| Tuesday, August 12, 2014 |
| MSU Scientists Study, Report About Agricultural Concerns | |
 | Row-crop farmers and agricultural consultants heard reports on some of the challenges researchers are studying at the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center during the Aug. 7 field day. Irrigation decisions, variety selections, planting dates, crop residue management and tillage were a few of the issues addressed. "Much of the research here in the Experiment Station fields is based on requests from growers themselves," said Steve Martin, head of the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center. |
| State's truck crops ring in at more than $118M | |
 | Locally grown produce continues to increase in popularity on Mississippi's kitchen counters, grocery shelves and restaurant menus as consumers seek fresher fruits and vegetables. To get them, they often turn to the state's truck crops growers, who traditionally sold their specialty items, such as tomatoes, berries, nuts and sweet corn, from the beds of their pickup trucks. "People want to buy from a local source, whether they buy straight from the farmer or get it through their grocer," said Jeremy Maness, Smith County Extension Service agriculture agent with Mississippi State University. |
| MSU Maroon Band Takes to the Field | |
| Seeing the famous Mississippi State University Maroon Band take to the practice field is a reminder that the first football game of a new season is just two weeks from Saturday. There was a brief interruption because of rain Monday morning, but band members were back on the field practicing after the rain ended. "Getting everybody together, getting together to get one goal of getting everybody excited about Mississippi State football," drum major Cooper Haywood said. |
| MSU Students Expand Floral Design Experience | |
| Some students realize there is more to a college education and preparing for future careers than just going to classes. Five Mississippi State University students on the floral design team recently took part in a competition and symposium revealing insights into the variety of paths their careers could take. Jim DelPrince, a professor in the MSU Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, said the program gave the students valuable experience with some of the best floral designers in the industry. |
| Meridian's C.D. Smith Elected to Leadership Post | |
 | The Mississippi Economic Council announced Meridian's C.D. Smith has been elected treasurer of the Public Education Forum of Mississippi. Smith is a Regional Director for AT&T Mississippi and is serving a 10-year term on the Mississippi Public Universities Board of Trustees. Smith also serves on the board of governors for the Mississippi Economic Council. He previously served on the national board of directors of the MSU Alumni Association. |
| 2 Men Arrested After Drug Overdose Leaves 1 Man Dead in Starkville | |
| Two brothers are behind bars after a drug overdose leaves one dead. At approximately 2 a.m. Sunday, Starkville Police Department officers and Oktibbeha County Hospital EMT's responded to 113 North Nash St. regarding an unresponsive male. The victim was identified as 22-year-old Mississippi State University student Thomas Parker Rodenbaugh. After further investigation, Starkville police arrested 21-year-old Skylar Noel O'Kelly of 220 Lincoln Green Rd. in Starkville. O'Kelly was charged with manslaughter/culpable negligence and possession of a controlled substance schedule 1 with intent over 40 dosage units. Police also arrested 19-year-old Daylin Deveaeux O'Kelly of 154 Christmas Lane in Madison on one count of possession of a controlled susbstance schedule 1 with intent over 40 dosage units. |
| Mississippi Association of Educators leader calls for larger teacher pay raise | |
 | The head of a state organization for educators wants teachers to receive a larger pay raise. Joyce Helmick, president of the Mississippi Association of Educators, said Monday she would like to see at least another $2,500 added to teachers' base pay, on top of the $2,500 approved by state lawmakers last year. Helmick made the remarks in an interview before reading to students at Verona Elementary School. She is touring about a dozen schools throughout the state to promote MAE's second "Be a Champion" reading contest. "We are trying to get our teachers to the Southeastern average for starting teachers because we don't want to lose our teachers to other states and to other occupations," Helmick said. |
| Bryant appoints Spreitler, Franklin to Board of Education | |
 | Gov. Phil Bryant has appointed Danny Spreitler and Johnny Franklin to the state Board of Education to serve unexpired terms of members leaving. Bryant said Spreitler and Franklin bring many years of education experience and "I know they are focused on improving the lives of all Mississippi children through education." |
| Nunnelee stroke recovery continues | |
| U.S. Rep. Alan Nunnelee, R-Miss., has revealed that he suffered a stroke when undergoing surgery for a brain tumor earlier this summer. He is making progress in his recovery from both, he said, but his timetable for returning to his Washington office remains uncertain. The stroke caused impaired speech and weakness on his left side, Nunnelee said in a statement released late Sunday night, and he continues to undergo therapy for both. He is expected to conclude radiation and chemotherapy at the Johns Hopkins Outpatient Center in Baltimore the last week in August, spokeswoman Elizabeth Parks said Monday. |
| McDaniel spokesman: Subpoena about 'vote-buying scheme' | |
| The spokesman for the Chris McDaniel campaign appears unfazed by his name appearing in a Lauderdale County grand jury subpoena. "While the context of the subpoena remains unclear at this time, it is clear that any ongoing investigation has to do with Sen. Cochran's alleged vote buying scheme as detailed in Rev. Fielder's lengthy interview with Charles Johnson at GotNews.com, and we are confident that Mississippi authorities will subpoena the email and text message records from Cochran staffers to Rev. Fielder detailing the alleged vote buying scheme," Noel Fritsch said in an email statement, which was originally given to The Daily Caller. |
| Robin Williams dies in apparent suicide; actor, comic was 63 | |
 | Robin Williams, a comic and sitcom star in the 1970s who became an Oscar-winning dramatic actor, died Monday at 63 in Marin County. The Marin County Sheriff's Office said he appears to have committed suicide. The news of the beloved actor's death rocked the nation. Channels broke into their usual programming to make the announcement, and within minutes, Williams dominated online trending topics. Even President Obama noted his passing. At Williams' home on a quiet street that backs onto stunning views of San Francisco Bay, neighbors and strangers began arriving Monday evening to lay flowers at the gate and share remembrances. |
| U. of Alabama College of Communication inducts five into Hall of Fame | |
 | The University of Alabama's College of Communication and Information Sciences will induct five new members into its Communication Hall of Fame during an event in October. The 2014 inductees include TV broadcaster William O. "Bill" Bolen, first-amendment attorney Gilbert E. "Gibby" Johnston, and award-winning actress Sela Ward. The college will also posthumously induct newspaper executive H. Shelton Prince Jr. and broadcaster Stan Siegal. |
| New UGA faculty set out on tour of Georgia | |
 | Nearly 40 University of Georgia faculty members set out Monday from the Georgia Center for Continuing Education to embark on a bus tour of the state. The New Faculty tour, revived last year by UGA President Jere Morehead after the economy shut it down for five years, will take the faculty members north to Alto and Dahlonega, then south as far as Savannah and Tifton. Much of the tour is designed to show the professors some of Georgia's economy; stops include Shaw Industries in Cartersville, Kia Motors Manufacturing in West Point, and Robins Air Force in Warner Robins. Representatives of 11 of the university's 17 colleges and schools are on the trip, according to Jennifer Frum, UGA's vice president for service and outreach. |
| U. of Florida program aims to train more pediatric rheumatologists | |
 | The University of Florida College of Medicine is establishing a new fellowship to help fill the long-standing national shortage of pediatricians specializing in childhood arthritis and other muscle, joint and bone conditions. The fellowship in pediatric rheumatology received initial accreditation on July 1 and will begin training its first doctor in July 2015. UF officials say it will be the first program of its kind in the state and one of only three dozen pediatric rheumatology fellowship programs across the country. |
| UF-spawned Prometheon Pharma uses crowdfunding in developing insulin patch for diabetes | |
| Sitting in his office, Dr. Stephen Hsu opened a small black carrying case to reveal an array of antique metal and glass syringes neatly arranged on the cushion inside. He plucks out a Becton-Dickinson model from circa 1922, the year of the first insulin injection by needle. Nearly a century later, technology hasn't changed much for diabetes patients, Hsu said, except for a transition to disposable plastic needles that end up as medical waste. Hsu and his University of Florida-spawned company, Prometheon Pharma, are looking to change that with an insulin patch they are trying to bring to market by 2018 as an alternative to needle injections. |
| Texas A&M opening center for Corps of Cadets for the 21st century | |
 | Texas A&M is expected to open a state-of-the-art learning center Thursday morning, making it the second of four planned centers designed to modernize facilities used by the Corps of Cadets. The Corps of Cadets will host the grand opening ceremony for the Grady Ash Leadership Learning Center with a 10 a.m. reception in the nearby Sanders Corps of Cadets Center. Speakers include retired Brig. Gen. Joe E. Ramirez, Corps commandant, and H. Grady Ash Jr., a 1958 graduate who is the namesake for the 17,000-square-foot center. The four-story building is connected to Leonard Hall, a dormitory inside the Quadrangle -- the historic home for the roughly 2,500 cadets. The learning center was built to provide 21st-century learning technology and study spaces to the cadets, Ramirez said. |
| The future of universities: The digital degree | |
 | From Oxford's quads to Harvard Yard and many a steel and glass palace of higher education in between, exams are giving way to holidays. As students consider life after graduation, universities are facing questions about their own future. The higher-education model of lecturing, cramming and examination has barely changed for centuries. Now, three disruptive waves are threatening to upend established ways of teaching and learning. |
| Election year politics seem to suppress tuition prices | |
 | Over much of the past half-century, state governors have helped keep public college tuition artificially low during gubernatorial election years, according to a new peer-reviewed article. But the study suggests more is at play than a governor's own career. The study, published in the June issue of Empirical Economics by Kent State University Professor C. Lockwood Reynolds, found inflation-adjusted tuition is 1.5 percent lower in gubernatorial election years than in other years. The pattern held true for both Republican and Democrat governors. |
| OUR OPINION: MPACT's reopening has stronger financial grid | |
| The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal editorializes: "The Mississippi Prepaid Affordable College Tuition program reopens Oct. 1 following last week's vote by the plan's board of directors approving a more expensive and more strongly funded plan. It will guarantee up to four years of full university tuition or two years of community college tuition regardless of cost increases, with investments usually made well ahead of anticipated college enrollment. ...A stronger plan, fully funded, was the only reasonable option in reopening." |
| CHARLIE MITCHELL (OPINION): Winter's focus remains a better Mississippi | |
| Longtime Mississippi journalist Charlie Mitchell writes: "As midday neared on a cool July day in Mississippi (strange as that sounds), a 91-year-old hopped (strange as that sounds) up the stage steps, approached and embraced the lectern at the Neshoba County Fair. The audience of about 400 -- mostly white, mostly Republican, mostly there to see if U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran was going to speak -- arose in unison and applauded enthusiastically for the lifelong Democrat. Yes, it was William Winter. Yes, he could pass for 70. Yes, he delivered a stem-winder. He was interrupted by applause time and again." |
SPORTS
| Different backgrounds make Mississippi State tight ends versatile | |
| They have to line up across from defensive lineman Chris Jones. They have to block a blitzing Benardrick McKinney. They, Mississippi State's tight ends, also have to lose defensive back Taveze Calhoun in coverage. In each aspect of their game, they're expected to win their matchups. "It's a very unique situation," MSU tight end coach Scott Sallach said. "They have to understand the run game, they have to understand the pass game, blitzes, coverages, protections, routes. The only person who has to know more than them is quarterback." |
| Mississippi State's Love, Calhoun 1-2 punch at corner | |
| The biggest question for Mississippi State entering last season was if the Bulldogs could replace Darius Slay and Thorpe Award winner Johnthan Banks at cornerback. Both Banks and Slay were selected in the second round of the NFL draft, leaving the Bulldogs almost barren of starting experience at the position -- and with a new coach, Deshea Townsend, in his first year working at the college level. But as bleak as the outlook appeared, MSU fared quite well in 2013 as Jamerson Love and Taveze Calhoun broke through with three interceptions each during the season and return as one of the top cornerback tandems in the league. "I think we learned a lot last year just getting out there and getting some experience," Calhoun said. |
| Starting positions up for grabs among veteran Bulldogs | |
 | Before the Bulldogs begin their 2014 football schedule, players must face their first competitor -- each other. With a deep and experienced roster returning from the 2013 season, the Bulldogs are competing for starting roles at multiple positions. Sophomore defensive lineman A.J. Jefferson is competing for a starting position in the defensive rotation this fall. He said although each lineman is competing against each other, the players are improving individually. "(My teammates) are pushing me because I'm pushing them. Ryan (Brown) and Preston (Smith) don't want to slip up and let me pass, and at the same time I'm competing harder to get passed them," he said. "We're all working hard but making each other better." |
| Gridiron memberships still available for Mississippi State football | |
 | Mississippi State football season ticket holders still have the opportunity to purchase Gridiron memberships for the 2014 season but supply is going fast. Over 70 percent of Gridiron membership inventory has been exhausted. The Gridiron is a new premium area that transforms the north end zone into a personal lounge. Opening two hours before kickoff and available until the final whistle sounds, the Gridiron provides an exhilarating fan experience at field level. The Gridiron comes serviced with drinks, food, locker service and high definition televisions. |
| Bulldogs wrap European basketball tour with win | |
| Freshmen Victoria Vivians and LaKaris Salter each posted double-doubles as Mississippi State closed its European exhibition tour with a 124-30 win against Aoste Select Monday night in front of a standing-room only crowd in the town. Vic Schaefer's squad wrapped a perfect run through the tour, and capped the slate in front of the largest crowd of the tour. A festive atmosphere packed the gymnasium, and the Bulldogs showed their appreciation by greeting the fans and signing autographs. |
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