Established 1879 | Columbus, Mississippi

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Tuesday | November 24, 2020

Columbus
Area residents, groups feed those ends FY 2020
in need during Thanksgiving week with a $2.8M
surplus
City received more in
revenue than expected;
spent $2.7M less than
budgeted
BY YUE STELLA YU
syu@cdispatch.com

Dustin Nichols, an Alabama native living in North Columbus, is aiming to cook and serve 100 to 150 plates for
community members between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day at Zion Church. Nichols, who founded
the Lost and Found Ministry a month ago, said he found faith in God after he was released from jail last year, and
is aimed to help more people. “Sometimes, people can’t help themselves. My ability to provide, and just seeing
the tears and joy in some people’s eyes … is just amazing,” he said.
Dustin Nichols: ‘We are just feeding anybody and everybody’
BY YUE STELLA YU
syu@cdispatch.com
F
or five years, Dustin Nichols
cooked meals on Thanks-
giving Day and fed whoever
came looking for food from his
North Columbus home.
This year, the Alabama native is
hoping for a broader reach.
On Thanksgiving Day, with
the $900 he raised on Facebook,
Nichols hopes to deliver 100 to 150
plates to people in need between
11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. at Zion Church.
His aunt and uncle will help him
smoke the turkeys, he said, and he
will serve a variety of traditional
Thanksgiving food, including ham,
mac and cheese, green beans,
mashed potatoes, sweet potato
pies and desserts.
“We are just feeding anybody
and everybody,” he said. “They can
be rich and not having family or
they can be poor and can’t afford
it.”
This year’s Thanksgiving,
however, bears a different mean-
ing to Nichols, who now considers
himself a changed man. As some-
one with a history of arrests for
possession of drugs and weapons,
Nichols was released from prison
in November 2019 and, shortly
after, found faith in God.
That, he said, was a turning
point.
“I was 36 years old before I got
saved, but it’s never too late,” Nich-
ols said, referring to him joining
Following sever-
al cost-saving mea-
sures implemented
in the spring, Co-
lumbus ended Fiscal
Year 2020 with a $2.8
million surplus, Pub-
lic Information Of- Dillon
ficer Joe Dillon told
The Dispatch last
week.
By Sept. 30 —
the end of FY 2020
— the city took in
$24,119,441 and
spent $21,334,163,
Dillon said. Com- Smith
pared to the origi-
nally-budgeted figures, which pro-
posed a balanced budget at $23.9
million, the city saw an uptick in
revenue and spent more than $2
million less by the end of the year.
Slim Smith/Dispatch Staff See SURPLUS, 6A
Former Tupelo police
Zion Church in November 2019.
officer out of jail after
“I started going to church and it manslaughter charge
really just changed my life.”
Nichols founded his own minis-
try — Lost and Found Ministry —
Suspect’s girlfriend died
a month ago, and is now attending
ministry school. The name of his
after he hit her with car
ministry, he said, reflects his own DISPATCH STAFF REPORT
experience and aims to tell others
that they, too, can be found. The Starkville
“I’m trying to bring people clos- man charged with
er to God every day,” he said. manslaughter in the
With God’s guidance, Nichols death of a Starkville
said he is trying to help more peo- woman over the
ple in need. Aside from the food weekend is a former
drive, he said he has been giving Tupelo police officer,
speeches at different churches Capt. Brett Watson of
and visiting jailhouses to tell his the Oktibbeha Coun- Kitchens
stories to inmates. ty Sheriff’s Office confirmed this
See MEALS, 3A morning.
James Heath Kitchens, 30, was
charged after hitting Brittany
See MANSLAUGHTER, 3A

Ellis recalls four decades of growth and change in MSU baseball, SEC sports
Broadcaster’s anecdotes reach back tary Club at
its Monday
Remember, I’m the base-
ball coach, you’re just the
The MSU baseball
team has made it to the
MSU’s entire athletic
budget was just $5.7 mil-
to Bulldogs’ past legends, impact of meeting.
He re-
radio announcer,’” Ellis
said.
NCA A tournament 35
times in 42 years and
lion, while last year it
was $105.6 million. MSU
today’s college sports landscape me mb e re d But in his time as “just reached the College brought in $112.2 million
Polk cor- the radio announcer,” World Series 10 times. in athletic revenue last
BY TESS VRBIN Mississippi State Univer- recting his Ellis has seen four-plus The team has had two year and was one of few
tvrbin@cdispatch.com sity’s baseball coach for postgame decades of growth and separate back-to-back schools that turned a prof-
Ellis
three years by then and analysis af- change not just in MSU CWS appearances, which it despite the COVID-19
In 1978, four words se- approved Ellis’ hiring as ter a doubleheader at the baseball, but in MSU and Ellis noted was unique pandemic, Ellis said.
cured the next 42 years the radio announcer, a University of Tennessee Southeastern Conference for having four different “In 1986, the entire
of Jim Ellis’ career: “Ron role Polk made sure Ellis in the 1990s. athletics as a whole, as coaches, one for each baseball budget was
says you’ll do.” stayed humble about, El- “‘He said, ‘Jim, there well as the sports broad- year. $176,000,” he said. “We’ve
Ron Polk had been lis told the Starkville Ro- was no play at the plate. casting industry. In the mid-1980s, See ELLIS, 6A

WEATHER FIVE QUESTIONS CALENDAR LOCAL FOLKS PUBLIC

1 What comfort food is “for the soul” in a Monday, Nov. 30 MEETINGS
popular book series? Nov. 30: Lowndes
■ Virtual Christmas Tree Light-
2 On the International Space Station, what County Board of Su-
do astronauts convert their urine into? ing: Columbus lights its city tree
pervisors meeting,
3 Name two of the “final Five” who made via Facebook Live and WCBI at 6
9 a.m., Lowndes
up the gold-medal-winning U.S. gymnastics p.m., with carolers and special
County Courthouse,
team in 2016. guests including Santa and Miz
facebook.com/
Cali Bradley 4 What Asian city-state had the highest Claus. Virtually chat with Santa
cost of living in the world as of 2017? LowndesCountyMis-
Pre-K, Annunciation following the lighting. Main Street
5 Which two iconic actresses play frene- sissippi/
Columbus, 662-328-6305.

65 Low 55
mies whose husbands have left them for Dec. 1: Columbus
High each other in the 2015 series “Grace and City Council, 5
Increasing clouds
Frankie”?
Answers, 6B
Tuesday, Dec. 1 p.m., Municipal
Full forecast on ■ “Deck the Halls”: Lowndes Complex, facebook.
page 3A. County Master Gardeners host a com/CityofColum-
Christmas decorating seminar at busMS/
10 a.m. via Zoom. (Members may Dec. 15: Colum-
INSIDE sign up to attend in person at the bus City Council,
Classifieds 6B Health 6A Lowndes Extension office, if de- 5 p.m., Municipal
Comics 4B Obituaries 5A sired.) Register for the video con- Complex, facebook.
Crossword 6B Opinions 4A ference at https://bit.ly/3o1ia43 Caledonia resident Eliza Chrest com/CityofColum-
141st Year, No. 219 Dear Abby 5B to receive a link. 662-328-2111. has a dog named Koda. busMS/

DISPATCH CUSTOMER SERVICE 328-2424 | NEWSROOM 328-2471

2A TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2020
Biden transition gets govt OK
after Trump out of options
Trump still refused to concede
and vowed to continue to fight in court
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WA S H -
INGTON —
The federal
government
recognized
President-elect
Joe Biden as
the “appar-
ent winner” Biden
of the Nov. 3 election, for-
mally starting the transi-
tion of power after Presi-
dent Donald Trump spent
weeks testing the bound-
aries of American democ-
racy. Trump relented after
suffering yet more legal
and procedural defeats in
his seemingly futile effort
to overturn the election
with baseless claims of
fraud.
Trump still refused
to concede and vowed to
continue to fight in court
after General Services Ad-
ministrator Emily Murphy
gave the green light Mon-
day for Biden to coordi-
nate with federal agencies
ahead of his Jan. 20 inau-
guration. But Trump did
tweet that he was direct-
ing his team to cooperate
on the transition.
The fast-moving se-
ries of events seemed to
Biden signals sharp shift from Trump with Cabinet picks
BY MATTHEW LEE
The Associated Press
WA SH I NG T ON
— President-elect Joe
Biden on Monday tapped
Obama-era officials for top
national security and eco-
nomic roles, signaling a
stark shift from the Trump
administration’s “America
First” policies that dispar-
aged international allianc-
es and favored deregula-
tion and tax cuts.
The picks include for-
mer Secretary of State
John Kerry to take the
lead on combating climate
change. Biden is also ex-
pected to choose Janet
Yellen, who was nominat-
ed by former President
Barack Obama to lead the
Federal Reserve, as the
first woman to become
treasury secretary.
Biden’s emerging Cab-
inet marks a return to a
more traditional approach
to governing, relying on
veteran policymakers
with deep expertise and
strong relationships in
Washington and global
capitals. And with a ros-
ter that includes multiple
women and people of col-
or — some of whom are
breaking historic barriers
in their posts — Biden is
fulfilling his campaign
promise to lead a team
that reflects the diversity
of America.
The incoming presi-
let much of the air out of
Trump’s frantic efforts
to undermine the will of
the people in what has
amounted to a weekslong
stress test for the nation’s
confidence in the political
system and the fairness
of U.S. elections. Those
efforts haven’t ended and
are likely to persist well
beyond his lame-duck
presidency.
Murphy, explaining her
decision, cited “recent de-
velopments involving legal
challenges and certifica-
tions of election results.”
She acted after Michi-
gan on Monday certified
Biden’s victory in the bat-
tleground state and a fed-
eral judge in Pennsylvania
tossed a Trump campaign
lawsuit on Saturday seek-
ing to prevent certification
in that state.
It also came as an in-
creasing number of Re-
publicans were publicly
acknowledging Biden’s
victory, after weeks of
tolerating Trump’s base-
less claims of fraud. The
Republican president had
grown increasingly frus-
trated with the flailing tac-
tics of his legal team.
dent will nominate long-
time adviser Antony
Blinken to be secretary
of state, lawyer Alejandro
Mayorkas to be homeland
security secretary and
Linda Thomas-Green-
field to be ambassador to
the United Nations. Avril
Haines, a former deputy
director of the CIA, will be
nominated as director of
national intelligence, the
first woman to hold that
post.
Thomas-Greenfield is
Black, and Mayorkas is
Cuban American.
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
In recent days, senior
Trump aides including
came to my decision inde-
pendently, based on the
chief of staff Mark Mead-
ows and White House
law and available facts. I
was never directly or in-
counsel Pat Cipollone had directly pressured by any
also encouraged him to Executive Branch official
allow the transition to be- — including those who
gin, telling the president work at the White House
he didn’t need to concede or GSA — with regard to
but could no longer justify the substance or timing of
withholding support to the my decision,” she wrote in
Biden transition. a letter to Biden.
Yohannes Abraham, Trump tweeted mo-
executive director of the ments after Murphy’s
Biden transition, said decision: “We will keep
the decision “is a needed up the good fight and I be-
step to begin tackling the lieve we will prevail! Nev-
challenges facing our na- ertheless, in the best in-
tion, including getting the
terest of our Country, I am
pandemic under control
recommending that Em-
and our economy back on
ily and her team do what
track.”
needs to be done with re-
Murphy, a Trump ap-
gard to initial protocols,
pointee, had faced biparti-
and have told my team to
san criticism for failing to
do the same.”
begin the transition pro-
cess sooner, preventing
Biden’s team from work-
ing with career agency
officials on plans for his
administration. The delay
denied the Democratic
president-elect access to
highly classified national
security briefings and hin-
dered his team’s ability to
begin drawing up its own
plans to respond to the
raging coronavirus pan-
demic.
Murphy insisted she
acted on her own.
“Please know that I
They “are experienced,
crisis-tested leaders
who are ready to hit the
ground running on day
one,” the transition said in
a statement. “These offi-
cials will start working im-
mediately to rebuild our
institutions, renew and
reimagine American lead-
ership to keep Americans
safe at home and abroad,
and address the defining
challenges of our time —
from infectious disease, to
terrorism, nuclear prolif-
eration, cyber threats, and
climate change.”
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2020 3A

Health care fraud trial: Doctor acquitted on 7 of 8 counts

Prosecutors said the fraud began in Mississippi and cost insurers
about $515 million in that state and $1.5 billion nationwide
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JACKSON — A Mississippi
doctor has been acquitted on
seven of eight counts against
him in what prosecutors said
was about $18 million in health
care fraud involving expensive
prescription pain cream. His
secretary was acquitted on all
five counts against her.
Jurors were unable to agree
on the eighth count — making
false statements relating to
health care — against Dr. Greg-
ory Auzenne, The Clarion Led-
ger reported. The newspaper
said the U.S. Attorney’s Office
did not immediately comment
Monday on whether it planned
to retry that charge.
The two-week trial of
Auzenne and 46-year-old Tif-
fany Clark ended late Friday
in federal district court in Jack-
son. Charges on which they
were acquitted included con-
spiracy to commit health care
and wire fraud.
Prosecutors said the fraud
began in Mississippi and cost
insurers about $515 million in
that state and $1.5 billion na-
tionwide. Auzenne was accused
of taking $127,000 in kickbacks
for his signature on preprinted
prescription forms for com-
pounded medicines.
Clark was accused of taking
payments to search patient files
for those who met criteria for
the pain creams and whose in-
surance would pay for them.
At least 25 people in Mis-
sissippi have been charged; 20
either have pleaded guilty or
been convicted of participating
in the scheme.
Those who pleaded guilty in-
clude former pharmacist Marco
Moran, 47, who testified against
Auzenne and Clark.
Moran said his Custom
Care Pharmacy was opened to
process fraudulent prescrip-
tions for pain creams and other
medications, and that he paid
Auzenne $127,000 in kick-
backs.
Auzenne said that $127,000
check covered consulting fees,
and that his only connections
with Moran were membership
in a college fraternity and a
$40,000 loan he made to Moran
to open Custom Care Pharma-
cy.
Asked why he would loan
a virtual stranger $40,000,
Auzenne replied, “He was well
known in the Black communi-
ty.”
Auzenne testified that he
never signed the hundreds of
prescriptions for the medica-
tions under his name.
Character witnesses testi-
fied that both defendants were
honest and trustworthy. They
also said Clark probably didn’t
know she was doing anything
wrong because she was naive
and eager to please.

Meals
Continued from Page 1A
“There’s no feeling Club, Golden Triangle the doors of some senior Starkville Strong, a ally holding hands, we can … facilitate it, I feel
like it,” Nichols said of Early College High citizens. COVID-19 relief group are reaching out a hand,” like we are bringing such
giving to the community. School, Columbus Air Columbus salonist helping local businesses she said. “Every time positivity and momentum
“Sometimes, people can’t Force Base, Chocolate Courtney Harris also and residents, will also that Starkville Strong of hope to this area.”
help themselves. My Roses Social Club and will host a Thanksgiv- host a Thanksgiving
ability to provide, and just Good Deeds, as well as ing lunch from her own lunch pickup and delivery
seeing the tears and joy Stephanie Jones — wife salon, IamCourtney on at the J.L. King Center on
in some people’s eyes … to Ward 5 Councilman Fourth Avenue North. Wednesday, said group
is just amazing.” Stephen Jones — helped On Thanksgiving, she administrator Brandi
with the operations, he said she will hand out 150 Herrington.
said. sack lunches, including The event called for
Other area food drives Beard said he and his turkey sandwiches, donations of dishes in a
Like Nichols, many
wife will cook and serve chips, pecan pies and potluck style, she said,
other Golden Triangle
500 to 700 plates for any- water. and within four days, she
residents and groups also
one who comes looking. Harris said she wants had every item accounted
will feed those in need
The menu includes tur- to serve the meals on for. People will drop off
throughout the week. keys, green beans, corn, Thanksgiving Day, hop- those dishes at 10 a.m.
In Columbus, Ward strawberry and chocolate ing those in need can feel Wednesday, she said, and
4 Council- cakes and sweet potato cared for on the occasion. the drive-through pickup
man Pierre pies, he said. “Sometimes there are starts at 11:30 a.m.,
Beard will “Just come get a plate,” some individuals that where drivers can wait in
host his sec- Beard said. don’t have family to eat the parking lot for their
ond annual Due to COVID-19, with or pray with as well food. The group will also
Thanksgiv- this year’s service will as give thanks,” she said. deliver meals to those
ing lunch be drive-through only, “I felt there was a need to who cannot show up.
pickup at Beard said, and meals support those that don’t Some members sug-
the Boys Beard
will be picked up from have family and let them gested the cancellation
and Girls the side door without know that someone is of the event, Herrington
Club between noon and 2 anyone leaving their cars. thinking about them and said, but she still wanted
p.m. Tuesday. Volunteers He and some volunteers we care on that particular to make it happen safely.
from the Boys and Girls will also deliver meals to day.” “Even if it’s not liter-

Manslaughter
Continued from Page 1A
Phillips, 26, with his car
on Riviera Road in north-
east Oktibbeha County
around 8 p.m. Saturday
night. Watson told The
Dispatch that Kitchens
and Phillips were in a
relationship and have a
child together but did not
say if the collision was an
escalation of a domestic
situation.
Phillips was pronounced
dead early Sunday morn-
ing at OCH Regional Med- ing the incident and has not
ical Center. Kitchens was released any other details.
released from Oktibbeha
County Jail on Monday af-
ter posting a $25,000 bond,
Watson said.
OCSO is still investigat-

AROUND THE STATE

Storms possible across South,
Midwest on eve of Thanksgiving
JACKSON — Severe weather — in-
cluding tornadoes — will be possible
across large parts of the South and Mid-
west just before Thanksgiving, forecast-
ers say.
Damaging winds will be the main
threat on Wednesday, but a tornado or
two will also be possible across the re-
gion, the national Storm Prediction Cen-
ter is forecasting.
More than 21 million people will at
a marginal risk of severe Wednesday
in parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Ala-
bama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois and
Indiana.
That includes several large metro ar-
eas including Indianapolis, Cincinnati,
Louisville, Kentucky and Memphis and
Nashville in Tennessee.

SOLUNAR TABLE
The solunar period indicates
peak-feeding times for fish and game.
Tues. Wed.
Major 8:30p 9:11p
Minor 3:38p 4:06p
Major 8:50a 9:31a
Minor 2:53a 3:47a
Courtesy of Mississippi Department
of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks

The Dispatch
The Commercial Dispatch (USPS 142-320)
Published daily except Saturday. Answers to common questions:
Entered at the post office at Columbus, Mississippi.
Periodicals postage paid at Columbus, MS Phone: 662-328-2424
POSTMASTER, Send address changes to:
The Commercial Dispatch, P.O. Box 511, Columbus, MS 39703 Website: cdispatch.com/help
Published by Commercial Dispatch Publishing Company Inc.,
516 Main St., Columbus, MS 39703
Report a news tip: news@cdispatch.com

If you don’t read The Dispatch, how are you gonna know?
Opinion
4A TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2020
PETER BIRNEY IMES Editor/Publisher
BIRNEY IMES III Editor/Publisher 1998-2018
BIRNEY IMES JR. Editor/Publisher 1947-2003

Dispatch
The
BIRNEY IMES SR. Editor/Publisher 1922-1947

ZACK PLAIR, Managing Editor

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

POSSUMHAW
Let’s talk turkey
“Turkeys know their over 50 novels and was an crate as a Thanksgiving gift from a aluminum trays like airline service. The
names, come when you call, editor and contributor of the Mississippi resident purported to be a company quickly retrofitted and turned
and are totally affectionate. premier magazine “Godey’s woman named Joyce from Nitta Yuma, out “TV dinners” with turkey, cornbread
They’re better than teenag- Lady’s Book” for 40 years. or possibly a man from Peru, Missis- dressing, gravy, peas and sweet pota-
ers.” Mrs. Hale was an activist sippi. I was unable to confirm the town toes, sold for 98 cents. In 1954 10
— Elayne Boosler, for causes dear to her heart, Peru. President Coolidge elect- million dinners were sold.
Rolling Stone’s “First including confirming a na- ed to keep the raccoon as In 1963 President
Lady of Standup Comedy” tional Thanksgiving Day. a pet and named her John F. Kennedy
Prior to 1863, a time Rebecca. received the annual

T
his Thanksgiving will
probably be different
for most of us as some
people will be able to gather Shannon Bardwell
with family and some will
not. It could be different in
ways we have not thought of, like more
appreciating health, happiness, family
and friends near or far. We have tech-
nology to connect; then there’s always
a phone call, cards and letters. I could
fill a book with all the information I’ve
gleaned on Thanksgiving I didn’t know. would convince the president on Oct.
I’ll start with Sarah Josepha Hale and
finish with tidbits of trivia you may
enjoy and perhaps share.
Mrs. Hale is known as the “Mother
of Thanksgiving” and the author of
“Mary Had a Little Lamb,” from her
children’s poetry books. She authored
of thanksgiving was cele-
brated at random times in
isolated locations, mostly
the Northeast. For 17 years
Mrs. Hale advocated to
the magazine’s 150,000
subscribers as well as successive
presidents for a common and united
Thanksgiving Day. On Sept. 28, 1863,
Mrs. Hale sent a letter to President
Lincoln, “Excuse the liberty I have
taken with profound respect ... ” that
3 to establish the fourth Thursday of
November as a national celebration for
a “Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer to
our beneficent Father who dwelleth in
the heavens.”
In 1926 President Calvin Coolidge
received a live raccoon in a wooden
In 1939 Pres-
ident Franklin
Roosevelt moved
Thanksgiving
up a week to
extend Christ-
mas celebrations
during the Depres-
sion. The change was
mostly unappreciated and
referred to as “Franksgiv-
ing.” Only 23 of 48 states com-
plied and in 1941 the designated
day was returned to its original
date.
In 1953 the Swanson Company
overestimated the demand for turkey,
leaving 260 tons of frozen turkey on
railroad cars. Swanson’s Gerry Thom-
as immediately suggested meals in
turkey given by
the country’s
farmers and was
quoted saying,
“We’ll just let
this one grow.” I
have to wonder if
this had something to do
with the children.
In 1989 President George
H.W. Bush was the first
president to officially pardon
the annual Thanksgiving turkey,
saying, “Let me assure you, and
this fine tom turkey, that he will
not end up on anyone’s dinner table, not
this guy — he’s granted a presidential
pardon as of right now.”
Email reaches Shannon Bardwell of
Columbus at msdeltachild@msn.com.

NAMASTE
Aspects of
human emotion
A
m I too emotional, or am
I emotionless?
My first experience
of death was in early adult-
hood. It was my father’s death.
I didn’t cry; maybe I couldn’t
cry. I dutifully performed all
the rigorous traditional Hindu
rites required of a son after his
father’s death. I was just going
through the motions. Several
years after that, my mother
died. And over the last thirty Jiben Roy
years, one by one, my three
older brothers and two older
sisters died. It was only my father’s death that I saw with
my own eyes. I was informed of all the other deaths by
phone or letters, while living in a land far away from my
family of origin. I don’t recall crying at any of those times.
However, in recent years, long after all those losses,
tears strike me when I have flashbacks of memories, or
watch emotional movies. Some movies that have made
me cry are: Hachi: A Dog’s Tale, The Kite Runner, To Kill
a Mockingbird, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Anne
Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, The Fault in Our Stars
and many others. Holocaust movies are especially reliable
tear jerkers for me. I guess I’m not alone in that experi-
ence. At least I’m not yet like Robert Di Nero in Analyze
This, bawling at commercials!
Renowned neuroeconomist, Professor Paul J. Zak, af-
firms that empathetic, emotional, even frequently tearful
people “‘know how to handle their emotions better, and
they are stronger when facing daily challenges.”
What a relief!
So, it was a relief to see President-elect Biden become
tearful when he heard the stories of nurses and frontline
health workers faced with treating patients in the early
stages of COVID-19. With an emotionally intelligent
leader, we might finally reverse the course of failure of
the American government on COVID-19. Our current
unempathetic President meanwhile is busy firing anyone
with emotional intelligence.
Psychology Today reports ”emotional intelligence, was
the key” to President Jefferson’s success in governing
the country at that time. According to author Anthony
Pantalone, “President John F. Kennedy’s cognitive and
emotional intelligence during the Cuban Missile Crisis of
1962 had incredibly profound effects on this event and the
United States’ national security.” Similarly, some theorize
that Bill Clinton’s emotional intelligence was the key to
his popularity despite the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
While emotional intelligence includes compassion, it is
more than just compassion. Jimmy Carter is a very com-
passionate man known for his successful humanitarian
work and his failure to be popular as a president. Perhaps
it is because emotional intelligence implies a toughness
that people like to see in a leader, which they did not see
in Carter.
The two emotions President Trump operates on are
anger and disgust. His lack of empathy and emotional
intelligence is obvious in videos of his meetings with
healthcare workers. Instead of shedding a tear for the
trauma suffered by front line workers or the thousands
of American lives lost, he argued with nurses about the
shortage of protective equipment. It seems like a sizeable
portion of Americans still think men who spew anger on
others are strong. That is unfortunate.
The hopeful thing is a majority of Americans appre-
ciate the real strength that comes from compassion and
emotional intelligence.
We are a nation of dog lovers, and dogs are the most
emotionally intelligent animals! (This is probably why
Trump hates dogs.) Our dogs are capable of both staying
beside us when we cry and defending us with all their
might when we are faced with danger. Soon we will have
our first shelter dog in the White House! We should try to
be more emotionally intelligent, like our dogs, and choose
leaders who can do the same.
This column was written by Jiben Roy and his daughter,
Writtika Roy, M.D. Jiben Roy is a regular contributor, and
his daughter is a licensed psychiatrist.
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
Appreciates seeing Community
Counseling continuing to serve area
Congratulations to Mr. Richard Duggin as the
newest Executive Director and to the Board of
Region VII Mental Health/Mental Retardation
Commission (dba Community Counseling Ser-
vices) for choosing him as their fifth Director.
For almost 50 years, CCS and the Board have
been helping the residents of our seven counties
(Choctaw, Clay, Lowndes, Noxubee, Oktibbeha
and Winston) receive quality mental health,
effective alcohol/drug addiction and intellectual
disability services locally on a sliding fee scale
which makes these services available to all citi-
zens, regardless of income.
Special thanks also need to be extended on
this occasion to some of the earliest pioneers of
this endeavor. Without the generous contribution
and leadership of people like Mr. S.B. Platt III
and Ms Margo Swain (former Commissioners),
Mr. Bud Phillips and Mr. Clay Terrell (Region
VII Foundation members) and Dr. Raymond
Overstreet (staff Psychiatrist), our region and its
people would not have had the quality of care we
now receive.
When CCS was established in 1972, a psychi-
atric nurse would come thru our region for a half
day once a month on the way to Tupelo! There
were no local Mental Health office facilities nor
were there any group homes for developmentally
delayed individuals nor were there any quality
residential addiction services available as there
are now at The Pines and Cady Hill until the
Foundation (Mr Phillips; Mr. Terrell) was estab-
lished; there were no psychiatric care services
locally available for mental illness on a regularly
scheduled basis by appointment until Dr. Ber-
nard Ellis, followed by Dr. Overstreet, joined the
staff.
As the fourth employee and third Ex. Director
(1973-91), I was overjoyed to see the continuity
of these services going forward in an ever more
expanded and diverse manner. Fifty years of
service could only have been achieved with
dedicated Commissioners and Foundation mem-
bers, executive leadership and line staff “helping
people build a life they can live with”...ad multos
annos!
Paul J. Ackerman
Columbus
Wonders what it takes to
start believing COVID numbers
Last week I challenged all of us to consider
the processes — conscious or not — we use to
determine what we consider to be the truth. I
raised this point about statistical facts and, more
specifically, about the number of people who: 1)
consider the data on COVID-19 cases and deaths
as either inflated or just plain total hoax; and 2)
believe that President Trump actually won the
2020 election despite repeated failures to legally
establish any claims that might overturn the
reported results (an astonishing 88% of Republi-
cans according to the most recent poll).
I repeat my challenge that we all accept at
least some numerical facts based on the trust-
worthiness of the source. I claimed that, unlike
the Los Angeles Times and ESPN on baseball
results, Rudy Giuliani was NOT a credible source
regarding the accuracy of ballot counting but
that state boards of election were — as has al-
ways been the case in the past, including in 2016
when the results were MUCH closer than now.
I was implying President Trump as being no
more credible than Giuliani. This is a President
who for over two weeks has remained fixated on
the election results while ignoring the ever-in-
creasing number of new cases and deaths due to
COVID-19.
We have now endured 257,000-plus total and
are seeing nearly 2,000 daily deaths due to this
virus. Do you still believe these numbers are
part of a hoax? Even now that the election is
over? Even now that we are on a path to reach
an average of 3,000 deaths DAILY several
days before Christmas according to the IHME
forecast (which I consider to be a trustworthy
source along with Johns Hopkins University and
the CDC)? The IHME model projects surpass-
ing 312,000 total deaths on that day (12/21) and
nearly 500,000 by the end of February — the
furthest out the model predicts at this point.
As I have pointed out in the past, these projec-
tions typically underestimate the actual deaths
observed.
If you do not believe the current numbers
what will it take for you to start?
Do you need a relative to die from COVID-19?
Someone in your immediate family? Yourself?
Meanwhile, we have a President who appar-
ently still would have you believe that we are
turning the corner on the virus.
This is the same President who just threw
Brian Kemp, Governor of Georgia, and Kelly
Loeffler, a sitting U.S. Senator from Georgia —
both big Trump supporters — under the bus.
We should all think about the implications of
that.
Paul Mack
Columbus
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2020 5A

Thanksgiving could be make-or-break in US virus response

The nation is averaging 165K new virus cases
per day, up over 70 percent in two weeks
BY MICHAEL RUBINKAM
The Associated Press
In Pennsylvania, if you’re
having friends over to socialize,
you’re supposed to wear a mask
— and so are your friends. That’s
the rule, but Barb Chestnut has
no intention of following it.
“No one is going to tell me
what I can or not do in my own
home” said Chestnut, 60, of
Shippensburg. “They do not pay
my bills and they are not going to
tell me what to do.”
As governors and mayors
grapple with an out-of-control
pandemic, they are ratcheting
up mask mandates and impos-
ing restrictions on small indoor
gatherings, which have been
blamed for accelerating the
spread of the coronavirus. But
while such measures carry the
weight of law, they are, in practi-
cal terms, unenforceable, and of-
ficials are banking on voluntary
compliance instead.
Good luck with that.
While many are undoubtedly
heeding public health advice —
downsizing Thanksgiving plans,
avoiding get-togethers, wearing
masks when they’re around peo-
ple who don’t live with them —
it’s inevitable that a segment of
the population will blow off new
state and local restrictions and
socialize anyway. Experts say
that could put greater stress on
overburdened hospitals and lead
to an even bigger spike in sick-
ness and death over the holidays.
“When this started in early
March, we weren’t staring at
Thanksgiving and Christmas,
and we didn’t have the disease
reservoir that we have. And that,
to me, is the biggest concern in
the next few weeks,” said Dr.
David Rubin, the director of Po-
licyLab at Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia. He called the risk
of a Thanksgiving spike “ex-
tremely high.”
“I think you’re seeing a lot of
resistance here,” Rubin said. “I
can’t speculate on what people
are going to do, but I can say
that to the degree that there isn’t
a collective buy-in here, it sort
of blunts the impact of the mea-
sures themselves.”
The nation is averaging
165,000 new virus cases per day,
up over 70 percent in two weeks,
according to Johns Hopkins Uni-
versity. Hospitalizations, deaths
and the testing positivity rate
are also up sharply as the nation
approaches Thanksgiving.
In response, elected officials
are imposing restrictions that,
with some exceptions, fall short
of the broad-based stay-at-home
orders and business shutdowns
seen in the spring.
Utah and Vermont have
banned all social gatherings.
So have local governments in
Philadelphia and Dane Coun-
ty, Wisconsin. In Kentucky, no
more than eight people from
two households are permitted
to get together; in Oregon, the
gathering limit is six. California
has imposed an overnight cur-
few. More states are requiring
masks, including those with
GOP governors who have long
resisted them. The nation’s top
health officials are urging Amer-
icans to avoid Thanksgiving
travel.
There’s some evidence the
holiday will be quieter.
Tamika Hickson, who co-
owns a party rental business in
Philadelphia, said Thanksgiving
was a bust even before her city
moved to prohibit indoor gather-
ings of any size.
“Nobody’s calling,” Hickson
said. “A lot of people lost a lot of
loved ones, so they’re not play-
ing with this. And I don’t blame
them.”

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328-2471.
Cribbs and Vandora
McKinney. He was a
graduate of Todd High
School and was for-
merly employed with
3M. He was a member
of Rising Star Baptist
Church.
He is survived by
his children, Gregory
Cribbs, Ehko Luckett,
Lamandy Howell, Tawo-
na Hutchinson, Jac-
queline D. Cribbs and
Tiffany S. Jackson; sib-
lings, James C. Cribbs
and Joe S. Cribbs; 13
grandchildren; and two
great-grandchildren.
James Bolin
WEST POINT —
James K. Bolin Jr., 78,
died Nov. 22, 2020, at
Baptist Memorial Hos-
pital of DeSoto.
Graveside services
will be at 11 a.m.
Friday, in Beersheba
Cemetery. Memorial
Gunter Peel Funeral
Home and Crematory,
College Street location
is in charge of arrange-
ments.
AREA OBITUARIES
In addition to her
parents, she was
preceded in death by
her husband, Elbert
Fenton; children, Elbert
Fenton Jr and Roy Fen-
ton; siblings, Clara Da-
vis, Bessie Will Harris,
Mattie Will Humphries,
Lizzie Fenton, Otis Har-
ris, Arthur Lee Harris
and Earnest Harris.
She is survived by
her children, Frank
Fenton, Tommy Fenton,
Robert Fenton all of
Columbus and Mary
Lynn Webber of St.
Louis, Missouri, and 34
grandchildren.
James Hill
MACON — James
Hill, 79, passed away.
Arrangements are
incomplete and will be
announced by Carter’s
Funeral Services of
Macon.
Quince Tate
MACON — Quince
Tate, 92, passed away.
Arrangements are
incomplete and will be
County High School
and a veteran of the
U.S. Air Force. He was
formerly employed as
a mail carrier with the
U.S. Postal Service.
In addition to his par-
ents, he was preceded
in death by his sister,
Ann Murphy.
He is survived by his
wife, Mary Nell Craw-
ford Langley; and sib-
lings, Jimmy W. Lang-
ley, Johnny Langley and
Judy Merchant.
James Dyer
COLUMBUS —
James Ray Dyer, 82,
died Nov. 23, 2020, at
Baptist Memorial Hos-
pital-Golden Triangle.
Services will be at
11 a.m. Wednesday,
at New Salem Baptist
Church, with the Rev.
Mel Howton officiat-
ing. Burial will follow
in Egger cemetery.
Visitation will be one
hour prior to services
at the church. Memori-
al Gunter Peel Funeral
Home and Crematory,
Second Avenue North
location is in charge of
arrangements.
Mr. Dyer was born
April 30, 1938, in Ham-
ilton, Alabama, to the
late Eston Sullivan and
Mildred Farr Dyer. He
was formerly employed
as a supervisor with
Ceco Building Systems
and the YMCA. He
was a member of New
Salem Baptist Church.
In addition to his par-
ents, he was preceded
in death by his siblings,
Jane Jones and Mary
Ann Atkins.
He is survived by
his wife, Martha Burke
Dyer; son, Jason Dyer;
sister, Sue Wood; and
two grandchildren.
Memorials may be
made to New Salem
Baptist Church, 7086
Wolfe Road, Columbus,
MS, 39705.

James Cribbs
SULLIGENT, Ala.
— James H. Cribbs, 73,
died Nov. 17, 2020, at
North Mississippi Med-
ical Center-Gilmore.
Funeral services
were at 1:30 p.m.
Sunday, at Rising Star
Baptist Church, with
the Rev. Willie Joe
Hollis officiating. Burial
followed in McKinney
Family Cemetery.
Visitation was from
1-1:30 p.m. prior to
services at the church.
Otts Funeral Home of
Sulligent was in charge
of arrangements.
Mr. Cribbs was born
July 24, 1947, in Sulli-
gent to the late Harold
Are dining tents a safe way to eat out during the pandemic?
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Are dining tents a safe
way to eat out during the
pandemic?
Health experts say out-
door dining tents are gen-
erally safer than dining
inside, but caution that
they’re not all equal.
Many restaurants are
erecting individual tents,
igloos and other outdoor
structures that let people
who are dining togeth-
er avoid being indoors,
where the coronavirus
spreads more easily.
Experts say the struc-
tures should be well-ven-
tilated. A tent with four
walls and a roof, for exam-
ple, might not have better
ventilation than an indoor
dining room.
“The more airflow
through the structure,
the better it is,” says Dr.
Isaac Weisfuse, a public
health expert at Cornell
University.
Igloos and individ-
ual tents are a creative
solution but shouldn’t be
shared with people who
aren’t in your household,
says Craig Hedberg, a
Essie Fenton
COLUMBUS — Es-
sie Harris Fenton, 95,
died Nov. 20, 2020, at
Baptist Memorial Hos-
pital-Golden Triangle.
Graveside ser-
vices will be at 2 p.m.
Wednesday, in Memo-
rial Gardens. Carter’s
Funeral Services of
Columbus is in charge
of arrangements.
Mrs. Fenton was
born May 29, 1925,
in Columbus, to the
late Lacey Billups and
Hosey Harris. She was
formerly employed with
Beneke Corp. and was
a member of Oak Grove
M.B. Church.
professor at the Universi-
ty of Minnesota School of
Public Health.
“If it’s keeping you
from being in a common
airspace with other peo-
ple, then that’s a good
thing,” he says.
Between parties, tents
should be cleaned and
left open for at least 20
minutes, says Aubree
Gordon, an associate pro-
fessor at the University of
Michigan School of Public
Health. She also suggests
servers should be able to
leave food on a tray out-
side to minimize contact
with diners.
Tents are helping many
restaurants get through
lean times. But they may
cost extra. In Detroit, Lu-
men restaurant charges
$30 per person to reserve
a heated structure with
windows for two hours.
Lumen’s igloos and green-
houses can each seat six
people, and the party
must spend at least $300.
Once a party leaves,
the structure is cleaned,
sprayed with sanitizing
fog and aired out for 30
announced by Carter’s
Funeral Services of
Macon.
Elbert Langley
VERNON, Ala. — El-
bert Franklin Langley,
86, died Nov. 21, 2020,
at his residence.
Family graveside
services are at 2 p.m.
today, in Furnace Hill.
Chandler Funeral
Home of Vernon is
in charge of arrange-
ments.
Mr. Langley was
Wednesday, Nov. 25 • 10-11 AM
born Nov. 10, 1934,
in Lamar County,
Alabama, to the late
Denmon and Pauline
McGill Langley. He was
a graduate of Lamar
memorialgunterpeel.com
minutes, says Gabby Mil-
ton, the restaurant’s man-
aging partner.
Annie Kessinger
Graveside Services:
Wednesday, Nov. 25 • 1 PM
Friendship Cemetery
College St. Location
Jason Bishop
Incomplete
2nd Ave. N. Location
James Bolin
Graveside Services:
Friday, Nov. 27 • 11 AM
Beersheba Cemetery
College St. Location
James Dyer
Visitation:
New Salem Baptist Church
Services:
Wednesday, Nov. 25 • 11 AM
New Salem Baptist Church
Burial
Egger Cemetery
2nd Ave. N. Location
Margaret Blair
Margaret Elizabeth Smith Blair, age 78, of
Caledonia, MS, passed away November 21, 2020,
at Baptist Memorial Hospital.
Funeral services will be Monday, November
23, 2020, at 2:00 PM at Memorial Gunter Peel
Chapel 903 College St. location with John
Longmire officiating. The interment will
immediately follow at Memorial Gardens of
Columbus. Visitation will be from 1:00 PM until
the time of the service.
Mrs. Blair was born October 18, 1942, in
Brooksville, MS, to the late Grover Cleveland and
Sudie Mae Menees Smith. She was a graduate of
Brooksville High School. Mrs. Blair retired from
Seminole/American Trouser Manufacturing
after 47 years of employment and was a member
of Caledonia United Methodist Church.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded
in death by an infant sister and sister, Martha
Smith Cooper.
Since retirement, she enjoyed going to dinner a
couple times a month with her dinner club which
consisted of several friends from high school. On
Friday nights she always said for some reason
the stove never worked.
She loved spending time with her family and
making sure she played some hand and foot and/
or scrabble with her kids before they would leave.
She loved to do puzzles, playing candy crush
and other games on her computer. One of her
favorite things was cooking her grandbabies’
favorite meals like stuffed bell peppers, red
meatballs, congealed salad with extra grapes
and their mini pancakes, when they would stay
the night with her.
Survivors include her husband of 54 years,
William T. Blair of Caledonia, MS; sons, David
Blair and his wife Misty of Mantachie, MS and
Wesley Blair of Caledonia, MS; daughter, Amy
Blair Crews and her husband Vince of Wiggins,
MS; brother, Grover Cleveland Smith, Jr. and
his wife Nancy of Tyler, TX; and grandchildren,
Abagale McMahan and her husband Cody and
Greyson Blair, both of Mantachie, MS. She also
leaves behind a number of nieces and nephews
also great nieces and nephews.
Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis,
TN, 38105-9959.
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be
dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen
you and help you; I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand.
Sign the online guest book at
www.memorialgunterpeel.com
College Street • Columbus, MS
6A TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Health
HEALTH TIP
n Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning:
Coffee’s great too, but it’s best to start your day by re-
hydrating with a full glass of water. Hydrating first thing in
the morning helps to aid digestion, enhance skin health
and boost energy.
Source: https://fourwellness.com

Health tips from Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen

Two new ways aspirin may percent. The opti- taking the anti-in-
mal dose, suggest flammatory and
extend your life the researchers, blood-clot-prevent-
Since aspirin became widely may be 325 mg ing medication.
available in the late 1800s, it’s been daily, two to seven One reminder:
advocated for use in many odd times a week. Take aspirin with
ways, from birth control to pro- Taking it five times a glass of warm
longing the life of a Christmas tree. weekly showed a 3 water before
Fortunately, the modern science percent reduction and after to help
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powers is far more reliable — and percent cut. problems or
ever-growing. Another new in- bleeding. Aspirin
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heart-friendly medication can also powers was pub- that protect your
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of cancer, and the latest research It reveals that patients hospitalized the pill to land on vulnerable
published in Oncotarget on breast with COVID-19 who received aspi- tissue.
cancer is especially promising. In rin (usually 81 mg) within 24 hours Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The
an analysis of 13 existing studies of admission or within seven days Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen,
that involved more than 850,000 prior to admission are less likely M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and
women, those who took aspirin for to be admitted to the ICU, put on Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleve-
five years cut their risk of breast a ventilator or die (a 47 percent land Clinic. To live your healthiest,
cancer 14 percent, for 10 years by decrease in that risk) than hospi- tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit
27 percent and for 20 years by 46 talized COVID patients who aren’t www.sharecare.com.

Ellis
Continued from Page 1A
got assistant coaches
making more than that
now. It’s really amazing
what has happened with
investment in sports, par-
ticularly in the Southeast-
ern Conference.”
Ellis has announced
both men’s and women’s
basketball at MSU in ad-
dition to baseball, and
he remembers when the
women’s team joined the
SEC in 1982 and did not
win a single game in its
first four seasons. The
team had just 16 SEC
wins in 13 years until
Sharon Fanning led the
women to multiple win-
ning seasons and NCA A
tournament appearanc-
es, setting the stage for
Vic Schaefer to take the
team “to a whole ‘nother
level,” Ellis said. Schae-
fer left for the Universi-
ty of Texas earlier this
year, having reached the
national championship
game twice in his tenure
with the Bulldogs.
Ellis had anecdotes
and praise for a variety
of MSU coaches and ath-
letic directors, including
former AD Larry Temple-
ton, who he described as
“really loyal to the peo-
ple that worked for him.”
Ellis’ wife was ill and in
the hospital for nearly a
month in 2001, and Tem-
pleton checked on him al-
most every day and gave
him the time off he need-
ed, Ellis said.
He described current
AD John Cohen, a for-
mer MSU baseball play-
er, as “innovative … very
inquisitive, asks a lot of
questions and thinks out-
side the box.”
Polk became a special
assistant to Cohen earli-
er this year. During his
22 years as head base-
ball coach, he ran a tight
ship, Ellis said, requiring
players to be on the bus
for away games at spe-
cific times and refusing
to wait for anyone who
wasn’t there on time.
“He was always ex-
tremely positive,” Ellis
said. “I always appreciat-
ed that about him, and it
rubbed off on his team.”
Prompted by a ques-
tion from the audience,
Ellis said sports radio
has changed a great deal
throughout his career, es-
pecially since television
and social media are now
the primary sources of
sports news.
“If you look at ESPN,
everything is hyped,”
Ellis said. “What goes
on around the game is
almost more important
than what goes on in the
game, and that’s sort of
what happens with a lot
of radio broadcasts. I love
the announcers who actu-
ally describe the game,
stay with the game and
don’t do a lot of coaching
and speculating.”
He grew up listening
to legendary MSU bas-
ketball and football an-
nouncer Jack Cristil and
remembers the first time
he heard him broadcast:
MSU’s football team had
a comeback win against
Kentucky with an 80-yard
touchdown pass in 1956.
Cristil was later El-
lis’ roommate for more
than a decade, until Ellis’
doctor told him Cristil’s
smoking was harming
his lungs, Ellis said.
“He was a true pro-
fessional (and) a great
storyteller,” Ellis said.
“He could be a character
sometimes, but he loved
Mississippi State.”

Surplus
Continued from Page 1A
The surplus indicates a
better financial standing
compared to fiscal years
2017 and 2018, where the
city ran at a deficit ex-
ceeding $800,000 each
year. The savings came
after Mayor Robert Smith
cut back employee hours
and therefore reduced
pay and froze hiring and
travel between April and
July. The measures were
estimated to save the city
$1.56 million at the time,
The Dispatch reported.
The city council
amended the budget in
July for the first time,
but then amended it
again Nov. 3 as required
by state law to reflect
the surplus. The year-
end budget amendments
lowered the previously
budgeted revenue by
$210,000 and slashed the
budgeted expenditure by
$2.7 million. Dillon said
the budget was amended
to match the actual year-
end figures. The city’s
action was days after the
state-set deadline, since
the law requires the year-
end amendments to be
approved by city council
no more than 30 days af-
ter the fiscal year ends,
said state auditor’s of-
fice spokesperson Logan
Reeves.
Of the amendments,
the city changed several
budget line items to re-
flect a higher property
tax revenue than antici-
pated, according to a copy
of the document obtained
by The Dispatch through
an open records request.
Dillon told The Dispatch
Oct. 30 the city received
$10,123,506 in proper-
ty tax revenue — which
is an increase from the
$9,838,080 it had request-
ed from Lowndes County
Tax Assessor’s Office.
The city saw less rev-
enue in other categories,
including $323,286 less
in police fines and for-
feiture and $99,721 less
in rental income at the
Trotter Convention Cen-
ter. Dillon said the loss
of income at Trotter was
anticipated due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Po-
lice Chief Fred Shelton
declined to comment on
budget-related issues.
The biggest cut in
spending comes when
the city slashed $1.94 mil-
lion in “transfer out.” Dil-
lon said the money was
historically used to pay
for the city’s debts.
“The category ‘trans-
fer out’ was historically
used to satisfy bonded
indebtedness including
Moore’s Creek and Uni-
versity Mall (Tax Incre-
ment Financing) bonds
among other things,” he
said in an email to The
Dispatch Sunday.
However, he said, the
city raised millage last
year instead to cover
the debt payments. The
millage rate — used to
calculate how much each
resident needs to pay
in property tax — was
raised from 47.59 to 51.24
last year.
The city also saw year-
end salaries drop across
the departments, such
as fire, police and court.
The police department,
for example, saw a cut
of $895,711 in overall
expenses, including a
$637,244 drop in salaries,
$94,664 less in matching
retirement benefits and
$36,358 less in overtime
pay. Its cost of travel and
training, however, rose
by $36,851. The depart-
ment was only allowed
to have a maximum of 54
officers instead of the 64
originally budgeted fol-
lowing the spring hiring
freeze, which Smith lift-
ed in July, The Dispatch
reported.
Other departments
experienced similar cuts
and increases in earn-
ings. Dillon said the re-
duced salaries are partly
due to the rolled-back
work hours in the spring.
In the administrative
and finance department,
however, salaries in-
creased. The department
experienced an overall
cut of $1.8 million in ex-
penses, but saw an uptick
of $17,565 in salaries.
Dillon attributed that
to the special election
expenses after former
Ward 1 Councilman Gene
Taylor passed away. Ward
1 Councilwoman Ethel
Taylor Stewart, sister to
Taylor, won the election
runoff in October 2019.

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THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2020
B
SECTION

Season opener still on track, starters not yet announced

BY GARRICK HODGE about our players and
ghodge@cdispatch.com their health and safety
number one, as well as
STARK VILLE — the staff. It’s just a part
Wednesday’s season of right now. I’ll be very
opener against Clemson thankful for a vaccine.”
is right around the cor- Various collegiate
ner for Mississippi State programs throughout
men’s basketball. the nation have paused
Yet, there seems to all basketball related ac-
be a more pressing issue tivities because of posi-
on MSU coach Ben How- tive COVID-19 tests and
land’s mind. contact tracing, includ-
“We talk about it with ing Ole Miss, Florida
our team on a daily ba- and Tennessee.
sis, how COVID is out of MSU hasn’t had the
control throughout our difficulties some of its
country,” Howland said. Southeastern Confer-
“How it’s at an all-time ence counterparts are
high in terms of people having, though, as How-
coming down with it ... land said the team hasn’t
There’s definitely a lot of had any COVID-related
concern. I’m concerned stoppages whatsoever
and have all tested nega-
tive “for the most part.”
Both Wednesday’s con-
test against Clemson
and Thursday’s matchup
with Purdue or Liberty
remain on as scheduled.
“We have to just fol-
low the protocols,” red-
shirt sophomore guard
D.J. Stewart said of be-
ing diligent. “We have to
social distance and treat
most people like they
have COVID, so we’re
kind of staying away
from everybody to help
keep our families safe.”
Testing for MSU play-
ers and staff has picked
up from once a week to Jim Lytle/Dispatch file photo
three times a week per Mississippi State’s D.J. Stewart will be expected to step into a leadership role this
See MBB, 3B season. MSU begins its season against Clemson Wednesday night.

Ole Miss MISSISSIPPI STATE FOOTBALL

basketball
pauses all
team
Leach talks Egg Bowl history, Lane Kiffin and
activities
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
youth ahead of first meeting with Ole Miss
Mississippi has can-
celed four basketball
games and suspended
team activities until
Dec. 7 because of posi-
tive COVID-19 tests and
contact tracing.
The school in Ox-
ford, Mississippi, an-
nounced Monday that
the Justin Reed Ole
Miss Classic set for this
week is canceled, along
with the Dec. 5 game
against Memphis.
The Rebels were
scheduled to host
Central Arkansas on
Wednesday, Jackson
State on Thursday and
Arkansas State on Fri-
day.
Ole Miss says the
athletes and staff affect-
ed are “taking appropri-
ate safety measures in
accordance with univer-
sity protocol.”
The Rebels are now
scheduled to open the
season Dec. 12 against
UNC-Wilmington.

Patriots
pick up win
DISPATCH STAFF

IT TA BENA — The
Heritage Academy boys
improved to 3-0 with a 65-
56 win over Delta Streets
Academy on Monday at
the Delta Duels at Missis-
sippi Valley State.
Trey Naugher had 23
points for the Patriots.
Mack Howard had 20,
and Drew Huskison had
13.
Heritage Academy’s
next game is Dec. 1 at
Tuscaloosa Academy (Al-
abama).
Prep Girls Soccer
Caledonia 2, Amory 0
AMORY — The Cale-
donia High School girls
soccer team beat Amo-
ry 2-0 in Monday’s road
match. The Cavaliers
scored in the 7th and 34th
minutes.
Caledonia’s next
match is Dec. 1 at Shan-
non.
Prep Boys Soccer
Caledonia 2, Amory 1
AMORY — The Cale-
donia boys beat Amory
2-1 on Monday in Amory.
Caledonia scored in
the 9th and 18th min-
utes.
Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Mike Leach is shown on the sideline during the game against the Georgia Bulldogs during the first
half Saturday at Sanford Stadium.
BY BEN PORTNOY
bportnoy@cdispatch.com
STARK VILLE — Mike
Leach is new to the Egg Bowl,
but his familiarity with it
spans decades.
Speaking with reporters
Monday, Leach conceded he’s
perhaps not as well versed in
Egg Bowl lore as even some
of those on the weekly Zoom
call, but that he’s long been
cognizant of the ramifications
the game has within the state
of Mississippi.
“Just over the years, even
as I was a kid, I know it was
always an incredibly intense
game,” he said. “I know, it’s
very meaningful to people
and I know that it’s in conver-
sation all year round. Every
day, there’s not a day I don’t
hear somebody mention the
Egg Bowl.”
While Leach isn’t wholly fa-
miliar with the Egg Bowl, he
has spent years alongside Ole
Miss counterpart Lane Kif-
fin. A friend of Kiffin’s father,
Monte, who currently serves
as a player personnel analyst
for the Rebels, Leach was in-
troduced to the younger Kif-
fin years ago.
The pair overlapped briefly
in the Pac-12 when Kiffin was
the head coach at USC and
Leach at Washington State,
though they never faced each
other on the field. Coaching
conventions and other vary-
ing events have also seen
their paths cross.
“If you’re stuck at one of
these coaches meeting things
that everybody pretends are
so important, Lane lightens
it up a little bit,” Leach said.
“And I, for one, am happy he’s
there.”
Saturday’s 3 p.m. contest
in Oxford will be a reunion
of sorts for Leach, but for his
team, it’s a chance to further
improve on the progress made
in last week’s near miss at No.
13 Georgia. After failing to
reach the 300 -yard passing
plateau in a month, freshman
quarterback Will Rogers de-
livered his best game to date
with a 336 -yard, one touch-
down performance in Athens.
Beyond the quarterback
position, Leach has relied
heavily on young pieces in his
newly minted air raid. Rogers
has received the bulk of the
attention, but classmate Jaden
Walley enjoyed a breakout
game of his own notching 115
yards and a touchdown Satur-
day. In all, four of MSU’s top
five pass catchers were either
freshmen or sophomores.
“I think that we’re young
enough that we’re definitely
going to change to the pos-
itive,” Leach said. “That’s
where the biggest strikes
come is when somebody, the
younger they are, the more
they’re developing. And we’re
right there.”
Defensively, MSU heads
into a meeting with the nation’s
No. 7 passing attack with a
depleted secondary. Given se-
Dale Zanine/USA TODAY Sports
nior Fred Peters is likely to be
sidelined for the year due to an
undisclosed injury and Marcus
Murphy’s recent opt-out, MSU
is paper thin at safety. Corner-
back is perhaps even more of
a problem, where sophomore
Martin Emerson and fresh-
man Emmanuel Forbes have
been asked to take on massive
workloads given their lack of
depth.
That said, the Egg Bowl
thrives on absurdity. From last
year’s Elijah Moore peeing dog
celebration to 40 mile per hour
winds knocking down an MSU
field goal attempt in the 1983
edition. What the 2020 contest
has in store? Time will tell.
“...This is a game that’s
memorable,” Leach said. “It’s
very important to our fans and
even though they can’t be in
the stands as much as usual,
people will be watching and
people will definitely take
an interest in this game and
they’ll talk about it for a year.”
2B TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2020
No. 1 Bama gets chance to avenge tough loss to No. 22 Auburn
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Alabama left Jor-
dan-Hare Stadium last sea-
son with its playoff hopes
dashed and giddy Auburn
fans filling the field.
It’s a sobering mem-
ory for the top-ranked
Crimson Tide going into
Saturday’s Iron Bowl with
the 22nd-ranked Tigers at
Bryant-Denny Stadium.
What could go wrong, did
go wrong in that 48-45 loss
that kept ‘Bama from the
College Football Playoffs
for the first time.
And the Tigers made
them pay for just about ev-
ery misstep.
Auburn (5-2 Southeast-
ern Conference) returned
two Mac Jones intercep-
tions for touchdowns and
the Tide (7-0) missed a
potential tying field goal
among other mishaps.
“We didn’t play very
well in the game,” Alabama
coach Nick Saban said on
Monday. “We made a lot of
mental errors in the game.
Taking nothing away from
them, they played really
well in the game and they
deserved to win.
“We couldn’t make
plays when we needed to
make them. Gave them
a couple of pick-sixes for
touchdowns. There’s a lot
of things to be learned in
every game that you play.
There’s a lot of lessons to
be learned in that game for
us.”
It was a back-and-forth
affair one.
Alabama led 31-27 at
halftime after the teams
combined for 17 points
over the final 66 seconds.
If you need to report game scores or statistics, you can call us at 662-327-2424 ext. 126. If you need to reach sports editor Garrick Hodge, email him at ghodge@cdis-
patch.com. If you need to reach sports writer Ben Portnoy, email him at bportnoy@cdispatch.com or sports writer Theo DeRosa, email him at tderosa@cdispatch.com.
High school football coaches who don’t speak to a reporter from The Dispatch are asked to email information to the sports department from their games. The Dispatch
will include its prep football coverage in Sunday’s edition, so we will contact coaches Friday night or Saturday to get details. Coaches, please let us know what is the best
time for us to contact you.
In what turned out to be
the decisive points, An-
ders Carlson booted a 52-
yard field goal after replay
officials put one second
back on the clock before
the half.
A missed Alabama field
goal late helped seal the
Auburn win. Before that
setback, the Tide had ap-
peared in the first five Col-
lege Football Playoffs.
It’s not the first time in
recent seasons that Au-
burn has played the role of
spoiler — and then some
— against Alabama.
The Tide lost the Iron
Bowl 26-14 in 2017 but still
went on to win the national
title as a No. 4 seed.
Both were top 5 teams
in 2013, when Auburn
won 34-28 with Chris Da-
vis’s 109-yard return of a
missed field goal ending it.
The Tigers reached the na-
tional title game that year.
This time, both teams
have regular-season
games remaining for a
change because of the re-
vamped schedule amid the
COVID-19 pandemic. So
it’s far from a playoff elim-
ination game for the Tide.
Last season’s Auburn
win added to a similar-
ly close loss to eventual
national champion LSU.
The Tide has been rolling
through a schedule of all
SEC games so far, includ-
ing a 63-3 blitzing of Ken-
tucky last weekend.
Jones said Alabama’s
focus is what’s ahead for
them, though haven’t for-
gotten last year.
“That was a whole year
ago and we’ve kind of
moved on from that but it
Contacting the Sports Department
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
is a good learning experi-
ence,” Jones said. “We’ve
learned and we’ve applied
that throughout this year
so far, and we just have to
continue to do that.”
Saban agrees, saying
Alabama will have to elim-
inate miscues like being
called for illegal substitu-
tion last year after Auburn
initially inserted the punt-
er on offense, leading to a
game-clinching first down.
It was a penalty that Saban
called “pretty unfair” after
the game.
But that one is in the
loss column and if Ala-
bama doesn’t want another
setback this year, Saban
said, “We’re going to have
to execute a whole lot bet-
ter to have success in this
game.”
Georgia finally has its
QB, likely too late to
salvage 2020
ATHENS, Ga. — Geor-
gia finally has its quarter-
back, though it’s probably
too late to salvage the Bull-
dogs’ lofty goals for this
season.
Too bad JT Daniels
didn’t get his shot a bit
sooner.
The transfer from
Southern Cal took his first
snaps in the red and black
last weekend, throwing for
401 yards and four touch-
downs in a 31-24 victory
over Mississippi State.
It was a tantalizing dis-
play by the strong-armed
Daniels, who completed
six passes that covered at
least 28 yards — three of
them going for more than
40 yards.
Daniels figures to be
at the helm for the final
three games of the regular
season, giving him a head
start on holding down
the job from the very first
practice of 2021.
That’ would be a far cry
from this season, when
four quarterbacks got a
crack at the starter’s role
for the No. 13 Bulldogs (5-
2,) who play at South Caro-
lina (2-6) on Saturday.
“What you’re looking
for is above-the-line play,
high-level play, and that’s
what we’ve been searching
for all year.,” coach Kirby
Smart said Monday. “Any
time you get continuity at
that position, is it a benefit?
Absolutely, it’s a benefit.”
Smart will surely face
lingering questions about
why he didn’t make the
move to Daniels sooner.
By the time Daniels
got the nod, Georgia had
lost to both Alabama and
Florida to end any realistic
hope of getting back to the
Southeastern Conference
championship game for
the third year in a row and
contending for a national
title.
“Maybe the question
should be, ‘Man, aren’t
they glad they got JT here
when nobody thought they
needed him?’” Smart shot
back. “Would I have loved
it if he had done the same
thing against those other
teams? Absolutely. But
decisions are made based
on who gives us the best
opportunity to win.”
In all fairness, Daniels
wasn’t cleared to play in
the opener as he continued
his recovery from a seri-
ous knee injury sustained
in the 2019 season opener,
which turned out to be his
last game at Southern Cal.
Even after he got the
OK from the training staff,
Smart said there were still
doubts about his mobility
and grasp of the playbook.
Daniels, who was one
of the nation’s most tout-
ed QBs coming out of
high school, didn’t sec-
ond-guess Smart’s deci-
sion to keep him on the
bench the first six games.
He was just glad to get
back on the field for the
first time in nearly 15
months.
“It’s been a long time
since I’ve taken a game
snap,” he said. “I was just
thankful to do it again.”
After the injury, when it
became apparent the Tro-
jans would go in a different
direction at quarterback,
Daniels transferred to
Georgia — even though
the Bulldogs already had
landed another transfer,
former Wake Forest start-
er Jamie Newman, who
was favored to take over
for Jake Fromm.
Stunningly, just a few
weeks before the opener,
Newman opted out of the
season. Redshirt fresh-
man D’Wan Mathis got
the start against Arkansas
but was largely ineffec-
tive, forcing the Bulldogs
to turn to one-time walk-
on Stetson Bennett, who
served as Fromm’s backup
last season.
After Bennett rallied
Georgia to a win over the
Razorbacks, he took over
as the No. 1 quarterback
while Daniels remained
relegated to the scout
team. Bennett played well
until the second half of
a 41-24 loss to No. 1 Ala-
bama.
Georgia managed to
beat Kentucky with a lack-
luster performance, but
Bennett banged up his
shoulder in the next game
against sixth-ranked Flor-
ida and wound up getting
replaced by Mathis, who
finished up a 44-28 setback
to the Gators.
That left Smart with the
obvious decision to give
Daniels a shot.
Going deep over and
over against a Mississippi
State defense that stacked
the line to stop the run,
Daniels provided Georgia
with the sort of wide-open
attack it had been lack-
ing all season, despite
an immensely talented
group of receivers.
Freshman Jermaine
Burton hauled in eight
passes for 197 yards and
two TDs. George Pick-
ens had eight receptions
for 87 yards and a TD.
Kearis Jackson pulled
down the winning score
on a 40 -yard touchdown
play with just under 10
minutes remaining.
“It’s super exciting
to see those big, explo-
sive plays,” tight end
John FitzPatrick said.
“We hit our deep shots,
which should open up
more stuff in the run
game and play-action .
It’s exciting all the way
around.”
If only it had hap-
pened a bit sooner for
the Bulldogs.

Conferences join forces on virus testing procedures for refs
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Debbie Williamson is
used to the challenges
of putting together the
officiating puzzle.
Whether it’s assign-
ing officials to specific
games or figuring out
how a referee can make
it from one city to the
next to call games on
consecutive days, Wil-
liamson has seen a lot
— both at the confer-
ence level and as the
former NCA A’s women’s
basketball national coor-
dinator of officiating.
But nothing has pre-
pared her for the test
that the coronavirus has
presented. And that’s
before a game is played.
“In the past it was just
a puzzle. Now it’s almost
like doing a puzzle on
the deck of a boat that’s
in the middle of a storm,”
said Williamson, who is
currently the officiating
coordinator for nearly
a dozen different con-
ferences. “You hold the
puzzle on the table and
fix the puzzle.”
The biggest piece
of the puzzle is placing
her roughly 250 officials
into position to referee
all the games across the
conferences she admin-
isters. Williamson said
about 15 of them have
opted out this season
due to COVID-19 con-
cerns.
Joe Vaszily, who has
worked the last seven Fi-
nal Fours, is looking for-
ward to starting his 21st
season of officiating this
week despite the higher
level of anxiety because
of the virus.
“There will be a lot of
adjustments, certainly
there will be some chal-
lenges with travel,” he
said. “Normally we may
share rental cars with
our partners if we are
coming or going to the
same airport. Now we’ll
be arriving and leaving
separately.”
Conferences on the
East Coast are trying
to make life easier for
referees by using the
same virus testing pro-
cedures.
Thirteen leagues
have teamed up, with
the Big East in charge
of the women’s consor-
tium and the ACC lead-
ing the men. The men’s
alliance has about 185
officials, with none de-
ciding to opt out of the
top leagues, according
to the ACC.
“We have worked
very hard to line up
and develop a master
testing arrangement on
the men’s and women’s
side,” Big East Commis-
sioner Val Ackerman
said.
Game officials are
considered Tier I per-
sonnel, so they need to
be tested three times
per week, per the
MBB
Continued from Page 1B
SEC protocols, but How-
land has yet to be given
a definitive answer on
how many scholarship
players are needed for a
game to be played. For
context, SEC football
suggests a minimum of
53 scholarship players,
along with different po-
sitional requirements.
“We were discussing
it was going to be seven
or eight players (need-
ed), but I haven’t heard
if that’s been finalized
to be honest with you,”
Howland said.
MSU’s first two
games are in Mel-
bourne, Fla., then will
have its home opener
against Texas State at
7 p.m. Monday at Hum-
phrey Coliseum.
“I think with our stu-
dents all going home
from campus here after
today, it makes it easi-
er to stay COVID free,”
Howland said. “Our
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2020 3B
NCA A. The leagues de- room for a whistle. Oth- teamwork but always re- Korver and the oth- violated was agreed to
cided to use standard ers may use whistles maining humble ... and er Milwaukee Bucks this month.
PCR tests instead of the with a pouch to collect preserving your own hu- went through in the “We are extremely
quicker but less reliable spit — similar to what manity.” NBA’s restart bubble honored to have had
antigen tests. NBA and WNBA offi- The audience was — particularly when this opportunity to
Tests are delivered cials used this summer held days before a book they decided to sit out come to the Vatican and
to officials’ homes to in Florida. comes out in which a playoff game against share our experienc-
be self-administered. “The advantage of Francis supports de- Orlando in response to es with Pope Francis,”
The referees must then the mask is that it’s a mands for racial justice, the shooting of Jacob Korver said. “His open-
drop off the nasal swabs full mask that protects specifically the actions Blake, a Black man, by ness and eagerness to
at FedEx for overnight both players and of- taken following the kill- police in Kenosha, Wis- discuss these issues
shipping back to the ficials,” Vaszily said. ing of George Floyd, a consin. was inspiring and a re-
lab. The tests are con- “We’re given the option Black man who died in “It was raw and emo- minder that our work
sidered biological sub- to use either one as long May. A police officer in tional for our team,” has had a global impact
stances so refs need to as its compatible with Minneapolis pressed a Brown told the pope. and must continue mov-
find a FedEx that specif- precision timing.” knee against his neck Brown sued officials ing forward.”
ically will accept them. He expects it to be for minutes while Floyd in Milwaukee after The delegation did
Some have had to drive a lot more difficult to said he couldn’t breathe. getting taken to the not wear masks during
an hour for that. travel to back-to-back “I was there to sup- ground, shocked with its papal visit. The
The cost of the test- games. port my colleagues in a Taser and arrested union later said the
ing will be picked up by “Flight schedules are their daily struggle in during an encounter group was required
some of the conferences the United States, and with police in 2018, to undergo COVID-19
20 to 30% of what they
while others are paying not just for that,” Beli- contending in that law- testing before meeting
were a year ago,” Vaszi-
officials less per game nelli said later Monday suit that police used the pope and followed
ly said. “Normally we
to help cover it. on Twitter. “I also went excessive force and tar- other Vatican proto-
could work a 7 o’clock
Referees must fill out to show that athletes geted him because he cols. Last month, the
game and then have a
have an active respon- is Black. A settlement pope halted his public
a daily wellness ques- 2 o’clock game the next
sibility in society and where Brown would re- general audiences amid
tionnaire that’s upload- day in another city. It’s
need to dedicate them- ceive $750,000 plus an a surge of coronavirus
ed along with their test going to be hard since
selves toward changing admission from the city cases in Italy and the
results to a dashboard there are less flights un-
things that don’t work. that his civil rights were Vatican.
on the NCA A website less you’re in a hub city.
We athletes have a very
so the conferences can “We want to see
big media platform and
see that the officials games played and
we’ve got to use it pos-
are cleared to work. It played safely and do our
itively to reach where
also allows other con- best night in and out.
institutions are lacking.
ferences to potentially You can’t get frustrat-
“The pope had im-
find last-minute replace- ed because things are
portant words for us:
ments for games if previ- going to happen. This
We need to continue to
ously assigned officials season will be all about
be united, to operate as
can’t make it. flexibility and adaptabil-
brothers, like a team,
The dashboard will ity.”
show only if a referee is and to set an example
for the younger gener-
available. It won’t show
if someone has tested
NBA players hailed by ations,” Belinelli con-
positive for COVID-19. pope at Vatican for tinued. “The key is to
A referee could be un- demanding justice remain humble. I will
available after having Pope Francis met never forget this expe-
rience.”
close contact with some- with NBA players at
Roberts said Fran-
one who tested positive the Vatican on Monday,
cis sought the meeting
and going into the 14- lauding them as “cham-
with the players, and
day quarantine mandat- pions” and saying he
that it “demonstrates
ed by the NCA A. supported their work on
Ackerman expects social justice. the inf luence of their
platforms.” Demands
managing referees to The five players —
be one of the most chal- Marco Belinelli, Ster- for social and racial
justice have been para-
lenging components of ling Brown, Jonathan
the season because they Isaac, Kyle Korver and mount among players,
especially in recent
travel so much. Anthony Tolliver —
“They have capacity were joined in the dele- months following the
deaths of Floyd and
to again infect and get gation by NBA players’
infected because of the union executive director Breonna Taylor, among
others.
way they have to con- Michele Roberts and
duct their work with two other union execu- Brown, in his re-
travel and hotel stays tives, Sherrie Deans and marks to the pope, told
and the like,” she said. Matteo Zuretti. him about what he,
“To that end, another “We’re here because,
mandate has been, to frankly, we’re inspired
the extent possible, re- by the work that you do
gionalize their assign- globally,” Roberts told
ments to avoid some of the pope during the
the ricocheting going meeting in the papal li-
on with refs going every brary.
morning or evening to The union said the
get to next game.” players spoke about
Ackerman said the their “individual and col-
biggest thing is to make lective efforts address-
sure everyone feels safe. ing social and economic
“There have been and injustice and inequality
will be refs that have occurring in their com-
dropped out this year munities.” Belinelli
because they don’t want addressed the pope in
to subject themselves to Italian, and the group
the risks,” she said. “It presented the pope
was a given and totally with a commemorative
understandable. They basketball, a union-pro-
will 100% be welcomed duced book highlight-
back when things get ing efforts players have
back to normal.” taken and an Orlando
Once at games, offi- Magic jersey.
cials will have different “You’re champions,”
options for whistles to the pope said. “But also
avoid potential spread giving the example of
of the airborne virus. teamwork, you’ve be-
Some are opting to wear come a model, giving
full face masks that have that good example of
guys have done a good thews is an option if
job with it. I’m hopeful the Bulldogs want to go
we’ll be able to move with a defensive-orient-
forward and not have to ed lineup, the same goes
take any breaks, but that for Alabama transfer
remains to be seen.” Javian Davis, who start-
ed a portion of last sea-
Howland mum son with the Crimson
Tide.
on starting lineup “Once we get started
The sixth-year coach
wouldn’t announce his and assuming every-
body is healthy, we’ll
starting lineup ahead
of Game 1, but it can be have a set starting line-
safely assumed Stewart, up,” Howland said. “It’s
Iverson Molinar, Abdul always subject to change
Ado and Tolu Smith will based on productivity
occupy four of those and how things are go-
spots. Figuring out the ing for us as a team.
fifth becomes a little “Ideally we’d try to
tricky, because How- get a rotation set. A guy
land could opt to play like Tyson Carter didn’t
small and start four-star start for us the last half
freshman Deivon Smith of the season last year
at point guard, or start but probably was as im-
Molinar at the point and portant as anybody on
utilize Smith as a Tyson our team. He was always
Carter-esqe sixth-man in at the end of games.
role. We’re a very young team
True freshman for- so we have a lot to identi-
ward Cameron Mat- fy moving forward.”
4B TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2020
On Football: About those rising NFL teams, never mind
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mediocrity is medioc-
rity. You can’t hide it, es-
pecially in the NFC East,
where being mediocre is a
compliment.
This, however, isn’t
about those weaklings. It’s
about teams many thought
might be making moves
toward relevance in the
standings: New England,
Minnesota, San Francis-
co, Chicago. Maybe even
Detroit and Atlanta.
Never mind.
Thanksgiving week
is here, which means the
stretch run to the playoffs
is at hand. Even with the
extra wild card in each
conference, it’s a pipe
dream to rely on those
half-dozen teams.
Comics & Puzzles
DILBERT
ZITS
GARFIELD
CANDORVILLE
BABY BLUES
BEETLE BAILEY
MALLARD FILLMORE
Neither the 49ers (4-6),
the most injury-ravaged
team in the NFL, nor the
Bears (5-5), the most of-
fensively inept, played this
week. Barring almost in-
humanly quick health im-
provement for San Fran-
cisco, it won’t come close
to defending its NFC title,
particularly in the NFC
West, where everyone else
decidedly isn’t mediocre.
As for Chicago, it’s not
unreasonable to see the
Bears go from 5-1 to the
bottom of the NFC North,
which other than Green
Bay decidedly is medio-
cre.
New England might be
the most disappointing of
these underperformers,
though losing the main
reason it won six Super
FAMILY CIRCUS
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
Bowls, Tom Brady, is sig-
nificant enough to cause a
major step backward.
Those who believed the
Patriots were progressing
after a down-to-the-wire
win over the winless Jets
and a home victory in
nasty weather against a
now-slumping Baltimore
can’t be buoyed by Sun-
day’s defeat at Houston.
Yes, a Texans club whose
only two previous victo-
ries were over the sec-
ond-worst team in the
league, Jacksonville.
“It’s disappointing, but
we’ll turn the page here
and move on,” New En-
gland coach Bill Belichick
said. “(I) still have a lot
of confidence and belief
in the team. If we just do
things a little bit bet-
ter, then the results will
be different and better.
But, I don’t know, we just
couldn’t do it today.”
Nor on many other
days in a 4-6 campaign.
Then there are the
Vikings, who started 1-5
before they won three
straight division games.
A home victory over the
struggling Cowboys could
have established Minne-
sota’s place in the playoff
chase. Instead, inconsis-
tency on both sides of the
ball led to an ugly loss.
“There are positives
to point to,” quarterback
Kirk Cousins said, “but
ultimately when you don’t
win, you leave the stadium
feeling sick to your stom-
ach.”
Indeed, nausea often
Dear Abby
D
EAR ABBY:
I moved to
town not
long before the
pandemic and
don’t have many
close friends
here. One of my
best friends is a
co-worker, “Ron-
na,” whom I love
dearly.
Ronna has
had an extreme-
ly rough past,
including an
extensive history Dear Abby
of parental abuse
that has left her
thin-skinned and suspicious of
authority figures. Because of
this, she’s constantly butting
heads with our management
team and confronting them
about perceived slights.
While some of the points
she makes are reasonable,
many are taken too personally
or blown way out of proportion,
and she tends to act very dra-
matic/livid about it. I’m looking of putting him on child support.
to move up in the company,
and I’m torn between loyalty
to my friend and the need to
remain on good terms with our
higher-ups. I’m also worried
that my friendliness with
management will lead to Ronna help with his bills.
resenting or distrusting me.
How can I safely navigate? —
Horoscopes
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Nov.
24). You excel in your talents
and do so in such an agreeable
manner that you’ll be promot-
ed, applauded and five-star
reviewed. You’ll become more
necessary to your various roles
and jobs than they are to you —
a powerful position to be sure.
And you will be mindful to use
that power for the good of all.
Capricorn and Gemini adore
you. Your lucky numbers are: 8,
44, 3, 19 and 50.
ARIES (March 21-April 19).
Saying “no” will be more import-
ant than saying “yes.” This “no”
will clarify the sacrifice you’re
willing to make in order to have
what you want and be who you
aspire to being.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20).
accompanies mediocrity.
Then there are the
Falcons and Lions, real-
ly outsiders to join in the
postseason chase even
before Sunday. Atlanta
had won three of four un-
der interim coach Raheem
Morris after an 0-5 start.
So it lost to a quarterback
making his first NFL
start, Taysom Hill, and the
Saints, in a relative blow-
out. The Lions were even
worse, getting blanked for
the first time in 11 years
at Carolina, which broke
a five-game slide using a
QB also in his first NFL
start, P.J. Walker.
Hill mainly has been a
special-teamer and Walk-
er’s last start was in the
XFL.
“We have really good
IN THE MIDDLE
IN COLORADO
DEAR IN THE
MIDDLE: Do not
involve yourself
in Ronna’s prob-
lems on the job.
If you do, they will
spill over onto
you. Maintain
your personal
relationship with
her away from
the office, while
networking and
trying to widen
your circle of
friends.
From what
you have written, I doubt that
Ronna will be working for your
employer much longer. Workers
who react in a “very dramatic/
livid” manner are usually laid
off because their behavior is
unprofessional and disruptive.
DEAR ABBY: I am having
problems with my baby dad
helping me with our 2-year-old
daughter. I don’t like the idea
I have tried counseling with
him. In addition to asking him
to step up, I have tried giving
him lists of what our daughter
needs, and he still isn’t help-
ing. Instead he’s asking me to
I don’t know what to do. I
really don’t want to go after
You’re used to people thinking
you’re amazing at something
because you are. You’re also
afraid that if they knew how
terrible you were at other things,
then it would detract from your
reputation. That’s the part
you’re wrong about.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21).
You have a strong desire to
learn, and it only gets stronger
when you have an excellent
teacher, an enticing model and
an exceptional method. All will
be made available to you.
CANCER (June 22-July 22).
It’s wonderful to get your way
immediately, but even more
wonderful to get your way even-
tually, as the anticipation makes
winning all the sweeter and
gives you the sense that you’ve
guys here,” embattled
Lions coach Matt Patri-
cia said when asked if he
feels as though he’s los-
ing the locker room. “We
have guys who are fight-
ing every day and work-
ing really hard. That’s the
one thing – I just love this
locker room. These guys
are strong; they want to
win. They’re trying to
compete. They’re trying
to do everything right.”
Maybe they are just
too mediocre to achieve
that.
Also stumbling in
Week 11 was Miami,
which had won five
straight but lost at Den-
ver. The Dolphins’ de-
fense is for real, and they
are well coached. But
they lack maturity.
child support since he now has
two jobs. I need his help, but
I don’t know how to get him
to contribute. Any ideas? —
STRUGGLING MOM IN OHIO
DEAR MOM: You have tried
asking, you have tried coun-
seling. The only option left to
convince him to step up to the
plate and fulfill his obligations
as a father is to contact Child
Support Services and ask for
help.
P.S. You absolutely should
NOT pay his bills!
DEAR ABBY: I have been
asked by a close friend to
officiate at his wedding. I’m
honored to have been asked,
and it would be easy for me to
get the credentials, but I am
not comfortable doing it for
personal reasons. I know it’s
his special day, and he really
wants me to do it. How can I
politely decline without hurting
our friendship? I don’t know
how to word my refusal. — NOT
FOR ME
DEAR NOT: Be honest to
the degree that you can be
without causing hurt feelings.
Explain that you are honored
to have been asked to officiate
(which is true), but would not
be comfortable in that role
(also true). Then deflect by
offering to support your friend
in some other way on his
special day.
earned the reward.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You
don’t know what’s in another
person’s mind. However, if they
keep showing up for you, then
that’s a good indication that you
figure strongly in their thoughts.
This is an honor you won’t take
for granted.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22).
The newborn baby doesn’t cry
out of weakness; the opposite
is true. The crying announces
life in all its glorious pain. What-
ever emotion you feel, accept
and embody it as the natural
gift it is.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23).
You have to ask what’s in it
for you. Otherwise, you’ll be
living and giving at half-ca-
pacity. When you know you’re
getting what you want from an
exchange, it will be easier for
you to commit to delivering
wholeheartedly.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21).
Whether you signed up for it or
not, you’re a role model. It’s not
always fun knowing that people
are watching and likely to copy
what you do, but it does inspire
you to make the best choices
you can.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec.
21). You’re always happier
when you have outlets for your
creativity. This time, you won’t
have to go looking because the
project finds you. Tonight, you’ll
be rewarded for what you did
ages ago.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan.
19). Thoughts can be a kind of
worship. To think of a thing is
to pay homage to it. Repeated
thoughts are veneration. If you
are “worshiping” something ac-
cidentally, you’ll be empowered
to change that.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.
18). People have different reac-
tions to your curiosity. Some are
flattered and want to be known
and understood. Others are
threatened, likely because they
have something to hide. Take
their skittishness as a warning
sign.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March
20). Your influence is more
potent than you realize. If you
aim for the kindest way to direct
others, you won’t regret it. Peo-
ple really want to impress you
and are wounded by anything
less than your favor.
Standing order
SOLUTION:
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2020 5B
Classifieds
Ads appear in The Commercial Dispatch,
The Starkville Dispatch and Online
To place ads starting at only $12,
call 662-328-2424 or visit ads.cdispatch.com
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2020 n 6B

Rooms For Rent Sporting Goods

LEGALS Employment ROOM FOR RENT, FULLY

Call us: 662-328-2424
Legal Notices
ABANDONED VEHICLES
FURNISHED, WEST POINT.
Includes appls, furn & util.
Call us: 662-328-2424 $400 per month.
No deposit.
General Help Wanted 662−295−4701.
PERSONAL CARE: Full and
Crawford Army Surplus
on Main in Crawford.
Community
Now for sale: Metal Ammo
cans 30&50 cal, $10; Ads starting at $12
.155mm Howitzer treated
wood ammo boxes, Good Things To Eat
$5&10; Army steel
bunkbeds, $125; Field

2015 KIA SOUL
VIN# KNDJN2A26F7114134
2014 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE
VIN# 1C4RJEBGXEC453785
IF NOT CLAIMED, THESE
VEHICLES WILL BE PUT UP FOR
PUBLIC SALE ON THE 19TH
DAY OF DECEMBER 2020 AT
10:00 A.M. AT ALLEN'S AUTO
SERVICE & TOWING, 1423
GARDNER BLVD., COLUMBUS,
MS.
PUBLISH: 11/24, 12/1 &
Real Estate
part-time employees Artillery camo nets with
needed at small personal spreader poles, $225;
Unissued camo (BDU/
care home in Columbus,
MS. Must pass back- ACU/ABU) military 6−
ground check. Call Ads starting at $25 pocket fatigues, $35 & M−
Collegeview Personal Care 65 field coats & fire−
662-327-9463. Lots & Acreage retardant coveralls, $50;
polypro col weather under
1.75 ACRE LOTS Good/ garment, $18;
PART TIME mature person Bad Credit Options. Good OCP T−shirts, $5.
for retail store. Sales ex- Call 662.769.1889
credit as low as 20% down,
perience a plus, computer $499/mo. Eaton Land,
skills and very flexible
Sudoku
662−361−7711.
hours. Email resume to ED SANDERS GUNSMITH YESTERDAY’S ANSWER
job115@cdispatch.com LAMAR CO., AL−80 ACRES Open for season!

Sudoku Yesterday’s answer

12/8/2020 hunting land, north of Tue−Fri: 9−5 & Sat: 9−12 Sudoku is a number-
Over 50 years experience!
RETAIL STORE needs entry Millport. $585 per acre.
Repairs, cleaning, refin− placing puzzle based on
IN THE CHANCERY COURT OF
LOWNDES COUNTY, MISSIS- level employee. Part time, Call for more info,
ishing, scopes mounted & Sudoku
a 9x9 gridis witha several
num- 4 2 1 5 9 7 3 8 6
205−695−2248 or
SIPPI flexible hours, ideal for zeroed, handmade knives. ber-placing
given numbers.puzzleThe object 5 7 8 1 3 6 4 9 2

2020 Conceptis Puzzles, Dist. by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

local college student. 205−799−9846.
IN THE MATTER OF THE ES- Email letter of introduction
Located: Hwy 45 Alt, North based onthe
is to place a 9x9
numbers 3 6 9 2 8 4 7 5 1
of West Point, turn right on
TATE OF ELIZABETH B. PROF- or resume to Yokahama Blvd, 8mi & turn grid
1 to 9with
in theseveral
empty spaces 9 4 2 8 7 1 6 3 5
FITT, DECEASED job114@cdispatch.com left on Darracott Rd, will given
so thatnumbers.
each row, eachThe 7 8 6 3 2 5 9 1 4
JOHN CAMPBELL PROFFITT, EX-
see sign, 2.5mi ahead object
column and each 3x3 the
is to place box
numbers 1 5 3 6 4 9 8 2 7
contains the1same to 9 number
in
ECUTOR shop on left.
8 1 5 7 6 3 2 4 9
Rentals
662−494−6218.
the empty spaces so
NO. 2020-0227-RPF only once. The difficulty 6 3 4 9 5 2 1 7 8
Looking for a new home? that each row, each
NOTICE TO CREDITORS Let us help, shop here. Five Questions: level increases from
column and each
Monday
2 9 7 4 1 8 5 6 3
Letters Testamentary have
Ads starting at $25 3x3 boxtocontains
Sunday. Difficulty Level 11/23

been granted and issued to the same number only once. The difficulty level
Merchandise 1 Chicken
John Campbell Proffitt, Execut- Apts For Rent: West
or of the Estate of Elizabeth B. increases from Monday to Sunday.

VIP
Proffitt, deceased, by the Chan-
cery Court of Lowndes County,
Mississippi, on the 19th day of Ads starting at $12 soup
Rentals
November 2020. This is to give
notice to all persons having
claims against said estate to Bargain Column
Probate and Register same
with the Chancery Clerk of
Apartments & Houses
WEATHER TECH liners for You’ll find the best deals 2 Water
Lowndes County, Mississippi,
within ninety (90) days from the 1 Bedrooms Ford Taurus. Full set, front, when you advertise
and shop here!
2 Bedroooms
date of first publication of this back & trunk. $50.

3 Simone
Notice. A failure to so Probate 662−368−6779
and Register said claim will
3 Bedrooms Building Materials ads.cdispatch.com
Biles, Gabby
forever bar the same.

THIS the 19th day of Novem- Furnished & Unfurnished

5 FT. Chain Link Fence.
ber 2020.
1, 2, & 3 Baths Top rails, caps, band, etc.
Douglas,
John Campbell Proffitt, Execut-
or
Lease, Deposit
& Credit Check
Reasonably priced.
Call or text
662−549−7167
Vehicles Laurie
Hernadez,
OF COUNSEL:
John W. Crowell, MSB 7906 viceinvestments.com Firewood / Fuel Ads starting at $12
Crowell Gillis & Cooper, PLLC
Post Office Box 1827
Columbus, MS 39703
327-8555 FIREWOOD FOR SALE. Trailers & Heavy Equipment Aly Raisman,
Various lengths.
Madison
PHONE: (662) 243-7443 662−295−2274.
FAX: (662) 328-6890 Apts For Rent: Other JD D110 42" Lawn Tractor
$800.
Kocian
jcrowell@cgclawpllc.com
Lawn & Garden
PUBLISH: 11/24, 12/1 & 6’ x 10’ Carry−On Trailer,
12/8/2020 STIHL EQUIPMENT: fully lighted, high sides
BG 55 Hand held blower $1,000. 662−368−6779.

4 Singapore
IN THE CHANCERY COURT OF $50.
LOWNDES COUNTY, MISSIS- FS 55RC Grass Edger $50.
SIPPI HS 45 Hedge Trimmer $50. Want to get back to nature?
662−368−6779.
IN THE MATTER OF THE ES- Need some R&R?
TATE OF LISA HARPOLE HEATH,
DECEASED
Musical Instruments
5 Lily Tomlin
and Jane
VICKI ROSE HARPOLE COX, AD-
ALLEN DIGITAL ORGAN
MINISTRATOR for sale. $550.

Fonda
Good for church.
NO. 2020-0212-PDE Call 662−425−6505. Shop here first.
NOTICE TO CREDITORS Medical / Dental
Letters of Administration have
been granted and issued to
Vicki Rose Harpole Cox, Admin-
istrator of the Estate of Lisa
Harpole Heath, deceased, by
the Chancery Court of Lowndes
County, Mississippi, on the 6
day of November, 2020. This is
to give notice to all persons
having claims against said es- COLEMAN
tate to Probate and Register RENTALS
same with the Chancery Clerk
of Lowndes County, Missis-
TOWNHOUSES & APARTMENTS ACROSS
sippi, within ninety (90) days 1 BEDROOM 1 Motionless
from this date. A failure to so
Probate and Register said 2 BEDROOMS 6 Programming
claim will forever bar the same. pro
3 BEDROOMS
11 Banks of the
THIS the 6 day of November,
LEASE, Cubs
© The Dispatch

2020.
DEPOSIT 12 Wonderland
/s/ Vicki Rose Harpole Cox
Vicki Rose Harpole Cox AND visitor
CREDIT CHECK 13 Does a wait-
OF COUNSEL:
William F. Gillis, MBN 4854 er’s job
CROWELL GILLIS & COOPER,
PLLC 662-329-2323 15 Secret agent
16 Easy victim
Post Office Box 1827
Columbus, MS 39703 2411 HWY 45 N 17 Chiding
(662) 243-7334
wgillis@cgclawpllc.com COLUMBUS, MS sound
18 Errand runner
PUBLISH: 11/17, 11/24 &
12/1/2020 Houses For Rent: North 20 Osaka setting
23 Add up
COLONIAL TOWNHOUSES.
IN THE CHANCERY COURT OF
2 & 3 bedroom w/ 2−3 27 Spoken 4 Tell tales nickname
LOWNDES COUNTY, MISSIS-
SIPPI bath townhouses. $650 to 28 Movie pig 5 Course unit 26 Went ahead
$750. 662−549−9555. 29 Staff symbol 6 Runner, for 30 Historic
IN THE MATTER OF THE ES- Ask for Glenn or text.
TATE OF VIOLA NEAL, DE- 31 Blended example happenings
CEASED Mobile Homes for Rent 32 Squelch 7 Outdated 31 Coffeeshop
CAUSE NO: 2018-0245 34 Pub quaff 8 Slimming plan orders
3BR/2BA MH in New Hope. 37 Bird of myth 9 Beige 33 Young one
NOTICE TO CREDITORS $650 dep + $650/mo. No
pets, quiet area. Leave full 38 Debtor’s 10 Take a 34 Historic times
THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI name & message, letters breather 35 Not recorded
LOWNDES COUNTY 205−712−6697. 41 Is grateful 14 Clumsy fellow 36 Smooth
Letters Testamentary have 44 News item 18 Strong winds 38 A party to

Service Directory
been granted and issued to the
undersigned upon the Estate of 45 Find darling 19 Blue egg 39 Gumbo
Viola Neal, deceased, by the 46 Transmits layer vegetable
Chancery Court of Lowndes
County, Mississippi, on the
47 Sub system 20 Use the track 40 Manual
16th day of November, A. D., DOWN 21 Curved path reader
2018. This is to give notice to
all persons having claims
1 Hardens 22 Buddy 42 Finale
against said estate to Probate Promote your small business starting at only $25 2 Snare 24 Receipt line 43 Hoopla
and Register same with the 3 Black as night
Chancery Clerk of Lowndes 25 Lincoln
Building & Remodeling General Services General Services Lawn Care / Landscaping
County, Mississippi, within
ninety (90) days from the first
publication date of this Notice SUGGS CONSTRUCTION A & T TREE SERVICES TERRA CARE
to Creditors. A failure to so Pro- CO. Building, roofing, Bucket truck & stump LANDSCAPING L.L.C.
bate and Register said claim remodeling, & home repair. removal. Free est. Phone: 662−549−1878
will forever bar the same. Licensed & Bonded. Serving Columbus Landscaping, Property
662−242−3471. since 1987. Senior Clean Up, Plant Care,
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/s/CURTIS NEAL, EXECUTOR "We’ll go out on a limb for
you!" Painting & Papering
Steven R. McEwen
McEwen Law Firm QUALITY PAINTING.
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Columbus, MS 39703 Slag − $400 Sheet Rock Hang, Finish &
PUBLISH: 11/24, 12/1 & Clay Gravel − $250 Repair. Pressure Washing.
12/8/2020 Available for hauling any Free Estimates. Ask for
materials. Filling in specials! Larry Webber,
swimming pools. 662−242−4932.
**HOLIDAY SPECIAL** Columbus. Call Walter,
662−251−8664.
4 ROOMS − $100 Lawn Care / Landscaping SULLIVAN’S PAINT
1 Room − $50 SERVICE
All notices must be 2 Room − $70
WORK WANTED: Licensed JESSE & BEVERLY’S Special Prices.
3 Rooms − $90
emailed to Carpet−Rugs−Tile−Cars & Bonded. Carpentry, minor LAWN SERVICE
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