Tuesday, November 7, 2017   
 
Changing hearts and minds for better water management
Showing producers firsthand that research aimed at using less water from the Delta alluvial aquifer is sound -- and can save money and reduce pollution -- has "helped change hearts and minds," says Andy Whittington, environmental coordinator for the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation at Jackson. The transition was not without some skepticism on the part of producers, he said at the annual meeting of the Mississippi Agricultural Economics Association, focusing on water resource management in the Delta. Getting the conversation moving, Whittington says, was a closer look at the irrigation well permitting system in the Delta and a challenge issued by Dr. Jason Krutz, then MSU irrigation specialist at the Delta Research and Extension Center at Stoneville, now director of the Mississippi Water Resources Research Institute, also at Stoneville.
 
Oktibbeha County hospital: 6 things to know about the vote
Oktibbeha County residents will vote Tuesday for or against selling their community hospital, one of just 25 public, county-owned hospitals in the state. The vote follows a year of contention over the decision, fueled by social media and involving "half-truths and personal attacks," said Oktibbeha County Supervisor Bricklee Miller. Miller, a rookie politician in her first term, took on the issue, becoming one of the main spokespersons behind selling OCH Regional Medical Center, which she claims needs upgrades and is on the verge of financial collapse. Officials dispute this finding.
 
Mystery money, Facebook rumors and the campaign to sell Oktibbeha hospital
On a recent Wednesday night, Bricklee Miller sat in her car outside a Walgreen's. Just two lamps illuminated the parking lot, casting her face half in yellow light, half in shadow. Minutes earlier Miller had left a local debate on the upcoming vote on selling the county's only hospital, OCH Regional Medical Center. In her year-plus as a county supervisor, Miller has earned a reputation as the sale's biggest proponent. Plenty of Oktibbeha residents oppose the sale, however, and that night the forum had been full of them. Now, as Miller pulled documents from a torn manila envelope -- evidence, she said, that the hospital was hemorrhaging far more money than its leadership would admit -- her voice remained steady. But she was rattled.
 
Aldermen to consider $7.5 million capital improvement project
Aldermen will consider a $7.5 million bond issue on Tuesday to fund a four-year infrastructure program to address road, drainage, sidewalk and other needs throughout the city. City Engineer Edward Kemp presented the plan, which he said has been in the works for about three months, during Friday's work session in City Hall. Much of the funding, Kemp said, will be dedicated to street overlay projects. The proposed program calls for $1 million in street overlay work for year, or $4 million through the life of the project. That accounts for 56 percent of the projected spending. Street overlay projects are split into five priority levels, with priority 1 level projects being those needing the most immediate work, and priority 5 being those that can wait the longest.
 
State revenue collections slow in October
State revenue collections, which were on an uptick for the first three months of the current fiscal year, slowed for the month October. Revenue collections for October, which begins the second quarter of the fiscal year, are $15.7 million or 3.14 percent below the official estimate. For the first four months of the fiscal year, collections are $4.46 million or .26 percent above the estimate, according to the latest revenue report released Monday by the staff of the Legislative Budget Committee. The state's financial experts are projecting less revenue for the current year than was collected during the previous year.
 
Three legislative seats up for grabs on Election Day
Mississippians in three districts will choose new legislators Tuesday for two seats in the House of Representatives and one seat in the Senate. Three candidates are vying for the House District 38 seat, left vacant by Rep. Tyrone Ellis, D-Starkville, who retired earlier this year. Oktibbeha County residents Narissa Bradford, Cheikh Taylor and Lisa Wynn are running for the seat. Though Mississippi law dictates that special legislative election candidates run without partisan labels, all three candidates have said they would caucus with Democrats in the House.
 
Mayor George Flaggs Jr. considering run for Lieutenant Governor
Mayor George Flaggs Jr. may be considering a return to the state capital; this time as lieutenant governor. Flaggs, who retired in 2012 to run for Vicksburg mayor after serving 25 years as the state representative for District 55, said Monday on the Paul Gallo radio show he would make a decision in six months whether to seek the seat held currently by Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves. Vicksburg native Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, has indicated he will run for lieutenant governor. "There's some people who have asked me to explore the option, and I told them that I would for the next six months," Flaggs said late Monday after a meeting of the Board of Mayor and Alderman. Flaggs said he will pray about it and talk to his family, adding he has to determine whether he can win the statewide election and raise $2 million to finance a potential campaign.
 
Mississippi: Will Wicker win again?
Mississippi could be the site of a knock-down-drag-out Republican Primary in 2018 if state Sen. Chris McDaniel (R) decides to challenge incumbent US Sen. Roger Wicker next June. Wicker is an influential lawmaker. But Wicker's role as a prominent member of the Senate's Republican establishment is a mixed blessing. In a time when many voters, especially those who are part of President Donald Trump's rebellious right wing base, are suspicious or outright rejecting of "establishment" anything, a primary challenge can be daunting, if not successful. "Six months ago, we were looking for a walk-in for Senator Wicker... Now, it's looking like a heated primary," says Dr. Dallas Breen, Executive Director of the John C. Stennis Institute of Government. There is some uncertainty, however, about what McDaniel's future course will be.
 
Bannon's forces may not like him, but Mitch McConnell is here to stay
Conservative activists eagerly hope the November 2018 election delivers a strong rebuke to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, whom they blame for stymieing President Donald Trump's agenda. They're likely to be disappointed. When a new Senate convenes in January 2019, the Kentucky Republican will almost certainly remain in charge of Senate Republicans. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who threatened a "season of war" against establishment Republicans, has championed primary challenges to sitting senators. Outside groups have the right to complain, said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., but they don't vote in the Senate and can't appreciate McConnell. "Republican senators elect their own leader and will continue to do so," Alexander said. "Mitch has done an exceptional job and he's earned the strong support of our caucus."
 
Absences Could Complicate Senate Plans, McConnell Says
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged Monday the potential extended absence of his Kentucky colleague Rand Paul from the Senate could complicate the Republican agenda. "Any time a senator on our side is not there, it's potentially challenging," McConnell said at an event in Louisville. The timeline of Paul's return came into question when initial reports of a minor injury following a weekend altercation with a neighbor evolved into the senator having five cracked ribs. Reporters also noted the ongoing health challenges of Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, to which McConnell replied, "We need all hands on deck, all the time."
 
Black farmers want Trump to accept ruling in USDA suit
A Memphis-based organization representing black farmers called on President Trump Monday to accept a court ruling that could lead to payouts totaling more than $1 billion to growers who claim they were denied crop loans and other assistance based on race. More than 100 farmers and heirs of farmers crowded into the Downtown offices of the Black Farmers and Agriculturists Association to hear that their case against the U.S. Department of Agriculture survived a recent court challenge. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit last week issued an order denying the USDA's motion for a summary ruling that essentially would have thrown out the claims of some 15,000 black farmers and their heirs. "This is a monumental decision," BFAA President Thomas Burrell said. "It vindicates our movement, it vindicates our organization." The case, brought by descendants of Earnest Lee Boyland, a farmer from Mason, Tennessee, is a class-action lawsuit that represents a secondary wave of claims alleging pervasive discriminatory practices by USDA.
 
Trump administration releases report finding 'no convincing alternative explanation' for climate change
The Trump administration released a dire scientific report Friday calling human activity the dominant driver of global warming, a conclusion at odds with White House decisions to withdraw from a key international climate accord, champion fossil fuels and reverse Obama-era climate policies. To the surprise of some scientists, the White House did not seek to prevent the release of the government's National Climate Assessment, which is mandated by law. The report affirms that climate change is driven almost entirely by human action, warns of a worst-case scenario where seas could rise as high as eight feet by the year 2100, and details climate-related damage across the United States that is already unfolding as a result of an average global temperature increase of 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit since 1900.
 
Texas gunman's long slide to mass murder began when he attacked his own family
Some of those who grew up with Devin Kelley in this sprawling city northeast of San Antonio had seen him change over the years -- once just an outsider, he suddenly seemed hostile and argumentative. He wanted to talk about atheism and guns. On Monday, a day after authorities said Kelley opened fire in a small church 35 miles south in Sutherland Springs, killing 26 people, there were feelings of shock and sadness here in his hometown, but not necessarily surprise. "He wasn't always a 'psychopath,' " Courtney Kleiber, a classmate of Kelley's at New Braunfels High School, wrote on Facebook. "Though ...over the years we all saw him change into something that he wasn't. To be completely honest, I'm really not surprised this happened, and I don't think anyone who knew him is very surprised either."
 
Cuts at Southern Miss: Bennett says it's 'difficult to predict the future'
University of Southern Mississippi President Rodney Bennett has outlined a series of cost-cutting measures he will take to further manage a nearly $8 million budget reduction the school suffered since Fiscal Year 2017. In a Thursday email to faculty and staff, Bennett said 20 staff employees will be laid off, select unfilled positions will be eliminated, and cuts will be made to travel, operating, commodities and equipment budgets. Glenn Boyce, Commissioner of Higher Education with the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, said Monday state lawmakers have had to decrease funding to many programs. "We understand the state's situation," he said Monday during a meeting with the Hattiesburg American. "There's only so much money to go around." Southern Miss has seen a decrease in enrollment from more than 16,100 students in 2011-12 to less than 14,500 for fall 2017.
 
Alumni Association announces Delta State's Homecoming schedule
The Delta State University National Alumni Association has released the 2017 Homecoming schedule for Delta State alumni and friends. Homecoming weekend will kick off with the Alumni Awards and Gala Dinner at the Cleveland Country Club Friday. The dinner is led by the National Alumni Association Board of Directors and recognizes the university's Outstanding Alumnus of the Year, Alumni Hall of Fame, Distinguished Black Alumnus of the Year, and Service Award winners. This event also recognizes the Golden Circle, which is made up of all 50-plus year graduates of Delta State, and the Class of 1967, which will be celebrating 50 years since graduating from Delta State College. One of the highlights of Saturday will be the Delta State University Homecoming Parade hosted by the Office of Student Affairs beginning at 11:30 a.m. on the Quad. The parade will feature over 66 groups including several local marching bands.
 
JSU Tiger Career Closet, Red Sand at Tougaloo and MVSU Halbrook Award
Jackson State University first lady Deborah Bynum first announced plans to establish a business-attire-centered clothes closet for students called the Tiger Career Closet in September. On Wednesday, Nov. 1, Bynum's vision became reality with a fashion preview and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the clothes closet inside the campus' Jacob L. Reddix Hall. As part of the opening ceremony, members of JSU's Insatiable Modeling Squad and Blue Ambassadors modeled dresses, suits, shoes and accessories from the career closet. Bynum, wife of JSU President William Bynum Jr., established the Tiger Career Closet to help students who may not have the means to purchase proper attire for job interviews, and asked faculty, staff and alumni to donate gently used business attire to get the program started.
 
Businessman donates $1.5M to U. of Alabama law school
A Florida businessman and attorney has given $1.5 million to endow a chair of constitutional law at the University of Alabama School of Law. The gift is the latest by Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr., whose father, Hugh F. Culverhouse Sr., is the namesake of the Culverhouse College of Commerce and a graduate of the law school. The gift will establish the Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. Chair in Constitutional Law and serve as a foundation for a center for constitutional studies. "Mr. Culverhouse has proven himself a committed friend and supporter of the Capstone. We are incredibly grateful for his continued generosity, and we look forward to seeing the lasting impact of this gift in our students' lives, on our campus and beyond," UA President Stuart R. Bell said. Culverhouse has donated more than $7 million to the business college as well as $2.5 million to the Crimson Tide Foundation, the fundraising arm of University of Alabama Athletics.
 
Lexington, U. of Kentucky could swap land and roads in major deal
Lexington and the University of Kentucky are in negotiations for a swap that would give the city more than 200 acres of land near Interstates 64 and 75 for an industrial or business park. In exchange, UK would get control of portions of approximately 13 acres of roads on and around campus. The announcement comes the day before the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council is expected to take its first vote on the 2018 Comprehensive Plan, which includes a recommendation to keep Lexington's current urban service boundary or growth boundary. But some on the council have expressed concern in previous discussions about the 2018 Comprehensive Plan that a lack of publicly-controlled industrial park land will lead to a drop in job growth and business recruitment.
 
Texas A&M campus welcomes international animal health group
College Station is now home to the World Organisation for Animal Health's first liaison office outside of its headquarters in Paris. Representatives from the nearly century-old international organization gathered Monday morning at the AgriLife Center on the Texas A&M University campus to celebrate the official opening of the office, which will be located with and hosted by the Institute for Infectious Animal Diseases, with which the organization has collaborated for the past three years. The World Organisation for Animal Health -- or OIE, an abbreviation of the organization's French name -- is an intergovernmental organization with 181 member countries in its network. It was founded in 1924 and is responsible for improving animal health and welfare through the regulation of international markets. Attendees to the event included university, state and federal officials who shared their excitement for what the collaboration could produce.
 
Doris Kearns Goodwin applies lessons from past presidents to Trump at U. of Missouri lecture
Has history ever seen a president quite like Donald Trump? This is a familiar question for Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, who spoke Monday night to a sold-out audience in Jesse Auditorium as one of the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy's distinguished lecturers. There have been plenty of businessmen to hold the office, but they all spent time in the public sector before moving to the White House. Others have had some sort of military background, another trait that sets Trump apart. Have any been, as Goodwin put it, "A true outsider who's never held public office? Never been a leading military figure?" Her answer? No. However, Goodwin said there are still similarities to be found in the stories of the 44 men who came before Trump. Her lecture Monday night focused on lessons that can be applied to the problems he faces today.
 
Students, policy experts say taxing graduate students' tuition waivers would spell disaster
House Republicans say their tax bill will stimulate the economy by increasing the take-home pay of workers across income levels. So many graduate students were stunned to learn that instead of increasing their already meager stipend checks, the bill seeks to tax their waived tuition as income. The results of such a change, many graduate students and higher education experts say, would be devastating not only to graduate students' day-to-day finances but to research and teaching across academe. "Never once did I think our tuition waivers would be at risk," said Mary Grace Hebert, a Ph.D. candidate in communications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "I knew there would be changes in terms of corporate taxes and individual taxes, but I did not realize they'd be pulling from graduate employees to fund those cuts, and I'm disappointed they chose to do that." She likened it to "taxing a coupon."
 
Florida State U. Suspends Fraternities and Sororities After Pledge's Death
Florida State University's president, John E. Thrasher, has suspended activities by fraternities and sororities following the death this month of a 20-year-old pledge at Pi Kappa Phi. The suspension is effective immediately, and the ban is indefinite, according to a news release posted on the website of the university's Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. "For this suspension to end, there will need to be a new normal for Greek life at the university," Mr. Thrasher said in the news release. "There must be a new culture, and our students must be full participants in creating it." The fraternity pledge, Andrew Coffey, was found unresponsive and died after a party on Friday. The measure also includes a ban on alcohol among the more than 700 recognized student groups on the campus.
 
Ideally, words should be precise, not confusing
Longtime Mississippi journalist Charlie Mitchell writes: "Imagine a timber crew idling around their pickups in the moist, early-morning silence of a pine forest, waiting for their workday to begin. A tardy member of the crew pulls up, kills his engine, opens his door and steps out, his laced-up boot sliding just a bit on the scarred ground. He ambles around to the bed, lowers the gate and slides out a shiny new 40-inch Stihl. Without a word and in an instant, his mates notice, then gather around in hushed awe and admiration. His shoulders seem broader, head higher. Pulpwooders make their living with chainsaws, and Stihl is the go-to brand. Writers make ours with words. We relish finding the ideal word the same was pulpwooders revere the Cadillac of saws."


SPORTS
 
Focus key for No. 18 Mississippi State vs. No. 1 Alabama
Dez Harris doesn't concern himself with what it means to play Alabama. The Mississippi State football team's senior linebacker and leading tackler has never played Alabama when it wasn't in the thick of the national championship race. His most recent experience was his worst, a 51-3 loss last season in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Harris remains undeterred by names on uniforms. "We don't look at teams. We come out and play our ball," he said. "We don't think about stuff like that. We just look forward to playing a game." No. 1 Alabama (9-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference, No. 2 College Football Playoff) will be the next opponent for No. 18 MSU (7-2, 3-2, No. 18) at 6 p.m. Saturday (ESPN) at Davis Wade Stadium.
 
Nick Fitzgerald confident in rematch with Crimson Tide
Nick Fitzgerald has been able to run the ball effectively on nearly every team he has gone up against the past two seasons. There is one major exception to that statement. The Mississippi State quarterback was limited to just 15 yards on 11 carries in a 51-3 loss at Alabama last season. Fitzgerald's passing statistics struggled as well, completing only 10 of 33 throws for 145 yards, one interception and was sacked twice. "Trying to run the ball wasn't working too well," Fitzgerald said. "Throwing the ball wasn't working too well, either. They just shut us down offensively." Fitzgerald has eclipsed 100 yards on the ground in eight of the 12 games since he was shutdown by the Crimson Tide. The 6-foot-5, 230-pounder has had four consecutive 100-yard rushing days and accounted for a dozen touchdowns over that span. Fitzgerald is now ready to showcase just how much he has improved since the last time he played top-ranked Alabama.
 
Mississippi State isn't changing its mindset going into Alabama game, Dan Mullen says
While No. 2 Alabama has been a thorn in the side of everyone in the Southeastern Conference under Nick Saban, they've especially been difficult for No. 16 Mississippi State. Under Dan Mullen, MSU has played the Crimson Tide eight times and come up short in each instance. Only one of those games was within single digits with the Bulldogs losing 25-20 in 2014 for their first loss of the year. Last season, Alabama gave MSU a historic beating with a 51-3 win in Tuscaloosa. Despite all of that, Mullen isn't approaching this week any different than anything else since he has been in Starkville.
 
MSU Notebook: Bulldogs relying on inexperienced wideouts
Mississippi State was down four wide receivers during its game against Massachusetts over the weekend, leaving some large shoes for inexperienced wideouts to fill. Senior starters Donald Gray (groin) and Gabe Myles (foot) missed the game as did sophomore Keith Mixon (ankle). Junior Malik Dear is also out for the season with a torn ACL, so the Bulldogs have had to force feed younger receivers such as sophomore Jamal Couch and redshirt freshmen Reggie Todd and Osirus Mitchell into bigger roles. "They're coming along," MSU coach Dan Mullen said. "Obviously, they're being forced into situations you wouldn't expect them to be forced into right now. We only had four or five scholarship receivers to play in the game on Saturday. That's not a lot, especially for us. Guys just have to step up and make plays. They're getting a lot more reps, experience and good growth."
 
Mississippi State unveils patriotic uniforms for Alabama game to honor Veteran's Day
When No. 2 Alabama (9-0, 6-0 SEC) rolls in to Starkville on Saturday, Dan Mullen's Bulldogs will have a different look about them Mississippi State (7-2), ranked No. 16 in CFP, is honoring Veteran's Day with new uniforms that will honor the United States Armed Forces. The Bulldogs, who have won four straight, defeated UMass 34-23 on Saturday after bouncing back from a 20-13 halftime deficit to win its fourth straight game. The Bulldogs (7-2, CFP No. 16) were 31-point favorites coming into Saturday, but it wasn't until Deddrick Thomas returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter that they could be confident in a positive outcome.
 
New scoreboard among construction projects topping agenda for Auburn trustees
The Auburn University board of trustees is expected to move forward with multiple renovation projects, mainly to athletic facilities, in its final regularly scheduled meeting of 2017. The board is expected to vote on the final project approval for a new $6.3 million scoreboard at Jordan-Hare Stadium. If approved, the 34,000-square-foot videoboard could be installed before the 2018 football season kicks off. The north end zone scoreboard that the new board would replace has been in the stadium for 19 years. The board at its most recent meeting in September approved the initiation and engineer selection for the project. It will decide Friday whether to approve the project program, site, budget, funding plan and schematic design. Revenue for the proposed north end zone improvement project would come from "revenues generated from the project and Athletics Department funds," according to documents provided by the university.
 
UGA event mixed science with football to entertain, inspire
Science met football fans Thursday, with better than expected results. Reni Kaul wondered if anyone would show up at Saturday's "STEMzone 2017," an array of booths and exhibits showcasing some of the research going on at the University of Georgia. "We were planning for maybe 100," she said. Kaul had also worried she'd only get a handful of student groups to set up displays or activities. In the end, more than a dozen groups showed up at the event set up on the Miller Learning Center lawn on the University of Georgia campus before Saturday's football game in nearby Sanford Stadium. Hundreds of people showed up for Kaul's event, many of them children.
 
UGA senior athletic administrator Jim Booz joining Carla Williams at Virginia
One of Georgia's top senior athletic administrators is joining Carla Williams at Virginia. Jim Booz, compliance director for the last six years and an executive associate athletic director, will be deputy athletics director for administration at Virginia under Williams., that school announced Monday. Williams was hired last month as Virginia's athletic director after serving as deputy athletic director at Georgia. Booz starts at Virginia on Dec. 11. Booz worked at Virginia from 2004-11 as associate director athletics for academic affairs and associate athletic director for compliance (2004-07).
 
Rise and shine: Why LSU-Arkansas kicks off at 11 a.m., how Tigers AD tried to fight it
On Sunday night, Christian LaCouture set his phone alarm for 6:30 a.m. Monday. There was no meeting to attend, no math class or breakfast get-together. He was just practicing for Saturday. "It's something for me to prepare myself, to get my body ready for all that," he said Monday afternoon. LSU (6-3, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) kicks off against Arkansas (4-5, 1-4) at 11 a.m. Saturday. That's not-so rare for much of college football. It is in Baton Rouge, where night games are held as tradition. Since 1969, this is just the 11th game played in Tiger Stadium at noon or earlier, according to the school, and university administrators fought against the early start before the SEC announced the time last Monday. "I know our fans don't like it. I don't either," athletic director Joe Alleva said in a statement to The Advocate on Monday. "I picked up the phone immediately and worked though the SEC to get it changed. The SEC fought for us. They always do on these things."



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