Established 1879 | Columbus, Mississippi
CDISPATCH.COM
Restaurant tax set to return on March 1
Citizens can force referendum with petition
signed by 2,000 registered Columbus voters
By Amanda Lien restaurant on the north side of
alien@cdispatch.com Columbus. “So you just have to
do what you have to do.”
Helen Karriem will have an-
Rep. Kabir Karriem (D-Co-
other bookkeeping task start-
lumbus) was among 91 Missis-
ing March 1 — one her son
helped create for her. sippi House members and 48
Still, she’s not fretting about senators to pass a new 2-per-
it. Besides, she’s known for a cent restaurant sales tax for Co-
while this was probably coming. lumbus in January, with funds
“I’ve been doing this for allocated for tourism, economic
30 years,” said the owner of development and recreation.
Helen’s Kitchen, a soul food Gov. Phil Bryant signed the
Advocate: Kratom ‘should be regulated,’ not illegal
National group responds to local ban
on substance as stores pull it from shelves
Weather Five Questions
1 According to the Beach Boys, what do
“the Midwest farmers’ daughters really”
do?
2 Who did Gordon Brown replace in 2007
as prime minister of the United Kingdom?
3 What 1995 dating advice book includes
the admonition, “Don’t call him and rarely
return his calls”?
Grice Garner
4 What color is the blood pigment of
Second grade, Heritage
most cephalopods, such as octopus and
77 Low 32
squid?
High 5 What nickname was given to NBA head
coach Phil Jackson for his calm, philo-
Chance of p.m. rain; colder
Full forecast on
sophical approach?
Answers, 8B
page 2A.
Inside
Business 4A Dear Abby 7B
Classifieds 8B Obituaries 5A
Comics 7B Opinions 6A
139th Year, No. 281 Crossword 8B
DISPATCH CUSTOMER SERVICE 328-2424 | NEWSROOM 328-2471
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Thursday | February 7, 2019
Restaurant Tax
bill into law on
Tuesday, leav-
2,000 city residents who are
registered voters, according
ing just one to City Attorney Jeff Turnage.
hurdle before If the tax is forced to a vote, it
tax collections would require 60-percent voter
approval to pass.
can begin in
March. Ward 3 Councilman Charlie
The city is Box said he would be “very sur-
required to run prised” if there is resistance to
three legal no- Karriem Box Carpenter the tax from Columbus citizens.
tices with The However, citizens can call for “I can’t believe there would
Dispatch before the tax can be a referendum — a public vote — be (a petition against the tax),”
levied. The first of those will on the tax by delivering a peti- he said. “Most of the people
print on Friday. Columbus is not tion to City Hall no later than 5 support it and realize it’s good
required to host public meet- p.m. Feb. 25. That petition must for the city. I’d be surprised.”
ings about the tax. include signatures from at least See Restaurant Tax, 8A
More
challengers
enter Oktibbeha
supes races
By ISABELLE ALTMAN Fields for districts 1, 3
ialtman@cdispatch.com
and 4 getting crowded
C.M. Haddow knows a Georgia
narcotics officer who once entered a By Alex Holloway
convenience store in north Georgia aholloway@cdispatch.com
and asked if the store carried kra-
tom, a substance commonly found in Three new candi-
convenience stores and which many dates have qualified
people use as pain relief medication. to run for Oktibbeha
Not only did the store carry it, but County supervisor
the clerk pointed the officer to the seats.
particular product that would give Clint McCain,
someone the “best high.” Dennis “Denny”
But that particular product Daniels and Leon-
couldn’t have been pure kratom, ardo “Knot Knot” McCain
said Haddow, who works as a senior Thompson have en-
fellow on public policy at the Virgin- tered the supervisor
ia-based advocacy group American races for districts 1,
Kratom Association. Haddow said 3 and 4, respectively.
unless kratom is laced with another McCain, who reg-
substance — what he calls an “adul- istered to run as a
terated product” — it doesn’t result Democrat against
in users getting high the way tradi- incumbent District
Daniels
tional opioids do. 1 Supervisor John
“If they market it that way and Montgomery, said he
you buy it and you get high, they put wants to serve all of
something in it,” Haddow said. Oktibbeha County’s
Haddow argued it’s these adul- residents and to be a
terated products that have caught voice for District 1’s
the attention of the Food and Drug constituents.
Administration and law enforce- While McCain
ment, resulting in various regula- said he views all is- Thompson
tions and even bans of the product sues as important,
throughout the country — including he said Oktibbeha County needs a
in Columbus where the city council special emphasis on its infrastruc-
voted Tuesday to make it against city ture.
ordinance to sell or possess the sub- “I think the group we have now,
stance. may have a little trust issue with
While it is still legal in other parts the people of the county,” he said.
of Lowndes County, supervisors are “I want to earn that trust back and
planning to hold a public meeting be part of a team the citizens of Ok-
in March on a proposed ordinance tibbeha County can be proud of.”
banning kratom, a meeting which McCain is a Starkville native
prompted Haddow to send a letter and a Starkville High School alum-
from AK A to supervisors asking the nus. He moved away briefly to Tus-
product not be banned. caloosa but has been back for about
However, businesses in the area 15 years. He now works as a region-
have already stopped selling kra- al warehouse manager for Maxx-
tom, which is typically marketed as South Broadband — a position he’s
a dietary ingredient and can be sold held for about 14 years.
as liquid, capsules or powder. While Thompson registered as a Dem-
dietary supplement stores such as ocrat to run against incumbent Dis-
GNC and Max Muscle Nutrition ha- trict 4 Supervisor Bricklee Miller.
ven’t carried it, convenience stores Thompson is the second Democrat
and gas stations do. to file for the race, along with for-
See Kratom, 8A mer District 4 Supervisor Daniel
Jackson. Party primary elections
are set for Aug. 6. Miller is a Repub-
See Candidates, 3A
Calendar Local Folks Public
Today society and a domineering meetings
father. Show times are 7:30 Feb. 8: Lown-
■ Exhibit opening: A free p.m. at Playhouse on Main,
des County
reception from 5:30-7 p.m.
108 E. Main St., Starkville. School District
at the Columbus Arts Coun- Limited seating; contact the regular board
cil’s Rosenzweig Arts Cen- box office for reservations, meeting, 12:30
ter, 501 Main St., opens 662-323-6855.
p.m., Central
an exhibit from Mississippi
University for Women’s Office
permanent collection. 662- Friday Feb. 11: Colum-
328-2787. ■ Jembe Den: Bob Damm bus Municipal
and this percussion student School District
Board regular
Today ensemble, along with
guest artist Wsir Johnson, meeting, 6
through Saturday share dance rhythms of p.m., Brandon
■ “The Heiress”: Africa at the Columbus Central Ser-
Starkville Community The- Arts Council’s Rosenzweig vices
atre presents this stirring Arts Center, 501 Main St. Feb. 11: Lown-
costume drama about a CAC members: $15 ad- des County
young woman in the Victo- vance/$17 door. Nonmem- Christine Hunt is a Supervisors, 9
rian Age challenging stric- bers: $20/$22. Youth 18 & junior communications a.m., County
tures placed on her life by under, $10. 662-328-2787. major at MUW. Courthouse
2A Thursday, February 7, 2019 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Thursday
Did you hear? Say What?
“You can feel the excitement in the air.”
Inmate freed with help by Kim MSU head football coach Joe Moorhead on
National Signing Day Wednesday. Story, 1B.

Kardashian West gets book deal

‘I feel humbled were not in vain,” Johnson

Anti-abortion bills: odds good

said in a statement.
that the telling “My life has forever
changed because of Al-
of my story gives ice Marie Johnson,” Kar-

hope and my
years of pain were
dashian West said in state-
ment. “Her story is a gift
that will now reach so many
millions more through her
in GOP states, not Congress
not in vain’
book and film. I hope Al- In Trump’s State
Alice Marie Johnson
ice’s case is just the begin-
ning of a movement to help
those left behind. I am in-
of the Union speech, Mississippi considers abortion
By HILLEL ITALIE
AP National Writer

NEW YORK — An in-

vested in continuing to sup-
port Alice and this cause.”
Financial terms for
he urged Congress ‘to
prohibit the late-term ban after fetal heartbeat
Johnson’s book and film By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
mate whose life sentence
was commuted thanks in
and television deals were abortion of children The Associated Press
not disclosed
part to the efforts of Kim Johnson, 63, served who can feel pain in a JACKSON — Mississippi lawmakers are considering what could be-
Kardashian West has a more than two decades of come one of the strictest abortion laws in the country. Bills that passed
book deal, along with deals a life sentence without pa- mother’s womb’ legislative committees Tuesday would ban abortion once a fetal heart-
for film and television role for non-violent offens- beat is detected, as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.
By DAVID CRARY
rights. es before President Donald Republican Gov. Phil Bryant has said he will sign either House Bill
AP National Writer
Harper, an imprint of Trump commuted her sen- 732 or Senate Bill 2116, which are moving to the full House and Senate
HarperCollins Publishers, tence last year. Kardashian President Donald Trump’s call for more work. Supporters and opponents anticipate a court fight.
announced Wednesday West personally lobbied for a ban on late-term abortions is An Iowa judge struck down a similar law there last month.
that Alice Marie John- him in the Oval Office, unlikely to prevail in Congress, but Several states could consider tighter abortion restrictions to get a
son’s “After Life: My Jour- a meeting which Trump Republican legislators in several challenge up to the more conservative U.S. Supreme Court to try to
ney From Incarceration son-in-law Jared Kushner states are pushing ahead with their overturn the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.
to Freedom” comes out helped arrange. Last De- own tough anti-abortion bills that Mississippi has some of the tightest abortion laws in the U.S., with a
May 21. Kardashian West cember, Trump signed they hope can pass muster with the 24-hour waiting period and parental consent for minors required, with
contributed a foreword to bipartisan legislation that Supreme Court. some exceptions. The state last year enacted a law banning abortion
what Harper is calling an gives judges more discre- Two bills proposing to outlaw after 15 weeks, and a federal judge declared it unconstitutional.
“honest, faith-driven mem- tion when sentencing some abortions after a fetal heartbeat In his November decision, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves cited
oir” and a “deep look into drug offenders and boosts is detected, as early as six weeks Supreme Court rulings and wrote that states may not ban abortions
the systemic issue of mass prisoner rehabilitation ef- into a pregnancy, advanced out of before viability. He wrote that viability must be determined by trained
incarceration.” Film, televi- forts. On Tuesday night, House and Senate committees in medical professionals, and the “established medical consensus” is that
sion and “life rights” were Johnson was among those the Mississippi Legislature this viability typically begins at 23 to 24 weeks after the pregnant woman’s
sold to Endeavor Content invited to sit with first week, with GOP Gov. Phil Bryant last menstrual period. The state is asking an appeals court to overturn
and One Community. lady Melania Trump and pledging to sign either into law. the ruling.
“I feel humbled that the Trump family members at Efforts to pass similar bills are
telling of my story gives the State of the Union ad- underway in Florida, Kentucky, speech Tuesday night, cited recent 2018, to the Supreme Court. Abor-
hope and my years of pain dress. Ohio, South Carolina and Tennes- controversies in New York and Vir- tion opponents foresee the possibil-
see. In Ohio, former Republican ginia over late-term abortions be- ity that the high court might either
Gov. John Kasich twice vetoed the fore urging Congress “to prohibit reverse Roe v. Wade, the 1973 rul-
CONTACTING THE DISPATCH measure, but his GOP successor, the late-term abortion of children ing establishing a nationwide right
Mike DeWine, has pledged to sign who can feel pain in a mother’s to abortion, or uphold specific state
Office hours: Main line: it. In Tennessee, Republican Gov.
n 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon-Fri n 662-328-2424 womb.” Legislation to achieve that laws that would undermine Roe.
Bill Lee and the top two GOP state
goal failed to win passage even In Indiana, four anti-abortion
Email a letter to the editor? lawmakers say they support the
HOW DO I ... n voice@cdispatch.com measure.
when Republicans controlled both laws have been blocked or thrown
Iowa passed a heartbeat bill last chambers of Congress, and has out by federal judges since 2013.
Report a missing paper?
Report a sports score? year that was struck down by a virtually no chance of success now But activists believe they now
n 662-328-2424 ext. 100
n Toll-free 877-328-2430 n 662-241-5000 state judge on Jan. 22. In response, that Democrats control the House. have a better opportunity for suc-
n Operators are on duty until many GOP lawmakers are seeking Nonetheless, anti-abortion legis- cess, thanks to the Supreme Court
Submit a calendar item? lators and activists across the U.S. changes, and they’re promoting a
5 p.m. Mon.-Fri. to place a proposed constitution-
n Go to www.cdispatch.com/ believe Trump has bolstered their bill that would outlaw a procedure
al amendment on the ballot that
Buy an ad? community cause with his appointments of known as dilation and evacuation
would stipulate there is no right to
n 662-328-2424 Submit a birth, wedding abortion in the Iowa Constitution. conservative judges Neil Gorsuch, that’s frequently used for sec-
Report a news tip? or anniversary announce- Trump, in his State of the Union in 2017, and Brett Kavanaugh, in ond-trimester abortions.
n 662-328-2471 ment?
n news@cdispatch.com n Download forms at www.
cdispatch.com.lifestyles

Physical address: 516 Main St., Columbus, MS 39701

Mailing address: P.O. Box 511, Columbus, MS 39703-0511 Virginia’s top 3 elected officials engulfed in scandal
Starkville Office: 101 S. Lafayette St. #16, Starkville, MS 39759 By ALAN SUDERMAN
The Associated Press
Governor’s career threatened by racist yearbook photo,
SUBSCRIPTIONS RICHMOND, Va. — state’s AG confessed to putting on blackface in the 80s
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE The political crisis in Vir-
ginia spun out of control
and lieutenant governor facing sexual assault allegations
By phone................................. 662-328-2424 or 877-328-2430 Wednesday when the
Online.......................................... www.cdispatch.com/subscribe with Attorney General Fairfax surfaced earlier if Northam resigns — has
state’s attorney general Mark Herring issuing a this week, put out a de- repeatedly denied her al-
confessed to putting on
RATES blackface in the 1980s
statement acknowledging
he wore brown makeup
tailed statement saying
Fairfax forced her to per-
legations, saying that the
encounter was consensu-
Daily home delivery + unlimited online access*..........$13.50/mo. and a woman went public and a wig in 1980 to look form oral sex on him in a
Sunday only delivery + unlimited online access*...........$8.50/mo. al and that he is the victim
with detailed allegations like a rapper during a par- hotel room in 2004 during
Daily home delivery only*.................................................$12/mo. of sexual assault against of a strategically timed
ty when he was a 19-year- the Democratic National political smear.
Online access only*.......................................................$8.95/mo. the lieutenant governor. old student at the Univer- Convention in Boston.
1 month daily home delivery................................................... $12 With Gov. Ralph “At no time did she
sity of Virginia. The Associated Press
1 month Sunday only home delivery........................................ $7 Northam’s career already express to me any dis-
Herring — who had typically does not identify
Mail Subscription Rates....................................................$20/mo. hanging by a thread over previously called on those who say they were comfort or concern about
* EZ Pay rate requires automatic processing of credit or debit card. a racist photo in his 1984 Northam to resign and sexually assaulted, but our interactions, neither
medical school yearbook, was planning to run for Tyson issued the state- during that encounter,
the day’s developments governor himself in 2021 ment in her name. nor during the months
The Commercial Dispatch (USPS 142-320) threatened to take down
Published daily except Saturday. Entered at the post office at Columbus, Mississippi. — apologized for his “cal- Tyson, a 42-year-old following it, when she
Periodicals postage paid at Columbus, MS all three of Virginia’s top lous” behavior and said political scientist who is stayed in touch with me,
POSTMASTER, Send address changes to: elected officials, all of that the days ahead “will on a fellowship at Stanford nor the past 15 years,” he
The Commercial Dispatch, P.O. Box 511, Columbus, MS 39703
Published by Commercial Dispatch Publishing Company Inc., them Democrats. make it clear whether I University and specializes said in a statement.
516 Main St., Columbus, MS 39703 The twin blows began can or should continue to in the political discourse Tyson said she suf-
serve.” of sexual assault, said, “I fered “deep humiliation
FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE The 57-year-old Her- have no political motive. and shame” and stayed
ring came clean after ru- I am a proud Democrat.” quiet about the allega-
mors about the existence “Mr. Fairfax has tried tions as she pursued her
of a blackface photo of to brand me as a liar to a
career, but by late 2017,
TONIGHT FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY him began circulating at national audience, in ser-
as the #MeToo move-
Much colder; rain and Cooler with sun and Periods of clouds and Cloudy and milder with Cloudy the Capitol, though he vice to his political ambi-
drizzle early some clouds sunshine a shower made no mention of a pic- tions, and has threatened ment took shape and after
33° 47° 28° 49° 38° 59° 48° 65° 51° ture Wednesday. litigation,” she said. “Giv- she saw an article about
Then, within hours, en his false assertions, Fairfax’s campaign, she
ALMANAC DATA took her story to The
Columbus Wednesday Vanessa Tyson, the Cal- I’m compelled to make
TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW ifornia woman whose clear what happened.” Washington Post, which
Wednesday 77° 65° sexual assault allegations Fairfax — who is in decided months later not
Normal 57° 35°
Record 77° (2019) 16° (1977) against Lt. Gov. Justin line to become governor to publish a story.
PRECIPITATION (in inches)
Wednesday 0.00
Month to date 0.12
Normal month to date 1.17
Year to date 6.59
Normal year to date 6.53
TOMBIGBEE RIVER STAGES
In feet as of
7 a.m. Wed.
Flood
Stage
24-hr.
Stage Chng.
Trump speech viewed by 46.8 million viewers
Amory 20 11.99 +0.34
Bigbee
Columbus
14
15
4.51
6.26
-0.35
-0.02
Shown are tomorrow’s noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.

Showers T-Storms Rain Flurries Snow Ice Cold Warm Stationary Jetstream
Fox News Channel dominated 11.1 million people watch-
ing the speech on that
Fulton
Tupelo
20
21
9.45
1.98
+0.29
+0.02
-10s -0s 0s 10s

FRI
20s 30s

SAT
40s 50s 60s 70s 80s

FRI
90s 100s 110s

SAT the coverage, with 11.1M watching network. NBC was second
LAKE LEVELS City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W with 7.1 million, CBS had
In feet as of 24-hr. Atlanta 56/36/pc 54/37/pc Nashville 40/20/s 45/33/pc The Associated Press delayed by the govern- 6.7 million, ABC had 5.9
Capacity Level Chng. Boston 55/25/r 34/21/s Orlando 81/60/pc 73/64/c
7 a.m. Wed.
Chicago 14/2/pc 24/20/pc Philadelphia 58/24/pc 37/21/s ment shutdown, topped million, MSNBC had 3.8
Aberdeen Dam 188 163.73 +0.12 Dallas 46/34/pc 43/39/pc Phoenix 68/44/s 65/42/c PASADENA, Calif. — last year’s audience of
Stennis Dam 166 136.93 +0.12 Honolulu 81/64/pc 74/63/pc Raleigh 69/32/pc 48/26/pc million and CNN had 3.4
Bevill Dam 136 136.48 +0.05 President Donald Trump’s 45.6 million. His first such
Jacksonville 80/53/c 61/52/s Salt Lake City 35/22/c 36/28/sf million.
SOLUNAR TABLE Memphis 41/23/s 46/36/pc Seattle 39/31/sn 36/24/sn State of the Union ad-
address before Congress Nearly 4 million Fox
The solunar period indicates peak feeding times for
Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
dress was seen by 46.8
fish and game.
million television viewers, in 2017 was seen by 47.7 viewers didn’t stick around
Major Minor Major Minor SUN AND MOON MOON PHASES
Thu. 2:20a 8:30a 2:41p 8:51p THU FRI FIRST FULL LAST NEW an increase over his 2018 million. for Stacey Abrams’ Demo-
Fri. 3:07a 9:18a 3:28p 9:38p Sunrise 6:46 a.m. 6:45 a.m.
speech. The Trump-friendly cratic response, but the
Sunset 5:30 p.m. 5:31 p.m.
Forecasts and graphics provided by Moonrise 8:30 a.m. 9:00 a.m. The Nielsen company Fox News Channel dom- network’s audience was
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019 Moonset 8:09 p.m. 9:03 p.m. Feb 12 Feb 19 Feb 26 March 6 said the speech, which was inated the coverage, with still larger than all others.
 @
Thursday, February 7, 2019 3A

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House passes school safety bill Confederate emblem

requiring shooter drills
Legislation doesn’t include a recommendation
to train teachers or other school personnel
to carry guns and act as ‘school marshals’
By JEFF AMY
The Associated Press
JACKSON — Mississippi House
members agreed Wednesday that
public schools should undergo
twice-yearly active shooter drills, ap-
proving a bill meant to make schools
safer from mass shootings and turn-
ing aside concerns that such drills
could terrorize the students they’re
meant to protect.
The House voted 114-3 on for
House Bill 1283, sending it to the
Senate for more consideration. It
would require safety inspections
and the active shooter drills at pub-
lic schools. It would also create a
threat-reporting mechanism moni-
tored by three dedicated analysts at
the state Department of Public Safe-
ty.
“The threat is real and it’s one we
have to prepare for,” said Rep. Mark
Baker, the Brandon Republican who
sponsored the bill.
A task force convened by Gov.
Phil Bryant recommended that ev-
ery school have a school resource
officer — typically an armed law
enforcement officer. Baker said he
wants to expand a cost-sharing pro-
gram to encourage that goal, saying
the bill would require the state to
provide at least $10,000 to every dis-
trict that qualified.
The legislation doesn’t include a
task force recommendation to train
teachers or other school personnel
to carry guns and act as “school mar-
shals.”
Most debate Wednesday centered
on the requirement for the active
shooter drills. Republican Rep. Joel
Bomgar of Madison unsuccessful-
ly tried to allow districts to decide
whether students should participate.
“To force all of the children to go
through an active shooter drill that
will leave them somewhat terrorized
is a decision that ought to be made at
a lower level,” Bomgar said.
Representatives rejected that
move, as well as a proposed amend-
ment by Republican Rep. Dana
Criswell of Olive Branch that would
have allowed parents to pull individ-
ual students out of drills.
“Children should know where to
hide along a wall, where bullets can’t
penetrate, how to save and protect
each other,” said Democratic Rep.
John Hines of Greenville.
remains on Mississippi
flag as bills die
Lawmakers also rejected measures
that would force universities
opposed to the state flag to fly it
By EMILY WAGSTER PET TUS
The Associated Press
JACKSON — Mississippi lawmakers are again
killing bills to remove the Confederate battle em-
blem from the last flag in the U.S. to display it.
But they also rejected measures that would
force universities opposed to the emblem to fly
the banner.
The emblem — a red field topped by a blue
tilted cross and dotted by 13 white stars — has
appeared on Mississippi’s flag since 1894. Critics
say it’s racist; those who oppose removing it say
it’s a historic symbol.
Mississippians voted to keep the flag in a 2001
statewide election. Several Mississippi cities and
counties — and all eight of the state’s public uni-
versities — have stopped flying it in recent years,
however, amid criticism that the battle emblem is
a racist reminder of slavery and segregation. Sup-
porters of the flag say it represents history.
Confederate symbols have been the subject of

House seeks college graduate tax breaks, but could be costly
Mississippi lawmakers seeking
to stem the state’s falling population
By JEFF AMY
The Associated Press
JACKSON — Missis-
sippi could become the
latest state to begin offer-
ing incentives to recent
The following arrests
were made by Lowndes
County Sheriff’s Office:
n Jimmie Putt, 31, was
charged with burglary of a
commercial building, car,
etc.
n Eben Pumphrey, 27,
was charged with uttering
forgery and possession,
sale or transfer of a stolen
firearm.
college graduates who
remain in or move to the
state, as lawmakers seek
to stem the state’s falling
population.
The state House on
Tuesday voted 111-2 to
Area arrests
Putt Pumphrey
pass House Bill 816, which
would pay back half or all
of a recent graduate’s state
income tax payments af-
ter five years of residence.
“The purpose of this is
to let Mississippi recruit
the best and brightest,”
said state Rep. Trey La-
mar, a Republican from
Senatobia and sponsor of
Logan Ash
the bill.
Lamar said he doesn’t
have an estimate of how
much such a program
would cost, but said he
thought it would be nom-
inal. However, Associated
Press calculations sug-
gest it could cost more
than $20 million a year if
widely adopted.
McQuiller Jr. Emerson
widespread debate across the South, particularly
since June 2015, when a white supremacist killed
nine black worshippers at a church in Charleston,
South Carolina; and August 2017, when violence
erupted as white nationalists held a rally in Char-
lottesville, Virginia.
For the past several years, multiple bills have
been filed to redesign the Mississippi flag. More
than a dozen were filed this year, and they all died
when they were not considered before a Tuesday
deadline. It was the final day for House and Sen-
ate committees to accept or reject general bills
filed in their own chamber.
Mississippi House Rules Committee Chair-
man Jason White, a Republican from West, said
Tuesday there is no consensus in the 122-member
House to either change the flag or give it extra
protection. It’s the same thing White has said
about flag bills in recent years.

The following arrests

were made by the Oktibbe-
ha County Sheriff’s Office:
n Anthony Logan,
18, was charged with a
MDOC hold.
n Gary Ash, 47, was
charged with possession
of a Schedule II drug and
careless driving.
n Obie McQuiller Jr.,
47, was charged with a cir-
cuit court order.
n Jonathan Emerson,
24, was charged with a cir-
cuit court order.
n Daniel Easley, 40,
was charged with a circuit
Easley Smith
court order.
n Marvin Smith, 34,
was charged with a circuit
court order.
n Quontavious Wil-
born, 23, was charged
with a circuit court order.
n Devon Riley, 25, was
charged with a circuit
court order.
n Joe Whitehead, 21,
was charged with a circuit
Wilborn Riley Whitehead Davis Jr. III
court order.
n Alvin Davis Jr. III, 30,
was charged with a circuit
court order.
n Dalton Corder, 26,
was charged with posses-
sion of a controlled sub-
stance, hold for another Corder Brown
agency, possession of par-
aphernalia and careless charged with possession
driving. of cocaine and possession
n Laci Brown, 23, was of a Schedule III drug.

Candidates
Continued from Page 1A
lican.
Thompson said Oktib-
beha County’s infrastruc-
ture — and its roads in
particular — need work.
“Some of our roads are
gravel, and in this day and
age all of our roads should
be paved,” Thompson
said. “There are also a lot
of bridge areas that need
work. Some of them don’t
even have safety railings.
It’s a danger, not just to
the county residents,
but to all people who go
through those areas.”
He said he also wants
to see more opportunities
for youth activities in the
county and wants to work
to make county employ-
ees feel appreciated.
Thompson is from
Starkville and a graduate
of the Starkville school
system. He went to Aus-
tin Peay State University
in Tennessee. He worked
with the Starkville
School District, where
he coached football, for
10 years, and with the
former Oktibbeha Coun-
ty School District for two
years. He now works as
a residential therapist in
Winston County.
Thompson is also a
captain with the District
5 Volunteer Fire Depart-
ment.
Dennis “Denny” Dan-
iels entered the District
3 Supervisor race to chal-
lenge incumbent Marvell
Howard.
Daniels, a Republican
and veteran of the Mis-
sissippi Army National
Guard, has challenged
Howard in the 2011 and
2015 District 3 elections.
Howard secured a narrow
victory in 2011, when he
defeated Daniels by three
votes. In 2015, he beat
Daniels by a 970-923 mar-
gin.
Daniels is the second
Republican to file for the
District 3 race, after Gold-
en Triangle Planning and
Development District
Director Rudy Johnson.
Howard is a Democrat.
Daniels did not re-
spond to Dispatch calls
for comment by press
time.
Party primaries will be
held in May with the gen-
eral election scheduled
for November.
Deadline to qualify is
March 1.

Marriages and divorces

Lowndes County Carlton; Jan. 7
Marriages
■ Jerry Cade and Meagan
Tidwell; Jan. 1
■ Lawrence Jones III and
Precious Williams; Jan. 1
■ Levi Gardner and Alexandria
Vena; Jan. 3
■ Demetrice Skinner and
Lakesha Richardson; Jan. 6
■ Jason Gronos and Olympia
■ Jacob Vincent and Tyronda
Crowell; Jan. 10
■ Anthony Bush and Candice
Cohen; Jan. 11
■ Hunter Cole and Jaime
Andrews; Jan. 12
■ Zachary Jaeger and Emily
Cornish; Jan. 14
■ Charles Oliver and Tina
Edwards; Jan. 15 Christopher Wells; Jan. 11
■ Michael Porter and Jana ■ John Wesley Ward and Mary
Jones; Jan. 17 Elizabeth Ward; Jan. 11
■ John Lucious and Makicka ■ Michael Dewayne Perrigin
Edwards; Jan. 18 and Rebekah Denice Perrigin;
■ Wesley Wood and Taylor Jan. 8
Jackson; Jan. 23 ■ Reginald Doss and Anasta- Buckle up...
sia Yvette Doss; Jan. 7 and your child, too
Divorces ■ Kenneth Wayne Conn and
■ Sarah Burnett Wells and Christy Lynn Conn; Jan. 16
4A Thursday, February 7, 2019 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Business
Business moves with Mary

The Purple Elephant reopens

PLUS: Grand Grand
Junction has
Grand Junc-
tion will offer
Junction slated finished its
foundation
three phases,
with 22 resi-
to open in Fall and has offi-
cially started
dential condos
in phase one

N
early 10 years ago,
Debbie Putt and
Janis Kertsetter
were working at The
Purple Elephant.
Last Friday, they
became the new owners
and reopened the previ-
ously closed Columbus
gift shop on Wilkins Wise
Road.
“We hated to see
another store close in Co-
lumbus,” Putt said. “We
just felt like jumping in
and doing it. Everything
comes full circle.”
Putt said she is hoping
to add some new lines
and products in the fu-
ture, but everything else
will remain the same. She
added that each employee
has stayed on staff since
former owner Marca
Glenn announced her
retirement. The gift shop
is open Monday through
Friday from 10 a.m.-5:30
p.m. and Saturdays from
10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Elsewhere in Colum-
bus, a frozen yogurt shop
closed its doors.
After six years of
business in Columbus,
Tutti Frutti Frozen Yo-
gurt, 507-1 18th Ave. N.,
announced its closure on
Facebook.
Over in Starkville,
the construc- and 16 in both
tion process. phase two and
The first three.
phase of the Moving
Grand Junc- to campus,
tion condos, Mississippi
509 University Mary Pollitz
State Univer-
Dr., are slated sity Colvard
to open in late August. Student Union had a
Kay Regimbal, vice couple of changes this
president of development past month.
for Tabor Development, State Fountain Bakery,
said 1/3 of condos have which moved across the
been purchased already union, is ready for Valen-
since construction began
tine’s Day business with
last September. Grand
cookies, cakes, chocolate
Junction will offer one-to-
covered strawberries and
three bedroom condos,
petit fours.
750 to 1,500 square
Adding a new flair for
feet, from $200,000 to
$445,000. Regimbal said MSU students, Olilo by
these condos are ideally Cat Cora has officially
family’s second homes opened in the student
for baseball or football union. The restaurant
season. offers a flair of Mediter-
She added the condos ranean dishes including
offer “smart technolo- falafel and salmon flat
gy,” where homeowners breads. Olilo is a restau-
can control their locks, rant designed by Jackson
lighting and air condi- native and Iron Chef Cat
tioning from their phone. Cora.
Homeowners will also Meanwhile, down-
have access to a health town, a popular yoga
and wellness center once studio has temporarily
construction is complete. closed its doors. Firefly,
Regimbal said an on- 102 S. Lafayette St., looks
site manger and cleaning to have posted its build-
services can be hired to ing and studio for sale.
help maintain each condo Got business tips?
while not in use. Email them to mpollitz@
Once completed, cdispatch.com.

Building permits
City of Columbus
Jan. 28-31, 2019
■ The River Church; 882 N.
Lehmberg Road; Sign permit;
Sign shop
■ First Baptist Church; 3000
Bluecutt Road; New addition;
Burks-Mordecai Builders
■ Brickyard Properties; 152
Brickerton St.; Electrical per-
mit; Buddy Easley
■ Brickyard Properties; 156
Brickerton St.; Electrical per-
mit; Buddy Easley
■ Terilyn Smith; 705 17th Ave.
S.; Electrical permit; Buddy
Easley
■ Julia Brown; 707 Water-
works Road; Electrical permit;
Buddy Easley
■ Robert Smith; 811 7th Ave.
S.; Electrical permit; Buddy
Easley
■ Newman Oil; 413 4th St. S.;
Electrical permit; Buddy Easley
■ Newman Oil; 409 4th St. S.;
Electrical permit; Buddy Easley
■ Carroll S. Rippy; 471
Wilkins-Wise Road; Electrical
permit; George Beavers
■ Kingdom Vision Church;
2121 7th Ave. N.; Electrical
permit; Jimmy Chism
■ Doug Warren; 801 Fallwood
Dr.; Electrical permit; Buddy
Easley
■ Bessie Deloach; 421 17th
St. N.; Electrical permit; Same
■ Lenton Dismuke; 418 Wool-
bright St.; Electrical permit;
Jimmy Chism
■ Rhett Real Estate; 1809
Hwy. 45 N.; Electrical permit;
Mark Thompson
■ WMR, LLC; 2102 5th St.
N., Unit 6; Electrical permit;
James Sykes
■ Kurtis Kendrick; 114 Day
Circle; Plumbing permit; David
Truesdale
■ Robertson-CECO II Corp.;
122 Hwy. 45 N. Plumbing
permit; David Truesdale
Lowndes County
Jan. 31, 2019
■ Aurora Flight Sciences; 200
Aurora Way; Remodel commer-
cial building; Harrell General
Contractor
■ Kingdom Hall; 5590 Hwy.
182 E.; Remodel commercial
building; Crown Homes
■ Phillip Moore; 1700 Cale-
donia-Kolola Road; Set up
portable building; Owner
■ Peter Cyprian; 195 Wanda
Ln.; Construct carport; Owner
■ Mel Howton; 1545 Lone
Oak Road; Construct s/f resi-
dence; Owner
■ Spec; 2153 Old Wolfe Road;
Construct s/f residence; Frye
Tile & Exterior
■ Jamie Pickard; 370 Eubanks
Dr.; Construct s/f residence;
Owner

Get promoted? Win an award? Send us your business brief.

news@cdispatch.com
subject: Business brief
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com Thursday, February 7, 2019 5A

COMMERCIAL DISPATCH
OBITUARY POLICY
Obituaries with basic informa-
tion including visitation and
service times, are provided
free of charge. Extended
obituaries with a photograph,
detailed biographical informa-
tion and other details families
may wish to include, are avail-
able for a fee. Obituaries must
be submitted through funeral
homes unless the deceased’s
body has been donated to
science. If the deceased’s
body was donated to science,
the family must provide official
proof of death. Please submit
all obituaries on the form pro-
vided by The Commercial Dis-
patch. Free notices must be
submitted to the newspaper
no later than 3 p.m. the day
prior for publication Tuesday
through Friday; no later than 4
p.m. Saturday for the Sunday
edition; and no later than 7:30
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Incomplete notices must be re-
ceived no later than 7:30 a.m.
for the Monday through Friday
editions. Paid notices must be
finalized by 3 p.m. for inclusion
the next day Monday through
Thursday; and on Friday by 3
p.m. for Sunday and Monday
publication. For more informa-
tion, call 662-328-2471.
Wendell Williams
COLUMBUS —
Wendell Williams, 57,
died Feb. 3, 2019, at
Sanctuary Hospice in
Tupelo.
Services will be at
11 a.m. Saturday at
Northside Christian
Church with the Rev.
Orlando Richmond
officiating. Burial will
follow at Greenwood
Cemetery. Visitation
will be from 4-6 p.m.
Friday at Carter’s Fu-
neral Services. Carter’s
Funeral Services is
in charge of arrange-
ments.
Jane Dacey
LAKEWOOD, Colo.
— Jane Griffin Dacey,
Community College
and as an accountant
with Boulder County
Health Department.
She was also employed
with Unifirst in Jack-
son. She was a volun-
teer aide with a local
hospital and Meals on
Wheels.
In addition to her fa-
ther, she was preceded
in death by her hus-
band, Robert Dacey.
In addition to her
mother, she is survived
by her brother, Jerry
Griffin; and sister, Nan-
cy Undieme.
Memorials may be
made in her honor to
the American Heart
Association or Mended
Hearts.
Teresa Kornegay
STARKVILLE — Te-
resa Gail Bassett Kor-
negay, 57, died Feb. 5,
2019, at her residence.
Services will be at 3
p.m. Saturday at Adaton
Baptist Church with the
Rev. Hal Selby offici-
ating. Visitation will
be two hours prior to
services at the church.
Welch Funeral Home
is in charge of arrange-
ments.
She was preceded
in death by her father,
Charles Fredrick
Bassett; and stepfather,
Ben Boykin.
She is survived by
her daughter, Na-
cole Cumberland of
Starkville; mother, Judy
Boykin of Starkville;
sister, Becky Bassett
of Pineville, Louisi-
ana; and brothers,
Michael Bassett and
Charles Bassett, both
of Starkville and Billy
Walker of Henderson-
ville, Tennessee.
Memorials may be
Area obituaries
attended Ernest Ward Philip Wardlaw Oswalt of West Point; tor of her own salon.
School in Walnut Hill, three grandchildren; In addition to her
AMORY — Philip
Florida. Craig Wardlaw, 40, and two great-grand- parents, she was
In addition to her died, Feb. 5, 2019, at children. preceded in death by
father, she was pre- his residence. Memorials may her husband, Billy Rex
ceded in death by her Services will be at be made to ST. Jude Anderson.
husband, Glenn Allen; 2 p.m. Friday at Cleve- Children’s Research She is survived by
son, Jerry; and brother, land-Moffett Funeral Hospital, 501 St. Jude her daughters, Teresa
Arlo. Home with Lloyd Swe- Place, Memphis, TN Dudley of Suwanee,
In addition to her att and Steven Simms 38105 or to the Amer- Georgia and Libba Da-
mother, she is survived officiating. Burial will ican Cancer Society, vis of Evans, Georgia;
by her children, Treva follow at Masonic Cem- P.O. Box 8217, Jackson, sister, Mary Burnett
and Lynden Classen, etery. Visitation will MS 39284. of Hamilton, Alabama;
both of Macon, Kathy four grandchildren;
be from noon-1:45 p.m.
and Jeff Schmidt, both Dorothy Woods and two great-grand-
Friday at the funeral
of Shell, Wyoming, COLUMBUS — Dor-
home. Cleveland-Mof- children.
Paul and Tanya Koehn, othy Kibe Woods, 89,
fett Funeral Home is
both of Otto, Wyoming, died Feb. 6, 2019, at
in charge of arrange-
and Joanna and Shane Garden Hills Assisted
ments.
Koehn, both of Scoo- Living.
Mr. Wardlaw was
ba; brothers, Edward Graveside services
born may 16, 1978, in
Johnson of Demopolis, will be at 1 p.m. Satur-
Anniston, Alabama, to
Alabama, roger John- day at Forest Cemetery
Donna Bennett Stew-
son of Selma, Alabama in Ethelsville, Ala-
art and the late Eddie
and Frank Johnson of bama. Visitation will be
Ward Wardlaw. He
Uniontown, Alabama;
attended Hatley School from 6-8 p.m. Friday at
sisters, Annie Johnson Memorial Gunter Peel
and was a 1997 grad-
of Arthur, Illinois, Janet Funeral Home, Second
uate of Amory High
Zismann of Gentry, Avenue North location.
School.
Arkansas and Christine Memorial Gunter Peel
In addition to his
Goering of Mound- Funeral Home and
mother, he is survived
ridge, Kansas; 20 Crematory, Second
by his brother, John
grandchildren; and two
Avenue North location Frances McDaniel
Wardlaw of Smithville. Visitation:
great-grandchildren.
Pallbearers will be is in charge of arrange- Thursday, Feb. 7 • 6-8 PM
Memorials may be
made to Oakwood Man- John Wardlaw, Jason ments. Memorial Gunter Peel
Funeral Home
or, 218 Oakwood Dr., Reeves, Bryan Smith, 2nd Ave. North Location
Brooksville, MS 39739. Frank Smith, Jordan Barbara Anderson Graveside Services:
Friday, Feb. 8 • 10 AM
Wardlaw and Cameron EVANS, Ga. — Bar- Friendship Cemetery
Wardlaw.
bara Sorrell Anderson,
Shirley Millican 80, died Feb. 4, 2019, at Mildred Lollar
DETROIT, Ala. — Graveside Services:
Shirley Millican, 79, Laveda Camp the University Hospital Friday, Feb. 8 • 1 PM
WEST POINT — in Augusta, Georgia. Mt. Zion Baptist Church Cemetery
died Feb. 5, 2019, at
Laveda Ann Camp, 78, Services will be at 11 Memorial Gunter Peel
Marion Regional Nurs- Funeral Home
died Feb. 5, 2019, at a.m. Saturday at Otts
ing Home in Hamilton, 2nd Ave. North Location
North Mississippi Med- Funeral Home Chapel
Alabama.
Services were at 1 ical Center in Tupelo. with the Rev. Jeff Chaf- Dorothy Woods
p.m. Wednesday at Otts Services will be at fin officiating. Burial Visitation:
Funeral Home Chapel 11 a.m. Saturday at will follow at Crews Friday, Feb. 8 • 6-8 PM
Memorial Gunter Peel
with Ralph Bailey offi- Calvert Funeral Home Cemetery in Sulligent, Funeral Home
ciating. Burial followed Chapel with the Rev. Alabama. Visitation 2nd Ave. North Location
will be one hour prior Graveside Services:
at Pleasant Site Cem- Ben Yarber officiating. Saturday, Feb. 9 • 1 PM
etery. Visitation was A private family burial to services at the funer- Forest Cemetery
al home. Otts Funeral Ethelsville, Alabama
from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. will follow at Mt. Zion
at the funeral home. Church Cemetery in Home is in charge of
arrangements. James Zuniga
Otts Funeral Home was Eupora. Visitation will Incomplete
in charge of arrange- be two hours prior to Mrs. Anderson was Memorial Gunter Peel
ments. services at the funeral born July 23, 1938, in Funeral Home
Mrs. Millican was home. Calvert Funeral Sulligent, to the late College St. Location

70, died Feb. 1, 2019, at
St. Anthony Hospital in
Lakewood, Colorado.
Services will be at 2
p.m. Saturday at Welch
Funeral Home. Burial
will follow at Memorial
Garden Park. Visitation
will be one hour prior
to services at the funer-
al home. Welch Funeral
Home is in charge of
arrangements.
Mrs. Dacey was
born Oct. 23, 1948, in
Ames, Iowa, to the late
Nina and the late Jack
Griffin. She was a 1966
graduate of Starkville
High School and a
graduate of Mississippi
State University. She
was formerly employed
made to LeBonheur’s
Children’s Hospital in
Memphis, Tennessee.
Mavis Koehn
MACON — Mavis
Johnson Koehn, 72,
died Feb. 3, 2019, at
Windsor Place.
Services are at 10:30
a.m. Thursday at South
Haven Mennonite
Church. Burial will
follow at the church
cemetery. Visitation
was from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Wednesday. Cockrell
Funeral Home is in
charge of arrange-
ments.
Mrs. Koehn was
born May 7, 1946, in
Moundridge, Kansas,
born April 16, 1939, in Home is in charge of Johnny Hester Sorrell
Lamar County, to the arrangements. and Nellie Mae Otts.
late Woods Crawford Mrs. Camp was born She was a 1956 gradu-
and Lola Sorrells. She Feb. 4, 1941, in Eupora, ate and attended cos-
attended Sulligent to the late Wiley and metology school. She
High School and was Iva Tharp Sibley. She was formerly employed memorialgunterpeel.com
formerly employed with was formerly em- with Dr. Rutland and
Detroit Slacks. She was ployed with Dedeaux Fayette Hospital and
a member of Pleasant Chiropractor Clinic was owner and opera-
Site Freewill Baptist and Gary’s Pawn and
Church. Gun. She was a mem- Animals
In addition to her
parents, she was pre-
ber of Calvary Baptist
Church.
grieve
ceded in death by her In addition to her too.
husband, Loman Carel parents, she was pre-
Millican; and sister, ceded in death by her
JoAnn Crawford. sister, Adney Byrd; and
She is survived by brother, Walter Sibley. I’ve always wanted my dog to attend my graveside service.
her son, Danny Milli- She is survived by
You need to tell someone.
can of Detroit; broth- her husband, James T.
er, Billy Crawford of Camp of West Point; Call us at (662) 328-1808
Sulligent; sister, Nell daughter, Frances Lowndes Funeral Home and Crematory
Langley of Vernon; one Merchant of Starkville;

Mildred Lollar
as a educator with to Ruth Wenger and the grandchild; and two sisters, Mable Putnam
Northeast Mississippi late Orval Johnson. She great-grandchildren. of Eupora and Nelda

Some workers still unpaid after
shutdown, dread what’s next
“President Trump stood in the Rose
Garden at the end of the shutdown
and said, ‘We will make sure that you
guys are paid immediately.’”
USDA employee Michael Walter
By MICHELLE R. SMITH
The Associated Press
Nearly two weeks af-
ter the end of the longest
government shutdown
in U.S history, many fed-
eral workers still have
not received their back
pay or have only gotten a
fraction of what they are
owed as government agen-
cies struggle with payroll
glitches and other delays.
And even as they scram-
ble to catch up on unpaid
bills and to repay unem-
ployment benefits, the
prospect of another shut-
down looms next week.
“President Trump
stood in the Rose Garden
at the end of the shutdown
and said, ‘We will make
sure that you guys are paid
immediately.’ ... And here
it is, it’s almost two weeks
later,” said Michael Walter,
who works for the U.S. De-
partment of Agriculture
food safety inspection ser-
vice in Johnstown, Penn-
sylvania, and only got his
paycheck Wednesday. He
said two co-workers told
him they still had received
nothing.
The government has
been short on details about
how many people are still
waiting to be paid.
Bradley Bishop, a Rebecca Wright and her husband, Christopher of
spokesman for the Of-
fice of Management and
Budget, said the Trump
administration had taken
“unprecedented steps to
ensure federal employees
impacted by the shutdown
received back pay within a
week.”
“Much opposite of
‘slow and chaotic,’ an over-
whelming majority of em-
ployees received their pay
by Jan. 31,” he said, though
he didn’t respond to ques-
tions about how many peo-
ple still hadn’t been paid.
Frances McDaniel
Frances Gerhart McDaniel, age 82, of Colum-
bus, MS, passed away February 5, 2019, at Bap-
tist Memorial Hospital.
Graveside services will be Friday, February 8,
2019, at 10:00 AM at Friendship Cemetery with
Rev. Sandra Brown officiating. Visitation will be
Thursday, February 7, 2019, from 6:00 – 8:00 PM
at Memorial Gunter Peel Funeral Home & Cre-
matory, 2nd Ave. North location.
Mrs. McDaniel was born October 4, 1936, in
Columbus, MS, to the late Bert Coleman and
Hazel Gilliam Gerhart. She was one of eight
children and graduated from Lee High School.
Mrs. McDaniel worked for over 30 years at Sprint
Mart.
Survivors include her sons, Billy McDaniel, Jr.
and his wife, Heike of Warner Robbins, GA and
Darrin McDaniel and his wife, Lisa of Hatties-
burg, MS; daughter, Debra Price and her hus-
band, Michael of Columbus, MS; brothers, Jack
Gerhart of Birmingham, AL, James Gerhart of
Columbus, MS and George Gerhart of Colum-
bus, MS; grandchildren, Lewis McDaniel of Bal-
timore, MD, Christina McDaniel of Warner Rob-
bins, GA, Matthew McDaniel of Columbus, MS,
Columbus, MS and Brianna Smith and her hus-
band, Jonathan of Columbus, MS; 5 great-grand-
daughters; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Honorary pallbearers will be nurses and staff
of Baptist Memorial Hospice, special niece, Cin-
dy Gerhart, Diana Granger and Harry S. Ford.
Memorials may be made to the Children’s
Reading Program, Columbus Lowndes Public
Library, 314 7th St. North, Columbus, MS, 39701.
Sign the online guest book at
www.memorialgunterpeel.com
716 Second Avenue North • Columbus, MS
Mildred Henry Harrison Lollar, age 84, died
Sunday, February 04, 2018, at Countrywood
Plantation in Mantachie, MS.
Graveside services will be held Friday, Feb-
ruary 08, 2019 at 1:00 PM at Mt. Zion Baptist
Church Cemetery with Bro. David Langerfeld of-
ficiating. Memorial Gunter Peel Funeral Home &
Crematory, 2nd Ave. North location is in charge
of arrangements.
Mrs. Lollar was born on Wednesday, Febru-
ary 22, 1933, in Marshall, TX, to the late Eze-
kiel Clinton and Juanita Oxley Henry. She was
an alumnus of East Texas Baptist University and
the Mississippi University for Women. Mrs. Lol-
lar lived her life for the Lord and was a member
of Harrisburg Baptist Church in Tupelo. In 1985,
she received her Certified Financial Planner li-
cense and was self-employed in the Columbus
area until retirement. After retirement, she vol-
unteered with various Christian outreach activ-
ities providing services to troubled youth and
adults in need.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in
death by her first husband, Larry Harrison; her
second husband, Milton Lollar; and her sister,
Norma Davis.
Survivors include her daughter, Sherry Van
Valkenburg (Alan), Tupelo, MS; son, Kent Har-
rison (Candace), Greensboro, NC; brother, Max
Henry, Austin, TX; sister-in-law, Lucille Wills,
Newton, KS; grandchildren, Seth Harrison, Jen-
na Van Valkenburg and Tessa Harrison.
Serving as honorary pallbearers will be the
Staff & residents of Countrywood Plantation As-
sisted Living.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to
the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan
Ave., FL 17, Chicago, IL 60601.
Sign the online guest book at
www.memorialgunterpeel.com
716 Second Avenue North • Columbus, MS
Opinion
6A Thursday, February 7, 2019
BIRNEY IMES SR. Editor/Publisher 1922-1947
BIRNEY IMES JR. Editor/Publisher 1947-2003
BIRNEY IMES III Editor/Publisher 1998-2018

Dispatch
The
PETER BIRNEY IMES Editor/Publisher

ZACK PLAIR, Managing Editor

BETH PROFFITT Advertising Director
MICHAEL FLOYD Circulation/Production Manager
MARY ANN HARDY Controller

Letters to the editor

Voice of the people
Roses for a rescue
A bouquet of roses to the
Lowndes County Sheriff’s De-
partment, the West Lowndes
Volunteer Fire Department,
the ambulance service and the
EMTs, nephews, great-neph-
ews, neighbors, and any and
every other volunteer that was
there to help search for my
husband, Charles, after he
suffered a blood sugar low and
got disoriented coming out of
the woods from hunting on Jan-
uary 30 when the temps were
below freezing. Jeff Edmond-
son was calm and calming,
had a plan that he instituted
and brought all necessary re-
sources together to make sure
Charles was found.
In a time where people
have a tendency to put down
law enforcement, I think it’s
important for everyone to know
what an outstanding job these
people do each and every day
under less than ideal condi-
tions.
One of our daughters who
lives in Arizona said that this
kind of community action
would never take place there.
There are no words that can
adequately convey the thanks
of our family for each of you
who were present to help, but
please know that we are ever
grateful for your kindness and
willingness to step up and help.
Shirley Swoope
Columbus
Response to Fortenberry
I went back and re-read
the letter I sent, to which Mr.
Fortenberry responded. Again,
I say I think he’s a die-hard
Liberal from the way he inter-
preted what I wrote. Since he
has no idea where I’ve been,
what I’ve seen, what I’ve done,
nor what I’ve experienced, I’ll
overlook his ignorance and
his attempt to change what I
plainly said.
Again, (please read careful-
ly, no code-speak here) I don’t
care what someone is, but if
they’re elected to public office,
they must swear an oath to
protect and defend the Consti-
tution of the United States of
America. Understand? Diversi-
ty? We are all Americans first
and foremost. This is a land
of laws, or anarchy will take
over. No one person or political
party has all the right answers,
nor all the wrong ones. True
compromise is the only way to
get the best out of both parties.
I’ve seen how Democrats “com-
promise” in Congress.
Nothing ever remains the
same. Even mountains even-
tually crumble to nothing but
hills, which will further erode
away. Change means either
better or worse. You talk about
“ridiculous laws meant to dis-
enfranchise”, so take a good,
long, hard look at what look at
what Liberals really want to do,
especially concerning the Sec-
ond Amendment. I’m not afraid
of change, just the destruction
of America.
On major university cam-
puses today, conservative
speakers are routinely shout-
ed down and threatened.
College instructors call for
“muscle” to stop independent
news cameras from recording
Liberal events in public, like
demonstrations and riots. If it
doesn’t fit the Liberal agenda,
it is immediately forbidden.
Sounds like Nazi Germany or
pick-your-communist country
to me.
People who think socialism
is superior to capitalism have
not gotten a good, proper
education. Maybe they should
“broaden THEIR horizons.”
You talk about diversity but
that’s all Liberals do--talk the
talk but don’t walk the walk.
You are entitled to your
opinions, just as I and every-
body else is entitled. I try to
clearly state my opinions, but
sometimes space doesn’t allow
it. Still, there is no valid excuse
for misinterpreting what is
plainly written. You SAY you’re
all for diversity, yet you cannot
accept that I and a lot of others
do not adhere to your views.
Get over Trump being elected
President. He won’t be there
long, but next time hopefully
we will have two good choices
for whom to vote instead of vot-
ing for the lesser of two evils.
Cameron Triplett
Brooksville

State of the nation

Do we really need so many

foreign tech workers?
Americans don’t usually
think of technical professionals
as “guest workers,” yet at any
one time, there are more than a
half-million foreigners holding
tech jobs in the U.S. They are
here thanks to the H-1B visa pro-
gram. H-1B, so the official spiel
goes, addresses an alleged short-
age of “highly skilled” Americans
to fill jobs “requiring specialized
knowledge.”
Growing evidence, however, Froma Harrop
points to companies’ using the
program to replace perfect-
ly qualified American workers with cheaper ones from
elsewhere. A new report published by the Atlantic Council
documents the abuses. The authors are Ron Hira, a political
scientist at Howard University, and Bharath Gopalaswamy,
director of the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center. Mississippi Voices
Northsiders plan Franklin
Among their criticisms:
* Virtually any white-collar job can be taken by an H-1B
visa holder. About 70 percent of them are held not by what

County destination resort

we consider tech workers but by teachers, accountants and
salespeople, among others.
(Denver Public Schools employs teachers on H-1B visas.
During a strike, the district actually threatened to report
participating foreigners to immigration authorities. It later
apologized.)
“By every objective measure,” Hira and Gopalaswamy
write, “most H-1B workers have no more than ordinary
skills, skills that are abundantly available in the U.S. labor
market.”
U.S. colleges graduate 50 percent more students in engi-
neering and in computer and information science than are
hired in those fields every year, according to a study by the
Economic Policy Institute.
* Employers don’t have to show they have a labor
shortage to apply. They don’t even have to try recruiting an
American to fill the job.
Cutting labor costs is clearly the paramount “need.”
In Silicon Valley, computer systems analysts make on
average just over $116,000 a year. But companies can hire
H-1B workers at a lower skill level, paying them only about
$77,000 a year to do the same work, the report says.
And it’s not unheard-of for companies to ask American
workers to train the H-1B workers taking their jobs. “60
Minutes” featured Robert Harrison, a senior telecom engi-
neer at the University of California, San Francisco Medical
Center. Asked whether training his replacement felt like
digging his own grave, Harrison responded:
“It feels worse than that. It feels like not only am I dig-
ging the grave but I’m getting ready to stab myself in the
gut and fall into the grave.”
Why does this program continue without serious reform?
Mainly because its big boosters include such marquee tech
names as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Bloomberg
and Eric Schmidt. Big Tech has showered think tanks with
funding to brainwash Americans into believing that their
country is starving for tech expertise.
Are there rare tech skills that justify companies’ looking
abroad? There are, but that’s the purpose of the O-1 visa.
About 10,000 are granted each year to individuals with
“extraordinary ability or achievement.”
I asked Hira whether we need H-1B at all.
“I think there’s a place for the H-1B program,” he re-
sponded. “The O-1 is a cumbersome process that requires
a lot of paperwork, both in preparation and review. But we
need to raise the standards of the H-1B program so that the
quality and skills of the workers are much higher.”
Also, we should substantially raise the wages paid to
H-1B workers and make employers show that they tried
to recruit Americans and offered them positions. Other
guest-worker and green-card programs have that require-
ment.
Finally, put in force an effective means of enforcement.
Right now, compliance is driven by whistleblowing. A ran-
dom auditing system would far more efficiently find abuses.
Apparently, the argument that “tech jobs need filling”
has, in many cases, oozed to “we want cheaper foreigners.”
The H-1B program demands a major overhaul.
Froma Harrop, a syndicated columnist, writes for the Provi-
dence (Rhode Island) Journal. Her e-mail address is fharrop@
gmail.com.
C Spire is spearhead-
ing a public-private
partnership to build a
beautiful 200-room resort
and 1,000-seat confer-
ence center on a beautiful
spring fed lake in south-
west Mississippi.
At a press conference
last week at the C Spire
headquarters, U.S. Sen.
Cindy Hyde-Smith and
newly-elected Congress-
man Michael Guest Wyatt Emmerich
spoke in support of the
ambitious tourism project, which would be on Lake
Okhissa, 10 miles southeast of Meadville and Bude,
Miss., in the heart of the Homochitto National
Forest.
Engineering and architectural work is being
done by prominent Jackson firms Neel-Schaffer
Engineering and Wier, Boerner, Allin Architects.
Sen. Hyde-Smith already arranged Congressio-
nal approval to transfer 150 federal acres for the
site to a new state entity created by the Mississippi
legislature called the Scenic Rivers Development
Alliance, including five counties in the area.
Scenic Rivers has already taken over manage-
ment of the nearby state-owned Quail Hollow Golf
Course, which was in jeopardy of being closed.
Scenic Rivers will try to marshall local, regional,
state and federal funds, various grants and private
investors to get the project off the ground. C Spire
will wire the facility with state-of-the-art fiber
networks so the facility can be used for training
computer coders.
There is an element of “build it and they will
come.” The unusual quality of the spring-fed lake
with its crystal clear waters, combined with futur-
istic connectivity, located in a beautiful national
forest surrounded by great fishing, hunting, hiking
and golfing, is designed to draw tourists from far
and wide and jump-start the sleepy local economy.
All kinds of family water sports are planned,
along with hiking trails and a large fine dining
facility. Former Congressman and Northsider Chip
Pickering is the point man for the project. His for-
midable organizational skills greatly increase the
probability of success.
Tourism is certainly a key industry in Mississip-
pi. The Mississippi Tourism Association states $6.4
billion is spent by 23 million tourists a year, two-
thirds of which are from out of state. Annual direct
payroll from tourism is $1.9 billion.
Later this year, the city of Flowood is scheduled
to open a $50 million high-end hotel and confer-
ence center adjacent to a new and improved Refuge
Golf Course.
It would be nice if these ambitious projects could
be financed purely through the private sector, but
that’s unlikely in our undercapitalized state. One
positive thing about a small state like Mississippi is
that it’s possible to rally a host of private and public
entities around a dream like this.
It’s interesting to note that the public-private de-
velopment efforts are trending away from massive
manufacturing facilities and more toward tourism.
That’s probably a good trend and more in line with
the future.
Certainly the support of C Spire will be a big
asset. C Spire has its roots in Franklin County
where the Creekmore family started in the rural
telephone business. Cellular was a natural expan-
sion for them and they have certainly taken the ball
and run with it, creating one of Mississippi’s best
private companies.
Indeed, one impediment to growth in our state
is the consolidation of ownership in out-of-state
companies. These massive companies tend to be
loyal to their home base, furthering the prosperity
of large urban areas and hurting development in
the hinterlands. Don’t expect Verizon or AT&T to
be very interested in developing rural southwest
Mississippi. That’s one of many reasons I am a
loyal C Spire customer. The Creekmores and their
extended family are a class act and it surprises no
one that they long to help the place that started
them on their road to success.
A few years ago, 60 Minutes did an amazing
story on the Franklin County chess program which
engages hundreds of young students, training
them to be some of the best youth chess players in
the country.
It started when Wade Creekmore recruited Dr.
Jeff Bulington from Memphis to start the program
in 2015. It has been a huge success. Bulington is
quite an amazing character straight out of a Jimmy
Stewart movie. He dreams of national youth chess
camps and competitions in the proposed confer-
ence center. With his quiet charisma, I wouldn’t bet
against that happening. This is a classic example of
what could be in Mississippi with the right leader-
ship and daring.
It’s frustrating as a Mississippian to watch the
growth of our national economy while our state
stagnates. Certainly our lack of a major metropoli-
tan area has hurt us. That’s one reason we need to
rally behind Jackson and rebuild it into something
impressive.
Mississippi is in the middle of the fastest grow-
ing region of the richest country in the history of
the world. Surely one day, with the right leadership,
our prime location will confer prosperity to us.
A project like Scenic Rivers gives us all hope
that we might live to see that day. Let’s hope and
pray for its success.
Wyatt Emmerich is the editor and publisher of
The Northside Sun, a weekly newspaper in Jackson.
He can be reached by e-mail at wyatt@northsidesun.
com.
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com Thursday, February 7, 2019 7A

Financial watchdog to gut most

of its payday lending rules
Lenders had argued the government’s regulations
could kill off a large chunk of its business
By KEN SWEET
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK — The nation’s
federal financial watchdog said
Wednesday that it plans to abolish
most of its critical consumer protec-
tions governing payday lenders.
The move is a major win for the
payday lending industry, which
argued the government’s regula-
tions could kill off a large chunk of
its business. It’s also a big loss for
consumer groups, who say payday
lenders exploit the poor and disad-
vantaged with loans that have an-
nual interest rates as much as 400
percent.
The cornerstone of the regula-
tions was a requirement that lend-
ers make sure borrowers could
afford to repay a payday loan with-
out being stuck in a cycle of debt,
a standard known as “ability to re-
pay.” This standard would be elimi-
nated under the new rules. Another
part of the rules, which would have
limited the number of payday loans
a person could roll over, was also
eliminated.
Critics of the payday lending
industry have argued that without
these underwriting standards, the
CFPB’s new regulations are effec-
tively toothless. The main criticism
of the payday lending industry was
that many borrowers would take
months to repay a loan that was
originally designed only to last a
couple of weeks, renewing the loan
over and over again.
“This proposal is not a tweak
to the existing rule ... it’s a com-
plete dismantling of the consumer
protections (the bureau) finalized
in 2017,” said Alex Horowitz, a
researcher with Pew Charitable
Trusts, a think tank whose re-
search on the industry was relied
on heavily by the bureau when the
original rules were unveiled a year
and a half ago.
The announcement was the
first abolition of regulations under
the Consumer Financial Protec-
tion Bureau’s new director, Kathy
Kraninger, who took over the bu-
reau late last year. Mick Mulvaney,
who was appointed by President
Donald Trump’s as acting direc-
tor of the bureau in late 2017, an-
nounced a year ago that the bureau
was intending to revisit the rules.
As a Congressman from South
Carolina, Mulvaney received tens
of thousands of dollars in political
donations from the payday lending
industry, raising concerns he was
too connected to the industry to ap-
propriately regulate it.

Business briefs
Rhinewalt
elected director
Debra Rhinewalt, RN,
has been elected direc-
tor of the
Mississippi
Nurses
Association
Council on
Nursing
Practice.
She is the
palliative Rhinewalt
care clinical
coordinator at Baptist
Memorial Hospital Gold-
en Triangle.
As director of the state
organization, Rhinewalt’s
duties include advancing
the profession of nursing
through activities that
relate to the scope and
standards of nursing
practice; the ethical and
legal aspects of nursing
practice; and the practice
of individual nurses and
trends for improvement
of health care that affect
nurses.
She is a 2008 graduate
of Mississippi University
for Women with an asso-
ciate’s degree in nursing.
She received her bach-
elor’s degree in nursing
from MUW in 2015. She
received her Certification
for Hospice and Palliative
Nurse (CHPN) in 2014.
She is a member of with new potential. Members in-
the American Nurses and exist- clude the four governors
Association, Hospice ing indus- of each member state and
and Palliative Nurses try along five appointees by each
Association, Mississippi the inland governor for a total of 24
University for Women waterway members. Chairmanship
School of Nursing Advi- system rotates annually among
sory Council and Com- the four governors.
such as the
munity Baptist Church,
Bevin
re-opening The waterway com-
where she enjoys work- of the Verso pact will also be led in
ing with the children and Paper Mill in Ballard 2019 by the Honorable
singing in the choir. She County, Kentucky by Kenny Imes, of Mur-
and her husband Edward Global Win Wycliffe, ray, Kentucky as its
have two sons and three and expansion at Wacker vice-chairman, and Mr.
grandchildren. Chemical Corporation in T.L. “Bud” Phillips of Co-
Calvert City, Kentucky. lumbus, who was reelect-
Bevin elected chairman The Tennessee-Tom- ed as its treasurer. Judge
The Tennessee-Tom- bigbee Waterway De- Imes is the Judge Execu-
bigbee Waterway Devel- velopment Authority is tive for Calloway County,
opment Authority has a four-state interstate Kentucky and has been a
elected Gov. Matt Bevin compact comprised of member of the waterway
of Kentucky as its chair- the States of Alabama, compact since 2017. Mr.
man for 2019. Kentucky, Mississippi Phillips, a businessman,
Gov. Bevin has been and Tennessee, and is the longest serving
involved and supported ratified by the U.S. Con- member of the authority,
the Tenn-Tom Waterway gress in 1958 to promote having first been appoint-
and the inland waterway the development of the ed in 1988.
system during his time Tenn-Tom Waterway and
in office and has worked its economic and trade

Mississippi
lawmakers reject
move to let farmers
grow hemp
The Associated Press

JACKSON — Missis-
sippi lawmakers are turn-
ing back an attempt to le-
galize growing industrial
hemp in the state.
The House Drug Pol-
icy Committee, on a tie
vote Monday, rejected an
amendment that would
have changed state law
to allow farmers to grow
hemp.
Changes to the state
list of illegal drugs were
proposed as House Bill
1547.
The U.S. Congress last
year approved allowing
production of non-intox-
icating hemp in heavily
regulated pilot programs.
Committee Chairwom-
an Patricia Willis, a Di-
amondhead Republican,
opposes the change. She
says Mississippi’s law
shouldn’t change before
federal changes take ef-
fect later this year.
Republican Rep. Dana
Criswell of Olive Branch,
proposing the amend-
ment, says Mississippi
should move now or farm-
ers will miss out.
Hemp supporters could
try again to amend the bill
later.

cdispatch.com
8A Thursday, February 7, 2019 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Around the state

Bills to expand hate crimes law
die at Mississippi Capitol
JACKSON — Mississippi this
year will not expand its hate
crimes law to allow stronger crim-
inal penalties for crimes against
additional groups.
Advocates asked legislators
include crimes targeting people
because of sexual orientation, gen-
der identity or disability under the
law.
House Bill 1494 and Senate Bill
2163 died under a Tuesday dead-
line in legislative committees.
Mississippi’s current hate
crimes law allows prosecutors to
seek stronger penalties against a
person charged with committing
a crime against someone because
of the victim’s actual or perceived
race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, re-
ligion, national origin or gender.
Rob Hill is Mississippi director
of LGBTQ advocacy group Human
Rights Campaign. He said Mon-
day that no American “should be
targeted for who they are.”
Bill would require transition
to electronic court documents
JACKSON — Some House law-
makers want to require the state’s
courts to complete their transition
to an electronic filing system.
The House Judiciary A Commit-
tee on Tuesday approved House
Bill 1149, sending it to the full
House for more work.
The measure, sponsored by Re-
publican Rep. Trey Lamar of Sena-
tobia, would require all chancery,
circuit and county courts to begin
using the Mississippi Electronic
Court system by July 1, 2021.
Today, a majority of chancery
courts are using the system, which
has been rolled out slowly over a
number of years. However, circuit
courts in only a minority of the
state’s counties are online, and
only a few post criminal cases.
Some counties use other elec-
tronic systems besides the one of-
fered by the state.

Restaurant tax
Continued from Page 1A
Workers at Skeets
Hot Dogs, a small fast
food restaurant, seemed
to agree with Box on
Wednesday, though they
asked not to be identified
in The Dispatch.
“It sounds like a tiny
tax,” one said. “As long as
it doesn’t take money out
of my checks, I’m alright
with that.”
“And as long as it
doesn’t make my burg-
er cost more,” quipped a
customer sitting across
from the counter.
As ambivalent as some
in the public seem to the
new restaurant sales tax,
the issue provided a sore
spot for debate among
officials on the local and
state level dating back to
fall 2017.
A county-wide tax,
which had been on the
books in some form since
the 1980s, expired in
June 2018 after legisla-
tors disagreed on what
restaurants would collect
it. At issue was the “floor”
— the old tax required
only restaurants with an-
nual food and beverage
revenue of $325,000 or
more to collect it, while
resolutions from both Co-
lumbus City Council and
Lowndes County Board
of Supervisors wanted
the renewed bill to re-
quire all businesses to
collect the tax on those
sales, regardless of reve-
nue. With no agreement,
the tax, which raised
nearly $2 million in Fiscal
Year 2017, died in com-
mittee.
This year, legislators
struck a compromise,
requiring the tax to be
collected for the next
four years only in the Co-
lumbus city limits but at
businesses where food
and beverage sales are at
least $100,000 annually.
From collections, the
city will receive $400,000
per year, and the county
$300,000, for recreation.
The Golden Triangle De-
velopment LINK will get
$250,000 for economic
development.
The rest will go to
the Columbus-Lowndes
Convention and Visitors
Bureau for tourism. That
will be about half of what
CVB received under the
old tax (which was $1.7
million in FY 2017). But
Executive Director Nan-
cy Carpenter said it’s a
better deal than the past
eight months when the
organization was receiv-
ing virtually no new rev-
enue.
“I’m thrilled we’ve got
all this behind us,” Car-
penter said. “I’m certain-
ly excited. ... In a couple
months, we’ll start re-
ceiving funding again
and I’m looking forward
to that.”

Kratom
Continued from Page 1A
Sherri Sherrod works
as a manager at a Chevron
in Lowndes County and
a Texaco in Columbus,
both of which stopped
selling kratom this week.
Before that, however, she
said she knew of at least
five regular customers
who came to buy kratom
weekly or even daily.
More recently, she said,
people had been coming
in the store just to ask
what it is.
“It is a popular thing,”
she said, adding most
people who use it regular-
ly have told her they use
it for pain relief, though
the occasional customer
has said it’s helped wean
them off more addictive
substances.
The Chevron on High-
way 45 beside Leigh Mall
has also pulled the prod-
uct from their shelves,
said Sam Ali, who works
at the store. Like Sherrod,
he said there are “about
five” routine customers
who purchase kratom
because they say it gives
them relief from pain.
But kratom has caused
concerns for law en-
forcement throughout
the state, particularly in
northeast Mississippi,
said Mississippi Bureau of
Narcotics Director John
Dowdy. He
said offi-
cers have
reported
c om i n g
into contact
with indi-
viduals who
came from Dowdy
A labama,
where kratom is illegal, to
purchase the product and
became involved in some
other crime because it
made them inebriated.
“There is absolutely no
regulation of it,” he said.
Lack of knowledge,
regulation
The FDA has issued a
blanket warning against
kratom and it’s listed as a
“drug of concern” by the
Drug Enforcement Agen-
cy, meaning while it’s not
a controlled substance, it
can pose risks to individ-
uals who abuse it.
Both Haddow and
Dowdy said the DEA
considered making the
product a controlled sub-
stance in the 1990s but
backed off because of
public outcry.
Haddow and Dowdy
agree on something else
too: There needs to be
regulation of kratom.
According to the Na-
tional Institute on Drug
Abuse, the FDA has
linked 44 deaths world-
wide to kratom. Only one
of those deaths is being
investigated as possibly
the result of an overdose
of pure kratom — though
Haddow said in that case,
a family member reported
the victim had been using
kratom and that there is
no documented evidence
that was the cause of
death.
In the other deaths, all
the drugs in the victims’
systems were adulterated
products, according to
NIDA.
In Mississippi, Dowdy
knows of two overdose
deaths in as many years
where the victims had
kratom in their system,
along with other sub-
stances.
Two components of
kratom also found in opi-
oids are mitragynine and
7-hydrox ymitrag ynine.
The second component,
Haddow said, is only
found at rates of about
1.6 percent in kratom. If
it’s more than 2 percent,
or “purified” then it’s an
adulterated product, he
said, and not pure kratom.
“We certainly oppose
that kind of thing,” he
said.
He said the controver-
sy surrounding kratom
comes from a “longstand-
ing attempt by the FDA”
to regulate the dietary
supplement industry —
with some good reason,
he said, as in the 1980s
and ‘90s, manufacturers,
vendors and independent
contractors began mak-
ing false claims about
the supplements they
were selling and ama-
teur chemists sometimes
mixed products in dan-
gerous quantities.
That’s the reason AK A
pushes for proper label-
ing of packaging, high
manufacturing standards he added. “But we know
and regulations such as enough about it at least to
not selling kratom to chil- understand that there are
dren under 18, Haddow propensities within that
said. product that can cause an
He also pointed out individual to become im-
it’s illegal for vendors to paired if not substantially
make claims that kratom impaired with a high akin
— which he calls a “di- to a lot of alcohol or even
etary ingredient” rather possibly prescription
than a drug — can be drugs.”
used for anything other
than a simple mood boost-
er or vitamin, a substance
similar to coffee and with
about the same levels of
addiction, he said. Howev-
er, nearly 5 million people
in the United States use
it, he argued, and if they
say it helps relieve minor
pains and keeps them
from becoming addicted
to serious opioids, they
should be able to do that.
Dowdy agrees that
adulterated products and
lack of regulation lead to
the issues around kra-
tom, he is far from con-
vinced kratom itself is
safe to use.
“In all fairness, I will
tell you it is not uncom-
mon for drug abusers and
people who have drug ad-
diction issues to take sub-
stances and mix it with
other things and make
it more potent,” Dowdy
said, “but that’s not to
take away from the fact
that based on information
we have at MBN that kra-
tom can be abused and
can become addictive.”
That’s the reason MBN
was a proponent for failed
legislation last year that
would have made kratom
illegal in Mississippi, he
said.
“Nobody knows any-
thing about this product,”
Dowdy said. “This is not
a product that has been
approved by the FDA that
I know of. ... You can find
it in every shape, form or
fashion that you can think
of in a convenience store.
What concerns me from a
public safety standpoint is
when people are buying
these kind of products in
a convenience store, they
simply do not have any
idea what they are getting
at all.
“If they’ve got some-
thing that they’re selling
as kratom, we’re going to
assume that’s what it is,”

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subject: Business brief
Sports
PREP FOOTBALL
Yellow
Jackets
send 14
to college
By Scot t Walters
swalters@cdispatch.com
STARKVILLE — National Signing Day Wednesday.
Starkville High School
football coach Chris Jones
felt like a proud papa
Wednesday afternoon.
A talented senior class
saw 14 player sign schol-
arship offers for the next
level on National Signing
Day at the Starkville High
School Auditorium.
“Every coach wants to
win the championship,
however, the mark of a
good program is how
many kids you put on the
next level,” Jones said. “At
the end of the day, it’s im-
portant to use football to
get your education. These
players, most of them,
have played since they
were 6- or 7-years-old. To-
day is the day all of that
hard work pays off. Foot-
ball is a way out for many
of them. It provides them
a chance to get a college
education, that otherwise
might not be possible.
“To see this room fill
up with parents, friends,
other family members and
of course teammates. Well
that makes you feel very
good as a coach.”
After playing for the
Mississippi High School
Activities Association
(MHSAA) Class 6A state
championship in 2017,
Starkville saw a promising
season end in the second
See STARKVILLE, 4B
Columbus High’s Barry, Gillespie go JUCO route
By Adam Minichino
aminichino@cdispatch.com
It’s not unusual for a
coach to say a defensive
back goes 100 mph.
Columbus High
School’s Dontae Gillespie
plays football that way, so
it’s easy to see how Eric
Rice, his coach in 2018,
would use those words to
describe the play of his
senior standout and team
leader.
But Gillespie isn’t the
only Falcon to earn that
kind of praise from Rice.
It’s just that the other re-
cipient plays a position you
probably wouldn’t expect.
Given Rice’s dealings
with Gillespie and offen-
sive lineman Ellis Barry
See COLUMBUS, 7B
Noxubee County has 11 sign from 2018 squad
By Adam Minichino
aminichino@cdispatch.com
MACON — Success
breeds tradition.
Tradition attracts
attention.
Attention leads to
scholarship opportunities.
The Noxubee County
High School football pro-
gram has followed that
plan for the last 20 years
See NCHS, 6B
Inside
n MORE NOXUBEE
COUNTY SIGNING DAY:
Tyrone Shorter had the
difficult task of giving a
farewell speech to his last
class of seniors. Page 6B
SPORTS EDITOR
Scott Walters
SPORTS LINE
662-241-5000
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n Thursday, February 7, 2019
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
B
SECTION
Pickering leads
final group for
Moorhead, Dogs
By Scot t Walters
swalters@cdispatch.com
STARKVILLE — Limited suspense did not
mean the Mississippi State University football
program still did not close out a Top 25 finish on
Coach Joe Moorhead welcomed eight sign-
ees to complete a class ranked No. 24 nationally
by 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals. The Bulldogs
signed 14 players on the initial signing day in
December.
Steve Rogers/Special to The Dispatch “You can feel the excitement in the air,” Moor-
Members of the West Point High School football team’s signing class pose for a head said. “It’s certainly a combination of a year’s
picture while some show off their Mississippi High School Activities Association worth of work to add these eight guys to the 14
(MHSAA) Class 5A State championship rings. Special teams member Daniel that we signed in December. I certainly feel it’s
Comer is also pictured. Comer didn’t sign Wednesday morning during the
important that we express our thanks to the peo-
ceremony in the school’s auditorium.
ple who made this thing happen, including Mike
cARETAKERS ABOUND FOR
Villagrana and our recruiting staff.
“They worked tirelessly to identify our pros-
pects, organize all of our recruiting weekends,
and set up our travel on the road. Those guys
GREEN WAVE ON SIGNING DAY
have done an unbelievable job with our assistant
coaches getting to know these guys, cultivating
relationships with the families and coaches for
over two to three years for this class. Certainly,
State champ West Point has 11 ready to take next steps in careers thank you to the high school coaches in Missis-
sippi and the surrounding areas for allowing us
By Adam Minichino
Inside See MSU FOOTBALL, 4B
aminichino@cdispatch.com
n MORE WEST POINT SIGNING DAY: Chris
Chambless and his coaches set the tone
Inside
WEST POINT — n MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Alabama and Ole Miss
to help Green Wave look out for each
Ke’Aris Smith didn’t lose other. Page 5B added to their recruiting classes. Page 4B
faith.
When you have
Head
friends and teammates
like Ezekiel Head, it’s
Consider contacting Head if you
need someone adept in the power of
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
easy to believe you’re persuasion.
going to get a chance to Thanks in part to a recommenda-
continue your football ca- tion from Head, the East Mississippi
reer. Community College football coaches
Still, as December watched film of Smith and liked what
blended into January they saw. The encouragement from
and then into February, Head helped Smith join 10 of his team-
Smith Smith, a standout line- mates Wednesday morning as part of a
man on the West Point signing day ceremony in the West Point
High School 2018 state High auditorium.
championship team, didn’t have an of- “I suggested they look at him
fer to play at the next level. See WEST POINT, 5B
Kelly Donoho/MSU Athletic Media Relations
Mississippi State sophomore guard Nick Weath-
erspoon (0) dunks during Wednesday night’s
92-88 overtime home loss to No. 21 LSU.
Points plenty as
Bulldogs fall in OT
to No. 21 LSU
By Scot t Walters
swalters@cdispatch.com
STARKVILLE — On a night full of big shots,
LSU’s Naz Reid made the biggest.
Adam Minichino/Dispatch Staff
With the shot clock expiring, Reid delivered
Columbus High School seniors Ellis Barry, seated, left, and Dontae Gillespie,
seated, right, pose for a picture with Columbus High School football coach Eric Rice, the final dagger with a top-of-the-key 3-pointer
family, friends, and Columbus High faculty members Wednesday morning at a as No. 21 LSU beat Mississippi State 92-88 in
signing ceremony in the school’s library. overtime in a Southeastern Conference men’s
basketball game played Wednesday night before
a crowd of 7,456 at Humphrey Coliseum.
The Bulldogs bolstered their NCAA tourna-
ment resume with a road win at Ole Miss Sat-
urday. Now back home, Wednesday opened a
critical three-game homestand for the Bulldogs,
as they look to climb into the top four in the con-
ference standings.
Instead, the homeswing started with another
heart-breaking last-second defeat. The Bulldogs
(16-6, 4-5) have lost four conference games by a
combined 17 points, with two being in overtime.
“That was a gut-wrenching loss against a
very good team,” MSU coach Ben Howland said.
“Give them credit, the way they battled back. We
had leads multiple times in the first and second
half. Naz Reid was fantastic. He had a phenome-
nal second half, and they did a really good job of
getting him the ball.”
See MSU MEN, 3B
Game 23
n No. 5 Kentucky, Noon Saturday (WCBI; WKBB-FM
100.9, WFCA-FM 107.9).
Adam Minichino/Dispatch Staff Inside
Former Noxubee County High School football coach Tyrone Shorter poses for a n MORE MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Ole Miss
picture with 10 of the players from his 2018 team who signed Wednesday to play beats Texas A&M, while Alabama defeats Georgia.
football in college during a ceremony in the school’s library. Page 3B
2B Thursday, February 7, 2019 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

briefly CALENDAR Basketball Tennis

PHILADELPHIA UNION — Acquired D
Kai Wagner Wurzburger (Germany) for an
undisclosed transfer fee.
NBA ATP Tour Cordoba Open TORONTO FC — Signed F Terrence Boyd.

Local Prep Basketball

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
W L Pct GB
Wednesday
At Kempes Stadium, Cordoba, Argentina
Purse: $527,880 (ATP250) coach.
COLLEGE
BUCKNELL — Named Dave Cecchini football

Columbus Christian boys remain perfect in district Today’s Games Toronto

Boston
39 16 .709 —
35 19 .648 3½
Singles
Second Round
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN — Announced
contract of volleyball coach Christy Mooberry
On Tuesday night, the Columbus Christian Rams remained perfect Murrah at Starkville (5 p.m. start time) Philadelphia 34 20 .630 4½ Juan Ignacio Londero, Argentina, def. Lorenzo
will not be renewed.
SC UPSTATE — Named Reagan Beal assistant
in district play with a 76-42 win over Kemper Academy at home. The Caledonia at New Hope Brooklyn 29 27 .518 10½ Sonego, Italy, 7-5, 6-3. track and field coach.
New York 10 43 .189 28 Pedro Cachin, Argentina, def. Pablo Carreno TENNESSEE TECH — Named Tierney
Rams were led by Lawson Studdard and Will Teague with 15 points West Lowndes at Nanih Waiya Southeast Division Busta, Spain, 6-7 (3), 1-0 retired. Flaherty assistant volleyball coach.
each, Jonathan Peal with 14 points and Matthew Phillips with 12 points. Hamilton at Vardaman W L Pct GB Doubles
The Rams have already clinched the district title but will put their perfect Charlotte 26 28 .481 — First Round Tuesday’s Moves
Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Miami 25 27 .481 — Maximo Gonzalez and Horacio Zaballos (1), BASEBALL
district mark on the line Friday night when they host Calhoun Academy. Washington 22 32 .407 4 Argentina, def. Guido Andreozzi and Leonardo American League
(MAIS) Class AAA, District 2 tournament Orlando 22 32 .407 4 Mayer, Argentina, 6-1, 6-1. MINNESOTA TWINS — Agreed to terms with
Atlanta 18 35 .340 7½ Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen, Belgium, def. 2B Jordany Valdespin, 1B Wilin Rosario, LHP
At Leake Academy
Mississippi State No. 2 Winston Academy girls vs. No. 3 Starkville
Milwaukee
Central Division
W L Pct GB
40 13 .755 —
Marcelo Arevalo, Estonia, and Jamie Cerretani,
United States, 7-5, 7-6 (5).
Roman Jebavy, Czech Republic, and Andre
Pat Dean and RHPs Kevin Comer and Adam
Atkins on minor league contracts.
TEXAS RANGERS — Agreed to terms with
McCowan makes additional watch list in basketball Academy, 4 p.m. Indiana
Detroit
35 19 .648 5½
24 29 .453 16
Molteni, Argentina, def. Nicolas Jarry, Chile,
and Pablo Lorenzi, Italy, 6-3, 6-4.
RHPs Ricardo Rodriguez and David Carpenter
and LHP Chris Nunn on minor league contracts.
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State’s Teaira McCowan was named No. 1 Heritage Academy boys vs. Winston Chicago 12 42 .222 28½ Facundo Bagnis and Guillermo Duran, National League
a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award on Wednesday. She is one of Academy, 5:15 p.m. Cleveland 11 43 .204 29½ Argentina, def. Marcelo Demoliner, Brazil, and
Frederik Nielsen (2), Switzerland, 6-3, 6-4.
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — Traded RHP
Jake Barrett to San Francisco for cash.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
10 women chosen from a pool of 30 candidates announced earlier this No. 1 Leake Academy girls vs. Heritage Academy, MIAMI MARLINS — Designated OF Isaac
year.
Southwest Division
W L Pct GB ATP Tour Galloway for assignment. Agreed to terms
6:30 p.m.
The Bulldog senior, who has helped her team win 25 consecu- No. 2 Leake Academy boys vs. No. 3 Canton
Houston
San Antonio
32 22 .593 —
32 24 .571 1
Open Sud de France with OF Curtis Granderson on a minor league
contract. Claimed RHP Austin Brice off
Wednesday waivers from Baltimore. Named Keith Johnson
tive SEC games, dating back to last year, has broken MSU’s career Dallas 25 28 .472 6½ At Arena Montpellier, Montpellier, France
rebounds (1,316) and double-doubles (57) records this season. Academy, 7:45 p.m. New Orleans 24 31 .436 8½ Singles
manager of New Orleans (PCL), Kevin
Randel manager of Jacksonville (SL), Todd Pratt
Memphis 22 33 .400 10½ First Round
McCowan leads MSU in scoring and rebounding, averaging 16.9
points and 13.7 rebounds per game. The SEC Preseason Player of the
Men’s College Basketball
Northwest Division
W L Pct GB
Marcos Baghdatis, Cyprus, def. Ruben
Bemelmans, Belgium, 6-2, 6-4.
manager of Jupiter (FSL), Mike Jacobs
manager of Clinton (MWL), Jorge Hernandez
manager of Batavia (NYP), Robert Rodriguez
Year has also been named to the Lisa Leslie Watch List for the nation’s Saturday’s Games Denver
Oklahoma City
37 17 .685 —
34 19 .642 2½
Ilya Ivashka, Belarus, def. Thomas Fabbiano, manager of the GCL Marlins and Angel Espada
Italy, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. manager of the DSL Marlins.
top center, as well as the watch lists for the Wooden, Naismith and Kentucky at Mississippi State, Noon Portland 32 21 .604 4½ Radu Albot, Moldova, def. Philipp PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES — Agreed to terms
Utah 31 24 .564 6½
Wade trophies. Ole Miss at Georgia, Noon Minnesota 25 28 .472 11½
Kohlschreiber (5), Germany, 6-4, 6-3.
Second Round
with C Drew Butera on a minor league contract.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS — Designated OF
The Brenham, Texas, native has scored in double figures in 19 of Louisiana Tech at Southern Mississippi, 4 p.m.
Pacific Division
W L Pct GB
Jeremy Chardy (6), France, def. Antoine John Andreoli for assignment.
Hoang, France, 6-3, 7-5. FOOTBALL
21 games and tallied 20-plus points in eight of those. Alabama at Vanderbilt, 7:30 p.m. Golden State 38 15 .717 — Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic, def. Benoit National Football League
She is fifth in the nation in field goal percentage (66.1 percent) and L.A. Clippers 30 25 .545 9
Mississippi University for Women at Oakwood, Sacramento 28 26 .519 10½
Paire (8), France, 6-2, 6-0.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France, def. Gilles Simon
ARIZONA CARDINALS — Claimed LB Tanner
Vallejo off waivers from Cleveland.
sixth in total blocks (58). Her 18 double-doubles on the year rank third 9 p.m. L.A. Lakers 27 27 .500 11½ (4), France, 6-2, 7-6 (3). ATLANTA FALCONS — Released CB Robert
in the country. Among active players, she is second in career rebounds Phoenix 11 45 .196 28½
Women’s College Basketball
Filip Krajinovic, Serbia, def. David Goffin (2), Alford.
Belgium, 6-4, 6-4. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS — Signed QB
(1,316), eighth in blocks (242), fourth in double-doubles (57) and 38th in Wednesday’s Games Doubles Danny Etling, DB A.J. Howard, LB Calvin
points (1,652). Today’s Games Brooklyn 135, Denver 130 First Round Munson, DL David Parry, WR Damoun
Milwaukee 148, Washington 129 Ivan Dodig, Croatia, and Edouard Roger- Patterson, DL Trent Harris and Frank Herron
McCowan leads the SEC in field goal percentage, rebounding (13.7 Alabama at Florida, 6 p.m. New Orleans 125, Chicago 120 Vasselin (1), France, def. Denis Kudla, United and OL Cole Croston, Jake Eldrenkamp, Ryker
rpg) and total blocks. She is one of two players in the conference to be Ole Miss at South Carolina, 7 p.m. Dallas 99, Charlotte 93
Utah 116, Phoenix 88
States, and Andreas Mies, Germany, 6-1, 7-5. Matthews and Dan Skipper to reserve/future
contracts.
Quarterfinals
in the top ten in both scoring and rebounding average. Houston 127, Sacramento 101
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying College Softball Golden State 141, San Antonio 102
Today’s Games
Luke Bambridge and Jonny O’Mara, Britain,
def. Hugo Nys, France, and Denis Shapovalov,
Canada, 3-6, 7-5, 10-8.
NEW YORK JETS — Released OL Spencer
Long.
Canadian Football League
in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete Today’s Game L.A. Clippers at Indiana, 6 p.m. Leander Paes, India, and Benoit Paire, WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS — Signed WR
and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a Minnesota at Orlando, 6 p.m. Rasheed Bailey. Re-signed LB Kyrie Wilson to
Ole Miss at Central Florida, 5:30 p.m. Toronto at Atlanta, 6:30 p.m.
France, def. Radu Albot, Moldova, and Marcel
Granollers (4), Spain, 6-1, 6-4. a two-year contract extension.
positive impact as leaders in their communities. Friday’s Games L.A. Lakers at Boston, 7 p.m. HOCKEY
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as Alabama vs. Murray State (Troy, Alabama),
Memphis at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m. ATP Tour Sofia Open National Hockey League
ARIZONA COYOTES — Assigned F Michael
San Antonio at Portland, 9:30 p.m. Wednesday
an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas Friday’s Games Bunting to Tucson (AHL). Recalled G Adin Hill
12:30 p.m. At Arena Armeec, Sofia, Bulgaria
and D Dakota Mermis from Tucson.
of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. Cleveland at Washington, 6 p.m. Singles
McCowan has volunteered with special needs children and is on Houston Baptist at Southern Mississippi, 1 p.m. Denver at Philadelphia, 6 p.m. First Round CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS — Assigned F Matt
Iacopelli from Rockford (AHL) to Indy (ECHL).
New York at Detroit, 6 p.m. Martin Klizan, Slovakia, def. Mirza Basic,
track to graduate in May with a degree in human development and Ole Miss vs. Ohio State (Orlando, Florida), Chicago at Brooklyn, 6:30 p.m. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 6-0, 3-6, 6-2. DETROIT RED WINGS — Signed LW Turner
Elson to a two-year contract.
family studies. 1:30 p.m. Milwaukee at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.
Golden State at Phoenix, 8 p.m.
Mikhail Kukushkin, Kazakhstan, def. Laslo
Djere, Serbia, 7-6 (6), 6-4. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS — Signed C Auston
Online fan voting begins immediately to help select this year’s win- Valparaiso at Mississippi State, 3 p.m. Minnesota at New Orleans, 8:30 p.m. Fernando Verdasco (6), Spain, def. Alexandar Matthews to a five-year contract extension.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS — Recalled D
Miami at Sacramento, 9 p.m. Lazarov, Bulgaria, 6-2, 6-1.
ner and will run through March 25. Fan votes are combined with those Stephen F. Austin at Mississippi State, 5:30 p.m. Saturday’s Games Marton Fucsovics, Hungary, def. Andreas Guillaume Brisebois and G Mike DiPietro from
Utica (AHL).
of the media and Division I head coaches to determine the winner, who Alabama at Troy, 5:30 p.m. San Antonio at Utah, 4 p.m. Seppi (8), Italy, 6-2, 7-6 (2).
SOCCER
Second Round
will be announced at the Women’s Final Four. Central Arkansas at Southern Mississippi, 6 p.m. Cleveland at Indiana, 6 p.m.
Roberto Bautista Agut (4), Spain, def. Matthew Major League Soccer
Charlotte at Atlanta, 6:30 p.m. ATLANTA UNITED — Signed D Florentin
Toronto at New York, 6:30 p.m. Ebden, Australia, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Matteo Berrettini, Italy, def. Karen Khachanov Pogba.

on the air
L.A. Clippers at Boston, 7 p.m. MONTREAL IMPACT — Acquired D Zach-
Alabama New Orleans at Memphis, 7 p.m.
Washington at Chicago, 7 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Houston, 7:30 p.m.
(1), Russia, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-4.
Doubles
First Round
ary Brault-Guillard on loan with Olympique
Lyonnais (Ligue 1-France).
SEATTLE SOUNDERS — Traded D Waylon
Track and field star McEwen earns weekly honor Today Orlando at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop (4),
Netherlands, def. Adrian Andreev and Dimitar
Francis to Columbus for general allocation
money.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Alabama track and field’s Shelby McEwen
Hockey
Kuzmanov, Bulgaria, 6-2, 6-2. SPORTING KANSAS CITY — Signed D Abdul
was named the Southeastern Conference Field Athlete of the Week by
COLLEGE BASKETBALL Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan (3), India, Rwatubyaye.
4 p.m. — Central Connecticut State at St. Francis, def. Mate Pavic, Croatia, and Nenad Zimonjic, United Soccer League
the league office Wednesday.
ESPNU NHL Serbia, 7-6 (2), 6-2.
Nikola Mektic, Croatia, and Jurgen Melzer,
MEMPHIS 901 — Signed M Adam Najem.
The junior used the best jump in the nation this season and a EASTERN CONFERENCE COLLEGE
personal-best effort to win the men’s high jump at the Carolina Chal-
6 p.m. — Houston at Central Florida, CBS Sports Atlantic Division Austria, def. Santiago Gonzalez, Mexico, and
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, Pakistan, 7-6 (4), 7-5.
BUFFALO — Agreed to terms with football
GP W L OT Pts GF GA coach Lance Leipold on a five-year contract
lenge. The only competitor to go over seven feet at the meet, McEwen’s
Network Tampa Bay 53 39 11 3 81 207 149 Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Purav Raja, India, extension.
winning effort of 7-7 (2.31m) leads the nation by more than an inch and
6 p.m. — Penn State vs. Ohio State, ESPN Toronto 53 33 17 3 69 190 150 def. Robert Galloway and Nathaniel Lammons,
United States, 6-4, 6-4.
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN — Announced the
contract of volleyball coach Christy Mooberry
a half. McEwen also cleared 7-5.75 (2.28m) at the Carolina Challenge,
6 p.m. — Cincinnati vs. Memphis, ESPN2 Montreal 54 30 18 6 66 164 156
will not be renewed.
Transactions
Boston 54 29 17 8 66 155 140
giving him the top-two heights in the nation this season.
6 p.m. — Radford at Hampton, ESPNU Buffalo 52 26 20 6 58 153 160 FORDHAM — Named Kevin Decker offensive
coordinator/quarterbacks coach, Damiere
In addition to being a personal-best height, the Abbeville, S.C.,
8 p.m. — Western Kentucky at Rice, CBS Sports Florida
Detroit
51 21 22 8 50 158 178
53 21 25 7 49 150 174 Wednesday’s Moves Shaw wide receivers coach and Jameson
native’s 7-7 is also just three quarters of an inch off both the school and
Network Ottawa 53 19 29 5 43 163 199 BASEBALL Zacharias cornerbacks coach.
MEMPHIS — Extended the contract of football
SEC record in the high jump. The NCAA runner-up and SEC champion
8 p.m. — Iowa vs. Indiana, ESPN
Metropolitan Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
National League
CHICAGO CUBS — Agreed to terms with RHPs coach Mike Norvell for one year through 2023.
in the high jump during both the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2018,
8 p.m. — Washington vs. Arizona, ESPN2 N.Y. Islanders 52 30 16 6 66 152 128 Christian Bergman, George Kontos, Carlos PENN STATE-BRANDYWINE — Named Tom
Greenawalt men’s soccer coach.
McEwen also finished fifth in the high jump, and was the No. 2 collegian
8 p.m. — South Florida vs. SMU, ESPNU Washington 53 29 18 6 64 178 168
Pittsburgh 53 28 19 6 62 183 164
Ramirez, Colin Rea, Junichi Tazawa and Rob
Scahill; LHP Mike Zagurski; INFs Cristhian ST. JOHN’S — Named Tori Free assistant

at last summer’s USATF National Championships.

10 p.m. — BYU vs. Portland, ESPN2
10 p.m. — Pacific vs. Saint Mary’s, ESPNU
n Daniell climbs in tennis rankings: At Tuscaloosa, Alabama,
senior Andie Daniell came in as the No. 47 singles player in the country
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
6 p.m. — Nebraska at Michigan, Big Ten Network
according to the latest Oracle/ITA Singles Rankings, the organization
announced on Wednesday.
6 p.m. — Texas A&M at Missouri, SEC Network
Daniell was previously ranked No. 41 to begin the 2019 campaign
8 p.m. — Michigan State at Iowa, Big Ten Network
and has compiled a 2-0 record so far this season. The Douglasville,
8 p.m. — Arkansas at LSU, SEC Network
Ga., native is also 2-0 in doubles competition.
FIGURE SKATING
Next up for Alabama is four home matches this weekend, begin-
4 p.m. — Four Continents Championship: ladies’
ning with a doubleheader on Friday against Georgia State at 1 p.m. and
short program, Anaheim, California, NBC Sports
Network
UT Martin at 6 p.m. The matches will be streamed live on RollTide.com.
n Men’s tennis moves up: At Tuscsaloosa, Alabama, the
11 p.m. — Four Continents Championship:
Alabama men’s tennis team came in at No. 23 in the latest Oracle/ITA
men’s short program, Anaheim, California, NBC
National Team Rankings and in the Tennis Channel/USTA College
Sports Network
Tennis Top 25 Rankings, the organizations announced on Wednesday.
GOLF
Senior Mazen Osama moved up one spot to No. 40 in the Oracle/ITA
2 p.m. — PGA Tour Golf: AT&T Pebble Beach
Singles Rankings.
Pro-Am, first round, Monterey, California, TGC
Alabama is coming off its first loss of the season against Minnesota
10 p.m. — European Tour Golf: ISPS Handa
on Friday, Feb. 1, 4-3. The Tide was previously ranked No. 19 in the
Vic Open, men’s and women’s second round,
Oracle/ITA rankings and No. 18 in the Tennis Channel/USTA rankings.
Australia, TGC
Osama has begun his senior campaign with a 4-2 record in singles
NBA
competition, while holding down the No. 1 spot for the Tide.
6 p.m. — NBA All-Star Game draft, TNT
Next up for Alabama is its first road trip of 2019, when the team
7:15 p.m. — LA Lakers at Boston, TNT
goes out to California to play against San Diego State on Friday in San
9:30 p.m. — San Antonio at Portland, TNT
Diego, California, and Pepperdine on Sunday in Malibu, California.
SKIING
6:30 p.m. — FIS World Alpine Championships:
men’s super-G, Sweden, NBC Sports Network
Ole Miss
8 p.m. — FIS World Freestyle Championships:
skiing team aerials, Utah, NBC Sports Network
Fallert collects confernce award in men’s tennis 9:30 p.m. — FIS World Alpine Championships:
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — After serving as the ‘clinch master’ for the
Rebels this past weekend, Ole Miss Men’s Tennis senior Fabian Fallert women’s super-G, Sweden, NBC Sports Network
has been named the SEC Player of the Week, as announced by the
conference office Wednesday afternoon.
Friday
AUTO RACING
Fallert earns the plaudit after providing the spark in the Rebels’
5 p.m. — NHRA Drag Racing: Friday Nitro
first ranked win of the season, taking down No. 20 Oklahoma State last
Pomona, season-opening Winternationals,
Friday in Stillwater. First, he and partner Cotter Wilson teamed up in
Pomona, California, FS1
doubles for the deciding point. The pair is a perfect 3-0 this spring.
BIATHLON
Next came singles action, with the two teams knotted at 3-3 and
6 p.m. — IBU World Cup: men’s 20km and
all eyes on Fallert once again. After triumphing through a tight six extra
women’s 15km individual, Alberta, NBC Sports
points in the opening set tiebreak (13-11), the senior powered through
Network
the second set to win 6-2 and clinch the victory for the Rebs.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The win for Fallert was his third consecutive, as he holds steady at
6 p.m. — St. Louis at St. Joseph’s, ESPN2
the No. 3 singles position.
6 p.m. — Canisius at Rider, ESPNU
The award is the first weekly honor of his career.
8 p.m. — Georgia St. at Louisiana-Lafayette, ESPN2
n Softball opens season today: At Oxford, aiming for a fourth
8 p.m. — Kent State at Akron, ESPNU
straight NCAA Tournament appearance, the Ole Miss softball team
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
kicks off the 2019 campaign this weekend in Orlando at the Friends of
7 p.m. — Georgetown at Marquette, FS1
Jaclyn Tournament.
The Rebels face tourney host UCF in the season opener today at
WOMEN’S COLLEGE GYMNASTICS
6 p.m. — Auburn at Florida, SEC Network
5 p.m. at the UCF Softball Complex. Ole Miss is also matched up with
7:30 p.m. — LSU at Kentucky, SEC Network
Columbus 52 29 20 3 61 169 162
Carolina 53 26 21 6 58 152 155
Philadelphia 53 24 23 6 54 153 177
N.Y. Rangers 53 23 22 8 54 152 178
New Jersey 52 20 25 7 47 153 178
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Central Division
Winnipeg
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
53 34 16 3 71 187 149
Nashville 55 32 19 4 68 171 141
Dallas
Minnesota
53 28 21 4 60 138 134
53 26 22 5 57 150 154
St. Louis 51 24 22 5 53 146 153
Colorado
Chicago
52 22 22 8 52 173 173
54 21 24 9 51 173 198
Pacific Division
Calgary
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
53 34 14 5 73 197 152
San Jose 54 31 16 7 69 193 171
Vegas 55 30 21 4 64 163 150
Vancouver 54 24 24 6 54 155 167
Arizona 53 23 25 5 51 140 155
Edmonton 53 23 25 5 51 153 178
Anaheim 54 21 24 9 51 125 172
Los Angeles 53 22 27 4 48 125 158
NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for
overtime loss. Top three teams in each division
and two wild cards per conference advance to
playoffs.
Wednesday’s Games
Toronto 5, Ottawa 4
N.Y. Rangers 4, Boston 3, SO
Today’s Games
Los Angeles at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Florida, 6 p.m.
N.Y. Islanders at New Jersey, 6 p.m.
Colorado at Washington, 6 p.m.
Carolina at Buffalo, 6 p.m.
Anaheim at Ottawa, 6:30 p.m.
Winnipeg at Montreal, 6:30 p.m.
St. Louis at Tampa Bay, 6:30 p.m.
Vegas at Detroit, 6:30 p.m.
Edmonton at Minnesota, 7 p.m.
Dallas at Nashville, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Chicago, 7:30 p.m.
Columbus at Arizona, 8 p.m.
San Jose at Calgary, 8 p.m.
Friday’s Game
Carolina at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Anaheim at Philadelphia, Noon
Minnesota at New Jersey, Noon
Detroit at Buffalo, Noon
Colorado at N.Y. Islanders, Noon
Los Angeles at Boston, Noon
Winnipeg at Ottawa, 1 p.m.
Nashville at St. Louis, 1 p.m.
Dallas at Arizona, 3 p.m.
San Jose at Edmonton, 6 p.m.
Florida at Washington, 6 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay, 6 p.m.
Toronto at Montreal, 6 p.m.
Calgary at Vancouver, 9 p.m.
Columbus at Vegas, 9 p.m.
FOOTBALL
Adames and Phillip Evans; OFs Jim Adduci and
Evan Marzilli; and C Francisco Arcia on minor
league contracts.
COLORADO ROCKIES — Agreed to terms
with RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez, C Brett Nicholas,
1B Mark Reynolds and OF Michael Saunders
on minor league contracts.
PITTSBURGH PIRATES — Agreed to terms
with INF-OF Nick Franklin on a minor-league
contact.
BASKETBALL
National Basketball Association
LOS ANGELES LAKERS — Acquired G-F
Reggie Bullock from Detroit for G Svi
Mykhailiuk and a future second-round draft
pick.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS — Acquired Fs
Tobias Harris, C Boban Marjanovic and F Mike
Scott from the Los Angeles Clippers for G
Landry Shamet, F Wilson Chandler and Mike
Muscala, a lottery-protected 2020 first-round
draft pick, a 2021 first-, 2021 second- and 2023
second-round picks.
Women’s National Basketball Association
LOS ANGELES SPARKS — Signed F Ashley
Walker.
FOOTBALL
National Football League
ARIZONA CARDINALS — Marcus
Robertson defensive backs coach; James
Saxon running backs coach; Greg Williams
cornerbacks coach; Charlie Bullen assistant
linebackers coach;
Peter Badovinac assistant wide
receivers coach; Rob Grosso defensive
quality control coaches; and Spencer Whipple
offensive quality control coaches. Announced
Chris Achuff defensive line, Randall McCray
assistant special teams, Buddy Morris strength
and conditioning, Vernon Stephens assistant
strength and conditioning and Cam Turner
offensive assistant/assistant quarterbacks will
return to coaching staff.
ATLANTA FALCONS — Released K Matt
Bryant.
DETROIT LIONS — Signed LB Tre’ Williams.
Alliance of American Football
SAN DIEGO FLEET — Waived K Cole Murphy.
Signed K Donny Hageman.
HOCKEY
National Hockey League
ARIZONA COYOTES — Assigned G Adin
Hill and D Dakota Mermis to Tucson (AHL).
Recalled F Michael Bunting from the Tucson.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS — Acquired F Cody
McLeod from the New York Rangers for a 2020
seventh-round pick draft pick.
NEW JERSEY DEVILS — Traded F Brian Boyle
to Nashville for a 2019 second-round draft pick.
LACROSSE
National Lacrosse League
BUFFALO BANDITS — Acquired F Chris
Cloutier from Philadelphia for T Ryan Wagner
and a 2021 first-round draft pick.
SOCCER
Major League Soccer
FC CINCINNATI — Signed D Logan Gdula, MF
Tommy McCabe, G Jimmy Hague, G Ben Lundt
and F Rashawn Dally.
softball coach.
Boxing
Schedule
Saturday
At Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio,
Calif., Alberto Machado vs. Andrew Cancio,
12, for Machado’s WBA super featherweight
title; Rey Vargas vs. Franklin Manzanilla, 12, for
Vargas’ WBC World super bantamweight title;
Joseph Diaz Jr. vs. Charles Huerta, 10, super
featherweights.
At Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, Calif.
(SHO), Gervonta Davis vs. Abner Mares, 12, for
Davis’ WBA featherweight title; Erickson Lubin
vs. Ishw Smith, 10, super welterweights; Javier
Fortuna vs. Sharif Bogere, 10, lightweights;
Eddie Ramirez vs. Juan Heraldez, 10, junior
welterweights; Xavier Martinez vs. Deivi Julio
Bassa, 10, junior lightweights.
Sunday
At Save Mart Arena, Fresno, Calif., Jose Carlos
Ramirez vs. Jose Zepeda, 12, for Ramirez’s
WBC World super lightweight title; Raymundo
Beltran vs. Hiroki Okada, 10 super lightweights;
Genesis Servania vs. Carlos Castro, 10,
featherweights; Bryan Vasquez vs. Enrique
Tinoco, 10, super featherweights; Andy Vences
vs. Dardan Zenunaj, 10, super featherweights;
Saul Rodriguez vs. Aelio Mesquita, 10,
lightweights.
Feb. 15
At Grand Casino, Hinckley, Minn. (ESPN), Rob
Brant vs. Khasan Baysangurov, 12, for Brant’s
WBA World middleweight title.
Feb. 16
At Los Angeles (FOX), Leo Santa Cruz vs.
Miguel Flores, 12, for Santa Cruz’s WBA
featherweight title; Omar Figueroa Jr. vs. John
Molina Jr., 10, welterweights.
Feb. 23
At Minneapolis Armory (FS1), Anthony Dirrell
vs. Avni Yildirim, 12, for the vacant WBC super
middleweight title.
March 2
At Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y. (SHO),
Erislandy Lara vs. Brian Castaño, 12, for Lara’s
WBA Super Welterweight World title; Luis
Ortiz vs. Christian Hammer, 10, heavyweights;
Ricardo Núñeztakes vs. Edner Cherry, 12,
super featherweights.
March 9
At MGM Grand, Las Vegas (FOX), Shawn
Porter vs. Yordenis Ugas, 12, for Porter’s WBC
welterweight title.
March 16
At AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas (PPV), Errol
Spence Jr. vs. Mikey Garcia, 12, for Spence’s
IBF welterweight title; David Benavidez vs.
J’Leon Love, 10, super middleweights.
March 24
At MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Md. (FS1),
Lamont Peterson vs. Sergey Lipinets, 12,
welterweights.

Alliance plans kickoff-free play

Minnesota on Friday (6:30 p.m.), Ohio State and George Mason on
MEN’S COLLEGE HOCKEY
Saturday (4:30 and 7 p.m.) and North Florida on Sunday (2:30 p.m.).
5 p.m. — Minnesota at Penn State, Big Ten Network
The Rebels will be without head coach Mike Smith on the trip,
5:30 p.m. — Nebraska-Omaha at Miami
who has been suspended for opening weekend for not meeting the
University, CBS Sports Network
university’s expectations for operating the program. Associate head
8 p.m. — Colorado College at St. Cloud State,
coach Ruben Felix will lead the team for the five games in Orlando, and
CBS Sports Network
Smith will return to the field next week.
COLLEGE WRESTLING
7:30 p.m. — Penn State at Ohio State, Big Ten
Southern Miss Network
FIGURE SKATING
Briles no longer under consideration for football job 11 p.m. — Four Continents Championships:
HATTIESBURG — Southern Mississippi administrators and ladies’ free skate, Anaheim, California, NBC
football coach Jay Hopson disagree on whether the school should Sports Network
hire former Baylor head coach Art Briles for a position on the Golden GOLF
Eagles’ football staff. 11 a.m. — PGA Tour Champions Golf: Oasis
Hopson believes they should.
Championship, first round, Boca Raton, Florida,
President Rodney D. Bennett and interim athletics director Jeff TGC
Mitchell say no — and they have the final say. 2 p.m. — PGA Tour Golf: AT&T Pebble Peach
The school released a statement Wednesday morning from Ben- Pro-Am, second round, Monterey, California, TGC
nett and Mitchell confirming that the school had met with Briles but that 8 p.m. — European Tour Golf: ISPS Handa Vic
“following that meeting, we informed him that he is not a candidate.”
Open, men’s and women’s third round, Australia,
Hopson released his own statement just minutes after the school’s TGC
release, saying that he respects the president’s decision, but disagrees NBA
with it and that Briles “deserves a second chance.” 6 p.m. — Denver at Philadelphia, ESPN
Southern Miss has been searching for a new offensive coordinator. 8:30 p.m. — Minnesota at New Orleans, ESPN
The 63-year-old Briles, who led the Bears to consecutive Big 12
NHL
titles in 2013 and 2014, was fired after an external investigation revealed 7 p.m. — Carolina at NY Rangers, NHL TV
in May 2016 that Baylor had for years mishandled numerous sexual SKIING
assault allegations by students, including some against football players. 8 a.m. — FIS World Alpine Championships: wom-
The Pepper Hamilton firm’s investigation found at least 17 women en’s super-combined (downhill), Sweden, NBC
who reported being sexually assaulted by 19 football players. Sports Network
Briles has insisted he did not cover up reports of assaults by play-
9 a.m. — FIS World Alpine Championships: wom-
ers, and that he encouraged women involved in the alleged incidents to en’s super-combined (slalom),
go to the police. Sweden, NBC Sports Network
Baylor is still waiting for the outcome of an NCAA investigation into
the school’s conduct. Even so, Hopson was willing to hire Briles.
10 a.m. — FIS World Freestyle Championships:
slopestyle skiing, Utah, NBC Sports Network
“He is a man that seemed sincere & humble in his interview & 8 p.m. — FIS World Freestyle Championships:
personally he committed no crime,” Hopson said in his text message skiing moguls’ competition, Utah, NBC Sports
statement. “He may not have acted in the proper protocol, but that Network
would be my JOB at Southern Miss! He was interviewing for an assis-
tant position, even though I believe he will be a Head Coach at a Major
10 p.m. — FIS World Alpine Championships:
women’s super-combined (slalom), Sweden, NBC
Program in the near future.” Sports Network
This is not the first time there has been disagreement within an SNOWBOARDING
organization about Briles since his firing at Baylor. Noon — FIS World Freestyle Championships:
When Briles was scheduled to be part of a breakout session at the halfpipe, Utah, NBC Sports Network
American Football Coaches Association convention last year, criticism
SOCCER
on social medial prompted the organization to cancel his participation in 1:20 p.m. — Bundesliga: Bayer Leverkusen vs.
a session called “Standing Strong/Game Management.”
FSV Mainz, FS2
—From Special, Staff and Wire Reports
By BERNIE WILSON the San Diego Fleet visiting the San
The Associated Press
Antonio Commanders and the At-
lanta Legends at the Orlando Apol-
SAN DIEGO — When the fledg- los. Games continue Sunday with
ling Alliance of American Football the Memphis Express visiting the
held four exhibition games recent-
Birmingham Iron and the Salt Lake
ly in San Antonio, something was Stallions at the Arizona Hotshots.
missing. Those games will start without
Kickoffs.
kickoffs. There will still be a coin
“We were all looking around say-
toss, with the winner deciding
ing, ‘Does anyone miss kickoffs?’ whether to receive or defer. The
The answer was, no, we did not miss team that gets the ball will simply
them,” said Mike Pereira, the NFL’s
send out its offense to start from its
former vice president of officiating
25.
who is a consultant for the latest at- “The players got used to it very
tempt at a spring league. quickly,” Pereira said in a phone in-
When the eight-team AAF kicks
terview from his home in Sacramen-
off this weekend, there will be no
to. “It’s a bit of a timesaver. Our goal
kickoffs as a nod to player safety is to play in two-and-a-half hours.”
and one of many twists to make Perhaps the most timely change
games faster. is the SkyJudge, who is able to use
There will be plenty of differenc- real-time technology to correct
es between the NFL and the AAF, clear errors involving player safety
which was founded by Bill Polian, a anytime during a game and pass in-
Hall of Famer and former NFL gen- terference inside of five minutes left
eral manager, and Charlie Ebersol,
in the fourth quarter.
a longtime TV and film producer. The SkyJudge already was in
Among them will be a ninth place before the non-call late in the
member of the officiating crew, NFC championship game that pret-
called a SkyJudge who will be in the ty much cost New Orleans a spot in
press box and can instantly correct the Super Bowl.
“obvious and egregious” officiating Pereira said it was modeled in
errors, like the one that marred the part after the college targeting rule,
NFC championship game. Over- which allows replay to step in and
time will be different, too. call targeting even if was not called
The AAF opens Saturday with on field.
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com Thursday, February 7, 2019 3B

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Alabama routs Georgia; Ole Miss rallies in final minutes for win
By The Associated Press
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Te-
vin Mack scored a season-high
25 points and powered a run
early in the second half to help
Alabama beat Georgia 89-74 on
Wednesday night.
Alabama (14-8, 5-4 SEC) led
by one after Georgia (10-12,
1-8) scored the opening basket
of the second half. Then, for a
two-minute span, Mack went on
a run almost by himself, scor-
ing 10 points during Alabama’s
12-2 burst, including back-to-
back three pointers within 30
seconds. That two-minute run
extended Alabama’s lead to
53-42 and Georgia never recov-
ered.
“Coaches are always telling
me to stay aggressive,” Mack
said. “The last couple of games,
I wasn’t shooting the ball
enough for them. . Everything
else will come off fine if I stay
aggressive and attack.”
Alongside Mack, was fresh-
man Kira Lewis.
Lewis, who averages a team-
high 13.6 points, finished with
24 points, tying his career high.
He scored 12 points in each
half, making 59 percent of his
shots for the game.
“(Lewis is) a special player,
special kid too,” Georgia coach
Tom Crean said. “There’s noth-
ing 17 years of age about his
game.”
Lewis scored on back-to-
back layups to give Alabama its
largest lead at 80-62.
Alabama outscored the
Bulldogs 26-13 in the first 10
minutes of the second half to
extend a three-point halftime
lead to 67-51 and the Tide led
by double digits the rest of the
way. The Bulldogs went 5-of-19
shooting from the field while
the Tide pulled away.
Derek Ogbeide had 17 points
to lead the Bulldogs, who lost
their third in a row and sev-
enth of the last eight. Rayshaun
Hammonds added 13 points,
Nicolas Claxton had 12 points
and nine rebounds, and Te-
shaun Hightower scored 11.
Georgia opened the game
with a 15-7 lead but Alabama
erased the gap with a 10-0 run
and the lead went back-and-
forth for the rest of the first half.
n Ole Miss 75, Texas
A&M 71: At Oxford, there was
no celebration for Mississippi,
but there was a sigh of relief.
Ole Miss snapped a four-
game losing streak, wiping out
a nine-point deficit in the sec-
ond half Wednesday night, to
defeat Texas A&M 75-71.
“It wasn’t pretty, but we
found a way,” Mississippi coach
Kermit Davis said. “We showed
some toughness and contested
shots in the last 10 minutes. We
were desperate. We really need-
ed this win.”
Breein Tyree scored 22
points for the Rebels (15-7, 5-4)
while Terence Davis added 19
points, including six consecu-
tive free throws in the final 30
seconds to preserve the win.
Blake Hinson added 11 points,
including a pair of go-ahead
free throws for a 65-64 lead
with 2:51 left.
Wendell Mitchell led Texas
A&M (8-13, 1-8) with 23 points
while Brandon Mahan had 20
points, including 6 of 7 from the
3-point line. Josh Nebo added
14 points and a game-high 10 re-
bounds for the Aggies, who led
57-48 on a Savion Flagg layup
with 12:46 left.
Ole Miss finished 24 of 58
(41 percent) from the field, in-
cluding Tyree’s 7 of 15. The
Rebels were 9 of 26 (34 percent)
from the 3-point line and 18 of
19 (95 percent) from the free
throw line.
Texas A&M was 28 of 62
(45 percent) from the field, but
struggled with a 1-of-11 slump
in the final five minutes. The
Aggies hit 11 of 23 (47 percent)
from 3-point range but hit only
2 of 10 during the decisive rally
by the Rebels.
Despite falling behind 19-6
in the opening seven minutes,
the Aggies did not fold, but
could not close it out in the final
10 minutes. ... Mahan was out-
standing from 3-point range,
hitting 10 consecutive shots
over a two-game span against
Tennessee and Ole Miss. The
streak ended with a miss from
25 feet with 1:45 left and the Ag-
gies trailing 67-64.
“He was open, but it was
deep,” Texas A&M coach Billy
Kennedy said of the potential
game-tying shot. “The timing
could have been better. It’s un-
fortunate.”
The win was especially im-
portant and not just because
it stopped a four-game losing
streak. The Rebels play three of
the next four games on the road
and have home dates remaining
against No. 1 Tennessee and
No. 5 Kentucky.

No. 14 Villanova beats Creighton for 10-0 in Big East

By The Associated Press
VILLANOVA, Pa.
— Freshman forward
Saddiq Bey scored a ca-
reer-high 17 points, se-
nior guard Phil Booth
hit key baskets down the
stretch and No. 14 Villa-
nova remained perfect in
Big East play by beating
Creighton 66-59 in over-
time Wednesday night.
Booth finished with
14 points and eight re-
bounds while Eric Pas-
chall scored 15 and Col-
lin Gillespie had 13 for
the Wildcats (19-4, 10-0),
who have won their first
10 Big East games for the
first time in program his-
tory. Their previous best
start in league play came
in 2009-10 when they
opened 9-0.
The defending national
champions also became
the first Big East team to
start 10-0 in conference
games since UConn won
its first 11 in 1998-99.
Davion Mintz led
Creighton (13-10, 4-6)
with 19 points and Martin
Krampelj had 13 points
and 10 rebounds. The
Bluejays were missing
two starters after top
scorer Ty-Shon Alexander
was injured in practice
Tuesday. He joined Mar-
cus Zegarowski (broken
hand) in street clothes on
the bench.
n No. 6 Nevada 98,
Colorado State 82: At
Fort Collins, Colorado,
Jordan Caroline scored
30 of his season-high 40
points in the first half
and Nevada beat Colo-
rado State for its eighth
straight win.
Caroline finished five
points shy of his career
best set Jan. 7, 2017, at
New Mexico. He added 12
rebounds for his 14th dou-
ble-double of the season,
and his 41 career dou-
ble-doubles are the most
in Mountain West Con-
ference history, breaking
a tie with Kawhi Leonard
and Andrew Bogut.
Caleb Martin added 25
points for Nevada (22-1,
9-1), including a dunk off
a lob from his twin, Cody,
that capped a 10-2 run to
end the game.
Nico Carvacho led the
Rams (9-14, 4-6) with 24
points and 17 rebounds.
Colorado State lost by 40
in Reno two weeks ago
but gave the Wolf Pack a
fight at home.
n No. 19 Wisconsin
56, Minnesota 51: At
Minneapolis, Ethan Happ
had 15 points and 13 re-
bounds to help Wisconsin
avenge a loss to Minneso-
ta with its sixth straight
win overall.
D’Mitrik Trice hit a
3-pointer with 1:44 re-
maining and 3 seconds
left on the shot clock to
give Wisconsin (17-6, 9-3
Big Ten) a 52-46 lead and
seal a fourth consecutive
victory at rival Minneso-
ta.
Gophers coach Rich-
ard Pitino fell to 2-9 in his
career against the Bad-
gers, held to a season-low
34.5 field goal percentage
(19 for 55).
Jordan Murphy (16
points, 19 rebounds) and
Daniel Oturu (12 points,
11 rebounds) each had a
double-double, but Min-
nesota (16-7, 6-6) missed
12 of 13 attempts from
3-point range, including
three in the final 76 sec-
onds.
n No. 24 Maryland
60, Nebraska 45: At
Lincoln, Nebraska, Jalen
Smith had 18 points and
11 rebounds as Maryland
beat fading Nebraska.
Bruno Fernando had
his sixth consecutive dou-
ble-double, and 15th of
the season, with 13 points
and a career-high 19 re-
bounds for the Terrapins
(18-6, 9-4 Big Ten).
Nebraska (13-10, 3-9)
set season lows for points
and field goal percentage
(21 percent) while los-
ing its sixth straight and
dropping to 13th place in
the conference.
Isaiah Roby led the
Cornhuskers with 20
points and 14 rebounds.

MSU Men
Continued from Page 1B
LSU (18-4, 8-1) maintained
a second-place tie in the con-
ference standings with MSU’s
Saturday opponent, No. 5 Ken-
tucky. The Tigers have won
five times in conference road
games.
Reid had 25 second-half
points as the Tigers rallied
from a 10-point deficit in the fi-
nal 15:39 of the second half.
“Only having four turnovers
in the second half really helped
us,” LSU coach Will Wade said.
“Obviously, a very good win for
us. Mississippi State is a tre-
mendous team. I thought we
were going to come out and play
well. It’s tough when you play a
team like Mississippi State. We
could play our best game and
still get beat. It makes it tough,
but we were able to scratch it
out tonight.”
The offensive stars were
plenty on this night.
For MSU, Quinndary Weath-
erspoon had 27 points, while
Reggie Perry recorded his
fourth double-double (third in
conference play) with 19 points
and 10 rebounds. A surprise
starter in the win over Ole Miss,
Perry again delivered in the
starting role. Perry has scored
18 or more in the Bulldogs’ last
three games.
The only down spot for the
reigning SEC Freshman of the
Week was at the free throw line
where he was 9-of-16.
“Obviously, (a thing needed
to be done differently) was my
free throws,” Perry said. “If I
made those, I feel like we could
have definitely won the game.”
Tyson Carter and Aric Hol-
man each added 12 points
apiece.
After a sluggish first eight
minutes, the Bulldogs respond-
ed with a 17-0 run for a 25-16
lead.
“Our defense was great,”
Quinndary Weatherspoon said.
“The defensive’s intensity get-
ting them hyped up and mak-
ing them turn the ball over. We
were able to get out in transi-
tion.”
LSU had the answer in the
form of point guard Tremont
Waters. Emerging as a candi-
date for conference player of
the year honors, Waters had 11
first-half points.
The Tigers cut down on the
turnovers and actually crawled
back within three. The Bull-
dogs scored the final five of the
half with a trey from Weather-
spoon giving the Bulldogs a 42-
34 halftime lead.
“LSU is a very good team,”
Howland said. “Some of (not
protecting the lead) definitely
is the minutes. We took some
shots at times especially when
we had an eight- and nine-point
lead where we want to maybe
manage them little better and
not be in such a rush.”
The Bulldogs still held some
type of lead for the first 17 min-
utes of the second half.
Reid and Waters (26 total
points) eventually closed the
gap with the teams being tied at
78 with 3:12 left.
Down one with 56 sec-
onds left in regulation, Perry
grabbed a critical defensive re-
bound. From there, Quinndary
Weatherspoon drove to the bas-
ket and drew a foul. He hit one
of two free throws for the final
tie of regulation with 37 sec-
onds left.
The Bulldogs then got a
stop but Lamar Peters missed
a rushed 10-footer as time ex-
pired.
Overtime was fought on
virtually even terms until the
back-breaker from Reid.
“We simply have to find a
way to close out these games,”
Quinndary Weatherspoon said.
“That means better defense for
longer stretches of time.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor
Scott Walters on Twitter @dis-
patchscott

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Last-minute drama adds to National Signing Day around SEC

By STEVE MEGARGEE
The Associated Press
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
— Leave it to the South-
eastern Conference to
provide some drama on
signing day that other-
wise seemed anticlimac-
tic.
Even though the vast
majority of recruits al-
ready had finalized their
college decisions in the
December signing peri-
od, the traditional Febru-
ary signing date still pro-
vided a few surprises as
players SEC teams were
targeting backed out of
longstanding verbal com-
mitments.
Wide receiver George
Pickens, the nation’s
No. 24 overall prospect
according to compos-
ite rankings of recruit-
ing sites compiled by
247Sports, flipped his
commitment from Au-
burn to Georgia. Alabama
lost a couple of top-200
verbal commitments
when defensive end Khris
Bogle (No. 71) chose
Florida and cornerback
Christian Williams (No.
160) signed with Miami.
“The big surprise was
George Pickens picking
Georgia over Auburn,”
said Barton Simmons, the
director of scouting for
247Sports. “That’s a kid
who had been committed
to Auburn for two years.”
Alabama still topped
the 247Sports Composite
team recruiting rankings
for the eighth time in the
last nine years, thanks
mainly to the wealth of
heralded prospects it
signed in December. Ala-
bama enhanced its class
Wednesday by signing
defensive tackles Ishmael
Sopsher (No. 47) and By-
ron Young (No. 77) and
running back Keilan Rob-
inson (No. 244).
“Alabama is just more
than championships,”
Sopsher said. “Coach
Nick Saban, he’s going to
turn you into a man and
he’s going to set you up
for life.”
Even so, all those sign-
ing day switches added
some suspense to a Feb-
ruary signing date that
has lost plenty of rele-
vance since the 2017 ar-
rival of an early signing
period.
The SEC had four
of the top five teams in
the 247Sports Compos-
ite rankings as of early
Wednesday evening.
Georgia was second, Tex-
as A&M fourth and LSU
fifth. Also in the top 15
were Florida at No. 9 and
Tennessee at No. 12.
“The SEC is known for
flips, known for decom-
mitments, known for cut-
throat recruiting,” said
Mike Farrell, the director
of recruiting for Rivals.
Some other notable
recruiting stories from
around the SEC.
BOUNCING BACK
Alabama’s move to the
top of the recruiting rank-
ings came one year after it
signed a class that ranked
fifth in the team stand-
ings, ending a string of
seven straight first-place
finishes. Georgia topped
the 2018 team standings .
“We’re certainly satis-
fied,” Saban said.
T W O - S P O R T
THREAT
Ole Miss had one of
the day’s biggest victories
when it beat out Clemson
and Alabama for running
back Jerrion Ealy, rated
29th in the 247Sports
Composite.
But the Rebels
shouldn’t celebrate just
yet.
Ealy also is a talented
baseball player and a po-
tential first-round pick in
June’s draft, which could
force him into deciding
whether to play football at
Ole Miss or launch a pro-
fessional baseball career.
INVADING ENEMY
TERRITORY
One interesting ele-
ment of Georgia’s class is
that the Bulldogs signed
the top two prospects in
the state of Alabama .
Center Clay Webb,
ranked second in Ala-
bama and 26th nationally,
signed with Georgia in
December. The Bulldogs
got the top prospect in the
state Wednesday when
Pickens made his switch
from Auburn to Georgia.
The top four prospects
in the state of Florida all
chose either Alabama or
Georgia, though they’d
all signed in December.
Georgia got defensive end
Nolan Smith and corner-
back Tyrique Stevenson,
while Alabama added
running back Trey Sand-
ers and offensive tackle
Evan Neal.
Florida did a better
job of protecting its home
state Wednesday by get-
ting Bogle to switch from
Alabama to the Gators
and beating out Geor-
gia for cornerback Kaiir
Elam (48th).
FORTIFYING THE
LINE
Tennessee landed the
nation’s top remaining
unsigned prospect when
it added offensive tack-
le Darnell Wright, who
was 10th overall in the
247Sports Composite.
The additions of
Wright and December
signee Wanya Morris
(28th) should provide a
big boost to a Tennessee
offensive line that has
struggled mightily the
last two seasons.
Tennessee added an-
otherr top-50 recruit
Wednesday as linebacker
Henry To’oto’o (44th) an-
nounced he was choosing
the Vols.
“One of the big selling
points we’ve had right
now that has helped us
in recruiting has been
our (top-ranked) men’s
basketball program,”
Tennessee coach Jeremy
Pruitt said. “Everywhere
I go, everybody wants to
talk about our basketball
program. I think that’s a
great thing, putting Ten-
nessee on the map again,
building the brand.”
SHURMUR SUCCES-
SOR?
Some schools used the
signing date as an oppor-
tunity to announce the
arrivals of transfers. One
of the more notable addi-
tions was Vanderbilt’s ad-
dition of Ball State gradu-
ate transfer quarterback
Riley Neal, who becomes
a potential successor to
departing four-year start-
er Kyle Shurmur.
Vanderbilt also added
former Michigan State
defensive end Lashawn
Paulino-Bell, who spent
the 2018 season at East
Mississippi Community
College.
The Commodores
would love these transfers
to approach the success
of running back KeShawn
Vaughn, an Illinois trans-
fer who rushed for 1,244
yards this past season
4B Thursday, February 7, 2019 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

COLLEGE/PREP FOOTBALL: National Signing Day

Alabama tops charts again;

Ole Miss finishes strong
From Special Reports
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama
football announced the addition of three
players to its 2019 recruiting class during
the February signing period on Wednes-
day. The addition of Keilan Robinson,
Ishmael Sopsher and Byron Young to
the Crimson Tide’s 24 student-athletes
inked during the early signing period in
December bring Alabama’s total to 27 in
the 2019 class.
The 27 high school players in the
full 2019 class come from 10 states and
Washington D.C. – Alabama (6), Florida
(4), Georgia (3), Maryland (3), Louisi-
ana (2), Mississippi (2), New Jersey (2),
Texas (2), Illinois (1), Kentucky (1) and
Washington D.C. (1).
Alabama’s 2019 signing class ranks
No. 1 nationally by both 247Sports and
ESPN.
As listed by position, the Crimson
Tide add to its roster six defensive line-
men, five offensive linemen, five defen-
sive backs, four linebackers, two quar-
terbacks, a pair of running backs and
one player each at placekicker, tight end
and wide receiver.
February’s additions to the Crimson
Tide’s complete 2019 signing class in-
clude: RB Robinson (St. John’s/Wash-
ington D.C.), DL Sopsher (Amite, La./
Amite) and DL Young (Laurel, Miss./
West Jones).
See ALABAMA, 6B

Scott Walters/Dispatch Staff

The Starkville High School signing class included KJ Lawrence (Mississippi Col-
lege); Garin Boniol (Louisiana Tech); Zach Edwards (Louisville); Rodrigues Clark and
Jalil Clemons (Memphis); Ty Johnson, Tonorris Brookens, Mikel Williams and Alexis
Stallings (East Mississippi Community College); Michael Goss (East Central Commu-
nity College); Bernard Thomas (Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College); Atavius
Jones (Copiah-Lincoln Community College); Myles Stone (Northeast Mississippi
Community College) and Ryan Johnson (Northwest Mississippi Community College).
JUNIOR COLLEGES
n EMCC OUTGOING: SCOOBA — A total of 22 former East Mississippi Community College
players from Coach Buddy Stephens’ 2018 national championship team have signed Na-
tional Letters of Intent to continue their football careers at the four-year level.
Combining last December’s early signing period along with Wednesday’s regular national
signing date, EMCC’s most recent additions to the senior college gridiron ranks are com-
prised of 10 players heading to FBS schools and six to FCS schools as well as five stu-
dent-athletes inking with NCAA Division II members and one player with an NAIA program.
Of the 10 former EMCC players heading to FBS programs, five have signed with Southeast-

Starkville
Continued from Page 1B
round of this past season’s
playoffs.
Jones’ first two teams
combined to win 24
games.
“For me personally,
I was a late-bloomer,”
Jones said. “Then I got
to play some college ball
and in the NFL. That’s
why having this oppor-
tunity is so important.
These guys are ready for
the next level. They have
been well-prepared both
in the classroom and on
the field. Some kids peak
early. Some kids peak
later. As coaches, it’s our
job to push these guys
to see their capabilities.
When you first start play-
ing high school ball, this
is the day that you have
been anticipating.”
The biggest suspense
on this campus was the
future home of lineback-
er/defensive end Zach
Edwards. With caps from
Ole Miss and Tulane
on the desk, Edwards
reached below to unveil a
visor from the University
of Louisville.
“The recruitment pro-
cess was fun but I am
glad it’s over,” Edwards
said. “Louisville has been
consistent in their recruit-
ment of me. Even after
the coaching staff change
(Scott Satterfield was
named head coach on Dec.
4), the coaches stayed in
constant contact. Playing
for a new coaching staff is
the one of the things that
intrigued me about going
to Louisville.
A two-time all-state
selection, Edwards was
ranked a three-star pros-
pect by both 247 Sports
and Rivals. He was con-
sidered the No. 31 inside
linebacker nationally and
the No. 18 player in the
state. A participant in
the Mississippi-Alabama
Shrine Classic, Edwards
chose Louisville over of-
fers from Texas A&M,
Ole Miss, Mississippi
State, LSU, Southern
Mississippi, Marshall and
Memphis, according to
the University of Louis-
ville web site.
“It will be a chance to
go in and compete in a
major conference,” Ed-
wards said. “I learned a
lot from some of the for-
mer players like (Missis-
sippi State’s) Willie (Gay).
Everything he told me
was true. It was going to
be a long, drawn-out pro-
cess and it would always
be hectic. Still, it was fun
and I am glad I got to go
through it.”
Five Starkville play-
ers signed with four-year
schools. Running back
Rodrigues Clark and line-
man Jalil Clemons partici-
pated in the ceremony af-
ter having signed with the
University of Memphis in
December.
Kicker Garin Boniol
signed with Louisiana
Tech University, while
running back KJ Law-
rence signed with Missis-
sippi College.
The Mississippi Asso-
ciation of Community and
Junior Colleges (MACJC)
inherited a nice crop of
Yellow Jackets with nine
joining the league.
Reigning national
champion East Missis-
sippi Community College
signed middle linebacker
Ty Johnson, wide receiver
Tonorris Brookens, defen-
sive back Mikel Williams
and defensive back Alexis
Stallings. Other signees
included lineman Michael
Goss to East Central
Community College, wide
receiver Bernard Thomas
to Mississippi Gulf Coast
Community College, tight
end Atavius Jones to Co-
piah-Lincoln Community
College, defensive back
Myles Stone to Northeast
Mississippi Community
College and lineman Ryan
Johnson to Northwest
Mississippi Community
College.
Also on campus
Wednesday, former SHS
lineman Jakoby Jones,
who was a member of the
EMCC national champi-
onship squads in 2017 and
2018, came back home to
sign with the University
of Alabama at Birming-
ham.
Follow Dispatch sports
editor Scott Walters on
Twitter @dispatchscott
ern Conference teams. In addition to offensive lineman LaQuinston Sharp (Mississippi
State) and wide receiver Dontario Drummond (Ole Miss) staying within the Magnolia State,
former East Mississippi defensive linemen Sci Martin Jr. (Missouri), Darel Middleton
(Tennessee) and Lashawn Paulino-Bell (Vanderbilt) will all be suiting up for SEC teams this
coming fall.
2018 EAST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOOTBALL SOPHOMORES MOVING ON
JaQUEZ AKINS (5-10, 190, DB, Starkville [MS] HS) – University of Tennessee at Martin
JACOB ANDERSON (6-3, 200, DB, Johns, MS/Puckett HS) – Texas Southern University
JOSEPH ANDERSON (6-3, 200, DB, Johns, MS/Puckett HS) – Texas Southern University
BRADEN BOYKIN (5-7, 160, WR, Madison, MS/Madison Central HS) – Henderson State University
DJ CLAYTON (5-9, 175, WR, Porterville, MS/Kemper County HS) – Mississippi Valley State University
EVERITT CUNNINGHAM (6-3, 250, DL, West Point [MS] HS) – University of Memphis
MESSIAH deWEAVER (6-5, 230, QB, Dayton, OH/Wayne HS) – Old Dominion University
DONTARIO DRUMMOND (6-2, 200, WR, Laurel [MS] HS) – University of Mississippi
KALEB GENTRY (6-0, 210, LB, Lucedale, MS/George County HS) – Campbellsville [KY] University
CJ GHOLAR (5-9, 175, DB, Columbus [MS] HS) – Mississippi College
UNTAREO JOHNSON (6-1, 230, LB, Jonestown, MS/Coahoma AHS) – Bethune-Cookman University
ERIQ KITCHEN (6-2, 250, DL, Batesville, MS/South Panola HS) – University of Southern Mississippi
SCI MARTIN JR. (6-4, 240, DL, New Orleans, LA/McDonogh 35 HS) – University of Missouri
DAREL MIDDLETON (6-7, 290, DL, Knoxville, TN/Oak Ridge HS) – University of Tennessee
ADRIAN MILLER (6-0, 175, WR, Columbia, MS/West Marion HS) – Mississippi College
JOSH MILLER (5-11, 190, DB, Kokomo, MS/West Marion HS) – Mississippi College
D’ANTHONY PAGE (6-4, 275, OL, Laurel [MS] HS) – Mississippi Valley State University
LASHAWN PAULINO-BELL (6-4, 245, DL, Fort Lauderdale, FL/St. Thomas Aquinas HS) – Vanderbilt
University
KALEM REDDIX (6-2, 210, WR, Biloxi, MS/St. Martin HS) – University of Louisiana at Lafayette
LaQUINSTON SHARP (6-4, 310, OL, Columbus [MS] HS) – Mississippi State University
KEILOS SWINNEY (6-0, 185, DB, Bentonia, MS/Yazoo County HS) – University of Louisiana at Mon-
roe
MATT TOLES (6-0, 305, OL, Oxford, MS/Lafayette HS) – Mississippi College
n EMCC INCOMING: SCOOBA — A total of 31 incoming football players were announced during
Wednesday’s National Signing Day by head coach Buddy Stephens of the five-time national champi-
on Lions of East Mississippi Community College.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the following players have chosen to continue their football careers at
EMCC:
2019 EAST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOOTBALL SIGNEES
Ethan Anderson, OL, St. Martin HS; Tonorris Brookins, WR, Starkville HS; Tredarius Carr, DL, Yazoo
County HS; Brian Cooley, OL, Laurel HS; Shun Crawford, WR, West Point HS; Jaylen Cungious, DL,
West Point HS; Jamond Gordon, DL, Meridian HS; Elbert Griffin, OL, Holmes County Central HS
Ezekiel Head, OL, West Point HS; Jontarius Henderson, WR, Laurel HS; Octavian Hollins, OL, Yazoo
County HS; Myles Hopson, WR, Madison Central HS; Keymarcus Jackson, DB, Noxubee County HS;
Ja’Quaris Jamison, DB, Noxubee County HS; Jamari Jones, QB, Northwest Rankin HS; Nicholas
Jones, OL, Byhalia HS; Brandon Lairy, LB, West Point HS; Tanner Lawson, OL, Corinth HS; Jo’Vawn
“Ham” McGee, RB, St. Martin HS; Jonathan Merritt, OL, Meridian HS; DeShawn Page, LB, Fulton HS
(Knoxville, TN); Zach Patterson, ATH, Corinth HS; Zias Perryman, RB, Laurel HS; Tyler Rupert, DB,
West Point HS; Juleon Selvie, LB, Meridian HS; Ja’Qualyn Smith, WR, Noxubee County HS; Alexis
Stallings, DB, Starkville HS; Austin Todd, DL, Oak Grove HS; Norde White Jr., DL, St. Martin HS;
Jasper Williams, LB, Grenada HS; Mikel Williams, DB, Starkville HS
n ICC OUTGOING: FULTON – Jamel Thomas and Spencer Unruh, both of Caledonia, will continue
their career at four-year colleges in 2019.
Thomas, a standout wide receiver, will continue his career at the University of South Alabama.
During his sophomore season at ICC, Thomas led the Indians with 934 yards on 59 catches and

MSU football
Continued from Page 1B
to recruit their student athletes. Lastly,
most importantly, thank you to the fam-
ilies and the players for their belief in us
and our vision and our culture and the
things we have to offer at Mississippi
State, academically and athletically.”
Despite a series of coaching staff
changes in recent weeks, the Bulldogs
still held firm on multiple commitments.
The Bulldogs relied on in-state connec-
tions with 11 of 22 signees being from
Mississippi. The emphasis was on the
offensive line and retooling a defense,
which led the nation in multiple catego-
ries this past season.
“I think we did our best to minimize
the effect (coaching changes) would
have on the class,” Moorhead said. “I
don’t think you can completely stick
your head in the sand and look the other
way either. You are talking about guys
who built relationships with players we
recruited for well over a year’s worth of
time.
“So, to say it didn’t have an effect, to
me, would be foolish. I think [it helped]
having a plan and replacing them very
quickly with incredibly competent, qual-
ified people. Certainly at the running
back position, Terry Richardson is a guy
I worked with at UConn, who has play-
ing and coaching experience in college
and the NFL. He has worked with a ton
of pros and done an unbelievable job in
recruiting. I think that helped, and cer-
tainly Michael Johnson, a coordinator
in the NFL and college has developed
a bunch of pro guys. And then there’s
Deke Adams, who’s an in-state guy and
has coached Jadeveon Clowney. Certain-
ly, with whatever it was, a week and a half
or two weeks left in recruiting, to lose
guys that had been recruiting people at
key positions was less than ideal, but I
think our response to that, our readiness
and having people available and bring-
ing them in quickly helped minimize the
effect on the class.”
The marquee signee Wednesday was
longterm commitment Nathan Pickering
from Seminary High School. An Under
Armour All-American defensive tackle,
Pickering was ranked as the state’s fifth
best prospect by 247 Sports.
From the beginning, Pickering said
he would sign on the second signing day.
He held true to his word and helped re-
cruit in the weeks leading up to Wednes-
day.
“Particularly, with the late change in
coaching there, I think (Pickering’s re-
cruitment) was huge,” Moorhead said.
“Nathan always had a firm belief in my-
self, our defensive staff, our university
and our football program. For him to
be a guy that could have gone just about
anywhere in the country if he wanted to,
through thick and thin, high and low,
through all the changes, he remained
steadfast and firm in his commitment
to us. He was relatively vocal about it
through the latter stages of the process.
There has been a long history of defen-
sive linemen in this state who have de-
cided to stay home at Mississippi State
and gone on to great success on the field
and in the classroom. I believe Nathan
will be the next guy in that line. I appre-
ciate the heck out of him and his family
because they held true to what they said
they were going to do.”
Information for this report was provid-
ed by the Mississippi State University De-
partment of Athletic Media Relations.
Additional coverage of National Sign-
ing Day will appear in Sunday’s paper.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Scott
Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
added eight touchdowns. He also led the nation with 103.8 yards per game.
Unruh signed to Faulkner University after a sophomore season where he completed 39 passes for
450 yards and four touchdowns.
n ICC INCOMING: FULTON –Itawamba Community College head football coach Sean Cannon an-
nounced the addition of 31 student-athletes to the Indians 2019 signing class Wednesday.
QB Dylan Faulk(Hernando) completed 140 of 246 passes for 1,951 yards and 15 touchdowns with
only 9 interceptions while rushing for 306 yards to combine for 2,257 total yards.
WR Javis Wren(Shannon) was named to offensive first-team All Region 2-4A after making 87 catch-
es for 1,527 yards and 12 touchdowns in his senior season at Shannon High School. Quinshun
Twilley(Lafayette) had 333 receiving yards and 1 touchdown. Finally, to round out the wide receivers
inking with the Indians on national signing day, a dual threat WR/RB Qua Davis(Biggersville) had
3,776 rushing yards and 761 receiving yards for a combined 60 touchdowns.
RB Thailon Whitfield(Shannon) achieved 2,828 all-purpose yards on 469 carries and scored 36
touchdowns during his high school career. The Indians also added Division 2-3A Super 22 Team’s
R.J. Wilson(Independence) to its list of running back signees Wednesday. Wilson rushed for an
impressive 3,172 yards on 473 in 39 appearances throughout his carrier at Independence High
School.
The Indians added seven offensive linemen to their singing class, which includes: Tim Yarbough(Lou-
isville), Anthony Saylor(Southaven), Ja’Vunta Woodall(Grenada), Darron Head(Southaven), Buddy
Baughman(Shannon) Charles Brooks(Greenwood), and K’mayius Cayson(Shannon).
DL Tekoy Randolph(Oakland TN) led one of Tennessee’s most elite defensives to help shutout
Whitehaven in the 2018 State Championship. Randolph averaged 4 tackles per game and ended his
career with 167 total tackles.
ICC added four other DL standouts: LaDerrick Despenza(Hamilton), Jaquan Lott(MS Palmer), Nate
Murphy(Water Valley), who earned MAC Division 2-3A All-Region First Team honors, and District 3-1A
defensive MVP Jarious Hathorn(Noxapater).
LB Corley Hooper(North Pontotoc) played both sides of the ball extremely well, not to mention he
was also a huge asset for the Viking’s baseball team. Defensively, he averaged nearly 100 tackles
a season throughout his four years at North Pontotoc High School. Corley ended with 463 total tack-
les and set the North Pontotoc team-high for 175 tackles in a single season. The North Pontotoc
Standout received First Team All Division 1-3A Baseball honors and Division 1-3A Defensive MVP,
Bernard Blackwell All-Star award and WCBI-TV’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
LB Keaton Cager(Tupelo) was selected on the Bernard Blackwell Classic All-Star North Team roster
his senior year after recording 170 total tackles. Cager had a huge interception in the Golden
Wave’s 2018 come from behind season opener win against Meridian to upset the Wildcats 34-24.
LB Ja’Varius Benson(Water Valley) amassed a total of 363 amidst leading the Blue Devils to a Class
3A State Championship his senior year. Benson was also named to the MAC Division 2-3A Super 22
Team.
TE Tyler Day(North Little Rock AR) will enter ICC in the fall being ranked 2nd in the state of Arkansas
and 64thin the nation surpassing 700 rushing yards to help lead the Charging Wildcats to a State
Championship his junior year and State Runner Up his senior season. Also inking with the Indians is
dual threat TE/DE Paris Adams(Water Valley). Like other Blue Devil Signee’s, Adams helped lead the
Water Valley Blue Devils to a 3A State Championship Title. Adams was also a recipient of the MAC
2-3A All-Region First Team honors.
K/PElijiah Wilkes(Louisville) whose career-best field goal was a 42 yarder, finished his senior season
making 57 out of 62 extra points as the Wildcats went onto win their 4A State Title.
The Indians rounded out national signing day with the addition of seven defensive backs, which
includes: Peyton Rea(Madison Central), Quadarious Jones(North Panola), Cameron Moore(Madison
Central), Alex Seeden(Grenada), and a trio from Pontotoc Ralph Dunn, Caleb Triplett, and Immanuel
Vance. Vance earned MAC All State 2ndteam honors despite battling injuries nearing the end of the
season.
—From Special Reports
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com Thursday, February 7, 2019 5b

PREP FOOTBALL

Adam Minichino/Dispatch Staff

Name plates for all 11 of the West Point High School football players involved in the team’s signing ceremony stand on a table in the school’s auditorium.

Chambless, coaches set tone for WPHS players to be caretakers

WEST POINT Class 5A State championship Sound like minor details? mending tape of Smith, who working out will become the

C
hampionship programs
have plenty of caretak-
ers.
Usually, the coaches set the
tone and estab-
lish a culture
that demands
excellence.
If coaches do
things cor-
rectly, their
student-ath-
Adam letes — namely
Minichino their seniors
— follow their
example and
take ownership in the program.
As a result, missed reps in the
weight room or less than 100
percent effort in practice aren’t
tolerated.
Nowhere is that more
apparent than at West Point
High School. Led by Chris
Chambless, the 10-time state
championship football program
thrives thanks in part to its
attention to detail, its love for
training and conditioning, and
its relentless desire not to be
outworked.
The fruits of those labors
were realized Wednesday, as 11
members of the 2018 MHSAA
team signed to continue their
football careers in college.
As impressive as it was to
see all of those student-ath-
letes and their families take
their turns on the stage in the
West Point High auditorium, it
was even more special to talk
to Ezekiel Head and Ke’Aris
Smith about how both of them
came to earn opportunities
to attend East Mississippi
Community College in Scooba.
It was equally eye opening to
watch Ryan Melton, who was
slated to sign with South Ala-
bama, and Brentt Cunningham
talk with Chambless about the
details of sending Cunning-
ham’s National Letter of Intent
to USA.
There was no whiff of “me”
from Head or Melton. Instead,
both young men took active
roles in helping their teammate
get an opportunity to play at the
next level. For Head, it meant
encouraging the EMCC coaches
to watch film of Smith on Hudl.
For Melton, it meant advising
Cunningham what to do with his
NLI and telling him to send it to
him so he could forward it to the
coaches at USA.
This reporter hasn’t heard
many examples of players ac-
tively helping their teammates
get an opportunity at the next
level in 26-plus years. It doesn’t
mean it hasn’t happened, but
it shows how much respect
Chambless has throughout the
state of Mississippi and how
much college coaches believe
in his kids.
“We haven’t had a lot of of-
fensive linemen move on to the
next level,” Chambless said.
“I don’t know why because we
are just as physical as any-
body else. The size thing has
to do with it and all of these
recruiting rules they go by
and everything, but I talked
with (EMCC) coach (Buddy)
Stephens about (Ezekiel)
and a couple of other guys we
have. They watched his film
and EMCC is very excited to
get him. They even told him,
‘You’re a must-get for us.’
They’re looking for him to
come in and play and make a
lot of the line calls up front. He
is looking at it as an honor to
be able to do that. He is one of
our hardest workers.”
Still, it took Head recom-
is 5-foot-10, 282 pounds, to
the EMCC coaches before his
teammate landed an opportuni-
ty to go to Scooba.
Chambless said the Green
Wave have more caretakers
than Head and Melton, which
explains why the program is so
successful. In football, winning
isn’t a “me” thing. It takes 11
players working together in the
offseason to build trust. Excel-
lence requires 11 players to go at
full speed in practice to maxi-
mize the chances for success.
Championships are realized
when the players embrace those
concepts and football become a
“we” thing and it doesn’t matter
who gets the yards or the touch-
downs. The end result is the only
thing that matters.
On Tuesday, the sounds of
West Point players working
out in preparation for the 2019
season could be heard as Cham-
bless examined Cunningham’s
NLI and Melton looked over
their shoulders. On Wednesday,
an auditorium filled with family,
friends, and coaches celebrated
that attention to detail.
In a few years, some of those
younger players who were
next caretakers for a program
that will continue to roll along.
“He cares about his team-
mates,” Chambless said of
Head. “EMCC saw in him grit
and determination and plus
he can roll you off the football,
which always helps.
“Ryan has a great work
ethic. He is one of those guys
who is first in here and last to
leave a lot of times. Being a
coach’s son helps. I remember
Ryan when he was born. He
has been a fixture around here.
We’re going to miss him. He is
extremely smart. He just wants
to do there right thing, but he
is a great athlete. He is going
to do very well. Ryan’s also a
caretaker. We were in here a
while ago and Ryan and I were
talking about Brentt going with
him to South Alabama. He was
talking about how he is going
to take care of Brentt. That
sums him up right there.”
Adam Minichino is the
former sports editor of The
Dispatch. You can reach him by
email at aminichino@cdispatch.
com. Follow him on Twitter @
ctsportseditor.

EMCC popular choice West Point

Continued from Page 1B

for WPHS champions

By Adam Minichino
aminichino@cdispatch.com
WEST POINT — has had as much success as
Championship programs
attract champions.
Winning five national
titles has helped the East
Mississippi Community
College football program
become the preferred
destination of many of
the state’s top players.
In recruiting at 10-time
state champion West
Point High School, EMCC
coach Buddy Stephens
and his assistant coaches
found a plethora of talent
and interested players.
On Wednesday morn-
ing, West
Point de-
fensive
back Tyler
Rupert, de-
fensive end
Jaylen Cun-
gious, wide
Rupert receiver
Jaquer ius
Craw ford,
quarter-
back Jake
Chambless,
l inebacker
Brandon
Lairy, and
Cungious of fensive
linemen
Ezekiel Head and Ke’Aris
Smith became the latest
Green Wave players to
decide to continue their
careers at Scooba. In all,
EMCC signed 31 players
Wednesday. Although
Chambless and Smith
weren’t officially part of
that list, the Green Wave
reaped the rewards of win-
ning their third-straight
Mississippi High School
Activities Association
(MHSAA) Class 5A State
title in December.
“They’re the best,” said
Rupert, who is 5-foot-10,
170 pounds. “I got that of-
fer and that was the only
one I really wanted.”
Rupert said he received
several other offers from ju-
nior colleges in the state of
Mississippi but they never
received serious consider-
ation. He said the allure of
playing in a program that
EMCC made it easy to pick
Scooba.
“It is a step forward and
a step up for me,” Rupert
said. “It is a big step for
me. I have had this as a
dream ever since I went
to see my cousin (Jus-
tin Cox) play at EMCC.
There is no pressure (go-
ing from a state champion
to a national champion). I
just have to step up more.”
Cungious, a 6-4,
215-pound defensive end
agreed with his teammate.
He said the coaches already
have talked to him about
adding weight to help him
handle the rigors of playing
against some of the nation’s
best players.
“I think it is going to be
the same (as West Point)
because we’re just so used
to winning,” Cungious said
when asked if he believed
he was going to feel pres-
sure going from a state
champion to a national
champion. “They watched
me since my 10th-grade
year. This year at camp,
they told me I had an offer.”
Cungious said the “offi-
cial” scholarship offer came
during the regular season
and he waited until January
to make his final decision.
Defensive back Ryan
Melton and linebacker
Brentt Cunningham (South
Alabama), linebacker
Jaylon Webb (Northwest
Mississippi C.C.), and line-
backer Latarius Embry
(Mississippi Delta C.C.)
rounded out a signing class
that solidified West Point
High’s status as one of the
state’s premier programs.
Melton’s decision to
attend was known a few
months ago, while Cun-
ningham’s was finalized
recently. Melton, a 6-foot,
177-pound defensive back,
said he is looking forward
to helping USA reverse its
fortunes after going 3-9
West Point High School’s Jake Chambless (TOP) and
Jaquerius “Shun” Crwaford (ABOVE) pose for pictures
Wednesday on National Signing Day.
this past season. He said
he hopes to bring a cham-
pionship mind-set to aid
the Jaguars in their trans-
formation.
“They shocked me,” said
Melton, who played in the
North-South All-Star game
follow ing
the Green
Wave’s title
run. When
Melton re-
turned from
the game,
he said he
Melton was called
into West
Point coach Chris Cham-
bless’ office and was intro-
duced to multiple members
of the USA coaching staff.
“My initial thought was,
‘No way are they here for
me.’ I was under-recruit-
Adam Minichino/Dispatch Staff
ed. There weren’t many DI
schools on me.”
Melton didn’t believe
his strong showing in West
Point’s playoff run would
help him attract attention
from Division I schools. He
said he didn’t receive offers
from Mississippi State or
Ole Miss and that South-
ern Mississippi didn’t fol-
low through with an offer.
Melton said the surprise of
seeing USA coaches visit-
ing him in West Point still
hasn’t set in.
“To know I am blessed
to be able to step on campus
right out of high school and
have a chance to start at a
Division I school is pretty
awesome,” Melton said.
Follow Adam
Minichino on Twitter @
ctsportseditor
because he is a hard work-
er,” Head said of Smith.
“He deserves it.”
Led by defensive back
Ryan Melton and line-
backer Brentt Cunning-
ham (South Alabama),
defensive back Tyler Ru-
pert, defensive end Jaylen
Cungious, wide receiver
Jaquerius Crawford, quar-
terback Jake Chambless,
and linebacker Brandon
Lairy (EMCC), lineback-
er Jaylon Webb (North-
west Mississippi C.C.),
and linebacker Latarius
Embry (Mississippi Delta
C.C.) rounded out a sign-
ing class that solidified
West Point High’s status
as one of the state’s pre-
mier programs.
Smith said Head told
him he was going to
recommend him to the
EMCC coaches. He ad-
mitted he wasn’t sure
what was going to happen,
but he said Tuesday he ap-
preciated his teammate’s
efforts.
“I am going to be a very
physical player who is go-
ing to do whatever they
need me to do,” Smith
said. “I was confident
something was going to
happen, even if I had to
wait past Feb. 6.”
Head said it took the
EMCC coaches two days
to look at Smith’s film and
extend an offer to him to
come to Scooba. Head
said he still would have
encouraged Smith to go to
EMCC to try out if things
hadn’t worked out.
“Relentless effort,”
Head said when asked
what he thought the
EMCC coaches saw from
Smith in the film on Hudl.
“Every play he goes full
speed. He doesn’t take
any plays off. He is phys-
ical and fast.”
West Point coach Chris
Chambless said he hopes
the signing of Melton and
Cunningham with South
Alabama opens a pipeline
to that school and creates
more opportunities for fu-
ture classes.
“Once they see what
those two guys can do
they’re going to come
back,” Chambless said.
“A lot of times it takes one
guy to go somewhere and
they like his work ethic
and that is the perception
they’re going to have of
West Point, so they will
come back and get more
guys.”
Chambless said all of
the players in this year’s
signing class will work
hard to catch the atten-
tion of their next coaches.
With Head and Smith,
Chambless said the coach-
es at EMCC are getting
players who are tough,
relentless, and among the
strongest he has seen. For
example, he related a sto-
ry from earlier this season
that demonstrated Head’s
toughness. Chambless
said Head suffered grease
burns on his stomach
from a cooking accident,
but those burns didn’t
keep him from practicing.
In fact, Chambless said he
tended to the cuts two or
three times in breaks at
practice and then watched
as Head returned to work.
Chambless said Smith
is similar in that he
doesn’t give up. Head saw
it in Smith every day at
practice, which explains
why he was willing to
speak up on behalf of his
teammate.
The only thing left
for Smith to do now is to
speak up for Head and tell
him when he is going to
take him out to his favor-
ite eatery in West Point.
Head said the all-you can-
eat buffet at Golden Cor-
ral or Ryan’s are his top
choices when the date is
set.
“That’s fine with me,”
Smith said.
Either establishment
better stock up when that
times comes because
Head’s hard work and
Smith’s relentless effort
are sure to build big appe-
tites.
Follow Adam
Minichino on Twitter @
ctsportseditor
6b Thursday, February 7, 2019 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

PREP FOOTBALL
Shorter delivers first-class ceremony for his last Tigers
MACON —
“Bear with me.”
Tyrone Shorter hasn’t
had to use those words
too often in his coaching
career.
The veteran coach
commands a sideline and
burns
intensity,
whether
it is in
practice
or on a
game
field.
Adam Shorter
Minichino demands
excel-
lence, so
he is a stickler for details
and discipline and doing
things the right way.
Wednesday was no
different. As the new foot-
ball coach at Louisville
High School, Shorter
very easily could have
handed off the respon-
sibility of organizing
a signing day for 10 of
his seniors at Noxubee
County High to someone
else. It would have been
understandable consider-
ing some probably don’t
know why a man who has
spent his last 20 years at
Noxubee County High
would leave to take over
the football program at
one of the school’s big-
gest rivals.
But Shorter made the
right decision to play a
key role in the ceremo-
ny that celebrated the
signings of Kyziah Pruitt,
Maliek Stallings, Kaiyus
Former Noxubee County High School football coach Tyrone Shorter talks to the
seniors from his 2018 team and to the friends, family members, and supporters of
the program Wednesday morning in the school library.
Lewis, Ja’Quaris Jamison,
Rodney Williams, Verdell
Clemons, Jaelen Harmon,
Ja’Qualyn Smith, Ervin
Gray, Chaokang Brooks,
and former Tiger Key-
marcus Jackson. After
leading the Tigers to four
state titles in his nine
seasons as head coach,
there is no one else who
could have orchestrated
a first-class event like the
one that transpired in the
school’s library.
“It was difficult,”
Shorter said. “I didn’t
want to miss anybody.
I didn’t want to leave
anybody out because
when you’re running a
program, you have to
have a lot of people on
your team. That is what
it’s all about.
“I tell people it’s not
about me, it’s about this
program. It’s about devel-
oping relationships and
getting so many people
who want to be a part of
your program.”
Shorter made sure to
thank all of his coaches,
the parents, the teachers,
the cafeteria workers,
the custodians, the bus
drivers, and everybody
who played a role in his
20 years as a coach at
Adam Minichino/Dispatch Staff
the school. He did it all
in a speech that last 10
minutes, 30 seconds. He
didn’t have to do it. He
didn’t have to take care
to thank members of the
media for their coverage
through the years. But
Shorter is real. He loves
his kids. He loves Noxu-
bee County High. In fact,
he said he always will be
a Tiger, even if he already
has started leading a
group of Wildcats.
In time, Shorter will
have plenty of ceremo-
nies at Louisville High
like the ones he led at
Noxubee County High.
The people in Louisville
already know it, but
they’re getting a first-
class man who is going to
help keep their program
on a short list of the
state’s best.
On Wednesday, all of
the love was for Noxubee
County. Here even were a
few tears, as Pruitt, who
is going to attend Missis-
sippi State, showed emo-
tion when he thanked
Shorter for helping him
become the man he is
today.
That emotion spilled
over to Shorter’s speech.
The last few minutes
were hard because there
were so many memories
going through his mind.
He recalled joining a
downtrodden program
and joining M.C. Miller
and working hard to
transform it into one of
the state’s best.
“I said to myself I
wasn’t going to tear up,
but Kyziah started it, so it
kind of went from there,”
Shorter said. “But every-
thing I said came from
the heart. I just wrote it
down and I made sure I
didn’t miss anybody.”
Shorter saved his wife,
Candy, for last and credit-
ed her for being with him
every step in the last 20
years. He thanked her for
believing in him and for
all of her help in building
a program.
Shorter won’t have to
build a program at Louis-
ville. He inherits a team
that won the Mississippi
High School Activities
Association (MHSAA)
Class 4A State title in
2018, so the expectations
for 2019 will be the same
as what he would have
faced at Noxubee County.
It’s uncertain who will
take Shorter’s place at
Noxubee County, but it
will be just as tough to
find someone to succeed
him as it was for him to
write his final speech.
“I wish everybody
the best in what they do.
They make their own
decisions,” Pruitt said.
“Louisville being a rival
of ours, I kind of looked
at it funny, but I under-
stood where he was com-
ing from. Not saying that
Noxubee County football
or Noxubee County as
a whole is on the down-
fall, but there is a lot of
speculation about what
is going on. You have to
have some things fin-
ished that you know are
going to happen because
as of now we don’t know
if we are going to be able
to go into the playoffs,
so as a man who wanted
to further his career I
understand where he was
coming from. I wish him
the best.”
Adam Minichino is the
former sports editor of The
Dispatch. You can reach
him by email at
aminichino @cdispatch.
com. Follow him on
Twitter @ctsportseditor.

NCHS
Continued from Page 1B
with impressive results.
On Wednesday, Tyrone
Shorter and Noxubee County
High unveiled its latest group
of student-athletes to receive
opportunities to play football in
college. Two — Kyziah Pruitt
and Maliek Stallings — already
had made their intentions to
play at Mississippi State and
at Memphis known, but they
joined their eight of their team-
mates and another former
teammate in signing National
Letters of Intent to continue
their athletic careers.
Kaiyus Lewis (Mississippi
Valley State) joined Pruitt and
Stallings in signing with a Divi-
sion I school.
Ja’Qualyn Smith and Ja’Quar-
is Jamison (East Mississippi
Community College), Rodney
Williams (Coahoma C.C.), Ver-
dell Clemons (Copiah-Lincoln
C.C.), Jaelen Harmon (Missis-
sippi Delta C.C.), Ervin Gray
(Holmes C.C.), and Chaokang
Brooks (Northeast Mississippi
C.C.) joined their teammates in
hitting nearly every one of the
state’s junior colleges.
Former Noxubee Coun-
ty High standout Keymarcus
Jackson, who transferred to
Kemper County in January,
signed Wednesday morning
with EMCC.
Shorter, who last month ac-
cepted a job to become football
coach at Louisville High, re-
turned to the school where he
started as an assistant to long-
time head coach M.C. Miller
and then replaced him to send
his last group of Tigers off the
right way.
“To have 11 guys sign schol-
arships out of this class just adds
on to the many guys that came
before them,” Shorter said. “We
have kids all over the state, all
over — and not just in the state
of Mississippi. We have kids
in Tennessee and at different
places. It just says a lot about
this program and the things we
have done here. We have put
the work in and the kids believe
in the program. … It makes you
feel proud as a coach to see so
many kids get an opportunity to
go to school and further their
education and get a chance to
do what they love to do, which
is play football.”
Shorter thanked the parents
and the community for their
support in building a program
that is known in every part of
the state for producing qual-
ity young men and players.
He said it is satisfying to have
three players receive Division
I offers. He said the “sky is the
limit” for Pruitt, Stallings, and
Lewis as well as the rest of the
Tigers.
Pruitt, who was emotional
late in his remarks prior to his
signing credited Shorter by
saying he wouldn’t be the man
he is today with his coach. If not
for a change of heart Wednes-
day morning, Pruitt said he
wouldn’t have been a part of
the ceremony because he said
he already had signed and he
didn’t want to take away from
his teammates’ day. His deci-
sion to take part in the festivi-
ties turned out to be the perfect
final piece.
“It was a day I was always
looking forward to,” Pruitt said.
“Ever since I was growing up,
I dreamed of signing. In the
ninth grade, I saw Jeffery (Sim-
mons) sign and then Kymbotric
Mason and all of them sign, so I
dreamed of doing it.”
Shorter said Pruitt and Stall-
ings are “NFL-type caliber
players,” as evidenced by the
number of schools that recruit-
ed them.
Stallings said he didn’t have
any doubts about wanting to be
a part of the ceremony Wednes-
day. In fact, he said it is some-
thing that he has been looking
forward to after watching the
last three classes take the next
step.
“I used to say, ‘I can’t wait
until it is my turn’ and the day
finally came,” Stallings said.
“It was kind of shell-shocking.
I never thought I would be in a
position like I was today. I am
here now. I just want to give
thanks to God for it.”
Stallings said he “stayed
hungry” to realize his goal and
his dreams. He said he had the
confidence he could be one of
the “big-time players,” so he
just had to put in the work and
make himself one. From quar-
terback to wide receiver to de-
fensive back, Stallings showed
the athleticism and potential
that attracted so many schools.
“My coaches just put me
in position and I just played
ball,” Stallings said. “Our class
stayed together and made each
other work hard. We told every-
body we were going to sign to-
gether and we made it happen.”
Follow Adam Minichino on
Twitter @ctsportseditor

Adam Minichino/Dispatch Staff

The Noxubee County High School football program’s five state championship trophies stand on the table waiting for the Tigers to arrive to begin National Signing Day.

Alabama
Continued from Page 4B
The 24 early signees from the
December period include: DL
Antonio Alfano (Colonia, N.J./
Colonia), DB Marcus Banks
(Houston, Texas/Dekaney),
DB Jordan Battle (Fort Lauder-
dale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas),
TE Jahleel Billingsley (Chica-
go, Ill./Phillips Academy), OL
Tanner Bowles (Glasgow, Ky./
Glasgow), DB Jeffery Carter
(Mansfield, Texas/Legacy), DL
Darrian Dalcourt (Baltimore,
Md./St. Frances Academy),
DL DJ Dale (Pinson, Ala./Clay-
Chalkville), DL Justin Eboigbe
(Forest Park, Ga./Forest Park),
LB Christian Harris (Baton
Rouge, La./University Lab),
LB Kevin Harris II (Loganville,
Ga./Grayson), DB DeMarcco
Hellams (Hyattsville, Md./
DeMatha Catholic), DL Braylen
Ingraham (Fort Lauderdale,
Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas), OL
Amari Kight (Alabaster, Ala./
Thompson), LB Shane Lee
(Baltimore, Md./St. Frances
Academy), WR John Metchie
(Highstown, N.J./The Peddle
School), LB King Mwikuta
(West Point, Ga./Troup Coun-
ty), OL Evan Neal (Okeechobee,
Fla./IMG Academy), OL
Pierce Quick (Trussville, Ala./
Hewitt-Trussville), PK Will Re-
ichard (Hoover, Ala./Hoover),
RB Trey Sanders (Bradenton,
Fla./IMG Academy), QB Taulia
Tagovailoa (Alabaster, Ala./
Thompson), DB Brandon Tur-
nage (Oxford, Miss/Lafayette)
and QB Paul Tyson (Trussville,
Ala./Hewitt-Trussville).
Ole Miss finishes strong
The Ole Miss football coach-
ing staff put the finishing touch-
es on a top-25 recruiting class
Wednesday, adding six new
signees to the 25 already inked
in December.
As the 2019 cycle came to
a close, the Rebel class came
in at No. 21 in the Rivals team
rankings and No. 22 in both
the 247Sports Composite and
ESPN rankings. In total, the
Rebels signed one 5-star pros-
pect and 10 4-star prospects,
leaving head coach Matt Luke
thrilled with the new batch of
Rebels coming to Oxford.
“Really excited about this
class,” Luke said. “This is a
very big, deep class. Most of it
was done in December, but we
had a great day today. I have
to credit our staff. They did a
phenomenal job of closing to-
day, because we still had some
needs out there at defensive
line and linebacker and keep-
ing some of the best players in
Mississippi at home, and we
were able to accomplish that
today. Top to bottom, this class
can be the foundation of getting
this program back on track and
back where we all want it to go.”
The highlight of the day
came when one of the Magnolia
State’s best, 5-star running back
Jerrion Ealy, announced live on
ESPN2 his commitment to Ole
Miss. A two-sport star, Ealy is
one of just four players to ever
earn Under Armour All-Amer-
ican honors in both baseball
and football. The others: A.J.
Brown, 2018 Heisman Trophy
winner Kyler Murray and LSU
signee Maurice Hampton.
Ealy is a top-100 recruit by
all major recruiting services
and is the No. 19 overall player
in the ESPN 300, the No. 3 pros-
pect in the state of Mississippi
and the No. 3 running back in
the nation.
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com Thursday, February 7, 2019 7b

Columbus
Continued from Page 1B
this past season, it was fitting
Wednesday morning that both
players received the same plau-
dits as they took the next step in
their football careers.
In front of family, teammates,
and friends in the Columbus
High library, Gillespie signed a
National Letter of Intent to play
football at Coahoma Communi-
ty College in Clarksdale, while
Barry signed a NLI to play foot-
ball at Northeast Mississippi
C.C. in Booneville.
“Whatever we had going on
he was 100 miles per hour at
all times,” Rice said. “He defi-
nitely is going to be an asset to
Northeast Mississippi Commu-
nity College. They are getting
a great, respectful young man
who is going to come to work
every day, who is going to work
hard, and who is going to do
what it takes to be successful.”
work. forward to them signing and go-
“I am extremely proud of both young men. I “It was the beginning of my ing on to a four-year university.”
know they are going to do a great job at their senior year (when he realized
he could play at the next level).
Gillespie said he developed
that work ethic and his leader-
community colleges.” The game got a lot faster, but
everything was smooth and I
ship skills as early as 7 years
old when his mother, Yolan-
Columbus High School football coach Eric Rice was able handle the speed of da, told him that a leader was
the game.” going to face a lot of adversity
Rice said the 5-11, 185-pound but he still had to push through
Barry played guard for the Barry said Northeast Missis- Gillespie is a lead-by-exam- it. Gillespie said his mother’s
Falcons the past two seasons. sippi C.C. started to recruit him ple player who made sure the words stuck with him through
At 6-foot-3, 330 pounds, Barry at the end of the season. He said Falcons were doing what they the years and served as motiva-
has the size to make an impact going 100 mph is something he needed to do this season. He tion for him to realize a dream
at the next level. Rice said Bar- has done all of his life because said Gillespie also set the ex- that has been years in the mak-
ry’s work ethic should serve that is the only way to do things. ample vocally and by being the ing.
him well as he takes his skills Barry said the speed of the first one at practice and the last “I just built a bond with the
to the Mississippi Association game will be one of the adjust- one to leave. coaches,” said Gillespie, who
of Community and Junior Col- ments he will have to make, but “Coahoma is definitely get- started at outside linebacker as
leges (MACJC). he laughed when told the tran- ting a player who is going to be a junior and at strong safety as
“He is one that wanted to be sition won’t be that big because able to help them in every area a senior. “It was the best fit for
good, so he worked toward that he already goes 100 mph. of their team,” Rice said. “I am me. They recruited me since
goal,” Rice said. “It definitely “This has been a goal ever extremely proud of both young the beginning of the season and
worked out for him today. He is since middle school football,” men. I know they are going to stayed on me all season.”
going to continue to get better Barry said. “I thought I would do a great job at their communi- Follow Adam Minichino on
and to develop.” be able to do it if I put in the ty colleges. In two years, I look Twitter @ctsportseditor

Comics & Puzzles

DILBERT
Dear Abby
D
EAR ABBY: I illness, but he I have a 2-year-old son. We
am a single says it’s just were together only a short
mom. A a fear of being time before I found out I was
few months ago alone. He claims expecting. He freaked out and
I met a man who his feelings for left when I was five months
contacted me her are those of along. A month after our son
on social media. friendship and was born, he came back in the
After meeting compassion, picture and there have been
him, I realized he not love. My no issues since.
was married, but question is, do We live in different states
he was not happy. you think we are now, but we are trying our best
Unfortunately, doing wrong to at co-parenting. My only issue
ZITS his wife has a
terminal illness,
continue quietly
seeing each oth-
is that his side of the family
doesn’t know about our son.
and he feels er while he sees Since we were together only
obligated to care her through this a short time before I became
for her until it is illness, or should pregnant, I never met them.
over. We formed
Dear Abby I step away until Every time I bring up the
a very close bond his obligation is subject of our son meeting
as we talked and soon realized completed? — WAITING FOR his grandparents/family, he
we are in love and want to be HIM ignores the question and
together. DEAR WAITING: Forgive moves on.
Because of her illness and me, but this sounds like the Family is a big part of my
lack of support from her imme- script for a Movie of the Week. life. I would be lost without
diate family, we agreed that he I can’t help but wonder what their support and love. I don’t
needs to fulfill his obligation this man was doing looking want to deprive my son of any
to her, and I will wait for him. for company on social media family that has an interest in
GARFIELD We have continued talking
and spending any time we can
without mentioning that he
was married.
being in his life. Should I reach
out to his family, tell them
together, even though her care Under the circumstances, they have a grandson and
always takes first priority. you should take a break and try to connect with them? Or
When she found out about let him finish his obligation should I wait until my ex does
our relationship, she was very to his terminally ill wife — if something about it? — PROUD
upset. She has left him many she is, indeed, terminally ill. MOMMY IN ARIZONA
times in the past because After that, because you have DEAR MOMMY: Give your
of wrongdoings on both their made promises to each other, ex a deadline to introduce you
parts, but since her illness you will be able to see each and their grandson to them.
she has come to rely on him other openly, with honesty and And if he doesn’t meet it,
for everything. integrity, and determine where send them a letter with your
She claims to have deeper the relationship winds up. name, address and pictures
feelings for him since her DEAR ABBY: My ex and enclosed.

CANDORVILLE Horoscopes
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Feb.
7). You know many sides
of love, yet you’ll get a new
emotional vocabulary this year
as love takes new forms and
produces different kinds of
joy. More features of this solar
return: a family addition, a
strange series of events that
answers one of your oldest
questions and a style upgrade
that changes your daily routine.
Capricorn and Gemini adore
BABY BLUES you. Your lucky numbers are: 7,
20, 24, 4 and 11.
ARIES (March 21-April
19). You didn’t want it or plan
it. You never thought it really fit
you... and yet here you are in
this circumstance that seemed
either to choose you or to land
on you, depending on how you
look at it. Make the most of it.
BEETLE BAILEY
MALLARD FILLMORE
FAMILY CIRCUS
This is a gift.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20).
When the end is not in sight, it’s
good to keep it in mind. Maybe
create a special vision or a sym-
bol for it to use as motivation to
keep going forward until you’ve
completed the task.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21).
That species of pride called
“arrogance” invokes a particu-
larly negative reaction from you
today. Does it calm you to know
the perpetrator is coming from a
place of extreme insecurity?
CANCER (June 22-July 22).
Now you look back on some
things that happened with a
very different opinion than you
had when it was all going down.
This is proof that you’re always
growing and evolving. You
refuse to get stuck.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22).
Some things are simply not
worth doing. But which ones?
You can’t learn which ones from
a book or any other media, or
even from your best friends.
Only your heart can tell you
what’s worth doing and what’s
not.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22).
To prepare for today’s social
demands, it will help if you
decide beforehand what you
want to talk about. Having good
topics on the ready will allow
you to relax, them to relax, and
a productive communication to
ensue.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23).
You have to ask, “Am I going
the wrong direction entirely?”
Maybe there’s a better way. Toy
around. Think creatively. Tease
solutions out with good ques-
tions. What about leverage?
What about approaching from
another angle?
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov.
21). Maybe there is no a sce-
nario in which you won’t be crit-
icized for the choice you make.
So you may as well do what your
heart says is right so at least
you can be on your own side.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec.
21). Better organization will im-
prove your relationships. How?
It will allow you to carve out the
right sort of time for the other
person and to spend it doing
the things that really matter to
you both.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan.
19). One way your loved ones
can make your life easier and
better is by making the effort
to show up strong and mix well
with your other loved ones. Any-
one who causes you problems
in this regard is not being very
loving.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.
18). One of your projects
seems to be dragging on forever
and you may even fantasize
about abandoning it, but this
is no time to lose heart. You’re
almost there — really! Rest if
you have to, but don’t give up.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March
20). While no one can obtain
talents they don’t naturally pos-
sess, obtaining new skills is a
different story entirely. You can
do so much when you put your
mind to it. What matters now is
what’s worthy of your mind.

three for a girl, four for a boy

One for sorrow, two for joy,
SOLUTION:
8B Thursday, February
street address is 214
7, 2019
5th Street South, The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
Columbus, Mississippi,
39701.
Legal Notices 0010 Legal Notices 0010 Clerical & Office 3050 Medical / Dental 3300 Apts For Rent: West 7050
YOUR RESPONSE MUST

VIP
The following vehicle BE MAILED OR DE- LOCAL COMPANY HELP WANTED
has been abandoned at LIVERED NOT LATER looking for receptionist/
It’s a classified
Rentals
Shelton's Towing Inc., THAN THIRTY DAYS secretary. Previous ex- CARE CENTER OF
1024 Gardner Blvd., AFTER THE DATE OF perience helpful but not ABERDEEN
Columbus, MS 39702 THE FIRST PUBLICA- necessary. Computer rule-of-thumb:
TION OF THIS SUM- skills a must. Send NURSE CASE Apartments
2002 Chevy Yukon MONS. IF YOUR RE-
SPONSE IS NOT SO
resume to: MANAGER (RN)
& Houses
We tell readers
Vin# Box 661, c/o The M – F, 8A – 4:30P
1GKEK13Z72R255022 MAILED OR DELIVERED,
A JUDGMENT BY DE-
Commercial Dispatch,
1 Bedrooms what they need
PO Box 511, Columbus, RN SUPERVISOR
This vehicle will be put FAULT WILL BE MS 39703. 7A – 3P 2 Bedroooms to know to buy
up for sale on the 19th
day of February, 2019
ENTERED AGAINST YOU
FOR THE MONEY OR General Help Wanted 3200 LPN 3P – 11P Full Time
3 Bedrooms what they need.
at 10:00am at OTHER RELIEF DEMAN-
Shelton's Towing, Inc. DED IN THE COM- GLASS GLAZIER CNA 6A – 2P Full Time Furnished &
1024 Gardner Blvd.,
Columbus, MS 39702.
PLAINT. needed, experienced in Unfurnished
commercial & residen- CNA 2P- 10P PRN
You must also file the tial. Must have at least 1, 2, & 3 Baths Houses For Rent: East 7120
PUBLISH: 1/31, 2/7 & original of your Re- 8 years experience in
2/14/2019 sponse with the Clerk of storefront, hardware,
Apply in person at
Care Center Lease, Deposit BUILDING & LAND for
The following vehicles
this Court within a reas- windows, shower doors,
onable time afterward.
505 Jackson St, & Credit Check sale. 5,000 sq. ft. met-
etc. & valid driver's li- Aberdeen
have been abandoned cense. Excellent com- EOE viceinvestments.com al Ceco building. Loc-
327-8555
at Jarrett's Towing, Inc. Issued under my hand ated on 8.5 ac. of land.
munication skills, posit- Building includes 700
5209 Hwy 182 East, and seal of said Court, ive attitude & willing- HELP WANTED
Columbus, MS. this the 18th day of sq. ft. heated & cooled
ness to get the job done office, kitchen, bath and
January 2019. right required! Salary CARE CENTER OF Apts For Rent: Other 7080
2005 Chevrolet ABERDEEN tool room. Behind
will be determined by house at 6901 Hwy. 12
VIN# HON. TERESA BARKS- experience. Contact 1BR/1BA Apts for rent. E. Steens. $150,000.
1GNEC13T25R196770 DALE RN SUPERVISOR
Sudoku
Juanita or Glen at College Manor Apts, dir- 662-574-8437.
(SEAL) LOWNDES 205-932-5812. M-F, 8A-4:30P ectly across from MUW. YESTERDAY’S ANSWER
IF THESE VEHICLES ARE COUNTY CIRCUIT CLERK
Yesterday’sANSWER
answer
NOT CLAIMED THEY
WILL BE PUT UP FOR
P.O. Box 31
Columbus, MS 39703
FULL TIME Position.
Must have valid driver's
LPN 3P - 11P
LPN 11P - 7A
Completely renovated,
incl granite countertops,
SS appls & W/D. 12 mo 7160
Houses For Rent: Caledonia
Sudoku
Sudoku is a number-
YESTERDAY’S
8 6 7 1 9 2 4 3 5
SALE ON THE 22ND lease, dep req, $650/ placing puzzle
Sudoku based on
is a number-
DAY OF FEBRUARY, license & be able to 2BR/1BA. Privacy
BY: /s/ Ann Marie Lang- drive truck w/ trailer for Apply in person at mo. 662-425-3817. a 9x9 grid
placing with based
puzzle severalon 5 4 2 7 3 6 1 8 9

2019 Conceptis Puzzles, Dist. by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

2019 AT 10:00 A.M. AT ford, D.C.
JARRETT'S TOWING,
INC. 5209 HWY 182 PUBLISH: 1/24, 1/31, Mechanical Knowledge
EAST, COLUMBUS, MS. & 2/7/2019
PUBLISH: 2/7, 2/14, &
Building & Remodeling 1120 Rentals, Inc. on Hwy 82
2/21/2019
The following vehicles HOME REPAIRS & CON-
have been abandoned
at either
STRUCTION WORK
WANTED. Carpentry,
small concrete jobs,
Auto Mart LLC electrical, plumbing,
1009 Gardner Blvd roof repairs, pressure
Columbus, MS 39702 washing and mobile
home roof coating and
Or underpinning. No job
too small. 549-7031.
Jim's Towing & Recov-
ery LLC
1020 1/2 Gardner Blvd SUGGS CONSTRUCTION University (MSU),
Columbus, MS 39702 Building, remodeling,
metal roofing, painting
2001 Mitsubishi Galant & all home repairs.
VIN # 662-242-3471
4A3AA36G31E149124
2005 Toyota Camry Tom Hatcher, LLC
VIN # Custom Construction, position at www.msu-
4T1BE32K35U613123 Restoration, Remodel- jobs.msstate.edu.
ing, Repair, Insurance Candidate will attach a
If not claimed they will claims. 662-364-1769. cover letter, current
be sold on February 22, Licensed & Bonded
2019 at 10 AM at 1020
½ Gardner Blvd., Colum-
bus, MS by Auto Mart General Services 1360
LLC and/or Jim's Tow-
ing & Recovery LLC. FREE TRAINING for
They will be sold for JOB SEEKING WOMEN;
COMPUTER TRAINING,
monies owed for the
tow bill, storage fees, RESUME WRITING, & IN- receive consideration
TERVIEW SKILLS;
and legal fees.
Tues & Thurs Evening
Witnessed this the 5th classes start February
5th. Enroll now at Chris-
day of February, 2019.
tian Women's Job
Auto Mart LLC Corps. Min H.S. Dip-
loma or Equivalent re-
Jim’s Towing & Recov-
quired. Call 662-722-
ery LLC
3016 or 662-597-1030 information, protected
Care Center fence. Walking distance
delivery of equipment. to school. $750/mo +
Some Counter Sales, 505 Jackson St, 2BR/1BA located in agiven
9x9 grid with several
numbers. The object 1 9 3 8 5 4 2 6 7
Aberdeen Historic Downtown $750 dep. 1 year lease.
given numbers.
is to place The object
the numbers
& lifting required. Apply EOE Columbus. 2,000 sqft. No pets. 662-242-
is
6 1 9 4 2 7 3 5 8
in person at Handyman Hardwood floors 0683. 1 to place
to 9 in thethe numbers
empty spaces
Truck Driving 3700 throughout. Open floor. 1sotothat
9 ineach
the empty spaces
row, each 7 2 5 3 8 1 9 4 6
Very nice. Incl W&D. Houses For Rent: Other 7180
West in Starkville.
$1200/mo. Call so that each
column row, each
and each 3x3 box 4 3 8 9 6 5 7 2 1
CLASS A CDL DRIVER 1 ROOM/1BA, Utilities
662-328-8655. column
containsand theeach
same3x3 box
number
HEAVY EQUIPMENT with Truck & Lowboy
Trailer experience to
Included. $450/mo.
contains the same number
2 8 1 6 7 3 5 9 4
SERVICE MECHANIC DOWNTOWN: 2BR/1BA, One person only. Refs only once. The difficulty
with verifiable experi- load, haul, & unload
CH&A, 1 story, W/D, req. Contact/leave a only once. The difficulty 3 7 6 5 4 9 8 1 2
ence, own tools and heavy construction
historic district, 1 block message for more info: level increases from
equipment. Overnight level increases from 9 5 4 2 1 8 6 7 3
clean MVR. Submit
travel required. Only
from downtown, $625/ 662-328-8655. Monday to Sunday.
resume by fax to mo. + $625 dep. NO Monday to Sunday. Difficulty Level 2/06
662-492-4490 qualified applicants with Mobile Homes for Rent 7250
PETS. 662-574-8789.
or email to: jm.site clean MVR, current
Peaceful & Quiet area.
masters@yahoo.com medical examiner’s 3BR/2BA Trailer, New
certificate and no acci- 1, 2, 3 BEDROOM apart- Hope school dist.
MISSISSIPPI STATE dents need apply. Fax ments & townhouses. $500/mo & $500 dep.
resume to 662-492- Call for more info. Call between 10a-7p.
Department of Physics 4490 or email to jm.site 662-328-8254.
and Astronomy. Job 662-386-4292.
masters@yahoo.com NO TEXT MESSAGES.
duties include machine FIRST FULL MONTH
shop, property control, RENT FREE! 1 & 2 Bed- NICE 3BR/2BA MH in
and safety policies. Burial Plots 4250
room Apts/Townhomes. West Lowndes school
View full job informa- FRIENDSHIP CEMETERY Stove & refrigerator. district. $485/mo +
tion and/or apply for Burial Space. Square $335-$600 Monthly. $485 dep. 662-242-
#103 X-11. $800. Credit check & deposit. 7653 or 662-308-7781.
Call Wortley Cole, Coleman Realty,
662-574-5591. 662-329-2323. RENT A fully equipped
camper w/utilities &
resume or curriculum DOWNTOWN LOFT. cable from $145/wk -
vita, and the complete Farm Equipment & Supplies $535/month. Colum-
Very big, nice 1 bed-
contact information for 4420 room. Wood floors, lots bus & County School
at least three profes- of windows. $700 per locations. 662-242-
sional references. MSU 2016 CAT Skidsteer w/ month. Call Stewart, 7653 or 601-940-1397.
is an equal opportunity mulcher. <1,000 hrs, 662-364-1610.
employer, and all quali- $88,500. 2016 John Commercial Property 8050
fied applicants will Deere 5100E Tractor,
for employment without
210 hrs. $39,500.
205-329-1790.
COLEMAN RETAIL SPACE Available
in Historic Downtown.
regard to race, color, RENTALS 404 Main St. 3,000
TOWNHOUSES & APARTMENTS
religion, ethnicity, sex Sporting Goods 4720 sq. ft. $1,300/mo.
(including pregnancy
and gender identity),
1 BEDROOM Call 662-328-8655
or 662-574-7879.
ED SANDERS Gunsmith
national origin, disabil- Open for season! 9-5, 2 BEDROOMS
Houses For Sale: Northside
ity status, age, sexual
orientation, genetic
Tues-Fri & 9-12, Sat.
Over 50 years experi-
3 BEDROOMS
8150
ence! Repairs, cleaning,
LEASE,
© The Dispatch

Publish: 2/7 and veteran status, or any refinishing, scopes CONVENIENT 3BR/2BA.
2/21/19
Need a Babysitter or a
other characteristic
protected by law. We
mounted & zeroed,
handmade knives.
DEPOSIT For Sale or Lease! 512
Lincoln Rd. New paint,
The following vehicle Tutor? Call 662-574- always welcome nomin- Located: Hwy 45 Alt, AND flooring, brick shop,
has been abandoned at 0426. Teacher Certi- ations and applica- North of West Point, fenced bkyd & patio.
fied in most subjects. tions from women, turn right on Yokahama CREDIT CHECK Zoned commercial, can
Jim's Towing & Recov- members of any minor- Blvd, 8mi & turn left on be home/office. 662-
ery LLC
1020 1/2 Gardner Blvd Need a Privacy Fence?
ity group, and others
who share our passion
Darracott Rd, will see
sign, 2.5mi ahead shop 662-329-2323 328-9634 for more info.
Columbus, MS 39702 Call me! Licensed w/ for building a diverse on left. 662-494-6218. Houses For Sale: West 8350
30+ years of exp. Call community that re-
2011 Mini Cooper or text 662-549-7167. flects the diversity in Business Opportunity 6050
2411 HWY 45 N FSBO: 3BR/2BA in May-
VIN # our student population. COLUMBUS, MS hew, 1551 Garth Rd.
WMWSV9C5XBTZ96881 HISTORIC DOWNTOWN Close to Columbus,
THE GOLDEN Triangle
RETAINER WALL, drive- Planning & Develop- Columbus: 411 Main Starkville & West Point.
If not claimed it will be way, foundation, con- St. Office, Retail, Res- Commercial Property For New HVAC, 1.7 acres,
sold on February 8, ment District is accept-
crete, masonry restora- ing applications for part- taurant Space available. Rent 7100 large metal bldg incl.
2019 at 10 AM at the tion, remodeling, base- time personal care at- Call 423-333-1124. $139,000. 662-418-
above address by Jim's ment foundation, re- COMMERCIAL PROPER- 8984 or 662-552-1400.
Towing & Recovery LLC. pairs, small dump truck tendants to work in the TIES/Retail/Office
It will be sold for mon- Golden Triangle area. Apts For Rent: Northside 7010 Investment Property 8550
hauling (5-6 yd) load & Applicants must have a Spaces starting @
ies owed for the tow demolition/lot cleaning. valid driver's license, re- $285/mo. Downtown &
bill, storage and legal PEAR ORCHARD APTS
Burr Masonry 2BR Townhouse - $585, East Columbus loca- GRAVEL FOR SALE on
fees. liable transportation, & private property. Approx
662-242-0259. liability insurance on W/D incl. Great loca- tions. 662-435-4188.
tion. $200 processing 6 acres. Will sell or
Witnessed this the 29th vehicle. Contact Phyllis OFFICE FOR RENT. lease property located
day of January, 2019. Flake at Golden Tri- fee & $50 application
WORK WANTED: fee. 662-328-9471 or 30x15. Separate air in NE Noxubee County.
angle Planning & Devel- conditioner & bathroom. 601-405-3717.
Licensed & Bonded-car- opment District, 106 Mi- 662-889-7565.
Jim’s Towing & Recov- pentry, painting, & de- $400/mo. Located in
ery LLC ley Dr., Starkville, MS.
molition. Landscaping, No telephone calls
Caledonia. Call 662- Lots & Acreage 8600
gutters cleaned, bush Apts For Rent: South 7040 574-0082.
Publish: 1/31 and please. 22 ACRES in Caledonia
hogging, clean-up work, 1BR/1BA 505 5th Ave. OFFICE SPACE: 2,000
2/7/2019 pressure washing, mov- Medical / Dental 3300 on Wood Rd. All road
S. 1 block from down- square feet. 294 frontage. Water & natur-
IN THE COUNTY COURT ing help & furniture town. Walking distance Chubby Dr. Flexible leas- al gas available. Resid-
OF LOWNDES COUNTY, repair. 662-242-3608 DENTAL ASSISTANT to MUW. No pets. CAFB ing terms. Available ential Development
MISSISSIPPI needed. Must have cur- welcomed. XL l/r, d/r, now. 662-328-8254. Property. 662-356-6862
Lawn Care / Landscaping rent radiological license, b/r & backyard. In- or 662-574-3053.
S. KEITH HOLTON, PLLC CPR Certification, and cludes w/d, air condi- HISTORIC DOWNTOWN
d/b/a MAGNOLIA OUT- 1470
at least 1 year experi- tioner, gas heater, hard- Columbus Office, Retail, 250 ACRE pine planta-
PATIENT REHAB ence. Send resume to wood floors, electric Restaurant Space avail- tion with 10 to 16 year ACROSS
JESSE & BEVERLY'S
PLAINTIFF
LAWN SERVICE. Mow- Office Manager stove, refrigerator. able. Call 662-328- old trees, prime deer 1 Quail and the like
PO Box 8936 $750/mo. $750 dep. 8655 or 662-574-7879. hunting, ideal for hunt-
VERSUS ing, cleanup, landscap- 5 Better half
ing, sodding, & tree cut- Columbus, MS 39705 662-364-6454. ing club, $1500/acre,
Houses For Rent: Northside will divide, Monroe 11 Andy’s son
LATOYA THOMPSON DE- ting. 356-6525. Apts For Rent: Other 7080 7110 County. 662-369-3778,
FENDANT or 662-256-5838.
12 Reunion attend-
Painting & Papering 1620 2BR/1BA. 601 21st St. ee
CIVIL ACTION NO. 2018- N. $550/mo. $550 de- WINTER SPECIAL 13 Tear
0085-CV2 SULLIVAN'S PAINT posit. 770-316-1714. 1.95 acre lots.
SERVICE Good/bad credit. 14 Showy flowers
SUMMONS BY PUBLICA- Certified in lead 3BR/2BA. Fresh paint, 10% down, as low as
TION removal. Offering spe- new carpet, ch/a, $299/mo. Eaton Land. 15 Chess finishes
cial prices on interior & fenced yard & appl furn. 662-361-7711 17 Dramatist
THE STATE OF MISSIS- exterior painting, pres- 662-251-9696.
SIPPI sure washing & sheet Campers & RVs 9300 Jonson
rock repairs.
Free Estimates
COLONIAL TOWN- 18 Amy Winehouse
TO: LATOYA THOMPSON HOUSES. 2 & 3 bed- TOMBIGBEE RV Park,
Call 435-6528 room w/ 2-3 bath town- located on Wilkins Wise hit
Last Known Addresses: houses. $600 to $695. Rd & Waverly Rd. Full 22 Linger
307 Hospital Drive, Apt. 662-549-9555. Ask for Hookups available.
47
Stump Removal 1790 Glenn or text. $300/mo. 662-328- 24 Past its best
Columbus, MS 39705
FIRST FULL MONTH
8655 or 662-574-7879. 25 Galena, e.g.
632 31st Avenue North, FREE! 2BR House, Five Questions: 26 Sign of approval
Apt. 13A $485. 3BR House,
$550. 1BA, stove, re-
27 Ice skate part
Columbus, MS 39705 30 Crosses creeks
frig, electric heat, win- shelter 28 Mock
625 31st Avenue North, dow a/c. 1 yr. lease.
Credit check. Coleman
1 “Make you 32 Sticks figure 4 Account book 29 Late hour
Apt. D34
Columbus, MS 39705
ALLSTUMP GRINDING
SERVICE
Realty. 662-329-2323.
feel alright” 33 Subside
34 Famed aviator
5 Con 30 Fly catcher
You have been named
GET 'ER DONE! HOUSE WITH APART- 6 Tough puzzles 31 Old counter
as a Defendant in a
We can grind all your MENT NEAR MUW. 38 Show up 7 Beginning 35 Car scar
2 Tony Blair
stumps. Hard to reach 323 13th St. N. 3 Blks 41 Stalactite setting
Complaint on Open Ac- places, blown over from MUW. L/r, d/r, 8 Purpose 36 Kitchen need
count filed in this Court roots, hillsides, back- b/r, kitchen, large f/r 42 Sluggish
by S. Keith Holton, PLLC yards, pastures. Free w/ fireplace, 2BR/3BA. 9 Army address 37 Egg holder
d/b/a Magnolia Outpa- 43 Hawaiian strings 10 Print units 38 The Matterhorn,
3 “The Rules”
estimates. You find it, Laundry room, outside
tient Rehab seeking
judgment against you
we'll grind it! fenced patio, screened 44 Packing a punch 16 Some amount of e.g.
662-361-8379 side porch & work room 45 Mailed
for an amount owed on WITH ATTACHED APART- 19 Bike stopper 39 Antique auto
goods and services MENT B/r, d/r, kitchen
provided to you. There
are no other Defend-
Tree Services 1860 & bathroom. NO HUD. 4 Blue DOWN
20 Balm ingredient
21 Garden areas
40 Nogoodnik
Ref. req. Dep. req.
ants in this matter oth- A&T Tree Service Pets allowed w/ extra 1 Golf cry 22 Man-shaped
er than you. Bucket truck & stump dep. $1075/mo. 2 Ready for busi-
You are required to mail
removal. Free est.
Serving Columbus
662-386-7506. 5 Zen Master ness
mug
or hand deliver a writ- since 1987. Senior 23 Woody’s son
ten response to the citizen disc. Call Alvin @ Autos For Sale 9150 3 Trees providing
Complaint on Open Ac- 242-0324/241-4447
count filed against you "We'll go out on a limb
in this action to Chris- for you!"
topher D. Hemphill, At-
torney for the Plaintiff,
whose mailing Post Of- VICKERS TREE
fice Drawer 1426, SERVICE, LLC
Columbus, Mississippi, Tree trimming and re-
39703, and whose moval. Fully insured.
street address is 214 Free estimates.
5th Street South, *Now Accepting Credit
Columbus, Mississippi, & Debit Cards*
39701. Call Curt 662-418-0889
or 662-549-2902
YOUR RESPONSE MUST “A cut above the rest”
BE MAILED OR DE-
LIVERED NOT
Legal Notices 0010LATER
THAN THIRTY DAYS
AFTER THE DATE OF
THE FIRST PUBLICA-
TION OF THIS SUM-
MONS. IF YOUR RE-
SPONSE IS NOT SO
MAILED OR DELIVERED,
A JUDGMENT BY DE-
FAULT WILL BE
ENTERED AGAINST YOU
FOR THE MONEY OR
OTHER RELIEF DEMAN-
DED IN THE COM-
PLAINT.

You must also file the

original of your Re-
sponse with the Clerk of
this Court within a reas- WHATZIT ANSWER
onable time afterward.
Log cabin
Issued under my hand