Winona MS News Commentary and Reading Recommendations

A scary situation. Check out the article for details!

From http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.d.../501290350/1002:
 
By state law, school districts cannot operate at a deficit.
"We cannot fund education unless we see some type of revenue increase, whether it's taxes or fees," Pearl schools Superintendent Stan Miller told a panel of four lawmakers. (...)
"They have very little wiggle room to raise money," said Senate Education Chairman Mike Chaney, R-Vicksburg.(...)

Gov. Haley Barbour repeatedly has said he won't support a tax hike. "Hopefully, some people will have a change of heart on revenue enhancements, but right now we'll work with what we've got," Gordon said. "We cannot abandon public education in Mississippi.

It's almost a cliche, but our future is in the hands of our children, and a bright future starts with well-funded schools and quality education!
 
Something has to be done to move schools even higher on the priority list of everyone.

06:21 AM   

'Haunted Places in Mississippi' mentions the Sav-a-lot in Pontotoc. Legend tells that a man or woman died in the building when it used to be Wal-Mart.

From http://www.juiceenewsdaily.com/0105/news...ississippi.html:
 
There have been more than one actions where weird things have happened. Most of these events have happened in the backroom. The incident that stands out most is when two employees, saw a very bright light coming toward them. The two fled in confusion, when suddenly a loud crash happened. When they got the guts to check it out nothing had been moved. This was the first known appearance of the light, but the crash has been heard a few times.

Does anyone have comments or an eyewitness account about this?
 
I would be mad, too, if my life ended while I was shopping at Wal-Mart.

06:03 AM   

A wonderful project. Great to know that cutting-edge high-tech stuff is going on in our area.

From http://www.msenergy.ms/ethanolarticle.pdf:
 
So much sawdust accumulates, in fact, that some mills ship it off by the tractor-trailer load. Usually, it gets burned in industrial boilers that produce heat or power for paper mills and other plants.
But standing beside an imposing maze of steel pipes and tanks, Louie Harrison is promoting a different idea.
He and other local investors and engineers are working on a project designed to turn sawdust into ethanol, a clean-burning fuel being used in more and more cars.
"A bunch of us small-town guys got together and said 'Let's see if we can build this sucker,'" said Harrison, a Winona dentist and backer of the project.
The $100 to $15 million plant [is] being developed by Mississippi Ethanol LLC, in a partnership with Mississippi State University.

I will try to get an update on things soon.

07:55 AM   

Our thoughts and prayers are with her.

From http://www.thedmonline.com/vnews/display...3/40bebb2bdbe18:
 
Tharp, of Winona, is continuing to rehab in Atlanta and seems to be making significant progress according to members of her family.
Tharp was a UM senior in the spring but was injured in a automobile accident April 3 on Highway 6, near the Water Valley interchange while returning to Oxford.
A person at the scene called an ambulance using Tharp's cell phone and then called the family. Tharp was considered comatose because of her low level of brain activity when she arrived at the Elvis Presley Trauma Center in Memphis.
In Memphis Tharp underwent a craniotomy, in which a portion of her skull was removed to alleviate some of the pressure caused by her injuries. (...)
"She tries to talk to people. She makes sounds with her mouth. She mostly communicates with hand signals," said Nancy Tharp, Jodie's mother. (...)
"You can't imagine the expressions on her face when I hold the phone up to her ear and a friend is on the line."

The article mentioned the address of the Jodie Tharp Fund which is accepting donations.

07:14 AM   

A scary situation that could have easily resulted in a fire.

From http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsi...id=170165&rfi=6:
 
Witnesses at the scene of the accident said a Trailblazer carrying two people was headed south on I-55 and tried to cross the median to head back north. The 18-wheeler headed north could not stop and hit the Trailblazer in the back.
Wesley Merrit, a truck driver from Winona, was driving behind the Trailblazer.
"To me it looked like maybe the Blazer lost control or they fell asleep or something because they whipped across the median," said Merrit. (...)
The 18- wheeler that Smith was driving overturned and slid down a hill and hit some trees which pierced the tanker carrying the herbicide causing it to spill out.

The article does not mention environmental hazards resulting from the herbizide spill.

08:40 AM   

A dubious honor. I wish medical researches would come out with a miracle medicine to melt away the pounds. But, I doubt that it will happen anytime soon, and I doubt that there will ever be a way to let people eat what they want, and still stay healthy. People will always find a way to overeat.

From http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeen...ing/8587176.htm:
 
Dr. Mary Armstrong, medical director for Mississippi's Office of Health Promotion, said the United States has become a "nation of convenience."
"We need to get back out there and enjoy the activities that get us moving and going, and not worry about getting that parking space that's right next to the door," Armstrong said. "Take the stairs instead of the elevator."
Mississippi is pushing several initiatives that include educating adults and working with schools on their physical activity and nutrition programs.

Colorado has the lowest obesity rate.
 
Let me venture a guess. It's because of the mountain terrain and the many opportunity for athletic activities.
 
The humid summer weather here in Mississippi is often not very inviting for outdoor activities. Also, the poverty level is a contributing factor. Healthy foods are often more expensive.
 
Still, I would encourage anyone to at least try and eat a low-sugar cereal for breakfast, and keep a bag of carrots handy for that mid-afternoon snack. It could go a long way towards creating a leaner, slimmer Mississippi.
 
P.S.: Have you ever noticed, that almost all overweight people skip breakfast 'to keep from gaining weight'? Makes you wonder...

06:26 AM   

How wonderful for her. Read about her background...

From http://www.starherald.net/articles/2004/04/01/news/news4.txt:
 
None of the apartments in Kosciusko were handicap accessible, Watson said.
The home is just over 1,000 square feet and is specially modified for Pope, who is confined to a wheelchair. She suffered a spinal injury when she was 14 months old after her mother was hit head-on by a drunk driver at the Montgomery-Carroll county line.
"Its nice to see someone who deserves something like this get it," said Watson. "I'm just happy that she always has a place to live now."

Pope is a graduate of East Holmes Academy and Holmes Community College.

06:01 AM   

Sadly, this is part of Winona's history as well.

From http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1...4&PAG=461&rfi=9:
 
Last week I came face-to-face with the atrocity that happened in my hometown - Duck Hill, Miss. - on April 13, 1937. It is part of the "Without Sanctuary -- Lynching Photography in America" exhibit now on display at Jackson State University. (...) McDaniel and Roosevelt Townes, both black, had been arrested for the murder of a white grocer. They were arraigned at the county courthouse in Winona on that April afternoon but were abducted by an angry mob. My mother, then a 13-year-old girl, has told me she remembers seeing the school bus carrying the men and mob pass her family's house.

A grim reminder of the past. We should never forget. Everyone who has the chance should consider viewing the exhibit and possibly use it as a launching point for discussion with (older) children.

09:10 AM   

What a horrible case. We had actually not heard of it until now as we don't reside in Winona. It sends chills down my spine.

From http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0402/01/m02.html:
 
Eight years ago, a well-known Winona furniture store owner and three of her employees were shot to death.
Since then, the man charged with the execution-style killings, Curtis Giovanni Flowers, has been twice convicted of capital murder. Each time, his conviction and death sentence have been thrown out on appeal.
On Monday, jury selection is set to begin in Flowers' third capital murder trial in the 1996 robbery and shooting deaths of Bertha Tardy, 59, and three employees of Tardy Furniture Store.
Unlike the two previous trials, Flowers' trial this time will be for all four slayings. (...) Flowers, 26 at the time of his arrest, had worked for a short time at the furniture store but was fired by Tardy in a dispute over his responsibility for broken batteries. Flowers, who has remained in jail since his last conviction was overturned, maintained he was home at the time of the killings.
The other two victims were furniture store bookkeeper Carmen Rigby, 45; and deliveryman Robert Golden, 42.

Hopefully, justice will be served.

08:52 AM   

Odd.

From http://www.starherald.net/articles/2004/01/29/news/news3.txt:
 
A Winona man was arrested Thursday night after leaving an obscene note on the windshield of a man's car at a Kosciusko grocery store.
Robert Dees, 31, was charged with four counts of disorderly conduct, said Detective Randy Blakely, who made the arrest.
"It's possible there were more," Blakely said, referring to the number of notes that were written.
Dees is accused of leaving notes on four men's cars at Wal-Mart and Sunflower. All of the notes were explicitly propositioning men for specific sexual acts, Blakely said.
(...) Blakely said there could have been other victims who were too embarrassed to come forward.

Correction: more than odd. My whole life, the only notes I ever found on my car were parking tickets and flyers. Any bets if Dees lawyer will quote the First Amendment (free speech)?

07:17 AM