| Monday, January 12, 2015 |
| Mississippi State's Keenum encourages THS students to keep learning | |
 | The world is changing rapidly, the president of Mississippi State University told Tupelo High School students on Friday. Its population is quickly growing too, Mark Keenum said. That's why today's students must be ready to adapt. "The only way you can prepare yourself for the world of the future is to get the best education and the most education you possibly can," he said. Keenum visited the school on Friday and spoke to about 300 THS juniors and seniors inside the school's Performing Arts Center. He told them about the importance of higher education -- whether that is a university, a community college or a post-secondary certification. The presentation was a good opportunity for students to hear the larger vision of what they can expect after they graduate from high school, THS Principal Jason Harris said. |
| Mississippi State's President Challenges Tupelo Students to Pursue Excellence | |
 | The president of Mississippi State University challenged hundreds of students at Tupelo High School to do more than what is expected of them and to have a definite plan for post secondary education. Friday morning, Dr. Mark Keenum spoke to seniors and some advanced placement students at THS. The president of MSU talked about the rapid changes in the world of education in the past 30 years. "Employers today are looking for advanced education, again my message is to stay focused, work hard, apply yourself, have a life of integrity and have respect for other people, these are just skills and values that I also try to instill and make young people aware of to be successful, again, in life," he said. |
| Carnegie Foundation Recognizes Mississippi State for Community Engagement | |
| The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching this week congratulated more than 350 colleges and universities for their engagement with local communities. Mississippi State University earned the community engagement classification during Carnegie's 2010 selection process and is among those being recognized along with 83 institutions receiving the classification for the first time and another 157 being re-classified after earning their original designation in 2006 or 2008. MSU was among 121 institutions that gained the 2010 classification. |
| Foundation honors Mississippi State community engagement programs | |
 | The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has honored Mississippi State for its engagement with local communities across the state. MSU was among 350 colleges and universities to receive the recognition. Mississippi State was selected for several projects including the Body Walk, Camp Jabber Jaw and the Harrison County Beach Project. |
| Mississippi State students explore sweet potato uses | |
 | Challenged to develop alternative uses for culled sweet potatoes, Mississippi State University students really thought outside the box. Cosmetics, feminine hygiene products and deer attractants were among the student proposals in the first Sweet Potato Innovation Challenge at MSU. Phase one of the challenge took place during the fall semester, and student presentations in December included requests for research and development grants. April Heiselt, director of MSU's Center for Advancement of Service-Learning Excellence, helped develop the challenge. She said MSU faculty developed service-learning classes and took their students on field trips to the heart of the state's sweet potato industry to learn about the process and challenges of growing and marketing potatoes. |
| Jackson Architect, Mississippi State Alumna Being Honored by Alma Mater | |
| Anne Marie Decker is Mississippi State's School of Architecture 2015 Eminent Architect of Practice. Decker, a 1994 summa cum laude graduate of the university and an American Institute of Architects member, will be working with the fifth-year studio faculty at the school's downtown Jackson's Stuart C. Irby Jr. Studios. She will be helping seniors produce required capstone comprehensive projects for their final semester. "This semester-long faculty appointment is reserved for nationally recognized, award-winning architects to become an integral part of the studio teaching experience at MSU and most importantly, to interact, energize and critique student projects," said Michael Berk, the school's director and holder of the F.L. Crane Professorship. |
| PHOTO: Mississippi State University-Meridian student interns heading into classrooms | |
 | Duanika Emerson, an elementary education major from the Clarkdale community is one of 32 student interns from Mississippi State University-Meridian heading into classrooms on Monday in 10 school districts across east Mississippi. The division of education at MSU-Meridian offers undergraduate degrees in teaching and graduate degrees in teaching, counseling and school administration. The division's newest degree is kinesiology. |
| Mississippi State's Black Voices to Compete in Inaugural U.S. Gospel Choir Event | |
| Mississippi State's 50-member Black Voices Gospel Choir will be among participants March 7 in the first National College Choir Explosion. Taking place at the historic Louisville Palace Theater in Kentucky, the musical competition also will include choirs from nine other institutions of higher learning. In addition to Kentucky and Mississippi, they will be coming from New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Founded Feb. 1, 1972, Black Voices of MSU is an outreach ministry established to serve as "the primary arena of souls to minister to the campus of Mississippi State University." |
| Time running out for Oktibbeha bond petitioners | |
 | Although petitioners hoping to force a $13.2 million-maximum Oktibbeha County School District bond to an election were short of signatures Saturday to force such a move, organizers stepped up door-to-door canvassing efforts this weekend and say they're optimistic they'll hit the threshold to move the issue to the polls. Aubrey Ray, a Sturgis resident and former school superintendent, and Dennis Daniels, who is running as a Republican for District 3's supervisor seat, confirmed they and other activists have collected roughly 900 signatures since late December. If delivered to the school district by noon Tuesday, a petition of 20 percent of eligible Oktibbeha County voters -- about 1,700 people -- could force the issuance to the polls. |
| Starkville police make arrest in stolen packages case | |
| Starkville police arrested a man Thursday after an investigation into the theft of delivery packages taken from homes throughout the city. Officers say Teddy Dwaine Blair, 44, had two warrants signed on him for possession of stolen property. Blair was originally picked up by the Oktibbeha County Sheriff's Department and transferred over to the police department. |
| Mississippi museums get $2.5M gift -- the biggest so far | |
| Mississippi's two new museums received a $2.5 million gift Friday -- the largest so far. The gift came from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, which is run by his son, Ray H. Neilsen, and from Neilsen himself. "I could live anywhere I want to live and yet I choose to live here," he said. The Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum are under construction across from the state Fairgrounds. The latter museum is the nation's only state-funded civil rights museum. Both museums are slated to open in December 2017 for the state's bicentennial celebration. Both Myrlie Evers and former Gov. William Winter thanked Neilsen for his gift. Winter said Mississippi is made up of only one race -- the human race. |
| East Mississippi Business Development Corporation board to hire search firm for president | |
| A professional search firm will be selected within the next two weeks to find the East Mississippi Business Development Corporation's new president. The EMBDC has been without a president since Wade Jones resigned from the post in September after 13 years. Bob Luke, chairman of the board for the EMBDC, said the process has taken some time because it's about finding the right fit for Meridian/Lauderdale County and the surrounding region. "It's more important that we're getting the right person," Luke said. "We want to do it the right way and not rush through it." Luke said the process has been ongoing and the focus has been on finding the right search firm. |
| Entergy makes plans for solar farm in Brookhaven | |
 | The city of Brookhaven has been chosen to take part in a program headed by Entergy that will help the entity learn more about the ins and outs of solar power in the state. In a proposal approved by the Mississippi Public Service Commission in December, Entergy received permission to install three 500,000-watt solar panel farms in the state: one in the northern region, Senatobia; one in the central region, Jackson; and one in the southern region, Brookhaven. "In Mississippi, weather can vary greatly throughout the state," said Bill Howard, customer service manager of the Brookhaven/McComb Entergy networks. "These three sites will give us the ability to evaluate viability of different conditions such as cloud cover and sun that will help us gain understanding of how location affects solar energy in the state." |
| Area legislators want more on initiative alternative | |
| Rep. Gary Chism R-Columbus, says if the legislative leadership opts to offer an alternative to the citizen-sponsored education funding initiative that will be on the November ballot, he will vote for it. Rep. Steve Holland, D-Plantersville, says he will vote against it. Holland and Chism are the exception rather than the rule among Northeast Mississippi legislators who were queried this past week -- the first of the 2015 session -- on whether they will support an alternative proposal. "I am going to do whatever the leadership decides to do," said Chism, who is chair of the Insurance Committee. Most area legislators say they want more details before committing to voting for or against an alternative proposal that has been discussed by the legislative leadership, but has yet to be revealed. |
| Analysis: Study finds no easy school efficiency answers | |
 | Those who oppose spending as much as Mississippi's K-12 funding formula demands have basically two linked positions: that the state is spending enough already, and that if school districts got more money, they'd just waste it. Last week, a legislative watchdog committee released a report looking at just that subject. The Joint Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review looked at 14 districts, including seven that spend less per student than the state average but get higher test scores, and seven that spend more per student and get lower-than-average test scores. "PEER could not identify specific efficiency drivers within the selected school districts that could be compiled into a best practices list," the report's authors wrote. |
| Officials: Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center is 'a go' | |
| Over a decade in planning, the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center has cleared a big fundraising hurdle and ground could break on the project by late summer. MAEC Executive Director Marty Gamblin said nearly $19 million has been raised privately. With another $5 million appropriated by the state of Mississippi, and $3 million pledged by the city and county, the initial funds needed to begin the $45 million project are nearly there. Greg Snowden, Mississippi House of Representatives speaker pro tempore, said the state has earmarked $25 million toward the center. "The state has pledged an additional $20 million," Snowden said. "We will do it in $5 million increments through a bond issue for each of the next four years on top of the first $5 million we appropriated to start it. We are very supportive of this project." |
| Seven Southern States Plan Their Own Super Tuesday for 2016 Race | |
 | A potential Southern Super Tuesday with as many seven states voting near the start of the presidential primary calendar could become a pivotal moment in the 2016 GOP nomination battle. Georgia's secretary of state is leading an effort to hold a regional primary on March 1 next year that could include Texas and Florida, the nation's second- and third-most-populous states. Non-Southern states also could hold elections that day. The timetable could boost candidates who can afford expensive media markets and who have ties to the region. Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp said Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas are on board to join his state for a March 1 primary, "giving the South more bang for our buck." |
| Obama turning to cybersecurity in buildup to State of the Union | |
 | President Obama on Monday will propose a pair of new bills designed to boost cybersecurity protections in the wake of a massive data breach at Sony Pictures that drew new questions about the nation's readiness to respond to online attacks. The president will propose the Personal Data Notification & Protection Act, a bill that would require all corporations to notify consumers within a month if their personal information had been exposed in a data breach. The bill would also criminalize the overseas trade of identify information. He'll also unveil the Student Digital Privacy Act. The announcements, which will be unveiled during a speech at the Federal Trade Commission offices on Monday, are part of a weeklong focus on cybersecurity by the president. |
| Iowa's Largest City Sues Over Farm Fertilizer Runoff In Rivers | |
 | Des Moines, Iowa, is confronting the farms that surround it over pollution in two rivers that supply the city with drinking water. The Des Moines Water Works says it will sue three neighboring counties for high nitrate levels in the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers. It's a novel attempt to control fertilizer runoff from farms, which has been largely unregulated. Drinking water quality is only one of the problems that fertilizer runoff causes. Many programs have been set up to try to solve the problem. Scientists have created tools to help farmers minimize their use of fertilizer. |
| USM grad glad she took on Broken Skull challenge | |
 | University of Southern Miss grad Francis Parq made it to the second round of Stone Cold Steve Austin's Broken Skull Challenge, broadcast Sunday evening on CMT. As the show got underway, Austin greeted Parq and the seven other women she was competing against. Austin asked Parq why she was competing. "To prove women are strong," she told him. "I'm tired of people saying we are weak." Parq, a fitness studio owner now living in Los Angeles, said she hopes she was an example to women who want to be strong and physically fit. |
| MDOT to prep Delta State campus for winter weather | |
 | The Mississippi Department of Transportation will be on Delta State's campus for a Winter Weather College Tour Jan. 20 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the first floor lobby of the H.L. Nowell Student Union. Winter weather is coming, and MDOT wants Delta State to be prepared. All students and community residents are invited to learn trips for safe driving this winter. According to MDOT, one of the best ways to stay safe is to make preparations before winter weather conditions occur. MDOT will be providing information about safe driving tips, ways to prepare vehicles for winter and ideas on how to make emergency kits for cars. |
| Louisiana treasurer wants to direct some contracts to colleges and universities | |
 | Legislation likely to come up in the legislative session this year would direct some contracts for state services to colleges and universities. As Louisiana colleges and universities brace for future funding cuts, state Treasurer John Kennedy is proposing the measure, which he says would address concerns about a lack of oversight of non-government organizations, or NGOs, that get state contracts, while also providing more money for cash-strapped colleges and universities. "It would solve a problem for the state and help our universities at the same time," Kennedy said. LSU leaders have said the university would welcome an opportunity to tap into state contracts. |
| U. of Florida's Career Resource Center a model for colleges nationwide | |
 | On a sunny day during finals week at the University of Florida, Erika Lusky sat in the library of the Career Resource Center, working on crafting a personal statement for a law school admissions application with the help of student career ambassador Paulette Santa-Parzons. Lusky is applying for admission to the UF College of Law and several schools in the Northeast. "It has definitely given me a lot of guidance," Lusky said of the resource center and Santa-Parzons. Santa-Parzons, a senior in elementary education, is one of several students who help fellow students polish their resumes, fill out job applications and provide other guidance to students seeking employment. Because of the massive success of the Career Resource Center, which is constantly ranked among the top 10 in the nation, it's going through some growing pains. To help ease that pain, the university is spending $5.1 million to expand the center by 7,000 square feet and renovate existing space. |
| Chess conference at UGA promotes art, entrepreneurship | |
 | Nearly 270 students, parents and community leaders gathered at the UGA Tate Student Center for the Chess and Community Conference Saturday. The conference centered around a chess competition, but in its third year broadened its goals. This year, organizers encouraged students to address the issue of poverty in the Athens community and make a difference through their own success. Keynote speaker Fenwick Broyard, Executive Director of Community Connection of Northeast Georgia, spoke on the merits of entrepreneurship, calling upon students to pursue their goals relentlessly and to "live boldly." |
| U. of Kentucky, state, part of $259-million composite materials initiative | |
 | The University of Kentucky and the state of Kentucky are among the partners in a $259 million initiative, announced Friday by President Obama, that will come up with stronger, lighter weight composite materials. The U.S. Department of Energy selected the Institute for Advance Composites Manufacturing Innovation, which will be led by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, to focus new efforts on creating better composite materials and technologies for rapid deployment in the automotive, wind turbine and compressed gas storage industries. UK's research, through the Center for Applied Energy Research, will focus on producing low cost, high strength carbon fibers for lightweight composite structures for improved vehicle energy efficiency. |
| Texas A&M's Easterwood Airport hires new manager from Mississippi | |
 | Texas A&M's Easterwood Airport has a new airport manager, seven months after management of day-to-day operations were transferred to College Station-based Astin Limited. Josh Abramson, executive director of the Tupelo Regional Airport in Mississippi, will lead Easterwood starting in February. Astin Limited took over operations of the university-owned airport in June 2014, agreeing to invest $7 million in capital improvements to the general aviation terminal and hangars. |
| U. of Missouri rolls out voluntary buyout for academic administrators | |
 | The University of Missouri rolled out a voluntary buyout program this week for 28 eligible academic administrators who also are tenured faculty members. The eligible employees received letters about the Voluntary Separation Program on Thursday, MU spokeswoman Mary Jo Banken said in an email. The buyout for these administrators has the same requirements as the buyout program announced for faculty members in September. Those eligible for the program must be academic administrators as of Sept. 1, 2014, be at least 62 and retirement-eligible by Aug. 31, 2015, according to a letter from MU Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin that went out to academic administrators. |
| University sexual discrimination cases may use lower burden of evidence | |
| When the University of Missouri Faculty Council heard about the drafted procedures for handling cases of professors being accused of sexual discrimination under Title IX, they were told the trial-like hearing to decide whether a violation occurred would use a "preponderance of evidence" as the burden of proof. For most people, including many in the faculty, the phrase was just legal jargon with little meaning. But it has a real effect on the outcome of future university cases involving claims of sexual discrimination, harassment and violence. Marsha Fischer, the UM System lawyer who helped explain the new procedure to faculty, said the standard is used often in civil cases and in civil rights issues, and is different from "reasonable doubt," the standard used in criminal cases. |
| White House plan could change relationship between government and higher education | |
 | President Obama's proposal to make community college free could rearrange the relationship between the federal government, states and colleges. Behind the talk of a free two-year college education is a shift in the federal government's role. Conservatives are saying the president's plan may go too far -- calling it a federal regulatory regime dressed up as a free tuition plan. For others, a federal government that spends more than $140 billion a year on higher education is justified in attempting to get the right bang for its buck. The White House said its effort would be a "restructuring the community college experience." Other details remain unclear -- and whether the idea will ever become law is an open question -- but the White House is tying some strings to the money and asking states and their community colleges to be accountable directly to the federal government if they want to qualify for aid. |
| Free-College Plan Evokes Spirit of Historic Higher Ed Acts | |
 | With a proposal that would send millions of students to community colleges free, President Obama joins a line of national leaders who have asked taxpayers to foot other people's tuition bills for the greater public good. The president's plan, still short on details, has been described by higher-education experts as a clarion call in the spirit of the original GI Bill, which became law in 1944, or the Pell Grant program, which was created by Congress in 1972. The GI Bill sent almost eight million veterans of World War II to college, and the Pell Grant program assists millions of low-income students each year. Given the polarized political environment, there is considerable skepticism that President Obama's proposal has any realistic chance of passing through the Republican-controlled Congress. Nevertheless, the president has spawned a national conversation about whether the cost burden for community-college tuition ought to be shifted from individuals to taxpayers. |
| DENNIS SEID (OPINION): Toyota Mississippi cranking out Corollas | |
| The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's Dennis Seid writes: "The 2,000 team members, as Toyota calls its employees at the automaker's plant in Blue Springs, have got this car-building thing down pat. In just its third full year of production, the facility built more than 189,000 Corolla sedans. Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi rolled out its first car in October 2011, and it's been rolling ever since. Another feather in the cap: TMMMS has built nearly a half-million cars in just over three years. As of Dec. 31, it had produced 479,544 vehicles. Next month, Toyota Mississippi will hit the 500,000 mark. That is a record pace; never before has a Toyota plant reached that milestone any earlier." |
| GEOFF PENDER (OPINION): Creeping bureaucratic sprawl continues | |
| The Clarion-Ledger's Geoff Pender writes: "The vast, creeping bureaucratic sprawl of Mississippi's agencies, boards and commissions is like the weather: Everybody talks about it, but nobody does anything about it. Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann broached the subject again last week. He was talking to hundreds of business leaders from across the state of the need to consolidate or eliminate many of the state's 206 agencies, boards and commissions. They are run by some 1,800 appointees and they regulate everything from acupuncture (yes, there's a board for that) to veterinarians. ...despite state leaders' talk of wanting government to run more like a business, much of it is still run like 206 individual lemonade stands." |
| BILL CRAWFORD (OPINION): Keep education funding out of the courts | |
 | Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: "The Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) that was designed to keep education funding out of court is now in court, and may stay there for years to come. ...How ironic that a program designed to avoid litigation is becoming dependent on litigation. ...Education funding does not need to be in the courts -- or in the constitution which precipitates court involvement." |
| SID SALTER (OPINION): Mississippi Adequate Education Program battle will be two fronts | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: "The brewing battle over what the Mississippi Legislature does with the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) conflict will be defined both by numbers and by language. Proponents of the Better Schools, Better Jobs group are pushing a ballot initiative to amend Section 201 of the Mississippi Constitution to require that the state provide and the Legislature fully fund an 'adequate and efficient' public school system. As to language, the state's initiative and referendum law presents a clear obstacle to the constitutional amendment proponents and it's all about language. ...Bottom line? The Legislature is unlikely to surrender control of the budgetary process without a fight -- and a big one at that." |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State baseball inches closer to season start | |
| There's nothing about the area's current weather that suggests baseball season is coming. But even the brutally cold temperatures of the past week can't stop the countdown. When Tuesday rolls into Wednesday this week, the Mississippi State baseball team, ranked in the top 20 according to Collegiate Baseball, will be less than a month away from its season opener against Cincinnati. The Bulldogs and Bearcats will tangle on Feb 13 at Dudy Noble Field. Asked about his team improving on 2014, MSU coach John Cohen was optimistic. "I think part of it was that we had some new players in key places," said Cohen. The Bulldogs play their first 24 games at home, and will not leave Starkville until a Southeastern Conference series at Kentucky in late March. |
| Vanderbilt women upset No. 14 Mississippi State | |
| Morgan Batey matched her career-high with 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Vanderbilt handed No. 14 Mississippi State its first loss of the season 78-62 on Sunday. Mississippi State (18-1, 3-1 SEC) had held 13 of its past 14 opponents to less 60 points. Vanderbilt's Paris Kea scored the Commodores' 60th point with 5:28 left for a 60-51 lead. Breanna Richardson led Mississippi State with 16 points. Victoria Vivians had 12 and Martha Alwal 10. The Bulldogs forced Vanderbilt into 24 turnovers, but went to the line 14 fewer times. |
| LOGAN LOWERY (OPINION): Rough ending won't mar Bulldogs' season | |
| The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's Logan Lowery writes: "The sting of three losses in the final four games is still resonating through the Mississippi State fan base. Many are asking questions of how a season so full of promise could end so badly and without any hardware to show for its efforts. But I suggest that those feelings will be short-lived and those same fans will look back fondly on the ride the Bulldogs took them on during the 2014 campaign. ...All of the attention helped State establish itself as a national brand and now it will be the marketing department's job to capitalize on that moving forward." |
| Chad Kelly has work to do, but on his way to Ole Miss | |
| Ole Miss quarterback commit Chad Kelly left for Oxford today, though his future remains ever so slightly uncertain. Kelly still has one unspecified requirement to fill for coach Hugh Freeze, but could complete it as soon as on Monday. Kelly was expected to leave New York for Oxford on Sunday, with the understanding that he has not been cleared as of yet. If Kelly is eligible, he's expected to compete for Ole Miss' starting quarterback job for the 2015 season with returning redshirt sophomores Ryan Buchanan and DeVante Kincade. Kelly's future was thrown for a loop, however, after a December arrest following a bar fight. |
| Vandy rape trial to begin; case seen as victim 'catalyst' | |
 | Despite all of the national attention on Monday, the opening day in the trial of two former Vanderbilt University football players accused of rape, some people are looking back a couple decades. On Oct. 3, 1995, a California jury found O.J. Simpson not guilty of murdering his wife. The trial was a game-changing event, said Kathy Walsh, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence. TV cameras were glued to Simpson and the courtroom, sending the trial live to millions of households. "That brought about a greater awareness to domestic violence," Walsh said. "A lot of things started happening as a result of that." The Vanderbilt case is set to begin Monday in a Davidson County courtroom with jury selection. |
| Experts work to make A&M's Kyle Field bat-free after renovation | |
| The 12th Man has had to share its Kyle Field home with an estimated 250,000 bats in recent years, but a Texas A&M University official and bat experts say it is unlikely fans will see much of the winged residents in the stadium by the time the $485 million renovation project is complete. The combination of thorough exclusion efforts made by Texas A&M to rid the 87-year-old stadium of Mexican free-tailed bats and the timing of the west side implosion will force a majority the state's official flying mammal to roost elsewhere when they return to their renovated home from wintering in Mexico. The push to rid the stadium of bats could save the university thousands of dollars every year by not having to clean their droppings, but could increase human-bat contact in the area for a short time, one of the very things the exclusion effort was intended to reduce. |
| Company owned by former Wildcat installing new Commonwealth turf at U. of Kentucky | |
| Someone who actually played at Commonwealth Stadium will be a big part of putting synthetic turf down there for the first time in the venue's history. Doug Vescio, a member of Kentucky's Southeastern Conference championship and Peach Bowl team of 1976, owns SportsFields, which won the bid to put in turf at the stadium once construction equipment is off the field. The contract was won by Vescio's SportsFields to the tune of $672,500. Marc Hill, UK's executive associate athletic director for internal operations, said the timeline -- which is weather dependent -- has turf work starting at Commonwealth Stadium after the massive cranes are off the field in April and May. |
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