| Monday, August 19, 2019 |
| MSU New Maroon campers help incoming freshmen settle in | |
 | Hundreds of freshmen made their way to Mississippi State University's campus for move-in day Saturday. Various check-points were set up around the Humphrey Coliseum and throughout campus to help guide the incoming class to their different residence halls. Coordinators said this year they have over 450 volunteers to help with move-in, Including hundreds of the New Maroon Camp members who also helped out. "It's really a mixture. We do have some students groups on campus, a lot of organizations that have student groups, as well as communities within Starkville that have helped volunteer with us," said staff member Sarah Carpenter. "It's our opportunity to help students move into their residence halls and get them settled for the next year," said staff member Victoria Genovese. Everyone in New Maroon Camp is actually a freshman as well. Students said the camp is a great opportunity to get to know one another, as well as the rest of the freshman class. |
| Music Maker, WMSV present welcome back show Friday | |
 | Mississippi State's Music Maker Productions and WMSV radio station are presenting a Welcome Back Show Friday, Aug. 23 in honor of the station's 25th anniversary. Free and open to the public, the 6-9:30 p.m. event is being held at the MSU Amphitheater on the Starkville campus. Opening act Briston Maroney will go on at 6:30 p.m., followed by headliner and national act Colony House at 7:45 p.m. In 2014, Franklin, Tennessee-based indie rock band Colony House released "When I Was Younger," its debut album that reached and remained on the Billboard Top 200 charts for several weeks. The quartet toured with popular indie/alternative artists NEEDTOBREATHE, Ben Rector, and Drew Holcolm and the Neighbors in 2015. Its sophomore album, "Only the Lonely," also appeared on the Billboard Top 200 charts in 2017. |
| National WWII Museum offers MSU-Meridian history student trip of a lifetime | |
 | For one Mississippi State University-Meridian senior, studying history is more than academics -- it's a way of life. Kayla Jordan recently joined 17 other college students from around the country for a travel experience of a lifetime -- the National WWII Museum's Normandy Academy. The native of Sweetwater, Alabama, who grew up visiting historical sites during family vacations and became docent of a small museum at age 16, said this latest experience was a rare opportunity to immerse herself in the historical period of World War II. Students began their nine-day journey in New Orleans at The National WWII Museum, spending several days touring exhibits, exploring artifacts and hearing from WWII veterans. "The museum was much larger than I initially realized," Jordan said. "I feel like the tour really helped prepare us for the sheer scope and scale of this war and how it impacted, not only the particular region we were going to visit in France and what it meant to the French and Americans, but also to the English and Canadians and everyone involved." |
| Coast journalist and former political staffer Wayne Weidie passes away | |
 | Longtime Mississippi journalist, congressional staff member, and governmental affairs consultant Wayne William Weidie, 78, died on August 15, 2019 at his residence in Venice, Florida. Wayne attended Mississippi State University, where he graduated with a B.A. in Political Science in 1962, and was a member of Kappa Alpha Order. He then attended graduate school at Louisiana State University before returning to the family business in Pascagoula. From there he followed his passion of politics and journalism into the newspaper business when he and a group of partners purchased the Ocean Springs Record. Wayne was a passionate Mississippi State Bulldog, and had a long, rich relationship with his alma mater. In addition to being a longtime season ticket holder in football, basketball and baseball, he served as a member of MSU's Stennis Institute of Government Advisory Board. In 1993, he donated his professional and personal papers from his journalism and congressional careers to MSU's Mitchell Memorial Library. |
| Starkville aldermen to consider TIF for retail center on Highway 12 | |
| The Starkville Board of Aldermen will vote Tuesday on a tax increment finance plan for a retail shopping center development project at the intersection of Highway 12 and Industrial Park Road. If the TIF plan is approved, the city would issue up to $3 million in bonds to reimburse the developer, Castle Properties, for the costs of certain infrastructure built at the retail center. Then it would repay the bonds with sales and property taxes generated at the center for up to 15 years. Mark Castleberry, owner of Castle Properties, said the center would include a few restaurants in addition to stores and should create 150 to 200 new jobs. "It would be a very fast return on the investment for the public dollars," Castleberry said. The shopping center would be built in a couple years after Garan Manufacturing, the current occupant of the intersection, builds and moves into a new location at the North Star Industrial Park near Highways 82 and 389. |
| Monday Profile: MSU retiree finds second career among horses | |
| Walter Kilborn was not meant to retire. The lifelong Starkville resident left Mississippi State University nearly a decade ago, but he said he was not made to sit on his porch and watch his days tick by. "I'd rather be doing something than just sitting at the house," Kilborn said. "I would just be looking out at the same thing everyday, watching cars pass by my house." The 69-year-old worked with the labor, carpentry and sanitation crew with Mississippi State for 32 years before retiring in 2009. That same year, he made his way to J-3 Ranch where he tends to about 70 horses seven days a week. "I just like them," Kilborn said as he donned his brand-new Mississippi State hat. "Baby, I've been around horses all my life, grandparents used to have them. I don't have any now but I like working with them, feeding them and petting them. ...We used to ride (horses) up and down Blackjack Road, sure did. We just ride up and down the road, me and my friends." Even more than the horses though, Kilborn said he enjoys sitting in the shade of the of the barn and talking to their owners every day. |
| Floral event showcases holiday tablescapes | |
| Floral enthusiasts and other interested individuals can attend a luncheon event that showcases holiday and seasonal-themed floral arrangements. Kebbie Hollingsworth, guest floral designer, will present arrangements made with exotic orchids at Celebrating the Four Seasons with Tablescapes Oct. 17 at the Biloxi Visitors Center. The program begins at 11 a.m. with viewing of multiple tablescape floral arrangements. Lunch begins at noon and is followed by a floral design demonstration by Hollingsworth, owner and lead designer of a professional floral events business. The event ends at 1 p.m. The Mississippi State University Extension Service Master Floral Designers will sponsor the program and create the tablescape arrangements for viewing. For more information contact Jim DelPrince at 228-546-1011 or j.delprince@msstate.edu. |
| Border enforcement helicopters to be built in Mississippi | |
 | U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), a member of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, has announced the award of a $59.1 million contract to procure Mississippi-produced Light Enforcement Helicopters for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The Customs and Border Protection contract is for the delivery of nine LEH aircraft, with an option for a tenth helicopter. With the option, the total contract is valued at $65.7 million. The LEH aircraft, used for border surveillance and law enforcement missions, will be manufactured at the Airbus plant in Columbus. The contract, which draws from FY2017 and FY2018 appropriations, will entail designing, building, installing, testing, and certifying the aircraft for CBP use. The Department of Homeland Security approved a similar contract in July 2018, with $45.9 million allotted to procure seven LEH produced in Mississippi's Golden Triangle Region. |
| Analysis: Republicans line up to support immigration arrests | |
 | Many Mississippi Republican officials see the immigration raids on seven chicken processing plants earlier this month not only as good policy, but as good politics. The raids were maybe most a gift to Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, who lucked into a Twitter clash with Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar, currently a huge target of GOP attacks. On the day the raids led to 680 arrests, Reeves tweeted his support, writing in part that he was "glad to see that ICE is working hard to enforce our immigration laws. 680 aliens detained in Mississippi today. We must enforce our laws, for the safety of all Americans." One of the many critics who fired back was Omar, writing "How dare you applaud as hundreds of children are left orphaned by ICE... This is the language of dehumanization and its only logical end is violence." Reeves replied that "it is wrong to demonize the brave work of our law enforcement" and that Omar's "no-borders vision is a non-starter in Mississippi." Reeves even ended up being interviewed on Fox News. And while it's unclear if Reeves swayed national opinion, that's not the forum that matters most to him right now. Instead, he's running to the right in the Republican runoff for the gubernatorial nomination against former Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. |
| Congressman Michael Guest meets with Mississippi farmers | |
| This week, Mississippi Congressman Michael Guest toured Mississippi's 3rd Congressional District to speak directly to members of the farming community. Congressman Guest visited with farmers in Adams, Amite, Franklin, Lincoln, Rankin and Wilkinson counties. "I'd like to thank our agriculture community for their hospitality and insight. I'm a proud supporter of our farmers and I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss the issues important to our agriculture industry with the people who work hard to provide goods and products for our communities, state, and nation," Congressman Guest said. "My primary focus in Congress is to serve the people of Mississippi, so I'm very appreciative of the men and women who took the time to share their insights into Mississippi's indispensable agriculture industry." |
| U.S. Gives Huawei Another 90-Day Reprieve Amid Concerns Of Rural Service Disruptions | |
 | The Trump administration is extending a reprieve for Huawei Technologies and U.S. companies working with the telecom giant by 90 days, the Commerce Department announced Monday. The decision permits Huawei to continue buying products from American companies to support its existing customers. It was made in part to minimize disruption in parts of rural America that rely on relatively inexpensive Huawei equipment to carry wireless service in remote areas, Commerce officials said. The U.S. views Huawei as a national security threat, saying it has close links with the Chinese government and that its smartphones and network equipment could be used for surveillance by China. Huawei has denied such allegations. |
| The quantum revolution is coming, and Chinese scientists are at the forefront | |
 | More than a decade ago, Chinese physicist Pan Jian-Wei returned home from Europe to help oversee research into some of the most important technology of the 21st century. At a conference in Shanghai this summer, Pan and his team offered a rare peek at the work he described as a "revolution." They spoke of the hacking-resistant communications networks they are building across China, the sensors they are designing to see through smog and around corners, and the prototype computers that may someday smash the computational power of any existing machine. All the gear is based on quantum technology -- an emerging field that could transform information processing and confer big economic and national-security advantages to countries that dominate it. To the dismay of some scientists and officials in the United States, China's formidable investment is helping it catch up with Western research in the field and, in a few areas, pull ahead. |
| Move In Day At The W | |
| MSU wasn't the only college in the Golden Triangle welcoming students.. Mississippi University for women held their move in today as well. Around 500 students took over the campus to find their new home away from home. For some, they are returning back, but for others, this is a new beginning MUW President Nora Miller said emotions run high for students and parents on this momentous day. "Yeah, yeah it's there and I'm sure when it comes time to say goodbye it's going to be rough for everybody," said Miller. Faculty, staff, and other organizations were on campus to help get students moved into their new home. |
| UM's Ford Center announces School Series for upcoming season | |
| The new school year is set to resume at the University of Mississippi on Aug. 26, which also means a new season of concerts, shows and musicals will commence at the Gertrude C. Ford Center in the coming weeks. The Ford Center offers a little bit of everything, something they strive for when making their season schedule. One of those is the annual 'School Series', which they began in 2017. This year's series features three performances that span from November to March. "Part of the Ford Center's mission is educational," Kate Meacham, marketing director for the Ford Center, said. "Obviously we're on the campus, and a certain amount of the function is education geared toward college students. We also have a feel that our commitment is also to the community, so bringing in a school series was always discussed." The three shows are not open to the general public and are exclusive to interested teachers who would like to bring their classes. |
| Two teens charged in shooting in Hattiesburg near USM | |
 | Two Laurel teens were arrested Saturday after a shooting in the parking lot of Cook Out on Friday. Kaymin Ulmer, 18, was taken into custody at the scene and charged with possession of a stolen weapon. A 17-year-old male also was taken into custody at the scene and charged with possession of a stolen weapon. The incident started as a verbal and physical altercation that led to the shooting in the back parking lot of the restaurant, Hattiesburg Police Department spokesman Ryan Moore said. here was no damage to any property and no injuries were reported. With assistance from Forrest County deputies and University of Southern Mississippi police, police were able to take the alleged perpetrators into custody. |
| Hattiesburg Arts Council, USM to host teen music competition | |
 | Hattiesburg Arts Council and the University of Southern Mississippi's School of Communication is hosting a music competition for teenagers from Forrest and Lamar County. "Put Me in the Mix" is a music mentoring, performing and recording competition for teens age 13-19. The competition starts on Oct. 1 and ends on Feb. 22. Teens will be invited to connect with other teens to learn about pre and postproduction planning, recording, broadcasting, and the legalities of the music industry. Those with limited access to instruction or ensemble will combine into small music groups for twelve weeks of team building, mentoring, and practice. The first round of the competition begins with a one-minute video audition and application submission. The deadline to submit the audition video and application is September 4. In the final round of the music competition, teens will have a chance to land a recording session at USM's Media and Entertainment Arts recording studio, be on WUSM radio, and learn about scholarships and degree programs at USM's School of Communication. |
| JSU Crop Drop had 20,000 lbs of sweet potatoes and pie eating contests | |
 | An estimated 20,000 pounds of sweet potatoes were generously given away Saturday, at this year's Jackson State University Crop Drop. The event also featured a pie-eating contest. The entirely free-of-charge event took place from 9 a.m. until noon at the Blackburn Middle School parking lot. |
| Meridian Community College students, faculty ready to return Monday | |
| Meridian Community College incoming sophomore Brian Cockrell is eager to return to college. "I'm taking classes in my major now, and I'm ready for it," the 19-year-old business administration student from Meridian said. Cockrell is one of the many who are readying for the fall semester, which begins Monday. "It is an exciting time at Meridian Community College. There is a buzz on campus, and we are excited to welcome our students back," said Deanna Smith, dean of student services at the college. "With our exceptional University Transfer Program and our outstanding workforce education programs, there is something for everyone. We would love to help anyone get started," Smith said. Cockrell said he's planning on going into this year by working harder and seeing where it takes him. |
| Heat waves worsening, says U. of Alabama researcher | |
 | A University of Alabama researcher says heat waves have become larger and more severe during the last 60 years. "The bigger the heat wave becomes, the higher its magnitude and the longer it tends to last," said David Keellings, an assistant professor of geography at UA, in a news release. Keelings said climate change is the likely culprit for more severe heat waves, but there's much more to be learned about the deadliest weather hazard in the United States. "Temperature and extremes, such as heat waves, are the things we're most certain about with climate change, and they have definitely become more frequent, higher in magnitude and longer in duration across many parts of the globe," he said. Keellings was recently awarded a three-year, $340,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to study the relationship between the size of heat waves and their causes across the U.S. The goal of the grant is to develop models that will predict when and where heat waves will occur. |
| College recruiting, tuition: Public schools draw fewer state students | |
 | Chelsea Marsh spends most of her days networking with high school kids. As a regional recruiter, her job is to spread awareness about the University of Alabama, and the institution prides itself on customer service, Marsh said. So, she mans a table at college fairs. She schedules meetings with high school counselors and individual students. She meets with parents and students at local coffee shops, for hours. "We just really value making real connections with students," Marsh said. She doesn't do any of this in Alabama, though; Marsh works in South Carolina. Marsh is one of 40 regional recruiters for the University of Alabama, and one of hundreds belonging to universities all over the country. The dynamic of college admissions and enrollment has changed, as flagship public institutions insistently cross state lines to recruit more students. Enrollment of out-of-state or international students is on the rise -- in some places sharply. |
| Alabama Bid Day 2019: 2,007 women rushing to their new sororities | |
 | More than 2,000 women received bids during the culmination of the University of Alabama's sorority recruitment week, as this year's Bid Day saw a large crowd on a scorching-hot Sunday at the Capstone. Of the 2,239 women who attended the first round of events for Fall 2019 formal recruitment at UA, 90 percent (2,007 women) received bids from the 17 Panhellenic sororities that participated in recruitment. The number is up from 2018's recruitment, when 1,957 women received bids out of 2,183 participants. The 2016 pledge class still holds the record at 2,488 bids. |
| Auburn Panhellenic hands out more than 1,430 bids | |
 | The cheers and screams of thousands of sorority women could be heard throughout Auburn University's campus Friday as Auburn Panhellenic concluded its sorority recruitment week with its annual bid day. Overall, 1,433 women received bids from one the university's 18 National Panhellenic Conference sororities, the university said. "More than 88 percent of woman who registered for recruitment will receive bids from Auburn University Panhellenic sororities at Bid Day," a news release from Auburn University stated. A total of 1,617 women took park in the 2019 fall formal recruitment, which began Aug. 10, the university said. Compared to last year's fall formal recruitment, this year's numbers were slightly down. In 2018, 1,458 woman received bids, which is 25 more than 2019's total, according to previous reports. Auburn has 18 National Panhellenic Conference sororities, with the newest sorority coming to campus in 2016. |
| The hazing files: LSU frats, some now shuttered, have amassed dozens of official complaints | |
 | An LSU student hid in an upstairs bathroom of a storied fraternity house after he finally cracked. Hell Week was in full flower. Over the past few days, his fraternity brothers had paddled him, pressured him to drink and forced him to stop sleeping. He threw up for five hours straight after they demanded that he stuff a whole tin of chewing tobacco in his mouth. "I cannot come forward publicly because I am afraid of the retaliation I will receive from active members of the fraternity, but [I] can no longer go through this abuse," the pledge wrote in a 2016 complaint to LSU. "If whoever is reading this does not believe me, come to the Kappa Sigma house at any point this week and investigate what is going on. ... I don't want future kids to be submitted to what I have had to go through." The pledge's anonymous, first-person account was one of more than 40 complaints lodged against 14 LSU fraternities between 2016 and 2019, according to public records the university provided in response to a request from The Advocate. The newspaper has compiled them into a database as LSU's Interfraternity Council Recruitment -- known as rush -- starts Aug. 18. |
| How UT-Knoxville students can prepare their mental health for college | |
 | College is nothing like high school -- in part because more demands are placed on students. The stresses of moving away from family for the first time, starting a more independent life, struggling with the increased workload and trying to balance everything else can take a toll on students. How can students prepare their mental health for the pressures of college and what can families do to help? For students attending the University of Tennessee, the Student Counseling Center offers a variety of resources and services, including drop-in consultation and assessment, crisis intervention, psychiatric services and medication prescription, and individual, couples and group therapy. Individual and couples therapy is limited to 12 session per academic year, but group therapy sessions aren't limited. The university has partnered with the JED Foundation to create a comprehensive campus-wide approach to prevention. |
| Aggieland welcomes new, returning students as move-in day kicks off Howdy Week | |
 | Enthusiastic volunteers from the community and long lines of traffic greeted more than 3,500 Texas A&M University students who moved in to their campus residence halls on Sunday. Family members, friends and strangers worked together to transport clothing, electronics, accessories and more on the largest move-in day of the year. Sunday also marked the start of Howdy Week, in which new and returning Aggies participate in numerous activities to kick off the fall semester. Carol Binzer, director of administrative and support services for A&M Residence Life, said the campus residential options are at capacity, and about 11,000 students will be living on campus when the semester starts Aug. 26. She said Residence Life's more than 50 full-time staff and 200 live-in community directors and student advisers work to ensure that students living on campus feel supported on their academic journeys. |
| Mom sought 4-year college program for learning disabled son, then helped A&M create one | |
| On a recent Friday morning, Miguel Gonzalez sat on his living room sofa in West Austin with paperwork and information packets spread across the coffee table. Over the past few weeks, his mother, Vilma Luna, has been taking him to buy supplies -- hangers, a trash can, cleaning supplies for his dorm room -- like most kids headed into their freshman year of college. Gonzalez, a 21-year-old with Down syndrome, will be part of the inaugural class of Aggie ACHIEVE students this fall at Texas A&M University in College Station. He'll participate in a four-year certificate program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, which is the first of its kind in Texas. He and four other students in the program will live in the dorms, take courses with their peers and have full access to after-school programs and activities. The goal is to get them integrated into meaningful jobs so they can live more independently. Luna, Gonzalez's mom and a former state representative from Corpus Christi, helped establish the program at A&M with special education professor Carly Gilson after realizing Texas lacked programs that bridge the gap between high school and the workforce for people with disabilities. |
| Trump administration names industry exec as student loans ombudsman | |
 | The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is bringing on a former student loan servicing executive to oversee the student loan industry. CFPB director Kathy Kraninger named Robert G. Cameron, who was a top official at the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, as the agency's student loan ombudsman. The company is one of the largest loan servicers, which contract with the federal government to handle payments on millions of student loans. The loan ombudsman's purview includes oversight of private student loans as well as loan servicers and other companies involved in the federal loan program. The position had been vacant since last August when Seth Frotman, the last ombudsman, quit in a letter that blasted the Trump administration's policies on student loans. Frotman, now the executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, and other consumer advocates criticized the new pick Friday. |
| NC State vice chancellor resigns amid criticism of his tweets | |
| Mike Mullen resigned as vice chancellor for student affairs at North Carolina State University Thursday after complaints from conservative students that they did not feel comfortable with him. Their stated reason was his tweets. He did not respond to requests for comment and the university said only that his resignation was personal. He remains on the faculty. Minority students, among others, have praised Mullen for his support. He had removed the Twitter account where he generated controversy and made a new Twitter account private. He resigned the same day that College Republicans at NC State issued a call for him to do so. "Targeted rhetoric that compares conservatives and Republicans on NC State's campus to 'neo-Nazis,' 'alt-right crazies,' and 'KKK members' has no place in the university system," said a statement issued by the group. |
| How UT Dallas evolved from a small research center into one of the fastest-growing universities in just 50 years | |
| Nearly 2,000 new students at the University of Texas at Dallas walked through the heart of the campus and its main arteries -- marked by long stretches of fountains and aisles of magnolia trees -- on their way to Sunday's welcoming convocation. This green and sprawling university began as a research center, housed in a white, boxy concrete building, founded in the 1960s by three businessmen seeking to improve the local workforce for what would become the tech giant Texas Instruments. "Nobody knew what it was, and because it was for this new science company Texas Instruments and had all this land around it, people thought it was a nuclear reactor," said David Daniel, who served as UT-Dallas' president from 2005 to 2015. Now, five decades after joining the University of Texas System, UT-Dallas has emerged as a top state research institution and the fourth-fastest growing university in the nation, according to a 2018 Chronicle of Higher Education report. The university kicked off its 50th anniversary celebrations at the convocation, the first of several events during the 2019-20 academic year. It's also unveiling a new branding campaign. |
| Georgia State ponders its future: What challenges does Georgia's largest university face? | |
| Georgia State University President Mark Becker stared out the window of his office in downtown Atlanta on a recent afternoon. The view included student housing and other tall buildings, some that didn't exist when he was hired a decade ago. The university, through the construction of several new dorms and the acquisition and renovation of Turner Field, is one of the city's largest landowners having transformed the downtown landscape. It now offers 250 majors and minors, making it a critical education, business and employment component in the city and the region. Its $1.15 billion total budget is only behind the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech among state schools. On his mind was the central question: What's the future for the state's largest university? During his tenure, Georgia State has become the 10th-largest public university in the nation, with nearly 53,000 students spread over its main campus downtown and two-year Perimeter College campuses around the metro area. Faculty research spending has more than doubled to over $200 million a year. Georgia State, by some accounts, graduates more nonwhite students than any school in America. |
| Are GOP candidates willing to tackle rural issues? | |
 | Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: Rural Mississippians, as I wrote last week, will have a big say in the August Republican primary runoffs. Politicians who ignore their plight may be in for a big surprise. Take, for example, Tippah County on the northern border of the state. Republican voter turnout in the first primary was up 4,809, a 732% gain. A key issue in Tippah County appears to be delay after delay to four-lane Highway 15. The future economic growth of Ripley could depend upon completion of the project, Mayor Chris Marsalis told the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. "I know of three (businesses) that passed on our initial location because access to a four-lane highway was too far away," Marsalis said. His sentiment was echoed by Doug Martin, the mayor of Blue Mountain. Ashley Furniture chairman Ron Wanek said, "Highway 15 is long overdue to be improved," calling it hazardous, challenging, and dangerous. |
| Jeff Smith part of Mississippi House history, but soon his time at state Capitol is up | |
| Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: Perhaps, no greater surprise occurred during the party primary elections on Aug. 6 than the defeat of two members of the Mississippi House leadership -- Pro Tem Greg Snowden, R-Meridian, and Ways and Means Chair Jeff Smith, R-Columbus. Both were not only power brokers in the state House, but also veteran legislators who had run multiple times for re-election with token or no opposition. The defeat of Smith, in particular, is surprising. He not only has been one of the most powerful members of the Legislature as chair of one of the four so-called money committees, but also in a sense is a historic figure in Mississippi politics. He was one of two contestants in what most likely will be the last, at least for a long time, speaker's election that was fought out on the House floor in full view of everyone. |
| Do ICE raids work? And why aren't the companies being prosecuted? It's complicated | |
 | The Clarion-Ledger's Sam R. Hall writes: The war on illegal immigration reminds me a lot of the failed war on drugs. For many years, supporters of the war on drugs thought incarceration would be a deterrent to drug use. Widespread raids netting arrests of users -- partly in hopes of getting to pushers or dealers -- were (and still are) one of the main tools in the fight. But it didn't work in curbing drug use, and it still doesn't. One thing that has worked: drug courts of rehabilitation. It doesn't come without penalties, it isn't for everybody and it isn't easy. But it has a high success rate. Another thing that helps: disrupting supply lines and going after dealers. Granted, someone usually steps in to fill the void, but the disruption is greater than any focus on users. Undocumented immigrant workers are not the problem with our broken immigration system; they are a result of the problem. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State's Joe Moorhead pleased by competitive second scrimmage | |
 | Mississippi State went through its second fall scrimmage on Saturday night under the lights of Davis Wade Stadium. MSU coach Joe Moorhead left the second scrimmage pleased with the competitive nature in which his team performed. "Anytime you have an intrasquad scrimmage, what you want to see is a great level of effort, an increased understanding of the scheme and improved execution," Moorhead said. "You want both sides of the ball to be competitive and see special teams do well. I thought for the most part the kids had great urgency and knew what they were doing for the most part. We'll get those things cleaned up. I thought it was a heck of a competitive practice." Moorhead mentioned that he liked the way the ball was spread around on offense. Running back Kylin Hill ripped off some big runs in limited action as did true freshman Lee Witherspoon, who scored a touchdown. Defensively, true freshman cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. came up with the lone turnover with a sideline interception. |
| Mississippi State football: Joe Moorhead 'kind of has an idea' on starting quarterback | |
| The wait might be over soon. Mississippi State head coach Joe Moorhead told reporters Saturday that he "kind of has an idea" of when he will announce his starting quarterback. Junior Keytaon Thompson and graduate transfer Tommy Stevens have been dueling for the job since training camp started two weeks ago. Moorhead said he was aware of where Thompson and Stevens stood in terms of statistics going into Saturday night's scrimmage at Davis Wade Stadium. What he observed more or less confirmed what he was already thinking. "You kind of have your gut feeling watching it," Moorhead said. Scrimmages are closed to the media, so it's unclear to reporters what Moorhead's gut is telling him. But it sounds like he's close to choosing a starter. |
| MSU football notebook: Bulldogs hold scrimmage, QB decision getting closer, injury update | |
| The Mississippi State football season is inching closer. Following a canceled session last week, MSU held its first scrimmage at Davis Wade Stadium Saturday night. Going through simulated situations, it was the offense that had coach Joe Moorhead talking following the practice. "I think the good thing offensively is that we spread it around," he said. "A bunch of different guys made plays." Moorhead specifically mentioned junior running back and Columbus native Kylin Hill as a standout performer. Seeing limited action, Hill notched a handful of productive runs in the controlled environment. Defensively, Martin Emerson created the lone announced turnover of the night with an interception along the sideline. After this week's set of practices Moorhead and his coaching staff will put the Bulldogs through a simulated game day in preparation for the season opener against Louisiana Aug. 31 in New Orleans. |
| Three Mississippi State true freshmen who could get serious playing time | |
| Recruiting rankings are a decent barometer to measure the future of a college football program, but the number by each school's name really doesn't mean anything if players don't produce. It's the numbers the players put up in games that truly matter. Mississippi State welcomed a crop of true freshmen to campus over the last few months. Those guys, in addition to the ones who enrolled early for spring ball, are going through their first preseason training camp this month. Three of them could make serious contributions for Mississippi State this season and validate the No. 24 overall recruiting ranking the Bulldogs earned this year per 247Sports. |
| Bulldogs bring back experience on special teams | |
| Mississippi State special teams coordinator Joey Jones can barely contain his excitement. The Bulldogs return most of their starting specialists and get kickoff returner Brian Cole back from a pectoral injury that cost him the final eight games last year. Jones is also amped-up over the amount of players at his disposal across his special teams units this season. "There's a big smile on my face because there's a lot more depth there," Jones said. "Last year we had some really good players up front but they were also starters on defense so we had to rest them and our depth wasn't quite as good." Junior Jace Christmann has been MSU's starting placekicker the past two seasons. Christmann is 24 of 30 on field goals over that span with a long of 47-yards and made all 83 extra point attempts but has some competition this fall. Junior Jordan Lawless is nipping at Christmann's heels again in camp but has yet to attempt a field goal since arriving in Starkville from junior college in 2017. |
| Mississippi State has 'high ceiling and a low floor,' SEC football coach says | |
| When the preseason Amway Coaches Poll came out this summer, Mississippi State was not in the top 25. But if you looked a little harder, you'd see the Bulldogs came in as the third team receiving votes. Mississippi State is on the bubble. That's not a surprising spot for the Dogs to be, according to a story released by Athlon Sports this month. The Athlon story cites anonymous SEC coaches speaking candidly about all 14 SEC teams. They covered Mississippi State's offense, defense and Joe Moorhead's recruiting ability, which one coach said was "better than a lot of coaches expected a non-Southern guy going into Mississippi to do so early." There are some things to like about the 2019 Bulldogs. There are also reasons to be wary. One of the coaches said Mississippi State has "a high ceiling and a low floor this year." |
| Coach, AD explain ideas behind controversial concept of Louisiana players donating to athletic foundation | |
| When the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's football coach introduced a new concept of student-athletes donating to the school's fundraising organization during their playing days to show gratitude, he didn't anticipate the negative reaction. But UL athletic director Bryan Maggard and coach Billy Napier made it clear Friday the university isn't mandating its scholarship football players make the minimum Ragin' Cajun Athletic Foundation donation of $50 per year, but they also aren't backing down from the original intent of the initiative. Napier unveiled the idea in his normal Wednesday news conference when he detailed new foundation executive director Lee De Leon's seminar with the team that morning about the inner workings of the foundation. "Coach Napier's comments were well-intentioned," Maggard said. |
| Fertile grounds: Fueled by culture, South winning football race | |
| Sonny Dykes has spent most of his career coaching and recruiting football players in his home state of Texas and around the South. When he became a head coach in the Pac-12, he found an unfamiliar environment at some high school games in California. "Kids have their phones during warmup, and they're Instagramming, tweeting and stuff. On the field, you know, during warmup," said Dykes, who spent four seasons at Cal before returning to his roots to replace University of Arkansas Coach Chad Morris at SMU after the 2017 season. "I look on the sidelines, [and] coaches are on their phones during the game. I mean guys taking phone calls during a high school football game. On the business side, college football has become a national enterprise, with comprehensive, multibillion-dollar media deals increasing exposure and a collaborative postseason system designed to crown a true national champion. But at its foundation, college football is still very much a regional sport across the United States. And because regions tend to go about their football differently, there is a simple explanation for why teams from the South have won national championships in 13 of the past 14 years. |
| Five years on, student-athletes made SEC Network a success | |
| Paul Finebaum wasn't even sure the show would work. He was the first on-air talent hired for what would be a new television network combining the forces of ESPN and the Southeastern Conference and, despite the massive audience he'd built with his Birmingham-based radio show, Finebaum said he wasn't confident that would translate to TV. "In all candor, I wasn't sure it was a good idea," Finebaum said in an interview with The Tuscaloosa News. "I wondered if the people at ESPN had even heard the show. "Of course, I knew what it was all about, but did they really know what they were getting in to? I had great doubts." Now, all those have been erased as "The Paul Finebaum Show" remains one of the most popular programs on the SEC Network, which celebrated its fifth anniversary last week. The network's impact has been felt in Tuscaloosa and other SEC member schools. According to the Baton Rouge Advocate, since the network switched on in August 2014, revenue distribution has increased over 106 percent from $20.9 million for the 2013-14 fiscal year to $627.1 million for the 2017-18 fiscal year. |
| Texas A&M AD Ross Bjork: Current SEC scheduling model works in the college football landscape | |
| Alabama coach Nick Saban made headlines last week, again addressing what he sees as scheduling concerns in college football and the SEC. Saban, who has called for the SEC to move from eight conference games to nine in the past, told ESPN that he would like to see Alabama move toward playing 10 power conference opponents in a season. Not everybody sees the urgency for a change, including new Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork. "I think right now, the way we schedule in the SEC, I think it works for the current landscape of college football," Bjork said in an interview this week. "Eight conference games and then we have a power five obligation to play a ninth power five game. If every league had what we had, they'd say we were doing it the right way. To me, that's what fits today's environment." Saban had expressed concern about fan interest and sagging attendance. Bjork did acknowledge that the environment could make schools and conferences to alter their view. |
| Vanderbilt paints over traditional coach mural after 27 years | |
 | The 27-year-old Vanderbilt mural near campus has been replaced by a painted white wall and Vanderbilt logo. A Vanderbilt spokesman confirmed the athletic department gained permission to change the image on the wall. Vanderbilt does not own the building, which is located at the corner of 28th Avenue S. and West End Avenue and leased to Verizon. Artist Michael Cooper said the university has never paid for the painting of the mural. In 1992, he was commissioned by the leasers of the property to paint it. He updated it over the years whenever Vanderbilt hired a new coach. Cooper said he was paid each time by different people as "an early version of crowd-sourcing." A radio station once paid to have one of the images painted. In 2011, a group of Vanderbilt baseball fans paid to have coach Tim Corbin added to the wall. Country music star John Rich paid for interim football coach Robbie Caldwell's likeness to replace Bobby Johnson's in 2010. But Vanderbilt has always been in an awkward position when it comes to the mural. It never commissioned or paid for it, but it never objected to it. |
| U.S. Amateur: Here's why you should know the name Cohen Trolio | |
| If Cohen Trolio holes a putt, the fairways at Pinehurst No. 2 are going to sing. There's a large Mississippi-based crowd following the 17-year-old this week at the U.S. Amateur, and they have a trademark phrase when Trolio jars one: "Putting arc!" Dad and caddie V.J. Trolio explains that's the training aid he trademarked "a million years ago," way back in 2002. Trolio is the teaching professional at Old Waverly Golf Club, site of last week's U.S. Women's Amateur. It's also where the Mississippi State teams practice. When Cohen dropped his clinching par putt against Austin Squires at No. 17 on Friday, he looked first at his father V.J., noticeably turning his head mid fist-pump. Theirs is a calm and close on-course vibe, which can be hard ground to find in a father-son golf relationship. "Golf is kind of like our hunting," said V.J. Trolio's game is the product of a lot of things, not the least of which is the caliber of players he grew up around. Central Mississippi is a hot bed of good golf. |
| Andy Ogletree makes Mississippi golf history | |
| Mississippi sports columnist Rick Cleveland writes: Mississippi's first golf course -- the Great Southern Golf Club in Gulfport -- was built in 1908 so it stands to reason that Mississippians have played the sport for at least 111 years. Sunday, 21-year-old Andy Ogletree, a grocer's son from the tiny community of Little Rock in Newton County, became the first Mississippian to win the United States Amateur Championship. Ogletree, a rising Georgia Tech senior, defeated John Augenstein of Owensboro, Kentucky, 2 and 1 in the 36-hole finale at Pinehurst, North Carolina. Ogletree's life-changing victory was a study in perseverance. He lost four of the first five holes and trailed by four early in the morning round. It looked as if Augenstein, who plays at Vanderbilt, might run away with the championship. But Ogletree didn't flinch. |
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