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Monday | September 28, 2020

UNDER THE CAPITOL DOME

MONDAY PROFILE
Analysis: Lawsuit
Embracing the strange lingers long
Scooter’s Records still rockin’ and rollin’ amid pandemic uncertainty after bitter 2014
Senate race
2017 lawsuit claims
several people were
part of a network
illegally retaliating
against attorney for his
political activity
BY EMILY WAGSTER PET TUS
The Associated Press

JACKSON — Six years after a

contentious U.S. Senate race that
divided Mississippi Republicans
and more than a year after the
death of the incumbent who won, a
civil lawsuit connected to the case
is still winding through the courts.
A federal appeals court ruled last
week that a Madison police officer
did not violate a man’s constitution-
al rights when she sought search
warrants to investigate whether he
was part of a conspiracy to photo-
Ben Portnoy/Dispatch Staff graph the ailing wife of longtime
Scott “Scooter” Thomas opened his self-titled record store in 2017. Boasting a collection of over 10,000 vinyls, U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran to use in a
he noted the COVID-19 pandemic has added some new pieces to the unique and intimate experience of a record
store, but customers have continued to flock into his shop. Thomas said this summer has been the best since he video criticizing Cochran.
opened the store, though he’s still at a slight loss on the year after having to temporarily close his doors in the The dispute is in a lawsuit filed
spring due to shelter in place orders. by the widow and sons of attorney
Mark Mayfield of Madison County,
BY BEN PORTNOY whose 2014 death was ruled a sui-
bportnoy@cdispatch.com cide.
The 2017 lawsuit says Mayfield

S
cott “Scooter” Thomas sits behind the took his own life under pressure
register and basks in the vocals of Tex- as he was facing a felony charge of
as-based bluegrass group The Gourds. conspiracy to exploit a vulnerable
The tune, “Lower 48,” is part of Thomas’ adult. The lawsuit claims that sev-
recent kick on Longhorn State bands, eral people were part of a network
though he explains he tries to flip the music illegally retaliating against May-
playing over the speakers in his store based field for his political activity. A fed-
on the clientele walking in and out. eral district judge dismissed some
“If Grandma and her kids are coming defendants in 2018 and 2019.
in, whenever I see him out the door, I’m Mayfield was prominent in the
probably not going to be playing any heavy Mississippi tea party movement.
During Mississippi’s 2014 U.S. Sen-
metal,” he quipped.
ate race, he supported Chris Mc-
With wrists coated in bracelets, beads
Daniel as the state lawmaker ended
and metal clasps, Thomas’ denim jack-
up losing to Cochran the Republi-
et and long graying hair offer him the
can primary.
befitting look of a man who’s record store An opponent of Cochran took
boasts a collection of vinyl that numbers an unauthorized photograph of the
See PROFILE, 3A Ben Portnoy/Dispatch Staff
senator’s wife, who had dementia
and was living in the same Mad-
See ANALYSIS, 3A

WEATHER FIVE QUESTIONS CALENDAR LOCAL FOLKS PUBLIC

Joel Heard
Kindergarten, Annunciation
1 What term, derived from the Latin Today MEETINGS
word rapere, is used to describe ea- ■ Virtual Hazard Lecture Series: The
Sept. 30:
gles, hawks and other birds of prey? Lowndes
Hazard Lecture Series in Columbus pres-
2 What 1972 U.S. law increased wom- County Board
en’s participation in high school and ents “Music with The Beethoven Celebration
Trio,” a virtual program at 7 p.m. commem- of Supervisors
college sports?
3 What animal would you find painted orating Beethoven’s 250th birthday. Musi- meeting, 9 a.m.,
on the tail of a Qantas airplane? cians Laura Sandifer, Fayth Williams and Lowndes County
4 What classic record label boasted Sophie Wang perform. Watch at facebook. Courthouse,
the acts Diana Ross & the Supremes, com/heritageacademypatriots. facebook.com/

78 Low 55
Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson?
LowndesCounty-
High 5 What was the first flavor of Ramen
instant noodles created by inventor Mississippi/
T-storms likely
Momofuku Ando? Oct. 5: Lowndes
Full forecast on
page 3A. Answers, 6B
TOP OF PAGE County Board
of Supervisors
■ ART IN THE PARK: Volunteers Tiffany
meeting, 9 a.m.,
Gladney, left, and Myles Spillers show a se-
lection of free books to 2-year-old Jay Zacha- Lowndes County
INSIDE ry, the son of Jessica Flowers, at the annual Courthouse,
Classifieds 6B Dear Abby 4B Art in the Park event Saturday in Starkville. Patricia Miner lives in Steens. Her facebook.com/
Comics 4B Obituaries 5A SEE MORE PHOTOS ON PAGE 6A. — Photo son Johnathan plays saxophone in LowndesCounty-
141st Year, No. 170 Crossword 3B Opinions 4A by Tess Vrbin/Dispatch Staff the New Hope High School band. Mississippi/

DISPATCH CUSTOMER SERVICE 328-2424 | NEWSROOM 328-2471

2A MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Trump’s tax revelation could

tarnish image that fueled rise
New York Times: Trump paid $750 in federal
income taxes in 2016, 2017 and no incomes taxes
whatsoever in 10 of the previous 15 years
BY JILL COLVIN
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON —
The bombshell reve-
lations that President
Donald Trump paid
just $750 in federal
income taxes the year
he ran for office and
paid no income taxes
Trump
at all in many others
threaten to undercut a pillar of his
appeal among blue-collar voters and
provide a new opening for his Demo-
cratic rival, Joe Biden, on the eve of
the first presidential debate.
Trump has worked for decades to
build an image of himself as a huge-
ly successful businessman — even
choosing “mogul” as his Secret Ser-
vice code name. But The New York
Times on Sunday revealed that he
paid just $750 in federal income taxes
in 2016, the year he won the presiden-
cy, and in 2017, his first year in office.
He paid no income taxes whatsoever
in 10 of the previous 15 years, large-
ly because he reported losing more
money than he made, according to
the Times, which obtained years’
worth of tax return data that the pres-
ident had long fought to keep private.
The development comes at a
particularly precarious moment for
Trump, whose Republican campaign
is struggling to overcome criticism of
the president’s handling of the pan-
demic. It hands Biden an easy attack
line heading into Tuesday’s debate.
And with early voting already hap-
pening in some states and Election
Day just over a month away, Trump
may be running out of time to turn
his campaign around.
“Donald Trump needs this elec-
tion to be about Joe Biden as a
choice,” said longtime GOP consul-
tant Alex Conant. “This keeps the
focus squarely on Trump’s character
and the chaos going into the most
important night of the campaign, the
debate.”
Of course, Trump has repeatedly
faced — and survived — devastat-
ing turns that would have sunk any
other politician. That includes, most
notably, the stunning “Access Holly-
wood” tape released in October 2016,
in which Trump was recorded brag-
ging about kissing and groping wom-
en without their permission. The
video’s release came just two days be-
fore Trump was set to face then-can-
didate Hillary Clinton in their second
debate and was considered a death
knell to his campaign at the time.
At this point in the race, with vot-
ing already underway in many states
and so few voters still undecided, it is
unclear whether any new discoveries
about Trump would make any differ-
ence. Trump’s support over the years
has remained remarkably consistent,
polls over the course of his presiden-
cy have found.
Yet the tax allegations go to the
very heart of Trump’s appeal, espe-
cially among the blue-collar voters in
states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin
and Michigan who propelled him to
the presidency in 2016. Trump was
supported by about two-thirds of
white voters without college degrees,
according to an analysis by the Pew
Research Center, versus only about 2
in 10 nonwhite noncollege graduates.

Barrett could be Ginsburg’s polar opposite on Supreme Court

Judge says she looks to conservative Ginsburg, who died
this month at age 87, and
Ginsburg believed
deeply that the Constitu-
Justice Antonin Scalia, for whom she Scalia were dear friends,
but they were on opposite
tion protects a woman’s
right to an abortion. She
once worked, on matters of law sides of the most divisive was a firm opponent of a
issues of the day. broad reading of the con-
BY MARK SHERMAN tonin Scalia, for whom Barrett’s conservative stitutional right to “keep
The Associated Press she once worked, and not and bear arms.”
judicial record, her writ-
Ginsburg, on matters of ings and speeches sug- The differences don’t
WASHINGTON — law. gest that she too would be stop there. Barrett has
Amy Coney Barrett paid
“His judicial philosophy Ginsburg’s polar opposite been critical of Chief Jus-
homage to Justice Ruth
is mine, too. Judges must on a range of issues that tice John Roberts’ opinion
Bader Ginsburg in her
apply the law as written. include abortion and guns. upholding the Affordable
White House speech Sat-
Judges are not policy mak- Barrett has cast votes Care Act, which is again
urday as a shatterer of
glass ceilings. She said ers,” Barrett said. She was suggesting she would up- facing a constitutional
she would be mindful of referring to their common hold state abortion restric- challenge at the Supreme
the woman whose place method of interpreting tions that Ginsburg found Court. Ginsburg was one
she would take on the Su- laws and the Constitution violated the Constitution. of five votes that saved the
preme Court. based on what they were Barrett also favors a more law on two prior occasions.
She even commented understood to mean when expansive interpretation
that her children think they were written. of gun rights.
their father is the better
cook, much as Ginsburg
used to talk about her
husband’s prowess in the
kitchen.
But the replacement of
the liberal icon Ginsburg,
the second woman to
serve on the high court, by
Barrett, who would be the
fifth, would represent the
most dramatic ideological
change on the Supreme
Court in nearly 30 years
and cement conservative
dominance of the court for
years to come.
Barrett, a judge on
the federal appeals court
based in Chicago, made
clear in her Rose Garden
address that she looks to
conservative Justice An-

Trump ex-
campaign boss
hospitalized amid
threat to harm self
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

FORT LAUDERDALE,
Fla. — President Donald
Trump’s former campaign
manager Brad Parscale
has been hospitalized af-
ter he threatened to harm
himself, according to Flor-
ida police and campaign
officials.
Police officers talked
Parscale out of his Fort
Lauderdale home after his
wife called police to say
that he had multiple fire-
arms and was threatening
to hurt himself when he
was hospitalized Sunday
under the state’s Baker
Act. That act allows any-
one deemed to be a threat
to themselves or others to
be detained for 72 hours
for psychiatric evaluation.
“Brad Parscale is a
member of our family and
we love him,” said Trump
campaign communica-
tions director Tim Mur-
taugh. “We are ready to
support him and his family
in any way possible.”
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 3A

1963 church bombing survivor University of Southern

seeks apology, restitution Mississippi creates
Sarah Collins Rudolph’s attorneys contend the
bombing amounted to state-incited violence,
arguing it was inspired and motivated by Gov.
George Wallace’s racist rhetoric
BY KIM CHANDLER
The Associated Press
More than a dozen sticks of dyna-
mite planted by Ku Klux Klansmen
exploded at a Birmingham church
in 1963, killing four Black girls.
The “fifth little girl,” Sarah Col-
lins Rudolph, survived but still has
shards of glass in her body from the
blast that took her sister, her right
eye and her dreams of becoming
a nurse. Rudolph, 69, is now seek-
ing an apology from the state and
compensation for what she says has
been a lifetime of trauma.
A law firm working for free on
Rudolph’s behalf sent a letter to Al-
abama Gov. Kay Ivey arguing that
the words of state leaders, including
Gov. George Wallace, at the time
encouraged the racial violence that
led to one of the most infamous acts
of the civil rights era. Attorney Is-
han K. Bhabha said Rudolph’s story
“cries out for justice.”
“Her life was put on a fundamen-
tally different track in an instant as
a little girl,” said Bhabha.
The state has yet to respond to
Rudolph.
The five girls were gathered in a
downstairs washroom at Birming-
ham’s 16th Street Baptist Church
on the morning of Sept. 15, 1963,
when a timed bomb planted by KKK
members went off outside under a
set of stairs. The blast killed Denise
McNair, 11, and three 14-year-olds:
Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley,
and Addie Mae Collins, who was
Rudolph’s sister.
Rudolph recalled that she and
her sister had gone to the wash-
room to freshen up after walking
to church. The other girls came in
after their Sunday school class fin-
ished.
Denise asked Addie to tie the
sash on her dress, Rudolph recalled.
“When Addie reached out to tie
it, that’s when I heard this sound,
boom, the bomb went off,” Rudolph
recalled.
She started calling for her sister.
“Addie, Addie.”
Addie didn’t answer.
The bombing followed months of
racial unrest in the state. Birming-
ham’s public schools were going
through racial desegregation at
the time, and Wallace had vowed
“segregation forever” at his first in-
auguration earlier that year, urging
whites to “send a message to Wash-
ington.”
Rudolph’s attorneys contend the
bombing amounted to state-incited
violence, arguing it was inspired
and motivated by Wallace’s racist
rhetoric.
“While the State of Alabama
did not place the bomb next to the
church, its Governor and other
leaders at the time played an undis-
puted role in encouraging its citi-
zens to engage in racial violence,
including the violence that stole the
lives of four little girls, and irrepa-
rably injured a fifth, the morning of
September 15, 1963,” her attorneys
wrote in the letter to Ivey on the eve
of the 57th anniversary of the bomb-
ing.
Gina Maiola, a spokeswoman for
Ivey, said that Rudolph’s request is
being reviewed. It came about af-
ter a then-partner in the law firm of
Jenner & Block saw Rudolph speak
in South Carolina. Touched by her
story, he asked the firm to help her
without charge.
free COVID course
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JACKSON — The University of Southern Mis-
sissippi is offering a free online course aimed to
educate the public about the coronavirus.
The six-part, “Understanding the Pandemic:
A COVID-19 Public Service Short Course,” is an
effort of Dr. Douglas Masterson, senior associate
provost for institutional effectiveness and a profes-
sor of chemistry and biochemistry at the Universi-
ty of Southern Mississippi.
Masterson said he was inspired to create the
course when he realized how much misinforma-
tion and misunderstanding there was among the
public about the novel coronavirus and pandemics
in general.
“As professors, we conduct research in our ar-
eas and publish that research in journals that are
read largely by other academics,” Masterson said.
“The opportunity to put our scholarly work into
a context related to current events highlights the
importance of what we do in academia and fulfills
the mission of serving the public good.”
The six modules are the history of pandemics;
social and economic impact of pandemics; corona-
virus and epidemiology; spread, prevention, and
treatment; vaccines; and personal health and well-
ness in a pandemic.
Each module is presented in a video presenta-
tion format by a University of Southern Mississip-
pi faculty member whose expertise and academic
focus is on the given topic. The course takes about
three hours to complete.
“You’re not going to take this course and be-
come a COVID-19 expert, but when you take this
course you will have a better foundation for what
this pandemic may mean for you. It’s going to help
you navigate the things you’re hearing on the
news,” Masterson said.

Profile
Continued from Page 1A
more than 10,000. The
store itself, aptly named
Scooter’s Records, is a
passion project of sorts
for the Louisville native
and Starkville transplant.
In his youth, Thomas’
aunt worked at a record
store in Hattiesburg — a
shop he’d spend countless
hours wandering aisles
and navigating boxes
among greats like Bowie
and Springsteen, Led
Zeppelin and The Rolling
Stones. He said the first
record he ever received
was Elton John’s “Captain
Fantastic and The Brown
Dirt Cowboy,” while the
first album he ever pur-
chased himself was The
Kinks’ “Greatest Hits!”
He bought the latter at a
garage sale for a nickel.
“I’ve still got that re-
cord,” he notes of his first
in a long line of record
purchases through the
decades.
Since 2017, Thomas
has operated Scooter’s
Records after a 28-year
run working as the city’s
chief water operator.
Like so many other
locally-owned vinyl shops
around the country,
there’s an expectation
upon entrance at Scoot-
er’s. A record store
experience is hands on. It
requires flipping through
stacks of used records
in hopes of uncovering a
gem or two. It’s personal.
In Thomas’ shop,
within view of the Cotton
District and barely a mile
Scooter’s Records, located in Starkville, has more than
10,000 records for sale.
away from Mississippi
State’s campus where he
spent time as a student
in the mid-to-late 1980s,
the walls are coated with
rock n’ roll memorabilia.
A blowup poster of the
Clash’s hit album “Lon-
don Calling” covers one
entire box filled with
records. Iconography of
now-deceased Grateful
Dead lead guitarist and
vocalist Jerry Garcia and
singer Janis Joplin also
grace the walls.
But there are pieces to
the cathartic record store
experience that have
been added in Thomas’
three years operating the
store, and, more recent-
ly, as the COVID-19
pandemic crippled the
country for much of the
past six months. A bottle
of hand sanitizer greets
music-searchers just
Ben Portnoy/Dispatch Staff
inside the door. Rubber
gloves are offered to
anyone that wants them.
Thomas himself wears a
navy blue and yellow de-
signed bandanna around
his nose and mouth.
“It was getting touchy
there for like a month and
a half,” he said.
There have been
changes to the experi-
ence, sure, but interper-
sonal touches remain at
Scooter’s amid less than
ideal circumstances. As
one patron heads to the
register, he and Thomas
exchange thoughts on
the Frank Zappa album
changing hands.
“You know how Frank
Zappa would go off on
tangents?” Thomas
queries.
“Nobody talks about
Frank,” the customer
adds. “I love Frank Zappa.
… He’s as good if not
better than Hendrix, in
my opinion.”
Business has re-
mained steady through-
out the pandemic at
Scooter’s. He’s the only
employee at the moment,
though there have been a
few college students that
have aided his shop in
recent years. Following
shelter in place orders
in late spring, Thomas
reopened full-time in
May. He said it’s the
best summer he’s had
since opening, but he’s
still at a slight deficit. In
the immortal words of
David Bowie, Thomas
has simply embraced the
strange.
“People that buy
records in a record store,
they’re in for the experi-
ence of going into a re-
cord store,” Thomas said.
“And so in that respect,
I’m really not competing
with Amazon.
“All that being said,
the store is doing good,”
he continued. “I’m pretty
happy with that — thank
God. You know, (the
pandemic) just kind of
showed me that even
in Starkville, you can’t
predict anything in
Starkville.”

Analysis
Continued from Page 1A
ison nursing home as
Mayfield’s mother. The
image of Rose Cochran
was briefly posted online
to try to draw attention to
allegations that Thad Co-
chran was having an af-
fair while his wife was in-
capacitated. The senator’s
campaign said he was not
involved in an improper
relationship.
Court records say
Mayfield refused to pho-
tograph Rose Cochran,
but he showed someone
where to find her room.
Another person took vid-
eo of her, and a still image
from that video was used
online.
the lead investigator into
the violation of Rose Co-
chran’s privacy. Currie
was one of the officers
who submitted sworn
statements to a city judge
before the judge issued
search warrants for May-
field’s law office and the
Mayfield family home.
The 5th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals said last
week that Currie did not
violate Mayfield’s con-
stitutional right against
search and seizure when
she sought the search
warrants. Arguments
centered on the issue of
“qualified immunity,”
which shields police of-
violation, let alone a clear-
ly established one, Officer
Currie cannot be liable.”
The appeals court in-
structed a district court
judge to review another
aspect of the Mayfields’
complaint about Currie —
whether she omitted some
information that might
have cleared Mayfield of
blame as she sought the
search warrants.
Rose Cochran died in
December 2014. Thad Co-
chran married a longtime
aide, Kay Webber, in May SOLUNAR TABLE
2015, and he retired from The solunar period indicates
peak-feeding times for fish and game.
Mon. Tues.
the Senate in 2018 amid Major 10:25p —
6:06p 6:37p
concerns about his own Minor
Major 10:48a 11:33a

Mayfield died while ficers from liability un- health. He died in May Minor 4:41a 5:19a
Courtesy of Mississippi Department

the charge against him less a reasonable official 2019. of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks

Documents filed in

was pending. A blogger
later pleaded guilty to a
conspiracy charge related
to the photo, and he spent
several months in jail.
One of the remaining
defendants in the May-
field family’s civil lawsuit
is Vickie Currie, who was
would have understood
that what he or she was
doing would violate a con-
stitutional right.
One of the appeals
court judges, Don R. Wil-
lette, wrote that “because
the Mayfields have failed
to show a constitutional
September in the federal
district court in Jackson
show that the attorneys
representing the Mayfield
family intend to interview
several people under oath
to gather more informa-
tion for their lawsuit.
The Dispatch
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516 Main St., Columbus, MS 39703
Opinion
4A MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
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

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MARY ANN HARDY Controller

POSSUMHAW
Nature all around us
“Nature is the purest thing sugary liquid; his purpose see him again. one tree with obvious shavings where
we can touch and observe. It was far more deadly. Later that Sunday afternoon, Sam nodules had been removed.
can be the most beautiful and I snatched my phone and and I took a hike at the nearby environ- Trails led up and down wooden steps,
also the most devastating.” was soon beside the creature mental center. Cool weather beckoned. over small bridges and around bends in
— Jeff Nichols, American as he rotated his head 180 Maybe we would see unusual the trail where Sam warned,
film director and degrees in my direction. The plants, maybe woodland “Look out for snakes.” No
screenwriter from shape of a praying mantis’s flowers. We read sooner than Sam had
Little Rock, Arkansas head is quite bizarre. It plaques for the his- spoken, I noticed a
reminds me of those movie torical information perfectly still black

O
utside the kitchen cameras of the ’50s — the of the bluff and snake by a tree,
window the wild cher- kind with two huge flood- the Prairie. Sam half hidden by
ry trees grow with lights at opposite ends of a peered over the leaves.
leaves of red, the harbingers Shannon Bardwell bar. While he was looking rail at the lake “There’s a
of fall. Our trees are freck- directly at me, holding his and the river, snake,” I point-
led with green and red in a front legs in the praying looking for flow ed. I held my
variety of shades. When a ruby-throated position, I snapped his photograph, then and color. We are finger in the air
hummingbird perches on a cherry tree thumped him into the ivy below. always attracted and traced the
limb it is perfectly camouflaged in the Be very careful when thumping a to the “toothache” snake’s body for
leaves. It takes an eagle eye, and maybe praying mantis; they have sharp thorns tree. The plaque Sam to see. Later
a bit of movement, to spot the tiny bird. on the inside of their prayer hands they read indigenous peo- when we returned the
Hummingbirds are still feeding at the impale into their prey as quick as a ple discovered chewing same way, we found the
feeders, flitting back and forth between blink. Exactly as they would do to the the leaves or bark with the snake gone. The plaque
trees and feeders. Last week I glanced poor, unsuspecting hummingbird. The oddly shaped nodules would had said the snake doesn’t want
toward the feeder, and there in the hummingbird is then snared in the pray- relieve toothaches. Today’s herbalists to meet you any more than you want to
darkened shadows lurked a murderous ing mantis’s thorns, never to escape. He use the bark to relieve headaches, heart meet the snake.
praying mantis. The strange looking fel- was the first praying mantis I had seen and kidney ailments, liver disease and Email reaches Shannon Bardwell of
low had no intention of imbibing in the on the feeder this year, and I pray not to as antiseptic powder. We discovered Columbus at msdeltachild@msn.com.

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE CARTOONIST VIEW

Candidate asks for support
I am overwhelmingly thankfully for
your vote this past Tuesday. My friend
Mr. Wright is admired and respected in
the community. As such, we consider the
results a small victory.
My name is David Chism. I am from
Mississippi and I love Mississippi. My edu-
cational background includes degrees from
MUW, Lee University and a doctorate from
the Institute for Worship Studies. I am a
businessman, now in the October 13 runoff
for House District 37.
My goal from the beginning both polit-
ically and personally has been to remain
relentlessly positive in the face of every-
thing that 2020 offers. However, positivity
has not been easy.
My opponent Mr. Wright penned a letter
to The Dispatch dated 9/21/20, wherein he
curiously repudiated my allegiance to the
Republican Party. To that I respond. I am,
to the core, an open-hearted Republican
whose political philosophy lies somewhere
between that of Reagan and Sen. Rand Paul
(R-KY). I have libertarian friends who have
good ideas, such as increasing privatization
and limiting government control. That said,
the moment they forget about our nation’s
moral compass, I part ways with their
ideology. I stand for liberty and for Chris-
tian values, believing that the two are not
mutually exclusive. I call for less anarchy
and more law and order.
Fresh air is much needed for the sur-
vival of the Republican Party. To attract
younger leadership, we must rid ourselves
of the elitist, establishment mentalities of
WASHINGTON
yesteryear. The voters I have spoken with
refer to this as “good ole boy” politics, and
they are tired of it. They want a candidate Hypocrisy
O
who will address issues.
ne of the things the American people. well -- but somehow, Trump is now in
From day one, my campaign has wres-
that people across However, this couldn’t the wrong, a typical double standard
tled serious topics including the pandemic,
the board find be the furthest thing by those on the left.
economics, social unrest, and how these
pathetic, misleading and from the truth because, Democrats and their leftist media
issues affect rural Mississippi. I have
downright disgusting in the same interview, allies have chosen to work against
collaborated with local leaders, talked with is hypocrisy. Especially the president stated he Trump at every turn. Instead of
constituents, built a platform, and made when it comes from a “didn’t want to incite attempting to work with the pres-
that platform publicly available for voter person in a position of panic,” which, ultimately, ident to unite the country to keep
scrutiny. Literally anyone who listened to power, at a lectern with was the right decision. At Americans safe, they’ve opted to
the tale of two speeches at the recent Re- a mic, who is pretending the time of the interview, score political points, although many
publican Women’s meeting will tell you that to be holier than thou. there were still many Democrats iterated the same tone as
I went to the battlefront while my opponent Yet, when they are not at uncertainties about the the president.
spoke about football. Since then I have con- the lectern, their actions Armstrong Williams virus that required more House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
tinued to initiate discussions on difficult, are something entirely research and debate similarly downplayed the virus when
important, and often controversial issues. different: “Do as I say, not as I do.” among experts. It would have been she said: “It’s very safe to be in
Friends, this is no coronation. This Well, that’s the case of former vice grossly negligent for Trump to cause Chinatown and hope that others will
election involves a lot of different people. president Joe Biden, but we’ll come a national panic without being able come. It’s lovely here. The food is
The entire district (including West Point back to this a little later. to articulate why and without the ev- delicious; the shops are prospering;
through Maben where we won big) de- It goes without saying that Pres- idence to back it up. Instead, he took the parade was great. Walking tours
serves a voice. ident Donald Trump should never decisive steps, like banning travel continue. Please come and visit and
From day one I have pushed for broad- have sat down with Bob Woodward from China, to limit the spread while enjoy Chinatown.” Pelosi did this as
band expansion and fiscal conservatism and, to be frank, I can’t understand we gathered more information about to not incite panic and fear among her
while emphasizing freedom, faith, and why the president continues to sit the virus. constituents towards the Asian com-
family. For more info visit davidchism. down with reporters who, as the However, that wasn’t enough to munity. Let’s also not forget that the
com and facebook.com/david.house.ms. I adage goes, “Don’t mean him any appease Democratic nominee Joe mainstream media and Democrats
welcome ALL your questions and concerns, good.” It’s no secret that the main- Biden, who went on to attack Trump also heavily criticized the travel ban
and pledge to publicly respond to them as stream media isn’t a fan of Trump, during an interview with CNN’s Jake from China. Democrats like Biden
time allows. and yet here we are again. Mr. Tapper. Unsurprisingly, Jake didn’t and Pelosi are hypocrites and are
The runoff is October 13. I will not let President, why do you keep putting challenge the former vice president using the death of Americans to win
you down. I will remain readily available, yourself in this predicament? Why do on his positions on the same topic, a presidential election. For that, they
with open ears. you continue to give reporters, who COVID-19. Biden has been a hypo- should be ashamed of themselves.
Stay positive! only seek to malign you, the time of crite, and he needs to be called out. Trump didn’t do anything different
David Chism day? It just doesn’t make any sense. He’s attacking Trump for not wanting than Biden or Pelosi, but the media
Lowndes County Furthermore, those around you do to incite panic, yet that is the same ignores the hypocrisy while pounc-
not have your best interests at heart. measured step he took with his very ing on Trump, calling him evil and
A letter to the editor is an excellent way to If they did, this interview would have own statements. all sorts of other ridiculous names.
participate in your community. We request never occurred. If Trump wins the “But I want to take a moment to “Why,” you might ask? Well, the
the tone of your letters be constructive and reelection in November, he needs to say it’s not a time to panic about coro- answer to that is simple; it suits their
respectful and the length be limited to 450 truly clean house once and for all. navirus, but coronavirus is a serious agenda. Trump did the right thing
words. We reserve the right to edit letters for You can’t but the toothpaste back public health challenge,” Biden said. then and continues to do the right
clarity, grammar and length. While commen- in the tube, and now Woodward has He repeated this sentiment for people thing today by leading with a stable
tary on national issues is always welcome, a new book, “Rage.” To build momen- not to “panic” during a speech about and steady hand as we navigate this
we limit candidate endorsements to one per tum for the book, he has released the coronavirus on March 12, the day global pandemic. That’s precisely
letter-writer. We welcome all letters emailed tapes of his interviews with the after the World Health Organization what we need in a president.
to voice@cdispatch.com or mailed to The president. The spin so far has been gave the notice that the virus was offi- Armstrong Williams is an Ameri-
Dispatch, Attn: Letters to the Editor, PO Box that Trump knew just how deadly the cially a “pandemic.” Trump attempted can political commentator, entrepre-
511, Columbus, MS 39703-0511. COVID-19 virus was and hid it from to maintain calm -- what Biden did as neur, author, and talk show host.

Jace Carter Foote, 3, climbs on the equipment at the playground beside Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Trian-
gle last week. Foote is the son of Diamond Brandon.
The eyes don’t have it: Masks
upset classroom communication
To help with communication, teachers have turned to
masks with clear patches over their mouths, set up
plexiglass bubbles inside classrooms so they can speak
without masks, and in some cases turned to props
BY SHAWN MARSH
The Associated Press
Placing an order at a
deli counter while wear-
ing a mask and standing 6
feet away can be difficult.
Try teaching a class full of
schoolchildren and con-
necting with students who
are themselves wearing
masks.
Teachers who in ordi-
nary times rely on their
voices to convey nuances
of language and manage
classroom behavior are
tasked with not sounding
like the trombone-pro-
duced “wah wah” of the
Charlie Brown TV specials
while protecting them-
selves and their students
from the coronavirus.
Organizer arrested after driving car into California protest
BY BRIAN MELLEY
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — An
organizer of a Southern
California demonstration
against racism was in jail
Sunday on suspicion of
attempted murder after
authorities say she drove
through a crowd and
struck two counterpro-
testers.
AREA OBITUARIES
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A THOUSAND WORDS
To help themselves
communicate with stu-
dents, teachers have
turned to masks with
clear patches over their
mouths, set up plexiglass
bubbles inside class-
rooms so they can speak
without masks, and in
some cases turned to
props to get across how
they are feeling.
Stephanie Wanzer, a
teacher who works with
special education stu-
dents in Fairfield County,
Connecticut, uses a stick
with an image of a smile
during her sessions.
“I try to be really ex-
pressive with my eyes.
He’s looking at me and
I’m not sure if he thinks
Tatiana Turner, 40, was
arrested Saturday in Yor-
ba Linda after speeding
from a parking lot when
her car was surrounded
by shouting counterpro-
testers.
Demonstrators on both
sides who had clashed on
a sidewalk earlier had
been ordered by police
to leave the area at the
time and an angry mob
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Roxana Davis
COLUMBUS — Rox-
ana St. Rose Davis, 60,
died Sept. 27, 2020, at
Regency Hospital.
Arrangements are
incomplete and will be
announced by Lown-
des Funeral Home of
Columbus.
Peggy Chandler
COLUMBUS —
Peggy Chandler, 86,
died Sept. 26, 2020, at
Windsor Place.
Arrangements are
incomplete and will be
announced by Lowndes
Funeral Home.
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
I’m mad or happy be-
cause you can’t see my
mouth smiling,” she
said. “So I actually have
a smile on a stick, which
is bizarre, but it’s a smile
like, ‘Look, I’m smiling.’”
School started virtu-
ally for Jon Resendez, a
teacher in Irvine, Califor-
nia, but he worries about
how the required masks
will affect the dynamic
in his 12th grade civics
classes with some stu-
dents now returning to
the school building.
“Part of what I do as a
civics teacher is to teach
people to engage in civic
conversations,” he said.
“That has to do with see-
ing the person’s facial
had surrounded Turner’s
car and wouldn’t let her
drive away, said Anthony
Bryson, who helped plan
the event for the Urban
Organizers Coalition.
“People had broken
her windshield,” Bryson
told The Associated
Press. “She was trying to
leave. She was in fear for
her life.”
Martha Fortner
Incomplete
Second Ave. Location
memorialgunterpeel.com
cdispatch.com
Isabelle Altman/Dispatch Staff
expressions, a person’s
body language and sort
of reading your audience,
and it becomes more dif-
ficult to read your audi-
ence” when they are all
wearing masks.
It also will be more
difficult for student to
collaborate, to do presen-
tations and to speak with
one another in class.
“I like a low murmur
in the room because if
the students are talking,
they are thinking,” he
said.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 5A
US colleges struggle
to salvage semester
amid outbreaks
Colleges saw spikes of thousands
of cases days after opening their
doors in the last month
BY TODD RICHMOND
AND HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH
The Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. — Colleges across the coun-
try are struggling to salvage the fall semester
amid skyrocketing coronavirus cases, entire
dorm complexes and frat houses under quaran-
tine, and flaring tensions with local community
leaders over the spread of the disease.
Many major universities are determined to
forge ahead despite warning signs, as evidenced
by the expanding slate of college football games
occurring Saturday. The football-obsessed SEC
begins its season with fans in stadiums. Sever-
al teams in other leagues have had to postpone
games because of outbreaks among players and
staff.
Institutions across the nation saw spikes of
thousands of cases days after opening their doors
in the last month, driven by students socializing
with little or no social distancing. School and
community leaders have tried to rein in the vi-
rus by closing bars, suspending students, adding
mask requirements, and toggling between in-per-
son and online instruction as case numbers rise
and fall.
Tension over the outbreaks is starting to boil
over in college towns.
Faculty members from at least two universities
have held no-confidence votes in recent weeks
against their top leaders, in part over reopening
decisions. Government leaders want the Univer-
sity of Wisconsin-Madison to send its students
home. Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis,
alarmed by what he sees as draconian rules on
college campuses, said he is drawing up a “bill of
rights” for college students.
In Rhode Island, Gov. Gina Raimondo, a Dem-
ocrat, this week blamed outbreaks at two colleges
for a surge of virus cases that boosted the state’s
infection rate high enough to put it on the list of
places whose residents are required to quaran-
tine when traveling to New York, New Jersey and
Connecticut.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison had seen
more than 2,800 confirmed cases in students as of
Friday. The school shut down in-person instruc-
tion for two weeks, locked down two of its largest
dorms, and imposed quarantines on more than a
dozen sorority and fraternity houses. The school
lifted the dorm lockdown just this week.
6A MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

ART IN THE PARK

Tess Vrbin/Dispatch Staff

April Wallace, second from left, an art teacher at Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary School, chats with one
of her students, Nader al-Qahtani, and his mother, Amal, on Saturday at J.L. King Park during the Starkville
Area Arts Council’s annual Art in the Park event. The pizza boxes were full of free art supplies, which Wallace
volunteered to help distribute, and the SAAC will hand out more of them this coming Saturday at Maben Park in
Oktibbeha County. In addition to books and art supplies, the event also included a voter registration booth from
the Oktibbeha County NAACP chapter and a booth distributing health information and toothbrushes from OCH
Regional Medical Center.

Tess Vrbin/Dispatch Staff

LEFT: Kate Phillips, left, and her sons Yanni, 8, and Abe, 6, look through a pile of free books at the Starkville
Area Arts Council’s annual Art in the Park event Saturday at J.L. King Park. Phillips said they had not been to the
event before and got more from it than they expected, including free art supplies in inverted pizza boxes. RIGHT:
Amy Taylor, left, hands bookmarks to Danta Donald, 10, and his sister Destiney, 11, Saturday at J.L. King Park.
Taylor supervised a booth at the annual Art in the Park event handing out free books via the Starkville-Oktibbeha
Consolidated School District’s grant-supported summer reading program, Reading 2 Succeed. Danta and Destin-
ey are the children of Aquila Grayer.

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GOOD CITIZEN: The Bernard Romans DAR Chapter in

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Columbus selected Zachary Wilson as recipient of its

The Dispatch
2020 Good Citizen Award. Wilson, son of Michael and
Rashun Wilson, graduated from Columbus High School
in May and now attends Rust College in Holly Springs.
Sports
Bulldogs ranked No. 16 in latest AP Poll after upset win at LSU
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
No. 6 Ohio State, No.
10 Penn State and No. 14
Oregon returned to The
Associated Press college
football poll on Sunday,
weeks before they start
playing, creating a Top 25
as unusual as this season.
At the top of the rank-
ings this week, Clemson
remained No. 1 with 55
first-place votes, followed
by Alabama at No. 2 with
three first-place votes.
The rest of the rank-
ings was rattled by the
Big Ten, Pac-12, Moun-
tain West and Mid-Amer-
No. 2
Crimson
Tide rolls
to 38-19
victory
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBIA, Mo. —
Nick Saban has never lost
a season opener while
coaching Alabama.
Then again, he’d never
had one like this.
Yet despite an offsea-
son largely scrapped by
the coronavirus pandem-
ic, and a delayed start
to the season, Saban’s
second-ranked Crimson
Tide looked just fine as
they began their SEC-on-
ly schedule on Saturday
night.
Mac Jones threw for
249 yards and two scores
in less than three quar-
ters of work, and Jaylen
Waddle and Najee Har-
ris had dynamic per-
formances on offense,
helping Alabama roll to
a 38-19 victory over the
rebuilding Tigers.
“I think from a team
standpoint, when you
play a first game you sort
of figure out who you
are,” Saban said after fi-
nally taking off his mask.
“You figure out where
you and the last thing is,
‘What do I have to do to
get better?’ Everybody
on our team has a lot of
maturity in what they
need to do to get better.”
Oh, there are areas to
improve. The Crimson
Tide had a few too many
penalties, a few too many
breakdowns on defense
and they allowed Mis-
souri to finally get its
up-tempo offense going
against their backups in
the fourth quarter.
They still looked every
bit a national title con-
tender, though.
Waddle finished with
eight catches for 134
yards and two touch-
downs, and Harris ran
for 98 yards and three
more scores, helping
the Crimson Tide spoil
the debut of new Tigers
coach Eli Drinkwitz and
win their 27th straight
over the SEC East before
a COVID-19-curtailed
crowd of 11,738 fans at
Faurot Field.
TCU transfer Shawn
Robinson, who started
for the Tigers over Con-
nor Bazelak, threw for
185 yards and a score.
Bazelak also got a few
series and was equally
ineffective against Dylan
Moses, Patrick Surtain II
and the rest of the Crim-
son Tide defense, which
See ALABAMA, 2B
ican conferences revers-
ing course and deciding
to play fall football after
initially postponing be-
cause of COVID-19 con-
cerns.
None will kick off until
late October at the earli-
est, but the AP decided
all FBS teams planning
to play in the fall would
be eligible for inclusion in
the Top 25.
Most voters put the
most highly regarded
teams from those late-ar-
riving conferences back
into their rankings, but
not all did. A few stuck
with only teams currently
SEVEN THINGS WE LEARNED FROM MSU’S UPSET WIN
BY BEN PORTNOY
bportnoy@cdispatch.com
BATON ROUGE —
Unranked Mississippi
State, led by head coach
Mike Leach, beat defend-
ing national champion
and No. 6-ranked LSU at
Tiger Stadium.
To think of typing that
sentence eight months
ago, let alone eight days
ago, you might’ve called
me insane and shipped
me back to Indiana. Well
folks, it’s reality.
The Bulldogs out-
classed a Tiger team
that endured a massive
amount of roster turn-
over and coaching chang-
es in the offseason, but
the sentiment remains:
Leach returned to the
SEC in the most Leach
way possible, by kicking
down the damn door.
With that, here’s seven
things we learned from
MSU and their charis-
matic first year head
coach in Saturday’s win:
Pass, pass
and pass again
Leach’s offense is laud-
ed for its passing game.
It’s part of the reason he
led the nation in passing
offense five times during
his eight-year tenure at
Washington State. Well
that appears it’ll tran-
sition to the SEC quite
nicely.
On a day MSU fin-
ished with 632 yards, 623
of those yards came in
the passing game. This
is a new-look offense that
is as foreign to Starkville
as Leach’s pacific north-
west and west coast
background, but it’s sure
worked well through one
week.
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
How Heritage Academy quarterback Mack Howard became
a Power Five recruit before starting his first varsity game
BY THEO DEROSA
tderosa@cdispatch.com
Statistically, Heritage
Academy football coach
Sean Harrison thinks,
quarterback Mack How-
ard’s game against Bay-
ou Academy on Sept. 18
wasn’t Howard’s best.
Which, considering
that Howard finished 16
of 27 passing for 217 yards
and three touchdowns, is
pretty promising.
The sophomore didn’t
take any sacks. He didn’t
throw any interceptions.
He didn’t force any “Brett
Favre throws” into dan-
gerous coverage win-
dows.
MISSISSIPPI STATE FOOTBALL
playing.
Fur t her
c ompl ic at -
ing vot-
ers’ task
this week:
Two top-
10 teams Leach
lost to un-
r a n k e d
teams at home Saturday.
No. 3 Oklahoma blew a
big lead and fell to Kansas
State. No. 6 and defend-
ing national champion
LSU was upset by Missis-
sippi State in coach Mike
Leach’s debut with the
Bulldogs.
“I write my ballot
Mississippi State offensive lineman Charles Cross (67) blocks LSU’s Andre Anthony (3) on Saturday. The Bulldogs
defeated LSU 44-34.
Down a reigning
All-American cornerback
in Derrick Stingley Jr.
Saturday, LSU’s defen-
sive backs were beaten
time after time by any
number of MSU receiv-
ers, while quarterback
K.J. Costello had a debut
for the ages (I’ll get to
that in a minute).
Leach has unapologet-
ically stuck to his offense
for nearly three decades
and the air raid has its
detractors, but Saturday
“He sat back and took
what they gave him, and
when he does that, he can
make any throw,” Harri-
son said.
For Harrison, How-
ard’s physical and men-
tal maturation in just the
fifth varsity start of his
career stood out.
“It was just another big
step in him growing up,
and the fact that it hap-
pened in Game 5 and not
next year is huge,” Harri-
son said.
The game was a sign
that in his first season
starting, Howard is show-
ing the potential he devel-
oped over years of hard
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
out by hand in the same
notepad every week,”
said Matt Baker of the
Tampa Bay Times. “I’ve
never crossed so many
teams out as I did today.
It looks like something
my 3-year-old would have
done, just in black pen in-
stead of crayon.”
Oklahoma slipped to
No. 18 and LSU dropped
to No. 20. Mississippi
State jumped in at No. 16.
The Bulldogs are a
newcomer to the poll af-
ter being unranked, after
MSU coach Mike Leach
led his team to an upset
of previously No. 6 LSU
ANALYSIS
it looked downright scary
for any team facing the
maroon and white this
fall.
K.J. Costello is for real
Speaking of Costel-
lo, how about a debut in
which he broke the MSU
and SEC single-game
passing record, while
also earning the school’s
single-game passing at-
tempts mark as well?
Finishing an 36-of-
60 for 623 yards and five
work. And it’s paying off:
The sophomore is already
a Power Five recruit with
the chance to go national
any day.
“He’s going to be real-
ly special,” Harrison said.
Room to improve
Of course, Harrison
knew that since Howard
was in sixth grade.
That was the year Har-
rison came to Columbus
from Wayne Academy,
and right away, he saw
Howard’s arm talent and
potential as a quarter-
back.
In seventh and eighth
grade, Howard lined up
44-34 on Saturday.
Back at the top, Flor-
ida moved up two spots
to No. 3, Georgia held on
at No. 4 and Notre Dame
benefitted from the up-
sets by moving up to No.
5 without playing. As a re-
minder that this season is
anything but normal, the
Fighting Irish were idle
this weekend because
of COVID-19 issues and
won’t play next week ei-
ther.
Then came the Buck-
eyes, who received four
first-place votes. Ohio
State is loaded and was a
close No. 2 to Clemson in
touchdowns, Costello
dazzled onlookers in what
he’ll bring to Leach’s of-
fense this fall. There has
been ample quarterback
stardom in the air raid
before, sure. Gardner
Minshew II’s mustached
run to an 11-win season
at Washington State in
2018 was the most recent
example.
But Costello is differ-
ent. He spent four years
mastering an innately de-
tailed Stanford offense.
at quarterback for Her-
itage Academy’s junior
high team. The Patriots
passed every snap to get
Howard reps at the posi-
tion, and he shredded de-
fenses in the process.
But Howard wanted
more. After attending the
Manning Passing Acad-
emy in seventh grade,
Howard’s dad was con-
nected with David Mor-
ris, the founder of QB
Country in Mobile, Ala-
bama. The organization
offers training and devel-
opment in footwork and
body control, throwing
mechanics and the men-
tal aspect of the game for
SPORTS LINE
662-241-5000
B
SECTION
the preseason poll.
Still, 11 voters did not
have the Buckeyes on
their ballots, deciding to
rank only the teams that
have played.
“I actually changed my
opinion on this and decid-
ed to only vote for teams
that have played.” said
Brett McMurphy of Sta-
dium. “Once a team has
played a game I will con-
sider them. Some of these
0-0 teams are obviously
better (on paper anyway)
than the teams I ranked,
but until they play a game
I won’t rank them. At the
See POLLS, 2B
Rebecca Warren/LSU Athletics
The air raid, by contrast,
is based on about 25
plays.
Costello is likely a
fringe first round pick,
early second round NFL
Draft prospect at this
point, but that’s still
among the most talented
signal callers Leach has
had in his system.
The air raid is based
on timing and repetition.
If Costello was firing on
all cylinders Saturday
See MSU, 3B
college, high school and
middle school quarter-
backs.
Howard went to Mo-
bile a few times a month
the summer after eighth
grade to train with QB
Country, which touts
2019 NFL starters Daniel
Jones, Gardner Minshew
II and Devlin Hodges
last year. Starkville High
School’s Luke Altmyer,
a Florida State commit,
also trains with QB Coun-
try.
Though Howard was
raw, Morris saw a tal-
ented athlete — How-
ard plays basketball for
See HOWARD, 3B
2B MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

PREP FOOTBALL ROUNDUP

Starkville earns big road win at South Panola

BY THEO DEROSA
tderosa@cdispatch.com
BATESVILLE — The
No. 1 Starkville High
School football team
emerged victorious in
Friday’s battle of the top
two teams in Mississippi,
beating No. 2 South Pano-
la 38-20 in Batesville.
Luke Altmyer was 16 of
27 for 208 yards and three
touchdowns, finding Le-
Roy Hollingshed, Kobe
Larkin and Jordan Mitch-
ell for passing scores.
Hollingshed led the
Yellow Jackets (4-0) in re-
ceiving with 69 yards on
three catches, while Sam
Hunt caught three passes
for 51 yards. Stacy Robin-
son had five catches for 42
yards.
Starkville rushed for
230 yards Friday. Amari-
yon Howard led the way
with nine carries for 97
yards and a touchdown,
while Mitchell had seven
carries for 38 yards. Alt-
myer added 82 yards and
a score on 11 carries.
Braylon Burnside and
Ronnie Randle had inter-
ceptions for Starkville.
The Yellow Jackets will
play at Germantown (3-1)
next Friday in Madison.
Heritage Academy 19,
Pillow Academy 6
GREENWOOD — De Kalb.
Heritage Academy won
its fifth straight game
with a 19-6 road victory at
Pillow Academy (4-2) on
Friday in Greenwood.
Trey Naugher scored
two touchdowns for the
Patriots (5-1), and Luke
Fisher had a 40-yard
score.
The Patriots are off
next week before a game
at Lamar School on Oct. 9
in Meridian.
Starkville Academy 49,
Washington School 20
GREENVILLE — carries for 122 yards and
Starkville Academy im-
proved to 3-2 with a 49-20
road win over Washing-
ton School on Friday in
Greenville.
CJ Jackson had four
rushing touchdowns for
the Volunteers, Randall
Futral had a touchdown
pass to Wilkes Stubbs and
ran for a score, and Char-
lie Nicholas had a touch-
down for the Vols.
Starkville Academy
will host Pillow Academy
next Friday.
Columbus Christian
Academy 54, Kemper
Academy 34
DE KALB — Colum-
bus Christian Academy
scored all 54 points in the
first half to earn its first
win of the season Friday
at Kemper Academy in
Tyler Looney caught
touchdown passes of 57,
80 and 69 yards from
Drake Shaw for the Rams
(1-5). Lahndon Townley
had two rushing touch-
downs, and Beau Kemp
returned a kickoff for a
touchdown and ran in a
score.
Shaw finished 6 of 9
passing for 240 yards, in-
cluding his three scoring
passes to Looney. Caleb
Farlow had three catches
for 34 yards and ran for 11
yards.
Kemp ran for 138 yards
on the night, took Kem-
per’s opening kickoff to
the house and also con-
verted a two-point try.
Townley ran in four
two-point conversions for
Columbus Christian.
Kemper Academy
scored its last two touch-
downs late in the fourth
quarter with Columbus
Christian’s reserves in.
Columbus Christian
will play Delta Acade-
my (3-3) next Friday in
Marks.
Marshall Academy 32,
Oak Hill Academy 14
WEST POINT — Oak
Hill Academy lost Fri-
day’s home district game
to Marshall Academy, 32-
14.
The Raiders fell to 1-4
on the season.
No statistics were
available from the con-
test.
Oak Hill plays at Ross-
ville Christian Academy
(Tennessee) next Friday.
Hebron Christian
50, West Memphis
Christian (Ark.) 0
WEST MEMPHIS,
Ark. — Hebron Christian
School earned its second
straight win after an 0-4
start, beating West Mem-
phis Christian School
(Arkansas) 50-0 on the
road Friday.
Doug Loden had eight
four touchdowns for the
Eagles (2-4).
Braeden Triplett was 2
of 4 passing for 29 yards
and a two-point conver-
sion, and he ran 11 times
for 41 yards, a touchdown
and a two-point conver-
sion.
Bradley Scott had 13
yards on four rushing at-
tempts, including a touch-
down.
Dylan DuPoint had
four carries for 50 yards,
and Dash Turman had
three carries for 17 yards
Jon Garrett Lowe
caught a pass for 26 yards.
Terry Loden had three
carries for 13 yards and a
two-point conversion, and
Davis Foster had a 2-yard
carry for a touchdown.
On defense, Terry
Loden had a team-lead-
ing six tackles, and Doug
Loden had five.
Jackson Langley and
Zack Corban had four
tackles, and Turman had
a tackle and an intercep-
tion.
Hebron will play at
Unity Christian Academy
next Friday in Leland.
Victory Christian
Academy 54 New Life
Christian Academy
(Ala.) 38
MILLBROOK, Ala. —
Tyshon Rogers account-
ed for three touchdowns
and Cameron Henley had
two as Victory Christian
Academy improved to 2-1
with a 54-38 win at New
Life Christian Academy
on Friday in Millbrook,
Alabama.
Rogers was 4 of 10
passing for 61 yards and
a 15-yard touchdown pass
to Anthony Frierson, who
finished with two catches
for 33 yards. The quarter-
back also had 14 carries
for 156 yards and scores
of 47 and 38 yards on the
ground.
Henley had 15 carries
for 164 yards, including
27-yard and 33-yard rush-
ing scores, and punched
in a two-point conversion
on his first touchdown.
Rogers and Austin Mc-
Carter scored on two two-
point conversions apiece.
McCarter led the team
with 12 tackles, including
two for a loss, and a sack.
He also returned an in-
terception 43 yards for a
touchdown.
Frierson had 11 tack-
les, and Rogers and Mat-
thew Moore each had
eight. Rogers also recov-
ered a fumble for the Ea-
gles.
Pickens County (Ala.)
8, Aliceville (Ala.) 6
ALICEVILLE, Ala.
— Pickens County High
School (Alabama) won a
defensive battle Friday at
Aliceville (Alabama).
Javion Bell had an
8-yard rushing score for
the Tornadoes (4-1) in the
first quarter, and Elijah
Barnes ran in the two-
point try.
Jermaine Brewer had a
7-yard touchdown run for
the Yellow Jackets (4-2)
in the third quarter, but
Brewer couldn’t score the
two-point attempt.
Bell finished 9 of 9
passing for 140 yards for
Pickens County, while
Aliceville’s Tyjarian Wil-
liams was 15 of 31 for 201
yards.
Brewer led the Jack-
ets with 10 carries for 41
yards, while Xerrance
Washington had 42 yards
on four attempts for the
Tornadoes.
Kajaveion Byrd was
Pickens County’s leading
receiver with 66 yards on
three catches.
Pickens County plays
at Brilliant (4-1) next
week, while Aliceville
plays at Lamar County
(3-2).

Cowboys’ comeback falls
short in 38-31 loss to
Seahawks
SEAT TLE — Another
week, another big deficit for
Dak Prescott and the Dallas
Cowboys to try and overcome.
The trend is becoming trou-
bling, especially with the Cow-
boys at 1-2 after Sunday’s 38-31
loss to Seattle.
“We’ve got to get out of our
own way, be cleaner with the
ball, play smarter football, find
a way to start faster, whatever it
is,” Prescott said. “We’re going
to figure out a way to get this
right and clean it up.”
For the second straight
week, Prescott nearly engi-
neered an improbable come-
back. He was brilliant in the
second half against Seattle,
aside from his fumble on the
first play of the third quarter.
Prescott gave Dallas a
chance for a statement road
victory over the Seahawks on a
day Russell Wilson was setting
touchdown records. But the
issues that surfaced in a Week
1 loss to the Rams and last
week’s wild comeback victory
over Atlanta showed up again.
“Obviously it’s going to be
frustrating. We’ve just got to
make those little plays early on
in the game that we’re not get-
ting, count. We’ve got to make
them count,” wide receiver Mi-
chael Gallup said.
There was a muffed kickoff
that led to a safety. There was
one missed extra point that
rattled an upright, and anoth-
er that was blocked. And there
were the two turnovers that
led to 14 points for Seattle.
Prescott was intercepted by
Shaquill Griffin late in the first
half, which led to Tyler Lock-
ett’s third touchdown reception
and a 23-15 Seahawks lead.
Prescott was stripped by
Benson Mayowa on the first
play of the second half. Two
plays later, Wilson hit Jacob
Hollister for another TD and
the Cowboys trailed 30-15.
“We will always start and
stop with the capability to take
care of the football and take
it away and we haven’t got-
ten that done in the last two
weeks,” Cowboys coach Mike
McCarthy said. “We need to
change that quickly or we are
going to be in these battles
each week. It’s difficult to
overcome turnovers.”
To the credit of Prescott
and the Cowboys, they nearly
did. Prescott picked on Seat-
tle’s porous secondary, finish-
ing 37 for 57 passing for 472
yards, setting career highs in
yards and attempts. He was
24 of 35 for 291 yards and two
touchdowns in the second half
alone.
McCarthy has relied heavi-
ly on the arm of Prescott, who
is averaging more than 47 at-
tempts and nearly 400 passing
yards per game. Ezekiel El-
liott, who had 185 yards rush-
ing through Dallas’ first two
games, was held to 34 yards
on 14 carries and didn’t have a
run longer than 9 yards.
Precott found plenty of open
receivers against Seattle in the
second half. He tossed a 43-
yard TD to Gallup with 13:07
left that pulled Dallas within
30-28 and Greg Zuerlein’s field
goal with 3:59 left gave the
Cowboys a 31-30 lead.
But after finding ways to
shut down Wilson for most of
the second half, the Cowboys
couldn’t make a final stop.
Wilson led Seattle 75 yards in
eight plays — including a key
fourth-down conversion —
and hit DK Metcalf for the go-
ahead score with 1:47 left.
SOURCE: AP

Polls
Continued from Page 1B
end of the year, I will rank the best 25
teams — with no bias whether they
played 7, 8 or 10 games.”
Others jumped right in with some ad-
justments.
“My rationale, such as it may be,
was that I had voted for SEC teams the
past few weeks before they played,” said
Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning
News. “To be consistent, had to vote for
teams in the conferences starting next
month. That said, most of those schools
are down somewhat from where I had
them in the preseason polls, simply be-
cause other teams have a body of work
now.”
Not every voter struggled with this
week’s ballot.
“Honestly, it wasn’t too difficult,” said
Nathan Baird of Cleveland.com. “I re-
ferred back to my preseason research
as a baseline, but that was already a
factor as I voted for SEC teams the past
few weeks. Where I ranked teams previ-
ously, especially at the bottom of those
polls, was irrelevant.”
This is unlikely to get easier, though.
No Power Five team has played more
than three games so far, but by the time
Ohio State is scheduled to play its first
game, Clemson might have played five
times.
Poll points
Where did the rest of the Big Ten and
Pac-12 come back in the poll compared
with where they were in the preseason?
n No. 10 Penn State fell three spots
from its preseason ranking of No. 7.
n No. 14 Oregon had been No. 9 in
the preseason.
n No. 19 Wisconsin was No. 12 in the
preseason.
n No. 23 Michigan was No. 16 in the
preseason.
Not making it back in were Southern
California (preseason No. 17), Minneso-
ta (preseason No. 19), Utah (preseason
No. 22) and Iowa (preseason No. 24).
Movin’ up and movin’ out
Not surprising, but there was a lot
of movement in the poll. Clemson, Ala-
bama and Georgia were the only teams
to hold their spots from last week.
The only big move up for the previ-
ously ranked teams was Miami, which
jumped four spots to No. 8.
Army, Kentucky and Louisville all
lost their games against other ranked
teams and slipped out of the Top 25. That
helped clear some space for re-entering
Big Ten and Pac-12 teams.
Louisiana-Lafayette and Virginia
Tech were bumped out of the rankings
after winning on Saturday, and Marshall
got nudged out without playing.
Conference call
SEC — 8 (Nos. 2, 3, 4, 7, 13, 16, 20,
21).
ACC — 5 (Nos. 1, 5, 8, 12, 24).
Big Ten — 4 (Nos. 6, 10, 19, 23).
Big 12 — 3 (Nos. 9, 17, 18).
American — 3 (Nos. 11, 15, 25).
Pac-12 — 1 (No. 14).
Independent — 1 (No. 22).
Ranked vs. Ranked
No. 13 Texas A&M at No. 2 Alabama.
Aggies couldn’t get their offense going
against Vanderbilt. It better in Tuscalo-
osa.
No. 7 Auburn at No. 4 Georgia. The
Bulldogs had their own offensive issues
in the opener and Auburn is no Arkan-
sas.

Alabama
Continued from Page 1B
kept Drinkwitz’s creative of-
fense out of the end zone un-
til midway through the fourth
quarter.
Bazelak added a touchdown
scamper on the final play of
the game for the final margin.
“I saw a lot of fight. I really
did,” Drinkwitz said. “I thought
those guys answered the bell.
I don’t think it was an issue of
not being good enough at all. I
thought our guys fought.”
Alabama’s long wait to start
the season actually began with
a thud — a three-and-out on
offense. But after forcing a
three-and-out of their own,
Jones began to find his wide
receivers downfield and the
Crimson Tide got rolling.
At one point, the only ques-
tion was who was going to
score their touchdowns.
Harris had the first on
a short plunge and Waddle
hauled in 18-yarder for the sec-
ond a few minutes later. Wad-
dle looked like had another on
the Tide’s ensuing possession,
but a review ruled that he hit
the pylon before crossing the
goal line and Harris wound up
poaching the touchdown for
his second of the game.
Waddle eventually got his
second, too, when he hauled
in a spectacular 23-yard grab
in double coverage that sent
Alabama into the locker room
with a 28-3 lead. In fact, the
only slip-up to that point for
the Tide came at the end of
that play, when Waddle’s cleats
slipped on the asphalt through
the end zone and he landed on
his rear.
“Waddle is a great player.
He gets open — that’s his job
— and he does a great job do-
ing it,” Jones said. “We’ve had
a great relationship going back
to summer, 7-on-7s, getting
that chemistry with him, all
the late nights at the indoor.
He’s going to get open and do
his job. He makes plays.”
Harris added his third
touchdown on a twisting
8-yard run early in the second
half, allowing Saban to see
what freshman quarterback
Bryce Young and the rest of
their backups could do. They
moved the ball in fits and
starts, but it was Missouri that
finished the game on a high
note with a touchdown on the
final play.
“We played very well the
first half but the second half
we need to finish,” said Moses,
a Butkus Award finalist two
years ago who missed all of
last season to an injury. “But
it’s our first game. We just
need to improve.”
COVID-19
Missouri defensive backs
coach Charlie Harbison was
absent because of COVID-19
and defensive quality control
analyst Grant O’Brien filled
the role. O’Brien also will han-
dle those duties next weekend
at Tennessee.
The takeaway
Alabama won its fifth
straight against Missouri
and has now won 92 straight
against unranked foes. Just
about all their stars got into the
act, too. DeVonta Smith added
eight catches for 89 yards, Mo-
ses spent most of the night in
the Tigers’ backfield and Sur-
tain jumped on a fumble to
keep things rolling at the start
of the second half.
Missouri was overmatched
but showed plenty of fight, and
Drinkwitz can certainly build
on that fact. It hardly helped
his cause that the former Appa-
lachian State coach had such
a pandemic-altered offseason
to install his system, and the
kinks were particularly evident
when Alabama was pulling
away in the first half.
Up next
The Crimson Tide play their
home opener next Saturday
against Texas A&M. Missouri
heads to Tennessee.

MSU
Continued from Page 1B
without spring practices or much of
a true offseason, this team is only
going to get more dangerous offen-
sively.
Kylin Hill’s carries may be down,
but he’s just as dangerous
in the air raid
Outside of Costello, Saturday
was a coming out party for a few of
MSU’s biggest offensive weapons.
Chief among those breakout stars
was Columbus native Kylin Hill.
Hill finished last season as the
SEC’s leading rusher with 1,350
yards on 242 carries. That was go-
ing to change in 2020, but to what
degree he’d be involved in the of-
fense remained to be seen. Then
Saturday happened.
The former Columbus High
School standout finished the night
with seven rushes for 34 yards
while totaling 158 yards receiv-
ing on eight catches — including
his 75-yard touchdown catch from
Costello at the tail end of the third
quarter that put MSU up by 10.
Hill’s carries are going to see a
downtick, that much is certain. But
if Saturday was a preview of games
to come, he’s going to have plenty of
chances to get involved and thrive.
Jo’quavious Marks could be
a nice complement to Hill
in the backfield
On the subject of running backs,
freshman Jo’quavious Marks con-
cluded his inaugural in the maroon
and white with three rushes for 15
yards and one catch for negative
two yards on three targets.
Marks’ role may be limited this
season, if only because Hill is in
front of him on the depth chart,
Howard
Continued from Page 1B
Heritage Academy quarterback Mack Howard (12) scrambles for a first down during a high school football game on
Aug. 21 against Jackson Prep in Flowood.
the Patriots, too — who could al-
ready throw well. Wide receiver
Trey Naugher, a longtime friend
of Howard’s (and now his top tar-
get) said the two honed that skill
over years of throwing together
after practice ever since playing
Pee Wee football in fourth grade.
But there’s always room to im-
prove, and Howard wanted to.
This summer, he came back
to Mobile following summer with
renewed effort. He and his family
stayed about a block away from
the QB Country building, and he
trained five days a week.
Weight lifting and condition-
ing filled the mornings, and the
quarterbacks came back after
lunch to throw for about an hour
and then head to a film session
where they broke down defensive
fronts and coverages.
“It’s just the knowledge that
I gain from him, which is huge,
and it’s really helped me,” How-
ard said of Morris.
Morris, meanwhile, said he
found Howard so motivated to
work hard that he had to slow him
down sometimes and just take the
football out of his hands.
“On Saturdays and Sundays
in season, we don’t need to be
‘grinding’ and training and all
that,” Morris told the young pass-
er.
Morris said Howard has
cleaned up his bad tendencies and
mechanics to the point where he
could catch a mechanical error in
one of his own throws. Howard’s
coach has seen the same.
If you don’t read The Dispatch, how are you gonna know?
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 3B
but the 11 yard run he ripped off on Mitchell turned in an eight catch,
third-and-three gave a glimpse as 183-yard, two touchdown perfor-
to why he was the the highest-rated mance in Death Valley.
recruit (No. 16 running back, No. Lauded for his ability to make
138 nationally) in MSU’s 2020 class. highlight-reel catches by Costello,
Only two running backs at
Washington State had more than
his final catch with just over three
minutes remaining on a straight
16 rushes last season and it ap- vertical route from 24 yards out,
pears Marks could be in line for gave MSU the cushion it needed
the complimentary role alongside in the waning minutes.
Hill. Minutes before that, Shavers
corralled his second catch of the
Defensive coordinator Zach day — a 37 yard gain on second
down to move MSU deep into LSU
Arnett has a plan territory after the Tigers evened
There wasn’t a bigger question
mark this season than the MSU
the game at 44 with just under
10 minutes remaining. Racing
Sudoku YESTERDAY’S ANSWER
defense. It lost seven starters
from a season ago and the pre-
into the open field, the former
Alabama transfer’s catch set up a
Sudoku
Sudoku is a number-
placing puzzle based on
Sunday’s answer
Sudoku 2 8 7 4 3 6 5 1 9
game depth chart had 12 under- Brandon Ruiz field goal that put a 9x9 gridis witha several
num-
ber-placing
classmen on the two-deep. given numbers.puzzleThe object 4 5 3 1 2 9 8 6 7
2020 Conceptis Puzzles, Dist. by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
MSU ahead for good.
Despite that, the Bulldog de- In short, Mitchell was the star
based onthe
is to place a 9x9
numbers 6 1 9 8 7 5 2 4 3
grid
fense flew around the field and of the day, but he and Shavers’ 1 to 9with
in theseveral
empty spaces 9 6 1 2 4 7 3 8 5
given
brought constant pressure on massive frames at 6 -foot-5 and so that numbers.
each row, eachThe 5 2 8 6 9 3 1 7 4
LSU quarterback Myles Brennan. object
column and each 3x3 the
is to place box
6 -foot-6, respectively, are going 7 3 4 5 8 1 9 2 6
MSU’s seven sacks were the most numbers
contains the1same to 9 number
in
to be problems for most defenses 3 4 5 7 1 2 6 9 8
in a game since the 2015 Egg Bowl. the empty spaces so
and they kept the Tigers on their only once. The difficulty 1 7 6 9 5 8 4 3 2
It also limited a Tiger offense that that each row, each
heels for much of Saturday’s con- level increases from
averaged just over 568 yards per column and each 8 9 2 3 6 4 7 5 1
test. Monday
game last year to just 425 yards to- 3x3 boxtocontains
Sunday. Difficulty Level 9/26
tal and 146 yards in the first half. the same number only once. The difficulty level
Of note, four of MSU’s top five Pollsters responded increases from Monday to Sunday.
tacklers on Saturday started a to MSU’s win
combined one game a season ago. As praise was heaped on Leach
One contest didn’t cure all ills and his staff for Saturday’s win,
and there were still a handful of pollsters around the country of-
coverage breakdowns in the sec- fered their own congratulations of
ondary that LSU exploited down sorts.
the stretch, but defensive coordi- MSU came in at No. 14 in the
nator Zach Arnett’s unit showed Amway Coaches Poll early in the
up to play and held a previously day, while the Associated Press
prolific Tiger offense at bay. marked MSU at No. 16. This
marked the first time since the
second-to-last poll of the 2018 sea- Sunday’s Cryptoquote:
Osirus Mitchell and Tyrell Shav- son that the Bulldogs were ranked
ers give MSU massive bodies on in both the Coaches and AP polls.
the outside The win over then-No. 6 LSU
Just days after being relegated was also the highest-ranked road
to the second team, senior Osirus win in school history.
ACROSS
1 Beach creature
5 Little rascals
9 First Lady
before Michelle
10 Fixes, as
holey socks
12 Command
13 French
farewell
14 Floorboard
Garrick Hodge /Dispatch Staff sounds
16 Catch
17 Smooch
“He has the best mechan- straight wins after a season-open- 18 There are
ics of any quarterback I’ve ever ing loss at powerhouse Jackson 13 in a hand of
bridge Sunday’s answer
coached, and I’ve taught him zero Prep.
mechanics,” Harrison said. “I feel like it’s been great — 21 Filming site 39 You’re read- nude
At the end of this summer, better than what I even expect- 22 Vestiges ing them 19 Risqué
Morris put out a video reel of ed,” Howard said. “It’s been awe- 23 Brother’s 40 Whole lot 20 Water cooler
Howard’s highlights on social some just winning.” daughter 41 Foot parts 22 Ocean motion
media. College recruiters began To keep climbing toward 24 Work week’s DOWN 23 Pen point
to take notice. the next level, Howard has also finish 1 Stephen King 24 Flips out
sought advice from quarterback 26 Chemist’s book 25 Tourist’s car
Passing the test Carter Putt, who owns basically place 2 Least polite 26 Sports group
On Aug. 14, a week before his all of Heritage Academy’s pass- 29 “Jeopardy!” 3 Regions 27 Low joints
ing records. Putt is now a fresh- host Alex
first-ever varsity start, Howard 4 Seal sound 28 Tour carriers
man signal caller for Northeast 30 Bill of fare
got a call from Harrison. 5 Lupino of film 29 Beginner
Mississippi Community College.
A coach from the University of 31 Longing 6 Furious 30 Edison’s —
“I learned a lot from him,”
Kansas was on the line. He want- 32 Says some- 7 Royal heir Park
Howard said.
ed to talk to the quarterback. thing 8 Furtive ones 33 Treaty
Putt led the Pats to a 14-0 sea-
Howard took the call. He and 34 Assesses 9 Canal parts 35 Pupil’s place
the coach chatted. Then the son and a state title last year, and 37 Protractor 11 Long sand- 36 Direction
coach offered Howard a scholar- Howard and Heritage Academy’s measure wiches opposite NNE
ship to play for the Jayhawks. 2020 team have the same goal. 38 Approves 15 Runs in the
“It was crazy,” Howard said. “It But Howard knows that can’t
was unexpected, honestly.” be done without hard work, and
Howard said he was a little he’ll keep putting it in for the
nervous about backing up the of- Pats.
fer with his play, feeling like he “The neat thing about Mack
had to be perfect to live up to the is, Mack understands that all that
Jayhawks’ faith in him. can be gone in a heartbeat if he
“That was the only question doesn’t go work for it,” Harrison
about him,” Harrison said. “He’d said.
never started a varsity game. Morris said he expects a lot
How was he going to react?” more to come from Howard. With
So far, Howard has passed that two and a half seasons still to
test. He has limited turnovers, play, the quarterback can become
gotten rid of the ball when need- — and perhaps will soon be — a
ed and made throws Harrison has recruit on a national stage and a
never seen someone of Howard’s bona fide star for Heritage Acad-
age and grade make — including emy.
a bomb to Wesley Miller against “He’s in a position to really hit
Kirk Academy that went more a new stride, and I think that’s
than 50 yards in the air. what you’re seeing right now,”
He’s also led the Pats to five Morris said.
4B MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
Pandemic playoffs: Brewers, Astros in despite losing records
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Christian Yelich and
the Milwaukee Brewers
got off to a ragged start
this year. They never
got above .500. And they
dropped their last game
to finish with a losing re-
cord.
Guess what? They’re
going to the playoffs.
“Weird. I guess that’s
the only way to describe
it. It’s fitting for 2020,”
Yelich said Sunday.
A pandemic-altered,
60-game regular season
that many believed would
never get completed and
saw games postponed be-
cause of virus outbreaks,
racial injustice protests
and a hurricane went into
the final day without a sin-
Comics & Puzzles
DILBERT
ZITS
GARFIELD
CANDORVILLE
BABY BLUES
BEETLE BAILEY
MALLARD FILLMORE
gle playoff matchup set.
Then, in a flurry and
fury, the entire, expanded
16-team postseason field
was full.
Not a bad way to start,
either: Gerrit Cole vs.
Shane Bieber in a me-
ga-watt duel as the New
York Yankees face the
Cleveland Indians in the
best-of-three wild-card
round Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the NL
gets going. That’s when
the Brewers, at 29-31,
open their series against
Los Angeles ace Walker
Buehler at Dodger Stadi-
um.
In a win-and-you’re-in
game, St. Louis clinched
by beating Milwaukee
5-2. But the Brewers also
made it when San Fran-
FAMILY CIRCUS
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
cisco lost 5-4 to San Diego
for the last wild-card spot.
Yelich, the former
MVP who hit .205 this
year after winning the
last two NL batting titles,
and the Brewers happily
posed for a team picture
in their playoff-clinch
T-shirts on the Busch Sta-
dium field.
The Astros and first-
year manager Dusty Bak-
er also are in at 29-31.
Houston got its spot by
finishing second in the
AL West, drawing an auto-
matic berth.
The only other team
in major league history to
reach the playoffs with a
losing record was the 1981
Kansas City Royals — at
50-53 overall, they made it
by winning the second half
in a strike-split season.
“It’s a celebration. We’re
in. We’re in the playoffs.
That’s how you see it,”
Brewers manager Craig
Counsell said. “There’s no
reason to apologize for get-
ting into the playoffs.”
“The record’s kind of
irrelevant in my opinion,”
he said.
The other AL pairings:
Top-seeded Tampa Bay-
No. 8 Toronto, No. 2 Oak-
land-No. 7 Chicago White
Sox and No. 3 Minneso-
ta-No. 6 Houston, with all
openers Tuesday.
In the NL, it’s No. 1
Dodgers-No. 8 Brewers,
No. 2 Atlanta-No. 7 Cincin-
nati, No. 3 Chicago Cubs-
No. 6 Miami and No. 4 San
Diego-No. 5 St. Louis on
Wednesday.
Dear Abby
D
EAR ABBY:
My husband
and I have
been married
for 30 years. He
has always been
self-centered. We
have discussed
this over the
years, and it
hasn’t changed
his disposition.
I bought him an
“It’s All About
Me” coffee cup
years ago as
a joke, and he
enjoys using it!
Dear Abby
We both have
office jobs and day-to-day
issues and problems with our
employees and co-workers. If
we talk on the phone at lunch
or over dinner, he describes
his daily issues in excruciating
detail, looking for my feedback/
input and then moves on. There
is never a time I can update
him on my issues and get his
input to help with mine because
he’s too busy thinking about his
issues.
He cares deeply about our
adult children, but doesn’t give
them input on their issues ei-
ther. If I don’t remind him about
the challenges (i.e., buying a
new car, looking for a new job,
etc.) they want our advice on,
he would never reach out to
them to assist. I am not sure if
this is a personality trait I must
live with or if you have some
Horoscopes
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Sept.
28). You’ll get cosmic gifts
you would not have thought
to ask for and be delighted by
a strange twist in November.
You’ll provide for your inner cir-
cle and be regarded as a leader.
You’ll sell a high-ticket item in
February. In May, promises will
be made and deals struck, and
there’s release from unwanted
obligation. Scorpio and Pisces
adore you. Your lucky numbers
are: 8, 17, 30, 22 and 48.
ARIES (March 21-April 19).
Stay with what you’re going
through. Avoid the mindless
activities or busywork that
distract you from your thoughts
and feelings. There’s nothing
inside your mind that you need
Yadier Molina and the
Cardinals claimed their
spot despite missing 2 1/2
weeks into August after
the club was hit by a virus
outbreak. St. Louis played
a total of 58 games — it was
prepared for a doublehead-
er in Detroit on Monday if
needed to settle the playoff
picture.
“You had to throw some
of the expectations out
the window not knowing
what to expect after taking
those couple weeks off and
all those doubleheaders
and so many new guys,”
Cardinals first baseman
Paul Goldschmidt said. “It
was very different, very
fulfilling to make the play-
offs.”
All matchups are best-
of-three, with every game
ideas to improve
this situation. —
ALL ABOUT HIM
DEAR ALL
ABOUT HIM:
Has it occurred
to you that in
some areas your
husband may be
less self-centered
than an empty
vessel? He may
not help you with
your daily issues
because he
doesn’t have the
answers.
Assuming you
have talked to
him about this
until you are blue
in the face, the next time he
asks for your input, you might
consider being less helpful. Or,
beat him to the punch and tell
him about your problems before
he has a chance to tell you the
ones he is having.
As to your adult children,
they should go directly to their
father when they seek his ad-
vice and continue to approach
him until they get it.
DEAR ABBY: I have a dear
friend I’ve known for 25 years
and I consider to be family.
We recently had a falling-out
because I set some boundaries
I feel are necessary for my own
wellness as I grow into my 40s.
The boundaries revolve around
disrespectful or belittling
speech.
My friend is gay and excus-
es the disrespect as the way
to be afraid of.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20).
From the ice cream bin to the
remote control, there will be
a number of readily available,
cheap pleasures to choose
from. Be advised that what
soothes one moment could
harm the next.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21).
Novelty is a necessity and can
keep creativity alive while stav-
ing off depression. However, a
little entertainment goes a long
way. Too much makes it difficult
to focus on what matters.
CANCER (June 22-July
22). The sort of thoughts that
travel ever forward are so fun to
ride. But when you hit on those
thoughts that loop back, or
hosted by the top seed in
ballparks without fans.
With no days off, pitch-
ing strategies will be
paramount, particularly
how managers use their
bullpens. Following the
wild-card rounds, the re-
maining clubs will move to
neutral site bubbles in Tex-
as and Southern California
to crown a champion.
The biggest losers Sun-
day were Philadelphia and
the Giants. As it turned
out, either team would’ve
gotten in with a win.
“It’s tough sitting here
and not thinking (about the
playoffs),” Phillies slugger
Bryce Harper said after
a 5-0 loss at Tampa Bay.
“We had opportunities to
win games and we just
didn’t get it done.”
his community speaks among
themselves. He often calls me
the b-word in fun, as well as
similar names. I have told him
it hurts me, but he refuses to
acknowledge it, dismissing it as
“you know, since high school
that’s how we talk.” He might
show some restraint at times,
but when he’s drinking (which is
often), he reverts back to mak-
ing cruel or hurtful comments.
I am now a single mother,
looking to grow and evolve
into a better person, rebuild
my self-esteem and possibly
find a partner in life, but my
friend keeps pulling me back
into a dark place every time
we speak. I care too much
about him to walk away from
this friendship. What can I
do? — BOUNDARIES SET IN
CALIFORNIA
DEAR BOUNDARIES: You
have already taken the first
step. You told your friend
(frenemy?) you will no longer
tolerate being called a b**** or
any other offensive name. For
some in the gay community this
may be considered “fun,” but
it ISN’T funny to you. That he
would continue doing this after
you expressed that it hurt your
feelings makes me wonder if
he values your relationship as
much as you do.
Maintain your boundaries
by leaving his presence if he
uses that language. Oh, and
one more thing: When you know
he’s been drinking, avoid him
because, if you don’t, you know
what will follow.
worse, spiral and constrict, it’s
best to jump off.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). The
clever one who showed you the
ropes, led you down the short-
cuts, handed you the recipe
has already been repaid with a
helping high and the satisfac-
tion of your ease. Now you’ll pay
it forward.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22).
When you get stuck, forget
about who you are and your
role/story/brand... In fact,
forget about all relevant nouns
and just do the verb. Action is
the way.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23).
Those constantly signaling their
own superiority are actually
sending out a clear indicator of
insecurity. Instead of criticizing
this, you’ll embrace it, realizing
the extra care that everyone
needs.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov.
21). It’s easy to discern your
preferences and easier still to
criticize efforts that don’t meet
the standard. The hard work
is to identify the root cause of
one’s own insecurity. Why does
having superior taste matter so
much?
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec.
21). Your storytelling skills can
win or lose points today. The
way you tell a story will not only
make a difference in how you
are perceived; it will indicate
where you are in your personal
evolution.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan.
19). Inside each problem is
an opportunity to learn, grow,
innovate or conquer. Now the
opportunity will be hard to spot,
though, and it will help to have
an observant friend around to
point it out.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.
18). Your dream is bigger than
the gatekeepers who are keep-
ing you from it. If it’s hard to
make things happen, consider
what you can change. How
would this play to a different
venue, genre or audience?
PISCES (Feb. 19-March
20). You’ll find charm in natural
objects, sights and sounds. And
if the natural world seems far
removed from you now, turn to
your nature, which is as beauti-
fully wild as any other alive.
Slipped disc
SOLUTION:
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 5B
Classifieds
Employment
Call us: 662-328-2424
Accounting / Finance
WANTED: BOOKKEEPER.
Experience necessary.
Call for details,
662-574-4221
General Help Wanted
CONSTRUCTION LABORERS
Local residential contract-
or looking for laborers. Ex-
perience preferred. Com-
petitive wages. Serious in-
quiries only. Call 662-549-
1278 for more information.
RETAIL STORE needs entry
level employee. Part time,
flexible hours, ideal for loc-
al college student. Mail let-
ter of introduction to
Blind Box 676 c/o The
Commercial Dispatch
P.0. Box 511
Columbus, MS 39703.
Licensed Cosmetologist
Needed! No booth rent. No
clientele needed. For more
info, call or text 662-312-
8727 or email
haircuts123@yahoo.com
Manufacturing
Maintenance Technician
needed for local manufac-
turer. Electrical back-
ground w/ mechanical ex-
perience preferred. Quali-
fied applicants should be
familiar w/ hydraulics,
heavy machinery & PLC’s,
have good problem solving
skills & be flexible to work
extra hours or weekends as
needed. Email resume to
job111@cdispatch.com
Rentals
Ads starting at $25
Apts For Rent: North
FOX RUN APARTMENTS
1 & 2 BR near hospital.
$595−$645 monthly.
Military discount, pet area,
pet friendly, and furnished
corporate apts.
24−HOUR PROFESSIONAL
GYM. ON SITE SECURITY.
ON SITE MAINTENANCE.
ON SITE MANAGEMENT.
24−HOUR CAMERA
SURVEILLANCE. Benji &
Ashleigh, 662−386−4446.
You’ll find the best deals
when you advertise
and shop here!
ads.cdispatch.com
Medical / Dental
Just a click
away!
Apts For Rent: West Commercial Property For Rent
VIP
8000 SQ ft. dock height
warehouse w/ office
Rentals
space. $2000/month.
Call Bud Phillips
662−549−2302
Apartments & Houses
Houses For Rent: North
1 Bedrooms
2 Bedroooms
508 19TH STREET NORTH:
4BR/2BA, brick house,
3 Bedrooms central heat & air, single
carport. Available now,
Furnished & Unfurnished $775/mth. Deposit, credit
check, references.
1, 2, & 3 Baths Call Long & Long,
662−328−0770.
Lease, Deposit
& Credit Check Houses For Rent: Other
viceinvestments.com
3BR/2.5BA, CUSTOM−
327-8555 BUILT−HOUSE ON 40
ACRES. 10 minutes from
CAFB, 5 minutes from West
Apts For Rent: Other Point. Very private. CH/A.
Fenced backyard. Ceramic
tile throughout. Pets
negotiable. No HUD.
$1,200/mo + $1,200 dep.
864−634−4192
Mobile Homes for Rent
3BR/2BA MH in New Hope. Garage Sales: Other
$650 dep + $650/mo. No
pets, quiet area. Leave full
name & message, Brooksville. 10/3, 7:30am.
205−712−6697. 25+ tables & food booths!
Come shop with us!
RENT A CAMPER!
CHEAPER THAN A MOTEL!
Utilities & cable included,
from $145/wk − $535/mo
Columbus & County School
locations. 662−242−7653
or 205−442−2011.
RV/MOBILE HOME SITE
East or West Columbus or
near CAFB, Caledonia
BE NEAR IT ALL IN schools. 601−940−1397.
HISTORIC DOWNTOWN
COLUMBUS.
2 SPACIOUS
Real Estate
CONDOMINIUMS NOW
AVAILABLE − 2BR 2BA
& 1BR 1 1/2 BA RENT
FROM $1000−$1350
PER MO. LEASE & Ads starting at $25
DEP IS REQD., BLDG.
SECURITY @ Farms & Timberland
ENTRANCE, PRIV
PARKING, GRANITE
COUNTER TOPS,
BURGESS FARM FOR
SALE. We are accepting
BEAUTIFUL FLOORING, sealed bids for the right to
SS APPLIANCES, purchase 470 +/− acres of
WASHER/DRYER,
WATER AND SEWER
prime Noxubee County
farmland & mobile home
INCLUDED. located on Highway 388,
662−251−3367 Brooksville, MS up to & not
later than Friday, October
9, 2020 10:00a.m. The
parcels are 153−18−
COLEMAN 001.00, 40 acres & 153−
18−001.01, 431.60
RENTALS
acres. The bids will be
TOWNHOUSES & APARTMENTS opened at 10:00 a.m. at
the office of Ricky Walker,
1 BEDROOM Attorney−at−Law, 2962
2 BEDROOMS Jefferson Street, Macon,
MS. After all bids are
3 BEDROOMS opened, the top 3 bidders
will have the opportunity to
LEASE,
© The Dispatch
make a second bid. The
DEPOSIT right to reject any & all bids
is reserved. Accepted bid
AND must be approved by
CREDIT CHECK Probate Court. Send all
bids to Ricky Walker,
662-329-2323
Attorney−at−Law, P.O. Box
427, Macon, MS 39341.
For more information call
2411 HWY 45 N Judy or Stan Miller,
601−260−7712 or
COLUMBUS, MS 662−418−8266.
Looking for goods
or services?
Find it in the
classifieds!
ads.cdispatch.com
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 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 n 6B
Lots & Acreage Pets
Merchandise Vehicles
1.75 ACRE LOTS Akc German Shepard
Good/Bad Credit Options. Puppies − Black and tan,
Good credit as low as 20% very smart and great with
down, $499/mo. Eaton Ads starting at $12 Ads starting at $12 kids, with papers and 1st
Land, 662−361−7711. shots, available Oct 1st,
Burial Plots Campers & RVs non refundable deposit
required, $250! $500.
PICKENS COUNTY, AL 662−341−0862
180 acres in Liberty 3 BURIAL PLOTS
Community. Good hunting Friendship Cemetery, South
West corner. $1,500 total.
& road systems. $850/
acre. Other tracks Call 662−574−5420. Five Questions:
available. Call 205−799−
9846 or 205−695−2248. Firewood / Fuel
1 Raptor
FIREWOOD FOR SALE.
Various lengths.
662−295−2274. 2007 45 Luxury Newmar
Essex Diesel Pusher 30K
Furniture miles. Sale price $34,500,
Everything works properly
2 Title IX
Looking for a new home?
55 IN Samsung TV $250,
queen bed $200, queen
on it. TEXT 2283672671
Let us help, shop here. mattress $300. All in good
Community
condition. Call 662−275−
3 Kangaroo
7679 anytime!
Garage Sales
SPOOL CABINET, cane
bottom chairs, old set of Ads starting at $12
china, antique table lamps,
Two free signs pewter, amber glass, Travel & Entertainment
4 Motown
collector plates & more.
Call 662−312−6207.
PUBLIC CATFISH POND
@ 130 Hillcrest Drive.
55 Oakwood Dr., Sell idle items Open Tues−Sat, 7a−5p
5 Chicken
with a quick action 662−386−8591
Call for pricing.
classified ad.
General Help Wanted
Classes / Training Insurance
Advertising
COMPUTER AND IT TRAINING PRO- UP TO $15,000.00 of GUARANTEED
GRAM! Train ONLINE to get the skills to
become a Computer and Help Desk
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Be prepared for power outages. FREE 7-
year extended warranty ($695 value).
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www.dental50plus.com/mspress #6258 Week of September 27, 2020
Service Directory
Promote your small business starting at only $25
Carpet & Flooring General Services General Services Painting & Papering
A & T TREE SERVICES QUALITY PAINTING.
Bucket truck & stump Ext/Int Painting.
removal. Free est. Sheet Rock Hang, Finish &
Serving Columbus Repair. Pressure Washing.
since 1987. Senior Free Estimates. Ask for
citizen disc. Call Alvin @ specials! Larry Webber,
242−0324/241−4447 662−242−4932.
"We’ll go out on a limb for
you!" SULLIVAN’S PAINT
SERVICE
DAVID’S CARPET & WORK WANTED: Licensed Special Prices.
UPHOLSTERY & Bonded. Carpentry, minor Interior & Exterior Painting.
CLEANING electrical, minor plumbing, 662−435−6528
Fall Special: 4 Rms $99 insulation, painting, demo−
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2 Room − $70
lition, gutters cleaned,
pressure washing, land−
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scaping, cleanup work.
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JESSE & BEVERLY’S estimate, 662−386−6286.
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662−356−6525