Established 1879 | Columbus, Mississippi

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Sunday | August 23, 2020

City proposes smaller budget in FY 21

in light of pandemic-induced impact
Armstrong: City does not anticipate millage rate increase Columbus Chief Fi-
nancial Officer De-
liah Vaughn pres-
BY YUE STELLA YU The projected revenue for FY 2021 is
syu@cdispatch.com ents the proposed
roughly $976,000 less than the $23.9 million FY 2021 budget
budgeted for FY 2020, which is largely due to Mayor Robert
Despite a projected revenue downturn
to an estimated 11-percent drop in sales tax Smith and the
amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the city of
revenue, documents show. The city expects city council Friday
Columbus is proposing a budget for Fiscal
to collect $8.6 million in sales tax for the up- afternoon. The city
Year 2021 that would allow the millage rate
to stay the same and leave the city with over coming fiscal year, which is $1 million less is projecting a $1
than the $9.6 million budgeted for FY 2020. million decrease
$8,000 of surplus. in revenue and
The FY 2021 budget — presented to That projection signals the impact of the
pandemic on the city’s finances, some coun- cutting $408,000
Mayor Robert Smith and council members in expenses,
during a special-call meeting Friday after- cil members told The Dispatch.
which would leave
noon — projects approximately $22.95 mil- “We’ve lost retail stores. Some of that is the city with more
lion in revenue and $22.94 million in spend- because of the pandemic,” Ward 6 Council- than $8,000 of
ing, which would leave the city with a surplus man Bill Gavin said. “Anytime you lose sales surplus.
of $8,286.79, documents show. See BUDGET, 3A Yue Stella Yu/Dispatch Staff

Two MSU
‘Designer drugs,’ opioids contributing
to Golden Triangle drug trade
Greek houses
see COVID-19
Law enforcement see outbreaks
increases in heroin, MSDH investigates
fentanyl, more potent cases as Phi Mu, Fiji
marijuana houses evacuated
BY ISABELLE ALTMAN for cleaning
ialtman@cdispatch.com
BY TESS VRBIN
Since she began tvrbin@cdispatch.com
working for Baptist
Behavioral Health Two Greek Life
Clinic in 2009, clin- houses at Mississip-
ical coordinator pi State University
Amanda Coleman have seen outbreaks
says she’s seen a of the COVID-19
definite increase in coronavirus, and a
Coleman total of 80 students
the number of pa-
tients with drug ad- are evacuating the
diction and the sever- houses and must Salter
ity of their problems. quarantine for 14
“Back in that time, days, MSU Chief
Communications Of-
even on our inpatient
ficer Sid Salter con-
unit our census ran
firmed Friday.
about 13,” she said.
Salter declined to
“Now we stay at a Scott
provide the names of
capacity of 30 pretty
the two Greek orga-
much all the time. And of those, I nizations in question, Mullen
don’t know specific numbers ... but but students confirmed them to be
just from my observations and my the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity,
perceptions it definitely seems that known as Fiji, and the Phi Mu so-
there’s always something new, as rority.
far as drug usage.” Salter also did not say how many
The trend is not only due to an cases there are in the two houses,
increase in opioids like heroin, fen- but Mississippi State Department
tanyl and prescription medication, of Health — which is investigating
but also to “designer drugs” — tra- the cases at the Greek houses —
ditional drugs like methamphet- considers three or more positive
amine and cannabis repackaged cases to be an outbreak.
and laced with other substances. The 80 affected students have
“The drug trade is alive and the option of returning to their
well,” Clay County Sheriff Eddie homes or staying in either of the
See DRUGS, 5A two Starkville hotels MSU rented
for the fall semester as quarantine
sites. The Comfort Suites on Rus-
sell Street and the Hampton Inn on
Courtesy photo Blackjack Road have a total of 155
Pictured are baggies of “ecstasy” pills which narcotics officers confiscated during an investigation in Crawford last rooms, and Salter said the number
month. The pills are not traditional MDMA, and instead are laced with methamphetamine, caffeine and other sub- of occupied rooms “literally chang-
stances. Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Brian Turner, commander of Lowndes County and Columbus’ joint
narcotics task force, and Sheriff Eddie Hawkins said the pills resemble candy and appear “kid friendly,” making es hourly.”
them particularly dangerous drugs. MSU has staffed the hotels with
employees from the departments
of Housing and Residence Life and
See OUTBREAKS, 5A

WEATHER FIVE QUESTIONS LOCAL FOLKS PUBLIC

1 When East Pakistan separated from MEETINGS
West Pakistan it formed which country? Aug. 31: Lowndes
2 What was the first film from Japan to County Board of Su-
win the Academy Award for Best Animated pervisors meeting, 9
Feature? a.m., Lowndes County
3 Which American snack giant began busi-
ness as the National Biscuit Company? Courthouse, facebook.
4 Which street artist created the iconic com/LowndesCounty-
Brianna Claire Boyd
poster with the word “HOPE” and an image Mississippi/
Sixth grade, Heritage
of presidential hopeful Barack Obama? Sept. 1: Columbus

High 90 Low 71
Mostly sunny
5 Tang was invented as a beverage for
astronauts. True or false?
Answers, 5B
City Council, 5 p.m.,
Municipal Complex,
facebook.com/Cityof-
Full forecast on
ColumbusMS/
page 3A.
Sept. 8: Lowndes
County Board of Su-
INSIDE pervisors meeting, 9
Classifieds 4,5B Lifestyles 1B Whitney Harris, an RN, started at Baptist a.m., Lowndes County
Comics 7,8B Obituaries 4A Memorial Hospital in September of 2018. “I Courthouse, facebook.
Crossword 5B Opinions 6A love the fact that I get to interact with people com/LowndesCounty-
141st Year, No. 140 Dear Abby 3B Sports 7,8A more and give them advice,” she said. Mississippi/

DISPATCH CUSTOMER SERVICE 328-2424 | NEWSROOM 328-2471

2A SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2020
W
hen
hur-
ri-
canes head
into the Gulf,
we all start
to wonder
when, where
and how bad
will landfall
be. The storm
updates and
forecasts we
keep up with Rufus Ward
have a lot to
do with the legacy of Col.
Joseph Duckworth.
Duckworth arrived at
Columbus Army Air Field until they entered the
(originally Kaye Field) in
early 1942 as a major and
director of training. He
became a popular figure
in Columbus where he
was known as “Joe Duck”
and resided in a northside were met by the base
antebellum home, Mag-
nolia Hill. On base he was William Jones-Burdick,
known simply as “The
Duck.” Before he left the
Columbus base in 1943,
he had become a lieu-
tenant colonel and group
commander.
Prior to the 1940s,
devastating hurricanes
could surprise coastal
communities, such as the importance of the weath-
Galveston hurricane of
1900 and the Pensacola
to Gulfport hurricane of
1916. Other than warn-
ings from ships at sea,
horrendous storms could
strike with little notice.
That all changed after
Duckworth bet some
British pilots a “highball”
(traditionally whiskey
and carbonated water or
ginger ale over ice) he
could fly a T-6 “Texan”
single engine trainer
through a hurricane. It
became an adventure that a hurricane and make
changed the way we look
at weather forecasting.
In 1943, Lt. Col. Duck-
worth became command- flown by the Hurricane
er of the Army Air Forces Hunters. It was a single
“Instructors’ School
(Instrument Pilot)” at
Bryan, Texas. On the
morning of July 27, 1943,
a hurricane was making
landfall near Galveston,
Texas. Duckworth and Lt. most known for. His
Ralph O’Hair were hav-
ing breakfast with some
veteran British pilots who instrument instruction
were at the base learning
the finer points of instru-
ment flying. The British
were kidding Duckworth
because American air-
planes were being flown
away from the storm’s
path and they made jokes Time Magazine article,
about the frailty of what
they considered the unre-
liable AT-6 Texan.
Duckworth got tired
of the ribbing and bet
the British a “highball”
he could fly through the
storm in a T-6. No pilot
had ever intentionally
flown through a hurri-
cane before as it was
considered too danger-
ous. The British took
Duckworth up on the bet
and he and O’Hair went
for the ride of a lifetime.
They took off from
Bryan Field and headed
for Galveston in an AT-6
trainer. As they ap-
proached Galveston, the
air traffic control tower at
Reeves declares emergency
ahead of Laura, Marco
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JACKSON — Missis-
sippi Gov. Tate Reeves
declared a state of emer-
gency Saturday ahead of
Tropical Storms Laura and
Marco, which are headed
into the Gulf of Mexico.
The dual threat places
the state in a unique posi-
tion.
“We are in unprece-
dented times,” Reeves said
at a news conference. “We
are dealing with not only
two potential storms in the
next few hours, we are also
dealing with COVID-19.”
He and other state of-
ficials urged residents to
prepare for the storms
and, if possible, find plac-
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
ASK RUFUS
The Legacy of Joe Duck
the Houston Coast were sent to Co- of the Civil Aeronautics
Airport asked lumbus to be evaluated. Board in Washington,
them on the Then in November 1942, D.C. He died in 1964 in
radio if they Major Gen. Ralph Royce Battle Creek, Michigan.
realized there put newly promoted Lt. The significant inno-
was a hurri- Col. Duckworth’s system vations in pilot training
cane. When in place throughout the developed by Col. Duck-
informed of entire 56 station South- worth began at Columbus
their plans, east Training Command. Army Air Field. His lega-
the tower In 1943, Lt. Col. cy remains at Columbus
asked where Duckworth became Air Force Base with the
to send the commander of the Army continued training of the
search parties Air Forces “Instructors’ world’s best pilots. His
to find their School (Instrument Pi- legacy is remembered
wreckage. lot)” at Bryan, Texas. Col. in the naming after him
O’Hair later recalled Duckworth retired from of the Base Operations
“being tossed about like Army Air Corps photo the Air Force in 1955 and Building.
a stick in a dog’s mouth” Col. Joseph Duckworth at his desk at Columbus Army served for a time as the Rufus Ward is a local
Air Field in 1942. In Columbus, he was known simply head of the safety bureau historian.
eye. They completed as “Joe Duck.” Today Duckworth is known as the “fa-
the flight and returned ther of Air Force instrument flying.”
to Bryan Field, the first
pilots to intentionally fly of the problems centered structor flight time before
through a hurricane. on the twin engine A-29 becoming instructors.
Upon landing they Lockheed Hudson. Duckworth realized
Instructor pilots hated the instructor pilots
weather officer, Lt. it and said it was “full of were not being properly
green dragons.” It was trained to teach cadets
who wanted to fly back the transition trainer to how to fly the A-29 train-
through the storm and the B-26 bomber which er-bomber. Duckworth
collect data. He climbed combat pilots “loved.” reported back to Mallory
into the airplane and What Duckworth found and the qualifications
Duckworth flew through was the instructor pilots to become an instructor
the storm a second time. were not sufficiently pilot at Columbus were
Lt. Jones-Burdick made trained to teach cadets upgraded. In addition,
observations and those how to fly a trainer-bomb- a “Flying Evaluation
observations showed the er that was “mighty hot to Board” of four officers
fledglings.” to evaluate and retrain
er data gained through In 1940, Air Corps instructors was estab-
the flight. pilot training was for a lished. He also found a
An idea was born period of one year but deficiency in instrument
for the use of aircraft by November 1942 it flying training and start-
in studying and track- had been reduced to ed the “full panel attitude
ing hurricanes. One of six months. In addition, system of instrument
today’s most important a pilot in 1940 was not flying.”
tools for tracking tropical assigned to a multi-en- Between May and
storms and gauging their gine bomber until he had October 1942 the number
strength and potential are at least 1,000 hours flight of students at Columbus
the Hurricane Hunters of time. In 1942, Duckworth doubled, but the number
the 53rd Weather Recon- found multi-engine bomb- of accidents decreased by
naissance Squadron at er instructor pilots who 44 percent. Soon instruc-
Keesler Air Force Base in only had three hours of tor pilots from bases as
Biloxi. The first aircraft multi-engine bomber in- far away as the Pacific
to fly through the eye of
weather observations was
not a four engine WC-
130J “Super Hercules” as
engine AT-6 “Texan”
trainer flown by “Joe
Duck.”
However, his hurri-
cane flight is not what
Col. Duckworth is
innovations in training
instructor pilots and in
led to his being known as
the “father of Air Force
instrument flying.” It also
resulted in Duckworth
and base commander Col.
L.C. Mallory being fea-
tured in a Nov. 30, 1942,
“Teaching the Teachers.”
During early 1942, the
Army Air Forces was ex-
periencing an excessive
rate of pilot training acci-
dents and fatalities at all
of its training bases. At
the twin engine advanced
flying school the Army
had just opened at Co-
lumbus, base commander
Col. Louie C. Mallory
decided to do something
about the problem. He
assigned his training di-
rector, Maj. Duckworth,
to figure out the problem
and fix it. Duckworth, a
pre-war long time East-
ern Airlines pilot, had
12,500 flight hours.
Duckworth found most
es to evacuate that are not
public shelters.
“You need to make
plans early to do so. What
we can’t have happen is if
this thing is to strengthen
on Sunday or Monday to
have a mad rush of people
to our sheltering space,”
Reeves said.
Mississippi Emergency
Management Agency Di-
rector Greg Michel said
there will be more shelters
available in coastal coun-
ties since occupancy rates
will be lowered by half to
two-thirds. People will
not be turned away from
shelters, but Reeves and
Michel urged residents to
find other places to wait
out the storms.
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2020 3A

Mississippi flag designs: Would they make good tattoos?

‘I think the committee faces a huge challenge
balancing design and political considerations’
Ted Kaye, secretary of the North American
BY EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
The Associated Press
JACKSON — After moth-
balling its old Confeder-
ate-themed state flag, Mississip-
pi could choose a new one with
a magnolia, a shield with wavy
lines representing water, or an
“edgy” representation of the
Mississippi River snaking along
the state’s western border.
The Associated Press con-
sulted three experts about five
final designs to possibly replace
the flag that was retired July 1.
One of the connoisseurs even
submitted a guide titled “Good
Flag Bad Flag” to the state com-
mission reviewing public sub-
missions.
Steve Knowlton of Princeton,
New Jersey, said the winning
design should be simple and dis-
tinctive enough to be replicated
on tattoos and pizza boxes.
“You know it’s a good design if
people are getting tattoos,” said
Knowlton, first vice president
of the North American Vexillo-
logical Association. The group
calls itself the world’s largest
organization of flag enthusiasts
and scholars, but it doesn’t take
sides in political debates about
flags. All three experts consult-
ed by the AP focused solely on
visual presentation.
Mississippi had the last
Vexillological Association
state flag that included the
Confederate battle emblem, a
big blue X with white stars on
a red background that is wide-
ly condemned as a symbol of
racism and white supremacy.
Lawmakers decided in June to
replace it amid nationwide pro-
tests against racial inequality.
The change came years after
other states had begun remov-
ing Confederate symbols from
public spaces after the slaying of
black worshippers in a church in
Charleston, South Carolina.
Commission members —
appointed by the governor,
lieutenant governor and House
speaker — have selected five
final designs from nearly 3,000
submitted by the public. The five
are being manufactured and will
be hoisted Tuesday in Jackson.
In early September, commis-
sioners will choose one design
to put on the November ballot.
If a majority of voters say yes,
that will become the new flag. If
they say no, the design process
begins again.
The panel has tweaked each
design to include a star made of
diamond shapes to reflect Choc-
taw heritage. By law, the new
flag also must display the words
“In God We Trust,” a provision
that persuaded some conserva-
tive legislators to retire the Con-
federate symbol.
“Good Flag, Bad Flag” recom-
mends that a flag should convey
an image without using words.
Unless the banner is made with
double thickness, which is more
expensive, words appear back-
ward on the reverse side. More
than half of the state flags in the
U.S. have words.
“I think the committee fac-
es a huge challenge balancing
design and political consider-
ations,” said Ted Kaye of Port-
land, Oregon, the guide’s au-
thor and secretary of the North
American Vexillological Associ-
ation.
The five finalists
The Mississippi Department
of Archives and History has
posted the five finalists online,
in this order:
DESIGN 1: The “Great River
Flag” has a red and white shield
on a dark blue background, with
a single star above the shield and
“In God We Trust” in a simple
typeface. The designer says the
inspiration came from the 1798
seal for the Mississippi territory.
Talamieka Brice, a graphic
design professional who lives
in Jackson, Mississippi, said the
design is attractive. “There was
a lot of thought put into that,”
she said.
Knowlton and Kaye were less
enthusiastic.
“To a person who hasn’t had
the design explained to them, it
looks very much like a generic
design associated with the Unit-
ed States,” Knowlton said.
Kaye said the design is “only
attractive because of the wavy
line in the shield.”
DESIGN 2: This flag shows
the western border of the state,
dominated by the Mississippi
River. It also has a large magno-
lia and smaller stars.
“That design was thought
out, but it’s not as strong as the
others,” Brice said.
Kaye said the realistic map
of the river is “an edgy idea” but
“infeasible to sew.”
Social media posts have said
the Mississippi border flag looks
like the profile of Bart Simpson.
Also, seen from the back — as it
will be on a flagpole — the river
shape makes less sense.
“It becomes Mississippi as
seen from the center of the
Earth,” Kaye said.
Knowlton said of this flag’s
wide blue field: “It makes you
think Mississippi is making ter-
ritorial claims on Alabama.”
The Mississippi Territory
from 1798 to 1819 included most
of present-day Alabama, but not
the coastal areas of either cur-
rent state.
DESIGNS 3 and 4: These are
nearly identical, with different
color patterns. Each has a large
magnolia in the center. One has
the white flower on a white field
with a blue stripe on one end and
a red one on the other. The other
has the magnolia on a dark blue
field with red stripes on each
end.
A flag design principle called
the “rule of tinctures” says
shapes made of light colors —
white and yellow — should not
go onto light backgrounds, just
as shapes made of dark colors
should not go onto dark back-
grounds.
Knowlton and Kaye said the
magnolia is lost on the white
background.
Brice said the magnolia
stands out on the blue, but she
thinks the flower is “hugely
overused.” Brice, who is African
American, said some Black peo-
ple might see the magnolia as
too closely associated with the
Old South.
“That’s a very loaded image,”
Brice said. “It reminds me ... if
you think about our history and
lynching and Billie Holiday’s
‘Strange Fruit.’”
But Brice said even though
she’s not a fan of the magnolia,
it’s not a deal-breaker. “Anything
that was linked to the Confeder-
acy would be a deal breaker,”
she said.
DESIGN 5: This has a styl-
ized magnolia tree on a blue
background.
Kaye said it’s the best design
overall, “but it looks too much
like other state flags.” He said
many have a blue background
with a state seal or some other
symbol in the center.
Knowlton said the magnolia
tree design resembles the Gon-
dor flag from “The Lord of the
Rings.” But, he said it’s distinc-
tive: “You could get it tattooed
on your upper arm and have
some confidence that the guy
wouldn’t wreck it.”

Free testing for teachers will start Monday

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JACKSON — The Mississippi
State Department of Health will be-
gin free coronavirus testing for K-12
teachers on Monday that will rotate to
various health departments through-
out the state during the next few
weeks.
The first round of testing will be
available Monday at Tallahatchie —
Charleston, Alcorn, Attala, Chick-
asaw — Houston, Copiah, Newton,
Adams and George county health de-
partments. Testing hours are noon to
7 p.m., and no appointment is neces-
sary. Those interested in being tested
can visit HealthyMS.com/locations
for addresses.
Additionally, daily testing is of-
fered for teachers, staff, and school
administrators at the West Street
Farmer’s Market in Jackson or any
pop-up testing site sponsored by
MSDH, the University of Mississippi
Medical Center, and the Mississippi
National Guard. Appointments are
needed at the Farmer’s Market.

Budget
Continued from Page 1A
tax dollars,
it really does
hurt the
city.”
Ward 3
Councilman
Charlie Box
told The Dis-
Gavin
patch that
before the
pandemic
hit, the city’s
sales tax
revenue had
been grow-
ing.
“ O u r
sales tax Box
has been
surging for the last two or
three years,” he said. “So
that (downfall) is definitely
pandemic-related.”
Department cuts
and increases
To accommodate a
smaller revenue than the
current fiscal year, the city
hopes to cut $408,000 in
spending for the upcom-
ing fiscal year. Compared
to FY 2020, many areas
— including the police,
administrative and finance
and information technolo-
gy departments — will see
their budgeted expenses
shrink if the proposed
budget is approved. Many
of those departments are
seeing reduced spending
in personnel, supplies and
capital improvement proj-
ects.
The police department,
for example, is allocated
$5.1 million for FY 2021,
which is a $432,345 de-
crease from the current fis-
cal year, documents show.
Chief Fred Shelton told
reduced outdoor events in
the upcoming fiscal year,
which would not require as
many officers in the field
or as much overtime pay.
The city also reduced
its budgeted spending on
outside transfers — which
includes money used to
match grants — from
$2.1 million to roughly
$191,800, which likely
means that the city will
pursue fewer grants in
the upcoming fiscal year,
Chief Operations Officer
David Armstrong told The
Dispatch.
But certain areas could
see increased spending in
FY 2021. For example, sev-
eral city departments will
witness more money going
to outsourcing services,
such as maintenance, utili-
ties and election expenses,
according to the proposed
budget. Although its over-
all budget shrank, the ad-
ministrative and finance
department is allocated
$1.6 million in contractu-
al services for FY 2021,
marking a $661,427 in-
crease in that category
from the current fiscal
year.
The city is also increas-
ing its projected expense
on “care and maintenance”
— which Armstrong said
includes repairs of traffic
signals and stop signs —
by almost 80 percent in
FY 2021, documents show.
The estimated spending
on that category for the
upcoming fiscal year is
roughly $923,000.
“There are a lot of traffic
signals that we are respon-
sible for that, honestly, we
probably should have put
we didn’t,” Gavin said he favors
he said. “We keeping the millage rate at
are going the same level.
to have to “I think it’s a good
do that this idea,” Gavin said. “It’s
year. We (also) encouraging to see
can’t put it things being cut to help
off.” balance that budget where
A r m - Armstrong
it doesn’t throw us into a
strong told The Dispatch tailspin.”
he “under-budgeted” de- Smith and other coun-
partment expenses in cil members could not be
FY 2020, which caused reached for comment by
a seemingly big jump in press time.
proposed spending this A public hearing on
year. If he had not done the FY 2021 budget will
that, Armstrong said the be held at 5 p.m. on Sept. Cheap thrills.
city would have seen a 8 at the Columbus Mu-
huge millage increase to nicipal Complex. The city Go for a walk.
meet the amount of mon- will adopt the millage rate
ey it needed to pay toward during that meeting and
general obligation bond adopt the budget Sept. 15.
debt that year. The city
increased its property tax
rate — calculated in mills
— from 47.59 to 51.24 last
year.
“I really cut more than
I should have last year,” he
said. “Had I not cut it dras-
tically as I did, we would
have been looking at at
least a 5-mill increase.”
Despite having less
money to work with for
the upcoming fiscal year,
Armstrong told The Dis-
patch the city’s financial
situation is in better shape
than he had expected.
“It just worked out that
way. ...I thought we would
be really lopsided,” he
said. “I just thought, really,
that our expenses would
be a whole lot more than
what our projected reve-
nue is.”
Based on the overall
projections, Armstrong
said the city does not have
to raise its millage rate to SOLUNAR TABLE
create more revenue for The solunar period indicates
peak-feeding times for fish and game.

The Dispatch he foresees in this year’s budget but the upcoming year. Major
Sun.
4:43a
Mon.
5L35a
Minor 11:45a 12:53p
Major 5:09p 6:02p
Minor 10:47p 11:24p
Courtesy of Mississippi Department
of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks

CORRECTION
■ In Thursday’s edition, a headline misidentified the type of tax Lowndes Coun-
ty School District is seeking to increase. It is requesting more from the county in
The Dispatch
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email news@cdispatch.com.
4A SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2020
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must be finalized by 3 p.m.
for inclusion the next day
Monday through Thursday;
and on Friday by 3 p.m. for
Sunday and Monday publica-
tion. For more information,
call 662-328-2471.
Billy Flippo
SULLIGENT, Ala.
— Billy T. Flippo, 85,
died Aug. 19, 2020, at
DCH of Tuscaloosa,
Alabama.
No services have
been scheduled at this
time. Otts Funeral
Home of Sulligent is
in charge of arrange-
ments.
Mr. Flippo was
born Aug. 15, 1935,
in Hamilton, to the
late Greene Flippo Sr.
and Viola Whitaker.
He attended Grubb
Springs Schools and
was a member of Liv-
ing Waters Assembly
of God. In addition to
his parents, he was
preceded in death by
his wife, June Flippo;
and siblings, Rayburn
Flippo, Greene Flip-
po Jr., Floyd Flippo,
Hazel Cruz and Doris
Fooshee.
He is survived by
his wife, Marilyn
Flippo; children,
Billy Thomas Flippo
Jr. of Elkhart, Tex-
as, Ricky Flippo of
Palestine, Texas and
Leslie Flippo of Moore,
Oklahoma; step-daugh-
ter, Dianna Fisher of
Tuscaloosa; siblings,
Charles Flippo of
Gattman, Christine
Welch of Hamilton
and Thelma Flynn of
Sulligent; and several
grandchildren; and
great-grandchildren.
William Johnstone
WEST POINT —
William “Bill” John-
stone, 59, died Aug.
19, 2020, at Specialty
Hospice of Meridian.
A celebration of life
will be held at a later
date. Calvert Funeral
Home of West Point is
in charge of arrange-
ments.
Mr. Johnstone was
born June 14, 1961,
in Illinois to Edith
Miriam Wiederhold
and Albert Franklin
Johnstone. He was a
member of Calvary
Baptist Church.
In addition to his
parents, he was pre-
ceded in death by his
siblings, John C. John-
stone of West Point and
Robert A. Johnstone of
Benton Kansas.
He is survived by
his daughter, Brittney
Johnstone; and sister,
Joy Johnstone of Kan-
sas City, Missouri.
Troy Edwards
COLUMBUS —
Troy Edwards, 68,
died Aug. 22, 2020, at
Baptist Memorial Hos-
pital-Golden Triangle.
Arrangements are
incomplete and will be
announced by Lown-
des Funeral Home of
Columbus.
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
AREA OBITUARIES
William Cochran the late Thaddeaus True Temper. He was late George Carlos and his wife, Betty Dicker-
Robert Harper. He a member of Riverside Estelle Rhudy. He was son Rhudy; children,
COLUMBUS — Wil-
liam Stephen Cochran, was a graduate of the Baptist Church. a veteran of the United Merlene Partridge,
67, died Aug. 21, 2020, University of Southern In addition to his States Army. He was Terry Rhudy and
at Sanctuary Hospice Mississippi and Missis- parents, he was pre- formerly employed as Christie Rhudy Lee;
House of Tupelo. sippi College. He was ceded in death by his a bridge inspector with siblings, G.C. Rhudy
A graveside service formerly employed as siblings, Kay Akins and the Mississippi Depart- and Wayne Rhudy;
will be at noon Tues- a school administrator Terry W. Barnhill. ment of Transportation two grandchildren;
day, in Friendship in the Madison County He is survived by his and as a registered four step-grandchil-
Cemetery, with Jeffrey School District and the wife Judy Barnhill; son, land surveyor. He was dren; six great-grand-
Waldrep officiating. State Department of Tony Barnhill of West a member of Nettleton children; and five
Visitation will be one Education, as principal Point; siblings, Cathy Pentecostal Church. step-great-grandchil-
hour prior to services in the West Pint School Edwards and Jerry In addition to his dren.
at Memorial Gunter District, as headmaster Barnhill both of West parents, he was pre- Pallbearers will be
of Hebron Christian
Peel Funeral Home and Point; one grandson; ceded in death by his Art Underwood, Jona-
Crematory. Memorial School and as a ter- and one great-grand- siblings, Artis, Calvin, than Underwood, Jeff
Gunter Peel Funeral ritory manager with son. Velcie and Edna Estes King, Brian Lindsey,
Home and Crematory Precept Marketing. Memorials may be Sullivan. Lane Galloway and Jon
College Street location He was a member of made to West Point/ He is survived by Conn.
is in charge of arrange- First Baptist Church Clay County Animal
Luther Richardson
Starkville. Shelter, 5122 Old Tib-
ments.
Mr. Cochran was In addition to his bee Road, West Point,
born Feb. 15, 1953, in mother, he is survived MS, 39773.
Newport, Arkansas, by his wife, Janie Goza Dr. Luther Washington
to the late Billy Joe Harper; children, Haley Dorothy Williams Richardson, Jr. died on August
and Betty Jean Dean Harper Todd, Sara Pow- NORTHPORT, Ala. 11, 2020, at the age of 84 at his
Cochran. He was a ell Harper and Lindsey — Dorothy M. Wil- home in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
graduate of Mississippi Anne Harper; and liams, 94, died Aug. 19, A private family burial was
State University. He brother, Thad Harper. 2020, at DCH Regional held on August 22, 2020, at
was formerly employed Medical Center of Tus- Tuscaloosa Memorial Park with
as a master plumber, Virginia Lowe caloosa, Alabama. the Reverend Hoyt Winslett, Jr.
journeyman pipefitter, COLUMBUS — Vir- A home going cel- officiating.
and with American ginia Lowe, 100, died ebration will be at 11 Dr. Richardson is survived
by his wife, Louise Carleton Winslett Richardson
Glass Company. Aug. 21, 2020, at Wind- a.m. Saturday, in the
He is survived by sor Place. James and Lola Laven- (“Sissy”) of Tuscaloosa; his daughter, Louise
his wife, Mimi Myers Arrangements are der Memorial Chapel Talbot Richardson Manzella and her husband
Cochran; daughter, incomplete and will be of Lavender’s Funeral Stephen Michael Manzella of York, Pennsylvania;
Kelly Comer of Perry, announced by Lown- Service. Burial will his son, Luther Washington Richardson III and his
Georgia; siblings, Sean des Funeral Home of follow in New Salem wife Adrienne Taylor Richardson of Tuscaloosa;
Cochran of Houston, Columbus. Baptist Church Cem- and his grandchildren, Matthew Winslett
Texas and Anna Melton etery. Visitation will Manzella, Frances Winslett Richardson, Luther
of Canutillo, Texas; and Washington Richardson IV (“Luke”) and Sarah
one grandchild.
Robert Barnhill be from noon-5 p.m.
Louise Manzella (“Sadie”). To his grandchildren,
WEST POINT — Friday, at the funer-
Memorials may be al home. Lavender’s he was affectionately known as “Boo”. He is
Robert Dale “Bob” also survived by his sisters, Beth Richardson
made to Parkinson’s Funeral Services of
Barnhill, 68, died Aug. Howell of Fort Walton Beach, Florida and Nancy
Foundation, 200 SE Aliceville is in charge
20, 2020, at his resi- Richardson McKinnie and her husband James
First Street, Suite 800, of arrangements.
dence. Merrick McKinnie, Jr. of Burnsville, North
Miami, FL 33131.
Funeral services Carolina; his brother-in-law, the Reverend Hoyt
Betty Grissom are at 2 p.m. today, William Rhudy Winslett, Jr. and his wife Emily Cosby Winslett
at Riverside Baptist NET TLETON — of Tuscaloosa; and several nieces and nephews.
COLUMBUS — Bet- Church, with Jim Salee William Leon Rhudy,
ty Jane Ash Grissom The family would like to extend their gratitude to
officiating. Burial will 87, died Aug. 20, 2020. his caregivers Maria Overstreet, Lorenza Allen,
died Aug. 22, 2020, at follow in McPherson Funeral services
Baptist Memorial Hos- DeShonda Davis, Debra Hopson and Lorie Price,
Cemetery in the Siloam were at 3 p.m. Saturday, as well as to the nurses from Hospice of West
pital-Golden Triangle. Community. Visitation at Cleveland-Moffett
Arrangements are Alabama who cared for him.
is from 1:30-2 p.m. Funeral Home, with the Dr. Richardson was born on October 15, 1935,
incomplete and will be prior to services at the Rev. Sammy Raper and
announced by Memori- in Columbus, Mississippi, the son of Louise
church. Calvert Funer- the Rev. Daniel Hern- Parsons Richardson and Luther Washington
al Gunter Peel Funeral al Home of West Point don officiating. Burial
Home and Crematory Richardson. He was raised amongst his many
is in charge of arrange- followed in Union Parsons and Richardson aunts, uncles, and
Second Avenue North ments. Cemetery. Visitation
location. cousins who called him “Spanky”, but he was glad
Mr. Barnhill was was from 1-2:50 p.m. to be relieved of that nickname when his family
born Aug. 2, 1952, in Saturday, at the funeral moved to Tuscaloosa in 1949. He graduated
Johnathan Harper Jackson, to the late home. Cleveland-Mof- from Tuscaloosa High School as valedictorian
CLINTON — Johna- Edna Tyler and Robert fett Funeral Home of
of the class of 1953 and from The University
than Powell Harper, 59, J. Barnhill. He was a Amory was in charge of
of Alabama with a B.S. degree in 1956. At UA,
died Aug. 19, 2020. veteran of the Navy and arrangements.
he was a member of the social fraternity Delta
Services will be at was formerly employed Mr. Rhudy was born
Kappa Epsilon and the honorary fraternities of
11 a.m. Monday, at as a machinist with Feb. 18, 1933, to the
Phi Eta Sigma, Alpha Chi Sigma, Alpha Epsilon
First Baptist Church Delta, and Phi Beta Kappa.
Starkville Warehouse
Following graduation, he attended medical
Center. Burial will school at Tulane University School of Medicine,
follow. Visitation will
receiving his M.D. degree in 1960. He interned
be from 9:30-11 a.m. at Southern Pacific General Hospital in San
prior to services at the
Francisco, California from 1960 to 1961. He
church. Welch Funeral completed a fellowship in dermatology at
Home of Starkville is
Tulane University in 1962 and a residency on
in charge of arrange- the Louisiana State University Service, Charity
ments.
Hospital of Louisiana in 1964. He and Sissy,
Mr. Harper was having married in 1962, moved from New Orleans
born May 4, 1961, in
to Florida n 1964 where he served as a Captain in
Jackson, to Margaret the United States Air Force, stationed at Orlando
Harper McKenzie and
Air Force Base. Upon completion of military
service, they returned to Tuscaloosa where he
was in the private practice of dermatology for
over fifty years and served as a Clinical Professor
at The College of Community Heath Services,
Department of Family Medicine, University of
Alabama. He considered it the greatest privilege
to be able to serve his patients.
He was a member of the American Medical
Association, Southern Medical Association,
Life Member of the American Academy of
Dermatology, Alabama Dermatological Society,
The Medical Association of the State of Alabama,
and the Tuscaloosa County Medical Society.
He was also a long time member of Dollarhide
Hunting and Fishing Club and Phoenix Club.
At Christ Episcopal Church, he served on the
Vestry on several occasions and as Chairman of
Stephen Cochran Christian Education, Long Range Planning,
Incomplete Every Member Canvas, and New Ministries
College St. Location Committee. For the Episcopal Diocese of
Alabama, he served on the Diocesan Council,
Standing Committee, Department of Christian
Education, Finance Department, and as a Trustee
of the Diocesan Trust Funds.
Civic involvement included board membership
for Hospice of West Alabama, West Alabama
AIDS Outreach, Tuscaloosa County Preservation
Society, Black Warrior Council of the Boy Scouts
memorialgunterpeel.com of America, the Society for the Fine Arts at
The University of Alabama, and Friends of the
Alabama Governor’s Mansion. He served with
his wife as co-chairman of the Parents Council
at The University of the South in Sewanee,
Tennessee, and served as co-chairman of the
Interiors Committee of the Jemison-Van de
Graff House for several years. He also served
on several committees of the Monteagle Sunday
School Assembly at Monteagle, Tennessee.
An additional service will be held at The
Assembly at a future date.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations
be made to the Christ Episcopal Church
Foundation or Hospice of West Alabama.
Paid Obituary - Tuscaloosa Memorial
Funeral Home
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2020 5A

Drugs
Continued from Page 1A
Scott told The Dispatch
earlier this month, adding
the only drug he’s seen a
decrease in over the last
few years has been crack
cocaine.
As of July of this year,
Lowndes County’s joint
narcotics
task force
agents have
seized four
dosage units
of fentanyl,
14 grams
of heroin,
13 pounds Hawkins
of marijua-
na and more than 2,000
dosage units of ecstasy,
according to numbers
Sheriff Eddie Hawkins
provided The Dispatch.
By the same time last
year, agents recovered
one dosage unit of fentan-
yl, no heroin, eight pounds
of marijuana and 14 dos-
age units of ecstasy. From
2017 to 2019, Mississippi
Bureau of Narcotics also
saw increases in heroin,
fentanyl, prescription opi-
oids, ecstasy and edibles.
The ecstasy tablets in
particular are different
from MDMA (methylene-
dioxy-methamphetamine)
people traditionally think
of when they think of ec-
stasy, said Hawkins and
Austin Shepherd, director
of the Columbus Crime
Lab which works with
law enforcement agencies
throughout north Missis-
sippi.
“In general, kind of
throughout north Missis-
sippi, we’re
seeing a While Scott said Clay
good bit of
ecstasy pills
coming in,”
Shepherd
said. “The
interest-
ing thing is Shepherd
what a lot of
people are calling ‘ecsta-
sy’ — we don’t see a lot
of real ecstasy in north
Mississippi. It’s mainly
methamphetamine and
caffeine pills.”
While MDMA is a
derivative of metham-
phetamine, and both are
stimulants, Shepherd
said, MDMA has a strong
hallucinogenic effect. The
ecstasy most law enforce-
ment are seeing locally
is “basically meth” in pill
form, Hawkins said.
Methamphetamine has
long been a drug of choice
for many in Golden Tri-
angle and other parts of
Mississippi, and narcot-
ics agents still see plenty
of it, Hawkins said. What
bothers him more about
the pills are the fact that
they’re often mixed with
other, more dangerous,
substances.
“It can be anything
from caffeine to amphet-
amines to even fentanyl,”
he said, referencing a
potent synthetic narcotic
which the National In-
stitute on Drug Abuse
reports resulted in more
than 31,000 overdose
deaths nationwide in 2018.
“... So they’re extremely
dangerous.”
The other problem with
the pills is how they’re
designed,
packaged
and mar-
keted, said
task force
commander
Capt. Bri-
an Turner,
adding the Turner
design ap-
pears kid-friendly. The
pills are often made in
local motels — though
stronger substances are
trafficked in from out of
state — and sold on the
street sometimes for as
little as 50 cents per pill.
“They look like little
sweet tarts or little can-
dy,” Hawkins said. “Peo-
ple don’t understand how
dangerous this can be
because you don’t know
what you’re consuming
or what the distributer or
manufacturer is putting in
this drug and then putting
out on the street.”
‘Designer drugs’
County officers haven’t
been seeing as much of
the ecstasy as law enforce-
ment in Lowndes County
reported — CCSO still
seizes methamphetamine
primarily in its tradition-
al crystallized form —
he said they have been
seeing marijuana and
marijuana edibles com-
ing from western states
where the drug has been
legalized.
In many cases, Haw-
kins and Scott said, the
THC (the illegal sub-
stance in marijuana which
produces a high) is higher
than it used to be.
Like the ecstasy pills
in Lowndes County, many
of the marijuana products
are specially packaged
and marketed, Scott said.
“We’ve actually gotten
some marijuana that’s dif-
ferent flavored,” he said.
“... You can get vanilla,
different flavors, different
smells of it. It’s kind of a
providing help and reha- Many of Manning’s
bilitation for those with patients have told her it
addiction problems; and only took them one use to
incarcerating the drug get hooked on their drug
manufacturers and traf- of choice, particularly if
fickers who provide ad- there’s a history of addic-
dicts with newer, and in tion in their family.
some cases increasingly Treating addicts not
dangerous, products. only helps the individu-
Jeanette Manning, a als struggling with drug
drug and alcohol addic- problems, but on a wide
tion counselor at Baptist enough scale, could help
Behavioral Health, point- cut down on the produc-
ed out that addiction is tion of drugs in and of it-
considered a disease, one self, Turner said.
that needs to be treated by “Without a consumer,
medical means. you can’t make any mon-
Courtesy photo “Drugs change the ey,” he said. “By handling
Narcotics officers with Lowndes County and Columbus’ brain chemistry, and they that problem, we elimi-
joint drug task force seized a pound — or about $1,000 change it in structure and nate the customers.”
worth — of moon rocks during an investigation in south how it works,” she said. Scott agreed.
Lowndes County on July 24. Moon rocks are cannabis “Prolonged use of drugs “We’ve got programs
buds sprayed with hash oil and rolled with kief. ... does change the whole set up to help anybody
chemistry of your brain, who wants help,” he said.
designer-type packag- drug problem is a “three-
causing someone to en- “There’s all type of rehab,
ing.” pronged” approach: ed- gage in reckless behav- drug courts, this and that
Among the marijuana ucating the public, and ior, compulsive activities, that’s already in place.
products are moon rocks, particularly students crimes. That’s why they You’ve got to bite the head
which Turner described and their parents, about commit crimes, they go of the snake off, and that’s
as a “spinoff of hash oil.”
what drugs look like and and rob people, they do going to be the traffick-
“Basically you take the
the dangers of addiction; anything to get drugs.” ers.”
buds of the marijuana and
dip it in hash oil and roll
it in kief,” he said. “Kief
is like a marijuana pollen.
... Not only do they roll it
in that, but they also add
flavor to it.
“Your normal mari-
juana is about 20 percent
THC, but these moon
rocks are supposed to be
having 50 percent, so it’s a
lot stouter,” he added.
It’s those types of
drugs, along with the
increase in opioids, that
Coleman is seeing more
of, and that often have
stronger effects on pa-
tients than traditional sub-
stances.
“The (patients) that we
see are actually generally
... coming in because they
have used something syn-
thetic and it has negative-
ly impacted them in such
a way that they are psy-
chotic,” she said. “They
are having hallucinations
that don’t stop when they
stop using, just continue
on. They cause a lot of
paranoia, suspiciousness
of people, and some of
that stuff lingers on for
long periods of time.
“It used to be if they
smoked something or
used something ... there
would be a high from it
and then they would come
down,” she added. “And
now the coming down
doesn’t seem to always
happen.”
Education, prevention
and incarceration
Hawkins and Turner
believe the solution to the

Photos by Tess Vrbin/Dispatch Staff

LEFT: The Phi Gamma Delta, known as Fiji, fraternity house on the Mississippi State
University campus was one of two Greek houses evacuated Friday after residents
tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus. Two anonymous MSU students told
The Dispatch that the fraternities have not been adhering to safety protocols, with
some even throwing parties. RIGHT: The Phi Mu sorority house on MSU’s campus
was the other Greek house to be evacuated Friday after residents tested positive for
COVID-19. The residents must quarantine for 14 days and have the options of going
home or staying in the Starkville hotels MSU rented for the semester.

Outbreaks
Continued from Page 1A
custodial services, and employees of
the Longest Student Health Center will
monitor quarantined students’ health on
site.
MSU Division of Student Affairs will
sanitize the Fiji and Phi Mu houses, and
students will hopefully be able to re-
turn in 14 days, Salter said Friday. They
moved into the houses within the last
two weeks.
All Greek chapters have safety pro-
tocol plans that follow guidelines from
the national Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, said Jacqueline Mullen,
MSU’s Director of Fraternity and Soror-
ity Life. Signs on the entrances to the
houses say that everyone must wear a
protective face covering. Chapters also
have adjusted meal schedules to en-
force social distancing, increased the
frequency of cleaning and implemented
check-ins for residents, members and
visitors, Mullen said.
Two MSU students who spoke to The
Dispatch on the condition that their
names not be used said that the frater-
nities have not been adhering to safety
protocols, with some even throwing par-
ties. The sororities, they said, have been
diligent about the protocols.
“We have so many rules that if it hap-
pened, we probably didn’t get it here,” a
sorority member said.
MSU releases COVID-19 testing data
on its website every Monday. From Aug.
10 to Aug. 14, the university tested 276
people for COVID-19, resulting in 16
positive cases. MSU has seen a total of
156 positive cases from 1,809 tests since
COVID-19 became a global pandemic in
March, according to the website.
MSDH is also investigating an out-
break at Mississippi University for Wom-
en, in which four positive cases required
75 students in the university’s nursing
program to quarantine last week.
Classes at both universities began
Monday.
Opinion
6A SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2020
PARTIAL TO HOME
A perfect day
On the morning
of my birthday this
past week, I took
my coffee outside
and found my usual
seat in a garden
overlooking the
street. It was well
before sunup and
nestled behind
giant elephant ears
and under a tall red
rosebush someone Birney Imes
left in the driveway
a year or so ago, I become luxury to sit here in the dark,
invisible. unhurried, unseen, sipping
We’ve had a run of cool coffee, absorbing the sounds of
mornings, and this was one of a new morning while savoring
those. the day ahead and its possibil-
As we enter the heart of ities.
summer, the days are starting Though plentiful, the birds
later and ending sooner. It’s — in contrast with the cacoph-
now between 5:30 and 6 before ony at the height of mating
OUR VIEW
Roses and thorns
A rose to the Columbus
Municipal School District
and its board of trustees,
who will not be asking for an
increase in local taxes this
year. Although the 2021 bud-
get, approved this week by the board, will
fall short of estimated expenses by about
$3.2 million, the board said it will cover the
shortfall primarily by dipping into its re-
serve funds and borrowing from its capital
improvement funds. This comes at a time
when the Lowndes County School District
has announced its intentions to ask for an
additional $5.5 million in local tax money.
We note that as recently as five years ago,
the two district’s financial statues were in
almost direct opposite conditions. We ap-
plaud the hard work the CMSD has done to
put its financial house in order. The district
is proving to be good stewards of taxpayer
dollars. That should not go unnoticed and
certainly not unappreciated.
A rose to Matt Bogue
and Dutch Oil for another
great example of civic pride.
Drivers along Highway 45
in front of Leigh Mall have
probably noticed that the
old convenience store/gas station is being
refurbished after having remained vacant
and deteriorating for the past five years.
Like the mall itself, it had become a visual
symbol of decay. What’s especially impres-
sive is that Bogue said the company has no
plans for the site. Rather, the company just
wanted to turn it from blight to bright. The
company also removed the underground
fuel tanks, which might have represented
an environmental problem at some point.
We applaud Dutch Oil for cleaning up a
property at their own expense. We consider
it a public service and an example of how
our businesses can shape how our city is
perceived. We’d like to see much more of
this in Columbus.
A rose to George Irby, who
was presented with the Paul
Coggin Trailblazer Award
during last week’s Main
Street Columbus awards lun-
cheon. The award is present-
ed each year by the Mississippi Main Street
Association to a Main Street member or vol-
unteer for long-time service. It’s essentially
the state-wide organization’s “Lifetime
Achievement Award” and Irby is the third
Columbus recipient in the award’s history.
Any attempt to list all that Irby has con-
tributed to our community over the years
would certainly end in omissions. Suffice
to say, whether it is behind the scenes as
a volunteer or as an active board member,
Irby always seems to be there when civic
projects emerge. We congratulate George
for this well-deserved honor.
A rose to the West Lown-
des 4-H Club and its partners,
for Saturday’s drive-through
mask giveaway. The club
distributed about 300 packag-
es containing masks donated
by the Mississippi State Department of
Health. The project was also supported
by the club’s sponsors, 4-County Electric
Power Association and Clark Beverages.
The giveaway, staged at the Artesia Com-
munity Center, took the place of the walk/
health fair event that was canceled because
of the COVID-19 pandemic. We applaud the
club’s efforts to re-tool their service project
to meet the unique needs of the times. We
also believe it underscores the valuable
lessons 4H membership provides children
ages 7 to 17 in our community, including
the emphasis on community service.
PETER BIRNEY IMES Editor/Publisher
BIRNEY IMES III Editor/Publisher 1998-2018
BIRNEY IMES JR. Editor/Publisher 1947-2003
Dispatch
The
BIRNEY IMES SR. Editor/Publisher 1922-1947
ZACK PLAIR, Managing Editor
BETH PROFFITT Advertising Director
MICHAEL FLOYD Circulation/Production Manager
MARY ANN HARDY Controller
the first evidence season in spring — are quiet. of the flowing river in which to me my mother’s famous cheese
of day appears. My There is only the occasional challenge our sure-footedness. straws. A beekeeper friend
overhead view is chirp, bleep or squawk. Few would argue that kids leaves on the porch a jar of
limited by a row of A block away to the east a need to be outside cavorting in honey with, “Happy Birthday,
oaks and a sugar car — its burglar alarm tripped nature. Adults too. Birney” on the label.
maple, but there is — starts honking. Three blasts Recently, listening to the Friends send birthday
enough sky to see and it stops. A few minutes podcast, “Hidden Brain,” wishes by email. Birthday calls
the beginnings of later another car horn honks, a I heard how some doctors come from Germany and India.
day in the form of single blast from the south. believe exposure to sunlight My granddaughter sends a
the darkest blue A car pulls up in front of and the resulting Vitamin D happy birthday text that when
sky and the faint, Byron’s next door and I hear it produces, minimizes the opened causes balloons to drift
ineffable wisps of his rich baritone voice as he symptoms of Covid-19. The across the screen of my phone.
clouds. gets in. The door slams, the anecdotal evidence cited I talk to my mother who re-
It is the height of car drives away, and it is quiet was convincing, that only 15 calls my first birthday. “It was a
again. minutes of sunlight can have a perfect day,” she says, “just as
This morning my grand- profound effect. Why not? this one is a perfect day.”
son and I will be kayaking on A friend has called and While I can’t vouch for her
the Buttahatchee. Though wants me to come get a wa- generous assessment of that
the water is low, there will termelon from his garden. We first birthday, I’d have to agree
be fallen trees to climb over, have dinner plans with family with her about the most recent.
imaginary tightropes stretched that will feature homemade Birney Imes (birney@
between tall buildings to test honey ice cream. cdispatch.com) is the former
our derring-do and the rapids Dorothy Brownlee makes publisher of The Dispatch.
HOME BASE
When asked to serve two masters,
people make mistakes
At home this summer, – which we had submitted they are frazzled and trying to func-
my daughter Zayley, 11, to enroll her – had been tion out of their element. It’s even
has watched for the mail misplaced. It happens. worse when some things – environ-
truck every day with the So, on Friday, I went ment, expectations, etc. – are the “as
excitement of someone donning mask to the usual” but so many other trappings
waiting for her Pub- school and explained the (i.e., the stakes) are different. I
lishers Clearinghouse situation. The ladies I imagine anyone working at a school
check. talked to were friendly right now, from the superintendent
You can’t blame and abundantly helpful. to the lowest paid staff member, feels
her. She hasn’t been to They assured me Pfeiffer’s like they’re in the Twilight Zone as
school since March, and registration was complete they make the best of preparing for
all three of my daugh- and her documents all or starting the semester.
ters are now grappling Zack Plair in-hand. But they told me Add fear of getting sick or making
with the reality they will I also had somehow been someone else sick. Add the responsi-
be “learning virtually” from home registered as a student – one of at bility in-person teachers will have of
starting Monday, rather than attend- least four parents this had happened disinfecting rooms between classes,
ing the public schools where they to this year. as well as making sure kids are
are enrolled in-person. I asked who my teacher was sup- wearing their masks. Add the anxi-
So Zayley looks forward to getting posed to be, but they didn’t answer. ety, and impatience, of students and
the mail as a regimented, yet some- It’s also unclear whether I had been parents who desperately want things
what unpredictable, part of what registered for kindergarten or first to be normal but they aren’t.
have otherwise become very pre- grade. The Good Book says man can’t
dictable days. You never know what Ultimately, I withdrew my enroll- serve two masters. Yet, school em-
surprises might be in the mailbox, ment from the elementary school, ployees are being asked to serve our
right? citing work obligations, and the children’s educational needs “like
On Thursday, Zayley came in ladies assured me I wouldn’t have normal,” while also trying to protect
from her mail run and handed me an to be in class on Monday. All’s well them from contracting and spread-
envelope from the elementary school that ends well, although I was kind ing an invisible virus.
where my youngest, Pfeiffer, will of getting excited about playing with We need to be prepared for the
start kindergarten next week. But blocks and going to Centers. possibility this may not go well. And
it was addressed to “The Parents of The experience, though, brought we need to do so with the knowledge
Zack Plair.” something a little more frightening that everyone trying to make it work
What surprises, indeed. to mind. is doing the best they can.
Part of me wondered if I could Teachers, administrators and The bottom line is, by offering
legally open it, as my parents live in everyone working at schools this unclear, untimely and unreasonable
Arkansas. But opting for forgiveness fall face immense pressure imple- expectations, state-level leadership
over permission, I couldn’t resist. menting a pandemic strategy that is – per the usual in Mississippi – hung
Inside was the real treat. This spreading their resources thinner our public schools out to dry. Now
elementary school had me, at age than they have ever been. What we deal with the consequences while
36, registered as a student, but the they’re being asked to do is impossi- Tate and his ilk keep shirking re-
letter indicated my birth certifi- ble, and it’s lost on no one involved sponsibility. As Mr. Reeves’ political
cate, shot records and two proofs of that a mistake this year could mean daddy would say, “It is what is.”
residency were needed to complete the difference between life and My wife is one of the many
my enrollment. For a moment, I felt death for themselves, a student, a teachers instructing all-virtual this
like a real-life Billy Madison, only it coworker or loved ones exposed. semester. For that I am grateful. To
would kind of be in reverse. Adam They have admirably toiled to those who are in classrooms with
Sandler’s character in the film didn’t make things as normal as possible. kids, as well as the administration,
enter his romantic relationship with Our district, as well as others in staff and students who have commit-
a teacher until after he had been the area, have done a marvelous job ted to looking this virus in the eye
back through school. I’m already under the circumstances. But our every day: I’m praying for you; I’m
married to a teacher in the district. district also registered a 36-year-old pulling for you; and I hope whatever
The more immediate concern for elementary school, an extremely happens, you will be OK.
was if there was a misprint on the abnormal mistake indicative of such Zack Plair is managing editor of
envelope, and the letter was actually an abnormal time. The Dispatch. His email address is
meant to tell us Pfeiffer’s documents Anyone makes mistakes when zplair@cdispatch.com.
Sports MISSISSIPPI STATE FOOTBALL
SPORTS LINE
662-241-5000
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2020 n 7A

Alcohol sales allowed at Davis Wade Stadium

BY BEN PORTNOY
bportnoy@cdispatch.com
STARKVILLE — Al-
cohol is coming to Davis
Wade Stadium.
Friday, Mississippi
State released its 2020
gameday protocols amid
the COVID-19 pandemic,
including that beer sales
will be allowed during
MSU football games this
fall. Granted “resort sta-
tus” following the Mis-
sissippi Legislature’s
passing of Senate Bill
2253, MSU will become
the eighth school in the
Southeastern Conference
to allow the sales of alco-
hol at athletic events.
Ole Miss was the
most recent SEC school
to begin selling alcohol
at football games. Fol-
lowing an Oct. 19 loss to
Texas A&M last season,
the school announced its
hospitality provider Cen-
terplate had sold 15,400
beers for a total revenue
of $128,000 at that game
alone.
“This is another op-
portunity to enhance
what is already one of
the premier game days in
college football,” athlet-
ic director Keith Carter
said in an August press
release announcing the
sales.
MSU Athletic Director
John Cohen previously
told The Dispatch in No-
vember that alcohol sales
at the school were a “nev-
er say never” issue.
“I can’t speak for
(MSU President Mark)
Keenum, and that’s ulti-
mately his decision,” Co-
hen said at the time. “But
I do know this: His prima-
ry objective, as always, is
safety — that’s the most
important thing to him.”
Also included in MSU’s
release Friday were a slew
of health and safety pre-
cautions that will be relied
on to combat the spread
of COVID-19. Among the
measures, patrons will be
required to wear face cov-
erings during all move-
ment throughout the sta-
dium and when not able
to maintain recommend-
ed physical distance from
people not in their same
household.
All guests, employ-
ees and stadium workers
will be asked to conduct
self-screenings prior
to their arrival to Davis
Wade Stadium. Accord-
ing to university guide-
lines, this should include
a temperature check
and review of possible
COVID-19 symptoms.
Should these symptoms
arise after entering the
stadium, patrons shall
report to first aid stations
for screening and/or tri-
age by Emergency Ser-
vice response staff.
Other in-stadium ad-
justments this season will
include queued lines at all
gates, concession stands
and merchandise that
follow social distancing
measures, hand sanitizer
stations spread through-
out concourses, modified
restroom layouts to allow
more space for patrons
and a transition to cash-
less payment for purchas-
es.
Following a 6-7 season,
MSU replaced incumbent
head coach Joe Moorhead
with former Washington
State head coach Mike
Leach. Leach’s first sea-
son in charge in Starkville
is slated to begin Sept.
26 against LSU in Baton
Rouge. The Bulldogs’
first home game is sched-
uled for Oct. 3 against Ar-
kansas.
Corner Williams opts
out of 2020 season
STARKVILLE — Mis-
sissippi State junior cor-
nerback Tyler Williams
will opt out of the 2020
season over COVID-19
concerns an MSU Ath-
letic Department spokes-
person confirmed to The
Dispatch Friday night.
Tyler Horka of the
Clarion Ledger first re-
ported the news.
“We understand and
respect Tyler’s decision,”
head coach Mike Leach
See BULLDOGS, 8A

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PREP FOOTBALL

ROUNDUP
HERITAGE ACADEMY FALLS TO JACKSON PREP
BY THEO DEROSA Prep running back
Road woes
for local
tderosa@cdispatch.com

FLOWOOD — As his
defense scrambled off the
field, Heritage Academy
head coach Sean Harri-
son shouted his relief into
the Flowood night.
“Yes!” Harrison yelled
from the sideline. “Thank
God!”
The Patriots had just
brought down Jackson
Prep quarterback Riley
Maddox five yards short
of a first down, forcing
Prep to punt and giving
Heritage Academy the
ball back late in the first
half with a chance to tie
the game. It was clear to
everyone assembled at
Prep’s Patriot Field for
Friday’s season opener
that Harrison’s team had
its best opportunity of the
night to topple a private
school powerhouse for
the second straight sea-
son.
This time, though,
there would be no upset.
Heritage Academy
sophomore quarterback
Mack Howard threw an
interception on the first
play after the punt, Jack-
son Prep recovered its
own fumble two snaps
later and threw a touch-
down pass on the follow-
COMMENTARY
Heritage Academy quarterback Mack Howard (12) scrambles for a first down during
a high school football game Friday against Jackson Prep in Flowood. Howard fin-
ished 17 of 32 for 213 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
ing play, and the visiting
Patriots never recovered.
They lost, 41-13, snapping
a 14-game winning streak
dating back to Nov. 9,
2018.
“We had some times
that we could have made
big plays, but we didn’t,”
senior lineman Reed
Brewer said. “That’s what
we need to get done next
time.”
Friday’s result wasn’t
unexpected, though, con-
sidering Heritage Acade-
my lost 13 star seniors af-
ter cruising, undefeated,
to last year’s MAIS Class
5A title.
“I told them after the
game I think we’re that
far off from doing a lot of
great things,” Harrison
said. “I think the film’s
going to show we were
a finished block, tackle,
catch away from being in
this game.”
Several times, the
margin did feel just that
razor thin, as when the
football bounced crazi-
ly away from Prep fol-
Garrick Hodge/Dispatch Staff
lowing Howard’s inter-
ception. But when the
host Patriots corralled it
again and Maddox fired
over the middle to Thax-
ton Berch for a 36-yard
catch-and-run touchdown
to put Prep up 21-7, the
overwhelming talent on
Jackson Prep’s roster —
more than twice the size
of Harrison’s team —
shined brightly.
“I figured it would
be tough,” Brewer said.
“They’re always a good
team to play.”
Matt Jones gashed the
Heritage Academy de-
fense for 137 yards and
two touchdowns on 21
carries, while Maddox
added two rushing scores
of his own in a 15-for-26
performance.
On the other side,
Howard — making his
first start ever — alter-
nated good plays and
bad ones. He stood in the
pocket for several key
completions, but a sec-
ond interception before
the half was run back 45
yards for a touchdown by
Prep’s Jeffrey Ince to put
Heritage Academy down
three scores.
“I thought in the first
half, he did some real-
ly special things, but I
thought he looked like a
sophomore quarterback
starting his first game,”
Harrison said.
But in the second half,
Howard showed why he
already received a Power
Five offer from Kansas
before ever starting a
game. After Prep went
three and out to open the
third quarter, Howard led
a touchdown drive fea-
turing consecutive first-
down completions of 6,
16, 16 and 21 yards. After
See HERITAGE, 8A
MAIS teams
in Week 1
BY THEO DEROSA
tderosa@cdispatch.com
MERIDIAN — The
Starkville Academy foot-
ball team lost Friday’s
road game at Lamar
School 33-30 in overtime
in Meridian.
The Raiders scored
the tying touchdown on a
3-yard rush by Will Mor-
ris with 23.3 seconds to
go in regulation after the
Volunteers pulled ahead
27-21 with a minute and
12 seconds left.
Starkville Academy
settled for a field goal on
its overtime possession,
and Lamar quarterback
Zagar Cooper found Mill-
er Hodge for the winning
10-yard touchdown.
Midway through the
third quarter, Starkville
Academy had a 21-7 lead
over the team it elimi-
nated in the state quar-
terfinals last season. But
Cooper found Hodge for
a long score late in the
third quarter, and Hodge
caught a touchdown pass
from Morris with 4:20 to
go.
CJ Jackson had two
rushing touchdowns for
the Volunteers, and Ran-
dall Futral and Colby Al-

Football’s return welcome, but safety protocols still critical

FLOWOOD — Friday night’s
season-opening game between
Heritage Academy and Jackson
Prep would hardly need any
buildup even in normal times.
Heritage Academy, a defend-
ing undefeated state champion
from a year ago, was trying to
upset Midsouth Association of
I ndep en -
d e n t
Schools
power-
h o u s e
Jackson
P r e p ,
who has
won sev-
en of the
last eight
Class 6A Garrick Hodge
titles. De-
ploying a number of youthful
players seeing their first mean-
ingful high school game action,
the Patriots based in Columbus
fell short.
One of the first rules of sports
journalism when mentioning a
game is to tell the reader the fi-
nal score. That rule is going by
the wayside in this column, be-
cause just this once, who the hell
cares?
Friday night’s game was ther-
apeutic. Not only for those who
played and coached in it but for
those who watched it.
No matter which Patriots
team you supported, for two
and a half hours, conversations
switched from whatever crisis
2020 was in the middle of deliver-
ing to watching a young quarter-
back trying to find soft spots in
a Cover 2 defense. The most im-
portant statistics in this short es-
cape from reality switched from
daily COVID-19 case numbers to
total offensive yards.
You couldn’t find a Jackson
Prep player that didn’t have a
smile on his face after their sea-
son opening win. Even Heritage
Academy players, while still com-
petitive as ever fresh off a state
championship season, seemed
to lack the complete somber de-
meanor that typically comes fol-
lowing a loss.
“We worked out all summer
not knowing if we were going
to get to play, and we did two-a-
days not knowing if we’d get to
play,” Heritage Academy coach
Sean Harrison said. “You return
to some sense of normalcy, and
that was a lot of fun.”
Those moments of happiness,
however brief, were a reminder of
why some are so adamant about
sports returning even in the mid-
dle of a pandemic. It was the first
time some have probably felt nor-
mal in lord knows how long after
spending months cooped up in
the house watching The Office
for the 399th time. And that’s a
cause in itself enough to be cel-
ebrated.
Yet, as always, context is need-
ed. When the euphoria of watch-
ing a football game some of us
never thought would be played in
2020 wore off, a nagging yet so-
bering thought kept popping up
on the two-hour drive back from
Flowood: “I just hope these kids
and their families stay safe for
an entire season playing a sport
where social distancing is impos-
sible.”
Speaking with several area
coaches and administrators,
most are convinced the MAIS
will press forward with a full foot-
ball season regardless of what
roadblocks may come their way,
whether you like it or not. Those
affiliated with the Mississippi
High School Activities Associ-
ation are much more hesitant
to confidentially assume they’ll
even start, let alone finish, their
seasons. Yet they are moving
forward for now and remain on
track to participate in scrimmag-
es in less than a week and kick
off their first games Sept. 4.
Heaven forbid, if even one
player or a relative of a player
becomes seriously ill because of
the contact that takes place on
the gridiron, the tone surround-
ing the football season will dras-
tically change for the worse. No
one wants to think worst-case
scenario, but with a virus this
easily transmissible, it’s a fool’s
errand not to take every precau-
tion.
As much as I would have given
everything to have the only time
we mentioned the word safety
Friday night describe what a de-
fensive back was doing, that’s im-
possible in this current climate.
Protocols have been issued
and, for the most part, seemed
to be followed in Game 1. Atten-
dance was limited, and fans had
to wear a face covering to enter.
Coaches wore masks on the side-
lines. The 50-yard line after the
final buzzer, normally a meeting
place for handshake lines, was a
ghost town.
Some have grumbled over
these precautionary measures. It
doesn’t matter. This is the reality
we live in for now, and adhering
to them is the only chance we
have of a season being played
without pause.
Otherwise, euphoria will turn
to angst very quickly.
len each threw for pass-
ing scores.
Starkville Academy
(0-1) will host French
Camp Academy for a
two-quarter scrimmage
next Friday. French
Camp, an MHSAA mem-
ber, had the start of its
regular season delayed
until Sept. 4.
Benton Academy 42,
Oak Hill Academy 34
BENTON — Oak Hill
Academy came up two
yards short of a chance to
tie Friday’s game at Ben-
ton Academy.
The Raiders got the
ball back with 1:20 to go
trailing by eight points
and began to drive. Af-
ter a penalty, Oak Hill
quarterback Cameron
Dill connected with wide
receiver Manning Huff-
man, who was tackled
on the 2-yard line as time
expired.
It left the Raiders (0-1)
with a 42-34 loss despite
a great offensive perfor-
mance by both Huffman
and Dill.
Huffman caught 13
passes for 223 yards and
four touchdowns, while
Dill finished 23 of 38 for
420 yards and five scores.
See ROUNDUP, 8A
8A SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2020
Roundup
Continued from Page 7A
Garrett Edwards hauled
in a touchdown reception
as one of his five catches
for 72 yards.
“I thought we played
with good effort and never
quit,” Oak Hill coach Bill
Rosenthal said.
Oak Hill has an open
date for next Friday after
MHSAA school Tupelo
Christian Prep had to de-
lay its season.
Humphreys Academy
50, Columbus Christian
Academy 22
BELZONI — Beau
Kemp scored all three
touchdowns for Colum-
bus Christian Academy
in a 50-22 road loss to
Humphreys Academy on
Friday in Belzoni.
Kemp, who finished
with 73 rushing yards
to lead the Rams (0-1),
scored twice in the sec-
ond quarter and once in
the third.
But the 16-0 lead that
Humphreys built after the
first quarter proved to be
enough of a cushion for
Heritage
Continued from Page 7A
an incompletion and an
18-yard catch by Mitch-
ell Woodard, Howard
found wide receiver Trey
Naugher in the end zone
from 4 yards out.
“Give me the ball!”
Naugher screamed as he
ran back toward the side-
line after scoring for the
second time. “They can’t
guard me!”
Naugher finished with
seven catches for an even
100 yards along with his
two scores, a promising
start to his sophomore
season.
“Trey’s a heck of a
player who’s going to be
really hard to cover in this
league,” Harrison said.
The touchdown put
Heritage Academy with-
in two scores, but Ince
returned the ensuing
kickoff to the visitors’ 45-
yard line. Five plays later,
Jones took the handoff
and ran to the right side
for a 25-yard touchdown,
Bulldogs
Continued from Page 7A
said in a statement.
“During the Fall semes-
ter, Tyler will continue to
work toward earning his
undergraduate degree.”
Williams, who has ap-
peared in 19 career games
and started five, was slat-
ed to be a major piece in
an otherwise youthful
Bulldog cornerbacks
room this fall. With his de-
parture, Korey Charles is
the lone returning senior
in the room, while inex-
perienced juniors Malik
Sanders and Jay Jimison
are also in the fold.
the Rebels. Humphreys
led 28-14 at halftime and
42-22 after the third quar-
ter.
Quarterback Drake
Shaw had 36 passing
yards and made seven
tackles on defense. Lahn-
don Townley led with
eight tackles and scored
the two-point conversion
on Kemp’s third touch-
down.
Columbus Christian
will host Delta Streets
Academy (1-0) next Fri-
day in Steens.
Marvell Academy (Ark.)
32, Hebron Christian 6
MARVELL, Ark. —
Hebron Christian School
dropped its season opener
32-6 to Marvell Academy
(Arkansas) on Friday in
Marvell, Arkansas.
Hebron will play at Cal-
houn Academy (0-1) next
Friday.
Pickens Academy (Ala.)
41, Banks Academy 40
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.
— Pickens Academy (Al-
his second score of the
day.
Maddox added a 12-
yard rushing score a few
minutes into the fourth
quarter, and Prep’s subs
took it from there.
Only outscored 14-6
in the third and fourth
quarters by a 25-time
state champion, Heritage
Academy’s performance
late was promising, Har-
rison said. Running back
Braden Davidson and
the team’s offensive line
stepped up; defenders
made beelines to the ball
to make tackles.
“I thought in the sec-
ond half that we have a
chance of being really
good this year,” Harrison
said.
The mistakes and
missed opportunities that
cost Heritage Academy a
win Friday should subside
as the year goes on, the
coach said.
“I think everything we
Though fall camp is
just a week old, its ex-
pected sophomore Mar-
tin Emerson will start in
one corner spot, with the
other to be determined.
As a freshman, Emer-
son earned honorable
mention All-American
honors from Pro Foot-
ball Focus after playing
in all 13 games last year
— including five starts
— alongside current Min-
nesota Viking Cameron
Dantzler.
“There’s a reason he
played a whole bunch last
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
abama) was the only area
team to win its season
opener Friday.
The Pirates (1-0)
edged Banks Academy
41-40 at Briarwood Chris-
tian Academy in Birming-
ham, Alabama.
Quarterback Aidan
Johnson threw for three
touchdowns, finishing 5
for 7 for 108 yards.
Caleb Robbins had two
catches for 60 yards and
a touchdown, Bodhi Par-
ham had two catches for
28 yards and a score, and
Rafe Brown’s lone catch
was a 20-yard touchdown.
Lane Goodman ran for
80 yards and two scores
on 12 carries. Chandler
Box had 94 yards and
a touchdown on 15 at-
tempts.
Box led the team with
seven tackles, while
Goodman had five. Par-
ham, Landon Collins and
Grayson Phillips each had
a fumble recovery.
Pickens will host Coo-
sa Valley Academy (1-0)
next Friday.
did wrong is fixable,” Har-
rison said. “I don’t think
we have anybody in a spot
where we’re going to go
get beat.”
Jackson Prep 41,
Heritage Academy 13
First quarter
JP — Riley Maddox 15 run (Louie Gatlin kick), clock
7:58
Second quarter
JP — Matt Jones 1 run (Gatlin kick), clock 10:25
HA — Trey Naugher 11 pass from Mack Howard (Luke
Fisher kick), clock 7:24
JP — Thaxton Berch 36 pass from Maddox (Gatlin
kick), clock 3:09
JP — Jeffrey Ince 45 interception return (kick failed),
clock 2:40
Third quarter
HA — Naugher 4 pass from Howard (kick failed),
clock 6:29
JP — Jones 25 run (Gatlin kick), clock 4:53
Fourth quarter
JP — Maddox 12 run (Gatlin kick), clock 8:02
Team statistics
HA JP
First downs: 18 18
Rushes-yards: 20-43 33-204
Passing yards: 220 150
Comp.-att.-int.: 18-34-2 17-30-1
Sacks: 0 1
Penalties-yards: 1-5 10-100
Fumbles-lost: 1-0 1-0
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Heritage Academy — Braden Davidson
11-38, Mack Howard 3-11, Jaylan Stewart 6-(-6);
Jackson Prep — Matt Jones 21-137, Riley Maddox
8-60, Sam McMullan 2-4, Duncan Mathews 1-4,
Braedon Mabry 1-(-1)
PASSING: Heritage Academy — Mack Howard 17-32,
213; Jack Ketchum 1-2, 7; Jackson Prep — Riley Mad-
dox 15-26, 136; Will Gibbs 2-4, 14.
RECEIVING: Heritage Academy — Trey Naugher
7-100, Mitchell Woodard 5-77, Sam Hannon 1-16,
Harris Gunter 2-11, Ethan Oswalt 1-7, Braden David-
son 1-6, Wesley Miller 1-3; Jackson Prep — Thaxton
Berch 9-111, Mills Murphy 1-11, Will Upton 1-10, Matt
Jones 2-8, Walker Box 1-4, Garner Watkins 1-3, Jef-
frey Ince 1-2, Sam Graves 1-1.
year, right?” MSU defen-
sive coordinator Zach
Arnett said Thursday
night. “He’s talented. He
was good enough to play.
It’s only a benefit that he
played as much as he did
as a freshman because
he’s got SEC games under
his belt. He knows what
it’s like.”
“It’s an open compe-
tition there,” Arnett said
of MSU’s cornerbacks.
“Coach (Darcel) McBath
is giving everyone a shot.
We’ll see who performs
the best.”
Lifestyles LIFESTYLES EDITOR
Jan Swoope: 328-2471
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2020
B
SECTION

Protecting the pollinators

Courtesy photos
LEFT: Beekeeper Ali Pinion of Starkville, with a net over her
face, stands in front of a swarm of bees on a tree. Pinion has
found her calling, carrying out bee removals and rescues.
ABOVE: A close photograph shows an entrance to the
bee colony in Sonny and Patsy Stuart’s cedar tree. Pinion
estimates the colony may contain 10,000 to 60,000 bees.

This bee guardian performs a valuable service, while

getting in touch with something greater than self
BY JAN SWOOPE
jswoope@cdispatch.com

F
or Ali Pinion, beekeeper, there really is no such thing as a
“typical day at the office.” Work may send her off to extract
bees from an attic, or make tinctures and candles from
products of the hive, or even climb 12 feet up a tree convincing
thousands of honey bees to change their permanent address.
Pinion, of Starkville, is a dedicated bee guardian, passionate
about providing a safe place for these crucial pollinators to live and
thrive.
Are most people surprised to meet a female beekeeper?
“Oh, yeah,” Pinion laughed. “And they always ask me, do you get a
lot of stings?”
Stings come with the territory, but Pinion takes that in stride as
she tends the 20 to 25 hives currently under her care. The Indiano-
la native spends 20 to 30 hours per week on bees and also helps her
husband with his professional tree service. Pinion has established
a chemical treatment-free apiary named Dreaming the Bee. She is
an experienced hand at bee colony extractions and removals.
“Swarm and bee rescue are very important to us, and we are
ready at a moment’s notice to help save a swarm,” she said.

nnn

Pinion has always felt close to the land. She earned a degree
in landscape architecture from Mississippi State University, as
well as a graduate degree in health promotion. In grad school, she
began ecological regenerative farming. Regenerative agriculture
is a system of farming principles that seeks to rehabilitate and
enhance the entire ecosystem of the farm. She and her husband
raised pastured pork, turkey and chickens. It so happened some-
one maintained a hive on the land the couple had livestock on. It
piqued Pinion’s interest. She began a study of bees, learning how
critical they are in pollinating not only flowering plants but also
Courtesy photo
much of the world’s food. One of Ali Pinion’s current projects is extracting a long-term colony of
“If bees were not existent, we would not be eating the food we honey bees from a cedar tree at the home of Sonny and Patsy Stuart
are eating right now,” she remarked. in Starkville. She has installed a box containing a starter hive outside
See PINION, 3B the tree nest in a process known as a take-out.
2B SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Quick Bites is back and offering options ‘American

Take part in-person
or via Zoom
BY JAN SWOOPE
jswoope@cdispatch.com
S to visit
eptember will see the
return of Mississippi
State University Exten-
office for the programs of
their choice. Beginning in
September, that will still be
an option, although limited in
number. But a virtual alterna-
tive has been added.
“People will be able to link
to (the programs) from their
own computers via Zoom,
or they can come into the
and About the House” MSU
Plant and Soil Sciences
Instructor Lynette McDou-
gald gives advice on looking
around the house to inspire
innovative thinking on
homemade floral designs and
living with flowers to add
beauty and reduce stress.
n Sept. 10 — “High
from COVID-19. Learn how
nutrition plays a role in high
blood pressure prevention
and management.
Idol’ virtual
n Sept. 24 — In “Mis-
sissippi Women for Agri-
culture,” Sandra Berryhill
auditions
Alesich explores the role of
Mississippi women involved
in agriculture and how MWA

Mississippi
sion Service’s Quick Bites office,” said Lowndes Coun- Blood Pressure: Know the seeks to educate, engage and
programs. The free informa- ty Extension Agent Vivian Risks and Nutrition” features empower women farmers and
tive interactive video sessions Cade. “But if they come into Food Science, Nutrition and ag professionals.

on varied topics offered on
designated Thursdays each
month were interrupted by
the COVID-19 pandemic.
They resume next month with
the office, we are limited to
eight participants. Either
way, they will need to contact
the Extension office to sign
up for the programs.”
Health Promotion Extension
Instructor Juaqula Madkin
with advice on a common
problem that can lead to
heart disease and other
Aug. 26
Contact the appropriate
county Extension office to
sign up for programs or for
more information, including
Zoom registration links. (In DISPATCH STAFF REPORT

some socially-distanced op-
tions. Previously, participants
were able to sign up to come
in to a local county Extension
September’s Quick Bites
programs from noon-1 p.m.
include:
n Sept. 3 — In “Around
serious health conditions.
Having high blood pressure
can put an individual at
higher risk of severe illness
T
Lowndes County, 662-328-
2111; Oktibbeha County, he search is on for the
662-323-5916; Clay County, next winner of “Ameri-
662-494-5371.) can Idol,” and audition-
ing has just gotten easier. The
American singing competition
television series will hold open

Starkville native named university vet, call virtual Zoom auditions in

Mississippi on Wednesday,
Aug. 26.

director of MSU Lab Animal Resources Custom-built Zoom technol-

ogy will be used to host “Idol
Across America,” the show’s
MSU OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS ic development. a small animal clinical experience class. first-ever live virtual nation-
“The Office of Laboratory Animal Re- A 2001 graduate of MSU’s Doctor of wide search for the next Idol

M
ississippi State
University alumna
Dr. Bridget
Willeford has been named
university veterinarian
and director of MSU’s Of-
fice of Laboratory Animal
Resources.
Willeford has served in Willeford
this role on an interim ba-
sis since December 2019, following the
retirement last year of former university
veterinarian Dr. Lucy H. Senter. The
Office of Laboratory Animal Resources
provides veterinary care and animal
husbandry resources for all animals re-
quired in biomedical research, teaching
and testing programs at MSU. The office
is under the guidance of the university’s
vice president for research and econom-
sources plays a vital role in our research
enterprise, as well as our teaching and
service missions,” said MSU Interim
Vice President for Research and Eco-
nomic Development Julie Jordan. “Dr.
Willeford brings extensive experience to
this position, and I am confident that she
and her staff will continue their excel-
lent work providing care for our animals
and meeting the needs of faculty and
staff across campus.”
Willeford has served as a clinical
veterinarian in this office since 2004.
She is board certified by the American
College of Laboratory Animal Medicine.
In MSU’s College of Veterinary Medi-
cine, she has taught classes in lab ani-
mal health management and lab animal
technical skills, in addition to teaching
Veterinary Medicine program, Willeford
also earned an MSU bachelor’s degree
in biochemistry and molecular biology.
A Starkville native, Willeford said
she looks forward to serving the MSU
community in her capacity as university
veterinarian.
“My primary goal is to facilitate
research in a manner that fine tunes the
balance between animal welfare and sci-
entific advancement,” Willeford said. “I
would like to see our research program
grow by building on the foundation
started by my predecessors. Our office
currently provides excellent husbandry
and veterinary care for all animals in the
program, but I also would like to seek
out and implement advances in animal
health as they become available.”
winner. Remote auditions will
take place across all 50 states,
plus Washington, D.C., for the
first time since the competi-
tion’s inception. Idol hopefuls
will have the opportunity to
audition for “American Idol”
producers as the virtual tour
stops in their home state.
Potential contestants must be
between the ages of 15 and 28
to audition.
Auditions can take place in
a number of ways, including by
posting a social media audition
video to the “American Idol”
Online Audition portal or virtu-
ally attending one of the “Idol
across America” video chat, vir-
tual auditions via Zoom. Check
americanidolcom/auditions or
the “American Idol” mobile app

Give your landscape

for the most up-to-date audition
■ For more Lifestyles methods and schedules.
For more information on the
content including Tuscaloosa
a late summer facelift
online auditions, visit abc.com/
Symphony Orchestra (TSO) shows/american-idol/auditions,
virtual concerts and Southern and check out
fmna.etribez.com/ag/fmna/
SPECIAL the right time. Prune gain to plan for a perma- Gardening visit cdispatch.com. ai4abc/welcome.html or the
TO THE DISPATCH spring flowering shrubs nent replacement. American Idol mobile app.
right after they bloom. Garden art is another

W
hether it is the They have already set option for filling late sum-
hot weather, their flower buds for next mer voids in the garden.
the age of your spring and pruning now Or use it to create a focal
landscape or simply the will eliminate the spring point, drawing attention
need for change, a late floral display. You can to areas that are looking
summer makeover can prune summer flower- their best.
help increase your land- ing shrubs during their Adding a few new
scape’s beauty. Put the dormant season from fall cushions on your outdoor
“wow” back into a garden through spring. Prune furniture can further en-
with a few new plantings, evergreens in colder hance landscape appeal
garden art or other simple climates in late winter with minimal investment
improvements. or early spring once the of time and money.
Many established worst winter weather Big or small, a few
landscapes have a few or has passed. Fall pruning changes can make a
many overgrown plants. where winters are brutal big difference. Tackle a
Sometimes the plants you can lead to an increase in few of the easier ones or
purchase perform better
winter damage. those with the biggest
than expected or often-
Replace tired annuals impact first. Once you get
times we try to squeeze
in the garden and contain- started, you will not want
too many plants into a
ers with fresh plants suit- to quit.
garden or too large of
ed to the upcoming fall Melinda Myers is the
plants into small spaces.
season. Don’t be afraid author of more than 20
Remove overcrowded
to add dried materials gardening books, including
plants that have out-
to existing planters for “Small Space Garden-
grown the space or lost
added color and texture. ing.” She hosts The Great
their ornamental appeal.
Or create new container Courses “How to Grow
Replace these and other
gardens to set by the Anything” DVD series and
unsightly plants with
front door and welcome the nationally-syndicated
those more suited to the
guests. These also make Melinda’s Garden Moment
growing conditions, your
landscape design, and great fillers in the garden. TV and radio program.
available space. Now is Just place the container in Myers is a columnist and
a good time to plan and a spot where an existing contributing editor for
fall is a great time to plant plant has failed. You will Birds & Blooms magazine.
trees, shrubs and peren- benefit from the instant Learn more at Melin-
nials. The soil is warm color and extra time you daMyers.com.
and air cool, making it
less stressful on new
plantings.
Phase in removals and
replacements over time.
This is easier on your
budget, back, and will
keep your landscape look-
ing robust. And be sure to
properly space plants to
avoid overcrowding in the
future. Check plant tags
for the plant’s mature size
and plant accordingly.
Fill in the voids be-
tween new plantings with
annuals and perennials.
As your shrubs increase
in size, you will need
fewer annuals each year.
Move perennial flowers
and grasses to a new gar-
den as your shrubs reach
full size. Perennials are
much easier to move than
an overgrown shrub.
A bit of pruning may
be all that is needed to
bring back the beauty
and reduce the size of
overgrown plants. Make
a note on your calendar
to do a bit of pruning at
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2020 3B

IN THE GARDEN WITH FELDER

What goes around, often comes around

O
ne of my fa- different kinds of But just as there are garden nent called Pangea (from root
vorite native goldenrod, usually advantages to new “impure” words meaning “whole” and
wildflowers small, non-spread- cultivars of our natives, I appre- “land”). The latest breakup is
has gone rogue ing types like Peter ciated closely-related species pretty obvious when you look at
overseas, but its Pan and Cloth of from afar. There may be subtle how Africa could easily spoon
newfound connec- Gold. My favorite differences in size, flower and into the curves of North and
tions are perversely is Fireworks, a vigor that make some close-kin South America.
satisfying to me. non-spreading foreign species preferable over And over eons, because of
My goldenrod, clump-former with our own natives in the garden. mountain upheavals, glaciers
closely related to long, thin arching For example, I enjoy com- scraping things clean, and
sunflowers, zin- stems of flowers. pact Asian species of beauty- changes in weather patterns
nias and asters, But it’s the berry (Callicarpa) as much that turned rainforests into
is starting to bud Felder Rushing common tall, rangy as our taller, gangly native. deserts and vice versa, plant
up with clusters of field goldenrod, Instead of ours’ golf ball-size communities that were once
tiny, sunny-yellow which in my garden clusters of purple berries, connected by Beringia (now
blossoms that’ll make fantas- needs a little thinning every the Chinese beautyberry has the mostly-submerged Bering
tic cut flowers soon. I know a spring to keep in bounds, that’s smaller, delicate rows of fruit Straits), got separated, and
lot of folks falsely blame it for concerning European and clusters, just as showy, but Felder Rushing/Courtesy photo independently adjusted to their
allergies, but the real culprit is Asian ecologists because it has more manageable. And our Chinese and American beauty- new conditions, or disappeared.
ragweed’s dust-like wind-blown become a widespread non-na- butterflies and birds love it just berries are equally beautiful. However, the climates of
pollen; goldenrod pollen is tive that’s crowding out some of as well as the native. Mississippi and central Chi-
large, heavy and sticky, unable their wayside natives. There are other examples theirs are evergreen, ours are na remain pretty similar and
to blow up anyone’s nose. You could say it’s getting of closely-related plants that deciduous. support close-kin relics of once
Wildlife experts tout golden- them back for sending us kud- are found only in the South- The facts behind why they widespread flora.
rod as the most-favored native zu, honeysuckle and dandeli- east US and to eastern Asia, are so similar, though com- So, plants that go around
pollinator. Because of its rich ons. with similar genes and garden pletely separated by oceans, come back around. We once
pollen and sweet nectar you Not that I’m a purist when it suitability. Some of my favor- mountains and deserts for thou- again have dawn redwoods and
will find goldenrod covered comes to native plants. As past ites native exclusively to both sands of years, are fascinating nandina, and they now have
with honeybees, bumblebees, president of our state’s native continents include magnolia, in themselves. goldenrod. Again.
hoverflies, ants, beetles, moths, plant society, I most certainly sweetshrub (Calycanthus), What we call terra firma is a Felder Rushing is a Mississip-
butterflies, aphids and the am concerned when seriously dogwood, hydrangea, maple, huge, floating crust that every pi author, columnist, and host of
spiders and hummingbirds that invasive non-natives overtake pitcher plant, iris, lilies, asters, now and again breaks apart, the “Gestalt Gardener” on MPB
feed on the pollinators. plants that our native wildlife hollies, wisteria, palms and drifts around and bangs back Think Radio. Email gardening
And no decent English depends on or colonizes wet- maidenhair fern. And dozens together. At one time a big questions to rushingfelder@
garden will be without several lands, fields and forests. of others. Azaleas, too, though hunk of it was one superconti- yahoo.com.

Pinion SCHOOL NEWS

Continued from Page 1B
But that wasn’t the only appeal.
“What actually got me to
become a beekeeper myself was
reading about bees and spirituality
— how people, in particular monks
and different religions throughout
history, had worked with bees as
a grounding practice, as a way to
connect with something greater
than themselves, connecting with
nature and connecting with God.”
Understanding bees has helped
this keeper become more mindful.
“It could be dangerous if you’re
not in full presence,” Pinion said.
“When working with bees it
teaches us to work very slowly and
carefully. We have to think about
something before we do it.”
Moving slowly to avoid being
stung has been almost meditative.
“Bees can sense if you’re
nervous or afraid. ... We don’t have
many experiences now where we
just have to listen fully to our bod-
ies and really cultivate presence,
to listen to what’s going on with
our bodies. We are so disconnect-
ed from our feelings, from looking
at our phones or watching TV.”
And then, there is the rush.
“I’m not gonna lie, I’m kind
of an adrenaline junkie in a way,
so I like the idea that it’s kind of
dangerous, too,” she said.
nnn
Patsy and Sonny Stuart first
noticed bees around a towering
cedar tree in their Starkville yard
a couple of years ago. The colony
has since grown — and the tree
now needs trimming.
“It has some branches that
need to be removed, but we can’t
ask anybody to work on it with the
bees in it,” explained Patsy Stuart.
As conservation chair for the Mis-
sissippi State Society Daughters of
the American Revolution, Stuart
promotes the DAR’s efforts on re-
cycling, clean water and other con-
servation measures — including
an emphasis on the importance of
pollinator gardens.
“I wanted to save the bees. We
need them,” she said.
Stuart searched for alternatives
to exterminating the colony but
was running out of options until
she heard about Dreaming the
Bee.
While many smaller removals
may take a day, Pinion’s solution
to the Stuarts’ dilemma is known
as a trap-out. It requires patience:
the process may take six to eight
weeks. After studying the space
where the colony estimated at
10,000 to 60,000 honey bees live,
Pinion has installed a one-way
cone that allows bees to leave the
nest but prevents them from re-
turning. Nearby, she put up a box
with a small starter hive of bees.
The returning foragers that are
unable to re-enter their tree will
typically take up residence with
the new hive.
“(A trap-out) takes so much
effort and a lot of going back and
forth, so a lot of beekeepers don’t
do this,” Pinion said.
This particular job requires a
lot of high-ladder work. Does that
unnerve Pinion? Early on in her
bee career, it did.
“But I am a very lucky woman
because my husband is a tree
climber,” she said. “He sets me
up with all the gear. My husband
has also taught me a lot of ways
of thinking and being as safe as
possible.”
Stuart remarked, “We are
so impressed with Ali. She’s so
sharp. We’ve got to keep the bees
safe and help them because they
help us.”
While monitoring the cedar
tree colony, when Pinion feels
there are no more bees leaving the
original nest, she’ll complete the
trap-out process.
“Then I’ll close the hole in the
tree and take the new colony out
to the farm and let it live a happy
life,” she said.
nnn
Education is key to Pinion’s
mission. She believes the more
others understand the role of bees,
the more likely they are to value
and protect them. A highlight of
her own study was a bee camp in
Nebraska with acclaimed keeper
Michael Bush.
“From there I started teaching
workshops and started teaching
kids about beekeeping,” Pinion
said. “That developed into doing
hive tours, where people get to
wear a bee suit and experience
what it’s like to be around bees.”
She has also developed Host-
a-Hive and Sponsor-a-Hive
programs. With Host-a-Hive, for
a monthly fee, Pinion will set up
bees on client property with her
hives and equipment.
“You have a passive role and let
them pollinate your garden, your
trees and flowers,” she explained.
“Or, you can be mentored by me,
and I can teach you how to start
beekeeping.” Details, as well as
products of the hive, are available
on the website dreamingthebee.
com.
For Pinion, the role of bee
guardian is an organic calling.
“Bees show us that we are all
connected,” she said. “They are a
super organism, and no one bee
can live alone. Bees depend on
their community to survive, just
as humans do. We all share one
planet. We must take care of our
planet and each other in order to
take care of ourselves.”
ICC graduation
Area residents earning Associate of Arts or Asso-
ciate of Applied Science degrees or certificates for
the 2020 summer semester at Itawamba Community
College include:
Trey Lucious of Columbus, Kayla Jackson of
Crawford, Montavious Bishop of Starkville and
Christal Matthews of West Point.
Ray receives scholarship
Leslie Jaydan Ray of Caledonia is the recipient
of the North Mississippi Education Consortium En-
dowed Scholarship from the Itawamba Community
College Foundation.
EMCC area graduates
Area residents are among 139 East Mississippi
Community College students who completed course-
work during summer and qualified to graduate. The
students are eligible to participate in December
graduation. They include:
Clay County: Shatondra Johnson, Hope Smith
Edward Bush, Shumata Eavns, Taylor Allen, Des-
tiny Jefferson-White, Brittney Johnstone, Destiny
Matthews, Deaisha Strong, Deoshia Strong, Mary
Sullivan, Christopher Wallace.
Lowndes County: Caitlyn Bell, Kaylee Bowen,
Robert Hamilton, Jessica Sliger, Kalyn Abrams, Te-
darrious Barr, Sydney Bishop, Bryce Braddock, Jayla
Calmes, Gregory Caston, Joseph Clark, Stacy Clay-
ton, Stephen Cornwall, Sh’kaitlin Dickerson, Carolyn
Dixon, Lamontrail Dupree, Taylor Ellis, Austin Faris,
Christin Ferguson, Hannah Follins, Carmen Giles,
Jasamine Harris, Preston Kinard, Lakiya Lash,
Emilee Latham, Takiara Malone, Macy McGairty,
Hunter McMurphey, Jada Moore, Yulquayla Mosley,
Parker Pitts, Kiara Sanders, Makayla Sledge, Cody
Smith, Jayvious Sparks, Monique Spohn, Timothy
Sikes, Hannah Thomas, Elizabeth White, Farron
Whitt, Demaricies Williams, Nathaniel Williams,
Roquavin Harris, Ty’kerria Taylor, Melissa Reeves.
Oktibbeha County: Kaisha Baker, Jada Bean,
Jerlisa Bell, Travis Clanton, Katherine Davis, Cassie
Elmore, Brianna Evans, Carly Evans, George Jones,
Chantel Makamson, Lindsey Malone, Kinsey Pro-
fice, Anna Rooke, Andrew Schwartz, Hanna Scott,
Davontae Smith, Fredijha Smith, Chi’tia Spencer,
Litasha Tate, Ayasha Welch, Samuel Whittington,
Trakala Williams, Derica Wilson, Mallorie Wilson.
Noxubee County: Shakaiya Campbell, Kaylyn
Liddell, Jadan Tate, Demarcus Henley, Justice Lee,
Tyler Sanders, Shmeka Verdell, Dyamond Wells.

Dear Abby

D
EAR ABBY: I have been
married a little over a year.
My wife took a trip to Florida
to get some things out of storage,
and turned it into a two-week va-
cation. She’s now traveling back
with the in-laws, which I wasn’t
expecting.
Yesterday she announced she
doesn’t want to talk to anyone,
including me, and will only text
for the next three days during
the trip because she’s too tired. I
feel rejected and like yesterday’s
news because she hardly calls
me and she almost forgot to say
goodnight. I don’t think this is
healthy for our relationship, and I
have separation anxiety to boot. Is this normal? can attend.
— NEWLYWED GUY IN IOWA
DEAR GUY: Something is going on with your
wife, and unless she is usually this uncom-
municative, her unwillingness to
talk with you is not normal. Do
not pressure her or make her
feel guilty in order to alleviate
your separation anxiety. Give her
the time she said she needs to
decompress and get her thoughts
together. When she and her par-
ents arrive, you will have plenty of
time to clear the air.
DEAR ABBY: I am disabled
and live about 2,000 miles from
my best friend. For months now
she has spoken about her plans
to have a vow renewal ceremony
on her 10th wedding anniversary.
Dear Abby Although I am on a fixed income, I
have been saving every dime so I
As it turns out, I’m not invited. She’s re-
quested online that everyone who has received
their invitation and hasn’t sent their R.S.V.P.
should, so she’ll know how many people to tell
the caterer to prepare for. My invitation didn’t
get lost in the mail or in cyberspace. I was just
not invited.
I am extremely hurt by this because she
has always claimed that I am her best friend.
How should I handle this? — UNINVITED IN
CALIFORNIA
DEAR UNINVITED: You have a right to feel
hurt. “Best” friends don’t treat each other this
way. Handle it by asking her why you were left
off the guest list. She may not have invited you
because she knows you are on a fixed income
and assumed you couldn’t attend. However, if
that’s not the reason for the omission, then you
may not have had as close a relationship as you
assumed.
DEAR ABBY: My husband and I were invited
by an older friend to lunch on his patio, while
observing the social distancing rules. Before
we left his home, we thanked him profusely
as we greatly appreciated the visit, especially
given our lack of social interaction during the
pandemic.
When we arrived home, I wrote a thank-you
note and put it in the mail. However, I’m won-
dering if I should also have sent an immediate
text or e-mail message to our friend. Are there
new rules that cover immediate electronic com-
munication vs. old-fashioned thank-you notes?
— WONDERING IN ALABAMA
DEAR WONDERING: Many people use
immediate electronic communication as a way
to avoid the “hassle” and expense of penning
a handwritten thank-you note. However, making
the time and effort to show your appreciation
the traditional way rather than doing both
wasn’t a faux pas, so stop worrying.
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren,
also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was found-
ed by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear
Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440,
Los Angeles, CA 90069.

Horoscopes
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Aug. 23).
Promises abound. People make and
keep them to you; you make and keep
them to yourself. You don’t have to
know how you will accomplish goals.
You just need to commit and the
way will reveal itself as you go. You’ll
love how seriously you are taken in
October, just as much as you’ll love
making people laugh. Scorpio and
Leo adore you. Your lucky numbers
are: 9, 30, 40, 2 and 22.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Rou-
tines are like train tracks; once es-
tablished, you can chug along to your
destination without too much drama.
Routines will help you do things that
would be very hard otherwise.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20).
People will communicate via their
attendance. Being late says some-
thing, and being early says something
else. Absence speaks loudly, though
nothing says more than showing up
prompt and wholly.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). “I’ll
take your silence as a non-goodbye,”
writes the poet Chelsey Minnis. You
are safe to similarly interpret the
space between you and another in
this way today.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). What
you once thought of as trivial will get
such good usage today that, from
here on out, you may change your
stance entirely on the matter of what
qualifies as triviality.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). If you
can’t say a thing succinctly, that only
means you’re still trying to work out
which part of it is important. The
principle holds true in any pursuit.
Economy will come with experience.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). “I
couldn’t say” means something
different from “I don’t know,” or even,
“who knows?” and these and other
subtle differences of language will, to
you, be packed in meaning. Nothing
will get by you.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You
are unique. To whatever extent you
can, set up your environment to flow
in a way that supports your particu-
lar needs, preferences and thinking
style.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21).
You’re excellent company! You’re fun.
You know things that others don’t,
and you bring a fresh take to experi-
ences. People want to be around you,
and this is why you’re in high demand.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21).
Today, you’ll be doing the typical you
thing but on an atypical scale. Work-
ing much bigger or much smaller than
usual will highlight your talent in such
a way as to teach you where your
strengths and weaknesses lie.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19).
Direct others. They are waiting for
your guidance. Delegate tasks so you
will have the time and resources you
need to find fulfillment outside of your
usual duties.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18).
Some are too proud to admit they
do not understand what’s being said
and will hide their confusion while
pretending to track with the conver-
sation. Anticipate this. Problems are
averted with thorough communica-
tion.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20).
You’ll observe drama without taking
part in it. You cannot help on this
one. People need to sort their own
problems. The best you can do is
to be appreciative of the sanity and
serenity in your world.
Classifieds
Ads appear in The Commercial Dispatch,
The Starkville Dispatch and Online
To place ads starting at only $12,
call 662-328-2424 or visit ads.cdispatch.com
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2020 n 4B

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Employment Rentals
VIP
NOWETA'S Flower Shop is
accepting applications for

Call us: 662-328-2424
General Help Wanted
LEE NAILS & Spa seeking
FT nail tech for Starkville,
MS salon. Duties: clean,
shape, polish, and decor-
ate nails. Must have com-
pleted cosmetology course
or nail technology course.
Must apply for state li-
cense upon starting posi-
tion. Email resume
leenailsandspa2020@gmai
l.com or call 662-694-2315
Let your
fingers do the walking.
Find your
dream job in
the classifieds!
Medical / Dental
Rentals
an experienced Floral
Designer. EXPERIENCE Ads starting at $25
REQUIRED. Apply Mon-Fri,
2-4pm or Sat 9am-12pm Apts For Rent: North Apartments & Houses
at 1325 Main Street.
No phone calls please. FOX RUN APARTMENTS 1
& 2 BR near hospital.
1 Bedrooms
Restaurant / Hotel $595−$645 monthly. 2 Bedroooms
CAFE UNIQUE: Part-time
Military discount, pet area,
pet friendly, and furnished 3 Bedrooms
Prep cook and dish washer corporate apts. Furnished & Unfurnished
wanted. 15-20 hours per 24−HOUR PROFESSIONAL
week. Apply in person @ 94 GYM. ON SITE SECURITY. 1, 2, & 3 Baths Even if you
Airline Rd. or call 662-327- ON SITE MAINTENANCE.
0840 or 662-386-1554 for ON SITE MANAGEMENT. Lease, Deposit don’t get out much
more information. Leave 24−HOUR CAMERA
SURVEILLANCE. Benji &
& Credit Check these days, you can
message if no answer.
Ashleigh, 662−386−4446. viceinvestments.com still “go shopping” in the
Transportation 327-8555 Classifieds. You can find exactly
PART TIME Shuttle Bus what you’ve been looking for.
Drivers needed for Stark- Medical / Dental
ville area. CDL with pas-
Have a rental property? Find someone to mow the lawn
senger endorsement req.
Contact Cory 314-422- List it here for fast results. •
2020, ggaoil@yahoo.com ads.cdispatch.com Find someone to clean the house
•
Find that special recliner
•
Buy a computer system
•
Buy a used car
•
Buy that rare coin for your collection
. . . and lots more

The CommerCial
DispaTCh
516 Main St.
Columbus, MS 39701

662-328-2424
www.cdispatch.com

Service Directory
Promote your small business starting at only $25
Building & Remodeling Carpet & Flooring General Services Lawn Care / Landscaping

WORK WANTED: Licensed JESSE & BEVERLY’S

MAINTENANCE PROS
Specializing in: DAVID’S CARPET &
Residential Carpentry, UPHOLSTERY
Electrical, Painting, CLEANING
Appliance Repair & Minor 1 Room − $50
Plumbing. Free estimate. 2 Rooms − $70
Call 662−570−5570. 3+ Rooms − $30 EA
Looking for goods Rugs−Must Be Seen
Car Upholstery Cleaning
Available
or services? 662−722−1758
General Services
& Bonded. Carpentry, minor
electrical, minor plumbing,
insulation, painting, demo−
lition, gutters cleaned,
pressure washing, land−
scaping, cleanup work.
662−242−3608.
HILL’S PRESSURE
WASHING. Commercial/
Residential. House,
concrete, sidewalks &
mobile washing. Free est.
662−386−8925.
LAWN SERVICE
Mowing, cleanup,
landscaping, sodding,
& tree cutting.
662−356−6525
SAM’S LAWN SERVICE
No lawn too large or too
small. Mowing, trimming &
weedeating.
Call 662−243−1694
Painting & Papering
QUALITY PAINTING.
Ext/Int Painting.
Sheet Rock Hang, Finish &
Repair. Pressure Washing.
Free Estimates. Ask for
specials! Larry Webber,
662−242−4932.

A & T TREE SERVICES SULLIVAN’S PAINT

Bucket truck & stump SERVICE
removal. Free est. Special Prices.
Serving Columbus Interior & Exterior Painting.
since 1987. Senior 662−435−6528
Grow your citizen disc. Call Alvin @ Tree Services
business.
Find it in the
242−0324/241−4447
"We’ll go out on a limb for
you!" J&A TREE REMOVAL
Work from a bucket truck.
If you don’t advertise Insured/bonded.
DUMP TRUCK HAULING.

classifieds!
your business, Slag − $400
Call Jimmy Prescott for free
estimate, 662−386−6286.
how are they Clay Gravel − $250
Available for hauling any
gonna know? materials. Columbus. Call Classified ads are a great form of
Walter, 662−251−8664. person-to-person advertising.

Just a click away!

The best place for personalized
advertising in your community.
ads.cdispatch.com

CUSTOMIZE YOUR AD:

Featured ads $5 Sponsored ads $3
Premium placement Preferred placement in search
on classifieds home page. results and highlighted online.

Highlight $3 Graphic $10.50

Highlight your ad Enhance your ad with
with a dash of color. an attention getter.
ADS STARTING AT

$12
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019 5B

Apts For Rent: Other Rooms For Rent Bargain Column Trucks, Vans & Buses

COLEMAN
ROOM FOR RENT,
FULLY FURNISHED
Merchandise WEED EATER, straight
shaft, like new, $100. ON THE WEB
RENTALS IN WEST POINT. 662−327−9279.
TOWNHOUSES & APARTMENTS Includes appliances, Ads starting at $12
Burial Plots
Visit www.cdispatch.com
furniture & utilities.
1 BEDROOM $400/mo. 662−295−4701 Bargain Column
Burial Plots For Sale 3
for a printable copy of
2 BEDROOMS SMART WATCH, never
Burial Plots for Sale − these puzzles.
3 BEDROOMS
Real Estate
Friendship Cemetery
used, $25. $600.00 662−352−4723
Cordless drill, $15.
LEASE, Exceptional one−owner
© The Dispatch

662−497−0588 Furniture maintained Ram 3500

DEPOSIT Ads starting at $25 w/5.9L Cummins
Sectional Sofa Four year
AND engine, automatic
CREDIT CHECK Too much old sectional sofa brown/ transmission & spray−

STUFF?
Commercial Property For Sale
662-329-2323 MILITARY QUICK STOP for
lease or sale. High traffic
2411 HWY 45 N count. Busy location.
Possibly some owner
COLUMBUS, MS financing. B.F. at 662−329
−3833 or 662−889−0837.
Houses For Rent: Other
Lots & Acreage
3BR/2.5BA, CUSTOM−
BUILT−HOUSE ON 40 1.75 ACRE LOTS. Good/
ACRES. 10 minutes from Bad Credit Options. Good
CAFB, 5 minutes from West credit as low as 20% down,
Point. Very private. CH/A. $499/mo. Eaton Land,
Fenced backyard. Ceramic 662−361−7711.
tile throughout. Pets
negotiable. No HUD. LOWNDES COUNTY, MS:
$1,200/mo + $1,200 dep. 36 ACRES ON GATLIN RD.
864−634−4192 Excellent timber & building
sites. $72,000. For more
NEAR CAFB: 3BR/2BA @ info, call 205−799−9846
525 Co−Op Rd, Columbus. or 205−695−2248.
1600sqft, quiet area,
Columbus City Schools.
beige speckled fabric. in Bedliner. Truck has
Good condition. Has two 203,000+ miles, but
holes on the side that need
repairing. $300.00 662−
runs like new and looks
great! $12,000.
574−9397 662−574−4640
General Merchandise
FOR SALE: Side by side
white whirlpool refrigerator
with icemaker, 25 cuft,
great cond, $300.
Lazyboy Queen Sofa
Hidabed, exc cond, $250.
Recliner, good cond, $50.
662−386−4707 or
662−356−6352.
Start your Vehicles
Sudoku YESTERDAY’S ANSWER
de-cluttering by Ads starting at $12
placing a garage Autos For Sale
Sudoku
Sudoku is a number-
placing puzzle based on
Yesterday’s answer

Garage Sales Sudoku

a 9x9 gridis a several
num- 9 6 3 1 7 5 4 8 2
ALL appliances, washer/
dryer, pool table, & dining sale ad today! 2012 RED Cadillac CTS ber-placing
with
given numbers.puzzle
The object 5 1 2 4 8 6 7 9 3

2020 Conceptis Puzzles, Dist. by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

room furn incl. Large
private lot close to golf Coup, 3.5 engine, loaded, based onthe
is to place a 9x9
numbers 7 8 4 3 9 2 5 1 6
course. $850/mo + dep. Two free signs 65k hwy mi only, new tires, grid
1 to 9with
in theseveral
empty spaces 6 5 1 7 2 3 9 4 8
Ads starting at... fully serviced & well−
662−574−1711.
maintained. $32,000. given
so thatnumbers. The 4 9 7 6 5 8 2 3 1
each row, each
Mobile Homes for Rent Garage Sales: Other
1 day $10 662−726−1649. object
column is
numbers
andtoeach
place
3x3 the
box 3 2 8 9 4 1 6 7 5
Motorcycles & ATVs contains the1sameto 9 number
in
3 day $18 the empty spaces so 8 7 5 2 3 9 1 6 4
3BR/2BA Trailer, New HOUSE MOVING SALE!
Hope school dist. $650/ China to crystal, kit/BR, only once. The difficulty 1 3 9 5 6 4 8 2 7
2005 HONDA 250 REBEL that each row, each
mo & $650 dep. No pets, kid/adult toys & more. level increases from
6 day $34
no drugs, no partying. Call Come find a treasure! MOTORCYCLE. column and each 2 4 6 8 1 7 3 5 9
b/w 10a−9p. 662−386− Sat, 8/29, 8am−6pm. Black, red, and gray. Monday
3x3 boxtocontains
Sunday. Difficulty Level 8/21

1,428 miles. $1500.

4292. NO TEXT MGS. 52 Oakmont Dr, Macon the same number only once. The difficulty level
Price includes 4 lines of text;
662−364−0120. Five Questions: increases from Monday to Sunday.
One call will bring you results. 662-328-2424 $1/line after base cost.

Houses For Sale: Other

1 Bangladesh

2 “Spirited Away”

3 Nabisco
You’ll find the best deals
when you advertise
and shop here! 4 Shepard Fairey
ads.cdispatch.com
5 False

Need a
new car?

Start in the classifieds section for

your buying and selling needs!

Ads starting at $12 for one week!

Whether you’re buying or selling

ACROSS
1 Fuel sources
6 Storybook
elephant

we’ve got what you’re looking for.

11 Stan’s buddy
12 Chicago
airport
13 Witch trial
town

Make classifieds
14 Newborns
15 Brio
17 Early hour
18 Try out

your first stop.

19 Nanny
22 Dr.’s field
23 Makes
broader
24 Jeans ma- powder 20 Spot for
terial DOWN cutting a film
25 Firm cus- 1 American 21 Setting item
tomer marsupial 24 Clamor
27 Period 2 Go by 25 Buster of
30 Trio of writing 3 In cahoots serials
sisters 4 Stadium 26 Easy stan-
31 Monk’s title section dard to achieve
32 Firm focus 5 Like some 27 Steep-roofed
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sively 6 Short cut 28 Kitchen tool
35 Diminished 7 “That’s it!” 29 Place for a
38 Seething 8 Mandrill, e.g. meal
39 Lower in 9 Game settings 30 Flock sound
esteem 10 Bowler’s 34 Mass unit
40 Circus worker button 36 Snaky shape
41 Pithy 16 Painter’s 37 Ruby of films
42 Abrasive need

Place your ad today to get fast results.

ads.cdisaptch.com
6B SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Religion
Relax, God got this
W
ith all the
chaos
going on
in the world today,
it makes us worry
about what’s going
to happen next.
Worrying about it is
not going to do us
any good or make
us live any longer.
All we can do is
relax because God
is in control and He
got this. “Can any one of you
by worrying add a single hour
to your life?”(Matthew 6:27)
NIV
A lot of times, we feel that
we need to help God out, only
to make the situation worse.
When God is saying
to us, “relax I got
this.” He can make
a situation that
seem impossible for
us, possible. “Jesus
looked at them and
said, with man this
is impossible, but
with God all things
are possible.”(Mat-
Sherry Ivy thew 19:26)NIV
Even when we
hear devastating
news concerning our illness,
we can’t let it stress us out. We
have to “Relax and know that
God got this.” Regardless of
what the doctor says, He can
heal us from any sickness if
we cry out to Him. “O LORD
my God, I cried unto thee, and
thou hast healed me.”(Psalm
30:2)K JV
Some people we work with
will go to any extent to get us
fired, just because they don’t
like us. However, we don’t have
to let what they do make us
angry; we can “relax knowing
that God got this.”
“Do not take revenge, my
dear friends, but leave room
for God’s wrath, for it is writ-
ten: “It is mine to avenge; I will
repay,” says the Lord.”
(Roman 12:19)NIV
All of us are dealing with
some kind of trouble in our
lives. It may be family trouble,
job trouble or financial trouble.
Nevertheless, we can’t let it
upset us. We have to “relax be-
cause God got this.” He’s our
“right now” help when we get
in trouble. “ God is our refuge
and strength, a very present
help in trouble.”(Psalm 46:1)
K JV
When we’re having rela-
tionship problems, it’s easy to
think of all the reasons why it’s
not going to work out. That’s
when we have to give it to God
and relax, He got this. He is
working behind the scenes
turning it around for our good.
“And we know that God causes
everything to work together
for the good of those who love
God and are called according
to his purpose for them.”(Ro-
mans 8:28)NLT
So be encouraged today and
always remember: whatever
we’re going through, we can
relax knowing that God got it.
For there is nothing too hard
for Him to do. “ Ah Lord God!
behold, thou hast made the
heaven and the earth by thy
great power and stretched out
arm, and there is nothing too
hard for the.”(Jeremiah 32:17)
K JV
Minister Sherry Ivy is a
Minister of The New Providence
M. B. Church (Healing & Yoke
Destroying Ministry) in Macon
Mississippi, under the lead-
ership of her husband, Pastor
Willie J. Ivy Sr. You can contact
her via email at minsivy@
yahoo.com

For our complete church directory listing, visit us online at www.cdispatch.com/religion

Due to local restrictions, churches likely have modified service types and hours. Please contact a church before attending a service.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is F eatured C hurch

“There is Liberty”
Ke nne th Mo ntg o m ery www.memorialgunterpeel.com
Proudly serving our community 716 Second Ave. N. • Columbus, MS • 662-328-4432
for over 30 years 903 College St. • Columbus, MS • 662-328-2354

FIRST CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH — 2698 Ridge Rd. Sunday School 9:15 a.m.,
Worship 10:30 a.m., Adult Choir 4 p.m. Youth Group 5 p.m., Bible Study 5 p.m.; Monthly Activities:
CPW Circle #2 (2nd Tue. 4 p.m.), Ladies Aid (3rd Tue. 2 p.m.); Weekly Activities: Exercise Class
Tuesday and Thursday 8 a.m. Rev. Luke Lawson, Pastor. 662-328-2692

If you would like your church to be the featured church of the week,
submit a photo by emailing it to community@cdispatch.com.
• RECYCLING SINCE 1956 • Photos should be horizontal and high quality.
Specializing in industrial accounts The Dispatch will publish photos at no charge as space permits.
662-328-8176 973 Island Rd. 1-800-759-8570

R Free Estimates
LER OO 1721 Hwy 45 N
EE FIN Licensed
& Insured Columbus, MS
W H INC. G ®

COMMERCIAL 662.848.0919
“A Family Business Since 1946” RESIDENTIAL Monday-Saturday 10am-8pm
662-328-3625 • 662-328-7612 In Style. In Reach. Sunday 1pm-5pm

When Caring Counts... SHELTON’S TOWING, INC. TRINITY PLACE

2500 Military Road Suite 1
Columbus, MS
Since 1960 RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
662-328-7500 24 Hour Towing Offering independent living apartments, personal
westrealtycompany.com
WEST REALTY COMPANY care/assisted living suites, and a skilled nursing home
Don West, Broker/Owner FUNERAL HOME & CREMATORY 1024 Gardner Blvd. 300 Airline Road • Columbus, MS • 327-6716
1131 Lehmberg Rd., Columbus • 662-328-1808 328-8277 “Our Bottom Line Is People”

Hunting • Fishing
Northeast Exterminating Working Or Stepping Out — We Have A Complete
Line Of Clothing For You And Your Family
If it Jimmy Linley • Richard Linley
LLC
Oktibbeha County Co-Op
crawls, Columbus
Check Out Our Boot & Cap Section
662-323-1742
call... 662-329-9992 201 Pollard Rd., Starkville

BRISLIN, INC. Insurance Services:

Young
Sales • Service • Installation Shelton Cleaners Personal
Auto Insurance Agency
Residential • Commercial • Industrial Home GEORGE F. YOUNG
Since 1956 3189 Hwy 45 N. • 328-5421 Commercial Office-662.570.1688
www.brislininc.com Final Expense Cell-662.251.3563
1702 6th St. N. • 328-5361 gfyoung08@gmail.com
4051 Military Road • 662-328-5814 1205 Gardner Blvd.,Columbus, MS

APAC-MISSISSIPPI, INC.
Michael Bogue & Employees
Lake Norris Rd. 328-6555

INDUSTRIAL SERVICES, INC The McBryde Family

www.hydrovaconline.com 1120 Gardner Blvd. • 328-5776

Jarrett’s Towing This ad space can be yours

Wrecker Service for only $10 per week.
5209 N. Hwy 182 E. • Columbus, MS 39702
329-2447 We unlock Telephone: 662-327-1467 Call today 328-2424
If no answer 251-2448 cars P.O. Box 1278 • 1616 7th Ave. S., Columbus, MS 39703 to schedule your ad.

If you need to change your church’s online listing or would like to add
your church information, call 328-2424 or email changes to tinap@cdispatch.com
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2020 7B

SSunday
unday CComics
omics
8B SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Puzzles