| Monday, July 13, 2015 |
| Mississippi State president: Time to talk about changing flag | |
 | Mississippi State University President Dr. Mark Keenum issued a statement Thursday calling for Mississippi to debate whether the state should change its flag. "Flags should unite us and bring us together, not divide us," Keenum said. "The tragic events in South Carolina and the evolving national debate over the state flag is a debate that should take place today in Mississippi." In April 2001, Mississippi voters rejected a proposal to change the state's flag to remove the Confederate flag from its canton by an almost 2-to-1 margin. Keenum referenced an earlier vote, however, to supports his argument. On Feb. 9, 2001, two months before the state-wide vote, the MSU faculty senate voted 26-0 with five abstentions to support the proposed alternative flag offered as a choice for voters. |
| Mullen, Freeze among coaches opposed to flag | |
 | The biggest names on the campuses of Mississippi State and Ole Miss, including Dan Mullen, Ben Howland, Hugh Freeze and Andy Kennedy, are in favor of changing the state flag, a spokesperson from each school told The Clarion-Ledger on Friday. Bill Martin said Mississippi State's coaches stand by the statement released by university President Mark Keenum on Thursday that also supported a new flag. "Flags should unite us and bring us together, not divide us. The tragic events in South Carolina and the evolving national debate over the state flag is a debate that should take place today in Mississippi," said Keenum in a released statement. Both Mullen and Freeze will likely be asked to address the issue of Mississippi's state flag during SEC Media Days. Mullen will be in Hoover, Alabama on Tuesday. |
| MSU SMART Bus Routes Expanding | |
 | A public transportation system linking the Starkville community with riders from the Mississippi State University campus is extending its routes as it continues the mission of safely transporting riders. For the last few weeks the buses have been running in new directions. "And what we've seen is that there is now a great reliance on that system for the movement of people inn the city of Starkville. Not just for students and its been a tremendous asset we feel for the betterment of the community and quality of life for those who don't have vehicles and other modes of transportation," said Jeremiah Dumas, the director of MSU Parking & Transit. Future plans for the transit system calls for a regional approach. |
| Tickets on sale for multiple CMA Award-winning Mississippian's concert at MSU | |
| Mac McAnally, seven-time Country Music Association musician of the year, will perform Sept. 10 at Mississippi State. The former Tishomingo County resident's 7:30 p.m. concert in Lee Hall's Bettersworth Auditorium is being sponsored by the university's College of Education and its music department. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. McAnally currently holds the record for longest winning streak in CMA award history, topping all other recording artists and musicians in the genre. Also known for his exceptional guitar and songwriting skills, he is a regular collaborating performer with other major artists, including Jimmy Buffett, Kenny Chesney and Zac Brown. |
| MSU Riley Center Fall/Winter Series: A season of artists who know how to thrill | |
 | Singing legends and fresh young talents, theatrical productions that delights children and intrigue adults, and an athletic, creative contemporary dance company will entertain Meridian as part of the MSU Riley Center's Fall/Winter Series. The series gets off to a romantic start on Aug. 24 with ballad singer, heartthrob and Grammy winner Michael Bolton. "We serve a wonderfully diverse community, so we always face the fun challenge of finding exciting performers who appeal to a wide variety of tastes," said Dennis Sankovich, executive director of the MSU Riley Center. "We're really pleased to bring such a dynamic set of artists to the MSU Riley Center stage for our Fall/Winter Series. As different as they all are from each other, they do have one thing in common: They really know how to thrill an audience." |
| Price, numbers are up for beef cattle in state | |
 | Record beef cattle prices are making Mississippi producers happy to be in the business this summer. Brian Williams, a Mississippi State University Extension Service agricultural economist, said 400- to 500-pound Mississippi calves are selling for $282.50 per hundredweight, and 700- to 800-pound steers are selling for $200 per hundredweight. "Mississippi feeder cattle prices are higher this year than a year ago by about $20 to $30 more per hundred pounds," Williams said. Brandi Karisch, Extension beef cattle specialist, said many producers are expanding their herds and keeping more heifers so they can have more calves in the future. "Calves are selling for $1,500 or more now through the local sale barn," Karisch said. "With current record high prices, producers are even more mindful to take the best care of these valuable calves." |
| Southern rust reported in 19 counties in Mississippi | |
 | As the 2015 southern corn crop reaches the final stages, reports of increased disease incidence continue to surface in some areas of the Mid-South. Southern rust has been reported in 19 counties in Mississippi, and some have been advocating spraying for the disease to reduce yield losses. Northern corn leaf blight has also been reported in some fields. Tom Allen, Extension plant pathologist with Mississippi State University, has been responding to calls about the Southern rust and has scouted fields in three counties -- Grenada, Leflore and Tallahatchie. |
| More jobs coming to Oktibbeha County | |
 | A Starkville manufacturing company has announced an expansion of operations and the creation of 100 new jobs. DPM Fragrance and state leaders announced Monday plans for the $5 million expansion. The new facility will be located on 25 acres of land in Cornerstone Park off Highway 25. The Mississippi Development Authority, Appalachian Regional Commission and the Golden Triangle Development LINK provided support for the expansion project. |
| Staff changes, probation commonplace with current Starkville administration | |
| Chanteau Wilson joined a growing list of Starkville employees in visible, high-profile positions that have either been forced out of their jobs or placed on probation by aldermen since the current board took office two years ago. The mayor's former administrative assistant was given an ultimatum by aldermen Tuesday: either resign by 10 a.m. Wednesday or expect to be terminated from her position. Mayor Parker Wiseman confirmed Wilson was fired after she did not accept the board's terms. Reiterating his comments after Tuesday's decision, Wiseman said the board's action was unwarranted. He also commended Wilson, who worked in her position for four years, for her service. Starkville has seen wholesale employment changes since aldermen took office in July 2013. |
| Parks report will compare Starkville's policies to national standards | |
| An upcoming report on Starkville Parks and Recreation will compare the department's policies to standards set by the National Recreation and Park Association in an attempt to give aldermen a guidepost for managing it in the future, advisory board members said Thursday. The document, which was previously scheduled to be presented to aldermen by the end of June, is expected to be finalized early next month after unforeseen scheduling conflicts prevented the Starkville Parks Advisory Board from meeting in recent weeks. Four SPAB members -- former Alderman Sumner Davis, former SPR Director Matthew Rye and former Starkville Park Commission members Dorothy Isaac and Betty Robinson -- picked up discussions Thursday and focused talks on the department's accountability, or lack thereof, in the past. The group took many issues within the park system to task, from the failure to address work orders to the former autonomous board's inability to set and execute basic policies. |
| Solar farms a go in Lowndes | |
| After a slight change of venue -- no more than 100 feet -- Brandon Presley, northern district commissioner for the Mississippi Public Service Commission, signed the approval documents that will allow work on a pair of solar farms in Lowndes County. Originally scheduled to be held on the steps of the Lowndes County Courthouse, the short ceremony was shifted to the shade. "We thought, given the subject matter, that it would be a good idea to have this event in the sunshine," said Presley, who was already sweating through his white dress shirt at the 11 a.m. ceremony which began with the temperature hitting 90 degrees. "It's a little too hot for that." Tennessee-based Silicon Ranch Investment announced in March its plans to build two solar farms on 10 acres it purchased in Lowndes County near the Golden Triangle Industrial Park. |
| Neshoba County Fair just weeks away | |
| The Neshoba County Fair, "Mississippi's Giant House Party" may be only two weeks away, but the fairgrounds is already bustling with activity. Campers and cabin-owners have begun to move into what will be their home away from home for eight days, according to Neshoba County Fair Association Board of Directors President Gilbert Donald. "Between the campers and cabins we have about about 1,200 units on the fairgrounds that will soon be occupied," Donald said. "This is the fourth year, which is the political year in Mississippi, and it is always a big year at the Neshoba County Fair because of the politics," Donald said. |
| Officials not worried by low state revenue collections | |
 | State revenue collections grew by a modest 2.4 percent to $5.53 billion for the just-completed fiscal year -- $31.1 million below the official estimate developed by legislative leaders on the advice of the state's financial experts. State leaders and budget analysts say the shortfall will have limited impact -- if any -- on their budgeting efforts. If revenue collections drop significantly below the estimate, it can force budget cuts to education, universities and various state agencies or the use of reserve funds to make up the difference. But Debbie Rubisoff, director of the Legislative Budget Committee staff, recently told members of the House Appropriations Committee that missing the estimate by $31.1 million when talking about total revenue of $5.53 billion is not that significant. |
| State eyes options for failing schools | |
 | When Gov. Phil Bryant approved plans by the Mississippi Department of Education last week to take over the Tunica County school district, it was a familiar process. Mississippi has taken over a district at least 19 times since 1996. Tunica joins Oktibbeha County and North Panola on the list of districts that have been taken over twice. More than just bad academic performance is needed for the state to step in. The usual sparks are looming insolvency, political squabbling, or a suspicion by state officials that the district is lying to the state. And the academic outcomes of state takeovers are not so great. |
| An opportunity gamed away | |
 | Tunica's strike-it-rich narrative is a rarity in the Deep South. But the disappointing way it played out shows how fundamental -- and possibly intractable -- the problems are in an area that lags behind the rest of the country as the poorest region with the least economic opportunity. A major research study last year on upward mobility, measuring a poor child's chances of climbing the economic ladder, found that Tunica had less opportunity than all but six other counties in the United States -- scattered across Alaska, South Dakota and Virginia. The Deep South itself is home to more than half of the most punishing counties. |
| Confederate Flap Imperils Appropriations' August Deadline | |
 | Last week's messy fight over Confederate flag amendments to the Interior-Environment spending measure -- which culminated in pulling the bill from the House floor -- has thrown the legislative calendar into flux. Republican leaders, unable to pass the seventh of the 12 annual spending bills, are now no longer planning to bring up the eighth fiscal 2016 Financial Services-General Government this week. It's unclear whether this puts the brakes on the rest of the appropriations process of which Republican leadership had been so proud, moving measures through the legislative pipeline at the fastest clip in decades -- even though the bills never stood a chance of begin signed into law under Democratic opposition and presidential veto threats. |
| Year-End Budget Fight Is Taking Shape | |
 | The budget fight shaping up in Congress looks increasingly likely to simmer until a face-off at the end of the year forces a fiscal reckoning---or a fiscal wreck. The GOP-controlled Congress must take action by October to avoid a shutdown when funding expires. But with Democrats and Republicans at an impasse over spending levels, lawmakers have suggested they may end up passing a three-month patch to keep the government running through year-end. That would set up another December scramble on top of the usual renewals of expiring tax breaks and confirming of nominees. Two thorny issues, the debt ceiling and highway funding, could require congressional action before year-end. And party leaders will have an added incentive to wrap up any contentious issues before 2016 campaigns go into full swing. |
| Cochran seeks millions for Mississippi-built cutter | |
| Sen. Thad Cochran used his clout as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee last month to add $640 million to a spending bill for a ninth Coast Guard National Security Cutter to be built in his home state of Mississippi. The Coast Guard, however, says it doesn't need the ship and made that clear to lawmakers. Cochran said he pushed to include the money in the fiscal 2016 Homeland Security appropriations bill because it's "important to our national security." The Appropriations Committee approved the spending bill June 18, and it now heads to the Senate floor. The Senate banned earmarking, lawmakers' practice of inserting money for home-state projects into spending bills, in 2010. But it's still possible for a powerful committee chairman like Cochran to steer funds to his state. Cochran defended the move, saying the cutter is needed to help protect against terrorism and other threats, and would help the Coast Guard modernize its fleet. |
| U. of Alabama part of study on bumblebees' genetics, adaptability | |
 | Jeff Lozier, an assistant professor at the University of Alabama, is headed west again this summer in search of bumblebees. His journey is part of a three-year grant to study how the physical build and genetics of two species found across the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges might relate to their habitats. The National Science Foundation recently awarded Lozier and collaborators at the University of Wyoming and Utah State University a three-year $1 million grant for the research. The group has been working on the project for the past two years to gather preliminary data for the grant. They expect to complete their field work by next summer, said Lozier, a biologist. |
| Auburn University youth programs welcome thousands of students from around globe | |
 | Auburn University will welcome more than 3,500 school-age students from around the world this summer to explore campus and see what Auburn has to offer at a variety of summer youth programs. Now in its eighth year, Auburn Youth Programs has ballooned from 11 camps during the summer to 65, most with curriculum developed by the university's own schools and colleges. Students live for a week in Auburn's dorms and explore the campus with university student counselors. The university offers summer programs in everything from cheerleading and dance camps to building construction and aviation. "It gives them that Auburn Family feel," said Ken Porter, the Youth Programs camp manager. |
| Report: Crime at colleges around country, and UGA, is down | |
 | Reported crime on college campuses dropped by about 25 percent in a decade, according to just-released statistics from the U.S. Department of Education --- from more than 40,000 in 2001 to less than 30,000 in 2012. That's in line with broader national statistics, which show a long trend of declining crime for two decades. It's also consistent with what the University of Georgia has seen, according to UGA spokesman Tom Jackson. Jackson said increased city-UGA cooperation, educational effort, more patrolling and social media have helped keep crime down, among other reasons. "It's a community effort," he said. |
| U. of Florida experts see a historic time of societal change | |
 | A five-panel cartoon making the rounds on Facebook shows a person lowering a Confederate battle flag and raising a rainbow gay pride flag in its place. It's cute. But societal change is not as simple as swapping out flags. "The culture doesn't shift by itself, and the removal of the Confederate flag in Charleston and the Supreme Court's gay marriage decision didn't happen by magic," said Susan Hegeman, a University of Florida English professor whose teachings and writings include American culture. "Decades of struggle and sacrifice on the part of many people prepared the ground for these events." Both events signal a time of tremendous societal change, said Paul Ortiz, director of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Project at the University of Florida and a history professor with a focus on African-American history and Latino studies. |
| Tusk Musk Sold Under U. of Arkansas License | |
 | A New York entrepreneur has distilled the scent of the University of Arkansas and is offering it in men's and women's versions for $39.50 per 1.7-ounce bottle. And what does the UA (men's version) smell like? "This fresh, masculine scent opens with energizing red grapefruit and Italian lemon. Mid-notes of aromatic red sage and spicy red saffron blend with base notes of rich redwood, cedar and amber." The University of Arkansas Women's Perfume "opens with fresh sparkling notes of pink lychee and dewy rose. Feminine and vibrant red fruity notes of strawberry and luscious raspberry comprise the heart while creamy sandalwood, oud wood and amber round out the dry down." Masik Collegiate Fragrances worked with the UA to develop the scent. |
| Vanderbilt sexual assault suspect arrested | |
 | The suspect wanted for the sexual assault of a Vanderbilt student has been arrested, according to a security notice from Vanderbilt University issued Sunday afternoon. A warrant had been issued for Troy Jones, 25, in connection with the groping and pushing of a female student on Vanderbilt's campus midday Saturday. Jones is not affiliated with Vanderbilt, the university said. Metro police sent out a tweet Sunday afternoon saying that Jones was taken into custody at his Meharry Avenue residence. |
| Records reveal details behind departure of Texas A&M University Health Science Center CEO Brett Giroir | |
 | More than a month has passed since Texas A&M University Health Science Center CEO Dr. Brett Giroir was given the option to resign or be fired from his post, but little has been shared publicly about the circumstances surrounding his exit. Documents obtained by The Eagle through the Texas Open Records Act state Giroir had "exceeded expectations" in his 18 months in the top administrator role, yet Giroir said there appeared to be a potential personality conflict before new A&M President Michael Young started at the flagship school in May. Young and A&M System Chancellor John Sharp declined to comment on Giroir's explanation of being let go, saying he was told it was so the university could find a candidate who would attract more funding from the National Institutes of Health, while coordinating more interdisciplinary work. |
| DoD grant sending 100 Aggie cadets to learn 'strategic' languages | |
| Texas A&M junior Jackson Kuplack is being schooled in Arabic while living this summer in the Moroccan city of Meknes, but it's not just a study abroad program. For the future military officer, it's an investment in his career and beyond. "I began studying Arabic two years ago, but I can honestly say I've gained more in my last two months of study in-country than those two years combined," Kuplack said, crediting an opportunity offered to him by the Corps and Department of Defense. "Project GO has enabled me to visit the far side of the world and completely submerse myself in a place I seriously never thought I'd see," he said. Texas A&M took another step toward developing a more "globalized" soldier through its military officer training programs with the help of a $370,000 grant. Over the next three years, an estimated 100 high-achieving ROTC trainees in the Corps of Cadets will be able to study abroad and learn a more difficult "strategic" language, such as Russian, Arabic and Chinese that is in high demand by the defense department. |
| U. of Missouri medical school expansion to promote collaboration, fuel growth | |
 | After about eight years of planning, the University of Missouri School of Medicine kicked off a $42.5 million expansion project that includes a new medical school building at MU and a Springfield clinical campus. The medical school doesn't have room to grow in its current space, said Weldon Webb, associate dean for the Springfield clinical campus implementation. "We were landlocked," Webb said. MU held a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday to celebrate the start of the building's construction as well as the clinical campus. About $12 million of the project's $42.5 million cost comes from state appropriations, and $30.5 million is funded through revenue bonds. Most of the project's cost is for the new Patient-Centered Care Learning Center in Columbia. |
| More public universities recruit affluent outstate students at expense of poorer, in-state ones | |
 | University of Missouri junior Erin Quinn comes from a family of four in Springfield, Missouri, whose annual income hovers around $31,000. Since freshman year, Quinn, 22, has been trying to pay most of her college costs and living expenses by earning scholarships and working part-time jobs. Still, she is already $10,000 in debt because of student loans. The expense of acquiring a degree is falling disproportionately on lower-income students who tend to devote a greater share of their income to college costs, according to a report released by the New America Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute in Washington, D.C. Public institutions are becoming more exclusive and inaccessible to low-income students, the report suggests. Schools actively recruit and reward smart, wealthy students -- many from out of state -- to boost rankings and revenue, at the expense of less affluent in-state students. |
| Scott Walker crushes college professor tenure | |
 | Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's trailblazing effort to weaken tenure protections at public colleges and universities is now a reality with his signing of a $73 billion budget on Sunday. The effort has outraged unions and higher education groups, leaving them fearful that other lawmakers will follow suit to unravel labor protections in higher education that have long been considered sacred ground. Walker downplayed the changes at Sunday's signing at a valve manufacturing facility in Waukesha, Wisconsin, emphasizing instead that tuition was being frozen in the University of Wisconsin system for two more years at the rate it was two years ago. Walker signed the budget as he prepared to announce his run for the Republican presidential nomination Monday. |
| Free community college plan expanded to include black colleges, minority-serving institutions | |
 | When President Obama rolled out his free community college proposal earlier this year, the leaders of some historically black colleges weren't happy about it. The administration's ambitious plan to send new federal money to states that eliminate tuition and fees for most community colleges students didn't include anything specifically for historically black colleges and universities. But as Obama's free community college proposal was introduced in Congress last week, groups representing historically black colleges were lining up in support of the legislation. The bill includes a new program that sends grants to historically black colleges and other minority-serving institutions -- both public and private -- that eliminate or reduce tuition for low-income students pursing a bachelor's degree. |
| BILL CRAWFORD (OPINION): Are schools teaching the way to peace, liberty and safety | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: "'Kids get abysmal grade in history,' read the headline. 'Most U.S. high school seniors have a poor grasp of the nation's history,' read the story's first line. Diane Ravitch, historian, NYU professor, and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education said, 'Our ability to defend -- intelligently and thoughtfully -- what we as a nation hold dear depends on our knowledge and understanding of what we hold dear. ...Clearly, far too many high school seniors have not learned even a modest part of it.' Not just high school seniors, though. The same applies to many citizens of all ages." |
| GEOFF PENDER (OPINION): Legislature should deal with flag, not punt | |
| The Clarion-Ledger's Geoff Pender writes: "Note to Mississippi Legislature: When other states are pulling our flag from displays, when Congress is considering removing it from the Capitol, when first-to-secede South Carolina is removing the rebel flag from statehouse grounds, when other states struck it from their banners years ago and even NASCAR and Skynyrd are backing away from it ...it might be time to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the Mississippi state flag. Nothing good is likely to come from leaving it there. But this needs to be done -- or not -- by a vote of the elected representatives of the Mississippi Legislature. We don't need a committee or commission to study it. We do not need another referendum. This decision is a job for the elected Legislature. In fact such decisions are the main job of the elected state Legislature." |
| SAM R. HALL (OPINION): Coaches may have loudest voice on flag | |
| The Clarion-Ledger's Sam R. Hall writes: "An interesting salvo in the debate over the state flag came Friday, when spokespersons for Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi confirmed four major coaches support removing the Confederate emblem. Dan Mullen and Hugh Freeze. Andy Kennedy and Ben Howland. And I'd wager more are coming. This comes after the presidents at both universities released statements supporting a change. Governors and lawmakers can say anything they want, but when the head football coach at a state's major university speaks, people will start to take notice. Now you have two head football coaches, two head basketball coaches and -- I'd be willing to wager -- more to come. What makes this turn of events more interesting is that SEC Media Days kicks off this week." |
| SID SALTER (OPINION): Symbolism beckons from across Mississippi River | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: "From Washington to Charleston, South Carolina, and across the states that composed the old Confederacy, debates continue to rage over vestiges and symbols of the Civil War. The debate is at once emotional, irrational, passionate and picayunish. Social media exacerbates both the scope, pace and tenor of that debate. ...Across the mighty Mississippi River in Arkansas, our neighbors are not simply arguing on Facebook or Twitter about Confederate symbols. Their distractions have become larger and more, well, not exactly 'concrete' but that's close. ...The current flap in Arkansas is over the reaction to Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signing into law in April a bill to add a privately funded Ten Commandments monument on the Capitol grounds." |
SPORTS
| SEC Media Days: Questions and answers, team capsules, star players worth watching | |
 | Who are the SEC's new leading men? There's no one with the charisma of a Johnny Manziel or Tim Tebow on the horizon, but the conference does possess some of the nation's best at their positions in LSU running back Leonard Fournette, Georgia running back Nick Chubb, Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott and Ole Miss offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil (if he's eligible to play). SEC players have won four of the past eight Heismans, but as with the CFP, it's hard to make an SEC star the favorite. Fournette, Chubb and Prescott could be invited to New York in December. |
| USM's Monken aims to fill 'The Rock' for home games | |
 | Attendance figures for Southern Miss home football games have never been eye-popping. But until recently crowds at M.M. Roberts Stadium have, at the very least, been respectable. In the 10 seasons prior to 2013, the Golden Eagles drew home crowds of 30,000-plus 20 times and drew less than 25,000 only five times. The past few seasons, however, the crowds at M.M. Roberts Stadium have routinely hovered around 20,000 or less. But third-year Southern Miss head coach Todd Monken is drawing a proverbial line in the sand. "I expect we will put ourselves in position to go back to a bowl game this year," he said during an interview with the Hattiesburg American this week. "But it's going to take everybody." Southern Miss opens the 2015 season at home against Mississippi State. |
| Tunsil case details emerge in open court | |
| In an open court hearing on Friday afternoon, details of an long-running family squabble between Ole Miss junior tackle Laremy Tunsil and his stepfather were aired in public for the first time. Also, an Order of Protection sought by Lindsey Miller, Tunsil's stepfather, was denied on Friday after the hour-long hearing. Justice Court Judge Mickey Avent made the ruling in a case that revolves around three charges of domestic violence and an incident at Miller's home on June 26. Steve Farese Sr., represented Tunsil and his mother, Desiree, in the court proceedings, while Miller acted as his own counsel. |
| Auburn University's new video board on track for football season opener | |
| Auburn University is on schedule to debut the largest video board in college football -- which will feature improved audio and surround sound -- for the Tigers' September home opener. Construction began in February on the 200-by-105-foot board at a cost of $13.9 million, with the bulk of the cost -- 40 percent -- going toward the massive foundation. The project is set to be completed by early August, giving the university's 40-person video team -- double the staff required by the previous video board -- a few weeks to perfect the use of the board. "We've spent the last few months developing the look and feel throughout the game," Andy Young, assistant athletic director for Video Services, explained. |
| Uga mascot changeover coming this season in Athens | |
| There will be a new bulldog mascot sometime during this Georgia football season. Russ, who has served as Uga IX since September, 2012, is retiring, said his handler Charles Seiler. The Seiler family has owned the famed line of beloved Bulldogs who have prowled the sidelines since 1956. His probable replacement is named Que, a nearly two year old English Bulldog who is Russ' grandson. Que got a tryout of sorts at the 10th annual Countdown to Kickoff fan event at Sanford Stadium Saturday and seemed to pass an important test by not being bothered by members of the Redcoat Band playing close by. "He was able to withstand seven straight songs point blank," Seiler said. "He did great. Russ freaked out around the band. He handled it a lot better. That's a good sign." |
| Friends of Pat Summitt swap stories about U. of Tennessee legend | |
| As an organist played "Rocky Top," a platform on which stood former Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer, former Lady Vol Chamique Holdsclaw and former Lady Vols athletics director Joan Cronan slowly rose from below stage level at the Tennessee Theatre. Longtime friends of legendary Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt gathered Saturday night to trade stories about Summitt's career and raise money for Summitt's foundation, which raises money for Alzheimer's disease research, as well as St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The event was hosted by "Good Morning America" anchor Robin Roberts. Summitt has been battling Alzheimer's since her diagnosis in May 2011. |
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