Tuesday, July 14, 2015   
 
Summer Institute at MSU Riley Center
The MSU Riley Center in downtown Meridian has been transformed into a house of learning this week, as nearly 400 teachers from around the state are taking part in interactive workshops to learn how to integrate the arts into their core curriculum. The week-long session is part of the Whole Schools Initiative Summer Institute, an annual professional development program for educators (pre-k through 12th grade and pre-service, self-contained SPED and arts specialist), artists, school administrators, parents and community arts supporters. "This way of teaching is the latest/greatest, best practice to differentiate the way you teach," said Dr. Charlotte B. Tabereaux, education director for the MSU Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts. "It adds hands-on and deep critical thinking, because the arts do that. And that gets kids more engaged in what they are learning."
 
Shrimpers Worry, Watch as Season Re-Opens In All State Waters
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources opened shrimp season on June 3 this year. But about 2 weeks later, it closed the waters north of the intracoastal waterway. "What happened shortly after the season opened, we got about a week of rain," says Dave Burrage, a professor of marine resources at Mississippi State University. "And this had the effect of basically flushing the small shrimp, who were back in the estuaries and bays maturing, because the salinities had dropped so much, out on to the shrimping grounds. So all of a sudden, the shrimp that were on the shrimping grounds were now too small to meet the legal criteria." Mississippi re-opened all state waters to shrimping Monday morning. Burrage says there's reason to hope that the shrimp out there now are bigger: "When the water temperature gets warm, and we have optimum salinity ... the shrimp will grow a count size in a week ... they grow very quickly."
 
Confederate Historian Says Recent Controversy A Chance To Tell A More Inclusive Story Of Kentucky
This week, like many communities across the South and the Border South, the city of Lexington has been re-examining its lingering confederate monuments and symbols, specifically whether they should remain where they are now, or perhaps relocated to museums somewhere. Dr. Ann E. Marshall of Lexington has a keen interest in, and knowledge of, the John Hunt Morgan and John C. Breckinridge statues in downtown Lexington. The associate professor of history at Mississippi State University is the author of "Creating a Confederate Kentucky-The Lost Cause and Civil War Memory." She spoke with WUKY's Alan Lytle.
 
North Mississippi State Hospital workers graduate from Stennis program
North Mississippi State Hospital employees Sommer Armstrong, public relations manager, and Lisa Roberts, nurse supervisor, recently graduated from the State Executive Development Institute, an executive style, graduate level program offered by the John C. Stennis Institute of Government and Community Development at Mississippi State University. SEDI is designed to prepare mid-to-upper level government executives to be more efficient leaders.
 
Candle maker to add 100 jobs in Starkville with $5M building
A maker of scented candles plans to expand in Starkville, nearly doubling its employment. DPM Fragrance will invest $5 million to build a 100,000 square-foot building in the Cornerstone industrial park on the western edge of Starkville, consolidating five current locations. The company plans to add 100 workers to its current 135. Construction is supposed to begin late this year. The company makes products under the Aspen Bay, Capri and Found Goods Market brands.
 
Delta Regional Authority Asking for Input on New Plan
Officials with the Delta Regional Authority are asking for feedback on economic development throughout much of Mississippi. Officials hope to use the information to guide the organization over the next five years. As part of a 10-city listening tour, DRA officials are trying to find out what economic development problems exist in the 50 counties under the agency's purview. Ted Abernathy is a private contractor running the meetings. He says people are voicing a lot of different concerns. "We're hearing a strong commitment to workforce," Abernathy says, "that's probably the over-riding theme."
 
Deeper ship channel stalled at Gulfport's state port
A deeper ship channel has been scrapped as part of a study on future expansion at the state port, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has confirmed. The Corps undertook an expansion study in 2011 that was modified in 2013 to include deepening the ship channel from 36 feet to 42-47 feet. Channel deepening is seen as a key to port growth. Without a deeper channel, the port will be unable to compete for cargo being hauled on larger ships that require drafts deeper than Gulfport can offer. What's more, the port is spending about $30 million on three, rail-mounted gantry cranes designed for bigger vessels. "The cranes are being built with an eye toward the future with a deeper channel," port Executive Director Jonathan Daniels said. The other essential transportation element for an expanded port -- a north-south connector road between the port and Interstate 10 -- has been stalled by litigation.
 
Study: Mississippi has nation's fourth-highest electricity costs, Alabama third
Mississippi has among the nation's highest electricity costs, according to a recent study, which also ranked the state 41st in overall energy costs. Online financial site WalletHub compiled the report, which calculated an overall average monthly energy cost for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Each state and Washington, D.C. were ranked in four categories: average monthly electricity cost, average monthly natural gas cost, average monthly fuel cost and average monthly home heating cost. The study shows Mississippi has the nation's fourth-highest monthly electricity cost at $153. The Magnolia State also fared poorly in average monthly fuel cost, ranking as the fifth-worst with an average of $161.
 
Tax cuts passed in recent years impacting state general fund
Projected growth in state revenue for Fiscal Year 2017, which will begin July 1, is expected to be cut by more than half because of tax breaks given in earlier sessions by the Mississippi Legislature. During a recent presentation to the House Appropriations Committee, Legislative Budget Committee Director Debbie Rubisoff said the early projection is for state revenue to grow by 3.4 percent during Fiscal Year 2017. But because of previous tax breaks passed by the Legislature, 2.2 percent of that projected growth, or an estimated $126 million, will no longer be in the revenue stream. "When I said there are consequences" to the tax breaks passed by the Legislature, "these are the consequences," House Appropriations Chair Herb Frierson, R-Poplarville, told his Committee members. The primary reason for the loss of the revenue in 2017 is actions by the 2012 Legislature to provide state funds to businesses to help offset the so-called inventory tax they pay to local governments.
 
Hood: State worker benefits now available to spouses in same-sex marriages
The same-sex spouses of Mississippi's state and school employees are eligible for worker benefits such as health insurance immediately, Attorney General Jim Hood says. Hood set the date of eligibility at June 26, 2014 -- the day the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the right of same-sex couples to marry in all states. The state has set a 60-day open-enrollment period for spouses to obtain the coverage, said Chuck McIntosh, spokesman for the Department of Finance and Administration, the state agency that administers worker benefits to state and public school workers.
 
Historic deal reached with Iran to limit nuclear program
A historic agreement Tuesday to limit Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief will ensure Iran has no possibility to achieve rapid nuclear weapons "breakout" capabilities for at least the next decade, U.S. leaders said. Secretary of State John F. Kerry described the deal as moving beyond a political framework reached three months ago, and he said it met all U.S. requirements for blocking pathways to weapons development with strict inspections and provisions to snap sanctions back into place if Iran violates the rules. But he also raised the possibility that it could provide a platform for expanded diplomatic overtures between Iran and the United States - which cut ties in 1980 during the Iranian hostage crisis.
 
Despite deal, better U.S. relations with Iran not a sure thing
Seated on a dais above thousands of cheering loyalists and the country's elite, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei restated a key tenet of his late predecessor and the leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution: relentless, uncompromising opposition to "America and its political and intelligence system." "The ideological and practical implications of the term 'The Great Satan' are very vast in scope," Khamenei continued, using the slur for the United States coined by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Khamenei's June 4 speech in the mausoleum where Khomeini was interred 23 years ago goes to the heart of a question on the minds of policymakers and experts the world over: will a deal on Iran's nuclear program -- announced early Tuesday in Vienna -- ease the hostility between Tehran and Washington that has fueled violence and shaped political alignments in the Middle East for the past 35 years?
 
Warren pushes feds to ease restrictions on marijuana research
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wants to make it easier for government-paid researchers to study marijuana -- and not just its negative side effects. Eight Democratic senators, led by Warren, are urging federal health and drug officials to address the "data shortfall" on potential health benefits of medical marijuana by making it easier for researchers to study the drug. Medical use of marijuana is now legal in 23 states, though it is difficult to study because it remains one of the country's most tightly controlled substances. Researchers must go through multiple layers of approval to use the drug. Under current regulations, medical marijuana can only be grown at the University of Mississippi, which partners with the only organization permitted by the government to do so, the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Pointing to the growing number of users nationwide, the senators said the government agencies "have both an opportunity and a responsibility" to ensure adequate research.
 
Evangelicals ponder their role, now that gay marriage is law of the land
Like many here in the South, Hilda Wells, a Southern Baptist, takes the Bible at its word. Given that gay marriage is now the law of the land, Ms. Wells, a Stone Mountain, Ga., businesswoman, admits to a twinge of concern. But at the same time, her love of Scripture isn't so strong that she can't see the dignity and desires of fellow citizens with different sexual orientations. Wells is one of millions of Christians on the front lines of an evangelical experience that has emphasized marriage as being a union, under God, between a man and a woman. Now, many of these individuals are pondering how to live in an age in which marriage has taken on another legal definition.
 
Coroner: No Evidence B.B. King Was Poisoned Before Death
Medical examiners found no evidence to prove the allegation that blues legend B.B. King was poisoned before he died of natural causes in May, according to autopsy findings made public Monday. Tests conducted after two of the musical icon's 11 adult children said their father had been murdered showed the cause of death was Alzheimer's disease, plus physical conditions including coronary disease, heart failure and the effects of Type 2 diabetes, Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg told The Associated Press. The allegations drew intense interest while the daughters led a group of several of King's surviving adult children and grandchildren in an unsuccessful bid to wrest guardianship and oversight of the King estate.
 
MDOT presents U. of Southern Mississippi money for walkway
The University of Southern Mississippi is making the trek more pleasant for those walking its campus. The university was presented a check for nearly $440,000 Monday from Southern District Transportation Commissioner Tom King that will pay the bulk of a 17-foot-wide pathway project leading from West Fourth Street to Hillcrest Residence Hall. The $439,268 in federal funds administered through the Mississippi Department of Transportation will cover 80 percent of the $549,085 project. USM will provide $109,817 as its 20 percent match. It marked the second grant that USM recently had received for walkway project. "People need to understand that these are separate federal highway dollars that are to be used for alternate transportation," King said. "There's grant money out there, if you apply for it, and this is going to enhance the aesthetics of this campus tremendously."
 
Delta State University's geospatial center selected for federal program
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Department of Defense, recently selected Delta State University's Center for Interdisciplinary Geospatial Information Technologies to partake in the Centers for Academic Excellence in Geospatial Sciences Program. According to director Talbot Brooks, the center was encouraged to apply by the U.S. Marine Corps, which required a 100-page document detailing its curriculum, expertise and experience. "Organizations were chosen through a rigorous multi-step peer-review process, and the status stands for three years," said Brooks. The program is a new endeavor designed to cultivate centers of academic excellence in geospatial sciences, content processing, tradecraft methodologies, and research and development technologies.
 
Delta State to celebrate alumni gathering
Alumni from Delta State University are among some of the most talented in the world, with writers, artists and musicians among the roster of former students. The Delta State University DeSoto County Alumni Chapter is celebrating the university's rich heritage and traditions with its annual Alumni Event at the BankPlus Training Center in Southaven on Aug. 8. The meet-and-greet begins at 6 p.m. with the banquet and president's remarks begin at 7 p.m. Delta State University President William LaForge will be the keynote speaker. He will discuss the growth of the campus, including the new arts complex and Grammy Museum under construction, among other topics.
 
Students to move into new dorms at Mississippi College
Mississippi College officials expect students will move into the eight new residence halls in mid-August. Jim Turcotte, vice president for enrollment services and dean of students, says in a news release that the modern apartment-style units represent the first new residence halls at Mississippi College in two decades. The bulk of the construction activity will be wrapped up in late July. They were built on the former site of Clinton Junior High School. MC spent $16 million on the project.
 
O'Gwynn named Belhaven computer science department chairman, assistant prof
Belhaven University recently named Dr. David O'Gwynn as the new chairman and assistant professor of its computer science department. O'Gwynn says he is looking forward to implementing programs in the fall that will give students the training they will need for the field of technology and science. O'Gwynn graduated from Belhaven University in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a minor in English before attending graduate school from 2000 to 2003 at Mississippi State University, where he majored in computational engineering, or computer simulation. In 2011, he received his doctorate degree at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
 
U. of Missouri installs iris readers outside Rothwell Club
The University of Missouri's Student Recreation Complex is installing iris readers in its Rothwell Club in an effort to increase security and convenience, a university spokesman said. MU spokesman Jeff Sossamon said the club bought four readers, two each for the men's and women's sides, for $13,000. The readers are in place outside the women's locker room, and there are plans to install readers on the men's side at the end of the summer. "It's similar to just a webcam that takes a picture," Sossamon said. "It's not invasive, as opposed to a retina scanner, which sends a beam into your eye." Sossamon said the readers' installation was not in response to any event or theft but was done for improved security at the club and for members' convenience.
 
The Workers Who Say 'Thanks, but No Thanks' to Jobs
In May, Michael Armstrong of Southern Co. called two students he'd recruited from a Southeasten public college to wish them a happy graduation and fix their start dates in the fall. The calls went to voice mail. Then the emails came in. Each student thanked him for the opportunity, but declined the jobs they accepted months before. Other, better jobs had simply come along, they wrote, leaving Mr. Armstrong, campus recruiting lead for the Atlanta utility, with spots to fill. One of the strongest graduate hiring seasons in recent memory has had an unpleasant byproduct for campus recruiters, who say their college hires are jilting them at the last minute. The trend has vexed hiring managers, flustered students and left colleges torn between helping graduates get ahead and staying in the good graces of companies that recruit on campus.
 
Turnitin faces new questions about efficacy of plagiarism detection software
Plagiarism detection software from vendors such as Turnitin is often criticized for labeling clumsy student writing as plagiarism. Now a set of new tests suggests the software lets too many students get away with it. The data come from Susan E. Schorn, a writing coordinator at the University of Texas at Austin. Schorn first ran a test to determine Turnitin's efficacy back in 2007, when the university was considering paying for an institutionwide license. Her results initially dissuaded the university from paying a five-figure sum to license the software, she said. A follow-up test, conducted this March, produced similar results. Moreover, the results -- while not a comprehensive overview of Turnitin's strengths and weaknesses -- are likely to renew the debate among writing instructors about the value of plagiarism detection software in the classroom.
 
CHARLIE MITCHELL (OPINION): Churches have nothing to fear from same-gender ruling
Longtime Mississippi journalist Charlie Mitchell writes: "Faced with racially integrating their swimming pools in the 1960s, many Mississippi cities locked the gates. ...Their ace, of course, was that no law, state or federal, required that public pools be built or operated. So cities and towns simply got out of the pool business. ...Closure was also threatened over school desegregation. Hardliners swore that Mississippi would shutter schools before blacks were placed in the same classrooms with whites. The hitch is that free public schools are required by Section 201 of the Mississippi Constitution, as amended. Now to the issue of the day: May Mississippi or any state, in light of the Supreme Court decision extending the legal rights of marriage to same-gender couples, simply repeal any and every mention of marriage in state law? May Mississippi get out of the marriage business?"


SPORTS
 
Mississippi State set to answer how it survives losing 15 starters
Dan Mullen makes his seventh appearance at SEC Media Days on Tuesday. Each of the last six, Mississippi State's coach proclaimed his goal to bring a national title to Starkville. Each year, the goal fell upon deaf ears. When Mullen announces Mississippi State's national championship aspirations this year, the reaction should be quite different. Mullen brings with him the league's best quarterback in Dak Prescott. The duo guided Mississippi State to its first ever 10-win regular season. The Bulldogs' 9-0 start catapulted the team to the No. 1 ranking in the inaugural College Football Rankings. Tuesday, the team's journey in repeating its success from 2014 begins publicly at SEC Media Days.
 
Mississippi State 2015 preseason depth chart released
Mississippi State released its 2015 media guide on Monday. Within it, page eight revealed its preseason depth chart. It was compiled by MSU spokesperson Bill Martin and was not influenced by the coaching staff. It still shines a sliver of light onto what the Bulldogs could look like in 2015. Among starters, there weren't any big surprises. Ashton Shumpert was listed as the first-team running back after a competitive spring at the position. Four players are listed as the second-team back. The depth chart will undoubtedly change prior to MSU's first game on Sept. 6 at Southern Miss.
 
Change in air: Sankey hails Mississippi State, Ole Miss for state flag stand
New commissioner Greg Sankey said Monday at SEC Media Days he will not take steps to try and force a change to the state flag of Mississippi. Sixty-five percent of Mississippians who cast ballots in 2001 voted to keep the state flag, which includes a small version of the Confederate battle flag. The stars, bars and Mississippi have become a hot topic again in the days since last month's mass murder at an African-American church in Charleston, S.C. South Carolina has since voted to remove the Confederate battle flag from its statehouse grounds. Acting Ole Miss chancellor Morris Stocks and MSU president Mark Keenum have both made statements supporting change for the state flag. Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze and MSU's Dan Mullen, both of whom will speak here this week, have supported those statements.
 
Sankey: SEC leading the way on social issues
Former Southeastern Conference Mike Slive was known to invoke the words of historical figures like Winston Churchill when talking about challenges facing the league. Greg Sankey quoted Bob Dylan. The new commissioner used his first state-of-the-league address to praise the SEC for leading the way in athletics as well as on social issues, using the lyrics of a Dylan song to make his point. Standing in front of three huge video screens at SEC Media Days Monday, the 51-year-old Sankey quoted Dylan's "The Times They Are a-Changin'" to describe the league's ongoing evolution as one of the college game's dominant forces. Sankey touted the rapidly growing SEC Network, which helped the league earn record revenue last year. He also praised leadership at schools in South Carolina and Mississippi, which have issued statements in support of distancing their respective states from Confederate flag imagery. "The times, they are changing, and the times will continue to change as we move forward," Sankey said.
 
SEC commissioner highlights educational wins for college athletes
First-year Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey used former Texas A&M running back Dante Hall as an example while talking about his vision for the league. The 36-year-old Hall earned his degree last August -- 14 years after leaving school, fulfilling a promise to his mother after a successful NFL career. Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, Florida baseball player David Eckstein and Louisiana State basketball player Shaquille O'Neal were other former SEC athletes Sankey cited who returned to their school after or during their playing days to finish their education. "These stories represent just a piece of what is being done to graduate every student-athlete and to foster the lifelong link to our universities, scholars first and champions second," said Sankey on Monday morning, kicking off the 2015 SEC Media Days.
 
SCOTT RABALAIS (OPINION): New SEC commissioner thoughtful, idealistic in first major address
The Baton Rouge Advocate's Scott Rabalais writes: "When last we saw Greg Sankey, he was working on his dance moves. It was at the Southeastern Conference spring meeting in Destin, Florida, in late May. Sankey, the SEC Commissioner designate, and outgoing commish Mike Slive, the slightly built retiring legend of college athletics, alternated speaking behind a podium as they discussed each day's events. ...Sankey's biggest job Monday was to introduce himself to the masses (the SEC Network's TV cameras targeted him) who in the main were seeing and hearing him for the first time, and to prove he's worthy of the job. To that end, Sankey was a hit. ...He credited South Carolina, Ole Miss and Mississippi State for 'the leadership demonstrated on our campuses in the states at the center of this debate.' Sankey, however, stopped short of saying he would use his office to apply pressure on Mississippi to change its state flag..."
 
PARRISH ALFORD (OPINION): Filling the void for more football
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's Parrish Alford writes: "Once upon a time, the SEC was not Wynfrey worthy. The conference held its football media days at outer Birmingham's mall-connector hotel anyway, and while it was great for media, it didn't dominate the landscape. Times have changed. ...'The first couple of years the Wynfrey was too big. That's not the case any more,' says Chuck Dunlap, the SEC's communications director, a Louisville native. ...A final tally for this year will come later in the week, but attendance isn't expected to decline. In an otherwise slow time of year, Media Days fills the void, and its fanatical following shows that while SEC football plays only 12 regular season games the demand for the product is year-round."
 
Traditions Geoff Collins created at Mississippi State alive at Florida
Geoff Collins brought the juice to Florida. Traditions like "juice points" and "get the ball award" the former Mississippi State defensive coordinator created in Starkville are alive in Gainesville. "He still uses most of the stuff he had a Mississippi State," junior corner Vernon Hargreaves III said. Collins left Mississippi State prior to its bowl game last year to join Jim McElwain's staff. MSU coach Dan Mullen called the decision a lateral move when it happened. The juice Collins brought to Mississippi State is what attracted McElwain to the defensive coordinator.
 
Former Mississippi State golfers enjoying success with professional careers
For Rica Tse, this summer has been anything but dull. Rather, it has been full of golf and sitting in a classroom learning about business. The former Mississippi State women's golfer is finishing up her master's degree in business administration, but that hasn't kept her from finding time to hit the links. She turned professional after her final tournament as a Bulldog earlier this year, and her young career has already been exciting with two victories. Just like the last four years, she has had to balance school and golf, but this time she is playing for her livelihood. Tse is not the only former Bulldog to find success this summer. Ally McDonald also won in the first professional tournament she participated in. McDonald and Tse will continue to play professional golf and they hope to gain a spot on the LPGA Tour with a good showing in the coming months at the LPGA's Qualifying School.
 
Texas A&M officials planning to build lake or large pond near Kyle Field
The $485 million Kyle Field renovation is almost complete, but Texas A&M University already has another project in the works: waterfront tailgating. Phillip Ray, vice chancellor for business affairs for the A&M system, confirmed for The Eagle Monday that Chancellor John Sharp has been working with a small group of donors who are former students to develop a "significant" pond or small lake at Spence Park across from Kyle Field by 2016. Ray said Sharp has been working with the group to enhance the tailgating experience and "improve on already the best gameday experience on Earth." "Chancellor Sharp has directed us to explore all options that would enable us to develop the premier tailgating area in the Southeastern Conference and beyond," Ray said. "The Aggies are about to up the ante."
 
Every minute counts in meeting Commonwealth Stadium renovation deadline at U. of Kentucky
Tiny countdown clocks litter Russ Pear's office in the belly of Commonwealth Stadium. The clocks tick down to offer sometimes unwelcome updates for just how many more days and minutes Pear and his team have to complete the $120 million stadium renovation project. Pear, UK's senior associate athletics director for capital projects, even has one of the mini timers sitting on the clothes dryer at his house. As he heads out for work each day, it's there. Tick. Tick. Tick. The two separate feet of snow that fell on the project last winter coupled with the seemingly never-ending waves of rain that have drenched the Bluegrass this summer have slowed progress. "That hurt us," Pear explained.
 
'Zero tolerance' of underage drinking on St. Simons beach for this year's Georgia-Florida game
Officials in coastal Georgia's Glynn County will look at the cost of increasing law-enforcement presence on St. Simons Island on the eve of the annual University of Georgia football game with the University of Florida, when the island's beach hosts a problematic party fueled by alcohol -- much of it consumed by underage drinkers -- that leaves the beach awash in trash. "It has gotten out of hand in recent years," said Kathryn Downs, public information officer for Glynn County. "We don't want it to become known as just this huge underage drinking party." St. Simons and other locations along the Georgia coast near the Florida state line are popular places for UGA students and alumni to stay during the football weekend.
 
'An amazing and bold experiment' at U-Md games: Beer
When football season starts, fans will be able to buy beer at Byrd Stadium during University of Maryland games. The one-year pilot will test whether legal, regulated sales during football and basketball games will cut down on binge drinking -- with some fans aggressively pre-gaming with shots and mixed drinks -- or lead to more rowdiness. Students suggested it, researched it, pitched it and sold it, with the student government convincing task forces, councils and the university president that providing and controlling alcohol could ease a problem rather than worsen it. University President Wallace D. Loh called the pilot "an amazing and bold experiment" in presenting it to the Prince George's County Board of Commissioners Wednesday night; their approval was the final hurdle.



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