| Wednesday, July 22, 2015 |
| Mississippi ranks 50th in 2015 KIDS COUNT Data Report | |
 | Improved pre-kindergarten seems to be the name of the game for improving the quality of life for children in Mississippi, 34 percent of which live in poverty according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2015 Kids Count Data Report Tuesday. Mississippi ranked 50th overall in the assessment that ranks economic well-being, education, health and family and community. Of these four categories, Mississippi ranked highest, 48th, in education. "Increasing educational opportunities is the key in addressing income disparities among so many Mississippians," Anne Buffington, technical writer at the Social Science Research Center at Mississippi State University said of the data presented in the report. Buffington said she believes addressing educational and other needs early in a child's life will better prepare them to be successful and will help close the income gap and decrease the number of both Mississippi's adults and, consequently, children living in poverty. |
| Celebrity Wait Night in Starkville for Humane Society | |
 | About a dozen celebrities delivered dinner to guests for a great cause in Starkville Tuesday night. The Celebrity Wait Night was held at Harvey's to raise money for the Oktibbeha County Humane Society. Guests paid for their meals, and tips will got to help the animals. Waiters included Johnthan Banks of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Mississippi State University Women's Head Basketball Coach Vic Schaefer, Gabe Jackson of the Oakland Raiders, Oktibbeha County Sheriff Steve Gladney, Starkville Police Chief Frank Nichols, Director of Player Personnel at MSU Rockey Felker, and Jeffrey Rupp. |
| Beetle invasion: Pesky bug could halt timber industry | |
 | A shiny green bug is posing a threat to one of Warren County's biggest industries. The invasive emerald ash borer has already invaded forestry operations in northern states. While it hasn't shown up here yet, the pesky beetle is likely to show up in Warren County soon, causing massive destruction to timber and landscaping. "They've quarantined some areas and aren't moving forest products. I think that's a concern for Mississippi," Warren County Extension Agent Anna McCain said. On Thursday, the Warren County Forestry Association will host Mississippi State University professor John L. Willis, who will speak about the devastating effects of the ash borer, preventative measures and funding opportunities for tree replacement. |
| Vendors up, volunteers needed at Starkville Community Market | |
 | Organizers say more vendors are selling produce and other foods this year at Starkville Community Market's inaugural season at Fire Station Park than before the move. Market attendance also appears to have increased, said market manager Jennifer Prather, but volunteers are needed to attempt headcounts at future offerings. Since May, Prather said the market has averaged 22-25 vendors per Saturday session. Last year's season started with about 10-12 vendors, she said, and supported 20 at its busiest event. Even SCM's Tuesday offering, which completed its inaugural run last year, has increased its vendor count, she said, and averages about nine or 10 per event compared to last year's average of five. |
| Starkville alderman Wynn: Remove state flag from city property | |
| Starkville may soon join a handful of other Mississippi cities that have opted to stop flying the state flag. Ward 2 Alderman Lisa Wynn told The Dispatch on Monday that she has put a motion on the agenda for the Board of Aldermen's July 28 meeting to remove the state flag from all city property. Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman added his support, saying Monday he applauded Wynn for bringing the issue before the board. Intense debate has raged about the flag, and Wynn said she's aware that it may be difficult to remove it from city grounds. Even so, she said she felt the discussion is one Starkville needs to have. Wiseman agreed, and pointed out Starkville's diversity, which is fueled in part by Mississippi State University. He said that diversity is important, and added that removing the flag would speak well of the community's character. |
| Statewide 'Sales Tax Holiday' set for July 31 | |
| Lex Jackson has owned Reed's Department Store in Columbus for 42 years, including the past 18 at the store's current location in Jackson Square. Over that time, he has learned more than a few things about the quirks of the modern consumer. Take, for instance, the annual Mississippi Sales Tax Holiday, which is scheduled this year for the weekend of July 31-Aug. 1. "It's the funniest thing," Jackson says. "We price something at 50 percent off and people will just shrug and walk right on by. But on that sales tax holiday, people just go crazy. I've seen people come up to cashier with a $20 T-shirt and when we tell them there's no tax, they say, 'Wait a minute. Let me go back and get another one.' They're saving -- what -- $1.40? You know, I think maybe they just feel like they're sticking it to the government or something. I just don't know. There's some psychological aspect of it that is hard to understand." |
| Unemployment rate dips slightly in Mississippi in June | |
 | Mississippi's unemployment rate dipped in June, but employer payrolls fell, as the state's job market sent mixed messages. The jobless rate fell to 6.6 percent, down from 6.7 percent in May and 7.6 percent in June 2014. A months-long pattern of decreasing unemployment resumed, after May's rate jobless rose slightly. Despite the improvement, Mississippi remained tied for the third-highest jobless rate among states. The biggest drop among eight major economic sectors came in leisure and hospitality, which in June shed more than 3,000 workers, or 2.5 percent of employment. Construction employment also declined. |
| Revenues decline in June at Mississippi casinos | |
| Gamblers lost less at Mississippi casinos in June, as gambling halls on both the Gulf Coast gambling halls and along the Mississippi River saw declines. State Department of Revenue figures show casinos statewide won $172.8 million from gamblers in June, down 2 percent from $176.1 million in June 2014. It's the first monthly decline this year for the coastal casinos, but the 33 decline in the last 36 months along the river. Still, declines are flattening at river casinos and statewide revenue rose almost 2 percent in 2015's first half. |
| 126th Neshoba County Fair starts Friday | |
| The 126th edition of the Neshoba County Fair gets underway Friday and could be one of the hottest on record with heat indexes expected to be in the 100s much of the week. In a state and local election year, candidates for governor to state senator to county superintendent of education will give their stump speeches for three days beginning Tuesday. Season tickets are $40, day tickets are $15 and children nine-years old and under will be admitted for free. The Thursday before the Fair will be free admission. |
| Mississippi National Guard to move 10 recruiting offices | |
| The Mississippi National Guard is closing 10 storefront recruiting centers as soon as possible and moving them to more secure locations. Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Christian Patterson said Tuesday the changes are coming after Gov. Phil Bryant issued an executive order saying the National Guard could increase security at its facilities. Storefront recruiting centers for the Army National Guard are in Flowood, Greenville, Southaven, Olive Branch, Columbus, Tupelo, Hattiesburg, D'Iberville and Gulfport. A separate Air National Guard center is in Hattiesburg. |
| Obesity barring some from military service | |
 | Seventy-eight percent of young Mississippians are ineligible to join the U.S. armed forces, and obesity is the primary reason why, three retired generals from Mississippi said Tuesday in releasing a report. The three -- Earnest Harrington of Sumrall, Erik Hearon of Ridgeland and Robert Crear of Vicksburg -- discussed how obesity is the leading medical disqualification for those seeking to join the military. The report places key emphasis on improving nutrition in Mississippi schools so children will be less victimized by obesity. Mission: Readiness considers obesity a problem that affects national security as the military seeks recruits in a generation that is at a greater risk to obesity. |
| New agreement reached in Mississippi foster care lawsuit | |
| Mississippi officials and plaintiffs in an 11-year-old lawsuit over conditions in the foster care system have made another agreement in the case, with plaintiffs saying Tuesday they will not push to have the state government held in contempt. The move comes after a court-appointed monitor in the Olivia Y case found that the Department of Human Services was faltering in efforts to improve Mississippi's foster care system. The case is named after a then-young girl who was one of eight children that lawyers said had been abused because of the state's failures. The new agreement has been submitted to U.S. District Judge Tom Lee, but wasn't yet available in an online court docket Tuesday. |
| If only members of Congress still drank whiskey, smoked cigars and played gin rummy | |
 | Whenever former members of Congress get together, they trade tales from the good old days of Capitol Hill camaraderie. Hearing these stories is a little like listening to a grandfather talk about walking uphill to school both ways in the snow. It was no different Tuesday morning, when former senators Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and former congressman Dan Glickman (D-Kan.) released the second installment of their quarterly Healthy Congress Index that uses various criteria to assess the effectiveness of today's Capitol Hill. The quartet's panel discussion, hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center, hailed an idyllic era when there were more joint caucus meetings, Washington workdays, and bipartisan congressional travel. They remembered fondly when living and playing in Washington was part of the job, not a career detriment. |
| Milley Defends Active Army-Guard Helo Swap | |
| US Army Gen. Mark Milley, the Obama administration's nominee for the service's top post, defended the service's controversial aviation restructure plan at a confirmation hearing Tuesday. During his Senate Armed Services Committee appearance, Milley sought to placate opponents of the plan, but did not back off from the strategy first offered by Gen. Ray Odierno, whom Milley would replace. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told Milley he was worried the Army would be making "irreversible" changes to the Guard ahead of the commission's report, as elements of ARI are already underway. Wicker reflected much of the discontent with the Army plan, saying Mississippi's Guard units would suffer, as would the seamless operation of the active Army and Guard since the Sept. 11 attacks. |
| U.S. decides against publicly blaming China for data hack | |
| Months after the discovery of a massive breach of U.S. government personnel records, the Obama administration has decided against publicly blaming China for the intrusion in part out of reluctance to reveal the evidence that American investigators have assembled, U.S. officials said. The administration also appears to have refrained from any direct retaliation against China or attempt to use cyber-measures to corrupt or destroy the stockpile of sensitive data stolen from the Office of Personnel Management. "We have chosen not to make any official assertions about attribution at this point," said a senior administration official, despite the widely held conviction that Beijing was responsible. |
| The W again named one of the nation's 'Great Colleges to Work For' | |
| For the third year in a row, Mississippi University for Woman has been named one of the best colleges in the U.S. to work for. MUW President Jim Borsig said, "We are pleased to be recognized for the third consecutive year as a great college to work for by The Chronicle. I am grateful for the good work of our faculty and staff, and I credit this remarkable achievement to the campus climate they have helped to create. Our students benefit from being a part of this wonderful university community." The Great Colleges to Work For program -- sponsored by The Chronicle of Higher Education and ModernThink, LLC -- provides senior-level administrators and academic leaders with insights on the quality of the workplace experience and the competitiveness of their policies and benefits. |
| Plans for new marine education center are unveiled | |
 | The horror of 10 years ago seems just like yesterday. Katrina's vicious storm surge ripping the marine education center at Point Cadet in Biloxi to shreds, nothing left but rubble. At times, it seemed like today would never come. But it has. The new marine education center will soon be a reality. For the people at the Gulf Coast Research Lab, it's a new beginning. Sam Clardy is the GCRL educational program director. "Since Hurricane Katrina washed away our facility, we've been working out of about a 3500 square foot house and been doing just fine but it's really exciting to go into this new facility," Clardy said. The new center will be built at Cedar Point in Ocean Springs, environmentally friendly, on high ground and out of the high velocity zone. |
| Auburn's new medical school, VCOM, preparing for student orientation next week | |
 | A new medical college in Auburn focused on inspiring medical professionals to work in underserved and rural regions is gearing up to open its doors to its inaugural class of students. The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) will open its third campus next month on South Donahue Drive in Auburn, with orientation for students starting on July 30. Other VCOM campuses are in Blacksburg, Va., and Spartanburg, S.C. "As osteopathic physicians' education focuses on the whole patient, they are more likely to enter primary care and to meet the needs of the rural areas," said Elizabeth Palmarozzi, DO, dean of the Auburn-VCOM campus. Auburn University plans to build new buildings for its school of nursing and a pharmacy research lab for a new health sciences campus next to VCOM. |
| 2 Arkansas Universities Looking to Online Innovations | |
| Two new online learning initiatives are hoping to recruit Arkansans who began college careers but fell short of earning a degree. Arkansas Tech University this month launched a new college, the eTech College, to streamline services for students who take classes online. The University of Arkansas System will begin taking applications Sept. 1 for "eVersity," a separate university that offers lower cost classes for students who complete degrees entirely online. Organizers of both programs hope to serve the estimated 350,000 Arkansans who started college but never earned a bachelor's degree. Michael Moore, the vice president for academic affairs at the University of Arkansas System, said his staff has been working to ensure technological issues, "life" or poverty don't get in the way. |
| U. of Arkansas Gets $1M Grant for Nursing Education | |
 | The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville received a $1 million federal grant for a program to increase the number of advanced practice nurses. The three-year grant is from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through its Health Resources and Services Administration. Arkansas assistant nursing professor Anna Jarrett will oversee the project for the university's Eleanor Mann School of Nursing. The grant will allow the university to develop a program to partner students with preceptors at clinical sites. The university expects to have partnerships at seven sites to produce 30 graduates for employment in underserved areas. |
| College ratings system proposed by Obama is scrapped | |
 | Nearly two years ago, President Obama proposed a federal system to rate the nation's colleges and universities, one that would provide families with an objective and unified tool to compare schools and for taxpayers to determine whether the massive investments in scholarships and other government spending on higher education are worthwhile. The idea, however, was met with protests and concerns from college leaders who contended that it was misconceived and could unfairly pit schools against each other. After repeated delays and many consultations with skeptical college leaders, the ratings system was recently scrapped. White House officials say that pushback from the higher education industry and congressional Republicans did not lead to the retreat. Instead, they say they could not develop a ratings system that worked well enough to help high school seniors, parents and counselors. |
| Freshman reading focuses on diversity, racial equality | |
 | Social justice. Climate change. Racial inequality. Immigration. Hunger. While those topics might read like a laundry list of some of the world's biggest problems, they are just a few of the issues covered in books that are required reading for freshmen at colleges across the country. Freshman reading programs are popular among institutions, used as a community-building project that helps freshmen to unite academically with a common discussion on one book. The selections are generally skewed toward nonfiction (although fiction is sometimes selected), and choices for this year are no different. Out of 121 institutions surveyed by Inside Higher Ed, the top pick was Bryan Stevenson's memoir, Just Mercy: A Story of Redemption and Justice, with 10 institutions electing to use the book as its common reading. |
| CHARLIE MITCHELL (OPINION): River of knowledge growing wider, but not deeper | |
| Longtime Mississippi journalist Charlie Mitchell writes: "It has been more than 400 years since Polonius, a character in Shakespeare's Hamlet, observed that 'brevity is the soul of wit.' One-liners by comics still draw laughter and praise. There's much to admire about concise communication. Always has been. There are no wasted words in the Ten Commandments, for example. Today, in the age of Twitter, more people are communicating more tersely than ever before in human history. We should be, as we say in Mississippi, in high cotton. But there's a problem: Context matters. Sometimes we need more information than a few words can tell us." |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State's Mullen debuts new kicks, addresses expectations on ESPN | |
| Dan Mullen spoke to hundreds of media members from across the nation last week wearing adidas Yeezy 350s at SEC Media Days. On Tuesday, he took his shoe game to ESPN. Mississippi State's seventh-year coach participated in ESPN's annual coaches' Car Wash in Bristol, Connecticut. Mullen's day began on SportsCenter where he flashed his adidas custom Superstars, which were maroon with three white stripes and an MSU logo on the side of the heel. The conversation for Mullen the last two weeks has revolved around his shoe game, which extends to the relationships he has with his players. |
| SEC Preview, Mississippi State: Bulldogs, All-SEC QB snarl at last-place pick | |
| Mississippi State, the team ranked No. 1 for three weeks late last season in the new College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings, was projected to finish last in its own division this fall at SEC media days. Mississippi State Coach Dan Mullen has led the Bulldogs to bowl games the past five seasons after going 5-7 in 2009, his first season in Starkville, and said he's not too put off by the media's selections. "When we get rolling again, I think people will realize we'll be a better football team than they're predicting," Mullen said on The Jim Rome radio show after the media projections came out. "I don't mind it. ... We play better with a chip on our shoulder. By being picked last, it allows us to keep that chip on our shoulder, and I think it will really motivate guys." |
| RICK CLEVELAND (OPINION): SEC preseason picks get worse every year | |
 | Mississippi syndicated sports columnist Rick Cleveland writes: "So let me get this straight: At SEC Media Days last week, Alabama was picked to win the SEC West and Auburn was picked to win the overall SEC Championship. Yet, Auburn can't win the SEC Championship unless it first wins the SEC West. This seems a pretty ironclad Catch 22. ...As prognosticators go, those who cover SEC football cannot pick their nose. I can say this with complete confidence. After all, I was once a picker. ...That's why Mississippi State fans ought to be happy the Bulldogs, No. 1 in the nation for weeks last season, are picked seventh of seven teams in the SEC West this season. The Dogs are picked seventh even though their quarterback, Dak Prescott, is picked as the All-League quarterback." |
| For honor: Former Bulldog Griffin returns to the field for Team USA | |
| For the past five years, Nick Griffin played football for his home state school. But for the last month, the former Mississippi State running back has been representing his country in the fifth annual International Federation of American Football World Championship in Canton, Ohio. Griffin and Team USA went 4-0 during the tournament and defeated Japan 59-12 in the gold medal game on Saturday. "It was a pretty cool experience to represent your country in the sport that you love," Griffin said. Now Griffin is already on to the next stage of his life. Last month he was hired by Brad Peterson to be the running backs coach at Madison Central High School. |
| Southern Miss counting down to kickoff of football season | |
| The countdown to kickoff has officially begun. Head football coaches for Conference USA's 13 teams will converge on south Florida today for the league's annual media day. Each year for most, this event signals the start of their respective seasons. This year is no different. Especially for Southern Miss. There are only 45 days between now and the Golden Eagles' season opener against Mississippi State at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg. Kickoff for that contest is set for 9 p.m. Sept. 5. Senior wide receiver Michael Thomas and senior cornerback Kalan Reed will be Southern Miss' player representatives today in Boca Raton, Florida. |
| Ole Miss names Price-Smith new track & field coach | |
| Connie Price-Smith has been named Ole Miss' new track & field coach, the school announced on Tuesday. Price-Smith was recently named women's head coach for Team USA at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. "This is a transformational day for Ole Miss track & field," Ole Miss athletics director Bjork said in a statement. "Selecting Connie Price-Smith as our new head coach sets the course for a new era of success in all phases of our program." Price-Smith replaces Brian O'Neal, who stepped down after three years at the helm in June to "pursue other professional opportunities." |
| U. of Tennessee rape suspects to have separate trials | |
 | Former University of Tennessee football players A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams will be tried separately in their rape case, Johnson's attorney said Tuesday. Stephen Ross Johnson, a Knoxville attorney representing A.J. Johnson, had requested the separate trials and confirmed the ruling in an email to The Tennessean. Johnson, formerly the Vols' star linebacker, is now scheduled for Sept. 29, court records show. Williams, a defensive back, has the Aug. 24 trial date originally scheduled for the pair, according to court records. The charges stem from November 2014 incident when the players were on Tennessee's roster. |
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