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TUPELO – On Monday, August 1, two restaurants will be opening in the All-America City.
First, Slim Chickens will be flinging open the coop at its location at 3937 N. Gloster St., in front of Walmart. It is opening in the epicenter of chicken restaurants in the city, across the street from Raising Canes, down the street from Zaxby's, Chick-Fil-A and not far from Abner's.
Asian Foods Market & Restaurant at 1214 W. Main St., next to Sun Beauty Supply, is opening on the same day. The market portion opened last month.
On another note, Mod Burger is not opening August 1, but it is currently in the hiring phase at its location at 495 S. Gloster St. It's in the bottom corner of the Midtown Pointe II building, across from Jimmy John's and Harvey's.
Asian Foods Market & Restaurant
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Don't move FBI office from Oxford
The Federal Bureau of Investigation satellite office in Oxford should remain where it is. Moving it is illogical on several levels, the least of which being a waste of money on an unnecessary expense that is likely driven more by politics than law enforcement.
Local and state officials from Oxford and Lafayette County confirmed reports that the FBI is considering closing the Oxford office and relocating personnel to somewhere in the Delta — likely Greenville or Greenwood.
For its part, the Bureau is saying little, neither confirming nor denying such a move is being considered or why it is being considered (as seems apparent, regardless of their tight lips). Katie Greenleaf, a spokesperson for the bureau’s Jackson office, only said the FBI is “actively engaged with all of our state and local partners, including those in Greenville.”
Therefore, we are left with nothing more than guesses as to why the FBI would even consider moving the Oxford office to the Delta. Most of those guesses would be uneducated, given the lack of information — number of cases in a geographic area or some unfathomably significant cost savings being the obvious two.
In fact, the only educated guess would be that politics are at play. U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, is chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee and, by virtue of his long tenure, has some sway in Washington among Democrats. His handling of the January 6 Committee has also raised his profile. It makes sense that he would do whatever he could for his district, and this would qualify.
As Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill pointed out, keeping the FBI office in her city is, at least in part, "an economic development issue." It creates jobs by drawing other federal offices and private attorneys to locate there.
State Sen. Nicole Boyd, R-Oxford, said most federal prosecutions in the northern division are held in the federal courthouse in Oxford. In theory, if the FBI office is moved, more of those trials could start taking place at the federal courthouse in Greenville, another potential economic driver for that area.
But this is simply robbing Peter to pay Paul. Creating jobs and improving the fiscal health of the Delta are worthy goals, but doing so at the cost of another part of the state is not a net gain for Mississippi and an overall waste of state and federal taxpayer money.
Furthermore, Oxford is already home to several other federal agencies that coordinate with the FBI. It is a law enforcement hub that works well. Dismantling it is foolhardy.
Thankfully any decision of this nature must garner at least U.S. Senate approval. Hopefully Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, both Republicans, will see to it that such a move does not take place.
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Dedication, sports and worship highlight Aberdeen Park and Rec. events
ABERDEEN – An afternoon/evening of activities are planned for July 23 at both the Aberdeen Sportsplex and General Young Park, anchored by the official dedication of the park’s two-year improvement project.
The events begin the park’s ribbon cutting ceremony at 1 p.m.
“I’m so happy to think of a vision and two years later, it’s actually become true. That’s what I’m most proud about. The community can actually see some results and not just talk and mentioning things. To come back 10, 15, 20 years from now and it’s still there, that’s what is most important to me,” said Aberdeen Park and Recreation Department Director Michelle Stewart.
Park improvements include resurfaced basketball courts, new bleachers that can accommodate more than 100 people, fencing, shade canopies, goals and playground equipment, such as climbers, swings and pieces for ages 3 to 5.
“It was basically time to revamp everything. Just about all of our park systems are outdated. I’m hoping in the next couple of years, we’ll be able to upgrade all of our parks in the city,” Stewart said.
People will be allowed to start using the court and new playground equipment after the ribbon cutting.
“We’re making the ribbon cutting an all day event. We’ll have different vendors out there selling food, and M.O.V. will be giving away food,” Stewart said.
The Praise in the Park worship service begins at 2 p.m. at the park and features fellowshipping, mimes, guest speakers and gospel groups.
“It was designed to introduce us to worship. I feel like that’s what we were born to do. A lot of people are going through a lot of things coming out of the pandemic and because of things going on in the world. A lot of people don’t know those things can change when you get into worship or that things shift when you get into the presence of God,” said Niesha Gray, who is coordinating Praise in the Park. “We are lifting His name up so He can come and dwell in the city of Aberdeen.”
A free golf clinic with River Birch Golf Club Director of Golf Kehli Bowen will be held from 3 until 5 p.m. at the Aberdeen Sportsplex, located alongside Sharpley Bottom Road. This weekend’s golf clinic is the second of three planned this summer. It will conclude Aug. 6.
The Big Hen Basketball Tournament, which honors the late Aberdeen Police Chief Henry Randle, will be at General Young Park from 4 until 8 p.m. The cost is $10 per player, ages 14 and older. There’s also a three-point shootout, and the entry fee is $5.
“When I first got this job three years ago, I told Relle Fields, M.O.V. and Henry about my vision for the park. Those three gave $2,500 to my vision. By Henry’s passing, I figured what better way to honor his name? He lived on the southside. Staying on the southside, I thought what better way could we honor him than naming a tournament the Big Hen Tournament?,” Stewart said.
Looking ahead, an Outlaw Wrestling Organization fundraiser benefiting the department will be held July 30 at the park and recreation building, and an Aug. 1 back to school event will also be held with free haircuts, school supplies and clothing.
M.o.v.
Henry Randle
General Young Park
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Lane Sims of Smithville overcame a brain tumor after receiving treatment at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis.
Lane is surrounded by his sister, Anna; mother, Molly; and father, Dusty, on the roof of Memphis' Peabody Hotel.
Lane and Anna pose for photos at Le Bonheur.
BY EMILY HALL For the Monroe Journal
SMITHVILLE – Lane Sims is your typical 13-year-old boy. Horse riding, being outside and playing video games is what makes up this young man’s interests.
On a downside, though, he experienced debilitating headaches for some time, odd behaviors and sleeping for as many as 15 hours a day. His mother, Molly Sims, spent as many waking hours as possible to find answers but always hit a dead end.
Lane’s journey to medical treatment began in 2020 at age 11.
“I ended up speaking with a friend that is an employee of Le Bonheur [Children’s Hospital in Memphis], and she said ‘Okay, this is who you need to see. He’s a world renowned surgeon, leading in his field,’” Molly said.
Her first thought was, “If he’s this great, we will have to wait forever for an appointment.”
However, she was wrong. With her friend’s help, she secured an appointment for Lane within the week with Dr. Frederick Boop of the Semmes Murphy Brain and Spine Clinic in Germantown, Tennessee.
Lane’s first appointment was on Jan. 4, 2021.
Dr. Boop could tell then Molly was almost out of hope but told her Lane would soon be admitted to Le Bonheur for testing. He gave her his personal contact information with explicit instructions to contact him if needed, no matter what.
The Sims family made the two-hour trip back home and waited for the phone call for testing. Little did Molly know, it wouldn’t quite work out that way.
The next afternoon, she was in the kitchen, and Lane walked through slower than usual. She watched his actions, which caused great concern, and his words, “I can’t see,” caused her to spring into action.
Molly quickly drove him to Le Bonheur, and he was admitted to the emergency room. She described seeing Le Bonheur’s signature huge red heart towards the top of the hospital as a “beacon of hope.”
At the conclusion of rigorous testing, Dr. Boop came in to confirm there was a spot on Lane’s brain but that they wouldn’t know what they would be dealing with until scheduling a surgery, which took place a month later.
“After they wheeled our boy away, the longest five hours began. At the conclusion of the surgery, we were pulled into a consultation room, where Dr. Boop met us. He told us they were successful in removing the spot, ‘which indeed is a brain tumor and is on its way to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as we speak.’ My world went dark again,” Molly said in recapping the conversation.
Lane woke up post-surgery and spoke, asking for a drink. A few days later, he was released and walked out of the hospital, refusing his wheelchair. Even his doctors were amazed.
Two weeks later, during Lane’s post-op appointment, Dr. Boop confirmed Lane had a Grade II astrocytoma brain tumor but was not considered a cancer patient. Regardless, he said they would team up with St. Jude.
“They don't treat you as a number at Le Bonheur; they treat you like family. People ask me what drives you to give so much to this place, and the answer is simple. They gave us the greatest gift we could ever receive – they gave us our son back, and that’s something we can never repay,” Molly said.
Le Bonheur is a 501 (c)(3) organization, and all donations are tax-deductible. For more information about the hospital and how to donate, check out www.lebonheur.org.
“Le Bonheur is a good place for kids just like me who have medical problems. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be alive today,” Lane said.
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Mississippi State Department of Health representative Bill Moody speaks to representatives of local water suppliers about grant opportunities during a countywide meeting last week in Aberdeen. Also pictured are District 16 Rep. Rickey Thompson and District 7 Sen. Hob Bryan.
Engineer Stanley Spradling asks questions rural water associations should be aware of in applying for a share of $300 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for needed improvements.
Rural, city water system reps learn about incoming funding potentials
ABERDEEN – With grant applications currently being accepted for $300 million for water improvements and additional funding to soon follow for counties and municipalities, representatives of rural and municipal water systems learned how to be better prepared through a meeting at the Monroe County Chancery Courthouse July 14.
The money, which is being administered through the State of Mississippi, is part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
“This is a once in a generation opportunity. This program is not going to come up again five years from now,” said District 7 Sen. Hob Bryan. “This is an opportunity for all of us to do some things that will pay off after we’re all gone.”
An addition $450 million is being allocated to municipal and county governments for drinking water, wastewater and storm water, which will be administered through the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
The Mississippi State Department of Health is administering the $300 million for rural water associations.
“Under the program the state passed, if you are a municipality and you’ve got less than $1 million of ARPA funds, the state will match the funds you’ve got with a two-to-one match. If you are a municipality and you’re participating in this program, the only thing you can match with is the actual dollars you got from the United States government. If you’re a rural water system, you don’t have to put up a match. You get additional points if you match, but you don’t have to,” Bryan said.
Online applications for the rural water associations are available on the MSDH website at https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/30,0,76,1000.html.
Bill Moody, director of the MSDH Bureau of Public Water, explained the application process, stressing the urgency to apply.
“One of the main things this money has hovering over it is time, and time is short. The legislature, taking their marching orders from Congress, said we have to have all this money obligated by 2024 and we have to have it all spent by December of 2026,” he said.
City of Amory Utilities Manager Mike King said the 2026 deadline is going to be hard to fulfill.
“If there’s any influence we have in Washington to extend that...we’re in a hyperinflation scenario right now in this country. The supply chain issues are terrible. There’s probably not enough engineers to do all the engineering work to spend this accurately in this timeframe,” he said.
Bryan anticipates a deadline extension at the federal level for work to be completed, encouraging water providers to apply sooner than later.
“If you’ve already got projects started and you’ve got the plans and specifications and the plan is already done and you’re just coming for money for construction, it makes your life a whole lot easier. Just submit the project for construction because all of the legwork is already done,” Moody said.
Engineer Stanley Spradling, who serves several Monroe County water providers, encouraged rural water association boards to start acting upon resolutions and any other requirements for projects for the application process. He added any plans crossing wetlands will require an at least 90-day response from federal agencies.
Bryan also suggested for water associations to coordinate with adjacent providers to identify people who don’t have water service in coming up with plans.
There will be a point ranking system, and an in-state consulting firm will do blind ranking for applications.
Moody said the MSDH’s plans are to announce grant recipients every quarter beginning Oct. 1.
“Some of the projects going in are not going to have a high ranking and some of the projects are going to be high ranking. We’ve got some projects that are already designed, already been bid and have large amounts of rural development money, but they’re good projects and meet the criteria and you’re going to fund that. But these other projects that are coming in that are low ranking, what are you going to do with them? Are you going to kick them into the second quarter and hold them?,” Spradling asked.
Moody said such projects would be considered past the first deadline cycle of Sept. 16., adding there’s no way to obligate the entire $300 million by that date.
“The biggest thing is if you’ve got projects that you’ve started on that can be completed within the timeframe, those are the ones we’re going to want to see – the ones we can move on quickly,” he said. “If you’ve got pumps that have been rattling for a while, that should be a big focus. If you’ve got a well that’s 30 years old, that’s borrowed time.”
Shortly after counties and cities received notice of their ARPA allocations, there were a limited number of uses the money could be used, including water infrastructure improvements. In the process, rural water associations were asked by the county to come up with wish lists for needs.
Spending usages for cities and counties receiving less than $10 million in ARPA funds have since changed, and the opportunity came about this summer for water associations to directly apply for funds.
“We apologize for the frustration and all the information overload you were given at first,” said District 1 Supervisor Joseph Richardson recapping information the county first received.
Moody added additional funds will be added to the state drinking water revolving fund, and there is money to specifically address lead service lines.
“We’ll be signing a contract probably in the next week to have all the significantly deficient wells capped free at no charge,” he said addressing another need.
Stanley Spradling
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Special to the Pontotoc Progress
Against the tragic backdrop of a historic conflict in Europe, Tate County, MS will unite with millions around the globe to promote the timely theme “Pursue Peace” as they participate in a six-part annual event scheduled for July and August, 2022.
“I attended my first convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1960,” said Nancy Powell of Tate County. “I look forward to the spiritual refreshment we receive at our conventions. We all want peace in our lives; whether it is from violence, from sickness or death, or anything else. We need to know where God says we can go to find peace.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses have been holding global conventions for more than 100 years, the last three years featuring virtual events accessed through the free JW Library app or at jw.org. The program's first segment will be available for streaming or download beginning June 27, 2022. All are invited to attend the program at no charge.
Prior to 2020, Jehovah’s Witnesses held their annual convention at the Cook Convention Center in Memphis, TN. While they hope to host in-person large gatherings again in the future, the decision was made late last year to again hold the 2022 convention virtually. On April 1 congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses began meeting in person for the first time in two years locally and around the world.
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Kiffin always wanted to coach somewhere he could 'stay for a long time.'
OXFORD — In an interview with USA Today’s Blake Toppmeyer, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin was asked about Ole Miss and whether he could see himself there for the long haul.
The topic of whether Kiffin will stay or go seems to come up annually, and it isn’t without context — more than a decade ago, Kiffin took the head coaching job at Tennessee and, after one season, left for the USC job.
This offseason, Kiffin’s name was mentioned with a number of jobs — Miami being among the most prevalent. But in his interview with Toppmeyer, Kiffin said there’s something special about Ole Miss and Oxford. It’s the type of environment where he could see himself.
As an assistant at USC, Notre Dame’s environment seemed like a perfect place, Kiffin told Toppmeyer. Ole Miss offered similar sorts of qualities.
“This is what I always pictured – a job like this,” Kiffin told Toppmeyer. “A great football place, a place you can go there, stay for a long time, and don’t jump around. That’s what I’d always pictured that I wanted.”
On Monday at SEC Media Days, Kiffin was asked about the USA Today story and expounded upon his previous answers. Tennessee, Kiffin said, offered the same sorts of advantages that Notre Dame did. Ole Miss does, too.
“That probably surprised a lot of people, with my track record and probably the way that I think. But growing up and young and coaching, that’s what I was thinking,” Kiffin said. “Smaller places that are, everyone knows everything about football, and football is kind of superior to everything else. And so, there’s good and bad to everything, but it’s really neat. And when you’re able to have a year of success and see the excitement come out like in our football program and now especially in our baseball program, it’s neat to see.”
Kiffin was later asked about whether there’s something to be said for being in a consistent spot rather than taking a job, having it not work out and then starting from scratch again.
Kiffin, of course, has been there as well: he took the USC job before the 2010 season, was fired partway through his fourth season with the Trojans and became the offensive coordinator at Alabama for a few years prior to being a head coach again.
Kiffin, again, offered introspection.
“Are you trying to say coaches go through that, they jump somewhere and it doesn’t work out and they have to go back down? Yeah. I could be the poster child for that,” Kiffin said with a smile. “I think that we learn in life, we learn from experiences. I refer to ‘obstacles in the way’ a lot, things happen that you think are really bad and you don’t know, eventually, someday why they’re good. And I’ve said that with the USC situation. I never wanted that or thought it would be good for me to be fired there. But I would have never went to Alabama and learned from Nick Saban.
“Things happen sometimes that seem like the end of the world, and you don’t know what the plan is until way later.”
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TUPELO • Lee County investigators are still looking into the shooting death of a Lee County man a week ago.
“It’s an ongoing investigation,” said Lee County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy John Hall. “We are still taking statements from people and getting more names to interview.”
Around 8:20 a.m. July 14, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office was notified that a black male had crashed his car into a ditch on County Road 1438. The responding deputies found the driver unresponsive. There were reportedly bullet holes in the car.
The driver of the car, Jeremiah Flakes, 21, of Tupelo, was pronounced dead from gunshot wounds. Lee County Coroner Carolyn Green sent the body to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Pearl for an autopsy.
“This was not his first involvement with the law or crime,” Hall said. “Flakes did have a prior criminal history, mostly drug related.”
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OXFORD • A former Amory High School teacher could face up to three centuries in jail after a federal grand jury indicted him for 10 counts of the sexual exploitation of children.
Each count says Wilson “did employ, use, persuade, induce, entice, and coerce a minor … to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing and visual depiction of such conduct using materials that have been mailed, shipped, and transported in and affecting interstate and foreign commerce.”
The federal indictment offers few details of the alleged crimes, but says there were 9 victims and the crimes happened between 2006 and 2016. Earlier this month, the court sealed several documents to preserve the identities of the victims. If convicted, Wilson would face not less than 15 years and not more than 30 years on each charge.
The U.S Attorney’s office objected, arguing that Wilson was a danger to the community and filed a motion asking Chief U.S. District Court Judge Debra Brown to overrule that decision and detain Wilson until his trial. Following an hour-long hearing at the federal courthouse in Greenville July 13, Brown reversed the magistrate’s decision. Wilson was taken into custody that day and returned to the Lafayette County Detention Center in Oxford.
According to documents previously filed in the criminal case, Wilson’s inappropriate conduct with students dates back to at least 2005. He was an instructor with the Technical Students Association.
Wilson’s activities came to light in early November 2020 when a former student talked to a counselor. Two weeks later, the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office interviewed Wilson at Amory High School and arrested him after a search found illegal drugs in his car. A subsequent 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.
During searches of Wilson’s house and storage building in May 2021, investigators seized more than 300 items, including video tapes labeled with sexual positions and the names of known Amory High School students. Following those raids, the state charged Wilson with a single count of the sexual exploitation of a child. He was later released on a $250,000 bond.
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The other day a friend sent me one of those silly Facebook posts asking me to name a food that I could eat daily without tiring of it. Though I suspect I would eventually get tired of anything, I replied with, “catfish.” I don’t know about y’all, but I have yet to find a way to prepare catfish that I do not enjoy. Fried, broiled, baked, and blackened are but a few ways I like it. Just throw a couple of hushpuppies on the plate with the fish, and I have a complete meal.
Speaking of hushpuppies, I am reminded of the ones Mother used to make. She did not use a great deal of shortening in her iron skillet, so her mixture did not form balls when she dropped it into the skillet. Instead, it formed more of a flattened shape sort of like fry bread but fatter.
Daddy said that they were grown up puppies and called them, “hush dogs.” We didn’t care what he called them. They were delicious! Mother could fry some of the best fish to go with them. That was often a Friday or Saturday night feast at our house. Many times, we would be joined by Willie Dee Brown’s family.
They loved Mother’s fish fries as much as we did. Willie Dee and Peggie had been best friends of Mother and Daddy for years. Daddy had really missed his buddy when the family lived in Memphis and was thrilled when they returned home. Though we are not related, I have always thought of them as kinfolk.
Daddy loved to fish and spent much of his free time doing just that. He tried all sorts of things for bait. He kept a big worm bed, but I guess he liked to give the fish a variety of offerings. I have no clue how he ever came to try it, but he found out that Grandma’s homemade lye soap was eagerly accepted by the catfish. I don’t know if any of the other kinds of fish liked it or not, but that didn’t matter. Catfish were what we preferred.
So, Grandma’s lye soap began to disappear from its place in the window on the screened-in back porch next to her wringer washing machine. Daddy confessed that he was using it for fishing and asked if she could make extra. Since Grandma loved fried catfish as much as any of us, she was happy to oblige.
We ate many fish who had succumbed to the temptation of lye soap before the remainder of their population began to lose interest in the bait. That is when Daddy started catching them with hot dog pieces. Later he advanced to chicken livers. Finally, he went back to the traditional worm bed.
I loved to go fishing. Mr. Grover Hodges said that I had the patience of Job, but I just enjoyed sitting under a tree and watching the water. It was so relaxing. When Dale and I began courting, I tried to interest him in fishing. He didn’t seem to care for it, and after we moved to Alabama, I seldom had the chance to go.
We would always be too busy when we made a quick trip to Toccopola, and after Daddy’s death I seemed to give up on the sport. Now that we are back in Pontotoc, I often wish for the opportunity to cast my line and relax under a tree. It is great to think about, but I know it is not going to happen. I guess the best I can do is to let Dale take me out to eat at the fish house every so often.
I never buy and cook catfish at home since Dale doesn’t like to eat them, but I do make hushpuppies. You don’t have to pair them with fish to enjoy them, and Dale will eat the hushpuppies. I have even found them to be my preference over cornbread with boiled cabbage. I discovered this many years ago, shared it with Mother, and she agreed with me.
I generally think of Mother and Daddy and all the good suppers we had with the Brown family whenever I am enjoying a plate of catfish. I laugh about Mother’s hush dogs when I fry hushpuppies, and dream about going fishing when we take a trip to the lake. Indeed, I think I might be able to enjoy eating catfish every day. It would be like watching reruns of old tv shows and remembering how much I enjoyed them. I am glad my friend sent that silly Facebook post my way. She has no idea how much pleasure it has given me to reply with that simple word, “catfish.”
evening. For the Heat Advisory, from 10 AM to 9 PM CDT Friday.
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Vice President Mike Pence returns to the House chamber after midnight, Jan. 7, 2021, to finish the work of the Electoral College after a mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in Washington and disrupted the process.
Republicans thank Pence in private for fulfilling duty
Former Vice President Mike Pence received a warm reception Wednesday on Capitol Hill from Republican lawmakers, who applauded him for fulfilling his constitutional role in certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The scene was different Tuesday night in neighboring Maryland, where voters nominated state Delegate Dan Cox as the Republican gubernatorial nominee. Cox had former President Donald Trump’s full-throated endorsement, rejected the 2020 election results and rebuked Pence as a “traitor” on Jan. 6.
The split screen was a jarring reminder of the political crosswinds and fierce tug of war within the Republican Party that may not be settled until Trump and Pence duke it out in 2024 presidential campaigning.
At the Capitol, Pence attended a closed-door meeting of Congress’ conservative Republican Study Committee. The response to the former vice president was “very positive,” said Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska.
“He was thanked in there for his courage on Jan. 6, and I think people embraced his message,” Bacon told reporters.
Bacon said Pence did not provide insight into whether he will run for president in 2024, but “people are encouraging him in there to do so.”
Rep. Chip Roy of Texas thanked Pence for defending the Constitution and certifying the election results, according to Axios. “I’m happy to shout it from Mar-a-Lago to Bedminster … but I just want you to know how grateful we are,” he was quoted as saying.
A Roy spokesperson declined to confirm the comments made in private. His press office later posted a Tweet saying, “Rep. Roy was pleased to attend and thoroughly enjoyed catching up with former VP Pence.”
In Maryland, Republicans on Tuesday voted to nominate Cox as the party’s standard-bearer in the November election. Cox ran on a “Make America Great Again” platform. He echoed much of Trump’s rhetoric, including stolen election claims and the insistence that Pence could have done more to alter the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
“Pence is a traitor,” Cox posted on Twitter on Jan. 6. Cox later said his comments were meant to “convey a betrayal of us, his voters, and a deep disappointment.”
On Tuesday, Cox cruised to victory. With 80% of the vote counted, he held a 56.2% to 40.2% lead over Kelly Schulz, who had the support of Gov. Larry Hogan, a staunch anti-Trump Republican and Pence ally. Hogan said he would not back Cox in the general election.
Pence stayed on the sidelines for several months before establishing Advancing American Freedom, an advocacy group dedicated to merging traditional conservatism with the Make America Great Again movement.
The push has generated some blowback from Trump supporters. Still, there is a clear sense that the former Indiana governor has regained his political footing and is laying the groundwork for a presidential bid that could put him on a crash course with his former boss.
Pence is staying busy.
The Pence and Trump worlds will collide Friday with dueling rallies on behalf of their preferred picks in the Arizona Republican gubernatorial race.
Trump is backing former television news anchor Kari Lake. Pence is supporting Karrin Taylor Robson, a former member of the Arizona Board of Regents.
Pence also broke with Trump in May when he headlined a get-out-the-vote rally for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in his primary race with former Sen. David Perdue.
Trump recruited Perdue for the governor’s race to get revenge against Kemp for rebuffing his election fraud claims in 2020.
Pence is slated to return to Washington on Monday to deliver remarks at The Heritage Foundation on his policy vision.
On Tuesday, he is scheduled to address the Young America’s Foundation’s 44th annual National Conservative Student Conference and deliver the keynote address at the America First Policy Institute’s America First Agenda Summit.
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Snipes, Margie
Margie Shelton Snipes passed away peacefully at home with her family by her side on July 20, 2022. Margie was born in Tupelo, MS on July 25, 1943, to Harold and Mildred Means. She was joyfully reunited in Heaven with her parents, Harold and Mildred Shelton and her brother, Len Shelton. She married Grover Snipes on September 10, 1961 and together they had 60+ treasured years together until her passing. As a 30 year military family, Margie and Grover had many wonderful travels together, both in states and overseas, and found a way to make a home wherever they landed. In the midst of all the travels, Margie managed to hone her skills as an interior designer starting her own business called Southouse Interiors & Antiques and she was also a jewelry shop owner, Southouse Fine Jewelry, where she would provide unique and one-of-a-kind pieces of art for her customers to enjoy. Along with all the travels, the greatest accomplishment in Margie's life was her beloved family; together, she and Grover had two children, Steven and Jennifer. She is survived by her husband, Grover Snipes; daughter, Jennifer Vogel and her husband, Shaun; her son, Steven Snipes and his wife, Jennifer; brothers, George and Glen Shelton and wife Donna. She is also survived by her six grandchildren to whom she loved dearly: Jessie, Jordyn and Joshua Vogel and Sarah, Abby and Drew Snipes, as well as many other beloved family members and friends. Margie will be laid to rest at Dallas/Ft. Worth National Cemetery in Texas.
Steven Snipes
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A USPS logo adorns the back doors of United States Postal Service delivery vehicles as they proceed westbound along 20th Street from Stout Street and the main post office in downtown Denver, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. USPS plans to substantially increase the number of electric-powered vehicles it’s buying to replace its fleet of aging delivery trucks, officials said Wednesday, July 20, 2022.
David Zalubowski I AP
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In this file photo from August 2020, ICC students walk past the Student Activities and Campus Police Building on their way to class in Fulton.
ICC, NEMCC won't increase tuition rates for upcoming school year
TUPELO • Itawamba Community College and Northeast Mississippi Community College announced this week that there will be no tuition increases at either college for the 2022-23 academic year.
ICC President Dr. Jay Allen said ICC's decision to not increase tuition can continue to make education more affordable in an effort to help families during increasingly stressful economic times.
"We realize that with the economy and price increases, such as fuel, now more than ever, the college needs to make extra sacrifices to meet the needs of the people we serve," Allen said.
In addition to maintaining the tuition level, ICC will also combine all existing student fees into a single student fee for part-time and full-time students beginning this fall. The fee includes one for student activities that will be used to expand programming for students groups not only on the Fulton campus, but at the college's Tupelo and Belden Center campuses as well. Room and board costs have also been adjusted for an updated residence hall tier pricing list.
ICC Board of Trustees Chairman Gill Simmons of Tupelo commended ICC administrators for taking steps to continue making education as affordable as possible.
"With today’s economy and high gas prices, it is imperative that ICC provide this much-needed assistance to students, who are our number one priority," Simmons said.
Likewise, NEMCC will not increase tuition for the upcoming academic year. And various required fees, including course material fees like textbooks, digital text books and class supplies, into one fee so that students know up-front exactly what the actual cost of attendance will be.
"We are looking forward to the beginning of the fall semester at Northeast and we want our students to be excited about it as well," NEMCC President Dr. Ricky G. Ford said. "So we looked for ways to alleviate some of the stress associated with enrolling in college. While paying tuition and fees is part of the process, we felt like simplifying it would be one of the best things we could do for our students and their families."
The college introduced a 1:1 iPad initiative in 2018 that put iPads in the hands of every student. That allowed instructors to use Open Educational Resources rather than traditional textbooks, greatly reducing the cost of instructional materials. In 2014, the average cost of a textbook for Northeast students was $214. By 2021, that number had decreased to $22.
"We truly believe our students are the most important part of Northeast Mississippi Community College," Ford said. "We believe these strategies are ways of putting that belief into action."
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Kevin T. Clark, 46, of Tupelo, was arrested by the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Violation of probation.
Henry Lee Harris, 69, of Pontotoc, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, driving under the influence – third offense.
Kimberly Marie Humphres, 46, no address listed, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, possession of methamphetamine.
Joshua Ryan Minchey, 40, of Tupelo, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, possession of methamphetamine.
Laterence Randle, 35, of Prairie, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, possession of methamphetamine.
Julian Jamal Taylor, 48, of Tupelo. was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, possession of methamphetamine.
The following reports were filed Thursday by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
A MTD employee was fired after he failed a drug test. The man refused to leave, “started mouthing off” and caused a disturbance. He left when 911 was called.
A County Road 41 Tupelo man said a male acquaintance took a 2004 Lincoln Navigator from his car lot without permission. The SUV was later found burned to the ground in Itawamba County.
A man said his daughter’s dog bit a neighbor last night. Her boyfriend told her that she now had to have the dog registered as a dangerous dog. The deputy explained the county ordinances that pertain to dogs so he could relay the information to his daughter.
A State Park Road Tupelo man said someone has been dumping numerous bags of garbage on part of his property. He looked through the garbage and found mail addressed to his neighbor across the street.
A Mantachie man said his brother has been missing for two weeks. He said they got into an argument and he dropped him off at a County Road 1349 Mooreville house around 10 p.m. The brother said he would be back in 15 minutes. When he had not come back after 45 minutes, the man left. He said his brother has been known to “go quiet” for a week or so at a time.
A Tupelo contractor is building a County Road 1445 Mooreville house. Everything was fine when he left Monday. When he returned Wednesday, he discovered someone had stolen the copper wires from the exposed walls. He said the copper was worth about $200 but it will cost about $1,000 to repair the damage and rewire the house.
A man said he was driving home along County Road 1205 near Nettleton when he came up on a Jeep Wrangler driving slowly. When he passed the Jeep, the other driver tried to run him off the road, then followed him to his Rhudy Drive home. The couple in the Jeep got out and started a verbal altercation with the man. He did not know the suspects or recognize their vehicle. The suspects eventually left the area.
A County Road 1451 Saltillo man said while he was out of town, his 54-year-old son entered his house without permission. The son is not allowed in the house at any time and does not have a key. The man said he could see on his security cameras that the son was sitting on the couch smoking a meth pipe. Deputies arrived at the house to find the windows and doors locked and a television on inside. No one came to the door when deputies knocked.
The South Gloster Walmart filed a report two days ago about a man tearing apart the cardboard bales behind the store. He returned early this morning and tore up more bales.
An officer tried to pull over a Nissan Maxima with no tag light around 3 a.m. in the area of Kincannon Street and Joyner Avenue. The driver did not yield to the blue lights or siren, but continued on at 30 mph. The driver eventually stopped on Lumpkin Avenue near Mitts Drive. The driver told the officer he knew the officer was trying to pull him over, but he was just trying to get home on East Bristow. He was charged with eluding, driving with a suspended license and improper equipment.
A woman saw a mule for sale on Facebook Marketplace for $3,000. She contacted the seller and paid a $300 deposit through Venmo to hold the animal. They agreed to meet at an address on Elvis Presley Drive. When she went there, no one knew anything about the mule. When she contacted the seller again, the suspect made excuses that she was at a funeral and stuck in Meridian with no gas. She called Venmo about a refund. They said she needed a police report before they could look into the situation.
A West Barnes Street woman said when she got hone from work Tuesday evening, she noticed someone had stolen all the meat products from her fridge. She said the front door of the house was left unlocked when she went to work. After the theft, she went to the grocery store and bought more meat. When she got home Wednesday evening, she noticed that all the meat had again been stolen. The woman said about $160 worth of meat was stolen. She said they left the door unlocked because they were expecting someone to do maintenance inside the house.
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C.C. Williams of Tupelo is carrying on the legacy of his late father, beloved gospel singer Lee Williams, by stepping in to front the second generation of his dad's long-running band, the Spiritual QCs. Williams and dozens of other performers will pay homage to the late singer next weekend with a festival at Ballard Park in Tupelo.
Family, performers to honor late gospel singer Lee Williams' legacy with upcoming festival
TUPELO • The late Lee Williams of Tupelo began singing gospel music at 6 years old, kicking off a career that lasted until his death in August 2021 and will continue to endure for generations to come.
It’s that legacy that will be celebrated next week — July 30-31 — at Ballard Park in Tupelo. The Lee Williams Legacy Fest will feature dozens of musicians and speakers, all eager to pay tribute to a man who dedicated his life to inspiring others.
What: Lee Williams Legacy Fest
When: Saturday and Sunday, July 30-31, starting at noon each day
Where: Ballard Park in Tupelo
Who: Dozens of gospel singers, performers and speakers will take the stage to honor the legacy of the late Lee Williams, lead singer of beloved gospel group The Spiritual QCs
More info: For additional information about the festival, call 662-422-0550, 662-401-6331 or email leewilliamsfest@gmail.com
Williams’ niece, Katina Holland, is the festival organizer. She said the two-day event will honor the life and music of her uncle and the group he spent much of his life leading.
“I always think of Uncle Lee as an unsung hero,” she said. “He was humble and quiet, a gentle man who loved his family and loved kids. He did a lot for the community, too. He’d pay folks’ bills, but he’d never say a word about it. That was just Uncle Lee.”
Williams and his brothers — Willie, Robert, and Frank — first took to the stage with their uncle, Mitchell Thornton, in an ensemble called the Gospel Stars. Later, Williams and his brothers formed the Spiritual QCs (qualified Christians), who became pillars of the gospel music scene.
The QCs toured and recorded for decades. Their first hit, “I’ve Learned To Lean,” catapulted them into the gospel music spotlight, and the group went on to record seven more albums. Over their career, the QCs won 10 Stellar Awards, a Soul Train award for best gospel album of the year, and had numerous hits on Billboard’s gospel music charts.
Always in demand, the group often toured 50 weekends a year.
Williams started out playing bass, but when he stepped up to the mic as lead singer, the group’s name changed to Lee Williams and the Spiritual QCs. Tall, slender, and debonair, Williams rarely moved while he sang, but his dignified persona and baritone voice always moved audiences.
On stage, Holland said her uncle was poised and intense.
“He was always put together; very chic,” she said. “He was tall and thin, and he never moved a muscle on stage, but he’d tear the crowd up. It was so powerful; he was so deep in the word.”
Another of Williams’ nieces, Chante Thornton, would sometimes tag along when the QCs would go out on the road. She said her uncle always treated audiences with gratitude and respect.
“He’d always say, ‘Are all these people here for me?’” she said. "There would be lines of people, wrapped around the building, wanting autographs or a picture. Uncle Lee would never leave until the last fan got their autograph or picture.”
These days, the legacy of Lee Williams and the Spiritual QCs is in good hands. A second generation of the band, fronted by Lee’s son C.C. Williams, is “keeping the flame.”
46-year-old C.C. Williams of Tupelo said his first time singing with the group, in 2018, was doubly meaningful.
“It was a very memorable night,” he said. “Because it was the last time my dad ever sang with the group and the first time I ever did. We sang a song he had written: ‘Jesus is Coming.’”
Williams owns and runs Cold Cuts Hair Salon on South Thomas Street in Tupelo. He bears an uncanny resemblance to his late father, down to his baritone voice and gentle bearing. He said filling his father’s shoes in the QCs is a role he avoided for years.
“I ran from it until I finally figured what I was here for,” he said. “It finally came to me, and I knew the window of opportunity was closing. I’m glad I took the initiative, and that’s why I’m here today.”
Everywhere the QCs go, Williams said he gets the same response.
“It’s just so much fun,” he said. “People always tell me how much they miss my dad and how much I look like him. It’s just amazing–that feeling of giving the crowd something and the gratitude they show you.”
C.C. said the “new” QCs are much in demand.
“It’s been a busy year,” he said. “We’ve been to California, Arizona, North and South Carolina, Ohio, Florida, and Georgia already. We’ve got a show coming up in Dover, Delaware. It’s crazy; dad had fans all over the country.”
Williams said he feels honor-bound to give it his best whenever he steps up to the mic.
“I couldn’t just watch his legacy fall to the ground,” he said. “I know what he went through to give folks what he gave them. Now I’ve got the opportunity to do the same thing, and I can’t see myself giving it less energy than he did. I’m gonna do all I can with what I’ve got.”
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LYNN JONES: Searching for silver linings
A cartoon showed a man talking to a couple of workers outside an office door. The man was saying, “I regret to inform you that we are closing this department.” The name on the door of the office was, “Silver Lining Department.”
You hate to see a department like that close. In the darkest times, we have stubbornly clung to the belief that every cloud has its silver lining.
In a Peanuts comic strip, Charlie Brown was looking at a dark cloud and saying to Lucy, “You said every cloud has a silver lining. This one doesn’t.” Lucy looked at the cloud for a few moments and then said, “Hmmm, this seems to be a defective cloud.”
Some pessimistic people do not look for the silver lining in every cloud. They look for the cloud in every silver lining.
The fact of the matter is, there is something to be said for looking for the silver lining in every cloud. The folks in biblical times certainly did. In fact, they associated the presence of God with clouds. As the children of Israel left Egypt, God guided them with a pillar of cloud by day. A cloud descended on Mt. Sinai as God met with Moses. And a cloud descended on the Mt. of Transfiguration as the Father transfigured Jesus with the glory that He had before the world began. As Jesus ascended into Heaven from the Mt. of Olives, a cloud hid Him from the view of His disciples. When He returns, the dead in Christ will rise first, and after that we who are still alive and left will be caught up together with them in the clouds. Every time that a cloud appeared, there was a brilliant silver lining associated with it.
There are times when the dark clouds of life descend upon us. But even then, something of value can come from them. Paul said, “We rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Rom. 5:3). James said, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4).
Periodically, the National Weather Service conducts classes in our area for those who would like to serve as storm spotters during times of turbulent weather. As part of their training, these potential storm spotters learn to identify various types of cloud formations and the kind of impact they can have on people on the ground.
We ought to conduct similar classes at the church. We would not teach folks to deny the darkness of the clouds of life, but we would insist that God could help us spot silver linings in stormy clouds
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Shoe Country Warehouse is moving into this new location in the Tupelo Commons retail development. It is between Ashley Home Furnishings and LeBonheur Children's Clinic.
DENNIS SEID I DAILY JOURNAL
Shoe Country Warehouse owner Brandon Davis has been working in the business since 2001. He's currently relocating the Tupelo business into a far larger space, more than doubling the room for his expansive inventory.
TUPELO • Shoe Country Warehouse is closing Saturday evening, and when it reopens on July 29, it will be in a new home.
In the planning stages since the start of the year, the move to 930 Commonwealth Blvd will see the shoe retailer's space more than double. And the location is just steps away from its current spot – is was the former Stash furniture space, sandwiched between Ashley Home Furnishings and LeBonheur Children's Clinic.
According to SCW co-owner Brandon Davis, the store will close at 6 p.m. on Saturday and remain closed through Thursday of the following week to finish the move.
"We will reopen in our bigger better location on Friday July 29 at 10 a.m. , and we'll have more than 5,000 new shoes not currently in the old store, as well as more clothing," Davis said.
Store hours at the new location will be Monday-Thursday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday-Saturday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Among the doorbuster deals starting next Friday will be more than 3,000 pairs of men's shoes and boots and women's shoes at a final clearance of 70% off.
In addition, customers can register for a $300 shopping spree and flat screen 65-inch TV that will be given away.
The first 25 customers on July 29 opening day will receive a free swag bag ($20 value).
The new location spans 18,000 square feet, compared to the 7,500 square feet in its current space.
"Our new store is completely about the elevated customer experience," Davis said. "We will have many cool effects like a dedicated fitting area in the middle of the store, digital 4K ultra-bright billboards on big screens, an awesome throwback mural in black and white of the original Shoe Country in 1974 downtown Nettleton."
First opened by Tony Dickerson in Nettleton in 1974, Shoe Country moved to the West Main Shopping Center in Tupelo in 1979.
Following Dickerson's death in March 2017, there were three remaining partners in the store, including Davis, who worked with business' founder. After some negotiations and an amicable parting of ways, Davis emerged as the sole owner of the business.
Shoe Country closed in December 2017, and Shoe Country Warehouse, which had a smaller space in Tupelo Commons near Bargain Hunt, moved into its current location in the development in 2018.
Since then, Brandon Davis and his wife, Christy, have navigated the business through some turbulent times, including the pandemic, supply chain hiccups and now rising inflation.
Brandon Davis said the new location will pay homage to the store's nearly 40-year history and the people who made that longevity possible.
"We appreciate our customers, and this store is a testament to what Mr. Tony started," Davis said.
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He watched the ‘magic carpet made of steel’
Folk around here called him “Polly.” William Harrison Polsgrove lived in Tupelo a goodly portion of his life. His family buried him here in 1966 at Tupelo Memorial Gardens. Originally, he migrated from Fulton County, Kentucky.
But Polly’s story goes much deeper.
A story in the May 12, 1950, Tupelo Daily Journal, reveals a little more. Reporter Gene Gratz told the story. By the way, Gratz became a story about a decade later, and I’ll tell that one in a future column.
Back to Polly’s tale. Polly worked for 50 years for the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad as a freight agent and telegraph operator. He spent more than 29 years of that time with the GM&O here in Tupelo. Gratz interviewed Polly less than a week before he retired.
Gratz noted that once Polly retired, he would have served longer than anyone in the Okolona-Cairo, Ill., division of the GM&O. On top of that, Polly retired as the oldest telegrapher in the railroad company’s division.
Polly’s career began near his hometown of Jordan, Kentucky, in Fulton County, where he said he worked as a telegrapher for the GM&O’s mother railroad, the Mobile and Ohio at the tender age of 17. Now, ancestry.com has Polly’s birth date as May 26, 1882. That same month and year the officials of the M&O opened the final Cairo, Ill., leg of the railroad. A portion of that leg ran right through Jordan.
Remember, the M&O stood as the railroad that practically built Tupelo, coming through what would become the All-America City. Workers laid the first line in Tupelo back in 1859, a little more than a decade before Tupelo became incorporated and about seven years before the state of Mississippi carved out Lee County from portions of Itawamba and Pontotoc counties.
At the age of 24, he married Della Bellew in Hickman, Kentucky, the seat of Fulton County. He traveled up and down the railroad’s line during his career and lived in various places — including Union City, Tennessee; Jackson, Tennessee; and Murphreesboro, Illinois — and settled in Tupelo with his family in 1920.
Most of his career, Polly spent watching and working with steam locomotives. In 1949, the GM&O became the first major railroad company in North America to switch to diesel engines — the year before Polly retired. He told Gratz, “I don’t like a diesel, but there’s no use dodging the issue. They represent great progress and a tremendous saving in fuel.”
During those 50 years of working for the railroad, Polly estimated he walked about 15 miles a day. In Tupelo, he walked the railroad yard and the tracks that extended nearly two miles from the GM&O depot, which would have been just south and across the tracks from where the Tupelo Farmers’ Depot is located today.
Census data shows that Polly and his wife lived on Green Street in Tupelo after his retirement. In the years after Gratz wrote this story, two of his sisters and two of his brothers died. They either lived in Fulton County, Kentucky, or in Union City, Tennessee.
Polly died on June 20, 1966, at the age of 84, a full 16 years after he retired. His wife, Della, lived until the age of 97. She died on Oct. 21, 1979, in Tupelo. She is buried next to her husband.
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Why I won't survive a worst-case scenario
A couple of years ago, I found a unique item tucked away in my Christmas stocking amidst the socks, flashlight and accompanying batteries, chocolate bars and fruit (fruit? What's that for?). It was a small book — The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook.
A quick study of this book — written by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht — found it to be exactly what its title indicates. It’s a book that details how to survive under numerous perilous scenarios. Things like “How to Escape from Quicksand” and “How to Survive a Poisonous Snake Attack” and “How to Jump from a Building into a Dumpster” and “How to Treat a Bullet or Knife Wound.”
What I found when reading the handbook was that I was extremely ill-prepared for any type of emergency that would require me to live. In each scenario the book gave, my survival instincts would have gotten me killed, according to the expert recommendations.
For example, below I will present some of the scenarios from the book, how the book recommends handling each situation, and what my instinctual reaction would be.
How to Escape from a Bear
The book says: Lie still and quiet. Stay where you are and do not climb a tree to escape (bears are great tree-climbers). If you are still and the bear still attacks, strike back with anything you can.
I would: First, soil myself. Then, I would turn and run as fast as I could in the other direction, screaming for my mommy to save me.
I question who came up with this advice. Wouldn't it be easier for the bears to eat you if you lie still and quiet? If you were a bear (I'm assuming you're not), wouldn't you advise potential victims to lie still, don't move, and perhaps, pour honey on your head? I would — if I were a hungry bear (which I'm not; a bear, that is. I am hungry.)
How to Survive If Your Parachute Fails to Open
The book says: As soon as you realize your chute won’t open, signal to your jumping companion and hook arms with them. It doesn’t say what to do if you have no jumping companion (A rather important omission, methinks).
I would: First, soil myself. Then, I would wonder who forced me to jump out of an airplane, since that is not something I would ever do voluntarily. If the guilty party was my “jumping companion,” I would maneuver over to them, kick them in the face, and take their parachute. If the person responsible wasn’t with me, but rather somewhere safe on the ground, I would position myself so that I fell directly on top of them.
How to Survive Adrift at Sea
The book says: Try to stay warm and find food. If you see a boat or plane, try to signal them. Try to get to land (no duh).
I would: Not soil myself. If someone else was with me, I would say: “Hey, look over there. It’s the Love Boat.” When they looked, I would kick them in the face, then I would eat them. If no one else was with me, then I would soil myself.
How to Win a Sword Fight
The book says: Deflect and counter blows. Make steady, quick blows up and down, then left and right. Do not raise the sword behind your head to try a huge blow. Wait for your attacker to make a mistake.
I would: First, wonder where I got a sword. I haven’t been in a sword fight in ages. Then, I would say, “Hey, look over there. Is that Catherine Zeta-Jones?” When they looked, I would grab a beer bottle and throw it at their head, then I would eat them.
If there was no beer bottle around to defend myself, then I would soil myself.
So, as you can see, without this handy handbook, I would be unlikely to withstand any type of treacherous circumstance. That’s why, for the rest of my life, I resolve to avoid all quicksand, poisonous snakes, dumpsters, bullets, bears, parachutes, sinking ships, and sword fights (which will be difficult to dodge).
Methinks, the best way to survive worst-case scenarios is to duck them. And, perhaps more importantly, doing so will keep your pants clean.
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The Monroe County Chamber of Commerce shares the bittersweet announcement that Kelly Martin has accepted a position as Ecosystem 4 coordinator for AccelerateMS, the state’s newly formed workforce development agency.
Her final day with the chamber will be July 29.
Kelly has worked diligently for more than 10 years serving the community in various roles at the chamber. As a right hand to the director on various community and economic development efforts, she is leaving large shoes to fill.
As the Ecosystem 4 coordinator, Martin will be the single point of contact within AccelerateMS’ sphere of influence. Regular meetings facilitated by her and the team at AccelerateMS will allow ecosystem stakeholders to share best practices, voice concerns, provide feedback and participate in the development of workforce strategies appropriately focused upon the needs of that particular ecosystem. Each ecosystem will routinely review labor market data, supply chain needs, available educational resources and regional/community assets in an effort to more accurately meet needs in real time.
“We could not be more encouraged by having one of our own in such an important role as managing our ecosystem for workforce development efforts,” said Chelsea Baulch, executive director of the Monroe County Chamber of Commerce. “Workforce continues to be a key driver in site selection and economic development, and the group at AccelerateMS are literally the best of the best in the State of Mississippi. Over the past five years, Kelly has formed relationships with our career tech centers, K-12 educators and existing industry and other workforce partners. From recently receiving work-ready certified status through ACT to becoming more involved and passionate about the workforce, she is more than equipped for this promotion and will continue to work as a partner for us.”
The staff and executive committee are working to evaluate duties and responsibilities before filling this position, so please visit our website in the coming weeks for job postings and more information.
Please join us for a sweet ending to a new beginning on July 26 from 4-6 p.m. at the Amory Regional Museum, located at 801 3rd St. South. This is a come and go event to send your well wishes and encouragement with Martin. She will still be located in Monroe County, so thankfully we will still see her at community events and the like.
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Pottery such as these pieces will be on display at the Magnolia State Archaeological Society Native American Indian Artifact Show July 23 at Amory’s Old National Guard Armory.
Native American artifact show returning to Amory
AMORY – People will have the opportunity to see Native American artifacts dating back to 13,000 years ago through the Amory Authentic Indian Artifact Show. It will be held July 23 from 8 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. at the Old Armory, located at 101 S 9th St.
The Magnolia State Archaeological Society has hosted previous shows at the Old Armory, and displays with artifacts will be available for the public to see again this year.
There will be several different educational displays showing different time periods and cultures of Native Americans.
“There will be different artifacts and point types all the way from Mississippian, which is 500 to 600 years ago, all the way back to 12,000 or 13,000 years ago when the Paleo-Indians were hunting mastodons and wooly rhinos,” said Jacob Tucker, vice president of the Magnolia State Archaeological Society.
Collectors from Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri and Illinois will bring extensive collections found throughout the southeast, including arrowheads, pottery, tomahawks and axes used by Native Americans. As of last week, there were more than 60 tables booked by more than 20 collectors.
“It’s camaraderie like you wouldn’t believe. The guys come in and show their different artifacts and they’ll be trading. There are so many different collectors that collect different types and styles and materials. One guy I know collects Tallahatta quartzite, which is down around Meridian. Up here, we have Tuscaloosa gravel chert,” he said.
The show will feature a full range and artifacts and arrowheads from throughout the southeast, dating from the Paleolithic through Mississippian periods.
“There will be a little bit of everything there. It’s amazing to see,” Tucker said.
He said was introduced to searching for artifacts while in school by hunting for arrowheads with a friend in a bean field. It evolved as he discovered shark teeth and fossils near his home.
“There are laws that it’s all surface hunting, and it’s with landowners’ written permission. We abide by the laws and do things the right way,” he said.
Tucker added an authenticator will be onsite during Saturday’s show, and people are invited to bring arrowheads and stones for him to identify if they’re modern made or Native American and he’ll give values of the items.
The Magnolia State Archaeological Society is a nonprofit, which also has shows this year in Meridian and Corinth.
Jacob Tucker
Amory Authentic Indian Artifact Show
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Chris Baughman, Plantersville
Charles E. Smith, Houston
Margie Snipes, Tupelo
PLANTERSVILLE - Christine Ann Cobb Baughman, mostly known as Chris, died Thursday morning, July 21, 2022 at Sanctuary Hospice House after a brief illness. Chris was born on Dec. 15, l950 in Toledo, Ohio to the late Rudy Earl Cobb and Rose Niece Cobb. She attended public schools there and relocated to Mississippi over 30 years ago. She was a seamstress in the garment industry. On June 9, 2001, Chris married Stanley Baughman of Plantersville. An active and adventurous lady, Chris enjoyed bingo, listening to Gospel music especially the Gaither's, researching her ancestry, arts and crafts and cooking when she was in the "mood". Chris was loved by her family and many friends.
A service celebrating her life will be held at 1 PM Monday, July 25, 2022 from the Sadie Holland Memorial Chapel at Holland Funeral Directors-Tupelo with a graveside service to follow immediately in Ingomar Cemetery in Union County. Visitation will be from 3 PM-5PM Sunday (7/24/2022) and one hour prior to the service on Monday. For those unable to attend, the service may be viewed at www.hollandfuneraldirectors.com/livestreaming and will be permanently archived thereafter.
Chris is survived by her husband, Stan Baughman of Plantersville; her daughter, Penny Fairchild of Centralia, Illinois and stepdaughter Tabitha Smith (Stuart) of Guntown; her stepson, Curtis Ellis of Tupelo; her sisters, Aleta Cobb Whitford (Elvin) and Tracy Cobb Casey (David) all of Greenville, Illinois; her brothers, Lewis Cobb (Nola) of Patoka, Illinois, and Kim Cobb (Fran); 4 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, Rudy and Rose Cobb, a sister, Brenda and her mother and father in law, Buddy and Josephine Baughman.
Margie Snipes
TUPELO - Margie Shelton Snipes passed away peacefully at home with her family by her side on July 20, 2022. Margie was born in Tupelo, MS on July 25, 1943, to Harold and Mildred Means. She was joyfully reunited in Heaven with her parents, Harold and Mildred Shelton and her brother, Len Shelton.
She married Grover Snipes on September 10, 1961 and together they had 60+ treasured years together until her passing. As a 30 year military family, Margie and Grover had many wonderful travels together, both in states and overseas, and found a way to make a home wherever they landed. In the midst of all the travels, Margie managed to hone her skills as an interior designer starting her own business called Southouse Interiors & Antiques and she was also a jewelry shop owner, Southouse Fine Jewelry, where she would provide unique and one-of-a-kind pieces of art for her customers to enjoy. Along with all the travels, the greatest accomplishment in Margie's life was her beloved family; together, she and Grover had two children, Steven and Jennifer.
She is survived by her husband, Grover Snipes; daughter, Jennifer Vogel and her husband, Shaun; her son, Steven Snipes and his wife, Jennifer; brothers, George and Glen Shelton and wife Donna. She is also survived by her six grandchildren to whom she loved dearly: Jessie, Jordyn and Joshua Vogel and Sarah, Abby and Drew Snipes, as well as many other beloved family members and friends.
Margie will be laid to rest at Dallas/Ft. Worth National Cemetery in Texas.
Charles E. Smith
HOUSTON - Born in Kossuth, Mississippi, Charles grew up the youngest of eight siblings. They roamed the rural landscape, collecting arrowheads and Civil War relics on the family property. Charles loved helping in his father’s blacksmith shop, sold ice from a horse-drawn wagon, and pumped gas at the corner station.
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Cleveland takes Tupelo native Guy Lipscomb in fifth round of 2022 MLB Draft
Belmont standout Guy Lipscomb, a Tupelo native, was selected by the Cleveland Guardians on day 2 of the MLB Draft this week.
The Guardians grabbed the draft-eligible sophomore in the fifth round with the 151st overall pick.
Lipscomb, who lived in Tupelo until the sixth grade, is the son of Greg Lipscomb of Pontotoc and grandson of Tupelo residents Guy and Sandy Lipscomb.
At Belmont this past season, he was named an All-American center fielder by a pair of media outlets after hitting .406 with an on-base percentage of .484 and 42 stolen bases.
The now resident of nearby Franklin, Tennessee, helped lead the Bruins to the Ohio Valley Conference championship and was named the OVC player of the year.
He is Belmont’s highest draft pick in the last 47 years.
Slot value for Pick 151 is $371,600.
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Mississippi Writers Guild opens Tupelo chapter
TUPELO • The Mississippi Writers Guild, a nonprofit organization that supports writers throughout the state, has announced the opening of a new chapter in Tupelo.
Although there are several chapters throughout the state, this will be the first time this statewide organization is offering an opportunity for all writers to gather in the greater Tupelo area.
The chapter will host its first meeting on Saturday, Aug. 6, at 10 a.m. at the Lee County Library. The chapter will continue to meet on the first Saturday of each month and meetings are open to anyone who writes or is interested in writing. There is no charge to attend the meetings.
"Our meetings are a place to learn about writing from other writers, as well as to learn about publishing, illustrating, marketing, and all aspects of the writing process," said Meredith Biesinger, head of the Tupelo chapter.
The Mississippi Writers Guild is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization with the purpose of giving all writers a voice.
"We look forward to seeing all local writers (seasoned, new, and aspiring) at the meeting on Aug. 6, at 10 a.m.," Biesinger said.
For more information, visit the Tupelo Mississippi Chapter of the Mississippi Writers Guild page on Facebook.
Meredith Biesinger
Tupelo Mississippi Chapter
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Speaking of the president, she said: "He's just had so many things thrown his way. Who would have ever thought about what happened (with the Supreme Court overturning) Roe vs. Wade? Well, maybe we saw it coming, but still, we didn't believe it.
"The gun violence in this country is absolutely appalling. We didn't see the war in Ukraine coming."
All of this is false.
Vladimir Putin signaled his intention to invade Ukraine far in advance.
The decision on Roe was leaked weeks before the formal announcement.
Gun violence in major cities preceded the Biden administration.
Such comments are not only coming from right-wing opponents of the president and his policies, but are now appearing in mainstream newspapers like The New York Times and Washington Post and among some columnists who endorsed Biden's election, despite his age.
Leading Democrats are now questioning whether Biden should run for a second term. A recent New York Times-Siena College poll found that 64% of Democrats surveyed would prefer another nominee in 2024.
Biden has served his purpose by keeping Donald Trump from winning a second term, and now many Democrats want to discard him like an empty paper bag.
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Two-day gun violence rally planned in Tupelo
TUPELO • Organizers hope a two-day rally in downtown Tupelo will increase public awareness of the gun violence that has affected youth and the community.
“Enough is Enough” will be held July 24 and July 25 at Gumtree Park on North Front Street. The event is scheduled to coincide with the first anniversary of a triple homicide that took the lives of Norahs Coleman, 21, Jessica Pannell, 21, and Robben Wilson, 22
The event is being organized by the families of the victims. Featured speakers will include local pastors, gun violence survivors, parents, family members, community leaders and city officials. There will be free food, drinks and snow cones. Participants are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and tents.
The activities will begin at 5 p.m. each day and will continue until 8 p.m.
The first night is described as a “Youth Takeover.” In addition to the speakers and singing, there will be a clarion call to salvation.
On Monday evening, the rally proper will start. Organizers are inviting the community to unite and speak out against gun violence. There will also be a community gun turn-in, where individuals will be able to surrender firearms — no questions asked — to ensure they are never used against the community.
Coleman, Pannell and Wilson were killed in a hail of gunfire July 24, 2021 around 11:45 p.m. on Maynard Drive, just a block south of the West Main Walmart. Police have released few details about the case, but have said there was some sort of verbal altercation earlier in the evening between the suspects and the people at the Maynard Street residence.
Following the shootings, police arrested Shamar Carroll, 18; Javion Clifton, 17; Taquon Garth, 19; and Jaylen Wells, 18; all of Tupelo. Each was charged with three counts of capital murder; all three are being held without bond.
The suspects are all charged as adults with three counts of capital murder apiece. Since Garth was the only one 18 or older at the time of the crime, he is the only one who could face the death penalty. In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court banned capital punishment for crimes committed by those under 18.
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Abernethy, Sue
Eleanore Sue Abernethy, at 84 years old, died Friday, July 22, 2022, at Magnolia Manor. Born in Mantachie on May 17, 1938, Sue is the daughter of Marshall Clay Rushing and Alice Ray Farrar Rushing. In 1956, she graduated from Mantachie High School, where she was a standout guard on the Mustang's basketball team. Sue married James R. "Jim" Abernethy in 1958. They moved around for his career with American Thread Company before permanently calling Tupelo home in 1976. Before retiring from BancorpSouth after 10 years, Sue was a longtime Hilton and Executive Inn employee. She enjoyed working in her yard and took great pride in her yard's appearance. Before her health declined she was an active bridge player. Sue has been a member of Harrisburg Baptist Church since 1977. Sue is survived by two children, Terry Abernethy and his wife, Amy, of Tupelo, and Toni Zweig and her husband, Warren of Mandeville, Louisiana; four grandchildren, Zack Abernethy, Webb Abernethy, Abby Zweig, and Anna Zweig; one brother, Danny Rushing and his wife, Vicki, of Tupelo; and one sister-in-law, Ellen Rushing of Mantachie. She is preceded in death by her parents; husband; brothers, Gerald Rushing, and Buddy Rushing; and sister, Colleen Vlach. Visitation will be 9 until 11 a.m. Monday, July 25, 2022, at W. E. Pegues, Tupelo. Services honoring Sue's life will be 11 a.m. Monday, July 25, 2022, at the Jefferson Street Chapel of W. E. Pegues with Rev. David Smith and Bro. Danny Rushing officiating. Burial will follow at Lee Memorial Park. Pallbearers will be Zach Abernethy, Warren Zweig, Eddie Barber, and Brian Rushing. Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, PO Box 50, Memphis, TN 38101. Expressions of sympathy and fond memories may be made at www.peguesfuneralhome.com.
Ellen Rushing
Danny Rushing
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Carroll, Michael David "Mike"
A true Southern gentleman whose memory will be lovingly treasured by family and many friends, Michael David "Mike" Carroll, 66, resident of Ashland, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Thursday afternoon, July 21, 2022 at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Union County following a brief illness. A Celebration of Life Service will be at 4 PM Sunday, July 24 in The Heritage Chapel of Ripley Funeral Home. A Graveside Service will follow in the Ashland City Cemetery with Bro. Joe McIntyre officiating. Mike was born June 29, 1956 in New Albany and is the son of Betty Ruth Sharp Carroll of Ashland and the late Lee Fred Carroll. He was a graduate of Gray Academy in Ashland and continued his education at Northwest Mississippi Community College and The University of Mississippi. Mike was a valued employee with Delta Airlines from 1986 to 2020, retiring after 34 years of service. Committed to his career, his travels took him all over the world which included China, Italy, Paris, Germany and India to name a few. Mike began collecting pearls while traveling and, encouraged by his mother, would eventually open Mike's Family Jewels in Ashland. Based with Delta Airlines in Michigan, Mike would meet Tim Satterfield in 1999 and the two would marry February 9, 2015. With a lot of convincing, Mike and Tim would open Ciao Chow in Ashland 11 years ago and eventually move the restaurant to their current location in New Albany. A 3rd Degree Mason and Ashland Town Alderman from 2013 to 2017, Mike was always looking out for the best interest of not just the people that he served, but for the community in general. To know Mike is to have laughed with or to have shared a kind word, whether a close friend or stranger. Being humbly social was a special gift upon which Mike was bestowed; those around him were drawn to his infectious and ebullient personality. Mike's sense of humor was second to none and he was compassionate as he was funny. He represented the good that we all need in our everyday lives and was one of a select few who could actually rise to meet challenges with a smile. A loving son, husband, brother, uncle and friend, Mike leaves behind many memories to be cherished by his family and they find comfort in knowing they will meet again. "Do not be anxious, for I am your God...I will really hold on to you with my right hand of righteousness" - Isaiah 41:10 Visitation will be from 2 PM to 4 PM Sunday, July 24 at The Ripley Funeral Home. In addition to his mother, memories will continue to be shared by his husband, Tim Satterfield of Ashland, one brother, Mitch Carroll (Carolyn) of Ashland, four nieces, Dealana, Leah, Angela and Melinda, two nephews, Adrain and Mitch, Jr. and two loyal canine companions, "Corky" and "Max". He was also preceded in death by a brother, Ronnie L. Carroll. The Ripley Funeral Home invites you to share memories with Mike's family at ripleyfuneralhome.com.
Mitch Carroll
Tim Satterfield
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Iles, Helen Sue White
Helen Sue Iles, 92, passed away on July 21, 2022 at her residence in West Point. Helen Sue White Iles was born on April 25, 1930, in Stillwell, Oklahoma, the daughter of the late Cecil and Della White. She was a faithful Christian who taught her children and others the words of Christ. She was a wife and mother who upon the death of her husband, went to nursing school. Upon graduation, she worked first at Ivy Memorial Hospital and subsequently North Mississippi Medical Center in West Point from which she retired. She was a member of Christ United Methodist Church in West Point where she taught a Sunday School class for many years as well as serving in various positions on the Administrative Board. She was a member and group leader of Bible Study Fellowship and she was a citizen of the Cherokee Nation as well as the USA. She married William James Iles, Sr. on February 9, 1948, in Rossville, Georgia and he predeceased her on April 20, 1978. In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by two grandchildren, Matthew John Iles and Andrew Michael Iles and her brother, Ronald L. White. Visitation will be Sunday, July 24, 2022 from 1:00-2:00 P.M. at Christ United Methodist Church in West Point. Funeral services will follow at 2:00 P.M. with Reverend Jeff Shannon officiating. Burial will follow in Memorial Garden Cemetery in West Point. Calvert Funeral Home of West Point is honored to be entrusted with the arrangements. Survivors include her two daughters, Barbara Iles of West Point and Victoria Johnston (Mitchell) of Tupelo: two sons, Rusty Iles (Mandy) of Tullahoma, Tennessee, and Bill Iles (Liz) of Bellaire, Texas: six grandchildren; Joseph S. Rambo of West Point, Mallory Iles of Chattanooga, Tennessee, William B. Iles (Kelcie) of Tullahoma, Tennessee, Jake Iles of Bellaire, Texas, Donna Iles of Bellaire, Texas, Megan Johnston of Richmond, Virginia: great-grandson, Eric Russell Longstreth of Chattanooga, Tennessee: one sister, Nancy W. Bartsch (David) of Glendale, Arizona: two nieces, Heather Smith of Glendale, Arizona and Claudia Reynolds of Old Fort, Tennessee: a nephew: Geoffrey Smith of El Prado, New Mexico, a special cousin: Audrey Sanders-Oxford of Portland, Oregon, and special friends and helpers: Dee and Ted Berry. Pallbearers will be Rusty Iles, Bill Iles, Joe Rambo, William Iles, Steven Moore, Ted Berry, Bob Wyman, and Mitch Johnston. Honorary Pallbearers will be Members of Christ United Methodist Church, Glenda Brinkley, and Carol Lucius. Memorials may be made to Christ United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 722, West Point, MS 39773 or to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. Friends may leave an online condolence at www.calvertfuneralhome.com
Helen Sue White Iles
Barbara Iles
Ted Berry
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Who the missing workers are and how we can get them back
Canceled flights, unopened community pools, delayed deliveries, overcrowded emergency rooms and reduced public safety are all consequences of the unprecedented U.S. labor shortage.
There are 50% more job openings today than at any time before the pandemic. The unemployment rate is near a half-century low.
So how did that happen? A combination of government policies that simultaneously reduced the supply of workers and stimulated demand for goods and services.
Workers fled the job market thanks to policy decisions, such as 18 months of bonus unemployment benefits that meant many could make more money staying on the sidelines than by working. Meanwhile, Washington stimulated consumer and business demand for goods and services by flooding the economy with trillions of dollars in so-called COVID-19 relief, about half of which was money printed by the Federal Reserve.
The result is an unprecedented U.S. labor shortage. There are 755,000 fewer people employed today than at the start of the pandemic, despite an increase of 4.2 million in the population of people ages 16 and older.
If the employment-to-population ratio were the same as in February 2020, prior to the pandemic, 3.3 million more people would be working today. Moreover, economists estimate that a decline in the desired hours of work has roughly doubled the magnitude of the labor force decline.
So, who is no longer working?
To figure that out, I reviewed both published and unpublished data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population survey to estimate the “employment gap” for various groups of workers. This gap equals the difference between the number of people currently employed and the number who would be employed if the employment-to-population ratio had remained at February 2020 levels.
Contrary to media reports and some politicians’ claims when arguing for new federal entitlement programs, neither women nor parents account for the majority of the employment gap.
Men and women have identical employment gaps, both 2.1% below their pre-pandemic rates.
And parents’ employment gap is half that of nonparents. Multiple economic studies have shed light on this phenomenon, concluding that while parents — and mothers in particular — were more stressed because of school and daycare closures, their employment was not disproportionately affected by it.
The big story is a 9.2% drop in employment among workers ages 65 and older and a 3.0% decline among workers ages 20 to 24. If younger workers were pursuing education, their employment decline would not be troubling, but undergraduate enrollment is down by 9.4% since the pandemic began.
To help increase work among older Americans, policymakers should help enable independent work that can provide a flexible, be-your-own-boss option for older workers. Eliminating Social Security’s retirement earnings test would also encourage more work — simultaneously growing the economy and improving Social Security’s finances.
The decline in employment and education among workers ages 20 to 24 is particularly troubling considering that these are prime years for gaining education and experience and establishing effective lifestyle habits.
In addition to ending welfare-without-work programs that can encourage idleness and dependence over productivity and personal autonomy, policymakers should also make it easier for young people to gain education for a successful career without the excessive costs of a college degree.
That includes phasing out federal subsidies that crowd out low- and no-cost alternatives, encouraging — instead of canceling — thriving new Industry Recognized Apprenticeship Programs, and embracing successful employer-provided education and training.
Moreover, policymakers need to address the out-of-control inflation that’s eating away at individuals’ returns to work. While the average full-time worker’s earnings increased by $3,100 over the past year, inflation has eaten away $5,300, leaving him effectively $2,200 poorer.
If left unchecked, the U.S. worker shortage will lead to even higher inflation, reduced incomes, higher taxes and a smaller economy that will hurt all Americans. Policymakers need to expand education alternatives, encourage flexible work, end welfare without work and constrain out-of-control federal spending.
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Dave says: Debt consolidation is not a good idea
Q. Is debt consolidation a good way to get out of debt?
A. No, it’s not. Debt consolidation companies try to position themselves that way, but they don’t even come close to addressing or solving the real problem.
Personal finance is 80% behavior. When it comes to getting out of debt, staying out of debt and getting your finances into shape, you have to change your habits and behaviors with money. Interest rates aren’t the problem, and the number of payments you’re facing aren’t the problem. The problem is the person you see in the mirror every morning.
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The following people were booked into the Lee County-Tupelo Adult Jail in connection with felony charges ending Friday at 1 p.m.
Alexis Rose Allred, 23, of Baldwyn, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, possession of a Schedule I drug, driving under the influence – drugs, two counts of possession of paraphernalia, possession of marijuana in a motor vehicle.
Mary Carr, 18, of Saltillo, was arrested by the Saltillo Police Department, possession of ecstasy.
Jeffery Dalton Christian, 57, of Tupelo, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, possession of heroin, two counts of possession of methamphetamine.
Zachary Blake Davis, 25, of Booneville, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, false pretense.
Brandon Hawkes, 39, of Mantachie, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, possession of a Schedule I drug, possession of a Schedule II drug.
Camron Desean Ramsey, 20, of Nettleton, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, burglary of a vehicle.
David Sparks Sr., 52, no address given, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, possession of a synthetic drug.
A County Road 1205 Nettleton man said an 18-wheeler hit the power lines and pulled down a gray metal wire, which was left in the middle of the road in front of his house. The truck also took out a street light.
A Baldwyn man, 65, was riding his bicycle along County Road 2578 around 2:45 p.m. As he crossed over a bridge, he rolled his bike forward and was thrown to the ground. He was injured and could hardly move. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
A Palmetto Road man said he and his daughter were arrested for domestic violence. When they got out of jail, the man discovered someone had stolen a 42-inch television and his backpack from his car. He said the car was locked but one window doesn’t work and is held up by a wedge.
A County Road 1389 Saltillo woman came home to find a broken down motor home parked in her front yard near the road. A neighbor said the driver left it around 4 p.m., saying he would be back shortly. It was still there at 6:30 p.m. Since it was on private property, she was told she could call a wrecker and have it removed.
A woman said she is fixing up a County Road 1325 Saltillo house for rental. Her sister came to pick up a dresser with her son-in-law on a side-by-side. When the woman told the man he could not park on the grass, he got mad and spun his tires in reverse, and as he left he slung gravel damaging the driveway.
A County Road 931 Saltillo man said an unknown white male knocked on his door around 6 p.m. and asked if he needed a new roof. He said the suspect was acting suspicious and left after the man told him he has a new roof. The man’s wife filed a similar report three days earlier when an unknown man showed up at their door.
A County Road 1477 Mooreville man said his girlfriend let her step-sister move in with them. She found the sibling in a truck stop bathroom with no place to live and wanted to help her. He said for the first week, the step-sister was fine. He thinks she is now abusing the Xanax she has been prescribed and he wants her to leave. The girlfriend told responding deputies that the step-sister was asleep and didn’t want her to be awaken.
A County Road 811 Saltillo woman said someone kicked in the back door to her apartment and stole three flatscreen televisions, a safe containing $300 cash and a canvas Bob Marley picture. A neighbor saw four young males around the house. They ran away when spotted.
The clerk at Kirby’s on County Road 931 Tupelo heard someone scream outside around 11:45 p.m. He went to the door and saw a man standing outside. When he asked the male what he was doing, the male started yelling at him. The suspect then cursed at the clerk and threatened to assault him. The clerk went back inside and called 911. The suspect left before deputies arrived.
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PANDAI is a 17-month-old spayed female Terrier/Pit Bull mix who was found roaming by animal control in January. Her owners were located and contacted, but they never came to get her. If you can give Pandai a good home, her adoption number is 012703Q.
HOLYFIELD is a 4-month-old black and white male shorthair cat. He was found as a baby at the North Mississippi Medical Center' Women's Hospital with no mother. Holyfield's adoption number is 041107Q.
IF YOU’D LIKE TO PROVIDE xxxx or xxxx with a good home, call the Tupelo-Lee Humane Society at (662) 205-4221 or stop by 2795 Cliff Gookin Blvd. Shelter hours are 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday. Adoption fees for dogs and puppies range from $100 to $175. Adoption fees for cats and kittens range from $80 to $100. This includes one round of shots, worming, spaying/neutering. Please bring the photo of the animal you wish to adopt.
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Lamar Russell, left, and Perry Mason have updated a house built in 1970 in south Tupelo, and added several mid-century modern touches to it.
A guest bedroom gets its pops of color from bedding and accessories, while the walls remain a neutral gray.
Mason built the farm table in the dining room, which seats 10, before he and Russell decided to go with mid-century modern accents.
A dresser in the entryway that belonged to Russell's parents inspired the couple to add mid-century modern touches to the home.
Russell and Mason added dark trim to the home and painted the door orange.
The kitchen has all new stainless steel appliances, pendant lighting and an island.
Russell and Mason updated the fireplace in the living room, and added a handmade mirror above it. The couple has several large mirrors in their home.
The original fireplace in the den in the 1970s was surrounded by brick.
The deck was already on the back of the house when Russell and Mason purchased it. They added the vaulted ceiling over the seating area.
Larry and Betty Coggins built the home in Carr Acres in south Tupelo in 1970. When Russell and Mason bought the home in 2016, all the trim on the outside was white.
TUPELO – In 2016, Lamar Russell and Perry Mason were living in a fairly new house in Saltillo, and happy to be there.
Until they got an offer on it they couldn't refuse.
"Perry had a friend who was a real estate agent, and she was looking for a house in Saltillo for a buyer," Russell said. "We let her show the lady our house, and she gave us a good offer, so we sold it to her. Then we had to look for a new place to live."
A house that was in foreclosure came open in Carr Acres in south Tupelo, and the couple looked at it the first day it was on the market.
"When we saw the house, even as bad as it looked, I knew this was it," Russell said.
"I was already thinking what I could do with it," Mason said. "We'd come over here two to three times a week to measure things."
The 1,900-square-foot home, built in 1970, sat on almost two acres on a shaded lot on a lake. From the outside, it had a lot of mid-century modern accents, like long, narrow windows across the front of the house.
But the inside was a different story.
"The front door opened into the master bathroom," Mason said. "And the house was all kinds of colors inside — reds, greens, yellows."
"There was no natural flow in the house," Russell said. "The only way to get to the back three bedrooms was through the den. There wasn't a central hallway."
But the two men saw past all the flaws and embraced the potential. They bought the home in August 2016, and six weeks later, they moved in.
"There's very few things we didn't do ourselves," Russell said. "We had somebody put a new roof on, and someone put a new garage door in, and that's about it."
The first things the couple did were tear out the master bath and the kitchen. Then they turned the original living room into the dining room, the dining room into the kitchen, and the kitchen and den into the new living room.
The master bath was reduced to a half bath to help make way for a long hall that opens into the three bedrooms and master bath on one end of the house. They left a bedroom on the other end of the house intact, and it now serves as an office and storage area.
A dresser that came from Russell's parents' home inspired a lot of the decor in the house.
"It kind of triggered the mid-century modern style," Russell said. "We don't have a lot of original things from the '60s and '70s. We pick pieces up here and there from antiques stores, and we've bought a lot online from Wayfair. It's not a hundred percent mid-century modern, but we've made it what we like with mid-century accents."
The home has several hallmarks of mid-century modern design, including clean lines, muted wall tones, graphic shapes, vibrant accessories, an open floor plan, large windows and pendant lighting.
All the walls in the home are painted one of three shades of gray, and the trim is white. The men kept all the original windows in the house and put engineered hardwood floors down everywhere except the bathrooms, which have tile.
The house now has an open feel, with rooms flowing naturally into one another — which makes it perfect for entertaining
During the week, the couple might have friends over now and then, but they mainly host large numbers for holiday celebrations, like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve.
"My favorite part of the house is the kitchen and the living room because it's just a good place to hang out with people," Mason said. "It's good space."
For Russell, the attraction is the extensive yard.
"When the original builders had this house, there were 75 azaleas in the yard," Russell said. "When we got it, there was only one left. I'm a yard person, so we're working on that."
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Robin and Charlie McVey show off a flag that shows other boaters that they have completed the "Great Loop" at least once. The Iuka couple have made the 6,000-mile circumnavigation around the eastern United States twice ... a rare feat ... and may, some day, make a third round trip.
This image, provided by America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association, shows the possible routes for the Great Loop.
IUKA • More people summit Mount Everest each year than complete the Great Loop, a 6,000-mile circumnavigation of the eastern United States and part of Canada.
Local couple Charlie and Robin McVey completed the loop in 2017. In 2019, they did it again.
After Charlie McVey, 68, retired from the Oktibbeha County Sheriff's Office, his wife Robin, 56, left her job and the couple traded their home and 43-acre farm in Clay County for a boat.
Having spent 19 years living in the country, Charlie realized once he reached retirement age that it wasn't how he wanted to spend the rest of his life.
"There's something else out there," he remembers telling Robin.
Completing the Great Loop
Charlie was at Midway Marina on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in 2014 when he first heard about the Great Loop.
He met a Florida couple who were taking on the challenge with their three dogs. They told him all about the Great Loop and handed him a book about it titled "Honey, Let's Get A Boat."
Immediately, Charlie knew he'd found what he'd been looking for in retirement.
The McVeys joined America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association (AGLCA) and began boat shopping that same month. In January 2015, they found the perfect vessel in Florence, Alabama — a 42-foot 1986 Jefferson Sundeck Trawler.
They dubbed it "The Lower Place" — a reference to what they called the acres of family land below their house back in Clay County.
Nearly one year later, on Oct. 23, 2016, they set off on the Great Loop. Almost exactly a year later — on Oct. 2, 2017 — they completed their grand adventure. During their trip, they sailed in three countries — the United States, the Bahamas and Canada — all at 8 to 10 miles per hour.
Excitement and adventure is what drives the McVeys, and they encountered plenty of it on their trip.
One of Charlie's favorite stops was Washington, D.C. They docked at the Gangplank Marina and spent a couple of weeks exploring the nation's capitol on foot.
The entire trip, Robin said, was a walk — or float — through history, all the while observing the exchange of culture and traditions, not just between countries, but between various regions of the U.S. Like when Charlie had some of the best barbecue he'd ever tasted on a dock in downtown D.C., for example.
Arriving in Iuka 50 weeks after they'd set sail, the McVeys earned the right to replace their white AGLCA burgee with a gold one signifying their completion of the Great Loop.
They bought a house in Counce, Tennessee, just across the Mississippi state line, in November 2017, a month after they finished the Loop. It's a short drive to the Safe Harbor Aqua Yacht marina in Iuka where they keep their boat and a pontoon for days on the river while they're home during the summer. To this day, the Tennessee River remains their favorite cruising spot.
"We bought a house up here to be near our boat," Robin said. "I don't know what that says about us, but hey, it's a cool place to live."
With most of their belongings still sitting in unpacked boxes, they left on the boat again in Feb. 2018 to spend a few months in Fort Myers, Florida.
They'd enjoyed cruising the Great Loop so much that they decided to do it a second time just over a year after they finished the first. They set out on Nov. 1, 2018, and finished in Sept. 14, 2019, now proudly displaying a platinum AGLCA burgee signifying that they've completed the Loop twice.
'I just couldn't do without a boat'
Before setting out on the first Loop, Robin McVey knew she'd need something on which to focus her attention. She'd seen a friend make a T-shirt quilt years ago, so she decided to collect them along the way as a reminder of where she and Charlie McVey had been.
She started on her first t-shirt quilt as soon as they got home. She found the process of creating the cover therapeutic.
"There's this thing that happens when you finish the Loop," Robin McVey said. "We've coined it 'the Looper blues.' It is very much a depression-type thing. All of a sudden, it doesn't matter what the weather's going to be. It doesn't matter what the tide is."
That's part of the reason they went back a second time, and for the last few years have taken "run from winter" excursions to warmer waters. This year, they went to Chesapeake, Virginia, where they left their boat until they're ready to cruise again.
The couple sold their Jefferson, on which they'd done both loops, in March 2021. Two months later, they replaced it with a 1991 Carver 4207 that now bears the same name as the first.
"We were going to wait a while," Charlie McVey said. "And I just couldn't do without a boat."
There may be days where you sit at home doing nothing in Tennessee, but when you're on a boat there's always something to do.
"It's a lifestyle," Charlie McVey said. "Like right now, we're away from the boat, and I miss it everyday."
Despite being married almost 32 years, the McVeys are closer than they ever were before traveling together on a boat.
"Marriage is one thing, but living on a 42-foot boat is a whole other story," Robin McVey said. "You become a team; you become more than husband and wife."
There's also a kinship between boaters. They look out for one another, something the McVeys have witnessed and put into practice. In 2021, they were named the True North Harbor Host of the Year recipients by the AGLCA for "their willingness to go above-and-beyond for their fellow Loopers."
"There is good in everywhere you go, and there is good in every person," Robin McVey said. "In two loops and several side trips, we never once felt threatened, concerned for our safety, intimidated by anything. I don't think we ever felt like we were ever at risk for our own personal safety. And that says a lot for the number of miles we traveled."
There are Loopers from all income brackets and all walks of life making a go of it with the same goal in mind.
"When you're boating, there is no difference," Charlie McVey said. "It doesn't matter if I pull up in my '91 Carver and this guy pulls up in his 2019 Voyager, when they get off on the dock they're just like us. They're boaters."
Finding what floats your boat
The McVeys have yet to decide whether they'll cruise the loop a third time, but there's no doubt they'll continue boating.
And they encourage everyone to find something that floats their boat.
"Anyone who has that sense of adventure, whether its the Appalachian Trail, climbing Mount Everest, doing America's Great Loop or doing 12 marathons in 12 months — whatever that dream is — make a plan, make a date, do it," Robin McVey said.
A single phone call can change a person's life drastically, whether that's a career, family or health change.
"If you wait until you think you're ready, it'll never happen," she said. "Don't say should've, could've, would've. Do it."
Charlie Mcvey
Robin Mcvey
Mcveys
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In a similar sense, we've discovered, in the weeks since the court struck down Roe, that it unsettled more than it settled. Consider last week's news that a 10-year-old rape victim — her name has not been released — had to flee across state lines from Ohio to Indiana to have her pregnancy terminated. This, because the law in her home state would not permit the procedure. Many conservative lawmakers, increasingly indistinguishable from 17th-century Puritans and Iranian ayatollahs in their moral precepts, consider it "pro-life" to force a 10-year-old girl to give birth.
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Mack Howard passed for 3,475 yards and 47 touchdowns at Heritage Academy last season. The Utah commit has transferred to Oxford for his senior year.
Mack Howard has accomplished much, but he wants to keep challenging himself.
That’s why the quarterback transferred from Heritage Academy to Oxford for his senior year of high school. He tore up the opposition at the MAIS level, earning Class 5A Player of the Year honors and leading the Patriots to a state title last season.
“The big thing for me transferring to Oxford was the ability to be able to play the best people every week,” Howard said. “Every team you play is going to have multiple Division I guys on it, and I don’t think there’s a better step than transferring to Oxford and being ready to face the best of the best every week.”
Last season, Howard completed 73% of his passes for 3,475 yards, 47 touchdowns and three interceptions. He also had six rushing TDs.
Playing for an MHSAA Class 6A school will make it tougher to achieve those numbers. Howard has been told how brutal life is in Division 2-6A, which includes Clinton, Starkville, Tupelo and reigning state champ Madison Central.
He could have spent one more year carving up MAIS competition, but that’s not what Howard wanted.
“I wasn’t satisfied,” he said. “I want to prove to everybody that I’m the best, and that’s just my mentality. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and improve myself.”
His arrival is fortuitous for Oxford, which averaged just 105.2 passing yards per game last season.
Bringing in someone as talented as Howard, who is committed to Utah, can instantly improve the offense but could also make for a tense locker room. That’s not been the case. It’s helped that he transferred to Oxford in March and was able to go through spring ball and summer 7-on-7 with the Chargers.
“Mack’s done a great job of coming in and being a leader from Day 1,” Oxford coach Chris Cutcliffe said. “Really, first and foremost, being a great teammate, and being somebody that genuinely cares about his teammates and invests in his teammates. He’s done a great job of jumping right in.”
Howard said he has gotten along with his new teammates both on and off the field, making for a smooth transition.
“We kind of embraced each other, and they’ve treated me so well. We hang out all the time off the field as well, so it’s been really good in both regards, football and social.”
From what Cutcliffe has seen of his new QB so far, he sees no reason why Howard can’t excel at this level.
“He’s extremely accurate and decisive with the ball and made some big plays in our spring game, and made some plays outside the pocket,” Cutcliffe said. “All of that was really good to see.”
Mack Howard
Heritage Academy Patriots
Chris Cutcliffe
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Sharing memories of simpler times still makes me appreciate modern tech
Our old friend Martha Carden shared with me a partial draft of a letter to friends from the last Christmas season that has been parked at the back of my desk ever since.
I have glanced back through it from time to time, hoping for a slow day to add my two cents worth to her sentiments. Now that opportunity has come around, I’d like to commiserate with her observations and concerns.
“I feel like, sometimes, I have been dropped off on an alien planet. It does not seem like anyone speaks my language anymore, which I find very discouraging and depressing,” she wrote. “I heard Mother and Daddy said years ago that they felt they had outlived the world, since no one else felt like they did.”
I wrote a column a few years back where I listed some terms among today’s pop culture that I never heard of growing up. I keep jotting down more phrases I hear that peak my attention to research, so I didn’t feel so ignorant.
I already mentioned in a column about visiting family during last Christmas when our children’s generation engaged in such animated and fast-paced conversation about music, entertainment and travel that my siblings and I could barely get a word in, if we even know what they were talking about.
Child psychologist and Christian radio host Dr. James Dobson characterized the plight of the old folks as having transitioned from life on the edge to “life on the ledge.”
Martha predicts that the time will come when there remains no memory of what times were like at the end of the Great Depression.
“I am wondering if the textbooks will even refer to that time,” she wrote. “People feel it could not possibly have been as bad as we say.”
Her reality check is renewed in periodic installments when the caregivers come to visit and do housekeeping at her home overlooking the waterway between Aberdeen and Amory.
“They come with purple hair and cat claws for fingernails,” she continued. “Oh yes, I forgot the ring in the nose and all these ways to abuse one’s body with piercings and ink. How can anyone do housework with those nails?”
Next, she commented on the challenges of hearing loss, mentioning that friends she talks to say that they make fewer attempts to call or tend to business anymore.
“When you do not hear well, the attempt is just too much,” she said. “I have been hung up on, had connections lost on purpose and been dropped while being transferred to another department. If I do get there, they tell me I have the wrong department. They don’t seem to care that our generation made them what they are.”
My father used to fume that modern automation was invented for our convenience. Yet, it seems like it brings on more time-consuming complications than conveniences, especially with the added burden of fighting terrorism and crime in cyberspace.
“It takes someone with a lot of patience to be able to transact business by phone,” Martha said. “If you are fortunate enough to get a live operator, they are in a stall somewhere across the big pond. And to understand them, well, that’s another situation completely.”
I can relate to her just trying to communicate at home. Inside, I find it hard to distinguish mumbled conversation over the crisp dialogue from the digital television signal, which reminds me of comparing a fuzzy picture taken by a phone camera with the clear resolution of a professional photograph.
It’s no easier outside of our house for me since we live along a busy highway with noisy traffic. It reminds me of my childhood living near the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, where we had to wait between planes coming in or departing over us to hear each other talk at the picnic table in the backyard.
Martha then brought up the frustrations about getting medical care, and I’m sure everyone has a story about that to share. I’m thankful to have been blessed with robust health for my 65 years. I do get the occasional view from the sidelines as I’ve been with my wife through her four surgeries.
Martha said if the cost of medicine gets much higher, she will be going to the woods to dig up roots and pick rabbit tobacco to help with her asthma.
For those who can still remember the “good ole’ days,” all would agree that even though times were hard, they were simple, and people were happy and appreciative.
“We were so blessed and we could not, in our wildest dreams, have any idea what we were going to have to live through in the coming years,” she said.
While I’m finding myself sharing ever more common ground with the elders around me, I still feel young enough to enjoy the benefits of modern technology, even though I probably don’t even use half of the capability of the digital devices that have become our external vital organs.
JOHN WARD is a staff writer for the Monroe Journal. He can be reached at john.ward@journalinc.com.
Martha Carden
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David McRae
Unclaimed money is property you or your family have lost track of at some point. It could be an energy bill refund that was sent to the wrong address, a long-forgotten CD at your local bank or an inheritance you were unaware you had. If no one claims these funds for five years, the money is sent to the state. Then, your treasury is responsible for finding the rightful owner and returning the cash to them.
My team has been aggressive in doing this, which is probably why we’ve broken two consecutive annual records and returned such a large sum of money. The way I see it, this was never the state’s money to begin with. It was always your money, and you deserve access to it. Moreover, returning unclaimed money has been our way of helping stimulate the state’s economy during these difficult times.
Understanding this, we’ve made it easier than ever to claim your cash. Last year, our team simplified the claims process and made it available online. With this new e-claims system, you can visit Treasury.MS.gov, locate your unclaimed property and begin the claims process immediately from there (no notary required).
I am proud of the $50 million we’ve paid out to Mississippi so far, but there are still millions left to return. Please visit Treasury.MS.gov today. Enter in your name, your family members’ names, your church’s name or your business’ name to start your search. See something? Claim it, and we’ll get started verifying your return.
MISSISSIPPI TREASURER DAVID MCRAE is the 55th treasurer for the State of Mississippi. In this role, he helps manage the state’s cash flow, oversees College Savings Mississippi and has returned more than $50 million in unclaimed money to Mississippians. For more information, visit Treasury.MS.gov.
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Mississippi in midst of historic times in terms of available state revenue
That fiscal year ended on June 30, and the state in reality — based on early numbers — collected $7.38 billion or about $1.46 billion more than the estimate set way back at the end of the legislative session in April 2021. In other words, lawmakers budgeted based on expected revenue of $5.94 billion, but the state collected $7.38 billion instead, resulting in the surplus.
• Oil and gas severance taxes grew $15.5 million or 85%.
• Use tax collections increased $20.2 million or 5%.
• Casino tax revenue grew $15.4 million or 10%.
• Corporate tax collections increased $9.4 million or 1.1%.
• Revenue from the tax on cigarettes, beer and liquor decreased $10.9 million or 3.8%
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From the Parson's Pen: 'God’s Spiritual Compass'
Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way which seemeth right unto man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death.”
Sometimes we think we do not need a spiritual compass in life. We know where we want to go, what we want to get and how we want to do it – with no direction. We live as if it was a moonless, starless night and we just go faster and faster in the fog, with no direction.
When all the roads run north and south, we decide to make our own way straight west, cutting across the clear roads that have always been there. Then, we complain when we find swamps, deserts, rough places and nowhere comfortable to stay. We make our own way when there is a way already prepared for us. Then, we complain that our way led to disaster.
Some men look at the Christian life as a burden, a hard row to hoe or a straitjacket that confines them and ruins the fun in life. That is exactly the opposite of the case. The only people I know who experience any joy in this short life and difficult world are the people who use God’s compass and get on God’s road.
If you think the Christian life is hard, you ought to try sin and rebellion for a while. Cheat on your taxes and get caught by the IRS, go to a massage parlor and wind up with your face on the front page of the local newspaper for giving money to an underage minor. Skin a little bit off your discretionary account at work and get exposed for embezzlement or just lie about where you are going one afternoon and get caught.
Sin is hard. Sin does not work. You do not even have to have the Bible to prove that. Just look around. There is no stronger evidence of anything in the world than the single fact that sin does not work.
Just try to do the opposite of the Ten Commandments. Blaspheme, work seven days a week, kill, commit adultery, steal stuff and covet everything you see. Find out if that really makes you happy. You are not the exception in human history. You do not break His commandments – they will break you.
God has given you a compass. You find it in His Ten Commandments, His sermon on the mount and all the rest of His compasses. You will never keep its direction perfectly. The world, the flesh and the Devil will keep you from being perfect. Yet, the fulfilling way of life is to pick up His compass when you drop it. It always points to true north in His world.
You may have lost it. Find it today. His way is the best way, always. It is also the way of joy, fulfillment and meaning in life.
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McKee, Whit
William Whitman "Whit" McKee, 85, went to Heaven with the angels on Friday, July 22, 2022, at Tishomingo Manor Nursing Home. Whit accepted Jesus as his Savior as a young man and his life was a testimony to that act. He was a member of the Iuka Baptist Church and was a U. S. Army veteran. Whit was a fantastic cook and loved to cook for his family and friends. He retired from Norfolk Southern Railway in 2001 and moved back to his hometown of Iuka where he enjoyed living until the Father called him home. Left behind to mourn his passing are his wife of 63 years, Betty Gray McKee; a son, Roger McKee (Donna); two brothers, Ray McKee (Joyce) and Billy McKee (Jeanie); three sisters, Dot Timbes (Dean), Evelyn Whitehead, and Blondia Strachan (Willard); two grandchildren, Lorrie Baker (Alex) and Bill Brooks (Jennifer); four great-grandchildren, Ellie Baker, McKenzie Brooks, Zada Brooks, and Bo Brooks; and a host of nieces and nephews. In Heaven, he joined his parents, Elzie Clay and Mary Lou Milford McKee; as well as his other family members, Rivers and Charles Bates, Millie and Freeman Nunley, Clint and Rita McKee, Tulon and Helen McKee, Frances and Albert Wilson, Clay McKee, Jr., J. L. Whitehead, and Bozy Welch. Cutshall Funeral Home of Iuka, MS is entrusted with arrangements. Funeral services are scheduled for 1:00 p.m., Tuesday, July 26, at Cutshall Funeral Home Chapel in Iuka, officiated by Bro. Johnny Hancock. Interment will follow in Rutledge Salem Cemetery. Pallbearers include Roger McKee, Billy Brooks, Bo Brooks, Hughie Bates, Todd Welch, and Clark Adams. Visitation is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., Tuesday, July 26, at Cutshall Funeral Home in Iuka. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. An online guestbook can be accessed at www.cutshallfuneralhome.com.
Iuka Baptist Church
Bo Brooks
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Houston Fire Department to host Fire Academy for Kids
HOUSTON – The Houston Fire Department is hosting their annual Fire Academy for Kids this week.
They had a total of 28 kids sign up this year, which Chief Jonathan Blankenship says is close to what they were shooting for.
“It's about average,” he said. “We've had around 30 each year. Several years ago, we had a few more than that, but 30 is a good number for us and that was our target number, so we got pretty close.”
The event kicked off on Monday, and it is three evenings of fun and fire safety for kids. Tuesday and Thursday are the other two days.
There will be a lot of educational material for the kids.
“We have an agenda for each evening of course, but Monday will be a lot of fire safety, it will be in the classroom, and we will share some videos with them on escaping a home that's on fire, smoke alarms, we'll actually have Natchez Trace Electric Power Association come in, they're going to do a feature on electrical safety. We are planning on seat belt safety from Mississippi Highway Patrol.”
However, that is not to say that there won't be some hands-on activities as well.
“Of course we are going to let them spray water with the hoses. We'll put them in our training trailer where we actually crawl around in the dark and we're going to hopefully simulate what it would be like for them in case they were to have to escape a home that's on fire. We'll put some of the fake smoke in there, non-toxic fake smoke.”
There is also the grand finale which they try to do every year.
“We have scheduled two medical helicopters to fly in. They'll get to see those, so that's a real treat.”
The program wouldn't be possible without donations from the community though.
“There have been some donation from businesses around town, so we'll give them treats and snacks and food each evening. We are also giving them a goodie bag, and in that, we are giving each cadet a smoke alarm to take home and install.”
Ultimately, they just want to educate the kids on fire safety and hopefully they go out and educate others.
“We are just looking forward to three evenings of learning and fun for them. I think, in the past, it's been a great learning experience, we've had adults come back and tell us later how their children were teaching them things at home, and that's the goal. A lot of the time, it's simple stuff they never think about, but if their child comes home and starts teaching them, they'll listen, hopefully. That's the goal is spreading fire safety and hopefully making people's live better and safer.”
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Mississippi offensive lineman Nick Broeker (64) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Nick Broeker was told his arms weren't long enough to play tackle in the NFL. Now he's ready to thrive at guard for Ole Miss.
OXFORD — NFL evaluators give feedback on just about everything. And as Ole Miss senior offensive lineman Nick Broeker learned this offseason, sometimes included in there are things well beyond your control.
Broeker, who started the previous 23 games at left tackle for the Rebels, was a candidate for the 2022 NFL Draft but was told that he would have to move inside to guard — a position he had never played — at the next level.
Broeker spoke about his decision to come back in the spring and revisited the topic at last week’s SEC Media Days in Atlanta. He noted that one particular evaluation from NFL personnel — that his arms weren’t long enough to play tackle in the NFL — was a weird one to take.
“There’s nothing I can do to change that. There’s no, like, I work I can do to change that. It just kind of is what it is,” Broeker said. “So, it was kind of crazy to me, such a little thing like that is what they really take into consideration. But it just shows you how much the game is different at the next level, that even like, an inch like that can really change a lot of things.”
Broeker said the feedback he received has added “a little bit” of a chip on his shoulder as he begins his final college campaign. But the preseason accolades Broeker is starting to garner seem to suggest the majority of football writers and pollsters believe big things are in store for the Illinois native.
Broeker was named to the preseason All-SEC first team by media at SEC Media Days, the Rebels’ lone representative on the first team. He was named second-team All-American by Athlon. He leads an offensive line that returns a handful of talent, albeit talent playing in varied spots.
Junior Jeremy James has shifted from right tackle to left, junior guard Caleb Warren has moved from guard to center and Western Kentucky transfer senior Mason Brooks is set to play right tackle. The Rebels will feature a lot of new faces offensively in 2022, including the quarterback, running back and wide receiver positions.
But for the most part, the offensive line is a seasoned unit. Broeker, James, Warren and Acker have made 69 combined starts in their Ole Miss careers, while Brooks started 26 games for the Hilltoppers and was first-team All-Conference USA last season. College football guru Phil Steele has the Rebels’ offensive line ranked 27th of 131 teams nationally.
“The O-line’s definitely a very veteran group, and it makes the life a lot easier for the rest of us, knowing that we have guys who have played a lot and played a lot together, too,” Broeker said. “So that makes life a lot easier for us.”
Jeremy James
Mason Brooks
Eli Acker
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LT. Colonel Carlos Williams, Chris Ewing, Mayor Charles Scott, Retired Chief Warrant Officer 2 Cassandra M. Ewing and Retired Sgt. Gary Ewing pose for a photo during a ceremony honoring Cassandra.
Ceremony honors former Chief Warrant Officer’s accomplishments
ABERDEEN – A former member of the U.S. Army and Aberdeen Police Department was honored July 9 at the Royal Event Center for her years of service. Family, friends and members of the military applauded Retired Chief Warrant Officer Cassandra Ewing for her accomplishments to serving her country.
She is an Aberdeen High School graduate who attended Itawamba Community College and Jackson State University before ultimately pursuing the military, where she received additional education in a number of fields.
Ewing enlisted in service in May 1993 and retired last November from Fort Meade in Maryland.
After completing basic training and advanced individual training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, Ewing was awarded the Military Occupational Specialty 62B, now 91L, construction equipment repairer and throughout her career, she was also awarded 92Y, Unit Supply Specialist and 15T, UH60 Black Hawk helicopter repairer/crew chief.
She served in both the U.S. Army and Army Reserve.
Her long list of assignments included roles such as property book officer, property accountability technician, non-commissioned officer and crew chief.
Ewing’s awards included a Meritorious Service Medal, three Army Commendation Medals, three Army Achievement Medals three Army Good Conduct Medals, four Army Reserve Component Achievement Medals, a National Defense Service Medal, an Armed Forces Service Medal, two Humanitarian Service Medals, two Armed Forces Reserve Medals, three Non-commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbons, an Army Service Ribbon, two Army Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbons, an Army Aviator Badge, a Global War on Terrorism award, an Expeditionary Medal, an Armed Forces Service Medal, a Maryland National Guard Emergency Service Medal, a Mississippi Service School Medal, five Mississippi Longevity Medals, a Mississippi Medal of Efficiency and a Mississippi Magnolia Medal.
Cassandra Ewing
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After two years of watching my own countrymen try to get rid of our leader in two partisan and meritless impeachment shams, the last thing I wanted was to spend my vacation in Rome watching another country give the premature pink slip to its head of state. But here I am. And it triggers a few thoughts.
If you’ve spent any time in Philadelphia over the last six decades, you know that if you’re not a Democrat, you won’t win an election. I am 60 and cannot remember a time when the GOP ran things. I’ve been told it’s happened. I’ve also been told that the Jersey Devil exists, and keeps company during the summers with Big Foot. My point is that Philly Democrats are zombies when it comes to voting: if it’s “R,” they’ll stay far, if it’s “D,” they’ll vote with glee. And that’s not due to anything other than rank partisanship, because the city has gotten progressively dirtier, more dangerous and more dysfunctional under the progressives.
The point is that when people work against each other, either out of personal hostility, fear of the other or general apathy, governments fall to the default level of mediocrity. We have a partisan commission (Cheney and Kinzinger notwithstanding) that is trying to gain political purchase on the backs of political enemies (namely Americans who voted for Trump). And we have a sort of populism that has turned the “other” into traitors (a word that’s lost all meaning).
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Shoppers make their way from one store to the next as they take advantage of the tax free sales weekend last year at The Mall at Barnes Crossing.
At least some of them will get a break this weekend. The annual Sales Tax Holiday in Mississippi takes place between 12:01 a.m. Friday and ends at 11:59 p.m. Saturday. Sales tax will not be collected on clothing, shoes or school supplies less than $100. In 2019, the legislature amended the tax holiday to include school supplies in the tax holiday.
At the same time, Tennessee’s sales tax holiday on clothing, school supplies, and computers spans the same period.
Alabama had its event July 15-16.
According to the National Retail Federation, more than a third of consumers (38%) said they are cutting back in other spending areas to cover the cost of items for the upcoming school year.
“Families consider back-to-school and college items as an essential category, and they are taking whatever steps they can, including cutting back on discretionary spending, shopping sales and buying store- or off-brand items, in order to purchase what they need for the upcoming school year,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “The back-to-school season is among the most significant shopping events for consumers and retailers alike, second only to the winter holiday season.”
Families with children in elementary through high school plan to spend an average of $864 on school items, about $15 more than last year. Back-to-school spending has increased dramatically since the onset of the pandemic, as families adjusted to changes from virtual and hybrid learning. Compared to 2019, back-to-school shoppers are expected to spend $168 more on average, and total spending is up $11 billion.
Total back-to-college spending is expected to reach nearly $74 billion, up from last year’s record of $71 billion and the highest in the survey’s history.
More college students and their families plan to shop this year compared to last and anticipate spending an average of $1,199 on college or university items, consistent with last year’s record of $1,200.
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Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner I CDC via AP
TUPELO • The Mississippi State Department of Health on Monday reported its first case of monkeypox in a Mississippi resident.
The specimen was tested at the MSDH Public Health Laboratory.
An investigation to identify individuals who may have encountered the patient while they were infectious is ongoing, as development of the disease occurs one to two weeks after exposure.
"While this is the first reported case in MS, it remains likely that other cases will be identified as well," MSDH said in a statement.
By last Friday, 2,891 cases had been confirmed in the United States with no reported deaths.
"While anyone can get monkeypox, many of the cases identified in the outbreak in the US and globally have been among men who have sex with men," State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said.
Monkeypox symptoms may start out as a fever, swollen lymph nodes, headache and muscle aches, followed by a rash that starts out as flat and then advances to pimples, or blisters and ulcers on the face, body and sexual organs, according to MSDH. The rash can be itchy and painful. It can be confused with sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis and herpes, or with chickenpox.
The illness typically lasts two to four weeks. Some people develop a rash first, followed by other symptoms, while others only experience a rash.
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Ambrose, Jerry Brown
On Friday evening, July 22, 2022, Jerry B. Ambrose, 81, resident of Ripley, passed away peacefully at his granddaughter's home in Ripley. Funeral Services honoring the life of Mr. Ambrose will be at 11 AM Wednesday, July 27 in The Memory Chapel of Ripley Funeral Home with Bro. Doc Shelton officiating. Burial will follow in Pine Grove Cemetery in Tippah County. Mr. Ambrose was born August 22, 1940 in Alpine, MS, the son of the late James and Lois Cleo Fryar Ambrose. He was a graduate of Ripley High School and continued his education at Mississippi State University where he earned a Baccalaureate degree in Education. An educator with the Marshall and Tippah County Public School System, Mr. Ambrose taught in various areas that included History and Driver's Education. He served as a coach, instructor for the Graduate Equivalency Degree (GED) program and retired after 30 years of service. A Christian, Mr. Ambrose was blessed with a large loving family and will be missed by all those whose lives he touched. Visitation will be from 9 AM to 11 AM Wednesday, July 27 at The Ripley Funeral Home. Memories will continue to be shared by his wife, Stella Cavette Ambrose of Ripley, two daughters, Karen McCrite (Curtis) of Batesville and Marcie Brown (Mike) of Ripley, two sons, Ken Ambrose of Byhalia and Mark Mavity of Tupelo, seven grandchildren, Patty Childers (Jake), Christian Brown, Sean Ambrose (Sydnie), Heather Schellang (Mike), Ashley Ambrose, Clay and Sassy Tutor and eight great grandchildren. He was also preceded in death by a son, Wray Keith Ambrose and two grandsons, Jimmy H. Brown, II and Michael K Tutor. The Ripley Funeral Home invites you to share memories with the Ambrose family at ripleyfuneralhome.com.
Ken Ambrose
Stella Cavette Ambrose
Ashley Ambrose
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Bell Sparks, Melba Frances
Melba Frances Bell Sparks, 98, passed away peacefully on July 21, 2022. The graveside service will be Tuesday, July 26, 2022, at 11:00 A.M. at Oxford Memorial Cemetery with Rev. Robert Allen officiating. Visitation will be held prior to the service beginning at 10:00 A.M. at Waller Funeral Home. Frances was born on January 28, 1924, in Shelbyville, Tennessee, the oldest of three children. Frances married Carroll Sparks in 1946. They first lived in Memphis, and then moved to Oxford, Mississippi, in 1958, when they formed Sparks Auto Parts. Frances and Carroll were married for fifty-five years until his death in 2001. Frances was a longtime member of First Baptist Church in Oxford. Frances was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Carrie Bell; her husband, Carroll Sparks; and her brothers, Ralph Bell and Howard Bell. She is survived by her daughter, Judith Davis of Ridgeland, and her son, Gregory (Angela) of Madison; her grandchildren, Haden Davis of Nashville and Molly Kramer (Adam) of New Orleans; her great grandchildren, John and Sidney Kramer of New Orleans; her sister-in-law, Joyce Bell of Shelbyville; and many nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Heart Association, 7272 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75231, or First Baptist Church of Oxford, 800 Van Buren Avenue, Oxford, MS 38655.
Frances Bell Sparks
Carroll Sparks
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Boring, Chris
Christopher Michael Boring died Sunday, July 24, 2022, at North Mississippi Medical Center in Pontotoc at the age of 44. He was born August 19, 1977, in Birmingham, Alabama to Richard Michael Boring and Nancy Kathlyne "Kathy" McGowan Boring. He was a 2000 Tupelo High School graduate and received his Bachelor's in Business Administration in 1999 from The University of Mississippi. He spent his career in Sales. Chris married Kylie Bauder on September 29, 2007. He was an avid Alabama Football fan. He was passionate about animals and family and especially his son, Van. Chris leaves behind his wife, Kylie Boring; son, Van Boring; parents, Kathy and Rick Boring of Alabama; sister, Candice Barfield and her husband, Patrick of Alabama; and nieces, Maddie and Tanner Barfield. Visitation will be 12 until 3 p.m. Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at W. E. Pegues, Tupelo. Services honoring his life will be 3 p.m. Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at the Jefferson Street Chapel of W. E. Pegues with Rev. Will Rambo officiating. Graveside services will be 11 a.m. Thursday, July 28, 2022, at Remlap Cemetery in Remlap, Alabama. Pallbearers will be Ricky Nunnelee, Erik Goodwin, Evan Cherry, Patrick Barfield, Herbie Boring, and Luke Pearson. Honorary pallbearers will be Kyle Stephens and Kevin Griffin. Expressions of sympathy and fond memories may be made at www.peguesfuneralhome.com.
Christopher Michael Boring
Patrick Barfield
Richard Michael Boring
Remlap Cemetery
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Jones, Augusta
Augusta Elizabeth Jones, from Booneville, MS. Passed away peacefully on July 23rd, at Magnolia Regional Hospital with her caregiver, Cindy Bishop, by her side. Augusta was 90 years old. She was born August 25th, 1931 in Tishomingo County MS, to Jesse D. Ellis and Leona Taylor Ellis. She was a member of Rowland Mills Missionary Baptist Church in Burnsville, MS. She is the widow of Francis L. (Bud) Jones who passed away in 2005. They were married for 53 years. Augusta moved from Mississippi to Texas with her parents as a young lady, where she met and married her husband, Bud. They lived in Elgin, TX until later they moved to Austin, TX. They moved from Austin to Booneville, MS in 1990. She is preceded in death by three sisters and one brother. Lora Roberts, Evelyn Camper, Mary Gray and Dexter Ellis. She is survived by her nieces and nephews and their children. There will be a graveside service held Tuesday July 26th, at 2:00 PM at the Rowland Mills Missionary Baptist Church with Bro. Franky Smith officiating.
Augusta Elizabeth Jones
Rowland Mills Missionary Baptist Church
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Moreland, Faye Witt
The proud, self-confident, and ambitious Faye Witt Moreland, at 93 years old, died Friday, July 22, 2022, at North Mississippi Medical Center. A Tupelo native, she was born to Hosea Witt and Mary Caroline Witt on March 30, 1929, during the Great Depression. She was married to Charles E. Moreland for 61 years before his death in 2008. During their married life, they enjoyed traveling the United States and Canada, especially The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario. Faye was a freelance photographer/reporter with the National Federation of Press for Women and for Lee County Neighbors. To list a few of her many career accomplishments, she was a journalist for the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal for many years. During her time she would visit many local civic groups for community updates. She was well known as a writer, having published two books, Voices from the Past, What Piggie Caldwell Didn't Tell You, and Green Field and Fairer Lanes: Music in the Life of Henry Ford. She had great respect for J. Edgar Hoover and Henry Ford. For 13 years she was the civilian director for U. S. Marine Corps Christmas Program, Toys for Tots, providing toys, food, and clothing to 15,000 or more children in the Tupelo area. During her younger years, she was an active member of the Fortnightly Musicale Group in Tupelo. Faye was outspoken about being patriotic, pro-military, and pro-police. Faye is a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and served alongside her husband in various roles. Faye was honored to hold the rank of Ambassador-at-large within the International Order of the Southern Cross. Although she kept her membership at the Seventh-day Adventist Church, she was an adopted member of First Presbyterian Church in Tupelo. Faye is survived by her brother-in-law, Rex Roberts of Dallas, Texas; and nephew, Michael Crowe of Franklin, Tennessee. She is preceded in death by her parents; husband; sisters, Ethel Mae Repult, Yvonne Witt Chism, and Mary Truevitte "Trudy" Witt Roberts; and brothers, Lewis Witt, Howard Witt, Rubel Witt, Casey Witt, Carl Witt, and Gerald Witt. Graveside services honoring Faye's life will be 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at Tupelo Memorial Park with Chief of Police, John Quaka, and Rev. Dr. Ron Richardson officiating. Memorials may be made to Tupelo Children's Mansion, PO Box 167 Tupelo, MS 38802. Expressions of sympathy and fond memories may be made at www.peguesfuneralhome.com.
Faye Witt Moreland
Seventh-day
Rex Roberts
Charles E. Moreland
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Smith Polston, Mary A.
Mary A. Smith Polston, 90, resident of Potts Camp, formerly of Colp, Arkansas passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Friday, July 22, 2022. Born July 25, 1931 in Colp, Arkansas, she was the daughter of the late Essie and Walter Smith. Mary did not know any strangers, for everyone was her friend. Her favorite saying was "take care of you, because there is only one of you". She enjoyed baking, spending time with family and volunteering. She is survived by her husband of 72 years, H.L Polston, two daughters, Cathie Polston, and Karen Knox (Butch) of North Carolina, one son, Larry Polston, six grandsons, Chris Thompson, Timmy Thompson, Bobby Thompson, John Floyd, Michael Floyd, and Jared Knox, four granddaughters, Peggy Monk, Saundra Maglipon, Katelynn Knox, and Bobbi Salamone, twenty-four great grandchildren, and three great-great grandchildren. She is also proceeded in death by her daughter, Coy Floyd Thompson (Robert), and five sisters. She lived a wonderful life with her husband and her beloved dog, Bella III, in Grants Pass, Oregon.
Mary A. Smith Polston
Bobbi Salamone
Floyd Thompson
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Paula Vanderford, chief accountability officer for the Mississippi Department of Education, left, listens to Erin Meyer, a special attorney general assigned to the department, presents a summary on why the state should initiate a takeover process of the Jackson Public Schools to members of the Commission on School Accreditation in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. On Thursday, July 21, 2022, the Mississippi Board of Education voted to update a 1990 internal policy that prohibited anyone other than law enforcement from carrying guns on public school campuses.
JACKSON • Amid a series of mass shootings in the U.S., Mississippi education officials made clear that school districts in the state can make their own rules for letting armed people with enhanced carry licenses onto school property.
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County cross fundraising efforts surpass $60K mark
AMORY – The second countywide meeting for the Cross of Christ-Monroe County project was held June 30 at Meadowood Baptist Church. Thus far, more than one-fifth of the needed funds has been raised for the cross, which is planned for a site alongside Highway 45 in Aberdeen. It will be 120 feet tall and extend 64 feet across the arms.
“We have right at $60,000 now raised, which has come from various fundraisers that have varied from chicken dinners to gospel singing and yard sales to go along with the individual donations received. We appreciate every one of them,” said Evelyn Thompson, who is helping steer the project.
Bro. James Rutledge echoed Thompson’s challenge to support the project.
“When you come across the waterway bridge into Aberdeen and see that cross, especially when it’s lighted at night, it will knock your hat into the creek,” he said.
Host pastor Dr. Lloyd Sweatt characterized the mission of such an installation as dividing believers from unbelievers. He solicited continued support from the people of Amory and north Monroe County toward the cross’ $250,000 goal.
“The message of the cross is a simple message but also a saving message and a separating message,” he said.
The CREATE Foundation is facilitating donations, and its president, Mike Clayborne, said it’s an honor for the organization to be involved in the effort.
“We’re involved with two other cross projects as well in Saltillo and Ripley. They have done really well,” he said.
Clayborne explained CREATE founder George McLean’s Christian mission for the community foundation. Moreover, he emphasized 100 percent of contributions through CREATE go directly to the project.
“We account for every nickel that is given,” he said.
Clayborne issued a challenge that if each of the 10 largest churches in the county could raise $5,000 and another 90 or so could raise $1,000 each to go along with more donations anticipated, the project would be able to proceed toward construction.
“It’s going to get done,” he said.
Thompson emphasized that supporters must take ownership in the effort.
“When enough people open their hearts, open their pocketbooks and pray regularly for it, it will happen. We have no doubt that it will happen,” she said.
Contractor Mike Rozier of Greenwood, who has built several other crosses throughout Mississippi and neighboring states, shared his testimony, saying he got his start in the construction business in Amory.
“My first project was the Sonic drive-in right across the street,” he said.
He has taken on building crosses on a cost-only basis as his personal role in the ministry of this effort.
“It’s a lot of money. I’ve been told that the money could be better spent on providing for starving people in underprivileged countries – and I do support those kind of outreaches – but think of the impact of this cross on one passerby that might just change their life,” he said.
Rozier erected his first cross in 2014 and has built 12 so far, including nine in Mississippi, one in Louisiana and two in Georgia.
He shared an experience with a local pastor associated with the Pittsboro cross project who requested to drop a Bible into the hole before the crane lowered the cross into place.
“He wanted the Bible to be the foundation of the project, and we’ve done that ever since,” Rozier said.
He stands at the head of every cross as it is erected.
“If the day ever comes that I don’t shed a tear when I see that cross go up, it will be my last cross project,” he said.
Donations for the project can be mailed to CREATE Foundation; P.O. Box 1053; Tupelo, MS 38802. They should be earmarked for the Cross of Monroe County.
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So why are we discussing Till’s legacy again? Because last month, a team reportedly found an unserved warrant charging Bryant in Till's 1955 kidnapping, and his relatives want authorities to arrest her. Unfortunately, the Justice Department officially closed its investigation into Till’s murder back in December, denying his family the justice they have long sought.
Till’s murder was a prime example of how Black men have long been targets of pathological paranoia, hatred and malice. Black men (in the case of Till, a child), have been seen as particularly dangerous to the safety of white women. Truth be told, we have seen this sort of adultifying of Black children time and time again. Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old pre-teen from Cleveland who was shot by police within seconds of the officers arriving on the scene, was thought by cops to be "maybe 20."
More than a few bodies of Black men (often innocent) were strung up on trees and burned alive, with body parts chopped off and sold as souvenirs to mentally unhinged spectators who took sadistic delight in such a horrid spectacle. Oftentimes, it was based on the claims of a white woman, whose words (regardless of their truth) took precedence over the rights and dignity of a Black person. It's impossible to know how many Black people lost their lives due to false accusations.
Today, Bryant is 89 years old. Despite the fact that she is an octogenarian, Bryant and anyone else still alive who contributed to this horrid event should face some sort of justice. Till's decades-old blood remains on her hands, and possibly those of others. The case is a sad reflection of what all too often actually occurred during this most dark and sordid era of American history.
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Jasper Wagner's mugshot from the St. Clair County (Alabama) Jail.
OXFORD • A Lee County man has pleaded guilty in federal court to robbing a bank in downtown Tupelo.
“The FBI will continue to collaborate with our state and local partners to ensure dangerous, repeat offenders, such as Mr. Wagner, are brought to justice,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby. “We are steadfast in our commitment to reduce violent crime and the negative impact it has upon our communities.”
Since 2002, Wagner has pleaded guilty in federal court to nine bank robberies in seven states, from New Mexico to the Carolinas, including two in Mississippi. Wagner’s life of crime has followed a distinct pattern: He robs several banks, gets caught, serves about 10 years in prison, gets out and starts robbing banks again.
He did that in 2000-2001, repeated it in late 2010 and did it again this year. In a press release following Wagner’s arrest, Leeds Police Chief Paul Irwin said Wagner is a suspect in other robberies in both Mississippi and Alabama.
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Bramlett
TUPELO • Authorities are looking for the estranged wife, her new boyfriend and his nephew in connection with the death of a man found shot in the Auburn community two weeks ago.
During a Tuesday afternoon press conference, Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson said they have issued first degree murder arrest warrants for Patricia E. Flakes, 42, of Tupelo; Shannon D. Bramlett, 33, of Sardis; and Darick L. Moody, 19, of Oxford. Flakes and Moody also have warrants for possession of a firearm by a felon.
Johnson said deputies were dispatched to County Road 1438, just west of County Road 1147 on July 14 around 8:20 a.m. for a vehicle blocking the road. The responding deputy found a four-door car partially in the ditch and partially in the road.
“There were numerous bullet holes in the vehicle,” Johnson said. “As he approached, he saw an adult male in the back seat with multiple gunshot wounds.”
During a search of the area, investigators located several spent shell casings just east of where the vehicle was located. The casings were found at a residence rented by Patricia Flakes. Johnson said that Bramlett is the new boyfriend of Patricia Flakes and Moody is Bramlett’s nephew.
Authorities believe sometime earlier that Thursday morning, Jeremiah Flakes drove to the location in his mother’s car. At some point, the suspects shot at him with multiple guns, most likely handguns, Johnson said. The sheriff would not speculate on how Jeremiah Flakes ended up in the back seat of a wrecked car down the road from the crime scene.
“We are looking for these three people, who should be considered armed and dangerous,” Johnson said. “All three have connections outside Lee County and we feel they have left Lee County.”
Patricia Flakes was detained the day of the shooting and booked into the Lee County Jail July 14 around 9:30 p.m. She was later released when investigators didn’t have enough to charge her.
Patricia E. Flakes
Shannon D. Bramlett
Darick L. Moody
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In this image from a Washington Metropolitan Police Department officer's body-worn video camera, and contained in the statement of facts supporting an arrest warrant for Mark Ponder, Ponder strikes an officer with a pole on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. Ponder, the man who attacked police officers with poles during the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced to more than five years in prison on July 26, 2022.
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Kori Suzuki I The Seattle Times via AP
PORTLAND, Ore. • Temperatures are predicted to soar to 100 degrees in Portland, Oregon on Tuesday, which is expected to be the hottest day of a heat spell that meteorologists believe will be unusually long for the Pacific Northwest region, which rarely sees such scorching weather.
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East Union football players get water as they take a break from practice last August. The MHSAA has cited hot weather as the reason for pushing kickoff times to 7:30 p.m. for August and September.
MHSAA moves football kickoffs to 7:30 for first six weeks of 2022 season
High school football games in Mississippi will kick off at 7:30 p.m. through the end of September.
The MHSAA voted Tuesday to move kickoff times in an effort to combat the heat. Those games will also continue to have heat timeouts each quarter.
“It’s time to take every precaution we can to protect our student-athletes,” MHSAA executive director Rickey Neaves said.
The 7:30 kickoff rule was in place for several years before the MHSAA rescinded it in 2013.
Mississippi has regularly seen high temperatures in the upper 90s to lower 100s this summer. Players will battle the heat when preseason drills begin Aug. 8.
“If they believe it is what is best for our guys, then yes, but I like getting out there and playing,” Tupelo coach Ty Hardin said. “I’m too ADD to be waiting around.”
The 7:30 rule affects the first six weeks of the season, which starts Aug. 25-26.
Rickey Neaves
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Room to Room hosting small business pop-up market Thursday
TUPELO – For the third consecutive week, Room to Room Furniture Pop is making room for other small businesses.
Owner Lisa Hawkins – who earlier this year was crowned retailer of the year by the Home Furnishings Association – has carved out space for some two dozen small businesses for Thursday's Pop-Up Market.
The event will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and feature a range of small businesses and entrepreneurs.
"We've been doing it all month for National Independent Retailers month," Hawkins said.
The impetus behind the market is Hawkins herself, who remembers what it was like to strike out on her own.
"It's hard to get your name out there, and I thought we have this big huge space, and we just put it out there for people to come," she said.
The Room to Room Pop-Up Market has grown each week, and nothing could please Hawkins more.
"We've had candles and knitting and baked goods, and a lot more," she said. "We haven't had a lot of guys, but we welcome anyone.
Other vendors include yard art, handmade jewelry and boutiques. A full vendor listing is available on Room to Room's Facebook page.
"It's summertime, it's hot, and we just want to help boost other businesses," Hawkins said.
Participation is free of charge, but vendors have to bring their own tables and must give a door prize of some kind.
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Robin Odle, 66 OF CORINTH, passed away Sunday, July 24, 2022, at North Ms Medical Center in Tupelo. Services will be on Thursday, July 28th at 11am at St James Catholic Church with reading of the Mass of the Resurrection.. Visitation will be on Thursday at 10 am until Mass starts at the Narthex of St James Catholic Church. The Odle family has chosen ASSOCIATED FAMILY FUNERAL HOME - TUPELO to be in charge of arrangements. Our family at Associated are very honored to have been chosen to serve the Odle/Glidwell family. Please visit associatedfuneral.com to leave your messages of condolences..
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Parker, Sr. , Roy O.
Roy Octavus Parker at 91 years old died Monday, July 25, 2022 at his home surrounded by family. A son of farmers in the Mississippi Delta, he was born on September 10, 1930 in Midnight, Mississippi to Octavius Morelos "O.M" Parker, Jr. and Nellie Rachel Everett Parker. After graduating from Silver City High School, Roy attended Mississippi Delta Community College in Moorhead, but before finishing his degree, Roy joined the Mississippi Army National Guard. During his 33 years of service he honorably served active duty during the Korean Conflict as a Forward Observer and earned the rank of Colonel, and he continued to serve with the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve. Following Roy's active military duty he continued his education at Millsaps College and earned his undergraduate degree from Mississippi College. In January of 1959, Roy graduated from the University of Mississippi's School of Law and joined the Bar Association. He was the oldest active member of the First Judicial District Bar Association. During Roy's long and successful career as a trial lawyer, he was a lifetime member and Past-President of the Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association, which honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award and he was a proud member of the Lee County Bar Association. Roy dedicated his life and career to helping those who are less advantaged. Roy leaves behind a lasting legacy. In Roy's words as to why he continued to practice law, "I do it because I like helping people." Although Roy did not have many hobbies outside of his career and family he managed to find the time to get his private pilot's license. On December 11, 1954, Roy married the former Sarah Hewitt. Together they fostered a fulfilling life together. Roy adored his family and cherished all the family gatherings including the family reunions and especially the annual three Roys' birthday lunches. Roy is survived by his beloved wife of 67 years, Sarah Parker of Tupelo; three children, Roy O. Parker, Jr. and his wife, Merritt of Corinth; Margaret R. Parker of Tupelo, John H. Parker and his wife, Wendy of Tupelo; four grandchildren, Roy O. Parker, III and his wife, Daniella of Oxford, William A. Parker and his wife, Paige of Germantown, Tennessee, John H. Parker, II of Tupelo; and Margaret Virginia "Ginny" Parker of Tupelo; and three great-grandchildren, Hayden Alexander, William Kash, and Dixie Danielle Parker. He was preceded in death by his parents, O. M. Parker, Jr. and Nellie Parker; and his siblings, Leon E. Parker, Katherine Parker Tisdale, and Carolyn Parker Davis. Graveside services with Military Honors will be 1 p.m. Thursday, July 28, 2022 at Tupelo Memorial Park with Rev. Matt Powell officiating. Pallbearers will be Roy O. Parker, III, William A. Parker, John H. Parker, II, and John D. Mercier, III. Honorary pallbearers will be members of the First Judicial District Bar Association, and Bolton Brothers Sunday School Class at First Presbyterian Church in Tupelo. Memorials may be made to Roy's church First Presbyterian Church P.O. Box 1725, Tupelo, MS 38802. Expressions of sympathy and fond memories may be made at www.peguesfuneralhome.com.
Roy Octavus Parker
First Judicial District Bar Association
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Parrish McKay, Marcia Ann
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day." (2 Timothy 4:7-8) Marcia Ann Parrish was born in Starkville, Mississippi, on February 9, 1953. She entered her heavenly rest on July 23, 2022. Marcia's parents were Carl Stuart Parrish and Era Maurice Oswalt. Her grandparents were Joseph Norwood Parrish and Annie Myrtle Parrish, and John Hays Oswalt and Emma Sue Reagan. Marcia grew up on her parents' large farm between Sessums and Crawford, Mississippi, the place where she loved to explore, fish, ride horses, and spend time with her parents, siblings and friends. She attended Bethesda Baptist Church as a child and made her profession of faith in Jesus Christ there and was baptized. She attended Artesia Baptist Church with her family as she grew older. Marcia's life can be characterized by a heart of service. Her life was centered on being a follower of Jesus Christ and his example. Jesus said, I came not to be served, but to serve, and to give my life a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). In the same way, Marcia gave herself in service to her family, to her friends, to her students, and to her church. She especially loved and served her family. She was a great cook and enjoyed preparing for family gatherings and then ensuring everyone was served and comfortable. She loved people and was incredibly discerning, perceptive, and sensitive to others, and as a result, she put others and their needs before herself. She was faithful, diligent, patient, kind, humble, gentle, giving, and forgiving. Marcia attended public schools in Starkville, Mississippi. She graduated from Starkville High School in 1971 and then graduated from Mississippi State University in 1974 with a degree in Special Education. She was teaching school in Maben, Mississippi, when she met Roy McKay from Lamesa, Texas, fell in love, and married on May 28, 1976, at Artesia Baptist Church. God blessed their union with two fine sons: Joshua Parrish McKay and Matthew Jared McKay. They were married in love for forty-six years. Marcia was called to serve and was actively involved in ministry alongside her husband. She was willing to go wherever God called. A few months after they married, she went with her husband to New Orleans where he pursued training for the ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and she taught special education/autistic in Marrero LA. From there, they entered a life of service together for the Kingdom of God in many places. At the churches where they served, Marcia developed a reputation as an excellent pastor's wife. She was willing to do whatever was necessary to serve God's people. Marcia was a faithful part of the choir, the women's groups, and the prayer groups. She helped the other women in the kitchen and did whatever else she could to serve. She taught children or senior adult women in Sunday school and enjoyed teaching Vacation Bible School. In 1983 the McKays were called to missions and pursued appointment with the International Mission Board, SBC, Richmond VA. They were commissioned as missionaries in October 1983. Their first assignment was in church planting in the Philippines. Marcia learned the Ilocano language and managed the household well in a cross-cultural environment. She taught Joshua at home in grades K to 3 and taught Bible studies to local women and children as well as helping with planting new churches. In 1989 the McKays accepted reassignment to Germany where Marcia managed a major adjustment to a second culture and learned to speak German. Again, she managed the family and household well while her husband traveled. Also, Marcia was certified in the LAMP method and taught special reading skills at Black Forest Academy, Kandern, Germany. After ten years overseas, the McKays returned to Starkville in 1994 where Marcia taught homebound special ed students and loved her job. Again, she adjusted as her husband was called to be pastor in Montgomery AL, where she homeschooled Matthew, and later she taught high school special education in Millbrook. When her husband was called to a church in Columbus MS, Marcia adjusted once more and taught autistic children at Ward Stewart Elementary in Starkville. Finally, when her husband was called to First Baptist Church, Aberdeen, Marcia taught special education at Nettleton Public Schools. Marcia was preceded in death by her parents, her son Joshua, and her brother Carl Parrish Jr. (Nannette). Those who anticipate their heavenly reunion with her are her husband Roy, her son Matthew, his wife Hannah, and four beautiful grandchildren. Also remaining are her sisters Donna Norris (Jimmy), Lisa Turner (Nathan), and Cindy Dorrosh, her uncle Wesley Morris Parrish (Sok), plus nephews, nieces, and many cousins. Funeral services will be held in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church, Starkville, on Saturday, July 30, at 2:00 pm. Visitation will precede the funeral service from 1:00 to 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to First Baptist Church, Starkville (fbcstarkville.com/give), the International Mission Board, SBC, Richmond VA (imb.org/generosity), or Alzheimer's Disease Research (brightfocus.org/stopAD) You can leave the family a condolence at: www.welchfuneralhomes.com.
Marcia Ann Parrish
Joshua Parrish Mckay
Matthew Jared Mckay
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Coach Tim McDonald draws up a play during this timeout with his Urchins from the 2018 season.
Photo by Gene Phelps
East Union's McDonald retires from coaching, stays on as AD
Coach Tim McDonald figuratively hung up his whistle as a full-time basketball coach, but he will remain in his position as East Union's athletic director.
McDonald was involved in coaching for 20 years with nearly all of those coming at his alma mater, East Union.
"I started at Myrtle, Mississippi with Elvis Thomas for my first two years," McDonald said. "I assisted Elvis in 1993 and 94.
"I bought a home back here near where I was born, couldn't justify the driving and all, so I stepped out of the schooling business for a few years. I moved into my first year coaching here in 2004-05."
McDonald had a busy schedule upon his return to coaching as he led both the Lady Urchin and Urchin basketball teams in junior high and varsity.
"Whew, I walked into the office and said 'I love you boys, but if y'all want me to hang around here long, you've got to find a girls basketball coach.'"
Starting in 2008 and continuing until the spring of 2022, McDonlad was in charge of boys basketball for high school and junior high while the Urchins utilized other coached to handle the girls programs.
One of McDonald's more memorable teams was the very first team that he coached at East Union.
"I had no idea what I was doing, had a good post guy, had a good point guard, had a couple of good athletes and if I'd had a clue as to what I was doing, I think we maybe could have gotten to Jackson," McDonald said. "We got beat by West Lowndes in about the second round of North Half.
"It was a pretty good team, but I was just trying to figure out what was going on and we had some tools, had some pieces there that won a lot of ballgames. I would have really loved to have gotten down to Jackson that year, they deserved it and we just didn't get there."
McDonald has lots of memories of all those players that he had the opportunity to coach, but a handful come to mind as a bit more memorable for their time on the hardwood as Epic Urchins.
"You get close to kids and occasionally, you get some kids that really love the game, you know," McDonald said. "I think of Bo Nobles, Gareth Pannell and Dustin Hall. Dustin would run through that wall if I asked him to and you don't get those types very often.
Of course, my son (Ty McDonald), gotta mention him, he was a pretty skilled guy. I thought he was a much better all-around player than he was a scorer. Everybody thought he was a scorer, but I thought he was a more complete player."
McDonald reflected on what he thought he would miss the most from all his years manning the hardwood sidelines for the Urchins.
"It's game night and you know you get excited, I'm probably going to miss that," he said. "Now those three hour practices where you're hollering and screaming, I can't do that anymore. I've gotten too old and can't drive them like that anymore and I will not miss that.
"It's game night and when everything goes right and it's executed, you get the effort and you get the win, there will be some of those missed."
McDonald sees this career move as one that will help in his responsibilities as the East Union athletic director as the school has a wealth of sports as a 2A classification.
"It's going to give me more time for sure to concentrate on the other aspect and all the other goings on around here," he said. "We've got a lot of sports and a lot of things that have to be taken care of, but time-wise, it's definitely going to be an asset to me, not being gone 4-5 nights a week."
McDonald says his wife is extremely excited about the move.
McDonald shared how special his time at East Union had been especially since he attended school there as well.
"It's where I graduated from, I love it here," he said. "I tell some people that there's a few of us that bleed Brown and Gold, there's not many, but there's a few of us. I hope I'm one of them."
Urchins
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Zackary Nix Coggins, 32, of Tupelo, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, aggravated domestic violence, domestic violence.
Kenneth A Hill, 24, of Tupelo, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, possession of a Schedule II drug, contempt of court.
Anthony McCain, 24, of Tupelo, was arrested by the Tupelo Police Department, Mississippi Department of Corrections warrant.
Jeremy Dean Melton, 36, of Okolona, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, possession of methamphetamine, simple assault on a law enforcement officer.
Angelia Moss, 42, of Booneville, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, possession of cocaine, possession of methamphetamine.
Kentorrie Watkins, 39, of Plantersville, was arrested by the Plantersville Police Department, two counts of uttering a forgery, felony shoplifting.
Arieus White, 20, no address listed, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. Felony taking of a motor vehicle.
A County Road 455 Shannon woman said a white male showed up at 11:15 a.m. saying he was homeless and asking for help. She felt uncomfortable and called her husband, who in turn called 911. The man told deputies his wife took all his belongings, including his mobile home. Deputies agreed to take him to his destination.
An Okin employee said a male on a motorcycle broke two windows of his parked car while he was working. The suspect stole three wallets from the arm rest.
A security guard at MTD heard two gunshots and a car alarm in the parking lot. Security cameras showed a Black male got out of a Chevy Silverado, shot the windows of a Chrysler 300 and kicked the door and windows. He was cut in the process.
A County Road 1463 Nettleton man said moments after his wife left the house, a maroon Chevy Impala pulled into his driveway and a white couple got out. When they saw him looking, they immediately left. He has filed several reports on the suspects for trespassing.
A man said he recently moved to a Highway 363 Saltillo address. He found a female friend’s Chime card in his front yard and she accused him of stealing her wallet. A friend of the victim and her boyfriend showed up demanding the friend’s wallet. When he said he didn’t have it, the female started taking his stuff and loading it in her truck. When he tried to stop her, the boyfriend said, “Don’t touch her. You’re gonna watch us take your (expletive).” After loading all his stuff, they drove away.
A Drive 980 Tupelo woman heard someone outside her apartment around 11 p.m. She didn’t see anyone but has had problems with her boyfriend’s former girlfriend coming to her apartment and walking around.
A Highway 371 Tupelo woman saw headlights in her drive around 11:45 p.m. She looked outside and saw a red Chevy Impala backing out and headed south. After she called 911, the car returned to her drive and left again.
A Nixon Drive woman said a female sent her a threatening message. She thinks it is because she has a case against the suspect’s mother.
A man said he was checking on his South Green property and saw two males around his old Ford box truck. When he asked them what they were doing, one walked up with a screwdriver in his hand. The man noticed a tie-down strap attached to the front bumper and a flat tire had been aired up. One suspect said they were airing up the tire, and they left in a white Ford pickup. The ban checked and the passenger window was broken and someone had tried to crank it with a screwdriver, damaging the ignition switch.
A woman said she rented her South Church Street house to a man as an Airbnb. After his stay, she noticed that rags, trash cans, a television cord, television remote, canisters, shelves, blanket, throw pillows and an iron were missing.
A South Gloster Wendy’s employee got into an argument with her manager because the employee was scheduled to work the weekend. She said the manager told her she would hate to have to hurt someone’s child.
A clerk at the Barley Courts Store said a man came in around 6 p.m. to fill up. He tried to leave a credit card, but the clerk said he had to leave his driver’s license before he could turn the pump on. The driver agreed, then went outside and pumped $60 worth of gas into a beige Chevy Malibu. He then drove off without paying. The clerk gave police a copy of the receipt, the man’s license and a security camera image of the suspect.
A Maynard Drive woman said her niece walked off with her cell phone. When police arrived, the niece came back and returned the phone. When the officer told the niece she was not welcome at the house, she became belligerent and began yelling profanities. She refused to leave in a cab the aunt was willing to pay for. When she continued to scream profanities, she was arrested and carried to the county jail. Jailers said there wasn’t room for her, so she was issued citations for disturbing the peace and public profanity.
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Representative Lataisha Jackson
Representative Jackson to speak at NWCC summer graduation
SENATOBIA • Northwest Mississippi Community College is proud to announce the speaker for the 2022 summer commencement ceremony on August 1, 2022, Representative Lataisha Jackson of Mississippi House District 11. The college will hold one ceremony; for the school of health sciences, career technical education, and academic transfer graduates at 10 a.m. in the Howard Coliseum.
Representative Lataisha Jackson was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives in 2013. She has supported legislation to restore dignity to incarcerated women, infrastructure and development for low tax base communities, education reform, and business development during her tenure. She serves as the Vice-Chair of Investigate State Offices and on Appropriations, Universities & Colleges, Public Property, Judiciary B, and Local and Private committees.
Representative Jackson is an entrepreneur and philanthropist. She organizes efforts to support community development, engagement, and educational support services as the CEO and founder of EDUCATE Social and Public Policy Inc.
As a delegate of the National Bar Association, she traveled in 2021 to Ghana and Nigeria in 2022 to encourage trade and business efforts between those of diaspora and in Africa. In 2018, the American Council of Young Political Leaders chose her as a member of their 7-member delegation to travel to China and Taiwan. In 2014, the National Foundation of Women Legislators awarded Representative Jackson as an Elected Woman of Excellence, and she currently serves as the Mississippi State Director for the organization.
Representative Jackson obtained her Bachelor's degree in English Language Arts and Master's degree in Educational Leadership from Alabama State University. Jackson received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Mississippi School of Law and is an active member of Askew Grove Church in Crenshaw. She continues her service to all humankind as a member of Upsilon Iota Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc and MS Delta Links Inc.
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Tomatoes are probably one of the most planted vegetables in home gardens, but they can also be difficult to grow. Things such as insects, disorders, and diseases can all cause problems with your tomatoes. It is very important to check your plants daily so you can catch problems early. There are a variety of diseases that can occur on your tomatoes, but the following are commonly seen when conditions are right:
Early blight will develop when the humidity is high, and the temperatures are mild. This blight affects the leaves, stems, and fruit of the plants. The pathogen is seedborne and will survive on infected plant debris. You will need to watch for circular or elongated, brown lesions with concentric rings on the leaves, stems, and fruit. These lesions will enlarge over time and the surrounding tissues become chlorotic, or yellowed. Most of the time the symptoms often are seen first on the lower leaves of the plant.
Southern Blight develops in high temperatures and moist conditions. The pathogen can survive in the soil and on plant material for years and can be simply spread through the movement of both. You will need to watch for a quick and permanent wilt of the plant along with a brown to black lesions that girdles the stem near the soil line. In a very moist conditions, a white fungal mycelium may appear on the stem lesions followed by round, tan to brown sclerotia, which look like raised bumps. The fruits of the plant can also be infected if they encounter the fungus, which often occurs when the fruits touch infested soil. The fruit will first appear sunken and yellow and later become water soaked and soft before they collapse. White mycelia and sclerotia may also develop on infected fruits. A variety vegetable can be affected by southern blight.
Bacterial Wilt develops when the soil temperatures and moisture levels are both high. It can be difficult to manage because the pathogens can survive for a long period of time in the soil. This wilt is also seen in peppers as well. This pathogen is spread by contaminated water, gardening tools, gardening equipment, and gardeners. You will need to watch for symptoms such as the leaves yellowing or death of the plant tissue. There will sometimes be brown lesions on the outside of the stem near the bottom of the plant. The stem may be dark, and water soaked or hollow. If you horizontally cut the stems, you may see profuse bacterial streaming.
Buckeye Rot
Buckeye Rot develops when the humidity is high, and temperatures are warm. The pathogen may also affect peppers and eggplant, causing Phytophthora Blight. This rot commonly occurs on low-hanging fruit that encounters infected soil. We see that it is more severe in very moist soils. The signs of this rot will be brown, oily lesions on the fruit only. The lesions will enlarge and form concentric circles. A white cotton like fungal growth can also form on the lesions in very moist conditions. The foliage of the plant is not affected.
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Cade Davis, a Ripley native, will continue his baseball career at the University of Memphis following a two-year stint at East Mississippi Community College.
The path to the Bluff City as been long and trying, but Cade Davis is just happy to be where he is.
Davis, the former ace for the Ripley Tigers, announced his commitment to the University of Memphis baseball program on July 18 after a two-year stint at East Mississippi Community College as the Lions’ top arm.
After his second start of his sophomore campaign, Davis had locked in a scholarship offer from Charleston (West Virginia) and committed following a visit to the campus in March. Then, after a partial tear in his UCL ligament in his last start in early May, the right-hander knew he’d need Tommy John surgery.
His injury forced a tough phone call to the coaching staff in Charleston, where both parties agreed to part ways due to the circumstances, leaving Davis with a bleak future for his baseball career.
“It was a rollercoaster,” said Davis. “It was relief from stressing to try and go somewhere else within two years, to finally getting it, being happy and looking forward to it after driving up there and meeting all the guys, then that next month, get hurt and having to break that news to them. We have that talk and I’m back to feeling bad, feeling sad. And I start stressing again because now I didn’t really know where to go and it’s getting close to deadlines to enroll into a school. So it was a whole bunch of stress and anxiety but when Memphis finally called me, all my emotions swung positive again and now I’ve got a place to go.”
After a successful surgery on June 30, Davis is expected to redshirt this upcoming season at Memphis as he attempts to make a full recovery.
Preceding his injury, Davis was starting to piece things together in Scooba. The 6-foot-6, 245-pound hurler earned All-MACCC Honorable Mention honors after going 4-1 in 11 starts, boasting a 3.68 ERA with 51 strikeouts and 15 walks in 58 2/3 innings of work.
Leaving Ripley, Davis relied heavy on his powerful fastball that reached 94 mph this spring, and a strong changeup. With both pitches in his arsenal, he added a slider to go with the rest of his tools and help form a complete pitcher.
The addition of the wipeout slider played a huge part in an 11-inning complete game win over Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, where Davis fanned nine Bulldogs while giving up just one earned run in the 3-2 extra-inning showdown.
More of those types of performances will have to wait a year before they can be put on display again in Memphis. Ripley head coach Joel Gafford has complete faith that Davis can comeback strong from the injury, just as he did in high school, where he bounced back from an offseason elbow surgery to become the Tigers’ ace over his last three seasons, including a shortened 2020 season where he allowed zero earned runs to go with 35 strikeouts, four walks in 21 innings in his senior year.
“He’s earned this opportunity and we couldn’t be prouder for him,” said Gafford. “He’s had every reason to give up when he had setbacks or when people doubted him but that’s not his nature. He’s one of those kids that once they get their mind made up on what they want to achieve, you get out of their way and let them go get it. He’ll make his family, our program, and this town proud at Memphis.”
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Among the featured athletes on the top games (from left): Dallas Payne (FB), Jake Reeder (BSB), Emma Dempsey (SB) & Zeke Cook (MBK).
Year-In-Review: Extra inning thriller, wins over ranked foes among top games
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is part three of a three-part series that highlights some of the best performances from the 2021-22 athletic season at Northeast Mississippi Community College. Click HERE to watch the accompanying video.
BOONEVILLE • Northeast Mississippi Community College's student-athletes competed in several thrilling contests during the 2021-22 academic year.
The Lady Tigers and Tigers took care of their opponents in a variety of ways with several comfortable victories and multiple close nail bitters as well.
The following are five of the top games from Northeast's 10 intercollegiate athletic programs during its 73rd year of competition inside the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
#1 Northeast 19, No. 13 Northwest 18 (Softball on May 6-7, 2022)
The final statistics do not do justice to the craziness of this Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) Tournament quarterfinal matchup. These rivals battled for nearly four hours and 45 minutes before the Tigers prevailed in 12 innings.
Tori Harrison (Hamilton) accounted for the winning run with an RBI infield single that scored Lindsey Coffey (Pontotoc). Emma Dempsey (Belgreen, Ala.) finally finished the marathon just after the clock struck 1 a.m. with a strikeout that left the bases full of Rangers.
Some of the outlandish combined numbers between the teams include 31 players used, 545 total pitches thrown, 37 runs, 37 hits, 32 runners left on base, 26 walks, 20 strikeouts, six errors and six home runs. It was the longest and the highest scoring game in program history.
#2 Northeast 31, Itawamba 17 (Football on September 30, 2021)
The Tigers outscored the Indians by a 28-3 margin in the second half, including 21 unanswered points, to capture their third consecutive meeting in the rivalry series. Northeast did not take its initial lead until the last 15 seconds of the fourth quarter.
Dallas Payne (Bay St. Louis) caught a 30-yard touchdown pass on third down to break the late stalemate. Tony Washington (Horn Lake) put an exclamation point on the win with a 37-yard pick-six on Itawamba's first play after the ensuing kickoff.
The Tigers' defense forced three total turnovers and held their opposition to only 84 yards after the halftime break. Mondrel Boykins (Tunica) and JT Moore (Shelby) both reached the end zone in the third period as Northeast caught up to the Indians.
#3 Northeast 8, Kaskaskia 0 (Baseball on February 25, 2022)
Colby Holcombe (Florence, Ala.) and Jake Reeder (Pontotoc) tossed a combined no-hitter in the nightcap of a sweep over the visiting Blue Devils. It was the Tigers' first no-no since Nick Mentel pulled the trick against Hibbing in March of 2008.
The duo racked up 13 strikeouts with Holcombe, who was the MACCC Pitcher of the Year, accounting for 10 of them. Kaskaskia's only base runners came on a pair of walks, one hit batsman and a fielding error by the Tigers.
A five-run fourth inning gave Holcombe and Reeder more than enough support. Jackson Owen (Starkville) had a RBI double while Alex Marshall (Corinth), Jackson McCoy (Booneville) and Shawn Dalton Weatherbee (Thrasher) all produced run scoring singles.
#4 Northeast 3, No. 1 Copiah-Lincoln 2 (Softball on April 15, 2022)
The Tigers' final game of the season at The Plex turned out to be the biggest win so far in its brief three-year existence. Cassidy Duskin (Ardmore, Ala.) tossed a gem in the circle as Northeast handed the top-ranked Wolves just their fourth loss of the entire campaign.
Duskin struck out five batters and walked none. The future National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-American gave up a home run in the sixth inning, but sat Co-Lin down in order during its final at bat to secure her 13th victory of the year.
The Tigers took an early lead when Coffey's bunt single plated Charly Clanton (New Hope), who was hit by a pitch earlier in the second. India Ivy (Tupelo) picked a great time for her first career homer at the collegiate level with a two-run blast two frames later.
#5 No. 20 Northeast 72, No. 7 East Mississippi 67 (Men's Basketball on January 24, 2022)
A matchup featuring two of the top 25 ranked teams in the NJCAA lived up to its hype. The Tigers committed a season-low five turnovers and had 13 more offensive rebounds than the Lions on the way to a key conference victory.
Kylan Blackmon (Oxford) gave Northeast a double-digit advantage at 66-55 with 2:54 remaining in the game with two free throws. East Mississippi cut its deficit back to two possessions, but big defensive plays by Hobert Grayson (Gonzales, La.) and Zeke Cook (Starkville) in the final minute preserved the lead.
Cook, who went on to earn NJCAA All-American honors, posted the 10th of his 14 total double-doubles with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Blackmon led all scorers with 18 points to help the Tigers claim a program record 30th straight win inside historic Bonner Arnold Coliseum.
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Robert Gordon retired from coaching Myrtle baseball after 25 years with 24 of those being head coach of the Hawks.
Photo courtesy of Brooke Gordon
Gordon closes out coaching career, reflects on teams and titles
Robert Gordon stepped aside as head coach of the Myrtle Hawks baseball team recently, but the long-time skipper will remain at Myrtle in his athletic director role and pitching in wherever he can assist his school and coaching staffs.
Gordon's first and only job has been at Myrtle and he just completed year 25 with the Hawks.
"When I first got here (1997), Mr. Paul Nolan hired me from a reference from Coach (Elvis) Thomas, who was still here at that time and he took a risk at hiring me," Gordon said. "I hadn't my test yet, I was fresh out of college, so I hired on as an assistant with softball, basketball and I was the co-head coach of baseball."
Gordon became the sole head coach the following year and finished his 25-year stint with the Hawks sporting a record of 423-246-1.
He also took over as head coach of the slowpitch softball program beginning in the 1998 season.
All total, Gordon was head coach for baseball for 24 years and softball for 15 years.
Gordon led the Hawks to a state championship in 2002 in baseball as they defeated St. Aloysius for the title.
"That was probably the banner year as far as calendar years because in the fall of that year, we won a state championship in softball and in the spring of that year we won our first-ever state championship in baseball," Gordon said.
Gordon reflected on many of the teams that he had the privilege to coach and a few rise to the top as most memorable.
"I've had several really good teams, we've made some really good runs," he said. "The 2001 team was really good, we ran into a buzzsaw with Hamilton, they had won it a couple of years in a row and they went on to win it again.
"The next year we beat them in the north half and that was one of the best years ever because we did something that nobody in the county had ever done at the time (winning state baseball title). It was a big deal. We got hot, we went 8-0 in the playoffs and won it.
"I look back and there was a lot of really good teams that I had and I just thought going into the year that we've got a shot at winning this if everything falls right and we get hot at the right time.
Myrtle played for another state championship in 2010, facing the same foe from the 2002 series, St. Aloysius, but this time the Hawks came up on the short end and lost the series.
"We played in Pearl and got beat in three games," Gordon said. "I think all we did was make them mad after we won the second game.
"We did a walk-off and we made them mad because in the third game, it was bad. Funny thing was from 2002 to 2010, we end up playing the same team, but those were two good seasons."
The Hawks have been regulars in the postseason playoffs under Gordon, but some years the breaks just didn't go Myrtle's way despite having talented teams as they ran into stiff competition from the likes of TCPS, West Union, Ingomar and Smithville.
"People coach their whole lives and never get to experience winning their last game and obviously we got to do that," Gordon said. "You look at what Coach (Chris) Basil has done over at East Union which is just remarkable and it's come later on in his career.
"I was fortunate to win a state championship in my fourth or fifth year and it was really fun. Coach Basil told me 'that's special because it is extremely hard to do and things have really got to fall your way.'"
Gordon had some great years with the Myrtle softball program, winning four state championships during his 15 year tenure.
"I was fortunate enough to win some titles in softball, won it the year that I was an assistant and I won four state championships other than that, he said. "I was part of six state championships total."
Gordon shared how he had coached a lot of really good players over the years and how special it was to be a part of their career.
"I had the Judon kid that signed with Ole Miss and he went over there and played a year or so, but I've had a lot of really good players come through," Gordon said. "I had the Hill boys back in the day, had my nephew that pitched that final game in the state championship.
"We had full count, bases loaded, two out and we are up by 3-2 and the runners are going to be running and he throws a breaking ball for a swing-thru strike three and we win the game.
"Why did he throw the breaking ball? He had confidence in it and I always said he had ice water in his veins."
Gordon said most of the memories are about just how special the players were as people.
"I've had a bunch of good kids, super good kids," Gordon said. "The parents, just everyone have been exceptional and supportive of us.
"I'm glad to slow my role with some of my stuff where I can go watch my daughter (Kinsley Gordon) play (at Southern Miss), but I am still obligated as athletic director and teaching classes.
"I'm going to try to be involved as much as I can and help out in baseball, I don't know that I can quit it cold-turkey, so I did volunteer to help. I will probably help out in softball some, just where my wife (Brooke) needs me."
Gordon will be turning over the head coaching duties to Heath Robbins and Eric Baker will continue on as assistant coach. Both men played under Gordon at Myrtle.
"I've been absolutely blessed, God has blessed me beyond imaginable, " Gordon said. "Mr. Nolan later told me how proud of me he was and I guess he did not expect me to be as impactful in the sport as I was.
"He said 'Man, you were a great hire, I was so skeptical about hiring you at first, but you have done outstanding.' That was a great compliment coming from someone that I looked up to."
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Robert Smith holds a photograph of his late wife, Flora, who as a couple operated the well known Smith's Dairy Bar in Shannon over 50 year ago.
Robert and Flora Smith put this sign on the outside of the dairy bar when they got ready to retire seven years ago. When they couldn't find a buyer, they kept the restaurant open.
Robert Smith holds a photograph of his late wife, Flora, who died in October 2021. The couple operated Smith's Dairy Bar in Shannon until July 23, 2022, when Robert Smith closed the doors.
E.D. and Georgia Mae Smith opened Smith's Dairy Bar on Romie Hill Avenue in 1962.
E.D. Smith
Robert Smith mans the grill at Smith's Dairy Bar in Shannon in the 1980s.
Five generations of Smiths pose in the dairy bar in 1971. Standing from left are Robert Smith's mother, Georgia Mae Smith; Robert Smith; his grandmother, Pilla Stone; and his great-grandmother, Edna McKinney, who is holding his son, Curtis.
Georgia Mae Smith
SHANNON – In 1962, E.D. and Georgia Mae Smith opened Smith's Dairy Bar on Romie Hill Drive in Shannon.
"We looked forward to coming to work," said Smith, 77.
After high school, Smith went on to what is now Alcorn State University, where he got a bachelor's degree in industrial arts. From there, he headed into the U.S. Army.
"I was stationed in Germany when my daddy died, and I got a hardship discharge," he said. "My sister was a nurse in Memphis, and my brother was in college, so that left me to come home and help Mama with the restaurant."
"I've been running Smith's Dairy Bar for 52 years and one month – don't leave my one month out," Smith said.
"My dad has his fish sandwich at 25 cents, and then he raised the price to 35 cents," Smith said. "A man got so mad he threw his sandwich upside the wall and said he wasn't paying 35 cents for a fish sandwich."
Smith's Dairy Bar started in one location in Shannon, and after five years, his parents moved it next door, where it stands today.
"When Mama and Daddy moved to the second location, he put in three pool tables and some video games," Smith said. "The rule was, kids couldn't come in to play pool or video games during school hours. They couldn't even come in to use the bathroom. Daddy said he didn't get an education, and he wasn't going to be the reason some child didn't get one."
"We'd serve 250 plate lunches in an hour and a half," Smith said. "And if we had anything leftover – and we always cooked to have leftovers – we didn't put it in the freezer. We took plates to senior citizens in the community."
Smith's son, Curtis, who is visiting this week from Atlanta, said the dairy bar wasn't just a restaurant – it was part of the community.
"You can't talk to anybody who doesn't have a story about it," he said. "It was a community gathering place. Parents would bring their kids to hang out."
"Flora and I had a policy," Smith said "If she saw a girl showing out, she'd take her off to the side and have a talk with her. And if I saw the boys starting something, I'd take care of it."
"I tore his tail up," Smith said. "He wasn't used to nobody chastising him. He still will tell that story in a heartbeat. You see, the children who were our customers, we treated like our own children."
Ballgame nights were always popular at Smith's Dairy Bar.
"Can you imagine, when Nettleton had a basketball game, when Shannon had a basketball game, when Okolona had a basketball game, when Pontotoc had a basketball game – we had them all," Smith said. "You couldn't get in the parking lot. Somebody had to leave before somebody else could pull in."
"She was the most dedicated person I'd ever seen in my life," he said. "She was the type of person who never took credit for herself, but always made me shine."
"She remembered customers' names, their kids' names and birthdays, and big events that happened in their lives," he said.
Now that Smith has closed the restaurant – he and Flora tried to retire seven years ago, but they couldn't find anybody who wanted to buy the business – he won't be sitting home idle.
He's been driving a bus for Lee County Multipurpose for the Elderly for the past 18 or 19 years, and he regularly cuts the grounds at two cemeteries in Shannon.
In fact, he's never been able to sit still. He was the first Black alderman in Shannon, serving at least four terms, he drove a school bus for several years, he taught karate for a while and then golf.
"The whole reason I taught karate and golf was to be able to talk to kids," he said. "When I was a kid coming up, that's how old men did me. That's what I do. I don't keep it in my head. I pass it on. Kids today, they're not bad. They just don't have anybody interested in them."
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This summer, my family decided to forgo our traditional swimsuit-rash beach trip in favor of a long weekend in New Orleans — also known as The Big Easy, The Crescent City and the Birthplace of Indigestion. My wife and I figured that our three teenage daughters were finally old enough to appreciate the history and culture of an iconic American city best known for public nudity and unbridled debauchery.
We topped off the evening with a glucose smack down at legendary Café Du Monde for some golden fried beignets buried in a tsunami of powdered sugar. Since we were still a little hung over from the gumbo and pie, we shared the beignets — meaning I basically ate all but one of them.
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The purchase of the building located at 101 W Wiygul Street as the new Fulton City Hall will be contingent upon the funds being made available later this year,
APRIL BEASLEY I THE TIMES
Fulton Board of Aldermen approves purchase of new location for city hall
In their monthly meeting on July 19, the Fulton Board of Aldermen approved the purchase of the building at 101 W Wiygul Street to be used as the new city hall.
The purchase will be contingent upon the funds being made available later this year, with Mayor Emily Quinn projecting the funds to be available in September or October of this year.
The new city hall will provide more space for Mayor Emily Quinn and other city officials. The new location will also provide necessary amenities including better parking and handicap accessible restrooms.
Mayor Quinn was excited to approve the purchase and the extra space the new city hall will provide for her and her staff.
"I can barely fit two more people in my office for meetings," she said during the July 19 meeting. "So I think this will be of great use for years and years to come."
The current location of Fulton's city hall will still be used by the city, possibly as office space for other city departments, storage space or some combination of the two as deemed necessary by the board.
Other notable business during the meeting included the board approving the sale of an out of date firetruck with the intent to purchase of a new fire engine. The board approved a plan to split the cost of the roughly $600 thousand vehicle with Itawamba County, whose fire department is also in need of a new firetruck for the greater Fulton area. The city and county would share use of the new fire engine. The new truck would be able to fulfill roles which currently require multiple existing vehicles to fill.
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Owen Brown, a U.S. History teacher at Starkville High School, goes over classroom rules as the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District begins their first day of class on Tuesday, July 27, 2022. The school system has adopted a modified calendar, the second school district within Northeast Mississippi to do so.
A student walks down a hallway in Starkville High School during the opening day of classes, Tuesday, July 26, 2022. Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District resumed classes earlier than most in Northeast Mississippi, a result of operating on a modified calendar.
Starkville High School principal Dr. Darein Spann makes his way down the hallway with other teachers and students as the school district begins their first academic year operating on a modified calendar.
The Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District's 2022-23 academic calendar. The district is operating on a modified calendar rather than a traditional calendar starting this school year.
Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District starts new school year on modified calendar
STARKVILLE • Students in the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District returned to class on Tuesday ... 10 days earlier than they did last year. And their academic year won't end until June 1, 2023.
The district began operating on a modified calendar, often referred to as a "year-round" calendar, for the 2022-23 school year. They are only the second Northeast Mississippi school to adopt the modified calendar; Corinth School District, the first district in the state to change its calendar model, is entering its seventh year on a modified calendar.
The SOCSD Board of Trustees approved the switch to a modified calendar in Nov. 2021. There are 180 days of instruction for students and 187 days for teachers, which is the same as a traditional school year.
The calendar includes all traditional holidays, as well as spring break, along with extended breaks in the fall and spring and a six-to-seven week summer break. Starting and ending dates for the academic year are adjusted to begin approximately a week earlier and end approximately a week later than a traditional calendar, according to the district.
Starkville High School principal Dr. Darein Spann said when the possibility of moving to a modified calendar came up a couple of years ago, it didn't have enough community support. But the district formed a modified calendar committee, consisting of around 30 district employees, to develop a plan and address any concerns the public had.
Superintendent Tony McGee expects the change to curb learning loss, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, not only by lessening the amount of time students are out of school for summer break but by offering remediation opportunities during intersessions.
At the high school level, students will continue to take part in sports and extracurricular activities throughout the summer on a traditional schedule, McGee said.
"Currently, the only thing we stop in June is English and math," McGee said. "So, the most important thing we do, we stop."
Operating on a modified schedule allows students and teachers to have breaks throughout the year, McGee said, while continuing to learn during that non-traditional time.
During intersessions in October and March, students will have opportunities for remediation in areas in which they struggle or were left behind in. Intersessions will also allow additional time for teachers to work in-depth with students.
The first intersession was intentionally scheduled at the end of the first nine-week term, Spann said, to help students who may have gotten a slow start and need to catch up before the second term. Without waiting until the end of the school year to remediate students, the district hopes to keep more students from having to attend summer school.
SOCSD also plans to offer enrichment activities, like art and music, during intersessions for students who would like to participate.
The district has hired two individuals to serve as intersession coordinators at the elementary and secondary level. Owen Brown, a U.S. History teacher at Starkville High School, will serve as secondary intersession coordinator.
"Overall, I think it's going to be very beneficial to reach all kids equitably in the school district," Brown said. "It's going to give students some additional time to get what they need, it's going to give teachers some additional time to rest, it's going to give some kids that need it additional rest time, and it's also going to be a time for us to re-engage our students and community shareholders."
Brown said he expects there to be some growing pains with the switch to the new schedule, but believes the benefits will be worth any headaches.
"I think the impact that we'll see at the end of this school year is going to be very, very worth it," Brown said.
McGee said he hopes to see gains in student growth, more enrichment opportunities and less students in summer school, as a result of switching to the modified calendar.
"I think it's a positive for the community," McGee said. "I think there was a lot of excitement by parents and students to return to school today. It's early, and change sometimes is a little difficult. But through change, if you persevere, usually something good comes out of it."
There will be minor issues to work through this school year, McGee said, but he expects the modified calendar to prove successful for the district.
"In the next three to five years, we think this will be the norm," McGee said. "Not the outlier."
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Wesley Webb
TUPELO • After publicly denouncing the location of a proposed apartment complex on Colonial Estates Road, District 3 Supervisor Wesley Webb offered the project developers the opportunity to purchase nearby land owned by his family as an alternate site.
While Webb admits offering the land for the proposed development, he said he did so only after one of the developers asked him for any alternatives that meet the project's criteria.
Oxford-based developers Britton Jones and Stewart Rutledge want to build a townhouse-style affordable housing development on Colonial Estates Road near McCullough Boulevard. The complex, which is named Flowerdale Commons, would have 46 units and 107 parking spaces and would cater to renters making up to $60,000.
The project has garnered opposition from some residents of a nearby subdivision on the street. That subdivision's developers, former Tupelo Mayor Glenn McCullough and his sister, have also opposed the proposal, as has Webb, who represents that area of the city on the Lee County Board of Supervisors.
Jones claims Webb paired his public opposition with a behind-the-scenes business proposal.
“The same day Wesley Webb was speaking publicly that he did not want our development in his (district) and that this wasn't the right area for this development, he offered to sell us a piece of property, owned by his family, to build our development a few hundred yards away, in the same area, in his (district),” Jones said in a written statement to the Daily Journal.
Rutledge told the Daily Journal that Jones refused the offer.
But Webb, who noted that he has worked with both Rutledge and Jones on multiple projects, told the Daily Journal that Jones "twisted" the situation in his statement and that his offer had nothing to do with his opposition to the current location.
Webb said he offered the property only after Rutledge asked him to find an alternate location that would meet all of the same qualifications as the proposed site. Otherwise, Webb said, he would not have brought up the property.
"(Rutledge) asked me to find another site. I said I have one that might work," he said, referring to the family property.
Webb also said that his family's ownership of the property did not motivate him to offer it and that he believed there were no ethical issues attached to the offer.
“I have it listed. It doesn’t matter that my aunt and uncle own it,” he said. “I am not trying to stop this to sell something else. I am trying to stop it because it is not the best place for it. If someone asks me to send them (property), I do it. It is my job.”
The property offered by Webb sits near the intersection of McCullough Boulevard and Old Belden Circle. It is next to Boggan Estates Apartments and multiple residential properties. Lee County Tax Records show that siblings Johnny B. Webb and Susan L. Webb own the property.
According to tax records, Johnny and Susan Webb inherited the property in a 2005 will from Ottis C. Webb Sr., the grandfather of Wesley Webb.
Webb previously came before the planning committee on July 11 and the city council on July 18 to oppose Jones' and Rutledge's project being built in his District.
“I feel like this is not the best area for this,” he said during the city council meeting, where he was one of 16 speakers.
Webb also argued that Colonial Estates Road could not handle the increase in traffic the apartments would bring.
Webb told the Daily Journal that the property he offered was better suited for Jone’s complex and noted that during the Planning Committee meeting, he said he would have been fine with the project if it were closer to other apartments in the area.
“You already have apartments and multi-family housing right there,” he said of the land he has listed and offered as an alternative to Rutledge and Jones.
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Pontotoc County's May unemployment set at 2.9%
For May 2022 Pontotoc County’s unemployment rate was set at 2.9%, tied with six other Mississippi counties for fifth lowest in the state, according to the Mississippi Employment Security Commission’s May report.
The May 2022 rate of 2.9 percent was up one-tenth of a percentage point from April 2022’s mark of 2.8 percent and 1.6 percent lower than May 2021’s jobless rate of 4.5 percent.
Pontotoc County’s labor force for May 2022 was set at 15,090, an increase of 20 over April 2022 and an increase of 50 over May a year ago.
For May 2022 the number of employed persons in Pontotoc County was estimated at 14,650, unchanged from the previous month and an increase of 290 over May a year ago.
The number of unemployed persons in Pontotoc in May 2022 was set at 440, an increase of 20 from April and down 240 from May 2021.
Unemployment rates for May 2022 in the Three Rivers Planning and Development counties included:
-Union County at 2.5%— lowest in the state;
-Pontotoc County at 2.9%;
-Itawamba County at 2.9%;
-Lee County at 3.0%;
-Lafayette County at 2.8%;
-Monroe County at 3.4%;
-Calhoun County at 3.3%;
-Chickasaw County at 4.0%.
Counties with the 10 lowest unemployment rates reported in Mississippi in May 2022 included:
Union 2.5%;
Rankin 2.6%;
Lafayette 2.8%;
Lamar 2.8%;
DeSoto 2.9%;
Pontotoc 2.9%;
Itawamba 2.9%;
Madison 2.9%;
Prentiss 2.9%;
Tippah 2.9%;
May 2022 Seasonally Adjusted
Labor force data presented are rounded estimates.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May 2022 at 4.0 percent decreased one-tenth of a percentage point over the month to a new historic low. The rate was two percentage points lower than the 6.0 percent reported for May 2021. The Nation’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 3.6 percent was unchanged over the month and decreased 2.2 percentage points from the year ago rate of 5.8 percent.
In May 2022, the number of employed Mississippians rose over the month by 5,000 to 1,217,600. The number of unemployed Mississippians decreased by 1,500 over the month to 50,100.
According to the seasonally adjusted results from a survey of Mississippi employers, there were 1,300 more nonfarm jobs in May 2022. Over the year the number of nonfarm jobs has increased 29,100.
Seasonally adjusted data removes the effects of events that follow a more or less regular pattern each year such as the influences of weather, holidays, the opening and closing of schools, and other recurring seasonal events. These adjustments make it easier to observe the cyclical and other non-seasonal movements in a data series. Amounts are seasonally adjusted at the National and State levels only.
Mississippi’s not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May 2022 was 3.8 percent, increasing two-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month’s rate of 3.6 percent. When compared to May 2021, the rate decreased 2.1 percentage points over the year. The number of unemployed increased 2,000 over the month, while the employed total decreased 3,000. The Nation’s not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May 2022 at 3.4 percent increased one-tenth of a percentage point over the month but was 2.1 percentage points lower than the year ago rate of 5.5 percent.
Mississippi’s not seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment had an increase of 3,900 jobs over the month and had 28,900 more jobs than one year ago. Industry sectors registering the largest monthly employment gains were Professional & Business Services; and Leisure & Hospitality.
For the month of May 2022, thirty-seven counties in Mississippi posted unemployment rates less than or equal to the state’s rate of 3.8 percent. Union County posted the lowest unemployment rate for the month of May at 2.5 percent followed by Rankin County at 2.6 percent. Jefferson County had the highest unemployment rate for May at 13.8 percent followed by Claiborne County at 8.6 percent.
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Ashland passes ordinance regulating the management of streets, trenching, and rights-of-way
ASHLAND • On June 7, Ashland's Mayor declared an ordinance adopted regulating the management of streets, trenching, and rights of way. The ordinance, which was unanimously approved by the city council, allows the Town of Ashland to exercise historical rights, to manage and control its public and town-owned streets, alleys, rights-of-way and other public and town-owned property in the municipality, and to preserve the physical integrity of its public and municipal streets, alleys, rights of-way and public or Town-owned properties.
A full and complete copy of the ordinance, which took effect on July 7, is available for viewing in its entirety at Ashland's Office of the City Clerk in City Hall.
Highlights of the ordinance include prohibition of excavating, digging, and trenching and requiring permits for certain types of digging. Excavating, cutting, trenching, boring, tunneling, undermining, or digging or cause to do so in, on, or under any public street, public place, or right-of-way for the installation, repair, or removal of any pipe, conduit, duct, tunnel, utility pole, or any other facility or installation or for any other purpose without having first obtained a permit from the Town Public Works Director or his designee is unlawful under the ordinance.
All work performed which relates to such activities must be performed in compliance with the provisions of the ordinance. A permit will not be required for the replacement of existing or maintenance of an existing pole, but notification is still required.
If a permit cannot be obtained in a timely way, emergency repairs may be conducted. However, a permit must be applied for all emergency cuts, digging, or excavations within 48 hours after the cuts, digging, or excavations have been made. However, a prospective applicant must give verbal notice immediately to the Town Public Works Director or his designee upon determination that "emergency” work or construction is needed and prior to commencing this work.
The Public Works Director will not issue a permit for emergency digs without a completed application. The application must be submitted to the Town Clerk, and must minimally include a detailed description of the size, type, nature, and extent of the work or construction to be done, the exact location and approximate area where the anticipated work or construction is expected to occur, including the approximate length and width and, if the cut, trench, bore, tunnel, undermine or digging is in a street or alley, whether it is parallel or transverse to the direction of the travel lanes, the name and residential or business address and telephone number for the permittee, the name and residential or business address and telephone number for the project manager or person to oversee and/or manage the anticipated work or construction, the dates of commencement and completion of the work; and the purpose of the work or construction.
Along with the application for a digging permit, an applicant must submit evidence acceptable to the Town that the applicant or person to perform the work or construction has sufficient expertise and ability to timely repair the street, road, or right-of-way and will execute an indemnification and hold harmless agreement to the Town which indemnifies, protects, and the Town from the actions of the applicant or permittee and their agents and representatives in any way arising out of or stemming from their construction or work.
For new construction, an applicant must submit 3 sets of project construction plans at the time of filing an application for a permit. Plans are not required for routine maintenance and service installations. Such plans shall include the location(s), width, and arrangement of the proposed work or construction, the distance between any existing entrances within 100 feet of the proposed work or construction; distance(s) from the center line of the traveled way to any structures, gasoline pumps, or other obstructions within 100 feet of the proposed work or construction; property lines and easements within 100 feet of the proposed work or construction; the length, size and location of existing pipes, culverts, catch basins or manholes, conduit, curbing, curb and gutter, and/or sidewalks, and above ground utilities within 100 feet of the proposed work or construction, and the proposed location of new pipes, conduit, culverts, catch basins or manholes, curbing, work or construction sought to be completed. The construction plans will be promptly reviewed, and a permit will be issued or denied within 30 working days after the application has been properly submitted along with the plans. The applicant is responsible for the engineering and design of its project and construction and the integration of its maintenance and construction responsibilities.
Applicants for permits must present a utility location request number from the Mississippi One-Call Program (811), which meets requirements of notification, except in case of emergencies as defined above.
Non-refundable permit fees under the new ordinance are as follows:
a) Openings, cuts, trenches, bores, tunnelings, underminings, diggings or excavations up to 100 feet—$200; and
b) Openings, cuts, trenches, bores, tunnelings, underminings, diggings or excavations over 100 feet—$1.00/ft for every foot over 100 feet.
Perits requiring the temporary closure of any portion of the Town’s streets or rights-of-way shall be subject to the following fees, which cover application and inspection costs:
a) Streets closed 3 days or less- $15; b) Streets closed 4 days through 30 days—$45; c) Streets closed 31 days through 90days—$65, plus $1.00 per day. Closures in excess of 90 days are prohibited.
The Public Works Director or his designee, may waive any or all permit fees for work performed by a governmental agency, whether this work is performed by employees of the governmental agency or by a private firm or corporation under contract with the governmental agency. However, such governmental agency or private firm or corporation under contract therewith shall not be relieved of the responsibilities for obtaining a permit for work covered in this Ordinance as well as complying with all other provisions herein not in conflict with state or federal law.
Before any permit under this article may be issued, the applicant must post a bond payable to the Town or a certified check available to the Town in an amount equal to 150% of the estimated construction cost as submitted by the engineer of record and approved by the Public Works Director. Such bond must be valid for at least 2 years from the date of completion of the project. Such bond or check shall be utilized to repair any damage caused by applicant or its subcontractors or agents or any lack of sufficient or adequate resurfacing and/or restoration.
Replacement of improvements necessitated by work authorized by a permit shall be made in accordance with prevailing and governing industry standards, codes, regulations, and laws at the time of the replacement. If a sidewalk, curb, and/or gutter were damaged by the permittee, the permittee shall be responsible for all costs associated with its replacement in accordance with America with Disabilities Act Standards.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Each person shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each and every day or portion thereof during which any violation of any of the provisions of this article is committed or permitted. Upon conviction of any such violation, such person may be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days for each violation and will not be eligible to receive another permit.
The Board may waive the application of this ordinance in the following circumstances:
a) Existing or proposed joint-utility construction projects where two or more utilities utilize common infrastructure in a Town-approved district.
b) The provision by a telecommunications provider of 1.0 gigabyte or greater of fiber-to-the home (FTTH) in designated areas of the Town as agreed to by the Town and telecommunications provider.
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Buffet items at Chicken Supreme vary daily.
Chicken Supreme reopens under new ownership
RIPLEY • Chicken Supreme, located at 1514 City Ave. N, opened on Monday, July 18 under new ownership.
The restaurant, long-known to locals for its home-cooked food and a lunch buffet designed to feed working people with a short lunch break, offers dine-in and takeout options.
“We are just a mom-and-pop type restaurant, about the same as before,” said Julie Waldon, who has worked at the restaurant for over four years under the previous ownership. “The menus are the same.” Popular menus include Chicken livers & Fried chicken , fried okra, Mac and Cheese, Corn, Mash Potatoes, Gravy, Cornbread and Rolls, and a variety of pies.
In addition to the daily lunch buffet, Chicken Supreme offers a salad bar with over twenty-one items and $9 plate lunches featuring different specials daily.
Hours of operation are: Monday through Wednesday from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Thursday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
A ribbon-cutting celebrating Chicken Supreme's new ownership will be held on Wednesday, August 3 at 9 a.m. The event, hosted by Ripley Main Street Association, is open to the public.
For more information and updates, follow Chicken Supreme’s Facebook page, or call (662) 837-9488.
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Dr. Carl Rollyson signed copies of his two-volume Falkner biography at Grace Cafe in Ripley on Friday as part of "Faulkner's Mississippi" tour.
Dr. Carl Rollyson signs a copy of his two-volume Falkner biography for Joyce Graddy at Grace Cafe in Ripley on Friday as part of "Faulkner's Mississippi" tour.
On Friday, approximately 20 locals dined with the author and purchased signed copies of Dr. Carl Rollyson's new book, a two-volume biography on William Faulkner.
Faulkner Biographer stops in Ripley on week-long tour
RIPLEY • William Faulkner biographer, Carl Rollyson, was the guest speaker on Friday, July 22 at Grace Cafe, located at 108 S Commerce St.
Ripley resident, Melinda Marsalis, owner of Ripley's radio station and recording studio, JC Media, LLC, partnered with Ripley Main Street Association to host Dr. Rollyson, who has recently published a two-volume biography on Faulkner (available on Amazon).
Approximately 20 locals dined with the author and purchased signed copies of Dr. Rollyson's new book.
Dr. Rollyson's visit to Ripley was part of a "Faulkner's Mississippi" tour, promoting his two volume biography of Faulkner that was published just as the pandemic unleashed. His biography of Faulkner seamlessly weaves his life and work into a successful reinterpretation that makes Faulkner pertinent to 21st century concerns. The author's visit was funded in part by a grant of the Mississippi Humanities Council.
Dr. Rollyson's book signing event at Grace Cafe was the culminating event of the "Faulkner's Mississippi" tour. He participated in a tour of William Faulkner sites in and around Pontotoc on Saturday, July 16, conducted by Historian, Jack Elliott. Dr. Rollyson then spoke in Pontotoc on Monday, July 18, and in New Albany at the Union County Heritage Museum. While in New Albany, the author toured the William Faulkner Literary Garden and visited the Faulkner birth site. Mid-week, Dr. Rollyson spoke at the Yoknapatawpha Conference before stopping in Ripley.
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Former Ashland Alderman and local business owner, Mike Carroll, dies at age 66
David "Mike" Carroll, 66, resident of Ashland, died peacefully surrounded by family on Thursday afternoon, July 21, 2022 at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Union County following a brief illness.
Carroll was born in 1956 to Betty Ruth Sharp Carroll of Ashland and the late Lee Fred Carroll. He was a graduate of Gray Academy in Ashland and continued his education at Northwest Mississippi Community College and The University of Mississippi. He was a valued employee with Delta Airlines from 1986 to 2020, retiring after 34 years of service. Committed to his career, his travels took him all over the world, including China, Italy, Paris, Germany, and India. Carroll began collecting pearls while traveling and, encouraged by his mother, would eventually open Mike's Family Jewels in Ashland.
Based with Delta Airlines in Michigan, Carroll met Tim Satterfield in 1999. The couple married in 2015. The two opened Ciao Chow in Ashland 11 years ago and eventually moved the restaurant to their current location in New Albany.
A Third Degree Mason and Ashland Town Alderman from 2013 to 2017, Carroll was always looking out for the best interest of not just the people that he served, but for the community in general.
Always easy to laugh or to share a kind word, whether a close friend or stranger, Carroll was known to have a special gift of being humbly social. Those around him were drawn to his infectious and ebullient personality. His sense of humor was second to none, and he was compassionate as he was funny.
According to his obituary, “He represented the good that we all need in our everyday lives and was one of a select few who could actually rise to meet challenges with a smile.”
A loving son, husband, brother, uncle, and friend, Carroll leaves behind many memories to be cherished by his family.
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Ripley City Council amends ordinance banning 'gas station heroin'
RIPLEY • Effective August 5, Tianeptine products, available online and in gas stations and turning users into addicts, will be banned in The City of Ripley.
The June 5 vote of the Ripley Board of Aldermen approved and amended the Ordinance Prohibiting the Use, Purchase, Possession, Distribution, Sale, or the Offering for Sale of Synthetic Cannabinoids Or Other Synthetic Products to include any item with Tianeptine, including but not limited to: brands/spellings, Tianeption, Tianptine Sodium, Zaza red, Zaza silver, Tianeptine red, Tianeptine white, Stablon kapis tablets, Tianeptine sulfate pills, Tianeptine sulfate powder, Toats gold, Coaxil, Salymbra, Tatinol, Tianeurax, Zinosal, Tianaa, Tianaa green, Tianaa red, Tianaa white, Pegasus.
Tianeptine is a drug that has not been approved for sale by the United States Food and Drug Administration in the United States, either as a drug or as a dietary supplement. However, the drug is not currently regulated by the Controlled Substances Act. Since Mississippi has not added the drug to its schedule of controlled substances, it is not illegal to possess the compound -- as long as it is not being marketed as a drug or dietary supplement. Products containing Tianeptine, marketed as "Red," "White," and "Green,” attempt to market to Kratom consumers (as Kratom was also sold as red, white, and green to signify differing effects).
The Board of Aldermen’s amended ordinance specifies the multiple names under which Tianeptine is marketed.
“We have chosen to ban all synthetic cannabinoids. It has become a problem and having similar effects as bath salts did some time ago," said Ripley Mayor Jon Grisham. “Also, we have taken it an extra step by banning all other synthetic products in the City of Ripley.”
Tianeptine may still available for sale outside the city limits in Tippah County. When asked to comment on the availability of Tianeptine outside the city limits, Board of Supervisors attorney, Sean Akins, explained, "In 2019, Tippah County passed a local ordinance to outlaw the use and possession of certain synthetic cannabinoids that were being sold in local convenience stores. However, there has been no request by law enforcement or otherwise to expand that ordinance to include Tianeptine."
A full and complete copy of the City of Ripley’s Amended Ordinance Prohibiting The Use, Purchase, Possession, Distribution, Sale or the Offering for Sale of Synthetic Cannabinoids Or Other Synthetic Products is available in the Office of the City Clerk of the City of Ripley, Mississippi located at 500 South Main Street.
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Senate Study Committee on Women, Children & Families sets hearing dates, requests written testimony from public
JACKSON • Initial public hearing dates are set for Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann’s nine-member Senate Study Group on Women, Children, and Families: September 27 and 28, and October 25 and 26, 2022.
The hearings, chaired by Senator Nicole Boyd, will be held in Senate Room 216. They will be webcast and archived on the Legislature’s You Tube site for the convenience of those who are not able to attend in person.
Additionally, the public is invited to submit written testimony to WCFStudyGroup@senate.ms.gov, which will be shared with the full study group.
The study group is tasked with making legislative recommendations related to families and young children (birth to 3 years old). Other members of the study group include Senators Kevin Blackwell, Hob Bryan, Dean Kirby, Rod Hickman, Angela Hill, Chad McMahan, Angela Turner-Ford, and Brice Wiggins.
To learn more about Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann, visit www.ltgovhosemann.ms.gov.
Nicole Boyd
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Wicker to speak at MIC on Friday to celebrate funding for $1.5 M building restoration
Rust College is pleased to welcome Senator Roger Wicker to Holly Springs on Friday, July 29, 2022 from 10:00 am-10:45 am at Mississippi Industrial College Campus on Memphis St. in Holly Springs as it celebrates a landmark $1.5 million in funding from the National Park Service and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to advance restoration of Carnegie Auditorium and Booker T. Washington Hall, located on the former Mississippi Industrial College (MIC) campus. This funding serves as a catalyst for local efforts to restore these facilities as future incubators for the arts, humanities and social justice work in the Mississippi Hill Country in Holly Springs.
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A ton of regrets await after the lights go out at the Chickasaw Journal
When a couple breaks up, one of the most frequent harpoons one person hurls at another goes something like this: “You’re gonna regret you lost me…”
The idea of the phrase, of course, is to foster a sense of important loss, to somehow make someone believe their life will be a lot poorer with the other person gone.
It’s what the one who Takes the Blow says to the one who Delivers the Blow, hoping to Deliver a Blow of their own, to use a little Coachspeak.
That’s sort of what’s going on with the Chickasaw Journal this week.
The newspaper, which has been in operation for over 100 years,
closes its doors this Friday, July 29, at 5 p.m.
And since a newspaper can talk through its writers, I’m telling the community, “You’re gonna regret you lost the Chickasaw Journal” as the newspaper closes its doors.
And I hope that message strikes home before this couple — the newspaper and the community it serves — breaks up for good.
Consider what the community will no longer be seeing each Wednesday morning
For a broad list, see the editorial elsewhere on this page.
And the sad fact is, I don’t believe it has to be that way.
Christ took 12 disciples, and even though one betrayed him, took the remaining 11 and made Christianity work, to understate the facts.
I wonder if a dozen well-chosen men from the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal — the newspaper’s parent company — and some movers and shakers from the Town of Houston could make the Chickasaw Journal work.
They could put their heads together, brainstorm, perhaps develop a sort of tabletop exercise, and with enough advertiser support and community subscriptions, make it happen.
It’s been done at other newspapers elsewhere — a name change, staff change, maybe even a change of location, and the sheep-dipped paper continues to survive.
Why not in Houston? It’s a fine town. It deserves a quality newspaper.
I’d like to see it happen. I have a history with Houston, and seeing the newspaper close stings on a personal level.
I worked at what was then the Times-Post in the mid-1970s.
I discovered right away Houston is a quality town peopled with quality people.
I know that for a fact because they welcomed me when I came to town. And the first time many of them saw me was after I’d blown in late one fall night from Andalusia Ala., on a massive noisy Harley, watch cap on my head and Ka-Bar on my hip.
I stayed a year or so, then I left. I was a Young Man On The Way Up in newspapering, and the Natchez Democrat called.
There were to be many times after that that I wished I’d stayed in Houston.
My warmest thoughts of Houston revolve around a young teacher I met while working there pre-Natchez. She later blessed me by becoming my wife some years later.
I chased her until she caught me. Fourty-four years later, as of this morning, I’m still chasing, still caught.
Have I been blessed to have her in my life? Does an owl hoot? Is the Pope Catholic?
I’m now retired, but I worked in Houston briefly several years ago on a fill-in basis between regime changes, and have continued to contribute to the paper since.
In case I haven’t mentioned it earlier, I really, really, like the town.
If this is my farewell column for the Chickasaw Journal, I’d like to thank everyone who made my times in Houston such a pleasure. I’d list you all, but I’d leave someone out.
Anyway, you know who you are. Thanks from the bottom of my heart for all the kindness and tolerance you’ve shown this old ex-Marine sickle-riding bad-attitude reprobate Yankee carpetbagger from Cleveland, Ohio.
I’ve tried to make your world better through my work.
I hope I’ve succeeded, and that my best efforts have been an acceptable minimum for you.
I hope the Chickasaw Journal can be resuscitated, reinvented, whatever.
I’ve also prayed for it.
In other words, I hope and pray every day for new hope for the dead…
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Saying goodbye: This is the final issue of the Chickasaw Journal
HOUSTON – The day is unfortunately here; this will be the final issue of the Chickasaw Journal.
Founded in 1906, the Chickasaw Journal has published a paper a week, 52 weeks a year for the last 116 years, and this is the final one.
It has seen its fair share of owners throughout that time (see history story in this issue) and it has managed to stay afloat.
However, the rising cost of everything, including printing supplies such as paper and ink, and the lackluster advertising revenue has left the paper in a position that it was no longer considered viable, and the decision was made to shut it down.
“I am incredibly heartbroken to reach the end,” said Robert Scott, Editor of the Chickasaw Journal. “I have been here for three years, and I have loved it. This paper is the heartbeat of the community and I feel like it will be sorely missed, even if they do not yet realize it.”
The paper office will remain open until sometime in August to collect the last payments coming in, and then it will be shut down for good.
The staff members will also disband and head their separate ways.
The bound volumes will be donated to the Chickasaw County Historical and Genealogical Society.
The paper has operated for a number of years with a bare-bones staff, and as it stands, there are three full time employees in the office, Scott, who is the Editor and Reporter, Butch Arledge, who is the Advertising Sales Representative and Teresa Nichols, who is the Office Manager.
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The end is nigh
The bell is tolling, and I can hear it. It started distant, but now it is upon me.
I have been struggling for a month now to find the right words to say here, and I still don’t know if I’ve found them.
At the end of this week, the Chickasaw Journal will close its doors permanently, becoming another statistic of local newspapers going under.
I must say, when I took this job three years ago, I definitely didn’t see it ending this way.
We have seen our fair share of tough times, and truthfully, we were never able to recover.
The revenue wasn’t there, and we weren’t able to mine it, so we must face the music.
Still, it is sad for me. I have loved this job, and I have come to know many wonderful people that I otherwise would never have crossed paths with if not for this job.
I hate to see it go, and truth be told, I am having a hard time letting go.
Not only are there the friends I’ve made outside the office, but there are also those inside as well.
They welcomed me in and showed me the ropes, this being my first job out of college, and have become like a second family to me.
I will miss them dearly.
I will miss being on the sidelines of the [insert sport name here] games, talking to the players coaches and yes, even the officials.
I will miss the festivals and events around the county.
I will miss the interesting people that come through the door and bring in all number of things to have pictures made, or even just to say hi.
Now I will pack up and head to Columbus where I will be taking over as Lifestyles Editor for the Commercial Dispatch.
It will be a new experience to be sure, but I am excited about the prospect of branching out and advancing my career.
However, I will always have this empty spot in my heart where what could have been will live.
I will always wonder what if, but truth be told, there is no good in that because it was well beyond my control and there is no sense worrying myself to death about things that I can’t change.
I need to look to the future now.
Who knows, in five years’ time, I may be getting ready for a new position somewhere else that will advance my career even further.
All I know is that I owe all of my success to the Chickasaw Journal and the people of Chickasaw County, because if you all hadn’t been willing to accept me, I would never have made it three years, and I don’t know if the paper would have survived as long as it did either, because while this paper is the heartbeat of the community, you the readers, are the heartbeat of the paper.
I will miss writing each week for you all, and I hope you will miss me, but I understand if you won’t.
I would love to take the time to thank everyone who has helped me, but I would surely miss someone, and I cannot risk that. So, I will simply say thank you!
Well, I guess the time has come to wrap this up and accept my fate.
Before I go though, I want to issue a charge to the members of the community and urge them to get involved, especially now that the paper is going away.
Go to the board meetings, vote, have your voices be heard.
You are the change you want to see, but you have to get involved to make a difference.
So, we will now go gently into that long night, and with that, I close out my last column as Editor of the Chickasaw Journal.
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Amory police chief raises department needs to aldermen
AMORY – Amory Police Chief Ronnie Bowen briefed the board of aldermen July 19 about policy matters that could potentially impact community events using public streets for parades and races.
Bowen spoke on behalf of the patrol division, saying while he endorses the events for building community spirit, Amory’s police force is limited in its ability to serve these events and still respond to normal requests for service.
“Our officers get two weekends a month off as part of their rotation. Doing security at walks or runs on Saturdays takes officers away from regular duties or their families if they are off duty. We’re tying up a lot of resources, energy, money and personnel time," he said.
Bowen’s proposed solution centers on using the city’s existing venues that would keep pedestrian traffic off the streets.
“The high school has a great place for walks and runs. We would only have to barricade the streets leading into that area and only need one officer to patrol the location. Having to patrol multiple intersections on public streets requires a whole shift," he said.
Mayor Corey Glenn endorsed Bowen’s appeal but asked for his opinion on revisiting city policy to distinguish events centered on Main Street, such as the Amory Railroad Festival, from other activities that could be held at other locations.
“We’ll take this under advisement to limit use of public streets to citywide events while directing other walks and runs to schools or the walking track,” he said.
Bowen appreciated Glenn’s support for his concerns.
“Somebody’s got to weigh it out. There’s got to be a happy medium somewhere,” he said.
Accordingly, aldermen did not take action pending further study.
In another police department matter, Bowen requested to discontinue providing fingerprinting to the public, which was reopened by board action a year ago.
“Our technology is still ink and paper. We don’t have the technology to do AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System) that provides instant verification. The time involved in fingerprinting takes away from officers’ time on patrol, and everybody and their brother wants people fingerprinted these days. We spend more time on it than the $20 fee pays for,” he said.
Bowen said fingerprinting required by law will continue, such as cases of arrests and for school staff.
“Our school resource officers have their own fingerprinting stations to take care of staff at the schools, so they don’t need to come down to the station, he said.”
Glenn requested for Bowen to come back at a later meeting with information about the cost of software to provide biometric identification.
“If that machine would make (law enforcement’s) job a lot easier, as well as creating an accurate and adequate database, it would be a worthy service,” he said.
Bowen furthermore requested for the aldermen to consider allowing him to assign one vehicle to each officer when upgrading the fleet of patrol cars. He said the most chronic repair issue for patrol cars is transmissions. He presented quotes to replace a transmission for a police unit varying from $5,871.99 to $6,275.86.
“I’ve found that single-man units can last as long as eight to 12 years, as opposed to shared vehicles that must be retired from service in as little as two years,” he said.
Glenn was happy to report some good news on behalf of the Amory Fire Department, which assisted in finding a missing child earlier in the day.
“The child was located around 5:30 p.m. by our search and rescue team working with the sheriff’s office. Everybody is safe, and the child was returned," said fire chief Zack McGonagill.
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"Hollywood" Jimmy Blaylock talks smack while Jerry "The King" Lawler stands in the ring during a previous OWO show in Amory. The local wrestling organization will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a show in Aberdeen this weekend.
OWO celebrating 10th anniversary with park and rec benefit show
ABERDEEN – In the past decade, the Outlaw Wrestling Organization (OWO) has hosted 15 benefits and fundraisers, attracted fans from throughout northeast Mississippi and northwest Alabama and pulled in collective crowds numbering in the thousands.
The independent wrestling organization will celebrate its first decade of high-flying fun July 30 with a benefit show for the Aberdeen Park and Recreation Department.
“It’s really special and hard to believe 10 years ago we got started. We’ve had one wrestler and seven or eight fans who have passed. We dealt with COVID when we only had three shows in two years. We’ve dealt with our highs and our lows,” said OWO Commissioner Terrell “Da Dirty One” Moore.
What started with a regular slate of shows at the East Amory Community Center branched into taking matches on the road to Smithville, Nettleton, Aberdeen, Tupelo, Houston, Booneville, Mantachie and Fulton, with more shows planned next month in Pontotoc. Tupelo shows have included Tupelo Con and Summerfest.
Through the years, OWO shows have featured nationally known professional wrestlers, such as Carlito, Scott Steiner, Jerry “The King” Lawler and Bill “Superstar” Dundee.
“I’ve got lots of great memories, but my greatest was the first time we had Jerry Lawler. It was a little iffy and I was worried about ticket sales, but my phone started ringing that Thursday before the show and didn’t stop. Had the fire marshal come, we probably would have broken the code because there were so many people there,” Moore said.
He thanked everyone associated with the wrestling conference, from the wrestlers to announcers, referees, volunteers and fans.
“From the top to the bottom of the organization, we support everyone who has supported us,” Moore said.
Fundraiser shows have helped with people’s medical expenses, needs of high school sports and even Moore and his family following a house fire last December. Proceeds from this weekend’s show will help needs of the park and recreation department.
Those on Saturday’s card include “The Gun Show” Brett Michaels, Max Mayhem, “The Stud” Mike Jones, Curly Moe, “Bad Attitude” Tony Dabbs, Big Gravy, Chris Adams, The Storm, the Violent Gentlemen, Barry Wolf and others.
The OWO’s tag team title tournament will continue through Saturday’s show. Additionally, Curly Moe, Barry Wolf and “D.C.” Daniel Cross will be inducted into the OWO Hall of Fame.
Aberdeen’s own Rashad Pargo is the host of the show.
Doors to the park and recreation department, located at the intersection of Commerce and Matubba streets, open at 5:45 p.m., and bell time is 7:30 p.m.
VIP tickets are $15, which includes a program and reserved seat. General admission tickets are $8, and kids tickets for ages 4 and younger are free. People can save $3 on advanced tickets, which are available at the Aberdeen Park and Recreation Building and online at www.owosuperdeen.eventbrite.com.
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Smithville's Peyton Nanney plans to continue his baseball career, playing at the Mississippi University for Women.
In his senior year, Nanney recorded eight hits, nine RBIs and a pair of doubles while maintaining a .381 batting average.
Smithville’s Peyton Nanney has been a valuable utility player for the Seminoles for years, and he will plan to make the same contribution at the next level as he announced that he is signing with the Mississippi University for Women on July 9.
Nanney had a number of different schools looking at him coming out of high school, but he said once he received an offer from the W, he knew that was the right place for him.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about different colleges because I had a few other places interested in me like Blue Mountain, but after I got an offer from the W, I realized that was a better opportunity for me,” Nanney said. “It’s closer to home, and I liked the campus when I went over there. They’re getting a new baseball stadium, and the coach seems like a nice person with good coaching traits.”
In his senior year, Nanney recorded 19 hits, 21 RBIs, five doubles and two triples while maintaining a .300 batting average with a .463 on base percentage. He also pitched 52 strikeouts in 44 innings pitched.
Nanney was also named to the All-Division first team as a senior and was a part of the Noles’ championship team in 2019.
“He was always a hard worker that never missed practice, and he helped build all the younger kids up,” Smithville coach Ben Spann said. “He put a lot of time and effort into baseball, and that finally paid off with him getting a scholarship with the W. That’s great for him, his family and for our baseball program.”
Spann believes that Nanney can be a versatile player for the Owls with the potential to be a solid pitcher at the next level.
“He’s definitely going to go there and earn his spot, whether it’s in the outfield, pitching or playing in the middle infield,” Spann said. “Since I’ve been coaching, I’ve always told him that he’d probably be an outfielder in college, and he’s got some good mechanics to be a really good pitcher too. I know he’ll work hard and represent Smithville well.”
During his time at the W, Nanney said that he plans to improve on his fielding and pitching while being a leader on the team.
“I’m very thankful for this opportunity to further my baseball and academic career, and I’m excited to make new memories,” Nanney said. “I signed as a utility player, so I’ll be playing a lot of center field and pitching, and I want to improve at both of those positions. Overall, I want to be a leader on the team and grow and get better as a player.”
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Amory's JJ Jernighan took on a bigger role in his second year with the Bulldogs, playing in 13 games and recording 12 catches for 84 yards and six carries for 24 yards.
JJ Jernighan received his football scholarship from Mississippi State University on November 16, 2021.
JJ Jernighan received his bachelor's degree and will play his final season with the Bulldogs this year.
Amory’s JJ Jernighan proved that hard work and dedication can go a long way. Starting off as a walk-on coming out of Copiah-Lincoln Community College, Jernighan managed to work his way towards a football scholarship with Mississippi State University in November of last year.
“Growing up, Mississippi State was always where I wanted to be. Since I never got the offer, I still wanted to go and fulfill my dream of playing there,” Jernighan said. “I took this route and knew God would have me through my journey. When I heard that I was receiving a scholarship, I was just really shocked and excited to know that all my hard work paid off.”
Instead of deciding to transfer and play somewhere else, Jernighan took his brother’s advice and stayed true to his plan of earning his time.
“My brother always told me that I needed to keep sticking to the plan and putting in the work, then I kept trusting in God and praying because I always believed in delayed gratification,” he said. “I knew in due time I’d get what I deserved.”
In his first year at State as a walk-on, Jernighan said that he spent most of his time working and trying to get a feel for Division I football. He finally got the opportunity to showcase his talents in the 2021 season.
“My first year at State, I was just making sure that I was working hard every day and trying to get a feel for everything,” he said. “In my second year, I feel like I got more comfortable and confident in myself. I knew that my second year had to be the year that I took the next step to get playing time and finally get my scholarship.”
Jernighan played 13 games with the Bulldogs in the 2021 season and recorded 12 catches for 84 yards and six carries for 24 yards.
One skill that Jernighan utilized to make himself stand out and earn more playing time was his blocking ability.
“Learning that you have to do anything to set yourself apart and find your way on the field was a part of my first to second year transition,” he said. “Blocking is one of my strong suits, so I made sure to showcase that on film every time I got the chance to. Once I started to put everything else together, that’s when I started to get my opportunities.”
With a new coaching staff coming in, COVID shutting down the season and virtual meetings being the only way to communicate, the 2020 season was less than ideal for Jernighan and the Bulldogs.
“It was kind of a setback, especially considering we had a whole new staff coming in, so you never got a chance to get a feel for the offense,” he said. “The whole break, we’d get on Zoom meetings and learn the offense and plays from there, and we’d have a lot of team meetings through Zoom that whole period. During the summer, we reported back for training, and we had extra time to meet up with the coaches then. When the fall came, we had very long practices to make up for lost times.”
With the addition of a new coaching staff, a new offensive scheme came along called the Air Raid. As a running back, Jernighan had to learn how to adapt to this new style of pass-first offense.
“The way everyone talks about the air raid, it seems like it’s bad for running backs because we don’t get as many running plays, but we still get a lot of touches,” he said. “Most of the time, we get more catches than the receivers, and one of our running backs finished second on the team in catches. So, we don’t run the ball as much, but we still get a lot of touches in the open field, and I like the opportunity to get used in different ways.”
Jernighan was not a stranger to playing multiple positions on the field, however, as he was known as a versatile player at Amory. He credited his time at Amory and Co-Lin for helping him mature as a player and learn how to play different positions.
“Playing different positions gives you more knowledge around the game because you get a feel for what each position is thinking,” he said. “When you get that knowledge of everything, it slows the game down, and you can just go out, play football and not think as much. Co-Lin was more like my learning years because everything didn’t go the way I wanted it to, but that experience made me work even harder and dig deeper in faith. I knew I was going to be okay, and it built up my confidence more. I learned to rely on God more if I wanted to reach the position that I’m in now.”
In addition to all he learned at Amory and Co-Lin, Jernighan said that he was able to learn a lot playing beside Mississippi State quarterback Will Rodgers and former running back Kylin Hill.
“Will is a hard worker, and he motivates everyone around him. When it’s time to work, he’s all about business, and he’s somebody that you look to when you’re down in a big game and need someone to lead you to the finish line," he said. "Kylin taught us a lot about the ins and outs of the game like how to play smarter, what to look for defensively and other little things like that to slow the game down for us.”
Jernighan faced a minor setback this summer after pulling his hamstring and having groin surgery in May, but he is still excited for a big final year with the team and has high expectations.
“I just took everything day by day and knew sooner or later it was going to get better. All I had to do was keep attacking it and try to come back better than ever,” he said. “I feel like this year is going to be a really good year for us. We should’ve had a 10-plus win season last year, but certain things happened, so I think this year will be a 10-plus win season. I think we can upset a lot of people and get a bowl game. I haven’t scored a touchdown yet, so hopefully, I can get a few this season. I also want to hit 500 receiving and rushing yards and help the team be successful.”
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Jeremiah Q. Flakes, Plantersville
Dorothy Hughes, Coffeeville
Annie Lee Pulliam, Verona
Jeremiah Q. Flakes
PLANTERSVILLE - Jeremiah Q. Flakes, 21, passed away Thursday, July 14, 2022, at North MS Medical Center in Tupelo. Services will be on Friday, July 29, 2022 at 2:00P.M. at H. L. Coleman Convention Center. Visitation will be on Thursday, July 28, 2022 3-5P.M. at Agnew & Sons Funeral 337 College Street Verona.
Dorothy Hughes
COFFEEVILLE - Dorothy Mae Savely Hughes, age 85, of Coffeeville, MS passed peacefully, Tuesday, July 26, 2022 at the Sunshine Healthcare Facility in Pontotoc, MS. She was born December 21, 1936, in Union County, MS to John Abbott and Libby Mae (Russell) Savely. She graduated Ingomar high school and immediately went to work managing a grocery store in Memphis. In 1973 she and Boyd moved to Coffeeville where Dorothy was a co-owner of "The Other Place" stores in Coffeeville and Water Valley for many years. Until her health began to fail, she was a member of Hopewell Baptist Church. In her spare time, she loved to read.
Visitation is planned for Friday, July 29, 2022, in the Gardiner Room at Seven Oaks Funeral Home from 10:00 AM until 12:00 PM. Services will immediately follow at 12:00 PM in the Henry Chapel of Seven Oaks with Bro. Raymond Aven officiating. Burial will be in Hopewell Cemetery with her nephews serving as pallbearers.
Dorothy is survived by one brother, Jack (Sandra) Savely of Pontotoc; one sister, Nancy (Paul B.) Floyd of New Albany; and many nephews and nieces.
Along with her parents, Dorothy was preceded in death by her husband Boyd Hughes; one daughter, Linda Cannon; three brothers, John David Savely, Paul Savely, Richard Savely; and four sisters, Doris Caldwell, Marie Jones, Martha Ann Mayo, and Elizabeth Berryhill.
VERONA - Annie Lee Pulliam, 86, mostly known as "Red", passed on Saturday, July 23, 2022 peacefully surrounded by her loved ones.
Boyd Hughes
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William Faulkner historian and biographer Dr. Carl Rollyson of the City University of New York speaks about the author's life and family history to a group at the Pontotoc Community House on July 18.
William Faulkner’s literary legacy is “an extraordinary world phenomenon” and one in which a “sense of heritage” is vital to understanding its depth and complexity, according to a visiting scholar, who addressed a crowd at the Pontotoc Community House last Monday.
Dr. Carl Rollyson of City University of New York told the group of more than 30 local fans of the late author’s that he had been a lifelong admirer of Faulkner’s. As Rollyson explained, it was the “gaps” in what he knew about the author’s family that led him to research the Faulkners and to eventually pen a biography.
Rollyson spoke as a guest of the Pontotoc County Historical Society, with grant support from the Mississippi Humanities Council.
At the beginning of his presentation, Rollyson, author of the two-volume Life of William Faulkner, quoted another Mississippi literary giant, Eudora Welty, who once said that she had a “narrative sense” of her next door neighbor’s life. That abiding appreciation of lineage and ancestry, according to Rollyson, is perhaps the most important lens through which to view Faulkner’s work.
Rollyson has written more than 40 books, including the soon-to-be-released William Faulkner Day by Day. He spoke to the crowd about William Faulkner’s great grandfather, William Clark Faulkner. The Colonel, as the elder Faulkner is often called, was a successful entrepreneur and businessman, and he wrote a book titled The White Rose of Memphis, which was released in more than 60 editions. It was a “wildly popular” book, Rollyson said, but one of which even fans of the Nobel Prize-winning younger Faulkner might not be aware.
The Colonel was shot and killed in Ripley, in a South that was still, as Rollyson described it, “not far removed from the ferocity of the frontier.”
Race also features prominently in William Faulkner’s books, but, as Rollyson explained, the author handled the precarious subject with remarkable suppleness.
“Faulkner grew up in a house with his mother, as well as with a black servant, who was telling him about the history of the South,” said Rollyson. That first-hand experience, related from a black person, imbued Faulkner, the boy, with a sense of history that eventually came through in his work, according to Rollyson. Particularly in books like Sartoris, Rollyson said, the way in which black people are portrayed reveals a nuanced appreciation for the experience of blacks in the South that is notably lacking in other novels of the period, such as Gone With the Wind.
Rollyson also addressed the criticism that Faulkner’s prose is overly verbose, exceedingly florid, and difficult to read, and that some detractors attribute that difficulty to poor writing. By way of comparison, Rollyson said that detractors of the painter Pablo Picasso sometimes said that he was a poor artist, thus his work looked odd and rather bizarre. Quite the contrary, Rollyson said, Picasso was tremendously talented, a genius, and the father of Cubism painted as he did in order to show a new perspective.
Thus it was with Faulkner’s work, Rollyson said. Although detractors said Faulkner's work was too wordy, he could, in fact, write quite succinctly, and a good example is the first project he was given upon arriving in Hollywood for his short stint as a screenwriter. Director Howard Hawks asked Faulkner to rework the closing scene for his 1943 World War II aviation epic, Air Force. Faulkner wrote an emotional deathbed scene for one of the film's stars, John Ridgely. "The scene Faulkner wrote is rather terse and monosyllabic," said Rollyson, adding that few would say that it lacked the depth or power of his more grandiloquent writing.
Kaye Warren of Pontotoc was among those in attendance for Rollyson's presentaiton, and said she once lived in very close proximinty to Faulkner's Greek Revial home in Oxford, named Rowan Oak.
"We lived so close, and I thought Faulkner's books were rather difficult to read, but over the years I've come to appreciate them very much, and this presentation was very good," said Warren, an avid reader.
Mississippi Humanities Council Executive Director Stuart Rockoff was also among those in attendace, and said Rollyson's presentation was an ideal fit for Pontotoc.
"Our organization exists to help people explore the history and culture of their area, and to have a speaker of Dr. Rollyson's calibre here is tremendously exciting," said Rockoff. "We hope that he is the first in a long line of speakers that we can help bring to this area, which is one where, perhaps, we don't do as much as we'd like."
Rollyson said that it's hard to overstate William Faulkner's imporantce, not only in American literature, but to the development and apprecaiton of fine writing throughout the world.
"In many ways, Faulkner is the American Shakespeare," Rollyson said, adding that Absalom, Absalom, published in 1936, was, in his opinion, the author’s finest book.
“There is a depth of understanding of history in Faulkner,” Rollyson said, “and we see, in him, someone who is always pushing the envelope, and finding a new way of saying things.”
William Clark Faulkner
Stuart Rockoff
Kaye Warren
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Coach Wanda Hatcher
Coach Wanda Hatcher of the Pontotoc City School District is the recipient of the 2022 Dave “Boo” Ferriss Award, given by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
The award, named for the Shaw, Mississippi native, as well as pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and, later, coach at Delta State University, who is revered as one of the state’s greatest sports figures, is given to those who exemplify Christian leadership.
Hatcher was the only person in the Magnolia State to receive the award this year, and she was presented with her trophy at the MAC (Mississippi Association of Coaches) clinic in Flowood, on July 14.
Hatcher said that receiving the award was unexpected, and she attributed any qualifications she had to her upbringing and the influence of those who demonstrated the love of Jesus in her life.
“I was raised in a Christian home, and going to church and living my faith is something I’ve just always done,” said Hatcher, a 1977 graduate of South Pontotoc High School. Since 2006, Hatcher has coached junior high girls’ basketball at Pontotoc. She started working in tandem with Coach Christy Murray, and later, assumed duties as head coach. Hatcher also teaches contemporary health, as well as nutrition and wellness, and assists with high school basketball and cross country.
Teachers and coaches aren’t allowed to evangelize in public schools, but Hatcher said that she isn’t much for talk, anyway.
“I’m no public speaker, that’s for sure, but I try to show the love of Christ in my actions,” said Hatcher. “I’m a behind-the-scenes person.”
Hatcher played basketball for Coach Robert Hooker, for whom the gym at South Pontotoc is named, and she said that he, among several others, was an important influence on her, both in faith and athletics.
“I’ve been so fortunate to play under coaches who strongly demonstrated their Christian faith, as well as alongside teammates who did the same, and who taught me a lot about sportsmanship and values,” said Hatcher.
Hatcher went on to play at Ole Miss, first under Coach Lin Dunn, who, in 2012 won a WNBA title as head coach of the Indiana Storm, then, under legendary Coach Van Chancellor. Both coaches had a tremendous impact on how she approaches athletics, Hatcher said.
“The way these coaches handled themselves, and the integrity and values they demonstrated meant a lot to me,” said Hatcher.
Hatcher’s teammates at the University of Mississippi included Peggie Gillom Granderson, former head coach of the Texas A&M women’s basketball team and current chaplain at Ole Miss, Carol Ross, who coached both the University of Florida and Ole Miss’s women’s basketball teams, and was named WNBA Coach of the Year in 2012 while with the L.A. Sparks, Glenda Springfield Scott, who, at one time, held the record for most assists by a Lady Rebel, with 526, and Jeanie Loyd Dale, an Aberdeen native and later a star at ICC and in the WBL.
Pontotoc Athletic Director Phil Webb said that Hatcher personifies the best qualities educators hope to instill in their students.
“Coach Hatcher is a phenomenal coach and, more importantly, a phenomenal person,” said Webb, adding that he had long admired Coach Dave “Boo” Ferriss and that Hatcher encapsulated the characteristics for which the Mississippi sports icon was famous. “Coach Hatcher is a special gift that we have in the Pontotoc City School District,” said Webb, “and for her to be associated with such a legendary coach is very fitting.”
Hatcher worked for years alongside Coach Bill Russell, now at South Pontotoc, and said that he set a high standard and a fine example. Russell, in turn, had high praise for Hatcher.
“She was a big influence on my career,” said Russell, adding that Hatcher did an excellent job of preparing girls at the junior high level to move up to varsity.
“Players that she coached were ready when they entered our high school program,” said Russell. “She was one of the main reasons I had success at Pontotoc, and I believe she’s one of the main reasons Coach Heard continues to have success as well.”
Russell said that, beyond her athletic prowess, Hatcher had an innate gift for leadership.
“The kids respected her, and they played hard for her, and she’s had plenty of chances to move on and take head coaching jobs elsewhere, but she’s tremendously loyal and loves where she’s at and what she does," said Russell. "I can't say enough good things about Coach Hatcher."
Pontotoc girls’ current head coach, Kyle Heard, said Hatcher is irreplaceable.
“Nobody has an easier job than me, with Coach Hatcher around,” said Heard. With Hatcher by his side, Heard led the Lady Warriors to a 4A state championship in 2020. “She does everything with a smile, and the best attitude,” Heard added. “She sets a wonderful example for the athletes, as well as for myself, and even for my daughters. I’m constantly learning from her how I can do things better.”
Hatcher also worked closely with Pontotoc cross-country coach, Mike Bain, who won 50 state titles in his storied career.
“I don’t think I could have coached as long as I did without her,” said Bain, who retired last year after 44 years skippering the cross-country team. “I counted on her so much, and she was much more than an assistant coach. She always knew what I needed without my asking, and she did it. She expects a lot from herself, and from the athletes, both in the way they compete and in their attitude about the team.”
Pontotoc senior Sadie Stegall is a three-sport standout, and said that Hatcher’s sincerity and commitment rubs off on her players.
“Coach Hatcher has been a light in my life,” said Stegall, who played junior varsity basketball under Hatcher. “She always has a smile on her face. She’s a wonderful person to be around and really demonstrates what a Christian should be.”
Molly Sansing is another of Hatcher’s blue-chip prodigies, and said the coach is an inspiration.
“I love Coach Hatcher,” said Sansing. “She’s always given us solid instruction and has set a great example.”
Ella Hill plays basketball and softball, and is a cheerleader, and she has known Hatcher for years.
"Coach Hatcher is the perfect mix of sympathy and sternness," said Hill. "She is the kind of person I wish to be when I'm older. I would love to be half as good of a person as her when I’m older. I love her so much and no one deserves this award more than her. Christ shines through her like no other."
Hatcher and her husband of 35 years, Lee, have two children. Their son, Luke, is a coach and teacher at Corinth, and their daughter, Marlee, played basketball at ICC, Ole Miss, and Blue Mountain College, and is currently studying optometry at UAB.
Hatcher has a longstanding affiliation with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and said that guests sometimes share their faith testimony prior to junior high games. She said that her legacy in sports and education boils down to a simple message.
“I hope that the athletes and students I’ve coached and taught saw something in me that they wanted, maybe saw a person they wanted to be like,” said Hatcher. “I hope they saw in me the love of Jesus, and saw a coach that loved them, and wanted them to succeed and to live a happy, healthy life, and to live for God.”
Wanda Hatcher
Kyle Heard
Phil Webb
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Pontotoc Historical Society president, Bobby McGee, far right, talks with historian and archivist Jack Elliott (third from right), along with Jolane Warren (purple shirt, thrid from left) and other Pontotoc residents at the site in Sand Springs where, on Nov. 10, 1935, a plane crash killed Dean Faulkner, brother of the famous author, William Faulkner, as well as Bud Warren (Jolane's uncle), Lamon Graham and Henry Graham. The names of the deceased are etched into the metal cross that commemorates the crash site.
Jack Elliott, a Faulkner researcher and retiree from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, leads a tour on the Pontotoc Court Square, on July 16, as local residents, from left, Claire McGee, Bobby McGee, Steve Montgomery, Billy Quay Montgomery, and others visit places of imporatnce in the life of the Pulitzer Prize winning author William Faulkner's family.
Jack Elliott raked sweat from his forehead, and stopped in front of The Carousel, at the corner of Main and East Marion streets, at a building that used to be a drug store (look down, when you walk in, at the tiles on the floor, in the entryway).
“Faulkner’s father, Murry Faulkner, who worked for the railroad, had fallen in love with a pretty, young woman named Patty (Patricia) Fontaine, the daughter of a respected, local physician,” said Elliott, formerly of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Elliott was leading a group of earnest, perspiring locals around the Pontotoc Court Square, showing them places of importance in the life of the family of the world-renowned author and Nobel Prize winner, William Faulkner.
Miss Fontaine had commissioned work from a local seamstress, named Mary Walker, Eliott explained. Fontaine was deeply displeased and near offended with the garments she got back, and she chewed Mary up in phrases harsh and uncourteous to local ears. The feud bubbled up into quite a row. Faulkner growled publicly in defense of his sweetheart, and Mary repeated Fontaine’s unkind words to her mercurial relative, Elias Walker, a local shop owner, who took umbrage to the whole matter, then huffed and fanned that umbrage into glowing menace. Once the two men got involved, things quickly escalated from fussing into sure enough meanness. Elias Walker’s simple and brutish solution was to walk into the drug store, catch Faulkner sitting at the counter, and blast him with a shotgun. Not fully sated with that carnage, Walker then stood over the flailing, nearly dead Faulkner, produced a pistol, and summarily shot him through the mouth.
Almost inexplicably, Murry Faulkner lived, thanks in large part to the ministrations of Dr. Charlie Mitchell, to whose office some townspeople carried the wounded man. (Mitchell later became the director of the Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield.) Since Murry pulled through, the world was not robbed of The Sound and Fury, and Absalom, Absalom, and 100 other literary masterpieces that came from the typewriter of his famous son.
On the walking tour, Eliott continued to astonish the group with tales of gun violence from the Faulkner family archives.
As it turns out, the author’s father wasn’t the first Faulkner shot in public, in broad daylight, on a court square, in northeast Mississippi, and had his assailant walk scot-free. On the evening of Nov. 5, 1889, William’s great grandfather, William C. Faulkner, often referred to as “the Colonel,” was shot in Ripley and soon thereafter died at the hand of a former business partner named Thurmond. The Southern Sentinel reported that Thurmond used a .44 caliber pistol. Thurmond was acquitted, and the reporter for the Sentinel wrote about feeling a strange unease in the courtroom. As the reporter said, there was “no excitement, and not a single scene during the trial,” and “even the verdict was silently received by all.”
Col. Faulkner had been in the railroad business with Thurmond, and eventually bought out his interest in the line. Faulkner was president of the line when it was eventually extended to Pontotoc in the summer of 1888. As Elliott explained, the Colonel’s daughter, Effie, had driven the last spike in the line when it reached Pontotoc. Murry was working as a conductor on the railroad when Walker shot him.
The author, William Faulkner, came into this world celebrating family pride, breathing the perfumed manners of Southern gentility, and fearing the hot violence of men.
Elliott paused in reverence, standing on the stoop on the southwest side of the Pontotoc Chancery Court building. The group filled in along the street below him.
“They brought Dean’s body here,” Elliott said, patting the door with his palm. The author, William, upon seeing his brother’s body, is reported to have whispered to himself, “Dean, is that you?” The author worked steadily, with a brother’s loving and grieved hands, alongside the morticians, trying to piece Dean together so their mama could have an open casket funeral. It couldn’t be done.
An advertisement in the Nov. 14, Pontotoc Progress conveys the lighthearted mood preceding that fateful day.
“Zoom,” it says, with three Z’s, alongside advertisements for movies at the Joy Theatre. Top Hat was showing, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. On another screen, Laurel and Hardy starred in Bonnie Scotland.
The add continues: “Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 9th and 10th. Two More Huge Thrill Filled Days for Pontotoc. AIR ACES Captain V.C. Omlie, Dean Faulkner, Navy Sowell and other Air-Aces will make another personal appearance here…Airplane Stunts Free Both Days…Long rides over the city in ships driven by these experienced pilots for only $1.00. Everybody Invited.”
Among the group following Elliott was Carl Rollyson, a visiting professor from New York, who spoke two nights later at the Pontotoc Community House. William Faulkner, the professor explained, had grown up reading aviation magazines and dreaming about flight. As boys, the author and his brothers, Jack, John, and Dean, had even stitched together a makeshift airplane and nearly killed themselves trying to make it fly.
The author had come into money during a stint writing screenplays in Hollywood, and he’d gifted his brother, Dean, a 1933 Waco CIU plane. Dean advertised in the Pontotoc Progress, and took local folks up for rides. Cost, $1.00
On Nov. 10, 1935, while providing arial rides for his thrill day, Dean took on board three farmers who wanted to see their land from the air. Bud Warren, Lamon Graham, and Henry Graham paid their $1, and they left the ground expecting to see their land as they’d never dreamed of seeing it. Minutes later, they were killed.
“Several local people reported seeing the plane go down,” said Elliott, speaking to the group as they assembled in a pasture in the Sand Springs community. A newly erected cross, bearing the names of all four men who died in the crash, stood amid the shin-high grass. In 1935 the land belonged to Henry Graham, one of the deceased; today it belongs to Caleb Horton.
Jolane Warren met up with the group when they arrived in Sands Springs, and she walked with them through the pasture, as the sun started to melt into the tree line. Jolane's aunt, Inez Todd, was married to Henry Graham. Jolane was too young to remember her uncle.
Walking alongside Jolane was Carolyn Carnes, whose uncle, Bud Warren, was also among those killed in the crash. The two women gazed approvingly at the cross, shielding their eyes from the sun.
Also in the group was Dr. Steve Montgomery, who said that his grandfather, Brooks, had seen the plane go down and was among the first to rush to the scene. Some reports said that Lamon Graham’s wife, Leona, had been standing in the yard waving a bed sheet so that her husband could see her as he flew over, Elliott said.
The day after the crash, Bud Warren, Lamon Graham, and Henry Graham were laid to rest in Sand Springs Cemetery, less than a mile from where the plane went down. Dean Faulkner was buried at St. Peter’s Cemetery in Oxford, where his famous literary brother was later interred.
As Elliott led the group through Sands Springs Cemetery, Jolane Warren noted somberly that her uncle and his two friends were buried at 3 o’clock in the afternoon.
Having taken pictures, and shared stories, and told all about all their kinfolks in the area who had seen or heard or had, in some way, been part of that fateful day, the group gradually disbanded. They shook Elliott’s hand, and thanked him. They hugged each other’ necks, and some said they couldn’t believe that this amazing piece of history had been here all this time, and they’d never known it.
William C. Faulkner
Dean Faulkner
Henry Graham
Jolane Warren
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John Mark Mills of Pontotoc won the Mississippi Jr. State Am at Windance Country Club in Gulfport on July 18. He also won first overall in his division, boys' 16-18. Mills, who will be a senior at Pontotoc High School this year, is pictured here at the Pontotoc Country Club with his championship cups, as well as the Ted Schroder Memorial Trophy, on which are inscribed the names of all champions since 1957.
Mills wins Jr. State Am
Speaking with a relieved laugh, John Mark Mills said that he lost three balls off the tee on the final day of the tournament, but, somehow, he still managed to shoot three under par, and win by one stroke.
"There was a lot of pressure down the stretch," said Mills, 17, who will enroll as a senior at Pontotoc High School this fall. "Collins (Trolio) made a strong comeback, but I held on to win," said Mills, acknowledging the tough match he got from Trolio, a West Point player, Ole Miss commit, and one of the state's top junior golfers. Mills held off his opponent to win the Mississippi Junior State Amateur Tournament at Windance Country Club in Gulfport on July 18.
Mills' three-day total was 210 (He shot even par, 72, in Round 1,and -3 69 in Rounds 2 and 3).
Mills also took the top spot in his age division, 16 and 18. He brought home two, crystal cups, as well as the Ted Schroder Memorial Trophy, which is inscribed with the names of every winner since 1957. He's allowed to keep the trophy in Pontotoc for one year, then, like the Stanley Cup, he has to bring it back and put it on the line to defend it.
Mills started playing golf as soon as he was big enough to swing a club, he said. He's been a student at the Mike Bender Golf Academy in Lake Mary, Florida, and has taken his academic classes online. Golf enthusiasts may know Bender as the coach of Ryder Cup Captain Zack Johnson. Mills racked up five notable tournament wins in Florida including the Pros of Tomorrow, in 2021. Mills said that he's put in a lot of hours honing his game, but succeeding makes it worthwhile.
"A lot of hard work has led up to this, and it's challenging, and I feel fortunate to remain in contention, but its nice when that work pays off," said Mills.
In other golfing news, Mills' friend and fellow amateur standout, Jackson Wise (North Pontotoc), a Gulf Coast Community College signee, won the Men's Club Championship at the Pontotoc Country Club on Sunday. Wise shot a 1st Round -1 71, and a 2nd Round -2 70, for a combined 141 and the win. Cage Mills was second in the Championship Flight, with 143, and Denver Russell third, with 143.
John Mark Mills
Jackson Wise
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Back-to-School Health Fair draws good crowd despite heat
Parents and children were lined up early Saturday waiting for the Baptist Memorial Hospital Back-to-School Health Fair held on the back parking area.
Dozens of tents were set up with volunteers providing information about health and social services, organizations, participation opportunities and information about public service and career opportunities.
Many of the tents had items such as backpacks that children could use in school, which they were giving out free.
Despite the heat, hospital staff members several hundred people had come through in the first 30 minutes of the two-hour event.
Also provided were some games and free hot-dogs, chips, cookies and drinks.
BMH holds the fair annually as a community service.
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