| Thursday, August 7, 2014 |
| Unmanned aerial vehicles becoming new tool for farmers | |
 | It is hard to compare an unmanned aerial vehicle to a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine, but that is how the director of Mississippi State University's Geosystems Research Institute sees it. "The plant is the patient, the agronomists are the doctors and I am the guy that works on the MRI machine," Robert Moorhead said. Moorhead and his GRI colleagues are working with MAFES agronomists to incorporate the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in site-specific agricultural research. He said campus scientists are using the aerial equipment in the research of plant growth, nutrient management, irrigation and herbicide application. |
| Repaired MSU Dorms Reopen in Time for Fall Semester | |
 | Three dorms on the campus of Mississippi State University that sustained heavy water damage will be reopened in time for the new fall semester. Ruby, Oak and Magnolia Halls have been fully repaired since the winter water damage that happened in January. Sub-freezing temperatures ruptured pipes and flooded the buildings. University officials say the dorms are like new and are now at 100 percent capacity. |
| Mississippi State, Ole Miss top $224M combined in private funds | |
 | Mississippi's two largest public universities each topped $100 million in private fundraising this past fiscal year, continuing a trend of increased contributions from alumni to plump up operational budgets and fund special projects. "The visionary individuals and organizations who are investing their resources in the future of this institution and the people it serves recognize the vital role that Mississippi State plays in the life of the state and region," said President Mark E. Keenum. |
| Webinars series is tech-oriented | |
| Business owners eager to capitalize on the power of technology can attend a free series of webinars this fall. The Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Mississippi Development Authority's Entrepreneur Center have partnered to offer four sessions about web-based services and strategies. Each will begin at noon and end by 12:50 p.m. and be on the second Wednesday of each month through November. For more information or to register as a host site, call Lara Bowman with the MSU Extension Center for Technology Outreach at (662) 325-0596 or the Entrepreneur Center at (601) 359-3593. |
| New South Weekends to promote local retail | |
 | When Mississippi State University hosts home football games, more than a few fans of teams on both sides of the gridiron come from out of town to watch the game. And Jennifer Prather, special events and projects coordinator for the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, wants those guests to explore and shop in Starkville not only on Saturdays, but on Fridays and Sundays too. Starkville Convention and Visitors Bureau, a division of GSDP, announced its New South Weekends schedule of events designed to capitalize on the economic potential MSU's home football games afford. (Subscriber-only content.) |
| $23K in sales tax revenue will help MSU students get home safely | |
| The Mississippi State University Student Association is replacing its weekend nighttime bus routes between campus and Starkville nightlife hotspots with a free taxi service called "Cowbell Cabs," reallocating funds from the city's 2-percent restaurant sales tax. SA President Brett Harris presented the association's plans for the sales tax funds Tuesday night, with aldermen approving $339,000 of these funds for the SA's use. While this is an increase from last year's allocation of $325,000, the extra funds are all going to Music Maker Productions and the Old Main Music Festival. (Subscriber-only content.) |
| Starkville signs on to LINK's industrial park project | |
 | After two days of lobbying, Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins secured a combined $10 million commitment from Starkville and Oktibbeha County that will develop a new industrial park and could add more than 1,000 jobs in the next decade. Starkville aldermen on Tuesday committed $5 million toward the Innovation District -- a 300-plus acre industrial park near the Highway 25 and Highway 182 bypass -- with a 6-1 vote after county supervisors approved a similar $5 million resolution of support Monday. |
| Hotel Chester episode of Gordon Ramsay's 'Hotel Hell' to air Monday | |
 | Gordon Ramsay, the host of FOX's Hotel Hell, traveled to Starkville to The Hotel Chester, which is located right outside of Mississippi State University. The hotel, which was built in 1925, was a thriving business when it was first bought by David and Sukie Mollendor in 2000. |
| Mississippi prepaid tuition plan to reopen | |
 | The Mississippi board that oversees the plan that allows people to lock in pricing for future college tuition voted Wednesday to reopen the program, but charge sharply higher prices. State Treasurer Lynn Fitch closed Mississippi Prepaid Affordable College Tuition program in fall 2012, saying she was worried about a funding shortfall. The program that reopens Oct. 1 will put its proceeds into a new pot of money, leaving the old fund with a gap that still must be made up through investment gains, state appropriations, or other methods. The program is backed by the state's full faith and credit, which means obligations must be paid. |
| McDaniel told to go to court | |
 | Joe Nosef, chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party, has informed Chris McDaniel that the courts, not the executive committee of the state Party, is the proper venue for his challenge to the June primary where he lost to incumbent U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran. McDaniel, a second-term state senator from Ellisville, had announced Monday he was challenging the outcome of the June 24 party primary runoff and had requested a public hearing before the state Republican Party's executive committee. But Wednesday, Nosef said in a statement, the 52-member Executive Committee was not the proper venue to hear the challenge. |
| Mississippi Republican Party will not hear McDaniel challenge | |
| The Mississippi Republican Party has said they will not hear the challenge from Chris McDaniel because state law would not allow them sufficient time to consider the evidence. In a letter to McDaniel attorney Mitch Tyner, Mississippi Republican Party Chairman Joe Nosef said the candidate should move their challenge to the courts. Jordan Russell, spokesman for U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, said, "We were surprised by this decision, but whether Chris McDaniel's ridiculous challenge is heard by the State Executive Committee or a court, we are confident it will be rejected." |
| Mississippi GOP won't hear McDaniel challenge | |
| Mississippi's state Republican Party on Wednesday refused to hear challenger Chris McDaniel's effort to overturn his June 24 GOP runoff loss to U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran. The party says McDaniel would do better taking his challenge to court. In a letter to McDaniel's lawyer, state Republican Party Chairman Joe Nosef wrote that a court is needed to "protect the rights of the voters as well as both candidates." Referring the issue to court also allows members of the GOP's executive committee, many of whom have ties to Cochran, to avoid ruling on McDaniel's challenge. |
| Mississippi GOP won't hear Chris McDaniel's challenge to Cochran's win | |
 | Mississippi's Republican Party announced late Wednesday that it would not hear Chris McDaniel's challenge of his loss to Sen. Thad Cochran in the June runoff, and told him to go to court instead. In a letter to McDaniel's attorney, the state's GOP chairman, Joe Nosef, said it wasn't possible for the party's committee of 52 volunteers to pore over his voluminous challenge in a prudent manner. McDaniel was once seen as the tea party's best hope this midterm election cycle to topple an establishment GOP senator seen as insufficiently conservative. But after he lost the runoff, national conservative groups moved on to other battles. |
| Madison district attorney ties McDaniel camp to Cochran break-in | |
 | A man who on Wednesday pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the Rose Cochran nursing home break-in may have communicated with the McDaniel for Senate campaign about the time a video showing her infirmed was released, Madison County District Attorney Michael Guest told the Journal. "There were communications between the campaign and the co-defendants at or about the time the video was released," Guest said. Three others were charged in May in connection with the April break-in. Guest revealed the link to the campaign on Wednesday after accepting a plea agreement from John B. Mary, one of the alleged conspirators, but he declined to offer further details about what the campaign knew or when they knew. |
| Mary gets no jail time, will cooperate in Cochran case | |
| In exchange for no jail time or fine, John Mary pleaded guilty to conspiring to photograph U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran's bedridden wife and is helping prosecute others in the case. Mary, of Hattiesburg, faced up to five years in prison and a fine up to $5,000. But District Attorney Michael Guest agreed to a deal of five years probation, non-adjudicated. That means the charge would be wiped from Mary's record provided he cooperates and completes probation. Guest said Mary's help "will be crucial" in a case that made national news amid a bitter Republican primary between Cochran and tea party challenger Chris McDaniel. |
| After 20 years, Breyer is high court's raging pragmatist | |
 | When Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer gathered scores of former law clerks for a reunion to celebrate his two decades on the bench, he was toasted as an undying believer in the U.S. system of government. Whether Breyer, who marks his 20th anniversary on the high court this week, was in the majority or dissenting from the conservative court's decisions, "he was always optimistic," recalled Michael Leiter, who clerked for Breyer and is former director of the National Counterterrorism Center. "He brought a level of optimism about the positive change we could make." That joie de vivre has defined the 75-year-old Proust scholar's career from the time he worked in the political trenches for Sen. Edward Kennedy to today's service on an often deeply divided high court. |
| Russia's food embargo against West takes shape | |
| Russia on Thursday began rolling out a sweeping embargo on food imports from the United States, members of the European Union and other Western nations in response to those countries' economic sanctions over Moscow's actions in the Ukraine conflict. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed an order banning imports of food and agricultural crops from the U.S., the EU, Australia, Canada and Norway. He told a meeting of government officials that products covered by the ban would include meat and poultry, fish, dairy products as well as fruit and vegetables. For the U.S., the Russian embargo is expected to shut the door on a market worth about $1.3 billion a year. |
| Mississippi poultry producer reacts to Russia import ban | |
| The CFO of Sanderson Farms was interviewed on NBC Nightly News last night about how Russian sanctions on food imports will most likely hurt business. Sanderson Farms, America's third largest poultry producer out of Laurel, Mississippi, is trying to line up new customers after Russia banned most food imports, including meat, from the West. NBC Nightly News reporter Andrea Mitchell asked Mike Cockrell, CFO of Sanderson Farms, what he thought Vladimir Putin is doing. "I think its politics," Cockrell said. "He's searching for however he can retaliate against the United States and the West and he's picked agriculture." |
| MUW and Local Schools Team up to 'Snack for Success' | |
| Students in some Columbus schools will be learning how to snack smarter -- and healthier -- this school year. Members of Mississippi University for Women's Passport to Wellness Program were handing out healthy snacks to returning students, and brochures to parents telling them how to make and where to find healthy snack options. It's part of a program called "Snack 4 Success". Passport to Wellness will be teaming up with Franklin Academy, Cook Elementary, and Annunciation Catholic School this year to teach students and parents about proper nutrition and the role it plays in keeping them well. |
| From the Delta to Kuwait: DSU geospatial director finds receptive audience | |
| As director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Geospatial Information Technologies at Delta State University, Talbot Brooks is a man in demand, logging thousands of miles annually, supporting the adoption and implementation of geospatial information technologies. A recent trip to the Middle East, however, ranks as one of his most satisfying. Brooks recently traveled to Kuwait at the request of the Kuwaiti Geographic Society and the government of Kuwait to keynote a conference. His keynote presentation was televised nationally on Kuwaiti public television. |
| LSU Alumni Association president's lawyer says payments alleged in suit not part of 'agreement' | |
 | LSU Alumni Association President Charlie Roberts denied claims made in a recently filed lawsuit that he entered a lifetime payoff arrangement with a former employee with whom he had a sexual relationship, in return for her resignation. Instead, his attorney claims any money Roberts gave the woman after she resigned was done so on the basis of their personal relationship, not as a part of any professional arrangement. Kay Heath, who during most of her time with alumni association sold ads for the alumni magazine, filed suit Friday against Roberts and the association in state district court in Baton Rouge after she claims the alleged payments ended. |
| Louisiana leaders discuss how to dole out $40M college fund for workforce development | |
 | It remains unclear how a $40 million fund that the Louisiana Legislature created this year to spur workforce development will be divvied up among the state's universities and colleges. The WISE Council, a group of state workforce and college system leaders that oversees the Workforce and Innovation for a Stronger Economy Fund, met for a second time on Wednesday for nearly two and a half hours, but resolved little in a debate over what criteria will be used to dole out the money that colleges and universities will be competing for. Leaders say they hope to have a framework in place so schools can start preparing electronic applications for funding by next month. LSU System President and Chancellor F. King Alexander said some coveted businesses routinely overlook Louisiana for development projects because the state ranks low nationally in the number of college degree holders, especially in high-demand fields. |
| U. of Florida, BP settle long-running dispute, though impact to university remains unclear | |
 | A partnership with British Petroleum that should have produced a stream of royalty revenues for the University of Florida for years has evaporated with the stroke of a pen, settling a two-year court battle over $30 million in disputed fees and royalties. The two sides in the intellectual property suit that BP brought against UF quietly reached a settlement agreement over the disputed licensing fees and royalties for a process invented by UF researcher Lonnie Ingram that converts wood pulp into ethanol. A federal judge dismissed the suit in December, reserving the right to bring both sides into a courtroom if they don't live up to the terms of the binding settlement agreement. "The settlement agreement is not public," said Janine Sikes, assistant vice president of media relations for UF. "They entered a licensing agreement, had a dispute and settled in lieu of further litigation." |
| UGA, Georgia Sea Grant to help plan for port expansion | |
 | As the $706 million Savannah Harbor Expansion Project begins, the University of Georgia and Georgia Sea Grant are poised to help coastal residents adapt to changes that are expected to bring additional jobs and prosperity to their communities. "Most of the regional attention to the Savannah Harbor deepening has focused on the ecological effects to the river and adjacent wetland ecosystems," said Charles Hopkinson, Georgia Sea Grant director. "We want to shift the focus to local communities so that they are prepared to handle the secondary impacts that are likely to accompany the port expansion, such as new transportation and parking needs or the school and housing needs of an expanded workforce." |
| Texas A&M VP B.J. Crain takes new position with university | |
 | After resigning her post as Texas A&M University's vice president for finance and administration on Aug. 31, B.J. Crain will begin as special assistant to the vice chancellor and dean for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Crain will help agency directors and CFOs on financial and administrative oversight and construction projects, said William A. Dugas, acting vice chancellor and dean for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, in a letter to A&M's AgriLife Development office. Currently, the position of special assistant to the vice chancellor is held by Neville Clarke. His salary is $83,334 -- $201,666 below Crain's current salary of $285,000, according to a database compiled by The Texas Tribune. |
| Texas A&M No. 1 for conservatives in new Princeton Review rankings | |
| Texas A&M University's students are conservative, on great terms with the community and huge sports fans. They're open to religion, but not so much to the LGBT community -- at least, according to Princeton Review's latest round of rankings. It might not be a surprise that A&M is No. 1 for conservative students and No. 9 for religion -- at least based on a survey of how students ranked themselves in 379 colleges across the country. A bigger surprise might be the seventh-place spot on "town-and-gown relations," or how students see the relationship between A&M and Bryan-College Station. Past mayors have noted issues between the student and residential communities in the cities. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State's Lewis, Wilson rooting for each other | |
| Essentially, this is Jameon Lewis' contract year. He owns the most receiving yards of any Southeastern Conference receiver who returned from last year, yet early draft projections list him in the mid-20s among 2015 NFL Draft receiver prospects. He has the next five months to shoot up those lists. "We call it the 'money year,'" Lewis said. "We're going to get it." But the fifth-year senior needs help. To be precise, he needs De'Runnya Wilson, Mississippi State's 6-foot-5, 215-pound wide receiver, to blossom into an attention-garnering threat. They play the same position but possess very different roles in the offense. |
| Former prep QBs contributing in other ways at Mississippi State | |
| Is there a more versatile weapon in the Southeastern Conference than Mississippi State's Jameon Lewis? The statistics say no. Lewis, the SEC's top returning wide receiver, came into his own in 2013 by accumulating more than 1,200 yards of offense. With MSU quarterback Dak Prescott, Lewis was one of only two players in the conference to score touchdowns passing, rushing, and receiving. Now a senior, Lewis, who had 11 touchdowns as a junior, is one reason expectations are raised in Starkville this season. Lewis isn't alone. MSU's 2014 roster is stocked with former high school quarterbacks who now play a variety of positions. |
| Long Beach's James making progress on Mississippi State's D-line | |
 | A position coach is never fully pleased with his players, but Mississippi State defensive line coach David Turner did see some reason Wednesday to be more upbeat about his group. Turner praised his unit for its progression throughout camp, but said his players still have more to learn. "We're doing good. I don't think we responded well (Tuesday), but overall we're doing good. Guys are flying around and trying to get better with technique and playing with a little more effort, which is what we have to do," he said. "Overall, I'm pleased with where we are so far." Turner said one of the players who is improving is sophomore lineman and Long Beach native Nick James. |
| Bulldogs have questions up front | |
| Most of Mississippi State's offense returns intact. But the Bulldogs do have a couple of positions along their offensive line that must be addressed in training camp. MSU lost All-American left guard Gabe Jackson and right tackle Charles Siddoway to graduation, leaving a little uncertainly up front. "The kids that are replacing Gabe have been around him so they know how hard he worked," said offensive line coach John Hevesy. |
| MSU DL coach David Turner looking for more from Nick James | |
| It's year three of the Nick James buzz bandwagon. It's been a bumpy ride to say the least. James is coming off a redshirt sophomore season. He played as a true freshman but totaled six tackles in eight games. This year was expected to be different for the 6-5, 325 pound defensive tackle. James' teammates said he's practicing with more desire than in the past. Defensive line coach David Turner agreed, but only to a certain extent. "Well, he's trying. He's still got a long ways to go," Turner said. "He's better than he was, but he's got a lot of work to do. He's still a work in progress." |
| Mississippi State women roll in European tour opener | |
 | Travel difficulties didn't hinder the Mississippi State women's basketball team on the court Wednesday as it opened its European tour with a dominant 122-56 win against Sparta Laarne in Laarne, Belgium. The Bulldogs used solid pressure defense to open a 22-point first-quarter lead and never looked back. "It was pretty encouraging. We shot the ball well from range in a gym we've never been in. We had an hour to get ready, and I was proud of our energy and effort," Vic Schaefer said. |
| Mississippi State's McDonald in final 32 at U.S. Women's Amateur | |
| As it turned out, Ally McDonald didn't need 18 holes of golf to advance at the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship. Just 17. The rising senior from Fulton, Miss., turned back LSU's Carly Ray Goldstein Wednesday at Nassau Country Club in Glen Cove, N.Y., 2 & 1, to advance to Thursday's second round, which now features a field of 32 players. At 9 a.m., she'll face Korea's Eunjeong Seong, who knocked off Elizabeth Doty of the United States. But to get to Thursday for the second year in a row, McDonald had to first survive a tightly-contested showdown with her SEC counterpart. |
| Delta State athletics discuss pros and cons of new turf at football stadium | |
 | The turf project for Delta State University's Parker Field-McCool Stadium was completed on July 28, as crews walked through the final inspection. Ronnie Mayers, director of athletics at Delta State University, said artificial turf is the direction most football programs are going today, and one reason the university made the switch was because of the weather the Delta has. Mayers said all programs can use the field, and the new surface will provide teams with an opportunity to practice when the weather is bad. "It's also creating a lot of excitement in the community," said Mayers. Delta State selected Geo-Surfaces, Inc., a company based in Baton Rouge, La., for the overhaul. |
| SEC teams get Jell-o molds, but Baptist leader concerned they'll be used for drinking games | |
 | With college football season arriving this month, Jell-O this week announced a different kind of ranking: a Top 20 list of teams that will have their own Jell-O Jigglers University Mold Kits. Eight Southeastern Conference teams made the cut. "We are excited to fun up tailgates and viewing parties with our expanded line of University Mold Kits," said Hermes Risien, Jell-O Brand Assistant at Kraft Foods, in a press release. Risien said that the choices were made using special marketing data, according to the Houston Chronicle. The report suggested that the Jell-O team logos are likely to be usurped for college drinking games that mix alcohol and gelatin. An Alabama Southern Baptist leader said he hopes that's not the case. Jell-O shots and other drinking games encourage dangerous binge drinking among college students, he said. |
| Ole Miss will renovate south endzone for 2015 season | |
| Ole Miss is adding a field level club and 30 additional suites to the south endzone of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. In plans and drawings released Wednesday on the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation website, the Ole Miss administration revealed its plans. They outlined a construction calendar that will begin shortly after the 2014 season ends and should be done in time for the 2015 season. The new field level club will include bench-back seats in the first 13-15 rows of the south endzone -- what is now student seating -- and access to an area beneath the seats that includes TVs, tables and chairs, and "premium" concession options. Athletics director Ross Bjork said last week that Ole Miss was in the design phase of what to do with Vaught-Hemingway Stadium now that the Pavilion at Ole Miss is under construction. |
| Mizzou's Memorial Stadium renovations on pace to be ready by opener | |
 | The Memorial Stadium renovations are still on course to be completed by the time Missouri kicks off its football season against South Dakota State on Aug. 30, according to executive associate athletic director Tim Hickman. But that doesn't mean it's time to coast just yet. "As I told some of my staff that got back this morning from vacation, 'Put on your seatbelt. Here we go,' " Hickman said. "We're kind of in that sprint mode right now." Hickman said the construction crew will be putting the finishing touches on the $45.5 million project up until the season opener. "We knew all along that we're going to be running right up to the wire," Hickman said. |
| Postgame traffic flow changes, more parking coming to LSU's Tiger Stadium this fall | |
| The word "contraflow" conjures up images of folks packing up and fleeing an approaching hurricane. But when it comes to LSU football games, contraflow may be a beautiful word to the ears of fans who have spent hours stuck in traffic jams to and from Tiger Stadium. LSU officials announced adjustments to postgame traffic flow Wednesday, a plan that will reintroduce contraflow southbound on Nicholson Drive (La. 30) after several years of the practice not being used. The plan is part of LSU's effort to enhance the gameday experience for fans as the school tries to fill a stadium that has been expanded by nearly 10,000 seats to 102,342 for its 90th season. LSU officials enlisted the help of the SP Plus Gameday consultant group to craft a new gameday traffic plan. |
| For Wealthy NCAA Programs, Autonomy Is Not a Panacea | |
 | The National Collegiate Athletic Association is set to approve a new governance system on Thursday that would allow the wealthiest athletic departments to operate more independently from their peers, freeing them from restrictions that they say have impeded their ability to help players. College-sports experts lauded many of the ideas, including one that would reduce players' athletics commitments in the offseason. But the new system has raised questions about equity and does not include a mechanism that would hold the most-powerful conferences accountable. That means that many programs could still end up spending the vast majority of their money on fast-rising coaching salaries and opulent facilities, and not helping players as much as they said they would. |
| NCAA adopts rule changes to speed up tennis matches | |
 | NCAA Division I dual tennis matches will switch to no-ad scoring, use one set of doubles instead of an eight-game pro set and will cut warmups this season, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced Wednesday. The rule changes are pending approval of the NCAA Championships/Sports Management Cabinet in September. The moves are being made to make matches more fan-friendly, the ITA said in a press release. |
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