Monday, June 4, 2018   
 
Google grant to help Mississippi State's RCU train area computer teachers
A $35,000 grant from Google will help Mississippi State University's Research and Curriculum Unit offer training for up to 70 more local computer science teachers this summer. The RCU recently announced the grant through a press release. The department is working with the Mississippi Department of Education's Computer Science for Mississippi (CS4MS) initiative, which aims to establish a pipeline of computer science curriculum and instructors to all schools by 2024. Shelly Hollis, the RCU's program manager for its work with the CS4MS initiative, said the funding from Google will help cover the costs of training more middle school computer science teachers ahead of the 2018-19 school year.
 
Feral swine program giving farmers a planting window
Planting time is crunch time for farmers. Between slow-moving weather systems dumping multiple inches of rain at just the wrong time, and then having to wait for fields to dry before planters can roll, the last thing any farmer needs is another problem -- like feral hogs. Enter Kris Godwin, Mississippi state director, USDA Wildlife Services. Godwin works with state Extension personnel, landowners, land managers, and just about anyone else who has a vested interest in natural resources or ground used for production agriculture. "Feral swine don't discriminate. They will target and destroy corn, soybean, rice, or hay fields," explains Dr. Bronson Strickland, Extension professor, Wildlife Management, Mississippi State University. "Damage may be two-fold; damage to fields, and damage to tractors or other farm equipment when they encounter depressions caused by rooting swine."
 
Tarnished plant bug now a key pest
Cotton is experiencing a resurgence in the Midsouth. With the success of the boll weevil eradication program comes a shift in major cotton insect pests, and tarnished plant bug has moved to the top of the list of worrisome pests. "It's difficult to accurately predict pest pressure, but we know we'll have tarnished plant bug pressure no matter what," says Angus Catchot, Mississippi State University Extension professor. There are steps cotton growers can take to minimize the devastating impact tarnished plant bug populations can have on yield.
 
And for lunch, some yummy windshield wipers..
"It is a unique bird," says Kris Godwin, adjunct assistant professor of wildlife ecology and management, and Mississippi director of USDA APHIS Wildlife Services at Mississippi State University, who has a lot of experience with the critters, but notes there "still is so much that's not known about them; there's not a lot of research." Black vultures can live as long as 20-25 years, and once they take a liking to a place it can be extremely difficult to evict them. "Their range is expanding, and we're seeing increasing problems with them, particularly for livestock farmers," Godwin said in a recent presentation at the Starkville-Mississippi State University Ag Club meeting."
 
Trade war could affect Steel Dynamics
Columbus may find itself in the crosshairs of an international trade war after the Trump Administration said Thursday it would impose steep tariffs on metals imported from its North America trade partners, and Mexico retaliated with its own tariffs. The implications of the potential trade war could be serious for Steel Dynamic's flat roll steel plant in Columbus. Company officials in Columbus and at its corporate headquarters in Indiana did not respond to requests for comments on how the dispute might impact production in Columbus. However, during the company's fourth quarter and year-end conference call on January 29, SDI President and CEO Mark Millett singled out the role of the Columbus facility in the company's record net income in 2017, mentioning Columbus' exports to Mexico as a key factor.
 
Low turnout expected for Tuesday's primary votes
Local circuit clerks expect low turnout for Tuesday's primary elections. Lowndes County Circuit Court has received about 66 absentee ballots cast in advance of Tuesday's primaries for U.S. Senate. Lowndes circuit clerk Teresa Barksdale said low numbers of absentee ballots usually indicate low voter turnout overall. "The turnout is very low," she said. "We're not seeing a lot of people voting absentee, which is always a pretty good judge of voter interest." The story is the same in Oktibbeha County, said circuit clerk Tony Rook. "We do anticipate a low turnout, based on what we're seeing with the absentee ballots," Rook said Thursday. In all precincts of both counties, voters will be able to vote in Republican and Democratic primaries for U.S. Senate. In Oktibbeha County, there are two primaries for the Third District U.S. House of Representative seat, which is being vacated by Gregg Harper.
 
Despite drop-ins by Alec Baldwin, Robert De Niro, Mississippi election season sees unexpected star: civility
Mississippi has no shortage of candidates seeking to win its two U.S. Senate elections and a broadly contested 3rd District House race this year, but with only a handful of exceptions, there has been a noticeable lack of fireworks. The relative tranquility in the races has surprised local observers, who say it's the happy product of strong incumbents, narrowly avoided primary challenges, and policy agreements on key issues. There have been some splashes of unexpected drama. Last month, actors Robert De Niro and Alec Baldwin helped host a pricey cocktail party in Manhattan for a Democrat campaigning in what is widely viewed as a futile effort to unseat Republican incumbent Roger Wicker in the Senate.
 
This heated GOP primary is not drawing much out-of-state cash
Mississippi money will likely decide which Republican wins the June 5 primary in the third congressional race, a Mississippi Today analysis of campaign-finance documents shows. Of the six Republican candidates vying to fill the seat retiring U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper vacated, just $148,550, or 13 percent, of the $1.1 million raised is from out of state. Mississippi Today analyzed contributions listed on two campaign finance filings: the April quarterly filing for donations between January 1 and March 30, and the pre-primary filing for contributions between April 1 and May 16. Personal loans that candidates gave their own campaigns were not included in the figures.
 
Democratic, Republican primaries set for Tuesday
Democratic and Republican voters will head to the polls Tuesday to determine who they want to represent them in Washington, D.C., in the upcoming term. Six Democrats hope to win the Senate primary election to face the winner of the two-man Republican primary in November. The Democratic candidates who qualified include David Baria, Jensen Bohren, Jerone Garland, Victor G. Maurice Jr., Omeria Scott and Howard Sherman. "Mississippi is not the only state that is having a large number of Democrats running for office," Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Bobby Moak said. "But of course it's happening here in the federal elections." In the 4th Congressional District, Incumbent Republican Rep. Steven Palazzo will face challenger E. Brian Rose. Jeramey Anderson is the sole Democrat running for District 4.
 
Senate Republicans Are Newly Hopeful About the Midterms
After a turbulent first year confronting friendly fire from President Trump, Senate Republicans are entering the summer before the midterm elections feeling more hopeful about retaining their narrow majority than at any time since the president's election. And for good reason. Mr. Trump is enjoying a modest increase in his approval ratings this year and, as important, is attacking Democrats rather than inciting the internecine feuds that could depress Republican turnout. They have averted disaster in the West Virginia primary, successfully recruited their preferred candidates in North Dakota and Florida, and watched a renegade Republican challenger wane in one of Mississippi's two Senate races. Chris McDaniel's bid in Mississippi to resurrect his Tea Party-backed campaign for the seat he nearly won in 2014 has proved feeble.
 
Analysis: Sen. Roger Wicker pushes fight for cell service subsidies
If a U.S. senator and a public service commissioner get their way, many Mississippians will spend the next six months trying to prove how bad their local cellphone service is. It's all part of an effort to make Mississippi eligible for as big of a slice of $4.5 billion as possible. What the Federal Communications Commission calls the Mobility Fund II will be spent throughout the decade of the 2020s to enhance fast mobile service in areas that currently lack such service. Here's the hitch, though. The federal regulatory agency will only offer money in areas where its maps show there's no service, or where there's only one currently subsidized provider. For each map area, a provider will be allowed to bid on how much subsidy is needed over 10 years to provide the service. The lowest bids will win.
 
Congressional aide, road manager land jobs at Mississippi DMR
There are some new faces, and a little bit of intrigue, at the Department of Marine Resources offices in Biloxi. T.J. Moran and Russell Weatherly have started new jobs there. Moran was a longtime field director for U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo and Weatherly until this spring was the Harrison County road manager. Any changes at the agency stoke curiosity given its notorious past. Former Executive Director Bill Walker and several others were convicted of crimes related to their activities at the agency. Walker went to federal prison but served his time and was released. Moran will be doing government relations and Weatherly will be managing projects in the Tidelands Trust Fund Program and the Gulf of Mexico Security Act, said DMR Executive Director Joe Spraggins. He has yet to say whether the jobs are new positions and whether they were advertised.
 
Supreme Court rules in favor of baker who would not make wedding cake for gay couple
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled for a Colorado baker who refused to create a wedding cake for a gay couple. In an opinion by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy that leaves many questions unanswered, the court held that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission had not adequately taken into account the religious beliefs of baker Jack Phillips. In fact, Kennedy said, the commission had been hostile to the baker's faith, denying him the neutral consideration he deserved. While the justices split in their reasoning, only Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissented.
 
NASA, Jackson State University ink historic federal contracts deal
Jackson State University made history Thursday when it became the nation's first HBCU to sign a pact to become a protégé in the NASA Shared Services Center program that will allow the academic institution to learn how to land major government contracts. JSU's mentor is Enterprise Services LLC, a prime contractor formerly known as HP. The agreement, two years in the works, was witnessed by hundreds packed in the atrium of the College of Science, Engineering and Technology. Ultimately, JSU will become a prime contractor, too. JSU President William B. Bynum Jr. described the NASA event as a "launching pad that JSU can benefit from significantly."
 
EMCC, Baptist to start surgical technology program
East Mississippi Community College and Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle are partnering to start up a new associate's degree Surgical Technology Program that will be housed on the hospital's campus and taught by EMCC faculty. It will be the only course of its kind in the Golden Triangle area. The first class will begin in August, pending approval by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, which meets in June. "We owe all of our area hospitals a debt of gratitude for embracing this program that will benefit our students and the community at large," EMCC Vice President of Administration and Interim Vice President of Instruction Dr. Paul Miller said.
 
Couple donates memorabilia to EMCC 70 years after graduating
On May 20, 1948, then East Mississippi Junior College students Virginia Rutledge and Jim Hobert Taylor walked to downtown Scooba to celebrate Rutledge's 18th birthday at Briggs Cafe, which was located at that time near the U.S. Highway 45 and Mississippi Highway 16 intersection. "When we got to the cafe, I found out Jim had arranged for a birthday cake to be made for me," Virginia said. That was 70 years ago. EMJC is now East Mississippi Community College and Virginia is a Taylor. She married Jim Taylor in 1951 and this past May 20, Virginia and her husband celebrated her 88th birthday. Jim is 89. Recently, the couple donated cherished possessions from their years at EMJC to the Thelma Briggs McConnell Archives collection in the Tubb-May Library on EMCC's Scooba campus.
 
Northwest Mississippi Community College receives nursing scholarship funding
The Northwest Mississippi Community College Division of Nursing received a check for $6,000 from the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi thanks to the 19th annual Shoot for the Heart fundraiser held in April in Tunica. This contribution brings the total amount given to Northwest Mississippi Community College Division of nursing to $286,500. This year 400 shooters from around the U.S. participated in the event. Proceeds from sponsors and participants assist Northwest Mississippi Community College School of Nursing as it prepares healthcare leaders. Shoot for the Heart was started by Keith Wilson, who was diagnosed with a heart condition and needed surgery in 1999. "Having to undergo major cardiac surgery was an extremely difficult experience, but it also was a defining one," Keith Wilson said.
 
U. of Arkansas' transfer of thousands a year to foundation raises questions
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville transfers hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to the nonprofit Razorback Foundation, raising questions about whether the booster club receives public money that would compel it to disclose business records it has shielded from the public, an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette investigation shows. The money represents "donations" attached to some ticket prices -- for off-campus football games mostly -- and other contributions meant for the foundation but paid to the university, officials said. The university stores the money in campus accounts before settling up with the foundation, documents show. It's one example of the intertwined financial ties between the nonprofit and the university's athletic department, which in turn relies on millions of dollars per year in foundation funding for an array of functions.
 
Baldwin Hall inspires UGA researchers to create Athens history project
The University of Georgia recently unveiled an interactive online mapping tool highlighting Athens' history, a project prompted by the uncovering of graves during renovations at the university's Baldwin Hall. The project, carried out by faculty and students with the university's Center for Geospatial Research, was commissioned by university administrators following the controversial unearthing of presumed slave burials during an expansion and renovation of Baldwin Hall in 2016 and 2017. The new project, called Athens: Layers of Time, isn't particularly about slavery, but is aimed more to be a tool that will help others interested in researching or documenting the histories of Athens and the University of Georgia, including slavery.
 
Beverly Davenport: UT to vote on $1.3M separation agreement
Former University of Tennessee Knoxville Chancellor Beverly Davenport, who was abruptly dismissed a month ago, could leave the university permanently on Tuesday with a $1.33 million settlement, according to a statement released Friday by the UT system. The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees Audit and Compliance Committee in a called meeting on Tuesday will vote on a recommendation by UT System President Joe DiPietro to approve a separation agreement with Davenport that would end her employment close to a month ahead of her previously scheduled departure from her chancellor's position on July 1. "I believe it is important for us to reach this agreement to allow everyone to move forward," DiPietro said in the statement.
 
Make sure students know they have 'real family, real friends'
Angela Farmer, an assistant professor of educational leadership at Mississippi State, writes: "Students in the 21st century face a magnitude of stresses unlike any generations before them. In addition to the day-to-day interactions where academic stresses can cause lack of sleep, difficulty focusing, frustration, and depression, there are a plethora of additional triggers. The real world of adolescent stress, more often than not, appears to reside outside of the face-to-face interactions and within the virtual realm. ...The tools for 21st century parenting an adolescent are much different than days gone by; however, many of the basic rules still apply. Talk, listen, and learn; today's students need their family's support more than ever. It's a big, virtual world out there. Making sure that students know they have a 'real family and real friends' is perhaps the best strategy of all."


SPORTS
 
State stays alive against Oklahoma
An eight-run third inning allowed Mississippi State to survive elimination yet again on Sunday night. The Bulldogs won their second straight elimination game of the day and third of the Tallahassee Regional following a 13-5 victory over Oklahoma. The two teams have a rematch scheduled Monday for a shot at a super regional on the line. "We were swinging it well all day and putting up a lot of runs," said MSU left fielder Rowdey Jordan. "We had a lot of real good, aggressive swings. It was just a good day at the ballpark for us." MSU (34-26) totaled 14 hits in the nightcap despite an hour and a half cautionary weather delay to start the game. "We're in pretty good shape relatively speaking," MSU interim coach Gary Henderson said. "We've played four games here and we're in pretty good shape for Game 5."
 
Mississippi State offense finds high gear to win twice in regional play
This was not a day for second guesses. First of all, the Mississippi State baseball team was on the brink of elimination from the NCAA tournament and had no time for hesitation. That's why, with a one out in the eighth inning, freshman left fielder Rowdey Jordan saw the green light from third base coach Mike Brown and turned on the jets. He admits he caught a glimpse of Brown throwing up a stop sign after the fact, but Jordan wasn't shifting. "We talked about it after: He was waving me, so I put my head down. You made your decision, don't second-guess yourself," Jordan said. Things going as well as they did Sunday can have that type of freeing effect on people. Jordan's show of aggression was far from the only one on a Sunday that saw MSU (34-26), itself just one loss away from elimination, knock Samford (37-26) out of the Tallahassee Regional with a 9-8 win in the afternoon and put Oklahoma (38-24) on equal footing with a 13-5 evening win. The Bulldogs and the Sooners go at it for the third time this weekend at noon today (ESPN2); the winner wins the Tallahassee Regional.
 
Mississippi State advances to NCAA regional championship against Oklahoma
Rowdey Jordan unleashed a pretty swing, and the result from the barrel of his bat bashing the ball was so alluring he couldn't help but watch for a moment as the ball traveled. When the ball cleared the right field wall -- there was never a doubt it would; the only question was when -- he put his head down and trotted. It's hard to blame him for taking the mental snapshot first, though. Jordan's two-run blast and subsequent gaze in the third inning of Mississippi State's 13-5 win over Oklahoma Sunday night was emblematic of the Bulldogs' run in this Tallahassee regional. "It's a bunch of young guys (in Mississippi State's lineup)," Samford coach Casey Dunn said, "but also a bunch of competitive hitters."
 
Mike Martin ponders future after Florida State's early exit
With the season over, the next logical question turns to the future of Mike Martin at Florida State. The FSU legend became college baseball's all-time winningest coach back in early May with his 1,976th career win in an extra-innings win at Clemson. After the Seminoles' 0-2 performance in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional this weekend, Martin now sits 12 wins clear of the late Augie Garrido at 1,987 after the conclusion of his 39th season atop the program. Martin -- who turned 74 right before the beginning of this season -- was asked about what his future holds after the Seminoles' 3-2 loss to Mississippi State Saturday afternoon.
 
More cowbell? SEC amends rule pertaining to artificial noise
How much Mississippi State fans can ring their cowbells while still abiding by SEC rules is changing again. At the conclusion of SEC Spring Meetings on Friday, the league's Executive Committee passed a proposal forbidding forms of artificial noise at football games from the time the offensive center puts a hand on the football until it is snapped. The reason for the change is existing legislation stated the noise needed to stop when the center "take his place over" the football and that was difficult to interpret, apply and enforce due to variations in offensive styles and game plans. The change is expected to provide more consistency in application and enforcement of the rule.
 
Starkville High School tabs Luke Adkins as new baseball coach
Luke Adkins fell in love with Starkville when he played baseball at Mississippi State University. While Adkins built so many memories on the diamond, he also met his future wife Avery, who was a diamond girl with the MSU program. His love of family and love of the Starkville community were some of the reasons why Adkins was thrilled to be named as the new head baseball coach at Starkville High School. The hiring was approved Friday by the Starkville-Oktibbeha County Consolidated School District Board of Trustees. Adkins comes to Starkville after two seasons at Houston High School, where he was an assistant coach in both football and baseball. "Starkville has always felt like home to me," Adkins said. "It is where I met my wife. The Mississippi State program has always been near and dear to my heart. To be able to call this place home is a wonderful opportunity for me."
 
Dallas Baptist ends Southern Miss' season
The pitching well ran dry for Southern Miss Sunday. And, boy, did Dallas Baptist capitalize. The Patriots hit five home runs, after hitting four in Saturday's win over Oral Roberts, to beat the Golden Eagles 9-4 at the Fayetteville regional. The loss ends Southern Miss' season at 44-18. Dallas Baptist advances to face Arkansas at 7 p.m., needing to beat the host Razorbacks twice to reach the Super Regional round. "Today was a tough day," said Southern Miss coach Scott Berry, who completed his ninth season Sunday. "We just didn't come out and do the things you need to do this time of year to (win), especially in a do-or-die game."
 
Auburn trustees could vote on Jordan-Hare Stadium renovations at June meeting
Football fans who watch the Tigers from the third- and fourth-level East suites at Jordan-Hare Stadium could have an upgraded game-day experience starting in 2019. The Auburn University Athletics Department has asked the board of trustees to begin the approval process for a stadium renovation project at its June 8 meeting. "The first phase of the project will provide new operable windows and fans to allow better access to the sounds and general atmosphere of the game," according to the proposal from Dan King, associate vice president for facilities. "The second phase of the project will provide routine renovations, to include upgrades to the finishes and standard HVAC system improvements." The proposal requests that the board green-light the first two phases of the approval process: project initiation and architect selection.
 
Kentucky basketball booster, coal billionaire shares cozy ties with EPA chief
It was one of the biggest games of the University of Kentucky basketball season, and Scott Pruitt had scored two of the best seats in the arena: a few feet from the action, in a section reserved for season-ticket holders who had donated at least $1 million to the university. The special access for Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, also included watching from the players' entrance as the team streamed onto the court, and posing for a photo with a star player in the locker room area. But there was more to the game in December than a superfan experience for Pruitt and his son, who joined him. They sat in seats belonging to Joseph W. Craft III, a billionaire coal executive who has engaged in an aggressive campaign to reverse the Obama administration's environmental crackdown on the coal industry. Craft and his wife donated more than $2 million to support President Donald Trump's candidacy and inauguration.



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