along with side tables and a drinking water container. Outside, the site includes a fire pit, benches, Adirondack chairs, dry storage box, trash receptacle and more.
The sites and their accompanying gear offer convenience and ease to all campers while serving as an ideal introduction for those new to the pursuit.
“Around 30 percent of our customers are first-time campers,” King said. “It’s a gateway, like renting a pair of snow skis. You have the opportunity to try it and ease into it, to learn about what you really like without having to buy and store gear. When you book one of our sites at a Mississippi state park, all you need to do is bring your food and your blankets.”
Tentrr’s offerings deliver the quiet appeal of Mississippi’s best state parks in a way that encourages exploration.
“No matter what someone’s reason for not camping might be, whether it’s simply not wanting to sleep on the ground, or it’s not having the right equipment, or not wanting the hassle of setting it up, this allows you to remove all those barriers of friction. We’ve found a sweet spot that creates a very nice, rich environment that’s comfortable and cozy. You’re in nature, but you have the comfort of a real bed. Our tents are light, not dark. They’re really open and fresh. It’s camping, but you’re sleeping on one of the most comfortable beds you can sleep on.
“Additionally, the price point for the rental is between those of a primitive site and a cabin, so that’s a sweet spot as well.”
Tentrr’s campsites are designed to minimize their impact on the environment. The tent platform rests on blocks, an arrangement that allows the sites to be rearranged, refreshed and adjusted without leaving any trace on the surface of the forest floor.
A family adventure
King said Tentrr’s sites are especially appealing to families.
“Our sites sleep up to six,” he said. “The parents sleep on the mattress and the kids have a pop-up tent that comes with every site.
“Beyond families, our sites appeal to Millennials, city dwellers, individuals and couples, frequent park visitors who’ve wanted a place to stay. It’s really an appealing solution for a lot of people.
“People of all backgrounds can get into camping and see how much fun camping can be. In their reviews, our customers have stressed how much they enjoyed the opportunity to stop, unplug and really enjoy time outdoors. Outside, it’s easier to see what’s important in life. It’s our mission to provide a way for more people to see that, too.”
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A patient seeking an abortion at Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, La. holds up her ultrasound photo Wednesday, July 6, 2022 showing that she is nine weeks and four days pregnant. Evangelical groups are increasingly turning to ultrasound tech to persuade women from getting abortions.
Ted Jackson I AP
Christians see ultrasound technology as way to discourage abortions
By Mark A. Kellner The Washington Times
Evangelical Christians say they are stepping up efforts to provide high-tech ultrasound machines to more than 2,700 pregnancy resource centers, faith-based outposts that counsel women in crisis pregnancy situations across the nation.
The devices, which can cost $30,000 to $40,000 apiece, are credited with helping change the minds of many women who were committed to having an abortion, pro-life advocates say.
Leading the effort are Focus on the Family and the Psalm 139 Project, a long-term initiative by the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). The Psalm 139 Project said in June that it had raised $1.5 million to buy 50 machines.
“We hear from centers that they have clients that will come in and say, ‘I have an abortion scheduled later in the week. … You have one opportunity to basically talk me out of this,’” Chambers said. “‘Abortion-determined’ can mean that that woman has searched online, (and) she knows exactly what she’s going to do.”
She marveled over the “amazing” evolution of the technology, from analog devices producing “grainy-looking pictures” to 3D and 4D scans.
“It’s like looking at a video of your child. The skin on the baby, you know everything. You can see the definition,” Chambers said. “Depending on the gestational age, you can see that baby moving and sucking his or her thumb, and you can see them frowning or pouting.”
Obtaining the ultrasound devices is a task. The five-figure prices depend on the machines’ sophistication and features, and then there are costs to train clinic workers in the proper use of the units.
“Ironically, many of our patients are referred to us by a well-known abortion provider,” Matzke said in prepared remarks. “A woman goes to them for an ultrasound, but that provider isn’t willing to perform one for a woman not already determined to abort her child. So they send her to us because we offer the ultrasound for free … regardless of what the woman chooses to do about her baby.”
The Rev. Richard Land, a former ERLC president who started the Psalm 139 Project years ago, said the ministry started placing the machines in clinics to help women evaluate their situations.
“Once they see that sonogram, they’re much, much less likely to abort,” Land said. “It reminds me of my old Princeton professor Paul Ramsey, who said if wombs had windows, abortion would not be around.”
Now that the Supreme Court has returned the legislative decision on abortion regulations to the states, “this program is going to become even more important,” Leatherwood said. “Because while there are some states that will take action to end abortion, we also realize there’s going to be several states that do not.”
He said “pro-life clinics are … going to be on the front lines of serving vulnerable women and families in crisis. And so we are eager to team up with those clinics and get them the resources they need to save the lives of those preborn children.”
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LYNN JONES: A car, and life, needs one driver
When my wife Danielle and I were first married, she had a Volkswagen Bug, and I was serving as pastor of her home church. The closest way to get to the church from where we were living was to drive over a stretch of dirt road. As we headed to the church one Wednesday evening and turned onto the dirt road, we discovered that there had been a rain on the road shortly before we arrived, and the road was a little slick.
That was not the biggest problem that we encountered, however. The Bug’s engine was in the rear of the car, and there was a long wire that ran from the accelerator to the engine in the back. As I was driving, the wire came loose from the carburetor on the engine, and I could not give the car any gas. I did not have any tools with me and could not reattach the wire with my hands. So, there we were — about four miles from the church and nowhere near any other place with people. On top of that, it would be almost 30 years until a cell phone would be invented, and we did not have enough time to wait for that.
I discovered that I could pull the lever on the carburetor by hand and give gas to the engine. So, this gave me an idea. I had Danielle get behind the wheel to drive, and I sat on the back bumper of the car. I held on with one hand and gave the car gas with the other hand. The car had a manual transmission, so Danielle and I had to coordinate my giving the car gas with her shifting gears. This led to a lot whooping and hollering and racing of the engine.
In addition to that, we had to decide whether to creep up the slick hills like she wanted to do or make a run at them like I wanted to do. So, the drive was punctuated by a lot of loud instructions shouted back and forth. In spite of this difference of philosophy, we finally made it to our destination.
I came away from this experience with a fresh appreciation for the fact that a car is designed to have only one driver. That’s the way life is. Life is designed to have one Lord! If we listen to every voice that we hear or follow every instruction that is given, it can lead to constant problems in our lives. If, however, we are willing to submit the controls of life to Jesus Christ and let Him alone be in charge, then life runs the way God created it to run. Just as a car cannot have two drivers, Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters” (Matt. 6:24). Such an arrangement leads to conflict and confusion.
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Small business yields great history
The other day, JoAnne Kent of Philips Garden Center gave a call to the Oren Dunn City Museum looking for information about the history of the garden center. It seems the Kents purchased the business from the Philips and now wanted to know some history for a website in production.
JoAnne gave us a great push in the research direction.
We searched the museum. Sure enough, on display in our pole barn are two plows from Philips Farm & Garden Center, established at 2435 W. Main Street in Tupelo. Additionally, the museum has a seed bin from the old South Spring Street store’s location.
In 1950, the Daily Journal published a feature story about J. R. Philips, the founder of the hardware and seed store. W.G. Barner wrote the story.
According to this, Philips began working at the age of 12 as a trapper and salesman. He would trap small animals — rabbit, quail and squirrels to sell. During the spring, he would walk the railroad tracks to Verona, lugging several bunches of jonquils to a lady who would send them to Chicago for sale there.
A Memphis native, Philips’ family brought him to Tupelo around 1882, when he was about 4 years old. They lived on a farm on the west side of the city limits in a house that had withstood the Battle of Tupelo/Harrisburg, but the tornado of 1936 destroyed the house.
From door-to-door selling, Philips worked as a grocery boy with Topps, located about where TKE Drug Company stood. From that, he purchased Edison phonographs from a Memphis-based mail order catalogue and sold them door-to-door in Lee County. Eventually, he added pianos and organs to the mix and sold to local churches and individuals.
But the road made Philips weary. By 1900, he rented a building on South Spring Street near what was the Reed Hotel. Eleven years later, he married Clyde Elizabeth O’Callaghan of Zion.
Two years later, he moved the business to the corner of Spring and Court streets and formed a partnership. The hardware store became known as Philips and Jackson. This partnership added automobile and bicycle tires as well as seed and a few other grocery items.
One of the highlights of the store, according to Barner’s story, rested in the back of the building. The store had a long table. Customers could come in, venture to the back table, get hoop cheese for a nickel and eat all the crackers to sate an appetite from what Barner labled, “a big tin box.”
In 1961, the hardware store expanded into the J. R. Philips Seed and Hardware Co. on West Main, about where the Starbuck’s is located now. The store offered trees, shrubs, seed, lawn equipment, bedding plants, potted plants and vegetable plants.
Boyd Yarbrough, president of the Oren Dunn City Museum advisory board, said he believes Philips had the first greenhouse in Tupelo that allowed customers to peruse the plants. He remembers doing business with J.R. Philips’ son, Joe, and, later, Joey, the grandson.
The Philips sold the business to the Kents, but JoAnne told me they decided to keep the name because people recognized the branding — an homage, if you will, to a man who lived to make the sale.
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There's no such thing as a small victory
First, there was David vs. Goliath. Then, the ragtag American colonists vs. the British Red Coats. Then, the outnumbered U.S. forces vs. the Japanese at Guadalcanal. Then, the brainy brothers of Lambda Lambda Lambda vs. the jocks & jerks of Alpha Beta in the 1984 romantic thriller, "Revenge of the Nerds."
Add another chapter to the annals of underdogs overcoming insurmountable odds to achieve glorious victory – Len Robbins vs. the Mortgage Company. Like those storied battles, this is a tale of a banking conglomerate too big to fail failing against a little opponent too small to succeed.
But succeed he did — sort of.
The other day, I was in a conversation when the topic of mortgage payments came up. I mentioned that we make bi-monthly (every other week) mortgage payments.
"My mortgage company won't allow me to make bi-monthly payments," my friend said.
I then recounted this tale.
A number of years ago, when we purchased our current home, we decided to go the bi-monthly route because it fits our family's pay periods, and cuts years off your mortgage. The original mortgage company that allowed this practice then sold our loan to another mortgage company — one of these giant banking cartels.
I called them immediately to set up our bi-monthly payments.
"No, sir, that's impossible. We don't offer that service," was the initial response I heard, after, of course, 30 minutes of pressing buttons trying to speak to an actual human being.
I pressed on.
"Okay, how about I just send you two payments a month and y'all sort it out?," I countered.
"No, sir," said the pleasant, but stern, voice on the other end of the phone, and world. "We don't offer that service. You'll have to pay monthly."
I asked why they didn't allow bi-monthly payments. She cited company policy. I asked what would happen if I paid twice a month, against their wishes. She said a bunch of words that made no sense to me, again stressing that the practice of making two mortgage payments a month is prohibited.
At this point, it seemed as though I had reached a dead end. I remembered the immortal words of Jimmy Valvano: "Being able to read is not a requirement to attend N.C. State, Chris Washburn."
No, that's not the one. The other famous quote: "Don't give up. Don't ever give up."
"Well, then, I'd like to talk to your supervisor and lodge an official complaint that you don't offer this service to your customers," I said, channeling my inner Karen.
A long pause. "Sir, could you hold while I connect you?"
What's another 10 minutes, I reasoned. I had already been on the phone for nearly an hour.
Soon, I was talking to someone with the company's "equity accelerator" program. According to him, the company did allow multiple mortgage payments a month. Within a couple of minutes, I was enrolled in the program and scheduled to make my mortgage payments every other week – just as I sought.
It wasn't "impossible" after all.
The lesson here is this: Anything is possible if you are annoyingly persistent enough.
Replace my mortgage company with whatever your latest obstacle and give it a try.
Even a multinational megacorporation with an evil automated phone system can be conquered.
Of course, I still have to pay them — and will for some time. But, on my terms. There's no such thing as a small victory.
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The Magnolia Flyers pose with their National Senior Games bronze medals. Front row, from left: James Gunter, Don Hiinds, Sammie Lee, James Pattman. Back row: Alfred Walker Jr., Greg Armstead, Chad Altmyer, Robert Woodard, David Friloux, Brett Hildenbrand, Scott Ford.
There are more practical reasons to run a basketball court end-to-end against much younger opponents.
The medal was an unintended consequence, albeit a very welcome one.
An area 3-on-3 basketball team comprised of players from Tupelo and Columbus won the bronze medal at the National Senior Games in Fort Lauderdale in May.
Playing under the name Magnolia Flyers, the group went 6-3 with each of its losses coming to one Milwaukee team that it faced in various stages of a double-elimination tournament that began with pool play before the better teams advanced to medal-round games.
The Milwaukee group lost in the gold medal game to a team from Arkansas.
“That Milwaukee team had the right players, some guards that were quick and could shoot, two 6-6 guys, one that played overseas and one that played D1,” organizer Brett Hildenbrand said. “I think we matched up better against the (Arkansas) team but never got to play them.”
More than half the states were represented in the 3-on-3 basketball competition. In all, close to 12,000 athletes age 50 and over competed in 21 sports through five-year age divisions over 13 days.
The basketball games were held at a local civic center.
Hildenbrand became intrigued with the National Senior Games after it was suggested by former Tupelo High School coach Randy Hodges, who coached Hildrenbrand with the Golden Wave in the mid-1980s.
“If you guys are still playing when you turn 50 you ought to look into this,” Hodges told him.
Indeed, Hildenbrand, David Friloux and other 50ish guys from Tupelo are still playing.
They gather on Sunday and Tuesday nights in local church gyms for 5-on-5 full-court games with much younger men in their 20s and 30s.
The first 15 to respond to a pre-game group text reserve their spot to play.
“On any given night I would say there are four or five of our senior guys mixed in,” said Friloux, 59.
The multi-decade pick-up games check boxes for fitness, camaraderie and competition.
They also turned out to be a helpful training ground for the Senior Games.
During the qualifying tournament in Biloxi, Friloux overheard a scorekeeper talking with one of his teammates.
“She said, ‘You guys play a lot, and I bet you play with younger guys.’ Exactly, that’s our built-in advantage,” Friloux said.
Running full-court twice a week can give you an endurance edge when playing games mostly inside the 3-point arc on one end of the floor.
The flip side is the physicality.
“It was probably the most physical basketball I’ve every played. They didn’t call a lot of fouls,” Hildenbrand said, noting that he received multiple bruises and a lacerated tongue after getting hit in the chin. “There were a lot of elbows and a lot of pushing.”
The Tupelo group and the Columbus group each struggled with numbers after the qualifier. They weren’t going to have enough to separately make the Fort Lauderdale trip.
That’s when the decision was made to merge and play under the Magnolia Flyers name.
For the Tupelo group, it was the second trip to nationals after finishing seventh in Albuquerque in 2019.
The National Senior Games are held every two years. The 2021 event was canceled by COVID. In trying to get back to a regular schedule the games will play again in 2023 in Pittsburgh.
“When it all comes down to it it’s the fellowship, the shared experiences, the talking about back in the day when we played basketball in high school or college. There’s just a natural conversation that we have about growing up and maturing with basketball,” Friloux said.
Magnola Flyers
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With the majority of Monroe County occupied by timber, a program funded by several major U.S. corporations allows landowners to benefit financially by not cutting down trees.
“The carbon credits for mature trees and anything harvestable or thinable can get harvest-deferred credits. Any counties in any states in the nation can apply for it. The payment has been averaging $12 per acre, plus or minus, and I’ve seen as high as $22, $23 and as low as $7 or $8. It just depends on how big the trees are and how old they are,” said Tim Wilson, who is working as a consultant at MS Peanut Company just outside of Aberdeen.
The program isn’t specific to any type of trees being grown. He said it determines how much carbon is being sequestered in the green wood and in the ground. He added the bigger the tree, the more carbon intake it has.
“You get one harvest-deferred credit for every 25 tons of green wood that’s determined that could be harvested or might be harvested in a year,” Wilson said.
He said bigger companies, such as Microsoft, Google, Shell and Chevron, are funding the credits rather than any government entity.
“Private industry wants to have reduced carbon emissions, or net zero, but they’re still putting out the same amount of carbon. They’re using these carbon credits to show they’re making a difference in the environment. If they have so many carbon emissions for their business, they buy these carbon timber credits and can show their net emissions they’re paying for is this. In other words, they’re saying, ‘We’re doing this much pollution but we’re mitigating it with this, so our net pollution is this,’” Wilson said.
He said the carbon credits program are for one year at a time.
“If you decide to harvest or thin specific acres, then those acres can be removed. If you don’t thin or harvest after the year period, they’ll look at aerials and determine what you’re not thinning and harvesting and you’ll get paid on those acres. There are no penalties and no problems. It’s a pretty simple program,” said Wilson, who can assist people in registering.
As of right now, carbon credits are limited to tree owners, and there’s work being done to make crops and pastures eligible.
“If we can help anyone, we’ll be happy to get them in the program and we’re happy to explain it to them. It’s a really simple program, and there’s really no reason for landowners to not sign up,” Wilson said.
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Criteria for selection for Alumnus of the Year include successful completion of at least one semester as a full-time student at ICC five years prior to the current year, as well as merit and achievement which have brought fame and honor to either his/her community or ICC.
ICC’s Athletic Hall of Fame honors former athletes, coaches or individuals who have excelled or those who have made major contributions to intercollegiate athletics while attending or employed by ICC.
Athletic Hall of Fame inductees must have been out of school at least 10 years. Additional criteria to be considered are accomplishments and support of ICC.
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ABERDEEN – Monroe County was recently bonded $4,745,770 thanks to Emergency Road and Bridge Repair (ERBR) funding through the state for a Bartahatchie Road bridge project over the main channel of the Buttahatchie River. There was brief mention during July 5’s board of supervisors meeting of the project being bonded.
“We did a repair on pilings on the west end of the bridge two years ago that were on land. They came back and did an underwater inspection that’s required every couple of years and found there was piling out in the water that had pretty significant section loss,” said county road manager Daniel Williams after the meeting.
Money through this round of ERBR funds will assist 61 bridges throughout Mississippi.
The Bartahatchie bridge is currently posted at six tons, which allows for regular vehicle traffic but detours for heavier vehicles.
“That shut down all our buses, log trucks and all bigger vehicles. That resulted in a 40- to 45-minute detour for buses twice a day,” Williams said.
While the county does not have funds in hand yet, Williams hopes the advertisement for bids will go out in late July or early August. He also hopes work will begin in September or October and for the project to be completed by spring.
“It will be an inconvenience because this bridge will have to be torn out and built right back where it is since it’s in a straight-away. If it was in a curve, we could build it beside it and tie the road back in. With this being a straight-away, it’s nearly impossible to do that,” he said.
As of December 2021, the average daily traffic count was 563 vehicles.
Williams added work will begin in the coming weeks for piling repairs on the Caledonia bridge, but traffic will not be impacted. There is currently no weight limit posted on the bridge. He said after work is completed and the Caledonia bridge is inspected again, there is a possibility of a weight posting.
There’s also a bridge project on Deer Road.
“We have a few other bridges throughout the county that have postings that we’re going to work on, but it’s going to be a process getting to all of them. Right now, we’ve got a total of 29 posted bridges. We already have a plan for 16 bridges in the next month or so. We’ll be able to have either a very small posting or no posting on them,” Williams said.
Prairie Industrial Site
Also during July 5’s supervisors meeting, county administrator Bob Prisock gave an update on interest for a couple of buildings at the Prairie Industrial Site. The county has recently worked to meet needs of potential business prospects while making improvements to make other buildings more marketable.
The work includes roof improvements on one particular building.
“There’s 500 gallons of sealant on top of it, and it cost about $10,000. We had a bid for doing that that was $160,000,” Prisock said, adding volunteers from the work center helped the Monroe County Building and Grounds Department on the project. “That’s a tremendous savings. That’s an excellent saving for the county.”
He noted capital improvements on the buildings will mean an increase on lease rates.
Board president Hosea Bogan suggested for available buildings at the industrial site be advertised.
He also suggested for Prisock to get estimates for any work that needs to be done to other buildings for the board to revisit.
“For all the buildings out there, whenever we do whatever it takes to get them ready, I think we need to have a plan on paper explaining what has been done or what we're lacking. If we can’t measure something, I don’t think we’re moving in the right direction. We’re just loosely talking,” Bogan said.
In other business, Prisock said he contacted representatives from rural water associations serving Monroe County regarding a meeting set for July 14 to explain available funds through the State of Mississippi.
Bob Prisock
Emergency Road And Bridge Repair
Monroe County Building
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Linzy Patterson of Amory, director of adult education at Itawamba Community College, has been selected as the recipient of the 2021-22 Mississippi Association of Adult and Community Education Administrator of the Year award.
In January 2018, Patterson joined ICC’s Adult Education department as an instructor at the Amory WIN Center and in 2019-20, he was transferred to the Belden Center to serve as lead instructor.
During this time, he was a member of the state SmartStart professional development committee, as well as the TABE Frequently Asked Questions Manual committee. In August 2021, he was promoted to ICC’s director of adult education.
Patterson began his professional career with the Amory School District in 2010, serving as a special education instructor along with assistant football, soccer and tennis coach. He was selected as Teacher of the Year for the 2014-15 school year.
Patterson’s nominator for the award said, “Having come from a special education background, he is especially sensitive to the needs of those students. He has established connections with community groups, including the Regional Rehabilitation Center and the Lee County Youth Court, and brought in psychometrists for assessments for learning disabilities to lead to those students achieving more success.
“He is a natural leader. He loves the classroom and misses being in it but he still visits and interacts with the students daily. He has a passion for education, but what stands out most is his humor and his positive attitude. Adult education students respect and admire him because he doesn’t judge. He meets them where they are and gives them tough love to change their situations and their lives.”
Patterson attributed his success to ICC’s adult education team.
“I am extremely honored to receive this award, but this is a direct reflection of the program we have at Itawamba Community College. An individual in a leadership/administrative role is only as good as his team, and we have built one of the best teams in the state. I am just so proud to receive this award on behalf of Itawamba Community College’s Adult Education program because they are making a difference. For us to receive recognition for all the hard work that goes into helping those within our district day in and day out is humbling,” he said.
Patterson also expressed his appreciation to ICC President Dr. Jay Allen for his support of the adult education program.
“Directors such as Linzy Patterson are what makes ICC such a special place,” Allen said. “He takes a personal interest in each student. He knows their stories, and he evaluates and individualizes their keys to success. This award demonstrates that he is changing lives, many of which have had difficult beginnings.”
The award was presented during the 2022 annual adult education conference, June 6-8, at the Hilton Jackson. The conference theme was Skills2Strive4: Achieving Excellence in Adult Education.
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According to ESPN MLB draft analyst Kiley McDaniel, Landon Sims is rated as the No. 50 overall 2022 prospect.
Mississippi State MLB draft preview with ESPN draft analyst Kiley McDaniel: Current players edition
ESPN analyst weighs in on seven current Bulldogs' stock ahead MLB draft.
The 2022 MLB draft begins Sunday, and its 20 rounds are certain to include plenty of Mississippi State players.
Theo DeRosa recently spoke with ESPN MLB draft analyst Kiley McDaniel to get his thoughts on current Bulldogs and incoming signees.
Here's what McDaniel had to say about seven current players and whether they might return for the 2023 season.
The below rankings come from McDaniel’s latest MLB draft top 300, published July 8.
No. 50 Landon Sims, RHP
An injury to his ulnar collateral ligament likely won’t keep Sims from turning pro after his redshirt sophomore season.
But having to undergo Tommy John surgery in March certainly hasn’t helped his draft stock.
Sims looked lights out in two of his three starts this season before tearing his UCL against Tulane and missing the rest of the season.
According to McDaniel, he missed out on a chance to prove himself at a new position.
“I think Sims would have been a mid-to-late first-round pick if he stayed healthy all year and proved that he could be a starter,” McDaniel said. “I think he probably would have gone late first round if he just was a reliever the whole time.”
McDaniel compared Sims to JT Ginn, who underwent Tommy John in 2020 and was picked 52nd overall by the New York Mets.
He said Sims has received interest from teams picking as early as the late 20s and early 30s, although he might not go quite that high.
“By the middle of the second round, somebody will take him,” McDaniel said. “It will probably be for an overslot bonus.”
Even though Sims’ rehab is ongoing, he projects to be in the big leagues before long. Had he not gotten injured, he could have been MLB ready now.
McDaniel said he has a chance to be the first player from the 2022 draft to reach the big leagues — as a relief pitcher, not a starter.
“I think if you fast-track him as a reliever, he can be very impressive, and it’s what a lot of teams are looking for at that part of the draft,” McDaniel said.
No. 87 Logan Tanner, C
Logan Tanner didn’t have the offensive season he was looking for in 2022.
And it’s likely to cost him on draft boards.
Tanner said he hoped to hit .330 this season but ended up with just a .285 average, two points below his 2021 mark.
McDaniel said Tanner’s limited ceiling at the plate impacts where he’s likely to be drafted.
“I think for Tanner, teams know a lot about him,” McDaniel said. “Defensively, what they know, they’re really excited about, and offensively it’s just a little more of a mixed bag in terms of what teams think he can do.”
McDaniel said Tanner’s arm grades out at 60 on the 20-80 scale, making it a “plus” attribute for the Bulldogs catcher. Tanner’s pop time — the span from the pitch hitting his mitt to the arrival of his throw to second base to nab a would-be base stealer — is between 1.9 and 1.95 seconds; baseball’s best catchers aren’t far ahead at 1.8-1.85 seconds.
“He doesn’t have to do a ton with the bat to be one of the best 30 catchers in the world at some point in his career, and that’s why I think he’ll go in the second or third round,” McDaniel said.
But Tanner’s draft stock has sunk. Since played with catchers Kevin Parada of Georgia Tech, Daniel Susac of Arizona and Hayden Dunhurst of Ole Miss on Team USA; there’s been a separation of sorts.
Because of their offense, Parada is a likely top-five pick and Susac is a projected first-rounder. Tanner’s defense does make him superior to Dunhurst, who is likely to be drafted in the third or fourth round.
“I think Tanner has some raw power,” McDaniel said. “I think he can put the ball in play. I think he has the broad stuff you’re looking for, but I think there’s some catchers from the college ranks and from the high school ranks who have just a little more of that twitchy athletic upside, especially in the batter’s box where teams can dream a little bit more.”
No. 232 Brad Cumbest, OF
Brad Cumbest hit .302 with 15 home runs in 2022, finally displaying his hit and power tools over a full season.
But his relative lack of track record makes Cumbest a bit of a project when it comes to the draft, McDaniel said.
That doesn’t mean the two-sport standout won’t be coveted. McDaniel compared Cumbest to Oakland Athletics prospect Cody Thomas, who played football and baseball at Oklahoma.
And Cumbest’s 6-foot-6, 235-pound frame will give him options in the draft.
“Teams — I think of the Dodgers first when I think of this — who are very good at developing hitters and making adjustments, they’re going to see that group of tools as something they want to get their hands on and see what they can make with it,” McDaniel said.
No. 272 Kamren James, 3B
Like Tanner, Kamren James didn’t have quite the season he wanted when he chose to return for 2021.
James hit a solid .303 but didn’t show much power, hitting just nine home runs and nine doubles. He did steal 14 bases, but his fielding at third base was less pristine with six errors in 74 chances at the hot corner.
Still, teams can look at James’ 6-foot-2 frame and see everything they want.
“I think he’s another guy who fits in with what a lot of teams like when they get later in the draft, where they’re like, ‘Let’s get a couple traits we like. We don’t really care what the stats were like; we just want to get a couple things that fit what we look for, and we’ll teach them the rest,’” McDaniel said.
Whether James signs with a pro team again depends on the amount he’s looking for, but McDaniel said he would likely receive less if he stays at MSU.
“I have no idea what his interest is, but I am certain someone will offer him six figures,” McDaniel said. “That’s a real amount of money.”
It could be worth it for James, a player McDaniel compared to a recent high pick out of Mississippi State — though he noted James isn’t quite as talented.
“Being a big, athletic guy who can play the infield and has some power, that’s the same building blocks as Jordan Westburg, who’s almost in the big leagues now,” McDaniel said. “Some teams could look at that and dream, ‘Hey, there’s some stuff we can do here.’”
NR Preston Johnson, RHP
Preston Johnson was the most effective starter in terms of strikeouts in the Southeastern Conference in 2022, fanning 117 batters in just 79 innings.
That could be enough to earn him a look in the draft — an opportunity that McDaniel says Johnson shouldn’t pass up.
“If his priority is to make the big leagues, he should probably sign this year,” McDaniel said.
That’s because Johnson, who can return next season, is already 22 years old, making him a “later, lower-dollar option” in the draft — but an option nonetheless.
If he were to return to Mississippi State, he’d test the draft waters again at age 23 — not far from the age most players are nearing their major-league debuts.
“That then becomes a negative where he’s so far away from being ‘on schedule’ that it’s tough,” McDaniel said. “Right now, he’s just a year older than some of the other guys.”
The elimination of more than 40 minor league teams after the 2020 season hurt Johnson and his ilk, McDaniel said, but the SEC strikeout king should get a chance nonetheless.
“The spots for that Preston Johnson kind of player are starting to dry up, but I think he was good enough that he’ll have a spot in pro ball,” McDaniel said.
NR Jackson Fristoe, RHP
Jackson Fristoe had plenty of draft buzz out of his Kentucky high school but ultimately chose to come to college.
But an ugly sophomore season in which he posted a 7.96 ERA in 37 1/3 innings has killed much of what momentum Fristoe once had.
That doesn’t mean it’s gone for good, though.
“He could get back to that at any time,” McDaniel said. “If I were him, I would probably go back to school, try to recoup some of that value and be totally fine — again, like Preston Johnson did.”
A draft-eligible sophomore at age 21, Fristoe should still expect to be drafted at age 22 — albeit at a potential discount from his slot value.
And if things break right, he could hear his name called early on.
“Going in the first couple rounds is not hard to get to, and he has looked like that kind of guy at times,” McDaniel said.
NR Brandon Smith, RHP
Brandon Smith moved into Mississippi State’s weekend rotation midseason in 2022 and despite a high ERA held his own against most SEC offenses.
The ground-ball pitcher’s success could mean the end of his MSU tenure, McDaniel said.
“There’s certainly some teams that would see him as a guy who’s shown it enough and has bounced back well enough that there’s a spot in pro ball for that guy,” he said.
McDaniel said he saw Smith pitch at the SEC tournament as a freshman in 2019 and put the Bulldogs righty on his prospect list.
Smith missed the 2020 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but he’s managed to get himself back on the radar of professional teams.
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Houston Park and Recreation's "Diamond Divas" competed in the 2022 Dizzy Dean All Star World Series the weekend of July 9-10, 2022 in Southaven, Mississippi.
The 14u girls brought home the Championship title, and they also were able to participate in 16u/high school division where they remained undefeated after playing four total games.
The Diamond Divas also received the Sportsmanship Award.
Special thanks to Coaches Georgia McMullen, Jenna Walters and Bo Yeatman for investing the time with these players in order for them to participate in the tournament, and a heartfelt thank you to all sponsors who made this possible for the girls. This win was for Leslie McMullen and Doug Dobbs!
Houston Park
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Ole Miss conference to examine Faulkner's modernisms
OXFORD • Nobel Prize-winning Mississippi author William Faulkner will be examined through the lens of modernism during the University of Mississippi's 48th annual Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference, set for July 17–21.
Focusing on the theme "Faulkner's Modernisms," the hybrid international conference includes five days of lectures, panels, tours and other presentations. All keynote presentations, panels, film screenings and teaching sessions will be held in-person with a remote option for international scholars prohibited from traveling to the U.S.
"Few literary scholars would dispute the fact that William Faulkner deserves a place in the front ranks of modernist writers," said Jay Watson, Howry Professor of Faulkner Studies and conference coordinator. "Yet there is far less consensus on what his modernism – or what literary modernism in general – actually entails or how to characterize its defining elements.
"This year's conference will take up these questions with fresh eyes and an open mind, in the spirit of what literary critics have come to call the 'new modernist studies' scholarship," Watson said.
Leigh Anne Duck, of the University of Memphis, who will discuss "Modernist Phenomenologies of Segregated Space: A Hypothesis"
Jack D. Elliott Jr., Mississippi Department of Archives and History, who will talk about "Shadows on the Wall: Colonel W.C. Falkner in Legend"
Susan Stanford Friedman, University of Wisconsin, whose topic is "Family, Nation, Sin: Faulkner in Conversation with Albert Wendt (Samoa) and Elif Shafak (Turkey)"
Julian Murphet. University of Adelaide, who will talk about "Divisions of Aesthetic Labour; or, When is Faulkner not Modern?"
Michael Zeitlin, University of British Columbia, who will discuss "Mechanical and Human Factors in Faulkner Aviation."
This year also marks the second Ann J. Abadie Lecture in Southern Studies at the conference. This lecture series is sponsored by the UM Center for the Study of Southern Culture and honors the center's longtime associate director, Ann Abadie, who also helped establish the Faulkner conference and co-edited dozens of volumes of conference proceedings.
Watson said he hopes to deepen understanding of Faulkner's work by placing it in the context of modernism.
"We seek new insights into the diverse ways in which Faulkner encountered, and responded to, the modernity of his 20th century Mississippi world," he said.
Registration for the University of Mississippi's five-day Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference is $300 per person, and $150 for students. It's also possible to register for a single day of the conference for $50. Remote registrants are encouraged to upgrade to the latest version of Zoom software before the conference begins.
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Posey, Montine
Montine Gray Posey, 84, of Tupelo, went home to be with her Lord and Savior July 14th. Born and raised in Dorsey, MS, she grew up in a Christian home to the late Travis Moore Gray and Cuple Works Gray. Helping the family in the garden and on the farm were daily activities. She and her three sisters loved cooking, gardening, sewing, singing, and playing the piano. She graduated from Mississippi University for Women with a B.S. in Home Economics in 1960. Montine went on to complete her Masters Degree in 1971 from University of Mississippi, then received her Education Specialist Degree from Mississippi State University Graduate School in 1991. She was active in Delta Kappa Gamma, Mississippi and American Home Economics Association, Mississippi and American Vocational Association, all of which she held office and served in many leadership roles. She was also a member of the Kappa Omicron Nu National Human Sciences Honor Society. She began her career as a 4H Club Youth Agent and then later as a Tupelo High School Home Economics Teacher in 1968. Montine was recognized as Teacher of the Year in 1991. She retired from teaching in 2000.
In retirement she gave back generously to her community, Shepherd Center, and Salvation Army’s after-school tutoring program. The Tupelo Saturday Reading Club became part of her regular activities. She also enjoyed spending time with her daughters and their families, playing on the piano, singing in her church choir, cooking, sewing, and traveling. She loved her church and her family and friends. She was a tireless, fun, generous, involved mother and grandmother. Her time and talents were always devoted to the activities of her family. Family gatherings were special to her as well as vacations with her grandchildren and their families.
A devoted mother and grandmother, she will be remembered as genuine, kind, caring, and a very good listener. Most of all, she had a strong faith in the Lord and openly shared her faith with others. Always active in her church, she enjoyed singing hymns and being part of her Sunday School class. Montine loved music and always had a song in her heart. One of her favorite Bible verses is from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
Her survivors include her two daughters Michelle Crookshanks (Gene), Marilyn Burnett (Darrell) and five grandchildren: Emily and Sam Crookshanks, and Mason, Annaliese, and Bethany Burnett.
Per her wishes, her body was donated to University of Mississippi Medical Center for Education, Research, and Healthcare. As a result, there will be no memorial service at this time. If you wish to donate in her memory, please send to West Jackson Street Baptist Church, 1349 W. Jackson Street, Tupelo, MS 38801 or Sanctuary Hospice House, P.O. Box 2177, Tupelo, MS 38803.
Marilyn Burnett
Annaliese
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Ole Miss shortstop Jacob Gonzalez had two hits as Team USA secured the bronze medal with a 5-1 win over Japan Friday.
USA collegiate national baseball team defeats Japan for bronze medal
The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team defeated Japan 4-3 to claim the bronze medal in the Honkbalweek Haarlem International Tournament in The Netherlands Friday.
The team is managed by Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco. Rebels pitcher Hunter Elliott and shortstop Jacob Gonzalez are team members.
Gonzalez had two hits in the bronze medal game and six hits for the week.
Team USA scored all five of its runs over the second and third innings.
Friday’s win avenged a 1-0 loss to Japan in the opening game of the tournament. Team USA finishes the competition with a 4-3 record.
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The summer months provide an abundant supply of fresh fruits and vegetables. However, fresh fruits and vegetables have a limited shelf life before they begin to spoil from microorganisms such as mold, yeast, and bacteria. There are three main ways to preserve these foods for use long after the growing season is over. These three ways are canning, freezing, and drying. The method you choose will depend upon the food you want to preserve, how you want to store the food, and the availability of preservation guidelines from a reputable source for the food you want to preserve.
Canning is done by putting the food into jars and heating to high temperatures to destroy microorganisms and inactivate enzymes. During the heating process, air is removed from the jar. After the heating process is complete and the jars cool, a vacuum seal is formed. This vacuum seal prevents air and new microorganisms from entering the jar.
Two methods may be used to safely can foods: the boiling water canner method and the pressure canner method. Acidic foods such as certain fruits, tomatoes, and pickles as well as jams, jellies, and preserves can be canned with boiling water to reach a boiling temperature of 212 degrees. Low acid vegetables and meats must be canned in a pressure canner to reach the higher temperature of 240 degrees required for safely canning these foods. The main reason that low acid foods must be pressure canned is due to the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. Clostridium botulinum is a common microorganism in soil and produces a deadly toxin. Clostridium botulinum spores are not killed by boiling water and could later germinate into vegetative cells which produce botulinum toxin. The conditions best suited for germination of Clostridium botulinum spores are a low acidity and the absence of air, such as a sealed canning jar. Clostridium botulinum spores are killed by pressure canning food to a temperature of 240 degrees.
Canning Tips:
A microwave oven may be used to heat canning or pickling liquids. However, a microwave is not a safe substitute for a boiling water bath or pressure canner.
Salt that is used in a recipe for flavor may be safely left out for canning vegetables for individuals wanting to reduce their salt intake. However, if larger amounts of salt are called for as an integral part of the recipe, such as in pickling, the salt cannot be eliminated from the recipe.
Sugar that is used in a recipe for flavor and texture may be safely left out for people wishing to avoid sugar. There are recipes available which use pectin to safely process jams, jellies, and preserves with no added sugar.
For canning at high altitudes, adjustments must be made for the pressure requirements and processing time to safely process food. Since water boils at a lower temperature as the altitude increases, the processing time must be increased for the boiling water bath canning. For pressure canning, the pressure must be increased. It is best to follow a recipe developed specifically for higher altitudes.
Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the use and care of your canner.
Use jars specifically made for canning such as Mason jars. Reusing jars, such as mayonnaise or salad dressing jars for canning, may result in poor seals.
Flat metal lids should be used only once. The screw band may be used over and over as long as they are in good condition and free from rust or dents.
Use current recipes from reputable sources such as the Cooperative Extension Service or the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Examine jars and discard those with nicks, cracks, or rough spots that could prevent an airtight seal.
Always thoroughly wash jars and lids before canning.
Use the recommended “head space” for the food being canned. Head space is space between the top of the food and the bottom of the lid. If too little headspace is used, the contents may boil out of the jar during processing and prevent a good seal. If too much headspace is left, the processing time called for in the recipe may not be sufficient to drive the extra air out of the jar, thus preventing a good seal.
After food is processed and fully cooled, check to be sure the lids are sealed.
For storing jars, remove the screw bands from sealed jars to prevent the bands from rusting. The bands should be washed, dried, and stored.
Label the jars or lids with the contents and the date.
Store jars in a clean, cool, dark dry place, preferably between 50 and 70 degrees.
The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension (2014). So Easy to Preserve, 6th ed. Bulletin 989.
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