Established 1879 | Columbus, Mississippi
CDISPATCH.COM
Thousands without power in Golden Triangle, surrounding area
A large oak tree fell
across West Main
Street early this
morning, knocking
out power to nearby
residents. Starkville
Utilities Department
personnel addressed
multiple power out-
ages throughout the
city caused by a sec-
ond round of winter
weather overnight.
4-County Electric
Power Association is
also in the process
of restoring power to
nearly 9,000 mem-
bers throughout the
Golden Triangle and
surrounding counties
who lost electricity
due to the storm.
Shumake,
two others
apply for
CMSD board
Council will choose
candidate to fill five-year
position on March 2
BY ISABELLE ALTMAN
ialtman@cdispatch.com
The Columbus
City Council will ap-
point one of three
applicants for an up-
coming vacancy on
Columbus Munici-
pal School District
Board of Trustees.
Shumake
Jo Shumake’s
five-year position on
the board expires
on March 1. She,
Cynthia Brown and
Ronny DeLoach have
all applied for the
five-year position.
CMSD’s board has
Brown
four other members.
Shumake, 68, is a retired public
affairs officer with the U.S. Depart-
ment of State and U.S. Information
Agency who was first appointed
to the board in 2016. In that time,
the school district has undergone
major changes, including a torna-
do that destroyed the Hunt school
building in February 2019 and the
hiring of Superintendent Cherie
Labat.
The latter of those, Shumake
said, is the achievement she is most
proud of.
“I think what ... our biggest suc-
cess was, was getting Dr. Labat
hired,” Shumake said. “She’s a very
good leader for our district. I think
that going through the tornado and
now the pandemic, she has worked
really well with her staff, her team,
and our team works well with her,
so it’s a good match.”
The biggest challenge for the
district going forward is dealing
with the fallout from the COVID-19
pandemic, which has negatively af-
fected students’ learning, and Shu-
make said she wants to continue
working with the board and Labat
See SCHOOL BOARD, 6A
INSIDE
Business 5B
Classifieds 6B
Comics 4B
Crossword 6B
Dear Abby 4B
Obituaries 3,5A
Opinions 4A
WEATHER
High 36 Low 21
Mostly cloudy
Full forecast on
page 3A.
141st Year, No. 290
75 ¢ Newsstand | 40 ¢ Home Delivery
Thursday | February 18, 2021
Fallen tree in downtown power to all the mem-
bers.
Starkville leaves some “We got hammered
pretty good,” he said.
residents temporarily The bulk of the out-
ages are in Oktibbeha,
without electricity Noxubee and Choctaw
counties, Turner said.
Turner
BY ISABELLE ALTMAN Noxubee and Choc-
AND SLIM SMITH taw each have about 2,800 members
ialtman@cdispatch.com, ssmith@cdispatch.com without power, and Oktibbeha has
another 1,000. Lowndes County has
Nearly 9,000 of 4-County Electric about 820 members without power.
Power Association’s members are Wednesday’s storm was the sec-
without power after a second winter ond winter storm to hit the region
storm brought rain, light snow and since Sunday evening, when the
icy conditions to the region Wednes- Golden Triangle was blanketed with
1-2 inches of snow and ice. Tempera-
day night.
tures were warmer Wednesday eve-
Jon Turner, 4-County’s public re-
lations and marketing manager, said ning, with the National Weather Ser-
it will be at least Saturday and pos- vice monitoring station at Columbus
Zack Plair/Dispatch Staff sibly Sunday before linemen restore See OUTAGES, 3A
PLAYING BASKETBALL
Deanna Robinson/Dispatch Staff
Gabriel Hill, 11, dribbles his basketball at his home in Columbus Sunday afternoon. “Basketball is one of my favorite sports,”
Gabriel said. “Steph Curry is my favorite. He made NBA 3-pointer history.” Gabriel is the son of Michel’le Mattox.
BUSINESS MOVES WITH MARY
Mom and Pop opens in former Biscuit Shop
PLUS: Big Dawgs remains open 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tues-
day through Saturday. The
special events have been a
continued priority for Mom
open in Starkville bakery will serve breakfast
items, quiches, salads, cas-
and Pop.
“It’s such a fun way to
BY MARY POLLITZ seroles to-go and a slew of connect with community
biz@cdispatch.com bakery items. members in different en-
Bell added since the food vironments,” Bell said. “…
A
little less than a year ago, Hunter truck has been booked for We just want the shop and
Bell was preparing to debut his several events, he hopes truck to be a part of special
food truck in Starkville. that having the brick and events or occasions of peo-
As of last week, the Mom and Pop mortar shop will give poten- ple’s lives. We care so much
Food Truck expanded and opened its tial customers a good idea of about this community and
bakery in the former Biscuit Shop at their catering services. Mary Pollitz we are in such strange times
104 S. Washington St. “We also want to utilize right now, but we are always
“The food truck has been getting the store to display our catering menu striving to make relationships and inno-
booked for most events,” Bell said. and options,” Bell said. “We’ve got rent- vating new ways to do that.”
“That’s what inspired us to open up our al items for weddings, and different Be sure to keep up with Bell and the
space so we could still cater to our com- packages, so that’s something we are Mom and Pop Food Truck and Bakery
munity.” looking forward to marketing soon.” on social media.
The Mom and Pop bakery will be Bell added that catering venues and See BUSINESS, 6A
FIVE QUESTIONS CALENDAR LOCAL FOLKS PUBLIC MEETINGS
1 Star-Lord, Rocket, Groot and Feb. 19: Lowndes County
Gamora are all characters in Thursday Supervisors, 9 a.m., Court-
what 2014 superhero film?
2 What kind of animals were
through Saturday, house, (rescheduled due to
President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Feb. 25-27 weather)
pets Soup and Noodles — pea- ■ Virtual Magnolia Feb. 19: Columbus Munic-
cocks, goats or donkeys? Independent Film ipal School District, public
3 Kara Zor-El is the birth name Festival: The Mag in input meeting on school
of what superhero? Starkville returns with calendar change, 3-8 p.m.,
4 Which actress lends her voice
to Samantha, the computer “girl-
independent films and
shorts. Visit magnoli-
Joe Cook Elementary School
friend” of lonely writer Theordore auditorium
Twombly in the movie “Her”?
5 World English Scrabble cham-
pion Nigel Richard won the 2015
afilmfest.com.
March 1: Lowndes County
Supervisors, 9 a.m., Court-
house
championship in what language
that he does not speak — March 3: Columbus Munic-
French, German or Spanish? ipal School Board recess
meeting 11:30 a.m., virtual
Answers, 6B
meeting
March 11: Columbus Munic-
ipal School Board, 4 p.m.,
McKinley West likes to go shopping. Brandon Central Services
DISPATCH CUSTOMER SERVICE 328-2424 | NEWSROOM 328-2471
2A THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

US needs to brace itself for more

deadly storms, experts say
More than 100 million
Americans live in areas
under winter weather
warnings, watches
or advisories
BY MAT THEW DALY
AND ELLEN KNICKMEYER
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Deadly
weather will be hitting the U.S.
more often, and America had better
get better at dealing with it, experts
said as Texas and other states bat-
tled winter storms that blew past
the worst-case planning of utilities,
governments and millions of shiver-
ing citizens.
This week’s storms — with more
still heading east — fit a pattern of
worsening extremes under climate
change and demonstrate anew that
local, state and federal officials
have failed to do nearly enough to
prepare for greater and more dan-
gerous weather.
At least two dozen people have
died this week, including from
fire or carbon monoxide poisoning
while struggling to find warmth
inside their homes. In Oklahoma
City, an Arctic blast plunged tem-
peratures in the state capital as low
as 14 degrees below 0 (-25 Celsius).
“This is a different kind of
storm,’’ said Kendra Clements, one
of several businesspeople in Okla-
homa City who opened their build-
ings to shelter homeless people,
some with frostbite, hypothermia
and icicles in their hair. It was also
a harbinger of what social service
providers and governments say
will be a surge of increased needs
for society’s most vulnerable as cli-
mate and natural disasters worsen.
Other Americans are at risk as
well. Power supplies of all sorts
failed in the extreme cold, includ-
ing natural gas-fired power plants
that were knocked offline amid
icy conditions and, to a smaller ex-
tent, wind turbines that froze and
stopped working. More than 100
million people live in areas under
winter weather warnings, watches
or advisories, and blackouts are ex-
pected to continue in some parts of
the country for days.
The crisis sounded an alarm
Texas blackouts fuel false
claims about renewable energy
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
With millions of Texas residents still without power amid frigid tem-
peratures, conservative commentators have falsely claimed that wind
turbines and solar energy were primarily to blame.
“We should never build another wind turbine in Texas,” read a Tues-
day Facebook post from Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.
“The experiment failed big time.”
“This is a perfect example of the need for reliable energy sources like
natural gas & coal,” tweeted U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, a Republican from
Montana, on Tuesday.
In reality, failures in natural gas, coal and nuclear energy systems
were responsible for nearly twice as many outages as frozen wind tur-
bines and solar panels, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which
operates the state’s power grid, said in a press conference Tuesday.
Still a variety of misleading claims spread on social media around
renewable energy, with wind turbines and the Green New Deal getting
much of the attention.
A viral photo of a helicopter de-icing a wind turbine was shared with
claims it showed a “chemical” solution being applied to one of the mas-
sive wind generators in Texas. The only problem? The photo was taken
in Sweden years ago, not in the U.S. in 2021. The helicopter sprayed hot
water onto the wind turbine, not chemicals.
Other social media users, including Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren
Boebert of Colorado, puzzlingly labeled the Green New Deal as the cul-
prit. Boebert tweeted on Monday that the proposal was “proven unsus-
tainable as renewables are clearly unreliable.”
But the Green New Deal is irrelevant, as no version of it exists in
Texas or nationwide, said Mark Jacobson, director of the Atmosphere/
Energy Program and professor of civil and environmental engineering
at Stanford University.
“It’s really natural gas and coal and nuclear that are providing the
bulk of the electricity and that’s the bulk of the cause of the blackouts,”
Jacobson told The Associated Press.
for power systems throughout the sions future,” White House press
country: As climate change wors- secretary Jen Psaki said Wednes-
ens, severe conditions that go be- day.
yond historical norms are becom- The storms are big news this
ing ever more common. Texas, for week, especially in light of their ef-
example, expects power demand to fect on COVID-19 vaccinations as
peak in the heat of summer, not the well as freezing Americans, but that
depths of winter, as it did this week. doesn’t mean they won’t become
The dire storms come as Pres- more common, experts say.
ident Joe Biden aims to spend up “This definitely was an anom-
to $2 trillion on infrastructure and aly,’’ but one that is likely to occur
clean energy investment over four more frequently as a result of cli-
years. Biden has pledged to up- mate change, said Sara Eftekharne-
date the U.S. power grid to be car- jad, assistant professor of electrical
bon-pollution free by 2035 as well as engineering and computer science
weatherize buildings, repair roads at Syracuse University.
and build electric vehicle charging “There probably needs to be bet-
stations. ter planning, because we’re start-
“Building resilient and sus- ing to see more extreme weather
tainable infrastructure that can events across the country,’’ she
withstand extreme weather and a said, whether it’s severe cold in Tex-
changing climate will play an inte- as or the intense heat wave in Cal-
gral role” in creating jobs and meet- ifornia last year that fueled deadly
ing Biden’s goal of “a net-zero emis- wildfires.

Crippling weather hampers vaccine deliveries, distribution

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The icy blast across
much of the U.S. injected
more confusion and frus-
tration into the nation’s
COVID-19 vaccination
drive Wednesday just
when it was gathering
speed, snarling vaccine
deliveries and forcing the
cancellation of countless
shots around the country.
Across a large swath of
the nation, including Deep
South states like Georgia
and Alabama, the snowy,
slippery weather either led
to the closing of vaccina-
tion sites outright or held
up the necessary ship-
ments, with delays expect-
ed to continue for days.
In New York, Mayor
Bill de Blasio said doses
expected this week were
delayed by weather else-
where in the country,
forcing the city to hold off
making 30,000 to 35,000
vaccination appointments.
One public health ex-
pert said the delays were
unacceptable.
“Having vaccine cen-
ters take snow days is just
going to back things up
more than they already
are,” said Dr. Amesh Adal-
ja, senior scholar at the
Johns Hopkins Center
for Health Security. “The
virus doesn’t take snow
days.”
Adalja said people in
charge of vaccination ef-
forts must find ways to be
more resilient to weath-
er, “just like mailmen can
deliver the mail through
sleet or snow.” He sug-
gested clinics use better
contingency plans. The
goal, he said, must be “a
continuous assembly line
of vaccines going into
people’s arms.”
Jo Dohogne of Bart-
lett, Tennessee, said
she scheduled two ap-
pointments this week to
receive her second dose
of the Moderna vaccine,
but both were canceled
because of poor weather.
Dohogne, 75, who has
multiple sclerosis, said
she felt left in the lurch as
the six-week mark for her
second dose approached
following her first vacci-
nation on Jan. 14.
“I’m just stressed …
it’s just like this is taking
up my entire life,” Do-
hogne said.
After her appointment
for a vaccine on Saturday
was canceled, Dohogne
said a neighbor’s friend
has been helping her nav-
igate the vaccine enroll-
ment process. But with
no word on when she can
get her second shot, Do-
hogne said she is “just
frustrated and stressed.”
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021 3A

Explainer: How will we know we’ve reached herd immunity?

Herd immunity is when enough people have
immunity, either from vaccination or a past
infection, to stop uncontrolled spread
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Health officials around the
world are racing to vaccinate
enough people to stop the spread
of COVID-19, but what qualifies
as “enough” is still an open ques-
tion.
The goal is to get to “herd im-
munity,” which is when enough
people have immunity, either
from vaccination or a past infec-
tion, to stop uncontrolled spread.
Herd immunity doesn’t make
any one person immune, and
outbreaks can still flare up. It
means that a virus is no longer
easily jumping from person to
person, helping to protect those
who are still vulnerable to catch-
ing it.
Nobody knows for sure what
the herd immunity threshold
is for the coronavirus, though
many experts say it’s 70 percent
or higher. And the emergence of
variants is further complicating
the picture.
Here’s what’s known about
the virus and herd immunity.
How is the herd immunity
threshold calculated?
It’s a formula based on how
contagious a virus is — or how
many people catch the virus
from one infected person, on av-
erage.
But the calculation offers
only a broad target for when
there might be a big drop off in
spread. The figure could also
vary by region.
“It’s not 64.9 is terrible and
70.1 is fantastic,” said Dr. Walter
Orenstein, an infectious disease
expert at Emory University.
Orenstein notes vaccination
levels and other factors that
affect spread could differ even
within a city.
How do we know we’ve
reached herd immunity?
Proof that we’re nearing herd
immunity would be a “disruption
in the chain of transmission,”
said Ashley St. John, who stud-
ies immune systems at Duke-
NUS Medical School at Singa-
pore.
But don’t wait for any big dec-
laration that we’ve reached that
milestone.
To determine whether to re-
lax restrictions, health officials
will be watching infection and
hospitalization trends as vacci-
nations roll out. And those de-
cisions are likely to begin long
before the ideal herd immunity
threshold is reached, though
they will be gradual and vary by
region.
In India, for instance, scien-
tists believe that more people
will need to be protected in
densely populated cities, where
the virus spreads faster, than in
its vast countryside.

Outages
Continued from Page 1A
Air Force Base reporting
temperatures ranged
from 31 to 33 degrees
overnight Wednesday/
Thursday.
Turner said 4-County
on Tuesday afternoon had
just restored power to the
800 members in Lowndes
and Noxubee who lost
power Sunday night, giv-
ing linemen a “light day”
Wednesday and a break
between the two storms.
“We did catch a little
bit of a break,” he said.
“Our guys got to go home,
get a decent night’s sleep,
come back in, start stock-
ing up for today, which is a
blessing because we were
about as prepared again
as we could be consider-
ing that we had all hands
on deck for two and a half
days prior to that.”
saw 3 million homes and circuit near
businesses without power dow ntow n.
on Wednesday, in the next That tree
few days. If anything, has been re-
Turner said, other coop- moved and
eratives may send extra ele c t r ic it y
help to 4-County. restored,
He also said other co- Stark ville
Kemp
operatives around the Utilities
state, including Central Manager Terry Kemp
Mississippi and East Mis- said Thursday morning.
sissippi electric power “The tree took out ser-
associations, fared worse vice in the City Hall area
under the storm, with and areas to the west,”
20,000 or more members Kemp said. “It fell around
without power. Through- 3 or 3:30 in the morning
out the state, more than and we were able to get the
200,000 people are with- tree cut up and removed
out power, 4-County post- and power restored after
ed on its Facebook page. about four hours.”
Kemp said he did not
Fallen tree causes know exactly how many
customers were affected
power outages in by the outage. He said
Starkville there were other scat-
Some residents of tered outages reported in
said the other outages
were also the likely result
of fallen tree limbs.
“We’re putting our list
together now and getting
to work on those outages
this morning,” he said.
Some without power
in Columbus
About 120 Columbus
c ust omer s
lost power
over n ight ,
said Colum-
bus Light
and Water
Interim
Manager
Mike Bern- Bernsen
sen.
“Most of them were
around the Pleasant Ridge
area,” Bernsen said. “We
worked until 3 this morn-
ing and right now we’re

The extent of the out-
ages means 4-County will
not be sending any help
to Texas, which the As-
sociated Press reported
Houston furniture store offers shelter after winter storm
‘We came in and they welcomed us with open arms’
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON — For
Tina Rios, her family and
hundreds of other people,
shelter from the winter
storm that has left much
of Houston without pow-
er or heat came from an
unusual place: a furniture
store.
Sitting at one of the
AREA
OBITUARIES
COMMERCIAL DISPATCH
OBITUARY POLICY
Obituaries with basic informa-
tion including visitation and
service times, are provided
free of charge. Extended
obituaries with a photograph,
detailed biographical informa-
tion and other details families
may wish to include, are avail-
able for a fee. Obituaries must
be submitted through funeral
homes unless the deceased’s
body has been donated to
science. If the deceased’s
body was donated to science,
the family must provide official
proof of death. Please submit
all obituaries on the form
provided by The Commercial
Dispatch. Free notices must be
submitted to the newspaper
no later than 3 p.m. the day
prior for publication Tuesday
through Friday; no later than 4
p.m. Saturday for the Sunday
Starkville were also with-
out power after a large
tree fell in the early morn-
ing hours Thursday, tak-
ing out a major electricity
Houston resident Tina Rios
many tables on display
Wednesday inside Gallery
Furniture’s cavernous
showroom, Rios, 32, ex-
plained how she “started
stressing really, really
hard” after her suburban
Houston mobile home
lost power at around 4:30
a.m. on Monday and she,
her husband, Eric Ben-
nis, and their three chil-
other parts of the city.
‘“I’d say, at this point,
we have well over 90 per-
cent of the outages re-
paired,” said Kemp, who
dren were soon able to
see their breath inside.
After spending one frigid
night there, they realized
they needed to find some-
where warm to wait out
the blackout, not so much
for the parents, who grew
up in New Jersey and are
used to cold, but for the
children, ages 3, 9 and 10.
“They’re Texas babies,”
down to just 22 customers
without service. We ex-
pected to have all of those
customers back in service
today.”
said Bennis, a 31-year-old
tow truck driver. “This is
the first time they’ve seen
white on the ground.”
They heard Gallery
Furniture’s owner, Jim
McIngvale, had opened
his main store in north
Houston as a shelter, so
they made the hourlong
drive from Channelview.
“We came in and they
welcomed us with open
arms,” said an emotional
Rios.
SOLUNAR TABLE
The solunar period indicates
Margaret Simpson
On February 12, 2021,
Margaret Angeline Acker
Simpson (born November 26,
1935) left this earth for her
heavenly home. Margaret is
survived by her husband of 67
years, Lt. Col. Charles Edwin
Simpson. They were both from
Columbus, Mississippi, where
she graduated from S. D. Lee
High School, Class of 1952 and
attended MSCW (MUW). She was a proud Army
wife, traveling extensively with her husband.
They settled in Harlem, Georgia, where they
lived for 45 years. For the last few years, they
have resided in Marshall Pines, Evans, Georgia.
Margaret is predeceased by her parents,
Bentley and Margaret Acker; and three sisters,
Virginia Acker Edwards (Gerald), Lillian Acker
Brown (Wayne), and Christina (Tine) Acker
Coleman (Carl).
She is survived by her four children, Darlene
(Faith) Bandre, Deborah (Debi) Mangham-
Shacklett (Brian), Thomas (Tom) Edwin
Simpson, and Donald Timothy (Tim) Simpson
(Johnna); 12 grandchildren; and 21 great-
grandchildren.
Margaret loved the Lord and used her God-
given gifts of hospitality, mercy ministry, and
evangelism in Taiwan and Ukraine. Her greatest
talent was memorization. She knew countless
Bible verses and hymns; learned Chinese and
Russian, so that she could speak fluently to those
she discipled. Her greatest love was her family
and leading others to know her Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. She enjoyed speaking at Christian
Women’s Clubs and church events. She was very
involved for years with teaching Sunday School
and Vacation Bible School.
She was very close to her grandchildren; her
family was blessed by her life, and she was loved.
She will be greatly missed.
The family would like to express their deepest
gratitude to all of the staff at Marshall Pines,
Encompass Hospice, and Moore Loving Care,
LLC.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations
to Attic Treasures in Harlem, GA or Child
Evangelism Fellowship.
Funeral service will be held at 1:30 PM on
Sunday, February 21, 2021, at Starling Funeral
Home, Harlem, Georgia, with the Chaplain
Jordan Dill officiating. The family will receive

friends following the service until 3:00 PM.

peak-feeding times for fish and game.
edition; and no later than 7:30 Thurs. Fri.
Major 6:06a 6:49a
a.m. for the Monday edition. Minor 12:04p 12:36p Interment for Mrs. Simpson will be held at a
Incomplete notices must be re- Major
Minor
6:27p
1:00a
6:49a
1:56a later date in Arlington National Cemetery.
ceived no later than 7:30 a.m. Courtesy of Mississippi Department
of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Visit www.starlingfuneralhome.com to sign
for the Monday through Friday
guestbook. STARLING FUNERAL HOME,

The Dispatch
editions. Paid notices must be
finalized by 3 p.m. for inclusion HARLEM, GA 706-556-6524.
the next day Monday through
Thursday; and on Friday by 3
Paid Obituary - Starling Funeral Home
The Commercial Dispatch (USPS 142-320)
p.m. for Sunday and Monday Published daily except Saturday. Answers to common questions:
Entered at the post office at Columbus, Mississippi.

Log on.
publication. For more informa- Phone: 662-328-2424
Periodicals postage paid at Columbus, MS
tion, call 662-328-2471. POSTMASTER, Send address changes to:
The Commercial Dispatch, P.O. Box 511, Columbus, MS 39703 Website: cdispatch.com/help
Published by Commercial Dispatch Publishing Company Inc., Report a news tip: news@cdispatch.com
Emma Smith 516 Main St., Columbus, MS 39703
COLUMBUS —
Emma J. Smith, 92, died
Feb. 17, 2021.
Arrangements are
incomplete and will be Send in your church event!
announced by Carter’s Email editorialassistant@cdispatch.com
Memorial Services of
Columbus.
See OBITUARIES, 5A
Subject: Religious brief
www.cdispatch.com
Opinion
4A THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021
PETER BIRNEY IMES Editor/Publisher
BIRNEY IMES III Editor/Publisher 1998-2018
BIRNEY IMES JR. Editor/Publisher 1947-2003

Dispatch
The
BIRNEY IMES SR. Editor/Publisher 1922-1947

ZACK PLAIR, Managing Editor

BETH PROFFITT Advertising Director
MICHAEL FLOYD Circulation/Production Manager
MARY ANN HARDY Controller

OTHER EDITORS
It’s time for the US to act on the minimum wage
A
t $7.25 an hour, the federal mini-
mum wage is appallingly low.
It’s so low that a full-time
worker making the federal minimum
wage qualifies for food stamps, and a
single parent working 40 hours a week
falls below the poverty line. It’s hard
to fathom how an adult could afford
rent, food, transportation or a decent
standard of living on the minimum
wage salary of $15,000 a year, much
less save money for a rainy day.
Yet an estimated 1.7 million workers
across the U.S. are paid the federal
minimum wage, which hasn’t been
increased since 2009. These workers
— along with other low-wage workers
earning less than $15 an hour, who
make up 20% of the nation’s workforce
— are long overdue for a raise.
Congress is now debating whether
to include President Joe Biden’s pro-
posal for a $15 minimum wage in the
next COVID-19 relief package, while
also eliminating the tip credit that
allows restaurant workers in 43 states
to be paid as little as $2.13 an hour.
Lawmakers shouldn’t be swayed by
naysayers and pessimists who argue
that the pay hike is too much, too soon.
Gradually raising the minimum wage
to $15 will lift more working people out
of poverty and help begin to reduce the
yawning income inequality gap in this
country.
While the federal minimum wage
stagnated over the last decade, cities
and states have raised their pay floor.
Twenty-nine states and more than 40
cities have set base pay above $7.25.
Florida has passed legislation to raise
its minimum gradually to $15 by the
year 2026. Many other states are
already at $15 an hour or will get there
in the next year or two, including Los
Angeles and San Francisco, as well as
the states of California and Massachu-
setts. And many have pegged future
wage hikes to inflation so the pay floor
will continue to rise.
Biden’s proposed hike is likely to
lead some businesses to raise prices,
increase automation or pare their pay-
rolls. But that’s just half the picture.
The Congressional Budget Office pro-
jected that the higher wage would raise
the purchasing power of an estimated
27 million workers, lifting 900,000 out
of poverty. That additional economic
activity would boost the overall econo-
my, at least temporarily ...
The Raise the Wage Act would
increase the minimum wage to $9.50
an hour in June. Then it would rise ev-
ery year until it hits $15 in June 2025.
After that, the minimum wage would
increase annually with growth in the
median wage. That’s important. Work-
ers shouldn’t have to wait a decade or
more for lawmakers to find the polit-
ical will to raise the minimum wage.
Guaranteeing that the minimum wage
rises with inflation would help ensure
that the lowest-paid workers don’t get
left behind again.
There is considerable pushback to
$15 an hour from lawmakers in low-
cost states where the increase from
$7.25 would be a considerable change.
In Mississippi, a $15 minimum wage
would give almost half of all workers
a raise, the New York Times reported.
Mississippi also has one of the highest
poverty rates in the country.
Skeptics of minimum wage increas-
es fixate on the potential job losses as
reason not to embrace the $15 target.
But Congress can — and should — en-
act tax policies and financial incentives
to help employers, particularly small
business, adjust to the pay mandate
and help preserve jobs.
The U.S. cannot continue to ignore
the working poor. We cannot deny
the destructive effects of poverty and
income inequality. Raising the mini-
mum wage to $15 is not the answer to
poverty, but it’s an important tool to
begin to alleviate it.
Los Angeles Times (Feb. 17)

THE GOP CARTOONIST VIEW

The enemy within
T
“ he enemy within” is
the phrase that House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
used to describe the chaos brew-
ing just beneath the surface of
the Republican Party. She was
referring to how the fencing at
the Capitol complex may phys-
ically keep protesters out, but
there are far more sinister views
and schisms within, and she
would do well to acknowledge
this fact. Armstrong Williams
This lingering demon that
haunts the party — fueled by rage, distrust and some-
times hatred — is not what the party should seek to pre-
serve. As the late conservative philosopher Roger Scruton
reminds us, conservatives must know what to keep and
preserve and what to discard, and the bad elements that
have corrupted the party must be reformed if the party is
to sustain and survive. Sure, they will call it by some oth-
er name, but it feeds and foments at the darkest of levels.
In some instances, it is pure evil. Call it racism, national-
ism or whatever you like, but it’s certainly not rooted in
good government or leadership and has absolutely noth-
ing to do with conservatism as it is contextually defined.
To that end — and with all due respect — former
President Donald Trump was not a leader. Instead, he was
a collector. He did not lead the tens of millions of voters
who supported him as much as he collected their votes.
He allowed them to view him as a man wearing many
hats, and yes, even many masks. They saw in him what
they wanted to see, and he was OK with that. He was one
man with many faces, and each face represented some-
thing different for each of his followers and supporters.
It was not his job to root out every evil in society, or even
every evil thought or prejudice against a fellow American.
However, it is a president’s job to condemn those behav-
iors when they go against the rule of law, the Republic
and the greater good of this country. Though he eventu-
ally did offer condemnation of the Capitol Hill riots, you
can’t help but wonder if his words could’ve been stronger
or whether if he had gone to the inauguration, just as
former Vice President Mike Pence did. It would’ve sent a
strong and resolute message to his most disgruntled fol-
lowers. Though it’s all now in the past, which no one can
change, certainly things could’ve played out differently
for Trump; perhaps, in the end, he could’ve left on a high
note. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the decision he made, but
the country would have been much better off.
I’ve written numerous columns about Trump’s hero-
ism, his wins on policy and the economy’s unimaginable
successes in these times. On that, he absolutely deserves
recognition and credit. Yet, moving forward, the Repub-
lican Party cannot be a party that appeals to the most
negative emotions within the body politic. The Republi-
can Party must be the party of hope and aspiration and
the party that paves the road for America’s future as it has
so many times in the past.
The Republican Party was the party that embraced the
struggle for racial justice, and in its early years, it never
shied away from the racial disparities that exist in our
country; in fact, it led the charge to improve them. The
party focused on economic opportunity and prosperity; it
understood the importance of a good education as one of
the keys to upward mobility. The Republican Party was
America’s party because it always understood that most
Americans are centrist and pragmatic in their approach.
Shockingly, most Americans don’t want expansive gov-
ernment leading the way; most Americans want an oppor-
tunity to reach their dream and, within reason, want the
tools, such as a reliable public-school education, at their
disposal to make reaching their dreams commonplace.
The Bible teaches us that our Creator writes eternity
in our hearts. That’s why we, more than any other nation,
pursue and believe that America’s best days are ahead
of us, not behind us. That’s why we strive with hope
and aspirations and why thousands of people choose to
immigrate to this country each year. In many ways, this is
a new Manifest Destiny that renews itself year after year,
decade after decade. Not because we have some warped
sense of American exceptionalism. Our Heavenly Father
simply grants it.
The Republican Party should seek to restore that as-
pect for all Americans. It’s what we yearn for — and what
we cannot live without.
Armstrong Williams is an American political commenta-
tor, entrepreneur, author, and talk show host.
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021 5A

Rush Limbaugh, voice of American conservatism, dies at 70

Talk radio host said a year ago that he had lung cancer
BY MAT T SEDENSKY
AP National Writer
Rush Limbaugh,
the talk radio host who
ripped into liberals and
laid waste to political cor-
rectness with a gleeful
malice that made him one
of the most powerful voic-
es in politics, influencing
the rightward push of
American conservatism
and the rise of Donald
Trump, died Wednesday.
He was 70.
Limbaugh said a year
ago that he had lung can-
30 years with his talent
for sarcastic, insult-laced
commentary.
He called himself an
entertainer, but his rants
during his three-hour
weekday radio show
broadcast on nearly 600
U.S. stations shaped the
national political conver-
sation, swaying ordinary
Republicans and the di-
rection of their party.
Blessed with a America.” He said he was
made -for -broadcast ing
voice, he delivered his
opinions with such cer-
raging against the main-
stream media, accusing it
immodesty, told author of feeding the public lies.
Zev Chafets in the 2010 He called Democrats and
book “Rush Limbaugh: others on the left com-
An Army of One.” munists, wackos, femi-
Forbes magazine es- nazis, liberal extremists,
f****** and radicals.
timated his 2018 income
When actor Michael
at $84 million, ranking
J. Fox, suffering from
him only behind Howard
Parkinson’s disease, ap-
Stern among radio per-
peared in a Democratic
sonalities.
Limbaugh took as a campaign commercial,
Limbaugh mocked his
badge of honor the title
“most dangerous man in tremors. When a Wash-
ington advocate for the
the “truth detector,” the homeless killed himself,
he cracked jokes. As the
“doctor of democracy,”
a “lover of mankind,” a
AIDS epidemic raged in
the 1980s, he made the
her as a “slut.” When
Barack Obama was elect-
dying a punchline. He ed president in 2008, Lim-
called 12-year-old Chel- baugh said flatly: “I hope
sea Clinton a dog. he fails.”
He suggested that the He was frequently
Democrats’ stand on re- accused of bigotry and
productive rights would blatant racism for such
have led to the abortion antics as playing the
of Jesus Christ. When song “Barack the Magic
a woman accused Duke Negro” on his show. The
University lacrosse play- lyrics, set to the tune of
ers of rape, he derided “Puff, the Magic Drag-
her as a “ho,” and when on,” describe Obama as
a Georgetown Universi- someone who “makes
ty law student supported guilty whites feel good”
expanded contraceptive and is “Black, but not au-
coverage, he dismissed thentically.”

Todd Gale
cer. His death was an- tainty that his followers, “harmless, lovable little
nounced on his show by or “Ditto-heads,” as he fuzz ball” and an “all-

October 9, 1968 — February 12, 2021

his wife, Kathryn.
Unflinchingly conser-
vative, wildly partisan,
bombastically self-pro-
moting and larger than
life, Limbaugh galvanized
listeners for more than
dubbed them, took his
words as sacred truth.
“In my heart and soul,
I know I have become the
intellectual engine of the
conservative movement,”
Limbaugh, with typical
around good guy.” He
claimed he had “talent on
loan from God.”
Long before Trump’s
Robert Todd Gale entered into this world in
rise in politics, Limbaugh Columbus, Mississippi, on a blustery October 9, 1968.
was pinning insulting From the very beginning, Todd had a twinkle in his
names on his enemies and eye and a swagger in his step that never failed him
until a cold, somber Friday, February 12, 2021, when
he was taken away too soon. The rawness of this day
certainly fit the mood of everyone as they heard the
tragic news. The gift of gray hair would not be his,

Obituaries but those that knew him would certainly chuckle by

Continued from Page 3A
Sarah Sherrod
ARTESIA — Sarah
Lee Sherrod, 63, died
Feb. 15, 2021, at her
residence.
Arrangements are
incomplete and will be
announced by Carter’s
Memorial Services of
Columbus.
Steven Williams
COLUMBUS — Ste-
ven Douglas Williams,
46, died Feb. 17, 2021,
at his residence.
Arrangements are
incomplete and will be
announced by Memori-
Lawrence Kent Sr.
of Casa Grande, Ari-
zona, Michael Ervin
Ken of Sturgins and
Robin Janelle Kent of
asking, “What Hair”?
Todd’s education began at Heritage Academy, here in Columbus,
Starkville; brother,
and he would travel the halls of Heritage until his graduation
Lawrence Cleatus Price day. Later in life, Todd would faithfully serve on the board of the
school that had meant so much to him in his formative years. After
of Starkville; six grand-
children; and nine high school graduation, Todd could be found at Mississippi State
University, supporting the Dawgs and landing a degree in Landscape
great-grandchildren.
Architecture in 1992. Leaving Starkville, the call of wild got hold
of Todd, and he joined the United States Forestry Service, which
landed him in Ketchikan, Alaska, from 1992-1993. However, the call
of home became louder than the cold days of the Alaskan tundra, and
he returned home to the city that he held close to his heart, and he
placed his roots deep in the prairie soil and never looked for better
chances. He felt he had just the life he wanted and indeed, he did.
Todd fell hard and fast for his beloved wife, Stephanie McLain, and
quickly made her a Gale on July 16, 1994. It could be said, though by
Stephanie’s parents, Judy and Ralph, “Let us make him a McLain”!
When one thought of one family, the next thought was the other, and
an unbroken bond resulted in this marriage. Understanding the value
of education, Todd, with Stephanie’s support, completed his graduate
degree with a Master’s in Economic Development, at the University

al Gunter Peel Funeral
Home and Crematory,
College Street location.
Edith Kent
STARKVILLE —
Edith Kent, 76, died
Feb. 12, 2021, at her
residence.
Funeral services will
be at 11 a.m. Satur-
day at Adaton Baptist
Church, with the Rev.
Hal Shelby officiating.
Visitation will be one
hour prior to services.
Welch Funeral Home of
Starkville is in charge
of arrangements.
Mrs. Kent was born
March 6, 1944, to the
late Lonnie Lawrence
and Mavis Maxine
Price. She was a mem-
ber of Adaton Baptist
Church.
In addition to her
parents, she was pre-
ceded in death by her
husband, Sam Henry
Kent; and son, Tracey
Lee Kent.
She is survived by
her children, Sammy
Cathy Rueff
Memorial Service:
Saturday, Feb. 20 • 2 PM
7th Day Adventist Church
College St. Location
Todd Gale
Visitation:
Saturday, Feb. 20 • 10-11:30 AM
Memorial Gunter Peel
Funeral Home
Memorial Service:
Saturday, Feb. 20 • 11:30 AM
Memorial Gunter Peel
Funeral Home
2nd Ave. N. Location
Steven Williams
Incomplete
College St. Location
Cathy Rueff
October 24, 1969 — February 10, 2021
Cathy Denise Rueff, of Columbus, MS, passed
away February 10, 2021, at Baptist Memorial
Hospital. She was 51.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday,
February 20, 2021, at the Columbus Seventh Day
Adventist Church, 301 Brooks Road, Columbus,
MS 39702. Memorial Gunter Peel Funeral Home
& Crematory, College Street location, has been
entrusted with the arrangements.
Cathy was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Ad-
opted at a very early age by two loving parents,
her family moved around a lot in her early years,
but settled in Columbus by the time she entered
high school. She enjoyed high school and had
several close friendships while there. After grad-
uating in 1987, she went to Mississippi Universi-
ty for Women, but then transferred to Southern
Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee,
where she graduated with a degree in marriage
and family counseling. She had three children
with her first husband while working at McKee
Foods in Collegedale, Tennessee. A new job sent
her and her family to Portland, Oregon, in 2002,
where she worked at Adventist Medical Center
in the foundation office, raising money for the
hospital. When her marriage fell on hard times,
she moved back to Columbus to be with her dad.
She renewed an old friendship with Mike Rueff,
and after her divorce was final, the two started
dating. He proposed on February 14, 2012, and
they were married on August 5, 2012, her par-
ent’s 50th wedding anniversary.
Mike and Cathy had a good life together.
They took several trips together and enjoyed be-
ing with each other. She also enjoyed her job as
a legal secretary for Hal McClanahan, for whom
she worked for eight years. She had a sharp mind
and enjoyed learning about the legal process. In
her spare time, Cathy enjoyed studying the Bi-
ble, sharing Jesus with others, spending time
with family and friends, going to church, doing
sudoku puzzles, making Christmas cards and
reading. She was also a big fan of the Peanuts
comic strip and television specials.
Cathy is a daughter of the King of Kings. She
loved her Savior Jesus Christ, her husband, her
children, her church, and her friends. She was
kind to strangers and never shied away from
sharing Jesus with those around her. She was
a true blessing to those who knew her well, and
she was deeply loved by those closest to her.
Cathy was preceded in death by her parents,
Billy Edwin Thompson and Carol Ragsdale
Thompson.
She is survived by her spouse, Charles Mi-
chael (Mike) Rueff, III of Columbus, MS; and her
children, Regina Danielle Jones Curvin and her
husband, Matthew, of Canby, OR, Brandon Colby
Jones of Portland, OR, and Brendon Cody Jones
and his wife, Kelsea, of Columbus, MS.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to
the family.
of Southern Mississippi, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Of course,
along this path, two wonderful children came along and became the
delight of their parents and grandparents. Todd became the General
Manager of Columbus Light and Water Department in February of
2006. He was a boss, friend, mentor, and a forward thinker, and the
City of Columbus will be at a loss without his input and humor, the
lights dimmed.
Todd was widely recognized for his expertise and was awarded
many seats at the table. Throughout his career as General Manager for
Columbus Light and Water, Todd served on the boards of Tennessee
Valley Public Power Association and the National Board of the
American Public Power Association, as the Mississippi representative.
In addition, he served on many committees, too numerous to mention,
for the Tennessee Valley Authority. It would have to be said that all
saved Todd a seat so they could enjoy his personality and ability to
frame any question to get to the heart of the matter.
Locally, Todd’s calendar was full, always serving others. He took
his rightful place and served on the boards of Main Street Columbus,
Columbus Lowndes Humane Society, Mississippi University for
Women Advisory Board, and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Vestry and
Junior Warden.
Todd was the only child of Mary Ruth Burns Gale and the late
Bobby Gale. Stephanie, along with her and Todd’s children, Stormy
(University of Alabama) and Gunnar (Ole Miss), will remain to carry
Todd’s legacy forward. Choice of his children’s schools might not
have been his choice, but the love of the New Orleans Saints shined
in all of their eyes. Stephanie’s sister, Natalie, and her husband, Clint
Hardy, along with their sons, Thomas and Sawyer, will find a void
with their favorite “Uncle” gone too soon. There will be an empty
seat at the many Burn’s family “get togethers”, with stories retold and
shenanigans embellished of the antics of Todd.
Todd will be remembered by his godchildren with stories told of
him to their children. Those holding these special memories are
Hogan Drane, Andrew Gholson, Will Gholson, Harper and Hampton
Hudnall, and Smith Wolford.
Todd’s love of animals is legendary. Linda the Pug was often seen
riding along with him, and Teddy the Chesapeake was sent away to
obedience school to no avail. Alas, Teddy proved to be similar to Todd,
untrainable! Stray kittens and cats had a way of finding Todd, and he
could always persuade Stephanie that one more would not hurt.
A faithful servant of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Todd carried each
and every heartache and happiness of the members and visitors on
his shoulders.
Services will be held on Saturday, February 20, 2021, at Memorial
Gunter Peel Funeral Home, 716 Second Avenue North, in Columbus.
Visitation will begin at 10:00 in the morning, followed by a memorial
service at 11:30. Memorial Gunter Peel Funeral Home & Crematory,
Second Avenue North location, has been entrusted with the
arrangements.
Honoring Todd, by their last act together, and an honor it will be,
are the following honorary pallbearers: Web Gholson, Mark Gibson,
Mike Bernsen, Clint Hardy, Joey Hudnall, J. D. Kizer, Roderick
Sanders, Keith Savely, Louis Sharp, and Tom Wolford, III.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made to St.
Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN
38105 or St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 318 College Street, Columbus,
MS 39701, or the Columbus Lowndes Humane Society, 50 Airline
Road, Columbus, MS 39701.
The outpouring of prayers, love, food, kind words and visits, by all
of you, has been felt and has lifted us onto this path of recovery from
the sudden grief we have faced. Words seem so little to describe Todd
or to thank each of you, but we humbly offer them at this time.

memorialgunterpeel.com Sign the online guest book at Sign the online guest book at
www.memorialgunterpeel.com www.memorialgunterpeel.com
903 College Street • Columbus, MS 716 Second Avenue North • Columbus, MS
6A THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Biden backs studying reparations as Congress considers bill

BY KEVIN FREKING
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Presi-
dent Joe Biden’s White House
is giving its support to studying
reparations for Black Amer-
icans, boosting Democratic
lawmakers who are renewing
efforts to create a commission
on the issue amid the stark ra-
cial disparities highlighted by
the COVID-19 pandemic.
A House panel heard tes-
timony Wednesday on leg-
islation that would create a
commission to examine the
history of slavery in the U.S.
as well as the discriminatory
government policies that af-
fected former slaves and their
descendants. The commission
would recommend ways to
educate the American public
of its findings and suggest ap-
propriate remedies, including
financial payments from the
government to compensate de-
scendants of slaves for years
of unpaid labor by their ances-
tors.
Biden backs the idea of
studying the issue, White
House press secretary Jen
Psaki said Wednesday, though
she stopped short of saying he
would sign the bill if it clears
Congress.
“He certainly would support
a study of reparations,” Psaki
said at the White House brief-
ing. “He understands we don’t
need a study to take action
right now on systemic racism,
so he wants to take actions
within his own government in
the meantime.”
Biden captured the Dem-
ocratic presidential nomina-
tion and ultimately the White
House with the strong support
of Black voters. As he cam-
paigned against the backdrop
of the biggest reckoning on
racism in a generation in the
wake of George Floyd’s killing,
Biden backed the idea of study-
ing reparations for the descen-
dants of slaves. But now, as
he tries to win congressional
support for other agenda items
including a massive coronavi-
rus relief package, he faces a
choice of how aggressively to
push the idea.

School board
Continued from Page 1A
to help guide the district
through that challenge.
“I really enjoy work-
ing with this board, and
I think we’ve got a very
good team,” she said.
“Everybody’s extremely
serious about the future
of our students and the
district as a whole. We’re
all working together. We
may be coming at it from
different angles, different
specialties, but I think
we all bring something
... positive to the board
when we make our final
decisions on things. I just
want to be part of that. I
want to be part of the suc-
cess of the Columbus Mu-
nicipal School District.”
Brown, 63, is an educa-
tor with 40 years of expe-
rience working with mul-
tiple area school districts,
including 17 years at
CMSD where she taught
kindergarten and first
grade at Fairview Elemen-
tary. She retired as princi-
pal from West Lowndes
High School in Lowndes
County School District in
2017, and currently works
as a teacher in the Pickens
County School District in
Alabama.
She said as a lifelong
Columbus resident with
family and business con-
nections in the city, she
knows many residents
and wants to use that to
influence CMSD.
“I’d like to be able to be
out there in the communi-
ty because I know most of
the people in the commu-
nity and they know me,
and any way that I can
help support them and
their children and their
needs in the education
area, I’d like to be able to
do that,” she said.
Like Shumake, she
said she wants to be in-
volved in shepherding
the district through the
pandemic and empha-
sized that students need
to go back to traditional
in-person classes as soon
as possible. CMSD is cur-
rently on a hybrid model,
in which some students
go to in-person classes on
certain days of the week
and attend classes virtu-
ally other days.
“I just want to be able
to weigh in and have in-
put that would be related
to our children and vir-
tual learning right now,”
Brown said.
DeLoach, 52, is a ther-
apist with Community applying to do so as soon ford has applied for both council allocated $15,000
Counseling Services in as possible. those positions, the latter to Main Street Columbus
Columbus who has a son The council is set to ap- of which requires an engi- to put on the annual Mar-
who graduated from Co- point the board member neering degree. Stafford ket Street Festival. Coun-
lumbus High School. He at its next regular meet- is the only applicant to cil members also unani-
said he has been a vol- ing on March 2. apply for those positions. mously voted to declare a
unteer with the school At its meeting Wednes- local state of emergency
district for several years, Other council action day, the council unan- due to the winter storm,
helping sell concessions The council will also imously appointed Bo per a request from Lown-
at CHS basketball games make one appointment Harrison to fill outgo- des County Emergency
and serving at other each to the Zoning Board ing Gregory Jefferson’s Management Agency Di-
events. of Adjustments and Ap- three-year position on the rector Cindy Lawrence.
“Whatever the school peals and the Board of zoning board. Harrison The Mississippi Gover-
needs, we still work with Adjustments and Appeals was the only applicant for nor’s Office declared a
them and try to give them of Development Codes. the position. state emergency Satur-
our support,” he said. City Engineer Kevin Staf- In other business, the day.
DeLoach also has
school board experi-
ence, having served on
the board for Columbus
Christian Academy from
2014-2017.
He said his goal is for
more people to be en-
gaged with the school dis-
tricts and its students.
“I think they have a
balance of community
diversity, but I basically
think that I want to get the
community more involved
in the school district,” he
said.
Columbus Chief Offi-
cer of Operations David
Armstrong said the dead-
line to apply for the vacant
position is March 1, but
urged anyone considering

Business
Continued from Page 1A
Starkville good news
continues.
Big Dawgs Barbecue,
804 Old West Point Road,
is officially still open.
Big Dawgs owner Yu-
landa Haddix previously
announced the barbecue/
convenience store’s clo-
sure last year when her
husband, former Missis-
sippi State and NFL run-
ning back Michael, had
surgery.
Initially, Michael’s
health was the sole reason
for the year-end closure
in December 2020, but it
became pretty clear that
he may be the reason its
open light is still shining.
“When he’s there at
the store,” Yulanda said,
“he’s relaxed.”
The Haddix duo is
happy to keep their doors
open and continue to be
that quick stop for area
residents near Old West
Point Road.
I know this week’s
weather has been insane,
so this next part is honest-
ly up in the air.
The Haddix’s hope to butions to our communi-
host their first Culture ties,” Yulanda said. “(We
Festival this weekend. want to) share our favorite
Big Dawgs will be hosting dishes. We want to invite
a Black History Month all families and friends to
Celebration with the com- enjoy a weekend of Cul-
munity Friday through tural Awareness and fun.”
Sunday.
The couple is inviting
Black-owned businesses
to set up at Big Dawgs
for free 7 a.m.-7 p.m. this
weekend.
There will be clothes
giveaways, food give-
aways and voter regis-
tration forms. Interested
business vendors, please
reach out to Yulanda at
yulanda114@aol.com for
more information.
Also, remember par-
ticipating vendors must
bring their own set-up
supplies, and patrons are
asked to practice con-
tinued social distancing
throughout the celebra-
tion.
“Our goal is to educate
and celebrate with our lo-
cal and surrounding com-
munities Black History
facts, legends and contri-
Sports
MISSISSIPPI STATE BASEBALL ANALYSIS
SPORTS LINE
662-241-5000
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021
B
SECTION

Breaking down Mississippi State baseball’s opening day roster

BY BEN PORTNOY
bportnoy@cdispatch.com
STARKVILLE —
Baseball season is upon
us.
After a year’s worth of
uncertainty and a season
that was stopped in its
tracks, Mississippi State
is scheduled to open its
season Saturday against
No. 9 Texas as part of the
State Farm College Base-
ball Showdown in Arling-
ton, Texas.
With a slew of return-
ers and a number of new
faces that should make an
immediate impact, MSU
has one of its most talent-
ed rosters in recent mem-
ory. That said, let’s dive
into who the Bulldogs will Dubrule has 194 starts
trot out on Opening Day. in 197 career games for
the Dolphins. Dubrule
Infield also ranks second nation-
If there are any ques- ally among active play-
ers with 249 career hits,
tion marks for the No.
7-ranked Bulldogs, it’s while his 770 at-bats, 197
games played and 138
in the infield. MSU must
replace first-round MLB runs scored stand sec-
ond, third and 15th in the
draft picks Justin Foscue
and Jordan Westburg at country.
At shortstop,
second base and short-
stop, respectively, in hard-swinging freshman
Kamren James is the
addition to the pop they
brought in the middle of most logical option to
slide into Westburg’s spot
the order the past three
years. after he spent the bulk
of last year’s COVID-19-
But for as big as the
holes are left by Fos- shortened campaign at
third base. James flashed
cue and Westburg, they
should be fillable. Jack- impressive range and
Jim Lytle/Dispatch file photo
athleticism on the corner Mississippi State’s Josh Hatcher slides head first into home plate to score a run
sonville graduate transfer
second baseman Scotty See MSU, 3B during the second inning against Wright State on Feb. 14, 2020 in Starkville.

Alabama’s Prep Baseball

stat sheet
filler Jones
New-look New Hope baseball ready to
helps lead get on field for 2021 season
renaissance
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Herb Jones was

draining 3-pointers —
three in all — during
the first half of Ala-
bama’s game against
Georgia.
For a sharp-shooting
team like the eighth-
ranked Crimson Tide,
that might not seem no-
table. Then again, Jones
made only one 3 all of
last season.
Jones is no longer
mostly just a rebounder
and defensive stopper,
like Alabama is no lon-
ger just a middle-of-the-
pack team in the South-
eastern Conference.
The mutual transfor-
mation is hardly coinci-
dental heading into Sat-
urday’s game against
Vanderbilt.
“I still go out and try
See ALABAMA, 3B

Tim Tebow
retires from
baseball
after five
years with
Mets
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tim Tebow is retir-
ing from baseball after
five years as a minor
leaguer with the New
York Mets.
The 2007 Heisman
Trophy winner returned
to baseball in 2016 for
the first time since
his junior year of high
school and reached Tri-
ple-A, encouraged by
then general manager
and current team presi-
dent Sandy Alderson.
Tebow played 77
games at baseball’s
highest minor league
level in 2019, batting
.163 with four home
runs. He finishes his ca-
reer with a .223 average
over 287 games.
“I want to thank the
Mets, Alderson, the
fans and all my team-
mates for the chance to
be a part of such a great
organization,” Tebow
said in a statement re-
leased by New York on
Wednesday. “I loved ev-
See TEBOW, 2B
The New Hope baseball team won the MHSAA Class 4A championship but played only eight games before the COVID-19 pandemic shut
down the Trojans’ 2020 season. Minus eight starters from last year, New Hope faces significant challenges in getting back to the top.
BY THEO DEROSA
tderosa@cdispatch.com
When the New Hope High
School baseball team took
the field Jan. 25 for its first
official practice of the year, it
was “rough,” senior Jeremiah
Jethroe said.
The Trojans had just re-
turned to school for the spring
semester, and none of them
had been on the field for quite
a while. Simply put, New Hope
was rusty.
But by a week later, Jethroe
said, the Trojans were back in
the swing of things.
“We’re just looking forward
to competing,” he said. “It was
tough at first, but we learned
how to work with it.”
To succeed in 2021, New
Hope will need more where
that came from. After losing
eight senior starters from last
season, the Trojans will be
adapting all season like they
did from their first week of
practice to their second.
“I feel like we’ve got some
talented kids and some kids
that can play, but we don’t
really have anybody with any
varsity experience,” New
Hope coach Lee Boyd said.
New Hope graduated Ryan
Burt, Presley Hall, Drew
Brown, Cole Ruffin, Hays
Lumsden, Cooper Odom, Stal-
lone Shelton, David Young
and Jacob Wilson from last
year’s team.
Senior Zac Butler and ju-
nior Gates Gerhart are per-
haps the only Trojans to re-
ceive any significant playing
time in 2020 who return this
spring. Butler started all eight
of New Hope’s games last year
before the COVID-19 pandem-
ic, playing catcher and desig-
nated hitter; Gates Gerhart
started four or five games in
center field.
This year, Butler will man
shortstop for the Trojans while
Gerhart again holds down
center. Junior Adam Adair is
likely to be New Hope’s start-
ing left fielder with Richard
Guy slotted into right for now.
Boyd said Jethroe and ju-
nior Brant Smith will compete
to start at first base, seniors
Andrew Chism and Logan
Winstead will battle it out at
second, junior Hunter Carr
will be the presumptive start-
ing catcher, and sophomore
Sam Malone will play third.
Jethroe said that the ongo-
ing position battles help mo-
tivate the Trojans to practice
and play well rather than get
complacent.
“With all those seniors
gone, really none of us can
sit back and say, ‘Oh, yeah, I
have a for sure starting spot,’”
Jethroe said. “We all know we
have to work for a starting
spot. Nothing’s guaranteed
for basically any of us.”
Butler, Gerhart, Smith and
Malone will begin the year as
the principal pitchers for New
Hope. Junior Dawson Lofton,
who threw around 15 innings
for the Trojans in 2020, is out
for roughly a month with an
arm injury. He hasn’t thrown
in more than a month and was
scheduled to begin a throw-
ing program this week before
it was delayed by inclement
weather.
“We just don’t have a whole
lot of proven guys,” Boyd said,
“but I feel like we’ve got some
guys who can play and com-
pete with them.”
New Hope was slated to be-
gin finding that out Tuesday
on the road at Starkville, but
the game was canceled be-
cause of the ice and snow that
blanketed fields across much
of the nation. Saturday’s game
at Gordo (Alabama) has also
been wiped out, meaning the
Trojans won’t get on the field
until Feb. 23 at East Webster
at the earliest.
New Hope hasn’t practiced
this week, either, a difficult
hurdle to clear in a sport that
Theo DeRosa/Dispatch file photo
depends so heavily on repe-
tition — particularly for the
Trojans’ hurlers.
“It’s been five days without
touching a baseball,” Boyd
said. “That’s going to be
tough for our pitching.”
This week’s winter storm is
just another setback for a team
that missed most of its 2020
season because of COVID-19
and played limited summer
baseball. Boyd said he’s used
to having his older, more ex-
perienced players pass on les-
sons to his younger ones, but
now, nearly everybody falls
into the latter group. While
he’s no stranger to roster over-
turn — it’s part of high school
baseball — 2021 brings more
than usual.
“This year, I’ll probably
have to do more teaching than
I have in the past eight or nine
years,” Boyd said.
Still, New Hope’s players
are excited to get back on the
field. Games against the Wol-
verines, Tuscaloosa (Ala.)
Northridge (April 3) and Tu-
pelo (April 26) highlight a
tough non-district schedule,
and a home-and-home series
with Caledonia March 2 and 4
is always significant.
“Those rival games, those
are what make high school
See NEW HOPE, 3B
2B THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

FDU going against the norm by adding sports, not axing them
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TEANECK, N.J. —
Brad Hurlbut took over as
athletic director at Fair-
leigh Dickinson in 2019,
planning to increase the
number of sports played
at the small Division I
school a short ride from
New York City.
In a little over two
years, Hurlbut has taken
his first step, announc-
ing last month that men’s
volleyball will be added
in 2021-22 and women’s
lacrosse would follow the
next year. The additions
will give private school in
northeast New Jersey 21
sports.
While that wasn’t un-
expected, the timing was.
The announcement oc-
curred as many schools
and universities have cut
sports programs as past
of the economic fallout
from the coronavirus pan-
demic.
The most recent data
from The National Stu-
dent Clearinghouse Re-
search Center shows a
4.4% decrease in under-
graduate enrollment this
fall over the year before.
Public, four-year uni-
versities are down 1.9%,
private, four-year univer-
sities are down 2.1% and
two-year colleges are
down 9.5%.
Sports has been hit
hard in many places.
Through Jan. 19, The
Associated Press found
some 285 NCAA and
NAIA athletic teams had
been eliminated because
of budget cuts or school
closures. Some of the
schools cutting programs
included Stanford, Clem-
son, Minnesota, Fresno
State, Iowa and Connecti-
cut.
Games and matches
have been held in mostly
empty arenas and sta-
diums, drastically re-
ducing ticket revenue.
Professional and college
leagues have had to deal
with daily COVID-19 test-
ing, postponements and
cancellations, the biggest
in college being the deci-
sion not to hold the mon-
ey-making NCCA basket-
ball tournaments a year
ago. It’s the lifeblood for
many schools.
Hurlbut says FDU
President Christopher
Capuano, a proponent of
sports expansion, gave
him an odd look when he
told him it was time to ex-
pand.
“He wanted to see the
economics behind it,”
Hurlbut said.
The spreadsheet
Capuano got was an
eye-opener. It suggest-
ed that adding sports
at a mid-major Division
I school would end up
adding hundreds of thou-
sands of dollars to the led-
ger in time.
Hurlbut said many
schools have been cutting
20% across the board in
all departments to bal-
ance the budget.
“That was an easy
way to make ends meet,”
he said. “We didn’t want
to do that. We wanted to
look at it from a different
lens and say: ’Hey, if we
use this formula, we’ll ac-
tually be able to be start-
ing to be revenue drivers
and help in the enrollment
process, which so many
schools like ours that are
out there need.”
Andrew Schwarz, a
sports economist with
the California-based firm
of OSKR, worked with
FDU — enrollment 8,944
at its four campuses — on
the expansion. He said
the concept is not new for
schools driven by enroll-
ment, provided they had
space in the classrooms
and dormitories for the
athletes. Many Division
III schools have employed
the concept to increase
tuition and room and
board revenue.
Schwarz said it will
work on the Division I lev-
el, where schools get ex-
tra money from the NCAA
for every sport they offer
over the minimum of 14.
In FDU’s case, they
explained, men’s volley-
ball doesn’t need a new
venue built because a
court already exists. The
expenses were basically
coach, staff and equip-
ment, much of which will
be offset by a $200,000
grant from First Point Vol-
leyball Foundation.
There are roughly 20
players on a team. The
Knights would be allowed
to give 4 1/2 scholarships.
The other 15 1/2 players
will pay for tuition, books,
room and board, if need-
ed, and whatever fees are
associated with attending
the school. The average
cost is roughly $50,000,
although the school re-
duced the cost $10,000
this year.
The exercise was sim-
ilar for women’s lacrosse.
It will give a maximum
of 12.6 scholarships for a
roster of about 40 players.
Again, more money in
than out.
Schwarz and Hurlbut
agreed schools that have
students pounding on
the door for admission
would not be good candi-
dates for adding sports.
But they say many other
schools could benefit.
“Once someone does
something, you know,
like once the Red Sox
won a World Series with
Moneyball, it caught on
a lot more than when the
A’s were doing it,” he said.
“The fact that we now
have a D-I school doing
this, maybe other schools
who were thinking about
dropping sports or going
Division III might try con-
vince their president we
would make more money
doing this.”
Economist Andrew
Zimbalist of Smith College
said having existing facili-
ties and nearby opponents
and being efficient will
help midsize schools add-
ing sports.
“I wouldn’t predict that
this is a revenue generator
but, by the same token, if
it’s only a small revenue
loss or financial loss, the
addition of these sports is
probably a good thing for
the student body,” Zimbal-
ist said.
David Carter, an asso-
ciate professor at South-
ern California’s Marshall
School of Business who
specializes in sports busi-
ness and strategic mar-
keting, said adding sports
will help a school maintain
or build its brand in the
current hard times. It also
might yield a fundraising
opportunity — if it lasts.
“Once you do some-
thing like this, you really
need to make sure that is
sustainable,” Carter said.
“There is nothing worse
than running something
up the flagpole with all the
benefits and all the acco-
lades, only to have to drag
it back down the flagpole in
a year or two where that ap-
pears to be a failed stunt.”
Some college and uni-
versities have reinstated
sports eliminated in earlier
cost-cutting moves. Some
did it to take a second look,
others because Title IX is-
sues were raised.
Dartmouth College
brought back five sports af-
ter being accused of not be-
ing in compliance with the
federal law that guarantees
equitable opportunities for
women in sports. The cuts
had been made to reduce a
projected $150 million defi-
cit. William & Mary gave
seven Division I sports cut
in September a reprieve
in November, pending a
gender equity review and
a search for a long-term
plan to keep them viable.
Lenny Kaplan, the ath-
letic director at the New
Jersey Institute of Technol-
ogy in Newark, said stu-
dent-athletes are a smart
way to fill classrooms. The
Highlanders, who joined
Division I in 2009, have
added 11 sports since Ka-
plan took over in 2000, the
most recent being wom-
en’s lacrosse in ‘15.
“Most people want the
scholarship at the end of
the day, but as they get old-
er, they realize playing in
college is a privilege,” he
said. “ So it’s like anything
else, if I thought I can
get more kids to NJIT by
starting esports, I would
start esports. I am all for
adding sports.”
Report: Hashimoto will
be offered job to head
Tokyo Olympics
The Tokyo Olympic
organizing committee is
about to get a new presi-
dent — and it looks like it
will be a woman.
According to a report
in Japan, the job will be
offered to 56-year-old
Olympic Minister Seiko
Hashimoto.
Hashimoto, who could
be named this week,
would replace Yoshiro
Mori, who was forced to
resign last week after he
made demeaning com-
ments about women. He
said, essentially, that wom-
en talk too much.
Japan’s Kyodo news
agency, citing a unnamed
person “familiar with
the matter,” said a selec-
tion committee will ask
Hashimoto to take the job.
The committee, headed
by 85-year-old Fujio Mita-
rai of the camera company
Canon, was scheduled to
meet again on Thursday.
Hashimoto won
a bronze medal in
speedskating at the 1992
Albertville Olympics. She
also competed in cycling
in the Summer Olympics.
Naming a woman
could be breakthrough
in Japan, where females
are under-represented in
boardrooms and in poli-
tics. Japan ranks 121st out
of 153 countries on the
World Economic Forum’s
annual gender equality
ranking.
Mori, a former Japa-
nese prime minister, of-
fered the job last week to
84-year-old Saburo Kawa-
buchi, a former head of
the country’s soccer fed-
eration. But reports of the
behind-closed-door deal
were widely criticized by
social media, on Japanese
talk shows, and in news-
paper reports.
Kawabuchi quickly
withdrew from further
consideration.
Two other former
Olympians were also re-
ported to have been in
the running: Yasuhiro
Yamashita, the president
of the Japanese Olym-
pic Committee who won
gold in judo in 1984, and
Mikako Kotani, who won
two bronze medals in syn-
chronized swimming at
the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Kotani is the sports
director for the Tokyo
Olympic organizing com-
mittee. That committee’s
leadership is dominated
by men, who make up 80%
of the executive board.
Hashimoto would in-
herit a tough job. Polls
show about 80% of Jap-
anese people want the
Olympics canceled or
postponed. They have re-
acted to the risks around
holding the Olympics
during a pandemic, and
the soaring costs. The of-
ficial cost is $15.4 billion,
but government audits
have suggested its more
than $25 billion.
Japan, which has con-
trolled the coronavirus
better than most devel-
oped countries, began
to roll out vaccines on
Wednesday. It is several
months behind Britain
and the United States.

MSU basketball games The Bulldogs’ contest weather continues to make

postponed again
STARKVILLE — The
winter storm continues to
throw a wrench in Missis-
sippi State’s schedule.
Two days after resched-
uling a contest against Au-
burn originally slated for
Tuesday to Thursday, Mis-
sissippi State men’s basket-
ball is dealing with another
postponement.
The Bulldogs’ Thursday
matchup with the Tigers
has been postponed to a
date yet to be determined.
After not having a post-
ponement or cancellation
all season for either weath-
er or COVID-19 related
reasons, MSU has now had
two schedule changes in
one week.
against rival Ole Miss Sat-
urday in Oxford is still on
as scheduled.
MSU sits at 11-11 overall
and 5-8 in SEC play.
Meanwhile, For the
third time in less than a
week, Mississippi State
women’s basketball has lost
another game on its sched-
ule.
MSU announced
Wednesday morning that
Thursday’s game against
Auburn has been post-
poned due to inclement
weather in the Starkville
area. No make up date has
been made at this time.
MSU previously had
games against Ole Miss
(Sunday) and No. 21 Ten-
nessee (Tuesday) post-
poned as severe winter
travel conditions difficult in
the state.
The Bulldogs have now
had nine games postponed
or canceled entirely this
season. Six games were
postponed or canceled due
to COVID-19-related issues
outside the MSU program,
while three have been re-
lated to the recent winter
storm surge in Mississippi
over the past week.
MSU has not played
since last Thursday’s loss
at No. 18 Arkansas. Should
the schedule hold, the
Bulldogs would next be in
action Saturday against Al-
abama in Tuscaloosa.
MSU is currently riding
a four-game losing streak
for the first time since 2012-
13.

Tebow
Continued from Page 1B
ery minute of the jour-
ney, but at this time I
feel called in other di-
rections.
“I never want to be
partially in on anything.
I always want to be 100%
in on whatever I choose.
Thank you again for
everyone’s support of
this awesome journey
in baseball, I’ll always
cherish my time.”
A lefty-hitting out-
fielder, the 33-year-old
was invited the major
league spring training
this season, taking one
of New York’s 75 spots
after Major League
Baseball limited spring
roster sizes as a corona-
virus precaution. Posi-
tion players aren’t slated
to report to the Mets’
spring complex in Port
St. Lucie, Florida, until
next week.
Over four big league
spring trainings, Te-
bow batted .151 in 34
games, connecting for
his first and only homer
last spring before camps
were closed.
“It has been a plea-
sure to have Tim in our
organization as he’s
been a consummate pro-
fessional during his four
years with the Mets,” Al-
derson said. “By reach-
ing the Triple-A level in
2019, he far exceeded
expectations when he
first entered the system
in 2016 and he should be
very proud of his accom-
plishments.”
Tebow’s baseball ca-
reer began with a bang
— he homered in his
first professional at-bat
during an instruction-
al league game against
the St. Louis Cardinals
in the fall of 2016. Later
that fall, he made head-
lines by comforting a
fan who had a seizure in
the front row of Tebow’s
Arizona Fall League de-
but.
The former NFL
quarterback was an
All-Star at Double-A in
2018, when he batted
.273 with six homers in
84 games. He struggled
the next year at Triple-A
and had his season cut
short by a laceration on
his left hand.
A transcendent quar-
terback at the University
of Florida for his talents
and outspoken Christian
faith, Tebow appeared in
35 NFL games between
2010 -12, winning a play-
off game with Denver
during the 2011 season.
He was released by the
Philadelphia Eagles
during the preseason
in 2015, the last time
he appeared on an NFL
roster.
He was hired by
ESPN as a college foot-
ball analyst in 2013 and
worked in broadcasting
throughout his time pur-
suing a chance to play
major league baseball.
“That would obvious-
ly be something that
would be special, and I
think another part of the
dream,” Tebow said last
spring. “Part of it’s just
playing every day and
enjoying it and compet-
ing, which I love. Ob-
viously, that would be
awesome. It would be a
lie if I said that wouldn’t
be super cool. ... But I
wouldn’t say it would be
a success or failure if
that did or did not hap-
pen.”

Alabama
Continued from Page 1B
to do my job on the de-
fensive end,” Jones said.
“I don’t too much worry
about the offense, real-
ly. I just try to get open
shots for my teammates
and create for my team-
mates. If it’s my time to
score, I take that oppor-
tunity and score.”
Even if that means
shooting the occasion-
al 3-pointer. Jones has
made 19 of 36 3s, a 52.8%
clip. He doesn’t have to
elaborate on the dramat-
ic improvement in that
regard.
“Everyone can see it,”
MSU
Continued from Page 1B
of the infield a year ago
and adds a similar power
profile to what Westburg
brought in the middle of
the lineup.
As for the rest of the
infield, first base will fall
on junior Josh Hatcher,
one of three fourth-year
juniors alongside Tanner
Allen and Rowdey Jordan
who, in a normal year,
would be off playing pro-
fessional ball.
Catcher could be a ro-
tation of sorts between
Logan Tanner and Luke
Hancock. Both players
saw action a season ago
and flash similar skill sets
at the plate.
Third base is perhaps
the biggest position battle
of any for MSU between
freshman Kellum Clarke
and sophomore Landon
Jordan. Jordan has been
a utility player through-
out his MSU career but
has an impressive feel at
New Hope
Continued from Page 1B
baseball so fun,” Jethroe
said.
New Hope has a good
chance at competing
in Region 2-5A, which
Jones said.
In his first three sea-
sons, he made 14 shots
from beyond the arc,
hitting on a paltry 22.9%
of his attempts. Last sea-
son, when he had elbow
and wrist injuries, Jones
was just 1 of 14.
He is averaging 11.9
points, easily a career
best, this season and
a team-leading 5.9 re-
bounds per game. The
6-foot-8, 210-pound se-
nior also is tops on the
team in assists, steals
and blocked shots.
He is coming off a ca-
the plate and could be a
candidate for a breakout
spring, if he’s afforded the
opportunity.
Clarke falls into a sim-
ilar category as Hatcher,
Allen and Rowdey Jordan.
Rated among the best
high school prospects
in the 2020 MLB draft,
Clarke instead decided to
go to college in a huge get
for head coach Chris Le-
monis and his staff.
Outfield
Though a few posi-
tions remain an ongoing
competition in the infield,
MSU’s outfield is gener-
ally settled. After transi-
tioning to the outfield a
season ago, Allen should
again stick in right field,
while Jordan will enter his
second year in the center
field spot vacated by MSU
legend Jake Mangum af-
ter the 2019 campaign.
comprises the Trojans,
Columbus, West Point,
and Grenada. But Boyd
knows it won’t be easy
for the team, which won
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
reer-best 21-point game One thing hasn’t
against the Bulldogs. changed: Jones’ defense.
John Petty Jr. gets “I think he’s the best
more attention as one of defensive player in the
the SEC’s top shooters. country,” Alabama guard
Jahvon Quinerly and Keon Ellis said. “He just
Josh Primo are former does so much. He can
five-star prospects and guard from 1 through 5s
Jaden Shackelford is Al- (positions).
abama’s leading scorer. “Just seeing that
But nobody on the alone, he sets the stan-
Tide’s best team in years dard for our defense.
fills up a stat sheet like He’s always talking. He
Jones. He has added knows what spot every-
scoring to his reper- one’s supposed to be in,
toire even while dealing and he’s always helping
with a lower back injury our guys. I think he just
that has limited practice motivates everyone to
time. play better on defense.”
Left field is the lone ing staff is loaded is al-
slot in the outfield that most an understatement.
should see much of a ro- Speaking with Starkville
tation. One-time junior Rotary Club on Tuesday,
college transfer Brandon Lemonis said as many as
Pimentel struggled to a 14-15 players on staff have
.183 average in 13 starts touched 95 miles per hour
a season ago but showed on the radar gun this off-
serious home run power season.
MSU’s starting staff
in the shortened season.
JUCO transfer Bray- should see some chang-
es in the midweek, but
land Skinner should also
the weekend staff stacks
see some time, whether
up with the best of them
that’s spelling Jordan in
center or as a starter in nationally. Sophomore
Christian MacLeod daz-
right. Skinner was a late
zled onlookers with a 0.86
addition from Northwest
ERA in 21 innings pitched
Mississippi Communi-
a season ago. Now back
ty College who Lemonis
for another year, Ma-
said was initially signed
cLeod should anchor the
to replace Jordan in cen-
staff as the Bulldogs’ Fri-
ter had he gone off to pro
day starter — a spot va-
ball. With both back in
cated by MLB draft pick
the fold, Skinner gives JT Ginn.
MSU an interesting de- Also in the weekend
fensive utility piece. rotation will be sopho-
more Eric Cerantola and
Pitching Will Bednar. Cerantola
To say MSU’s pitch- has spent the bulk of his
the MHSA A Class 4A experienced roster. He
championship in 2019 said that while it might
before moving up to sound like coachspeak,
Class 5A, to get back to he just wants the Tro-
the top level with its in- jans to play as hard as
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021
After coach Nate Oats
had just taken over the
program, a staffer sug-
gested Jones as an option
for much-needed point
guard depth. Based on
his limited film study at
the time, Oats was skep-
tical.
“His defense is un-
believable, but how he’s
playing this year?” he
said. “No, I didn’t see
that before I got here.
Now once we started
practicing that summer,
then I could start to see
it a little bit. I thought
he was going to be dyna-
MSU career on a steady
trajectory. Struggling
with command as a fresh-
man, he improved on
his location and showed
top-level stuff before last
season came to a close.
Scouts have told Lemonis
that Cerantola’s spin rate
is the highest in college
baseball, and should he
be able to control his off-
speed pitches while back-
ing it up with a fastball
that can reach 97 miles
per hour, he’ll be as good
as any starter in America.
Bednar arrived at
MSU as a possible week-
end guy and proved it in
a short stint. The Penn-
sylvania native boasted a
nearly 4-to-1 strikeout to
walk ratio in four appear-
ances last season and is
the most likely candidate
to be MSU’s Sunday start-
er.
Other possible start-
ers this season could in-
they can.
Jethroe promised
the same for when New
Hope returns to the
field.
3B
mite, like an all-league
player. Then he just
couldn’t stay healthy his
junior year.”
The left-hander in-
jured his left elbow in the
season opener. Then he
fractured his left wrist,
missing three games
and playing the rest of
the season in a cast.
Upon his return,
Jones played only seven
minutes against Auburn
as a defensive special-
ist, but his impact per-
suaded Oats to play him
more even essentially
one-handed.
clude freshman Landon
Sims — who Lemonis has
called the team’s X-factor
on multiple occasions this
offseason — seventh-year
senior Carlisle Koestler
and former Itawamba
Community College start-
er Houston Harding.
In the bullpen, MSU
has an embarrassment of
riches, including sixth-
year senior Spencer
Price, senior Riley Self
and sophomore Brandon
Smith. Sims should also
see action as a long reliev-
er.
Other names to know
include Jaxen Forester,
Jared Shemper and Chase
Patrick, all of whom saw
significant time out of the
pen last spring. Fresh-
men Jackson Fristoe and
Mikey Tepper should also
see some innings as well.
“We’re going to work
our absolute hardest to
be the best team we can
be,” he said.
4B THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021
La Russa feels fortunate for chance to manage White Sox
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO — Tony La
Russa feels fortunate.
The Chicago White
Sox gave the Hall of Famer
the opportunity to manage
again despite a lengthy
absence from the dugout
and stuck with him when
news of a drunken driving
arrest broke shortly after
his hiring.
At that point, he knew.
There was no way he was
stepping down.
“Once they knew and
they wanted to keep me,
then I haven’t had the first
thought that I shouldn’t
back off,” he said Wednes-
day.
La Russa is locked in
now, with spring training
under way. He is trying
Comics & Puzzles
DILBERT
ZITS
GARFIELD
CANDORVILLE
BABY BLUES
BEETLE BAILEY
MALLARD FILLMORE
to push the White Sox to-
ward a championship and
add another ring to the
one he earned with Oak-
land and two in St. Louis.
At 76, he is the oldest
manager in the majors.
He hasn’t filled out a line-
up card since he managed
the Cardinals to a World
Series championship in
2011.
The White Sox turned
a few heads when they
hired him for a second
go-around in October, 34
years after they fired him.
And that was before his ar-
rest became public knowl-
edge.
La Russa was charged
with misdemeanor drunk-
en driving in Arizona
last February after din-
ing with friends from the
FAMILY CIRCUS
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
Los Angeles Angels. The
charges were filed Oct. 28,
a day before the White Sox
hired him.
La Russa alerted chair-
man Jerry Reinsdorf about
the case when the team
started interviewing him
in October and talked to
general manager Rick
Hahn and executive vice
president Ken Williams
about it “once they found
out.” Hahn would not say
when, exactly, he became
aware.
“I’m sure Jerry must
have told Rick and Ken-
ny,” La Russa said. “It was
back in February. I let him
know. He and they decid-
ed to stay with me.”
The arrest became
public in November when
ESPN reported it and the
White Sox said they were
aware of the case when
they hired him. La Russa
pleaded guilty to reckless
driving in Maricopa Coun-
ty Justice Court and was
sentenced to one day of
home detention, a fine of
nearly $1,400 and 20 hours
of community service.
La Russa also pleaded
guilty to driving under
the influence in Florida
in 2007 after police found
him asleep inside his run-
ning SUV at a stop light
and smelling of alcohol.
La Russa said he had
“already been beating
myself up” following his
arrest in Arizona before it
was reported.
“Once it became public
so soon after getting the
job, then you understand
Dear Abby
D
EAR ABBY:
My hus-
band is an
amazing guy. We
have a very nice
life except for an
older sort-of fam-
ily member who
is living with us.
“Nathan” has
been living in the
house for years,
but he isn’t a
blood relative.
He’s my hus-
band’s late step-
father’s brother. Dear Abby
Nathan is a
several-times-di-
vorced curmudgeon who
was living in a shed. He was
allowed to stay here to get on
his feet and, partially, out of
respect for the stepfather.
Nathan refuses to help
out in any way. He comes
and goes as he pleases and
is living rent-free. We pay the
mortgage and all the bills. Na-
than buys food and stuff for
himself, but then will eat the
household food my mother-in-
law buys.
I’m tired of the garbage
he makes. He smokes in his
room, and he’s nasty, rude
and demanding. He needs
Horoscopes
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Feb.
18). The more you give, the
more people expect of you -- a
cycle you alternately celebrate
and interrupt this year. You’ll
love lavishing someone with
attention and care; it fulfills you!
Then it’s your turn to accept
heaps of love, which is not as
comfortable for you, but you
will get plenty of practice and
soon be used to it. Libra and
Sagittarius adore you. Your
lucky numbers are: 6, 10, 4, 44
and 18.
ARIES (March 21-April 19).
Since body language accounts
for the majority of all communi-
cation, it only makes sense to
prioritize physical education and
to learn and experiment with
movement in the same way you
grow and update vocabulary.
the negative effects poten-
tially on fans, my family,
friends,” he said. “That’s
torture. I don’t enjoy tor-
ture.”
But now he’s back in his
element, leading a team
with soaring expectations
coming off a breakout sea-
son.
Hahn said working
with La Russa the past few
months has him even more
excited. And he wasn’t in-
terested in discussing the
arrest and when he found
out in the hiring process.
“My focus is not on re-
hashing something that
happened four or five
months ago,” Hahn said.
“It’s about the excitement
we feel as we get ready
to try to win a champion-
ship.”
to move out or
pay up, but my
husband doesn’t
want to do any-
thing. Advice?
— UNHAPPY AT
HOME
DEAR
UNHAPPY: Just
this. Realize
that nothing will
change until your
husband is final-
ly willing to put
his foot down
and insist on
some changes,
or the freeload-
er leaves this
earthly plane for the next. I
would have used the phrase
“goes to heaven,” but it
appears Nathan is already ex-
periencing heaven right here
on Earth, so do not expect
him to move on his own.
DEAR ABBY: My 82-year-
old mother made a special
request of her visiting rela-
tives on Christmas Day. She
asked everyone to hand over
their cellphones for the entire
celebration upon entering or
“don’t come.” She said she
would return them as we left.
Certain family mem-
bers had major meltdowns
TAURUS (April 20-May 20).
You can and will get over a fear.
You will prevail because you’re
willing to put in the time, make
the mistakes and ride with the
ups and downs of an awkward
process.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21).
Resistance takes many forms.
It can come on as tiredness or
arrogance, anxiety or apathy.
Recognize its basis in fear and
decide to be brave and move
through it, not letting it stop you
from what you want.
CANCER (June 22-July 22).
You have a talent for acknowl-
edging the traits of others
without judging them, and this
makes you an extremely desir-
able friend to have. The real
progress comes when you point
the same nonjudgmental spirit
The White Sox made
the playoffs last year for
the first time since 2008.
They tied Cleveland for
second place in the AL
Central behind Minne-
sota at 35-25 and ended
a string of seven losing
seasons.
The White Sox added
workhorse starter Lance
Lynn and star closer Liam
Hendriks to a team that
already included AL MVP
José Abreu, 2019 batting
champion Tim Anderson
and ace Lucas Giolito.
They have their sights set
on their first World Series
title since the 2005 team
ended a drought dating to
1917. And they’re banking
on La Russa to show he
still has the touch to push
a team to the top.
because of her request. My
mother, as always, provided
hors d’oeuvres, dinner and
gifts for all 23 people. Do you
think this was a fair request?
— NOT A BIG DEAL
DEAR NOT: Your mother
wanted to encourage more
than superficial communi-
cation. As she indicated, if
anyone felt her request was
too much of an imposition,
they were free to refuse her
invitation. The oldest rule
of entertaining is: The host
makes the rules. Of course it
was a fair request!
Dear Abby is written
by Abigail Van Buren, also
known as Jeanne Phillips, and
was founded by her mother,
Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear
Abby at www.DearAbby.com or
P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles,
CA 90069.
Good advice for everyone
— teens to seniors — is in
“The Anger in All of Us and
How to Deal With It.” To order,
send your name and mailing
address, plus check or money
order for $8 (U.S. funds) to:
Dear Abby, Anger Booklet,
P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris,
IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and
handling are included in the
price.)
inwardly.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You
may start with the intention of
being cool and laissez-faire, but,
of course, once you see an op-
portunity to guide the situation
in a direction you deem best
for all you can’t help but invest,
care and be very much in the
mess of it.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22).
If you needed permission to be
keenly aware of the best within
you and even to celebrate it
openly, cut out this horoscope,
sign it and give it to yourself
while boarding the bus of
self-appreciation.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23).
Your main contract is with
yourself. It plays out with other
people, and you wouldn’t be
able to learn without them. But
at the end of the day, and for
every hour within, you’re the one
you get to live.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21).
Small events happen throughout
the day, moving your mood up
and down the scale of 1-10;
it’s a crude measurement to
be sure, but you need art, not
math, to account for the colors
and depths.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-
Dec. 21). Here comes a wave
of accelerated growth in your
area of recent concentration.
Because a focus is so natural
and instinctive for you, you don’t
even consider this a learning
progress, and it’s free of grow-
ing pains.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan.
19). True, you favor certain
people and relationships. And
if the value of a relationship
were strictly calculated on the
improvements reflected in you
because you participated, it
would be an entirely different
list.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.
18). You are compelled to
expand your horizons. It’s not
done by singing optimistic songs
whilst dancing toward the sun.
Go toward the sun, but stay
aware and curious about the
unshakeable shadow that walks
with you.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March
20). You’re trying to keep it
easy breezy and what happens?
Someone comes at you with an
intensity that slows the process
but also grounds it in some
realities that need to be dealt
with sooner or later.
Cry your eyes out
SOLUTION:
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021 5B

Business
Biden’s $15 wage proposal: Job killer or a boon for workers?
Facing resistance in Congress, President Biden has ilies, their communities,
and local businesses.’’
Classical economists had
standard advice on impos-
minimum wage without
killing large numbers of
acknowledged that he will likely have to omit the measure Yet just this month,
the nonpartisan Congres-
ing or raising minimum
wages: Don’t. Piling high-
jobs.
Assessing Biden’s $15
from the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 financial relief package sional Budget Office es-
timated that raising the
er labor costs on employ-
ers, the thinking went,
plan, for instance, econ-
omists at Morgan Stan-
BY PAUL WISEMAN shall worries that a $15 minimum wage hikes for minimum wage to $15 by would force them to cut ley have concluded that
AP Economics Writer minimum wage would years. 2025 end 1.4 million jobs jobs and end up hurting “the impact to employ-
drive up her labor costs The administration as employers cut payrolls the very low-wage work- ment, positive or nega-
WASHINGTON — and perhaps force her has cast its campaign to to make up for higher la- ers the minimum wage
President Joe Biden’s ef- tive, would be minimal,
to close her 2-year-old raise the minimum as a bor costs. was intended to help.
fort to raise the federal while the social benefits
restaurant, already under way to lift up millions of The fate of Biden’s But groundbreaking
minimum wage to $15 strain from the viral pan- the working poor, reduce minimum wage proposal to lifting real wages of
research in the 1990s sug-
an hour could provide a demic. America’s vast financial remains hazy. Facing re- gested that the Econ 101 lower-income earners and
welcome opportunity for Between Cardona’s inequality and help boost sistance in Congress, the version was simplistic at millions out of poverty are
someone like Cristian hope and Marshall’s fear the economy. president has acknowl- best. Now there is grow- substantial.’’
Cardona, a 21-year-old lies a roiling public de- “No American should edged that he will likely ing confidence among Congress hasn’t raised
fast food worker. Car- bate, one with enormous work full time and live in have to omit the measure economists — though far the minimum wage for
dona would love to earn consequences for Amer- poverty,” said Rosemary from the $1.9 trillion from a consensus — that more than 11 years — the
enough to afford to move ican workers and busi- Boeglin, a White House COVID-19 financial relief lawmakers can mandate longest gap between in-
out of his parents’ house nesses. Will the Biden spokeswoman. “Research package he is proposing sharp increases in the creases.
in Orlando, Florida, and administration succeed in has shown that raising and re-introduce it later
maybe scrape together enacting a much higher the minimum wage re- as a separate bill.
money for college. federal minimum wage — duces poverty and has For years, there was
More than 1,000 miles and should it? Economists positive economic bene- almost no debate at all
away in Detroit, Nya Mar- have argued the merits of fits for workers, their fam- about a minimum wage.

Black franchise owner sues McDonald’s, cites persistent bias

BY MARK GILLISPIE
The Associated Press
CLEVELAND — The Black
owner of 14 McDonald’s franchis-
es says the company has shown
more favorable treatment to white
owners and denied him the oppor-
tunity to buy restaurants in more
affluent communities, according to
a civil rights lawsuit filed Tuesday
in federal court in Youngstown.
The lawsuit filed by Herbert
Washington, a former Michigan
State University track star who
played for parts of two seasons
with the Oakland Athletics in the
mid-1970s, said the Chicago-based
company’s discriminatory practic-
es has led to a $700,000 sales gap
between Black-owned franchises
and those owned by white people.
Franchises in low-income neigh-
borhoods cost more to operate,
have higher employee turnover
and are not as profitable, the law-
suit said.
“By relegating Black owners to
the oldest stores in the toughest
neighborhoods, McDonald’s en-
sured that Black franchisees would
never achieve the levels of success
that White franchisees could ex-
pect,” the lawsuit said. “Black
franchisees must spend more to
operate their stores while White
franchisees get to realize the full
benefit of their labors.”
More than 50 former Black Mc-
Donald’s franchise owners made
similar claims to Washington’s in
a lawsuit filed against the compa-
ny in September, saying they were
forced to sell around 200 stores in
the last decade.
During a video news conference
on Tuesday, Washington said he
had been fighting a two-tiered sys-
tem since he bought his first fran-
chise in Rochester, New York, 40
years ago. Washington at one point
owned 27 restaurants and said he
was forced by McDonald’s to sell
seven stores over the last several
years to white owners.
He now owns 12 restaurants in
northeast Ohio and two in Pennsyl-
vania. He blames his advocacy on
behalf of Black McDonald’s owners
for his troubles with the company.
“McDonald’s has targeted me
for extinction,” Washington said.
“The arches are in full-scale retali-
ation mode against me.”

BUILDING PERMITS
City of Columbus
Feb. 1-12, 2021
■ Daniel Willis; 416 14th
Street North; reroof residence;
Karen Willis
■ Dismukes Development
Group LLC; 202 Springdale
Drive; add carport, reroof, wid-
en drive; Dismuke Construction
Co.
■ S D Williams, 1013 Moss
Street; tin roof, add bathroom,
drywall; same
■ Rodabough Properties LLC;
417 & 419 1st Street South;
remodel two duplexes; Thomas
M Hatcher
Street North; repair roof dam-
age; same
■ Gayle C Guynup et al; 124
5th Street South; sign for Little
Magnolia Co; Chaney Fair
■ Gayle C Guynup et al; 126
5th Street South; sign for Co-
balt’s Boutique; Jordyn Gill
■ Edward Harris; 1711 8th Ave-
nue North; electrical; same
■ Gretta Gardner; 1214 4th
Street South; electrical; Larry
Bouldes
■ Dismukes Development
Group LLC; 202 Springdale
Drive; electrical; Larry Bouldes
■ S D Williams; 1013 Moss
Street; electrical; same
Drive; electrical; Mississippi chase Drive; plumbing; same
Solar LLC ■ Lee & Ora McCaskill; 2104
■ Truelove Rentals LLC; 429 Shannon Avenue; plumbing;
Wilkins-Wise Road; electrical; William Bird
Weldon Electric ■ East Systems Inc; 41 Fab-
■ George Hazard; 917 3rd
ritek Drive; plumbing; Ralph
Avenue South; mechanical;
Shaw Plumbing
Brislin Inc.
■ Judy Livingston; 323 Hospi-
tal Drive; Mechanical; Brislin LOCAL GAS PRICES
Inc. Source: gasbuddy.com
■ Richard Moody Jr; 614 8th
Street South; mechanical; LOWNDES COUNTY
2.19
Weathers Air Conditioning Inc
■ Edward Harris; 1711 8th Ave-
SPIRIT
97 Alabama St.
nue North; plumbing; same
■ Emmitt J Ellis; 803 18th
Street North; plumbing; Ralph 2.19 SPRINT MART
111 Lehmberg Rd.

■ Daniel Willis; 422 14th
Street North; repair roof dam-
age; Karen Willis
■ David & Laura Prestwich;
919 11th Street North; electri-
cal; Weathers Electric
Shaw Plumbing
■ Richard L Moore; 915 18th
Street North; plumbing; Ralph
2.21 SHELL2021 Military Rd.

2.23 KROGER
■ Richard Moody Jr; 614 8th ■ Pettys Rental House LLC; Shaw Plumbing
Street South; repair joist and 615 15th Street South; electri- ■ S D Williams; 1013 Moss 1829 US-45 N

move door 3 feet; same
■ Robert D Bentil; 503 11th
Street North; rebuild front
cal; Beavers Electric
■ Federal National Mortgage
Association; 1001 Clardy Drive;
Street; plumbing; same
■ Jones & Daughters Enterpris-
es LLC; 820 13th Street North;
2.23 CHEVRON
106 Idlewild Rd.

2.37 TEXACO
porch floor, drywall; same electrical; Weldon Electric plumbing; Tabor Plumbing
■ Edwards & Gwenda Harris; ■ Billy & Marian Jackson; 225 ■ Dutch Medical Leasing LLC; 9766 Wolfe Rd.

1711 8th Avenue North; new Eastwood Drive; electrical; 56 Dutch Lane; plumbing;
Note: Starkville gas prices
single-family residence; same Guerry Electric LLC Browning Plumbing were unavailable at press time.
■ Richard Moody Jr; 219 20th ■ Terri Cole; 180 Ponderosa ■ James Bigelow; 157 Steeple-
Classifieds
Ads appear in The Commercial Dispatch,
The Starkville Dispatch and Online
To place ads starting at only $12,
call 662-328-2424 or visit ads.cdispatch.com
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021 n 6B

Mobile Homes for Rent Sporting Goods General Help Wanted

Employment 3BR/2BA MH in New Hope. ED SANDERS GUNSMITH

Call us: 662-328-2424
General Help Wanted
GROUND MAINTENANCE
LABORER Job opening in
Columbus & Dennis, MS
and Pickensville, AL, for
Grounds Maintenance
Laborer, to work on Tenn-
Tom Waterway Project. This
position will be respons-
$650 dep + $650/mo. Open for season!
No pets, quiet area. Leave Tue−Fri: 9−5 & Sat: 9−12
voicemail with full name & Over 50 years experience!
message, 205−712−6697. Repairs, cleaning, refin−
ishing, scopes mounted &
RENT A CAMPER! zeroed, handmade knives.
CHEAPER THAN A MOTEL! Located: Hwy 45 Alt, North
Utilities & cable included, of West Point, turn right on
from $145/wk − $535/mo Yokahama Blvd, 8mi & turn
Columbus & County School left on Darracott Rd, will
locations. 662−242−3803 see sign, 2.5mi ahead
or 601−940−1397. shop on left.
662−494−6218.

Real Estate
ible for the cleaning of facil-
ities, maintaining parks,
picnic grounds, play-
grounds & wildlife areas.
Vehicles
Must be 18 years or older, Ads starting at $25 Ads starting at $12
Sudoku
pass drug screen, & have YESTERDAY’S ANSWER
valid driver's license with a Farms & Timberland
good driving record. EOE. Trailers & Heavy Equipment
Send resume’ or apply @
following: 203 ACRES 6’X10’ TRAILER, w/ gate, Sudoku
Sudoku is a number-
placing puzzle based on
Yesterday’s answer
Columbus or Pickensville: PRIME TIMBERLAND Dovetail, new, w/ spare.
Sudoku
a 9x9 gridis witha several
num- 4 1 8 9 2 6 3 5 7
R & D Maintenance Ser- $270,000 $1,100. West Point.
vices, Inc. ber-placing
given numbers.puzzleThe object 5 6 9 8 3 7 2 1 4

2021 Conceptis Puzzles, Dist. by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

Exc deer, turkey hunting 662−494−6999.
3600 W Plymouth Rd Good Investment based onthe
is to place a 9x9
numbers 3 2 7 5 1 4 6 8 9
Columbus, MS 39701 (615)719−8329 grid
1 to 9with
in theseveral
empty spaces 1 9 6 3 5 8 7 4 2
Community
Dennis: given
R & D Maintenance Ser- so thatnumbers.
each row, eachThe 7 5 2 6 4 1 8 9 3
vices, Inc. Houses For Sale: New Hope object
column and each 3x3 the
is to place box
numbers 8 3 4 7 9 2 5 6 1
53 Lock & Dam Road
Ads starting at $12 contains the1same to 9 number
in
6 7 1 4 8 3 9 2 5
Dennis, MS 38838 Storage House converted the empty spaces so
into a small house. only once. The difficulty 9 4 3 2 6 5 1 7 8
that each row, each
LEGAL SECRETARY needed Plumbing and Electrical Pets level increases from
column and each 2 8 5 1 7 9 4 3 6
for local firm. Must be able already installed. Monday
to work dual screen
Small kitchenette and ABCA Registered Border 3x3 boxtocontains
Sunday. Difficulty Level 2/17

computer. Mail resume

with references to:
Blind Box 679 c/o The
Commercial Dispatch
PO Box 511
Columbus MS 39703
THE COMMERCIAL
DISPATCH seeks a motiv-
ated, contracted carrier for
the Caledonia area. Excel-
lent opportunity to earn
money for college. Must
have good transportation,
valid driver's license & in-
surance. Delivers on
Sunday morning and Mon-
Fri afternoons. Apply at The
Commercial Dispatch, 516
Main Street in Columbus.
No phone calls please.
Rentals
Ads starting at $25
Apts For Rent: North
bathroom. $6,000. Collie Puppies $400.00 the same number only once. The difficulty level
678−368−0631
205−399−1542 increases from Monday to Sunday.
Lots & Acreage
www.brownvalleyfarm.com
Boxer/Lab Puppies
1.75 ACRE LOTS: Good/
Bad Credit Options. Good 2 males and 2 females
credit as low as 20% down, $400. 662−361−4081
$499/mo. Eaton Land,
662−361−7711.
REGISTERED DACHSHUND
puppies for sale.
Restricted residential lot, Ready to go now!
very nice, over 3 acres with Call 205−596−3264.
some trees. Callaway
Estates off Taylor Thurston
Road. $35,000. Call Long Five Questions:
Place an ad safely
& Long, 662−386−2023.
1 “Guardians
from home with
of the Galaxy”
Looking for a new home? the Classifieds.
Let us help, shop here.
2 Donkeys

2−3BR/1BA DUPLEX,
Merchandise 3 Supergirl
Apt B, newly renovated with
bonus room. HUD
Ads starting at $12

4 Scarlett
accepted. 662−425−6954.
Burial Plots

Johansson
802 17TH ST. N.
2 bed/ 1 bath, all electric, 4 PLOTS @ FRIENDSHIP
ceramic tiled bath, carpet, CEMETERY: Lot #78,

ads.cdispatch.com
appliances. $475/Mth. grave spaces 1, 2, 3 & 4.
Credit check. Call Long & Will sell separately.

5 French
Long @ 662−328−0770. Call for more info,
870−265−1533.
Apts For Rent: West

VIP
Rentals
Apartments & Houses
1 Bedrooms
2 Bedroooms ACROSS
3 Bedrooms 1 Singer Tori
Furnished & Unfurnished 5 Cowboy wear
10 Had supper
1, 2, & 3 Baths 12 Ibis’s cousin
Lease, Deposit 13 Dull finish
& Credit Check 14 San Antonio
viceinvestments.com mission
327-8555 15 “— Believer”
16 Delivery
Apts For Rent: Other company
18 Generous
patron
20 Brewpub
order
21 Bear in the air
23 Brick carrier
24 Parental calf 19 Bit or word-
warning 45 Shoulder play
26 New Mexico muscles 22 Not nude
resort 46 Ties the knot 24 Regret
28 Agent, for DOWN 25 Best
short 1 Let on 27 Nile slitherer
29 Topers 2 Marlins’ home 28 Traveled the
31 Gifted 3 Available river
32 Polaris’s 4 Filming 30 Exalted verse
place location 33 Pitcher
36 Pinball ma- 5 Spiced drink Satchel
chine part 6 Beatles movie 34 Spanish hero
39 Copying 7 Plains Indian 35 Insurance
COLEMAN 40 Oscar winner
Marisa
8 Big citrus fruits
9 Was a noisy
figures
37 Mosquito, e.g.
RENTALS
TOWNHOUSES & APARTMENTS 41 Boot out sleeper 38 Baked buys

Service Directory
43 Wipe off 11 Dry areas 42 Oath
1 BEDROOM
44 Motherless 17 Day pts.
2 BEDROOMS
3 BEDROOMS
LEASE,
© The Dispatch

DEPOSIT Promote your small business starting at only $25

AND
General Services General Services
CREDIT CHECK General Services Lawn Care / Landscaping

662-329-2323
A & T TREE SERVICES
Bucket truck & stump
removal. Free est.
2411 HWY 45 N Serving Columbus
since 1987. Senior
COLUMBUS, MS citizen disc. Call Alvin @
242−0324/241−4447
Houses For Rent: North "We’ll go out on a limb for
you!"
COLONIAL TOWNHOUSES.
2 & 3 bedroom w/ 2−3 GRAVEL, $360 PER LOAD.
bath townhouses. $650 to Local delivery, 14 yd truck.
$750. 662−549−9555. Backhoe & Dozer work.
Ask for Glenn or text. Mobile Home Pads &
Driveways. Concrete work.
662−497−1388
Read local. Got leaky pipes?
cdispatch.com Find a plumber in the
classifieds.
HANDYMAN−CERTIFIED IN
MAINTENANCE
Electrical, woodwork,
plumbing, decks, roofing,
drywall, painting, concrete,
yard work, hauling, moving.
All credit cards accepted.
Payment plans. Will trade
for almost anything.
662−386−3658.
WORK WANTED: Licensed
& Bonded. Carpentry, minor
electrical, minor plumbing,
insulation, painting, demo−
lition, gutters cleaned,
pressure washing, land−
scaping, cleanup work.
662−242−3608.
ads.cdispatch.com
BANKRUPTCY JESSE & BEVERLY’S
LAWN SERVICE
CHAPTER 7 Fall Cleanup, Tree Cutting,
BANKRUPTCY Landscaping, Sodding &
$545 plus Filing Fee Bush Hogging
662−356−6525
CHAPTER 13
BANKRUPTCY Painting & Papering
All Attorney Fees Through The Plan
QUALITY PAINTING
Jim Arnold, Attorney Ext/Int Painting
662-324-1666 Sheet Rock Hang, Finish &
104 South Lafayette Street, Starkville Repair. Pressure Washing.
Free Estimates. Ask for
Please visit our website: specials! Larry Webber,
jimharnold.com
662−242−4932.
Saturday morning appointments
available for Starkville Office.
SULLIVAN’S PAINT
SERVICE
Are you a painter? Special Prices.
Interior & Exterior Painting.
Advertise here! 662−435−6528