| Wednesday, June 20, 2018 |
| A Difficult Decision: Work or Baseball? | |
 | Across North Mississippi, many people were faced with a difficult decision Tuesday: work or baseball. Mississippi State's match-up with North Carolina was postponed until Tuesday morning. When Monday night's baseball game was moved to Tuesday morning, some people had to find a way to balance work and watching the game. With their attention divided, did productivity take a hit? "So far this morning I've been doing a lot of the work, but here in a minute, I hope to do a little bit of watching on the television here because we are definitely supporting our Bulldogs today. So I wore my maroon and white for the occasion," said Allison Mathews. Some offices have televisions while others don't. Courtney Honnoll says that having a TV actually helps her get work done. "Well it's kinda hard but thank goodness there's a television right here by my desk, and we have it going. Getting lots of work done though because the adrenaline gets you kinda pushes you through," said Honnoll. |
| Senate easily passes new farm bill out of committee | |
 | In mid-June, the Senate Agriculture Committee passed its version of a new farm bill on a vote of 20-1. The easily-passed legislation was a marked contrast to what happened a month earlier with the House version that went down on the legislative body's floor in a contentious 213-198 vote. Shortly after the House vote, Keith Coble said, "The failure of the farm bill passing this week is indicative of the fine line leaders in the House are walking between Democrat members and the conservative wing of the Republican Party." While Coble -- currently head of the Agricultural Economics Department at Mississippi State University -- isn't fully convinced a new farm bill will be completed by year's end, he is now more optimistic. |
| U.S. farming cannot afford to continue to fall behind | |
 | Mississippi State University President Mark E. Keenum, chairman of the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research board of directors, writes in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal: "With the possibility of new trade tariffs striking a sensitive chord in rural America, farmers are increasingly concerned about global competitiveness and the threat of a possible trade war affecting their bottom line. Hopefully, Congress will be able to pass a farm bill this year that can offer innovative research programs to help our farmers, lessen government dependence and tackle coming environmental challenges to maintain a competitive advantage in a global market. ...The United States cannot afford to continue to fall behind. Rather it should be leading the charge to develop new markets to bolster farm income and feed a growing population." |
| How to catch a gator: Reagan shares alligator research stories with Starkville Rotarians | |
 | When Steve Reagan moved to Louisiana in 1998, he had no idea he'd end up capturing hundreds of alligators. Reagan, the current director for the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee Wildlife Refuge, said he'd planned to take a job studying Louisiana black bears at Louisiana State University. When those plans fell apart, he went to work for the zoo in Baton Rouge. As part of that, he crafted a proposal to study alligators. At the time, he knew nothing about alligators -- he just wanted to work with animals. The Noxubee Wildlife Refuge is home to about 200 alligators, Reagan said, with about a dozen of the "very, very big boys" that are about 14 feet long. Those, he said, may be some of the original alligators that were released into the refuge in the 1960s. |
| Vicksburg Forest Products to reopen mill, hire 125 | |
 | Vicksburg Forest Products officially announced plans to reopen the former Anderson-Tully Sawmill Tuesday morning. Anderson-Tully originally announced in March that a third party company would be purchasing the mill and that all 158 current employees would be laid off prior to the sale. Vicksburg Forest Products purchased the mill May 15, and Tuesday announced that they plan to reopen in late July and hire 125 employees to work once they reach full capacity. Representatives from Vicksburg Forest Products were joined by Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, who made his second visit to Vicksburg in a little over a month to make an economic development announcement. He previously announced May 2 that 50 jobs would be created by North Carolina-based lumber company Industrial Wood Products, which will be opening a plant on Magnolia Road. |
| Gov. Phil Bryant creates school safety task force | |
 | Gov. Phil Bryant has signed an executive order charging a group of law enforcement, educators and mental health professionals with developing school safety recommendations. "Protecting our schoolchildren as part of our overall mission to ensure public safety will remain my highest priority," Bryant wrote on Facebook on Tuesday. The creation of the Mississippi School Safety Task Force comes amid several high-profile school shootings, most notably the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Florida's Majory Stoneman Douglas High School that claimed the lives of 17 people, that have reignited a national discussion about the best measures to prevent gun violence from occurring in the nation's schools. |
| Mississippi's test debate: Does your child take too many tests? | |
| A group of nearly 30 teachers, students, parents and education leaders examining the testing regimens of Mississippi's public schools could recommend that state lawmakers or the state Board of Education take action to curb "over-testing" that prominent education advocates say plagues the state's districts. Members of the Mississippi Student Testing Task Force will spend the next six months trying to reach a consensus on the issue with the goal of developing best practices for student testing on the state and local level. The question of what students should learn and the best practices for measuring their knowledge is an ongoing debate nationwide. At times, the conversation has pitted members of the state Legislature and Mississippi Department of Education Superintendent Carey Wright against each other. |
| Medicaid bucking Legislature's intent to remove caps on doctor visits | |
| Months after passing a Medicaid bill intended to provide better health and lower costs, lawmakers have learned the agency plans not to implement those provisions July 1. Mississippi had been heralded for its decision to give Medicaid beneficiaries more opportunities to see their doctors and cover more prescriptions -- two of the most significant provisions in the Medicaid bill passed this year. But the legislation gave the Mississippi Division of Medicaid discretion to make the changes -- and it has so far decided against it. Some lawmakers told The Clarion-Ledger they thought the bill required Medicaid to "delete the annual limit on physician visits" and "delete the monthly prescription limit for Medicaid beneficiaries." |
| Baria and Sherman court black voters in final days of runoff campaigns | |
| Two days after the June 5 primary, Howard Sherman hopped on Interstate 59 in Meridian and headed south to Laurel with a mission: To earn the endorsement of Rep. Omeria Scott. Sherman knew Scott's endorsement would be critical in the coming runoff between himself and state Rep. David Baria. Scott, who is a African American and a longtime state representative, earned 20,000 votes but did not make the runoff. With fewer than 1,000 votes separating Sherman and Baria on June 5, those 20,000 votes could more than swing the election. So he and his wife, Sela Ward, drove to Laurel to take Scott out to dinner. The next day, on the steps of Laurel City Hall, Scott publicly endorsed Sherman. As Baria and Sherman enter the final week before the runoff, it's clear that their campaigns are striving to line up the support of black voters. |
| Trump offers no clear path forward on immigration amid uproar over family separations | |
 | President Trump implored anxious House Republicans to fix the nation's immigration system but did not offer a clear path forward amid the growing uproar over his administration's decision to separate migrant families at the border. Huddling with the GOP at the Capitol on Tuesday evening, Trump stopped short of giving a full-throated endorsement to immigration legislation meant to unite the moderate and conservative wings of the House Republican conference. "He didn't really tell us what bill to vote for," said Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), saying Trump laid out his main principles on immigration and told Republicans he "wanted to take care of the kids" -- a reference to the unfolding family separation crisis. |
| China Tells Farmers To Grow More Soybeans Amid Trade Fight With U.S. | |
 | The order came in April. China's government instructed farmers in the country's northeastern breadbasket region to grow more soybeans, calling it "a political priority." But soybean fields lay empty in the village of Sandaogou, which means "Three Ditches," in Liaoning province. It has been a dry spring. "We've had a drought this year, so we planted soybeans late. The seedlings should be out by now. We need more rain," says farmer Liu, who only gives her surname for fear of trouble with local authorities. Soy, after all, has become "political." China is the world's largest consumer of soybeans, a key product for making things like oil and pig feed, and is America's biggest buyer of the beans. But China has raised tariffs on a number of items including soybeans shipped from the U.S., in retaliation against new import duties on Chinese goods imposed by the Trump administration. On Monday, President Trump ordered his trade representative to draft a new list of $200 billion in Chinese goods for further tariffs, in a sharp escalation of the trade fight between the world's top two economies. |
| Chinese hackers targeting satellite and defense firms, researchers find | |
 | Chinese hackers are waging a wide-ranging cyber espionage campaign against satellite operators, telecommunication companies and defense contractors in the U.S. and Southeast Asia, a cybersecurity company said Tuesday. The firm Symantec said it first noticed the campaign in January, although it has been monitoring the hacking group it dubbed "Thrip" since 2013. This year, Symantec detected "powerful malware" in Asia that it believes the hackers deployed to carry out spying operations and potentially destructive attacks. The news comes as tensions are rising between China and the U.S. over cybersecurity issues. |
| U. of Tennessee campus safety a priority at orientation | |
 | The University of Tennessee spring semester has come to a close, and although most of the current students have returned home, new students are already preparing for their college experience in the Scruffy City. College orientation has kicked off for first-year and transfer students at the university, and one topic that's on the minds of students and parents is campus safety. University of Tennessee officials from the UT Police Department and the Title IX office have been detailing information about campus safety during orientation sessions. They go over the reporting process for sexual assault, concealed carry regulations on campus and safety resources for students. |
| Texas A&M again hosting program to prepare veterans for college life | |
 | Going straight from battlefields and barracks to a college classroom isn't always a smooth transition. For many veterans, it's been years since they set foot in a lecture hall, took a test or joined an extracurricular activity. Enter the Warrior-Scholar Project, a national nonprofit veteran organization that uses a boot-camp strategy to help vets get adjusted to college life. For the second year, Texas A&M is hosting new student veterans in the WSP's summer program. The program started in 2012 at Yale University and served just nine student veterans. Today, nearly 250 veterans each year at 17 universities across the country enter the program. Texas A&M serves as an area of the program dedicated to science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM. Those interested in the sciences -- regardless of whether they plan to attend Texas A&M -- gather in College Station to receive temporary instruction from Aggie science and humanities professors. |
| College Leaders and Professors Ramp Up Protest of Trump's Family-Separation Policy | |
 | Ana Mari Cauce, president of the University of Washington, knows that wrenching a child away from his or her family can do serious, long-term damage. She knows that, she says, from her training as a clinical pediatric psychologist. And that's why she decided to use her position as the head of the state's flagship university to condemn the separation of immigrant children from their families, a practice taking place at the U.S.-Mexico border under a policy set by President Trump. She is part of a larger academic movement -- most of them faculty members, but a few administrators -- that has sprung up to condemn the president's stance on the issue. (Trump and officials in his administration have variously defended the practice, denied that the policy exists, and blamed the controversy on Democrats.) |
| Here's How to Break the Impasse on Climate | |
 | Lobbyists Trent Lott, a former Republican senator and majority leader from Mississippi, and John Breaux, a former Democratic senator from Louisiana and chief deputy whip, write in The New York Times: "As former leaders of our parties in the United States Senate, we know what it takes to achieve a bipartisan breakthrough in Congress. For all the talk of discord in Washington, we see the possibility of finding common ground on a divisive issue. As surprising as it may sound, climate change offers an opportunity for both parties to come together and deliver a victory -- and cash dividends -- to the American people. Climate change is one of the great challenges of our generation. The politics of the issue have been divisive for decades and a new approach is needed to address this urgent problem. Both Democrats and Republicans can find that solution." |
| Primary election runoffs suggest low turnout | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: "For voters, the June 26 primary runoff elections are unfortunately looking like low turnout, low interest affairs that don't promise much to voters in terms of the opportunity to substantially change their ballot choices in the Nov. 6 general election. In the state's U.S. House races, the nominees of the respective major parties have in great measure already been chosen. Only the state's Third Congressional District Republican runoff election holds any real intrigue for primary voters as District Attorney Michael Guest of Brandon, who led the June 6 GOP primary ticket with 28,701 votes or 44.86 percent of the vote, faces businessman and consultant Whit Hughes of Madison, who ran second in the primary with 14,299 votes or 22.24 percent of the vote." |
SPORTS
| This is bananas: Mississippi State beats Carolina 12-2 at CWS | |
 | Go bananas, Mississippi State Bulldogs! You're one win away from the College World Series finals. Jordan Westburg hit a grand slam, doubled and drove in seven runs and Mississippi State continued its surprise postseason surge by beating North Carolina 12-2 on Tuesday. The Bulldogs (39-27), with two wins at the CWS, are off until Friday. Win then or on Saturday, and they'll be playing for the national championship next week. This game was all about Westburg, the freshman who two weeks ago came up with the "Rally Banana" that's become the Bulldogs' good-luck charm in the NCAA Tournament. His seven RBIs, on the slam in the second inning and three-run double in the eighth, tied a CWS record. |
| Jordan Westburg powers Mississippi State past North Carolina | |
| The man behind the Rally Banana helped move the Mississippi State baseball team one win from the national championship series. Jordan Westburg had a grand slam and a bases-clearing double Tuesday to lead MSU to a 12-2 victory against North Carolina at TD Ameritrade Park. With the win, MSU (39-27) advances to play at 2 p.m. Friday against North Carolina or Oregon State. The Bulldogs need one more win to advance to the best-of-three championship series. "It felt great. I think if you're going to do all the shenanigans in the dugout, might have to step it up on the field and back that up," Westburg said, "so it's always nice to do that today." Westburg, who introduced bananas as MSU's source of postseason magic, hit a grand slam with two outs in the second inning. His second home run of the season came on a slider from Andrew Bergner and staked MSU to a 4-1 lead. |
| Jordan Westburg's big day carries Bulldogs into semifinals | |
| Mississippi State's freshmen started the College World Series 0 for 18. But Jordan Westburg changed that stat – as well as the complexion of Tuesday's game -- by belting a second-inning grand slam as part of a 12-2 victory over North Carolina. Westburg finished the day 3 for 4 and tied a CWS single-game record with seven RBIs. The win keeps the Bulldogs (39-27) in the winner's bracket and provides a two-day break before meeting either Oregon State or North Carolina in the semifinals Friday at 2 p.m. on ESPN. "Westburg took advantage of an opportunity there in two instances," said MSU interim head coach Gary Henderson. "He ran the breaking ball out of the yard and then got a fastball down the line for a total of seven RBIs. It's a great day for us and then obviously a day he and his family will remember forever." |
| Mississippi State pounds North Carolina 12-2 to stay in winners' bracket at CWS | |
| Mississippi State couldn't be in a much better position headed into its third game at the 2018 College World Series. In lieu of late-game heroics, the Bulldogs pounded North Carolina 12-2 Tuesday behind a monster day at the plate from freshman Jordan Westburg and a solid pitching performance by junior Konnor Pilkington. Now, Mississippi State (39-27) can win a national championship by winning its next three games. Whoever comes out of the losers' bracket -- whether it's this same North Carolina team or the Oregon State Beavers -- will have to beat the Bulldogs twice to keep them out of the best-of-three championship series. If it looked like the Bulldogs are enjoying the moment, it's because they are. |
| Jordan Westburg drives in seven as Bulldogs rout Tar Heels in Omaha | |
| All was pointing up for Jordan Westburg as the middle of May approached. His batting average was on the rise, as was his playing time, and as was his Mississippi State baseball team's chances at a postseason bid. With one forceful landing on first base on May 18, all of that was thrown into jeopardy. The hamstring injury he suffered that day left his parents, Paul and Christine, hiding their worst fears from Jordan to keep them from spreading to him. "Having had that injury twice in my life, I didn't know if this would go out to eight to 12 weeks and would cost him summer ball," Paul Westburg said. Summer ball is still up in the air, but Jordan Westburg can think about that later. For now, he's making history at the College World Series. |
| MSU notebook: Konnor Pilkington savors long-awaited victory in Omaha | |
| A moment three years in the making was a lot for Konnor Pilkington to handle and it took him some time to find that handle. Once he found it, he finally did what he's wanted to do for three years: win at the College World Series. The junior starting pitcher from Hurley made it known in the preseason that two consecutive exits in the Super Regionals were wearing on him, made it known that his Mississippi State baseball career would be missing something if it did not include the famed trip to Omaha, Nebraska. In his opportunity Tuesday, he did some of his best work, going six innings and collecting the win. Pilkington's six innings, with six hits and two runs allowed, were more than enough as the MSU bats gave him long sought-after support in Tuesday's 12-2 win over North Carolina (44-19). |
| 3 keys to Mississippi State's 12-2 win over North Carolina at CWS | |
| Mississippi State coach Gary Henderson described his Bulldogs' 12-2 win over North Carolina Tuesday as one that was "obviously" much different than the final score reflects. In reality, the game was a two-run ballgame headed into the eighth inning and could have been much different if not for a couple of North Carolina errors. But there were several turning points in the game that tilted it in favor of the Bulldogs, so let's take a look at a few: |
| Mississippi State's Simmons, Sweat named to Athlon Sports preseason All-American teams | |
 | Mississippi State's pass-rush duo of junior defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and senior defensive end Montez Sweat were selected to the Athlon Sports Preseason All-American teams, the organization announced Tuesday. The Bulldogs were one of seven Southeastern Conference programs to have multiple student-athletes named a Preseason All-American as Simmons reeled in second-team honors and Sweat earned a spot on the third team. The duo helped forge a Bulldog defense that ranked 10th nationally in total defense, issuing only 306.3 yards per game. It was the best total defensive mark at MSU since 1999. Sweat, Simmons and the Bulldogs will open the Joe Moorhead era inside Davis Wade Stadium on Sept. 1 against Stephen F. Austin on ESPNU at 6:30 p.m. |
| No crime and no traffic music to the ears of MSU's Vic Schaefer | |
| Mark Wiedmer writes in the Chattanooga Times Free Press: "A few weeks back, fairly certain his job was secure after guiding the Mississippi State women's basketball team to back-to-back NCAA championship games the past two seasons, Bulldogs coach Vic Schaefer bought an 80-acre plot of land near Starkville, complete with a 20-acre lake. Apparently fearing his success might prompt Schaefer to look elsewhere, many Mississippi State supporters since have come up to him to let him know how happy they are to hear their 57-year-old coach isn't planning to go elsewhere for more money. "That's great,' said Schaefer, who was in town Tuesday evening to speak to MSU's Greater Chattanooga Alumni Club at Christ United Methodist Church in East Brainerd. 'But that land doesn't come cheap. I'm thinking about passing a plate and asking, "Just how happy are you?"' It would be hard for any MSU fan not to be deliriously happy about the overall state of the Bulldogs athletic department these days." |
| 'Sunshine, blue skies' would be welcome sight for NCAA, but more delays could be in the forecast | |
| The NCAA officials, ballpark administrators, athletic department representatives and coaches who've already had input on the revised College World Series schedule better get used to spending lots of time together. The upcoming forecasts indicate that more adjustments will be needed. But that's why these inclement weather planning procedures are in place, said Randy Buhr, a longtime director of championships and alliances with the NCAA. "You can take a deep breath if there's sunshine, blue skies and nothing on the radar," Buhr said by phone Tuesday night as the grounds crew prepped an empty field for another impending storm. "Otherwise, we're constantly tracking everything." And they could be incredibly busy for the rest of the week. |
| Weather threat postpones Hogs; Arkansas-Texas Tech game set for 11 a.m. today | |
| Persistent storms claimed another game at the College World Series on Tuesday night. Because of the threat of severe weather, officials elected Tuesday evening to postpone the winner's bracket game between Arkansas (45-19) and Texas Tech (45-18) until 11 a.m. today. The game is scheduled for broadcast on ESPN2. The decision was made by NCAA officials at 6:04 p.m. -- shortly after Florida beat Texas 6-1 in an elimination game -- after consulting with a meteorologist, Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn and Texas Tech Coach Tim Tadlock. It's that time of the year with a lot of storms rolling around, especially in the Midwest it seems like," Van Horn said. "The radar was really bad. They've got a real advanced radar that we all went and looked at with their meteorologist, and he kind of explained it." |
| UF stays alive, eliminates Texas from College World Series | |
| Jackson Kowar's first inning didn't portend the stellar afternoon he was about to have Tuesday. He didn't give up a run in the first, but he threw 25 pitches. "Just reminded him he's going to have to be a little more economical," Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. No worries, coach. Kowar struck out a career-high 13 in 6 2/3 shutout innings, mixing his changeup with a fastball still touching the mid-90s deep into his season-high 121-pitch performance that flummoxed Texas in a 6-1 win eliminating the Longhorns from the College World Series. "It's probably the best I've seen him, with the whole package, with everything concerned," O'Sullivan said. Florida plays another elimination game Thursday night against the loser of Wednesday's game between Arkansas and Texas Tech. |
| How Tennessee colleges, pro leagues are reacting to more widespread legalized sports betting | |
| Less than 20 miles from the Tennessee state line sit the casinos of Tunica County, Mississippi. They feature slot machines, blackjack tables and roulette wheels -- and, soon, sportsbooks where gamblers can wager on professional or college games. Those wanting to place a legal bet on the Memphis Grizzlies, Nashville's Predators or Titans, the Tennessee Vols or Memphis Tigers will have a 45-minute drive from Memphis. Already, legal sports betting is up and running in Delaware and New Jersey. Mississippi is among the states next in line. Its casinos could be accepting bets by the time the college football season kicks off. The Supreme Court's ruling was a hot topic at the SEC spring meetings in Destin, Fla. "The No. 1 thing that everybody is concerned about is making sure that the integrity part of it stays intact," Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer said. By and large, college administrators aren't celebrating the ruling. |
| Auburn hires Brant Ust as associate AD for administration | |
 | The changes inside Auburn's athletic department under Allen Greene continued this week with the hire of Brant Ust as an associate athletics director for administration. Ust comes to the Plains from Notre Dame, where he served as the assistant athletics director in charge of the Monogram Club, which oversees student-athlete alumni relations. At Auburn, he'll take on a brand-new role just created in the athletic department Greene officially took over earlier this year. "Really, he's going to help support the day-to-day operations of the athletic department," Greene said before the Auburn Alumni Association's Ambush tour event in Newnan, Ga., on Tuesday. The hire comes on the heels of Greene reportedly firing a number of athletic department administrators earlier this month. |
The Office of Public Affairs provides the Daily News Digest as a general information resource for Mississippi State University stakeholders.
Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.
