August 25, 2011

THE FEDERATION OF Madison CountyHomeowner Associations (FMCHA) can nowofficially move forward with its appeal, filed 16months ago, against the county board of super-visors.

Madison County Circuit Court Judge JohnEmfinger last week denied the board’s motionto dismiss the FMCHA’s appeal, which it filedin April 2010 after the board let developerFrank Pucylowski decrease the minimumhome sizes in Oak Field, a planned unit devel-opment (PUD) in Gluckstadt.

Pucylowski had agreed with area homeown-ers on square footages throughout the PUD, butthen the recession hit and he asked the board tolet him build smaller houses.

The FMCHA appealed the board’s decisionto grant Pucylowski’s request; the board filed amotion claiming the FMCHA had no legalstanding to bring the lawsuit; and the FMCHAfiled a response.

Now that Emfinger has denied the board’smotion to dismiss, both parties can get down tothe meat of the case.

“We’re real excited that we can move for-ward to the substantive issues instead of pid-dling around with all this procedural stuff,” saidFMCHA President Al Sage.

The FMCHA claims that smaller houses inOak Field would hurt the property values ofsome FMCHA members living near the PUD.The proposed home sizes decreased by 200square feet.

The three-member majority of the board thatvoted to allow the size decrease, includingBoard President Tim Johnson, said it was need-ed to move the development along. Johnsonsaid builders often can’t afford to use high-quality materials in this economic climateunless the homes are smaller.

“I think we are well within our authority todo what we did, and we will defend that as wemove forward,” he said.

NOW EACH PARTY WILL file briefs insupport of its case.

“The next move is for the FMCHA to file itsbrief and we will respond accordingly,” saidMadison County Board of SupervisorsAttorney Eric Hamer.

Jackson attorney Dale Danks, representingthe FMCHA, said the court might or might notrequest oral arguments from him and Hamer,

See Federation Lawsuit, Page 17A

Homeowners

can move ahead

with lot size

lawsuit

District Coming

GERMANFEST

German festival planned

northsidesunthe weekly

Home deliveryas low as $8 a year

Call957-1542

For 44 Years, Covering Northeast Jackson, Madison and Ridgeland Vol. 44, No. 45 Two Sections, 40 Pages, Thursday, August 25, 2011

10,428 Circulation; 34,412 Readershipwww.northsidesun.com

By ANTHONY WARRENSun Staff Writer

NEW ZONING and a completed trafficstudy are sure signs that plans to develop theMississippi School for the Blind propertyare moving forward.

Northsiders Ted Duckworth and BreckHines are proposing transforming the 21-acre site into the District at Eastover, a $150million project that will include commercialand residential development.

Last week, the Jackson City Councilapproved the request of the District LandDevelopment Company to rezone the prop-

erty to allow for a hotel and larger retailestablishments.

(The group is made up of Duckworth,Hines and the estate of Michael Barranco.)

Also, Neel-Schaffer Engineering complet-ed a traffic-study of the area. It will be usedby state officials to determine if traffic lightscan be installed at the development’sEastover Drive entrance and at the Eastoverand I-55 north frontage road intersection.

Hines and Duckworth were noticeablypleased following the council meeting onAugust 15.

“This is one more step on the road that

we’ve been on since 2006,” Hines said.“There’s still a lot of work to do, but we’regoing to continue doing what we do.”

The next step is to draw up constructionplans and submit them to the city’s site planreview committee for approval.Construction could begin early next year,pending the city’s granting of a permit. Ifconstruction begins in the spring, it will becompleted by late 2013 or early 2014.

The development will be located on 21acres at the northeastern corner of Eastoverand the I-55 frontage road. It is north of the

See District at Eastover, Page 18A

The 25th annual Gluckstadt GermanFest is scheduled forSeptember 25 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at St. Joseph CatholicChurch. Admission and parking are free. The festival willinclude German food and folk music, Bavarian horse-drawnwagon rides, a rock wall and an assortment of children’sgames. A country store will offer German items, t-shirts and

foods. Festival-goers may wish to bring a lawn chair but nocoolers or solicitors will be allowed on the grounds, andplease, no pets. Packing the sauerkraut are (from left)Carolyn Howard, Mindy Fertitta, Billy Endris, Libby Perian,Joe Forsythe, Ivan Cunningham. For more information visitwww.stjosephgluckstadt.com.

By KATIE EUBANKSSun Staff Writer

MORE THAN 30 YEARS AGO,David Adams went on a rafting trip thesummer after his seventh-grade year atJackson Academy (JA).

Now Adams’ son and daughter haveboth gone on the same trip, with thesame coach and teacher. Ray Higgins hastaught at JA for 37 years and is now pro-viding fun, adventure and Christian min-istry for a second generation of JA stu-dents each summer.

“My son went two years ago, and mydaughter went this year. It’s a JA thing.

Just about every kid in the whole classgoes,” Adams said. “But it was real spe-cial to me because I went on it.”

Adams counts Higgins - a social stud-ies teacher and cross-country and basket-ball coach at JA - as a strong influenceon himself and his family.

“I grew up hunting and fishing andreally didn’t do a whole lot of hiking,camping or rafting,” he said. “[But] whenI got out of college, I hiked about 400miles in section trips on the AppalachianTrail because Coach Higgins introducedme to that kind of thing.

“So now I’m an avid rafter, camper

and hiker because of Ray Higgins, andnow my kids are too.”

Higgins says he came up with the ideafor the trip because he became aChristian at a Young Life camp.

“Young Life is a Christian organiza-tion that kind of takes you out and youhave a good time, and then they share theclaims of Christ with you. That’s what Iwanted to do with the kids at JA,”Higgins said.

“I went exploring out in NorthCarolina and found a fun place….I usedto have one van, and I’d get another adult

See Rafting Experience, Page 12A

Zoning hurdle cleared for major Eastover development

‘IT’S A JA THING’COACH HIGGINS USES ANNUAL RAFTING TRIP AS OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE CHRIST WITH STUDENTS

Coach Ray Higgins

Photos by Beth B

uckley

Page 2A Thursday, August 25, 2011

Page 3A

a conversation withBluntson on the city of Jackson

From shining shoes and teaching students,to serving as director of Henley-YoungJuvenile Justice Center, Frank Bluntson hashad a varied career. For the past threeyears, Bluntson has served as president ofthe Jackson City Council.

Bluntson, who represents Ward Four,recently spoke to Sun Staff Writer AnthonyWarren about the council, and offered hisopinion on public access gates, curfews,crime and the budget.

First of all, Avery Gardens is pushing toget permission from the city to install apublic access gate at its entrance. What isyour opinion on allowing public gates inthe city?

“I can answer the question before youeven finish asking it. I don’t see them as asegregation issue. People are really con-cerned about their neighborhoods and wantto protect their best interests. I live in the BelAir subdivision, a neighborhood that can’tbe gated because it has too many entrances.It’s not a good area for gates, but there are alot of people in my neighborhood who askme why we can’t have them. They’re con-cerned about people walking through theneighborhood or riding their bikes and talk-ing on their cell phones. That is how somecriminals decide which houses to breakinto.”

As president, have you gauged the feel-ings of other council members on thematter?

“I’ve talked to some of my colleagues andI know that (Councilman Tony) Yarber hasexpressed that he doesn’t have a problemwith them, at least that I know of. My othercolleague, (Ward One Councilman) QuentinWhitwell is spearheading the issue. I believe

(Ward Seven Councilwoman) MargaretBarrett-Simon would be the fourth vote weneed to get a public gates ordinance passed.”

For areas where gates don’t work, whatcan be done?

“Neighborhood associations should gettogether and come up with an idea to presentto the council. It might be something thecouncil will go for. I don’t advise this, butthe Woodhaven Homeowners Associationhas a very effective patrol system in place.Men and women in the neighborhood gettogether and patrol the neighborhood dayand night. Crime has gone down tremen-dously in terms of cars and homes beingbroken into and cars being stolen.”

Despite that success, you still wouldn’trecommend citizen patrols?

“No, I wouldn’t because there could be arisk involved, but it has been a very work-able solution for residents in Woodhaven.”

Kick-in burglaries are a big problem inNortheast Jackson. What can the councildo to address the issue?

“That’s an issue we continue to try andwork on. I believe this council should imple-ment a daytime and nighttime curfew. Onschool days, the curfew would run from 7a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It would give officers atool to deal with young people who are onthe street when they should be in school. Asyou know, the evening curfew would runfrom 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday throughThursday, and 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. Friday andSaturday. But this council hasn’t been able tomuster four votes to get it done.”

Why do you think that’s the case?

“Some members feel it violates the rightsof children to place curfew violators in thesame holding facility as juveniles who havemore serious violations. We’ve been doing itfor years and years, and haven’t had a prob-lem with it yet.”

Do you think most of the kick-ins onthe Northside have been committed byjuveniles?

“Yes. Most of the home invasions havebeen committed by people under the age of21. Another thing that is of real concern tothe council is that so many of our youngpeople are in possession of firearms.”

How can you get guns out of the handsof youth?

“A lot of times, juveniles get firearmsfrom house burglaries. I also fear that gunsare being taken from their parents’ homes.The reason is because we have parents whoare so careless about where they store theirfirearms. Parents should be totally responsi-ble when firearms are taken by youths andused in any way. Personally, in a lot of cases,judges are too lenient in dealing with youth.They should also get the parents involvedwith the punishment.”

I want to go back to the curfew for aminute. The council is now considering anew curfew ordinance. Can you give me astatus update on it?

“We are in the process of trying to find aseparate holding facility for status offenders,so they won’t have to be detained with moreserious violators.”

Once a new holding facility is found, do See Frank Bluntson, Page 17A

“I don’t see them as a

SEGREGATIONissue. People are really concerned

about their neighborhoods...”--Frank Bluntson


THE MISSISSIPPI HIGHWAY PATROLhas kicked off its annual campaign againstdrinking and driving with the motto, “StaySober or Get Pulled Over.”

In 2010, there were 231 Mississippi alcoholrelated fatalities, a disturbing number. Wedon’t really know if alcohol caused these acci-dents or not, but we do know one of the driv-ers was drinking.

For the one-third of Americans who don’tdrink, the legality of drinking and driving mustseem like an abomination. Indeed, alcoholconsumption even without a two-ton vehiclecauses untold wreckage of lives and humanmisery.

But two-thirds of Americans find moderatealcohol consumption a very pleasant aspect oflife. It enhances conviviality, allows one torelax after a hard week’s work and is good foryour health. Moderate alcohol consumptioncan reduce the risk of heart disease and senili-ty.

It was no less than Benjamin Franklin whowrote: “Behold the rain which descends fromheaven upon our vineyards, there it enters theroots of the vines, to be changed into wine, aconstant proof that God loves us, and loves tosee us happy.”

And of course, Jesus turned the water intowine.

The temperance battle has been one of thegreat social battles of our country. We tried toban alcohol, but failed. Now we keep anuneasy social truce over the liquid drug.

The American love-hate contradiction overalcohol couldn’t be clearer than in our DUIlaws. Drinking and driving is legal - but onlyup to a point.

The American Medical Association, at therequest of the Department of Transportation,originally deemed impaired driving to occur ata .15 blood alcohol level. Today, half that level- .08 - is considered impaired and illegal. Thehuman body hasn’t changed during that time,but Mothers Against Drunk Driving has sincebecome a powerful political force that nopolitician dares to question. Driving WhileIntoxicated has become Driving Under theInfluence. The range of acceptable drinkingand driving is much more narrow.

Meanwhile, there were 33,153 MississippiDUI arrests last year, an astounding number. IfDUIs were randomly distributed, every driverin the state would get at least one during hislifetime.

A COLORADO STUDY showed that 20percent of those arrested for DUIs had legalblood alcohol levels. The problem is that resid-ual alcohol in your mouth can distort theresults of the unreliable portable breathalyzerspolice often use to make an arrest.

Applying the Colorado study to Mississippi,6,500 innocent Mississippians are arrested forDUI each year. Many lack the knowledge ormoney to fight the charge and just plead guilty.

For the innocent, the personal cost of anundeserved DUI is immense: Lost reputations,job opportunities and the 90-day license sus-pensions. Car insurance rates skyrocket. ADUI often ends up costing $15,000.

If police followed the rules, they wouldnever give a breath test without waiting for atleast 20 minutes. But Mississippi police arenot that patient, especially when quotas needto be met and $30 million in fines is on theline.

Police often administer breath tests withoutprobable cause: red eyes, the smell of alcohol,weaving within your lane, a bad taillight, mak-ing a wide turn, and other vague and arbitraryreasons are often used by police as probablecause, even though they don’t stand up to judi-cial scrutiny.

Police are routinely asking, “Have you beendrinking?” even though drinking is a legalactivity. If you answer yes, count on being

tested. The police need to concentrate on drivers

displaying clearly erratic driving, slurredspeech and inability to walk straight - these arethe behaviors on which genuine probablecause should be based. These are the peoplewho are a danger on the road.

Then there is the infamous “sobriety fieldtest” where the police ask you to do variousacrobatic stunts. Studies show perfectly soberpeople fail this test half the time.

In its eagerness to battle drunk driving, theU.S. Supreme Court has carved out a specialplace for DUI enforcement, suspending manyof the typical civil rights protections affordedby the Constitution.

The clearest case of this is the road block,where drivers are detained for no probablecause. Many legal experts believe road blocksviolate the Fourth Amendment of the U.S.Constitution, which prohibits unreasonablesearch and seizure. In allowing road blocks forDUIs, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled sev-eral state supreme courts, which found them toviolate the rights embodied in state constitu-tions.

Legal experts on the Web say Mississippiand Georgia have the most backward DUIlaws in the nation.

For instance, in Mississippi blowing a .08 isautomatic proof of guilt, but blowing under a.08 does not prove you innocent. If you get onthe wrong side of an officer, which often canhappen just by protecting your rights, they canarrest you anyway, even if you are under thelimit. The state Legislature should fix this.

Current Mississippi law gives drivers theright to a blood test, but the statute is watereddown and police ignore it. Police should berequired to inform drivers that a more accuratetest is available. Then police should berequired to assist the driver in getting a bloodtest if they so choose. Any emergency roomcan do it. The more accurate blood test wouldfurther convict the guilty, but it would savethousands of innocent people from getting ahuge blight on their record.

Breath samples can be saved for later verifi-cation by an independent lab. The cost is aboutfive dollars. But under Mississippi law, thepolice do not have to save the samples. Inessence, they are allowed to destroy the veryevidence used to convict.

Like any profession, there are good policeand bad police. In this age of smart phones, itis simple to audio or video record your interac-

tion with police. Incredibly, dozens ofAmerican citizens have been arrested forrecording their encounters with police basedon outdated eavesdropping laws. TheLegislature needs to change this. Any citizenshould have the right to record his interactionwith police to ensure proper adherence to thelaw.

Research has shown that law-abiding citi-zens who go out to dinner on Saturday nightand have wine with dinner are not the cause ofalcohol related traffic deaths. The deaths arecaused by chronic alcoholic repeat offenders.These are the dangerous people who are weav-ing down the road and running red lights. Thepolice need to spend their time watching forthe true menace and not randomly stopping thetwo-thirds of Americans who like wine withdinner.

I HAVE NEVER GOTTEN a DUI. In fact,I’ve never gotten a speeding ticket nor been inan accident or been arrested for anything. But Ido like wine with dinner when I go to a nicerestaurant.

I was stopped once several years ago andtested with a breathalyzer. I passed easily, but Ican tell you the Ridgeland police officer didnot follow the law. He was the law breaker,not me.

When I asked the officer why he stoppedme, he said I was “weaving.” When I immedi-ately reacted with an incredulous, “What?” hesaid, “Well, weaving within your lane.”

The lanes on Old Canton Road are very nar-row, with a few feet on either side. The realreason he stopped me was I was driving a redconvertible late on Saturday night. That is anillegal stop, completely lacking in probablecause. This goes on all the time. TheLegislature should specify erratic driving, slur-ring of speech and stumbling as the only legiti-mate probable cause for DUI testing inMississippi.

If you must drink and drive, buy a breatha-lyzer and learn to use it. Some cost as little as$30. If you are above the legal limit, go havedessert. As a general rule, don’t consume morethan one drink an hour. When dining withfriends, pick a designated driver.

With 33,000 arrests each year, it’s high timethe state Legislature passed some basic meas-ures to protect its law-abiding citizens fromfalse DUI arrest. With fewer breath tests to doon law-abiding drivers, maybe the police couldkeep a better lookout for the real drunksswerving down the road.

Protect innocentwhile prosecuting

drunk driving

By WYATTEMMERICH

from the publisher

WHEN CONGRESS, withPresident Obama’s concurrence,enacted a one-year reduction in theSocial Security payroll tax, we knewthere would be efforts to extend itbeyond 2011.

The president himself wants to doso, arguing that it’s a way to pumpmoney into a still struggling economy.

The Social Security tax cut was afoolish move a year ago. It would bean even worse idea to extend it.

Social Security is one of the majordrivers of the nation’s financial woes.Now paying out more than it is col-lecting, Social Security is projected tobe insolvent within 25 years due tothe huge influx of baby-boomerretirees.

Supposedly, the $85 billion that thisyear’s tax break has cost the SocialSecurity trust fund will be reimbursedby Congress. Of course, that is $85billion that would be added to the fed-eral government’s unsustainable debtload.

At some point we have to deal withSocial Security’s long-term problems.Let’s at least not make them worsefor short-term political gain.

DELBERT HOSEMANN IS rightful-ly suspicious. Mississippi’s secretaryof state compiled a county-by-countytally of absentee ballots cast in theAugust 2 primaries, and the numbers

look inordinately high.Twenty counties had at least 10

percent of their ballots cast by absen-tee vote. Quitman County led the waywith 29 percent, followed byClaiborne and Grenada counties,both with 18 percent. Leflore andCarroll counties had 12 percent each.

Statewide, the percentage was sixpercent, three times higher than theabsentee ballot ratio during the presi-dential election of 2008.

These rising numbers are cause forconcern because absentee ballotsare wide open to fraud. All it takes isa dishonest candidate with a voterregistry, an ink pen and some “wit-nesses” who get paid by the numberof absentee ballots they deliver. It’s awhole lot easier to rig an election thatway than impersonating voters at thepolls, which has been the major focusof those who are keen on voter ID.

There has been a lot of exaggera-tion in recent years, from both sides,about voter ID. In November,Mississippi will get a chance to finallysettle the question in a statewide ref-erendum.We expect the initiative topass handily.

But we also expect it will do very lit-tle to reduce voter fraud, since voterID is not applicable to absentee bal-loting, where most of the shenani-gans occur.

Extending the payroll tax cutssends a message of irresponsibility

JACKSON MAYOR HARVEYJohnson’s face lights up with excitementwhen he talks about his proposed 2012budget that calls for no tax increase, nofurloughs, no layoffs, crucial infrastruc-ture funds, and a two percent pay raise forworkers. The presentations sound greatwithout any further details on how thisbudget will improve the entire city.

It is doubtful, however, that MayorJohnson actively sought and includedinput from Jackson City Council mem-bers in formulating his budget. Does thismean that the mayor wants council mem-bers to “rubber stamp” his budget?

While it is commendable to allocate tax

dollars to improve the downtown area, itis equally important to allocate tax dollarsto improve the various neighborhoodsthroughout the city. Good neighborhoodsmake good cities.

TAXPAYERS SHOULD urge theirCity Council representatives to re-exam-ine the priorities set forth in the mayor’sbudget to make sure that improvingneighborhoods is adequately addressed.

Hopefully, the mayor and council mem-bers will concur that by improving neigh-borhoods, you improve the entire city.

As a taxpayer, this writer appearedbefore the Jackson City Council onAugust 9, 2011 to urge the mayor andcouncil members to allocate additionalfunds to the Public Works Department.

These funds should be earmarked tohire adequate employees to correct prob-lems in our neighborhoods: cleaning andclearing debris from drainage ditches,responding promptly to requests to repairbroken drainage pipes that run throughhomeowners’ property, and repair dam-age problems promptly to avoid frequentflooding during heavy rains, to name afew.

City government works best when allelected officials do their job to ensure thatevery cent of taxpayers’ money is used toimprove the quality of life for everyone.

Mayor Johnson says he has done his jobby presenting a balanced budget to thecouncil. Now the council must do its jobby carefully scrutinizing the mayor’sbudget to ensure that it clearly focuses onneighborhood improvement throughoutthe city, in addition to other areas.

Samuel McGee, PresidentWoodhaven Homeowners’ Assn.

city beat

Jackson budgetneeds inputfrom council

BySAMUELMcGEE

Page 5A

IF HARRY POTTER moved to Ridgeland, the round-about at Highland Colony Parkway and Old AgencyRoad would give him no trouble. That’s because Harryhas a magic wand and can consult wizards. The rest ofus, based on observation, are puzzled by this infernaldevice. What is it, and what is it doing there?

Often, our roundabout is incorrectly called a traffic cir-cle. It is correctly called a roundabout, and it’s intendedto let traffic on intersecting streets turn right, go straight,or turn left without the presence of a traffic light.

What the roundabout really does, about one in everyfive times you use the thing, is combine with othermotorists to scare you half out of your wits.

That shouldn’t happen, but there are reasons why itdoes. A traffic circle is not the same as a roundabout(called a rotary in New England). In a traffic circle,entering vehicles have the right of way. In a roundabout,entering vehicles must yield to those in the circle. Oursis a roundabout, not a four-way stop.

At the roundabout near the municipal airport, a signputs matters succinctly: Traffic in the Circle Does NotStop. Which means you’d better.

So the first rule, boys and girls, is that you must with-out fail yield to vehicles already in the roundabout.Yielding will reduce correspondence with your insurancecarrier and can also aid digestion.

The second rule: traffic in U.S. roundabouts movescounterclockwise. Most of the time it does that in ours,though I once saw a Ridgeland driver going clockwise.How she did that, I don’t know. How she escaped acrash is a bigger mystery.

In Britain, where roundabouts were invented in the1950s by civil engineers already confused by having todrive on the wrong side of the road, traffic inside theroundabout goes clockwise. This is true of all round-abouts in countries where motorists drive on the left. Ifyou’re wondering, we drive on the right.

We must now address the Ridgeland roundabout’s two-lane design. The one at the airport has only one lane,making it nigh impossible to have a wreck once you’veagreed to yield. Two lanes add elements of danger andexcitement to the roundabout experience.

The danger stems from the two lanes of traffic enteringfrom both directions on the Parkway and from the easton Old Agency Road. If two lanes enter the roundabout,there must be two lanes in the roundabout, right? Right.

Suppose you are northbound on the Parkway and in theleft-hand lane entering the roundabout. You will nextfind yourself in the left-hand (inside) lane of the round-about’s circle. Sometimes there’s a vehicle beside you inthe right-hand lane. Making a right turn, as you can see,would be a mistake.

BUT LET’S SAY YOU wanted to go “straight,” tak-ing the second exit to continue north on the Parkway.This could also be problematic should the vehicle onyour right decide - unlawfully - that it wants to proceedto the third choice, westbound Old Agency Road insteadof continuing north. This traps you in the inside lane. Ifthis happens, do not panic, just roll your eyes and goaround for a second try.

Your lane mates should not do these things, but trustme, they will.

Lesson three, then, is to know where you want to exitthe roundabout and get into the correct lane before youenter. Changing lanes is made easier by Madison Countymotorists’ ingrained courtesy. Often, it requires nothingmore than a turn signal, coarse gestures, horn blowing,and the visible brandishing of a firearm.

Three of the four entries into the roundabout have fourlanes. The fourth, eastbound Old Agency Road, is a

two-lane two-way street at its roundabout entry. Allentries have an offshoot lane that permits a right turnbefore entering the roundabout. You can also turn rightfrom inside the roundabout. No one knows why.

Arrange your life so that you only need to turn right atthe roundabout, and you’ll stay a stress-free driver. Butgoing straight complicates matters, especially if you headwest on Old Agency. As you exit, the roundabout’s twolanes instantly become a one-lane street. An informativesign, erected perhaps by pranksters, says: Left LaneEnds. What it doesn’t tell you is that you are reading his-tory.

Inevitably, you will someday want to turn left. That is,enter the roundabout at the six o’clock position and cir-cle counterclockwise to exit at the nine o’clock position.To survive this without celestial intervention, enter theroundabout in the left (inside) lane. With luck and the co-operation of the other drivers, you can turn left whenyour exit appears without bending fenders.

Careful attention to what we’ve learned here, plus afew years of using the roundabout, should put you atease behind the wheel. If you remain uneasy, rememberthat France has about 30,000 roundabouts, half theworld’s supply, and the country has actually improved itsaccident rate.

If Pierre and Solange can do it, you can do it.Otherwise, seek help from Harry Potter.

William Jeanes is a Northsider.

Roundaboutoften becomes

a circle of terror

ByWILLIAMJEANES

view point

We Want Letters, Columns and Articles

The Northside Sun encourages readers to write letters andguest columns. Letters of diverse viewpoints are welcome.Just because a letter appears in the Sun does not imply aNorthside Sun endorsement. In the interest of freedom of thepress, we run many letters with which we strongly disagree.You can send letters to the Northside Sun, P.O. Box 16709,Jackson MS 39236. Or e-mail letters to [email protected]. Please e-mail or mail a photo if you can. All let-ters must be signed and we reserve the right to edit them.

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PUBLISHER: Wyatt EmmerichEDITOR: Jimmye Sweat

BUSINESS MANAGER: Dani PoeADVERTISING SALES: Melanie North, Katy Agnew,

Holly Dean, Amy Forsyth, Carly O’Bryant, Carley BakerGRAPHIC DESIGN: Wanda McCain, Mary Margaret Adcock

CIRCULATION: Dale Frazier, Dottie Cole, Jeff Cole, Keri HawkinsEDITORIAL: Anthony Warren, Katie Eubanks, Beth Buckley, Jo Ann WardPublished weekly on Thursday by Sunland Publishing Co., Inc. Officesat 246 Briarwood, Jackson, MS, 39206. Mailing address is P.O. Box16709, Jackson, MS, 39236. Phone is 601-957-1122. Subscription pricein Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties, $20 per year. Long distancerates vary slightly higher. Single copy price is 75 cents. Issues over amonth old are 75 cents. Periodical postage paid at Jackson, MS. The Sun

accepts no responsibility for unsolicited stories, artwork or photographs.Photos are filed according to the week they appear. Usually those thatare not published are not kept on file. If a stamped, self-addressed enve-lope is enclosed, we will try to return such photos, if possible. POST-MASTER: Send address changes to the Northside Sun, P.O. Box 16709,Jackson, MS, 39236. E-mail: sun@northside sun.com

northsidesunthe weekly

Dear Editor:Open letter to Judge Maurice Paul, Tallahassee,

Fla.Judge Paul, I write with reference to your order-

ing taking down the Ten Commandments in theDixie Court House: I guess it is not enough to seethe moral chaos of the United States since judgeshave ignored truth and claimed that it is againstthe law to acknowledge our Lord who has givenAmerica blessings unlimited and on whom ournation’s way of life was based. You judges whohave misdirected the law and misdirected anation’s beliefs may have a very unexpected timeat the judgement.

Mrs. Paul Hogue

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:



THANKS TO A SET OF golfclubs, a man police believe could beresponsible for a string of kick-inhouse burglaries on the Northside isnow behind bars.

On August 17, Jackson policenabbed Timotheus Brandon in con-nection with five kick-in burglaries,as well as several auto break-ins andan auto theft in Fondren.

The break-ins and auto theftoccurred last week, while the kick-inshave occurred in neighborhoods offof Old Canton Road throughout thesummer.

Brandon, 30, of Jackson, was beingheld at the Hinds County DetentionCenter last week. It was unclear ifbond had been set. He was beingcharged with felony house burglary,several counts of felony auto burglaryand one felony count of auto theft.Brandon was also being charged withone count of being a convicted felonin possession of a handgun.

The suspect was picked up byauthorities hours after he allegedlyattempted to sell clubs he had takenfrom a car on Ridgeway Street in theearly morning hours of August 16.

The clubs are owned by Jacksonattorney Jimmy Hall and were in theback of his 1995 Chevrolet Tahoe.The sports utility vehicle was parkedon the street in front of his home.

Precinct Four Cmdr. Wendell Wattssaid that on the afternoon of August17, Brandon walked into Play ItAgain Sports in Ridgeland to makesome quick cash.

Instead, a clerk behind the counternoticed something fishy and quicklycontacted authorities.

Two of the clubs were marked

“donor from the Country Club ofJackson.” The clerk contacted ChadDarby, the country club’s assistantgolf pro, and confirmed that theywere missing.

(Darby had contacted four Jackson-area sporting goods shops on theafternoon of August 16, after Halltold him the items had been taken.)

“I figured that’s where he (the sus-pect) would go,” Darby said. “He’dget a better price there than at a pawnshop.”

Hall’s set included the CountryClub donors, a friend’s Titleist driver,a putter and some wedges. Addinginsult to injury, the set belonging toHall’s nine-year-old son was alsotaken.

While the clerk was on the phone,Brandon apparently got wind of thesituation, grabbed a few of the stolenclubs, and nonchalantly walked outof the store.

Before Brandon could make aclean break though, the clerk got thesuspect’s tag number and a briefdescription, and called police.

The clerk “told us that they werealerted by the country club that theitems were stolen,” Watts said.Officers responded to the CountyLine Road corridor immediately, butwere initially unable to find the sus-pect.

Watts said a patrolman noticedBrandon’s vehicle around 8 o’clockthat night near the intersection ofBeasley Road and North State Street.

He said Brandon was sans theclubs, but in possession of itemsreported stolen from a kick-in burgla-ry that occurred on the same night asthe Ridgeway car break-ins.

Watts didn’t say where the kick-inoccurred.

Kick-ins have been a problem inFondren throughout the summer,being reported on July 5 in the 3000block of Kings Highway; July 12 onEast Hill Parkway; July 22 in the4700 block of Crane Boulevard; andon July 25 in the 4000 block ofGlenway Drive.

Watts believes Brandon is tied toeach of the incidents. “This solves allthe crimes in Fondren,” he said.

WHILE POLICE have madeheadway in the Fondren incidents,another set of kick-ins has croppedup on the east side of I-55 North.

Three such burglaries were report-ed in the Leftover neighborhood,with a break-in occurring onPinewood Street on August 8, andburglaries occurring on Douglas andEastwood drives on August 9.

An e-mail obtained by the Sun pro-vided details on the Douglas kick-in.

At approximately 12:45 that after-noon, an unidentified black maleentered a home in the 1700 block bykicking in the back door. A girl at thehome ran out of a side door to aneighbor’s house, where the neighborimmediately called 911.

“While it took only three to fiveminutes for the patrol to arrive, theburglar was able to grab a TV, cellphone and computer,” the e-mail stat-ed.

The suspect fled the scene in a sil-ver Honda, with dark, tinted win-dows.

Watts didn’t say what Brandon wasdriving. He also didn’t say whatstolen items had been recovered dur-ing the arrest.

Information was not immediatelyavailable on the Pinewood orEastwood incidents.

Golf clubs lead to arrest


MONTHLY FEES FOR 911 SERVICE in MadisonCounty have increased slightly to cover the cost ofadditional dispatchers.

The board of supervisors approved the increaseAugust 8.

“The main thing is, we’ve increased the number of911 dispatchers across the county. It takes more peopleto run the 911 system now,” said Madison CountyEmergency Management Director Butch Hammack.

Fees have increased 20 cents per month for each resi-dential phone line and 40 cents for each business line.

Hammack also noted that 911 parts and equipmentcost more than they used to and that Madison Countyhad previously charged comparatively low fees for along time.

“I think we were one of the last counties in the stateto raise our rates.”

He said the county provides 911 service in all itscities and unincorporated areas and maintains the 911equipment used by municipal police departments. “Andthat’s what the money is used for. It costs money tohave the maps updated on a regular basis. MadisonCounty is growing by leaps and bounds, and what youhad last week might not be good this week.”

Interim County Administrator Brad Sellers said statelaw requires phone companies to bill residents andbusinesses for 911 service.

“All the billing is through the phone companies, andthe phone company remits a certain amount to thecounty,” Sellers said.

Officials estimated that the fee increase could bringin $250,000 more per year.

911MONTHLY FEES FORSERVICE INCREASINGTO COVER STAFF

Arts and lectureMillsaps College Arts and Lecture

Series will feature Brunson Green, pro-ducer of the movie “The Help,”September 13, 7 p.m., in the AcademicComplex Recital Hall. For information

on this program and season tickets forthe series call 601-974-1132 or visitwww.millsaps.edu.

Barbershop harmonyThe Jackson Chapter of Barbershop

Harmony meets Tuesday nights, 7 p.m.,at North Park Presbyterian Church at

the corner of Northside Drive and OldCanton Road.

Support groupThe Metro Jackson Parkinson’s

Support Group meets every firstTuesday, 2 p.m., at RedeemerPresbyterian Church.

.Jennifer Long was recent-ly inducted into the 2011Class of Fellows by theAmerican Academy ofOrthotists and Prosthetists(AAOP). A certified ortho-tist/prosthetist at MethodistOrthotics and Prosthetics in

Flowood, Long is one ofonly 12 people in the nationto receive the distinction thisyear.

Mad Genius continues toincrease their work in therealm of social media, mostrecently adding managementof the nationwide LouisianaHot Sauce Facebook page totheir portfolio.

Page 7A

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get thoughtful, timely solutions. It’s those personal touches, going above and

beyond, that I couldn’t get anywhere else.”

For personalized service that transcends traditional banking roles, call

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Sears Hometown Store, Byram


NORTHSIDERS looking for ethanol-free gas have fewlocal choices where they can fill up.

And thanks to a federal law passed in 2005, there willlikely be fewer stations to buy pure gas from in the future.

Based on information provided by two Web sites, pure-gas.com and buyrealgas.org, there are four spots to buyethanol-free fuel in the capital city and six spots to buy itnear the Ross Barnett Reservoir.

For boaters and others with small-engine crafts, havinglocal locations to fill up is good news.

Jackie Smith, service manager for Smith’s Marine Sales,said ethanol-based fuels wreak havoc on small engines. “Itdeteriorates rubber hoses and components of rubber in fuelfilters,”he said. “It causes hoses to rupture and particles togo through the system.”

Smith said about five out of 10 repair jobs that comeinto the Ridgeland shop are ethanol-related. “Here lately,we’ve been seeing a good bit of it,” he said. “People askwhere they can get good gas, and I tell them there are not alot of places.”

Ethanol can also cause small engines to tear up as aresult of “phase separation.” Smith said that happens whenethanol is left in a tank over time and fuel and water sepa-rate.

“Eventually, water gets on the bottom of the fuel tank.When water gets in the engine it tears it up,” he said.Solutions include using a water separator or ethanol sta-blizer, a substance that is poured into the gas tank, he said.

Congress created the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) aspart of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Under the act, the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) implemented regulations to ensure that all fuel soldin the United States contains a minimum volume ofrenewable fuel.

The goal was to decrease the nation’s dependence onforeign oil and to reduce air pollution related to fossilfuels. Ethanol is created from corn and other grains and isconsidered a renewable fuel source.

According to the EPA’s Web site, RFS regulationsrequired 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel to be blend-ed into gasoline by 2012. The laws were expanded furtherin 2007 to include diesel fuel as well. The volume ofrenewable fuel required to be blended into gasoline anddiesel also increased to 36 billion gallons by 2022.

Both measures were approved under President GeorgeW. Bush.

Dawn Young, a communications officer with the EPA’sdistrict office in Atlanta, didn’t know if gas producers hadreached the new mandate. She said the law doesn’t outlawthe sale of pure gas, but “requires a certain amount withethanol has to be produced.”

Stations selling pure gas in Jackson include Ward’sMedical Center Texaco at 2395 N. State St., Express Fuelsat 1006 Bailey Ave., Jackson Ice Company at 607 S.Jefferson St., and Anu Food Mart at 516 Cooper Rd.

Near the reservoir, spots to purchase the gas includePelahatchie Trading Post at 2363 Mississippi 471, andTommy’s Trading Post at 4238 Highway 43 North.

Pure gasoline hardto find in Jackson;soon to get harder

CROSSING HIGHWAY 51 at Jackson Street inRidgeland will soon be safer for joggers and cyclists.

The city will likely hire a contractor to install a pedes-trian push-button crossing at the intersection within thenext 30 days, Public Works Director Mike McCollumsaid.

McCollum said the public works department would alsoreplace the traffic signal heads at the intersection ofHighway 51 and McClellan Drive. The two projects,which he said were routine maintenance, should costabout $10,000 total and be complete in six weeks or so.

PEDESTRIANFRIENDLY

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RIDGELAND OFFICIALS ARE cutingcosts in several departments and will cover a$400,000 deficit with surplus funds after pre-senting the city’s proposed budget for fiscalyear 2012 last week.

No public comments were offered at thepublic budget hearing held at the meeting ofthe mayor and board of aldermen Tuesday,August 16. The budget will be adopted at theSeptember 6 meeting.

Vacancies in the fire department and policeadministration will not be filled, and “we’vecut some administrative costs that wouldinclude $10,000 to the library,” said DavidOverby, city clerk and director of finance andadministration.

“We take care of the library on the buildingand maintenance and utilities and so forth,and we make a payment to the MadisonCounty Library System. Last year we gave$102,500, and this year it’ll be $92,500,”Overby said.

The city is also giving the RidgelandChamber of Commerce $15,000 instead of$30,000.

“And of course all departments have cutdown on some travel and education costs,”he said.

“We probably had roughly about $900,000in cuts, but it doesn’t show up that muchbecause we’ve had increases in group insur-ance costs and things like that.”

THE $400,000 DEFICIT in the budgetwill be covered by money from the city’s $12million surplus fund, built up over years ofsaving.

Mayor Gene McGee has said Ridgelandhas a policy of not letting funds slip below a45 percent surplus.

The total amount in the city’s general fundfor this coming year - not including capitalprojects or utilities - is $20.7 million. Thegeneral fund covers things like police andfire, the street department, administration,recreation and the library.

The tighter budget also means that, like lastyear, Ridgeland won’t give any pay raises tocity employees.

The city of Madison will hold its publicbudget meeting September 6.

City cuts department coststo cover budget demands


PLANS TO close off a busy cut-through street in Eastover are coming tofruition.

The city of Jackson isnow reviewing plans toturn a portion ofRedbud Road into acul-de-sac.

The Greater EastoverNeighborhoodFoundation (GENF)submitted its construc-tion documents, as wellas a completed petitionfrom affected homeowners, to the city’sengineering department about two weeksago.

GENF Executive Director DanaRobertson said the foundation is nowawaiting feedback from the city to see ifthe plans need to be modified. Once thedocuments are signed off on, the founda-tion will find a contractor.

The proposal calls for cutting offRedbud’s entrance at Ridgewood Roadand turning it into a cul-de-sac. Fromthere, the foundation will continue thefence and sidewalk that already goes

along Ridgewood. Robertson said their goal was for the

completed product to appear as though ithad always been that way

The work is needed tocut out the through-traf-fic in an effort to makethe street safer forpedestrians and fami-lies.

The section ofRedbud locatedbetween Ridgewoodand Eastover Drive isused as a cut-throughby motorists hoping to

avoid the light at the Ridgewood-Eastover intersection located a couple ofhundred feet to the north, Robertson said.

The project is being paid for by theEastover foundation and Redbud resi-dents, who will benefit directly from theclosure. Property owners on the streethave been asked to pitch in to pay for theclosure.

“While the project benefits the entireneighborhood, certainly the residents ofRedbud will benefit the most becausethey will no longer bear the burden ofhigh speed traffic.”

Jackson reviewing plansto change Redbud Road

Page 9A

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LOOKING TO BUY PROPERTY inMadison County and help the countyrecoup its tax losses at the same time?

Just go to Canton on Monday, August29, for the annual tax auction.

Properties whose owners have continual-ly failed to pay ad valorem taxes and otherassessments will be sold to the highest bid-der.

You will need: 1) a completed tax saleapplication form, available at www.madi-son-co.com/taxcollector.php under “onlineforms”; 2) a buyer number from the officeof the tax collector; and 3) either a personalcheck made payable to Kay Pace, TaxCollector, Madison County, Mississippi; aVisa or Mastercard; or cash.

At press time, Madison County TaxCollector Kay Pace said there were 3,200parcels in the sale but some of the taxeswould be paid before the sale itself.

THE SALE WILL BE HELD at 9 a.m.

in the board of supervisors room in thecounty office complex at 146 W. CenterSt., and will begin with the sale of 13parcels located in the Parkway East PublicImprovement District (PID).

The parcels were originally one 219-acreparcel located east of Interstate 55 betweenMadison and Gluckstadt.

Property owners must pay extra assess-ments to help fund improvements in PIDs,so these assessments will be offered forsale along with the 2008-2010 ad valoremtaxes on the parcels. Maps of the propertieswill be available at the sale.

“Should there be no buyer for the taxeson any parcel in the course of a tax sale,the taxes are then struck to state, or sold tostate,” Pace said.

And one more thing: If you want copiesof your paid receipts, you must bring aself-addressed, stamped envelope.

“Otherwise, your balance sheet whichyou acquire before you leave the premisesof the tax sale will be considered your paidreceipts,” the tax collector’s Web site said.

Madison County schedulesdelinquent property tax sale

Page 11A

Rotary speakerWard One City Councilman Quentin Whitwell (center) spoke to the Rotary Club of NorthJackson at its weekly Tuesday luncheon at St. James Episcopal Church in Woodland Hills.Whitwell told the club, “Looking at the state of federal government, it sure is great to be incity politics.”He said his platform is the “Three R’s - reducing crime, recruiting business andrestoring accountability.” Whitwell painted a relatively harmonious picture of Jackson CityCouncil politics. “I don’t know anyone at city hall who doesn’t have the interest of the cityat heart. They all come from different backgrounds, but they’re honest people.”Whitwellhad a few complaints. “Lots of things are showing up on the agenda without a lot ofadvance information.” And one week the mayor showed up with a new car that was pur-chased through the police budget. “Ward One probably feels more disenfranchised thanany other ward,”Whitwell said, noting, however, that Ward One is now 37 percent AfricanAmerican. Whitwell wants to get a solid gating ordinace passed and wants an overlay dis-trict that mimicks Ridgeland. “Ridgeland went from 57 percent occupancy to 80 percentjust because people saw the commitment. We need a comprehensive look at zoning.There have been some horrific things that have come out of the zoning committee.”Whitwell has been involved in preventing unauthorized sale of animals in parking lots. Heis also interested in an ordinance that will allow “food trucks”the right to operate. “Wehave a lot of young entrepreneurs who want to get into the food business. It costs$750,000 to open a restaurant but only $75,000 to get into the food truck business.”Whitwell said he has a good relationship with the mayor. “We don’t always agree, but weare cordial and his door is open when I need it.”He is shown with Rotary ProgramChairman Jeff Adcock (left) and Rotary President Don Roberts (right).


With the completion of a 42-acre lake inMadison two neighborhoods won’t have toworry as much about flooding.

Madison Public Works Director DensonRobinson said crews are hauling off excessdirt and planting grass at the lake, locatedoff Madison Avenue close to CrawfordStreet.

The lake - technically two lakes thatfunction as one, with a dam and dischargestructure - was designed to alleviate flood-ing in nearby neighborhoods includingSandalwood and Treasure Cove. ButRobinson said the lake will likely alsoserve a recreational purpose.

“Eventually we hope to have boating,but in the early stages probably just walk-ing around and fishing, with some trailsand such.”

The city worked for several years to getapproval from the Mississippi Departmentof Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and theCorps of Army Engineers before HemphillConstruction started work on the lake.

ABMB Engineering designed the project.The $1.2 million project was paid for out

of a $15 million bond taken out by the cityfor roads and other public improvements.

New Madison lake to helpprevent flooding completed;recreational use also planned

The lake is located off Madison Avenue


Continued from Page Oneor college student to go with me.”

Since then, the trip has grown to the pointwhere Higgins is taking 70 or 80 people ata time, including students’ fathers.

“I share Christ with the kids, and now Ialso share Christ with the dads.

“This summer, 25 or so dads went oneach trip [one trip for girls and one forboys]. I think they love being with their kidfor a week. And so the Lord has been great.

“I actually call my trips ‘outdoor plus.’ Ifyou look at a plus, it’s a cross. I wouldn’tbe doing these trips if I didn’t believe in avery big God, because I couldn’t do this bymyself.

“Hopefully I can do it a few more years,”the 61-year-old said. “It’s harder and harderto get out of that canyon…”

THE CANYON IN QUESTION isLittle River Canyon in Alabama, the firststop on the five-day trip, which includesrafting, “rock hopping,” hiking, swimming,waterfall-sliding, and a couple of nightsspent camping in the woods.

JA parent Robert Porch, who went on thetrip in the summer of 1980, said he hopesHiggins can hold out a few more years.Two of Porch’s three children have gone onthe trip so far, and “I have a fifth-grade littleboy. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

But Porch admits that even he has a hardtime keeping up with Higgins on the recenttrips.

“I don’t know how he does it. I had tohave an Advil every morning just to keepgoing.”

Adams agreed: “I tell you what, hewears everybody out…He’s got to be insome of the best shape I’ve ever seen in aman his age.”

But Higgins isn’t just strong physically,

Adams said.“Growing up in Mississippi, it’s hard for

us not to run into a Christian somewhere,but he is a very strong Christian man.

“He and his friend Bubba Cox were bothstrong Christian influences in my life, andRay has continued to be a Christian influ-ence in my household.”

That influence starts with the seventh-

graders, many of whom go on the trip againin high school to serve as mentors for thosejust a few years behind them.

“[Seventh grade] is one of the most influ-ence-able ages,” Porch said. “The differ-ence between seventh grade and 10th gradeis like going from 25 years old to 35.

“[My older daughter] Caroline went onthe trip this summer and did a devotional

for the seventh-grade girls. I was proud thatshe ministered to these kids and witnessedto them and was a helper to them.”

Looking back over the past few decades,Higgins said it’s been special to have “abunch of guys like [Adams and Porch],”who went on the trip as students and arereturning with their kids.

“It’s been really fun.”

Rafting Experience

Little River Canyon is the first stop on the five-day trip for Jackson Academy seventh-graders

Art showMississippi State Hospital

will hold its annualSerendipity art exhibit andsilent auction September 1,11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.,Building 71 on campus. Formore information call 601-351-8018.

Bible studyA new Explorers Bible

Study ladies group will meetWednesdays, 9:30 to 11a.m., at Christ UnitedMethodist Church. Fordetails call Becky Howell at601-924-1373 or MarthaHolt at 601-956-1052.

Bear breakfastThe Jackson Zoo will

serve Breakfast With theBears, August 27, 7 a.m.$15 adult, $13 child,includes breakfast, activi-ties, and zoo admission forthe day. To register call 601-352-2580 or visit www.jack-sonzoo.org.Miriam Wilson Weems

Services were heldAugust 23 at the CathedralParish of Saint Andrew forMiriam Wilson Weems ofJackson.

Mrs. Weems died August20, leaving behind a largeand adoring following ofdogs, cats and wine lovers.

She was the wife ofTommy Weems and themother of Sam D.Knowlton III of Oxfordand Richard Baxter WilsonKnowlton of Little Rock,and the stepmother ofKelly Weems Wollfarth of Mandeville, La., Davis WeemsMitchell of Atlanta, and Caroline Weems Rushing ofAspen, Colo.

Mrs. Weems was an artist of note. Her paintings reflecther happy spirit and love of color - the brighter and morevivid the better. She was the featured artist for manyorganizations and her paintings are prized by all who ownthem. She provided the art for the Christmas cards of Sen.Thad Cochran on several occasions as well as ChancellorRobert Khayat of Ole Miss. She was the featured artist forArt for Heart, and in 2001 she was selected to provide theposter for Julilee Jam. A collection of her works was pub-lished in the book “Mostly Mississippi.”

She came into painting quite by accident: she was work-ing toward a bachelor’s degree at Ole Miss to help her inher love of interior decorating and was required to takesome painting courses. Instead of her taking the course,the course took her. Her first exhibition for her degree was“Hometown Hangouts,” and featured the local bars and soforth in Oxford. Her teachers said there had never been anexhibit so well attended nor so completely sold out. Latershe was presented in an exhibit by the UniversityMuseums under the instigation of Chancellor Khayat.

Mrs. Weems was born in Greenwood November 24,1941. Her parents were the late R. Baxter Wilson and thelate Katherine Owen Wilson. She attended the JacksonPublic Schools and was graduated from Murrah HighSchool in 1959. After a year at Agnes Scott College, shetransferred to the University of Mississippi where she wasgraduated in 1963. At Ole Miss, she was a member of ChiOmega sorority, a campus favorite, commander of AngelFlight, president of Mortar Board and vice president of theAssociated Women Students among many other honors.

In 1971, she was diagnosed with diabetes which she hadlived with for 40 years. In 2004, she was the special hon-oree at the Juvenile Diabetes Research FoundationCelebrity Monopoly Gala which raised $117,000. She wasa founding board member of the state chapter of theJDRF.

In Jackson, she was queen of the Junior League CarnivalBall in 1963 and in 2004 was named Sustainer of the Yearby the Junior League. She worked tirelessly for theAnimal Rescue League in Jackson and had founded theOxford Animal Rescue League. She was also the recipientof the Goodwill Industries Volunteer Services Award. Sheserved on the New Stage Board (chairing benefits and artshows), the Friends of the Library Board (again chairingbenefits), the Laurel Park Committee, and the board of theJackson Ole Miss Alumni Association. She was also anenthusiastic member of the Belhaven House and GardenClub as well as The Monday Club.

Mrs. Weems was one of the great characters of Jackson.The front porch of the home where she and Tommy livedwas a famous gathering spot where great stories (as wellas some lies) were freely swapped. She brought a beam oflight into every crowd. A friend said to her brother, “Shewas the most cheerful person I knew - much more cheer-ful than you.” One of her favorite activities was to go tothe Mayflower, sit in the front booth, and - between bites -greet everyone who came or went. And they all knew her.She was a communicant at St. Andrew’s Cathedral whereshe served as a greeter - and there should be no surprise inthat.

She adopted many fortunate dogs and - no doubt to thehorror of her late mother (if she had known of it) cats, too.And she helped to place many more.

In addition to her husband and children, she is survivedby her brother, Richard B. Wilson Jr., and his wife, LesterSenter Wilson, of Jackson, her sister-in-law BettyClarkson, also of Jackson, and her brother-in-law BobWeems of Oxford.

This is a quote from Miriam’s wishes: “In lieu of flow-ers, please adopt an unwanted pet from a local shelter.”Additionally, the family requests memorials be made tothe Mississippi Animal Rescue League, the OxfordLafayette Humane Society, ARF, CARA or to a favoritecharity.

Mrs. Arthur Hugo Richter Jr.Services were held August 21 at St. John’s United

Methodist Church in Greenwood for Mrs. Arthur HugoRichter Jr. (Minnie Magdelene Fox) of Greenwood. Mrs.Richter died August 18 at her home.

The Rev. Billy Rae Stonestreet, assisted by the Rev. BobbyWilliams, officiated.

Born January 27, 1922 in Charleston, Mrs. Richter waseducated in the Tallahatchie School System. She then attend-ed Delta State College (later to become Delta StateUniversity) where she received a degree in music education.During college, Mrs. Richter and her friends formed a popu-lar all girl dance band called the “The Litte Foxes” of whichshe served as the bandleader and saxophonist.

After marriage, she and Dr. Richter made their home inGreenwood where they were active in civic and churchaffairs. A charter member of St. John’s, she served as theoriginal choir director. She was a faithful member of theWallace Friendship Sunday School class. She also served onmany church committees.

She was a charter member of the Lebonte Women’s Club.She was also an active member of the Altrusa Club, theMatinee Musicale, the International Sewing Club and FourSeason Garden Club. Mrs. Richter was the choir director ofThe Waterford in Ridgeland where she lived her last threeyears.

Mrs. Richter loved to travel, cook, experience theater andloved all aspects of music. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren brought great joy to her life.

Survivors are her three children: Frances Richter Shields ofJackson, Linley Richter Milner (Philip) of Greenwood, andArthur Hugo ‘Ricky’ Richter III (Marguerite) of Knoxville;brother Claude Earl Fox of Charleston; seven grandchildrenincluding Mary Linley Sweat (Andrew) and KathleenO’Beirne (Ryan), both of Jackson; and seven great-grand-children.

Mrs. Richter was preceded in death by her parents Francesand Claude Fox of Charleston, and her husband of 62 years,Dr. Richter.

The family is grateful for the loving care of CatherineBraden and Ron Tharpe, Alice Cathey, Linda Walls,Kashaina Suddeth and Gina Truelock.

Memorial may be made to Beacon Harbor Group Homeor St. John’s United Methodist Church.

Pallbearers were Linley Richter, Earl Fox, Mike Fox,Harlan Fox, McLane Milner and William Gallaspy.

Burial was in Oddfellows Cemetery in Greenwood.

Page 13A

Obituaries

in memoriam

Northside

Sun

ObituaryThe Sun publishes

obituaries ofNorthsiders and

their families. Typically,

we receive obituary

information fromthe funeral

homes. For a small

charge, we invitereaders who are

so inclined to supplement this

with more descriptive text

capturing the spiritof the

person’s life.

For more information call 601-957-1122

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ANGLICANCHRIST THE SAVIOUR6014 Floral Dr., 209-5910HOLY APOSTLES3169 W. Tidewater Ln.Madison, 829-2113HOLY TRINITY (AMiA)604 Goodridge DrRidgeland, 601-956-1616ST. MICHAEL AND ALLANGELS12586 Midway,Raymond, 857-2545

ASSEMBLY OF GODRIVER OF LIFE 101 Parkway Rd.,Brandon, 919-1700

BAPTISTBRIARWOOD DRIVE 245 Briarwood Dr., 956-4561BROADMOOR BAPTIST1531 Highland Colony,Madison, 898-2345CALVARY BAPTIST1300 W. Capitol St., 354-1300CASTLEWOODS 175 Castlewoods Blvd., 992-9977COLONIAL HEIGHTS 444 Northpark DriveRidgeland, 956-5000CROSSGATES BAPTIST8 Crosswoods, Brandon, 825-2562FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF JACKSON431 N. State St., 949-1900FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF MADISON 2100 Main St., 856-6177FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OFRIDGELAND302 W. Jackson St., 856-6139FLOWOOD BAPTIST1649 Old Fannin Rd., Flowood,992-6464GREATER RICHMONDGROVE BAPTISTComplex Road, Ridgeland, 856-2209GREATER ROSS CHAPELBAPTISTGluckstadt Road, Madison, 856-8778HIGHLAND COLONY1200 H.C. Pkwy., Ridgeland,856-4031HORIZON COMMUNITYCHURCH4711 I-55 North, 982-8889MOUNT CHARITY964 Lake Harbour Dr.,Ridgeland, 956-1767MOUNT PLEASANT Gluckstadt Rd. Madison, 856-5862NEW HOPE GROVE Old Agency Rd., Madison, 856-5279NEW LIFE BAPTIST385 N. Old Canton Rd.,Madison, 209-9500NORTHMINSTER 3955 Ridgewood Rd., 982-4703PARKWAY BAPTIST802 N. Frontage Rd., Clinton,924-9912PEAR ORCHARD 5725 Pear Orchard Rd., 957-2086PILGRIM’S REST BAPTIST409 Main St., Madison, 856-2609PINELAKE BAPTISTLakeland DriveRIDGECREST BAPTIST7469 Old Canton Rd., Madison,853-1090RIDLEY HILL BAPTIST1034 N. Livingston Rd.,Madison, 853-1068RIVERCREST FELLOWSHIP21 Northtown Dr., 991-0046ROCKY HILL BAPTISTRocky Hill Rd., Madison, 856-0759SIMON HILL BAPTIST139 W. Ridgeland, Ridgeland,853-2669TRACE RIDGE BAPTIST238 Lake Harbour Dr.,Ridgeland, 856-2529

BAPTIST (Cont.)TWIN LAKES BAPTIST673 Lake Cavalier Rd.,Madison, 856-2305VICTORY BAPTIST420 Hoy Rd., Madison, 856-4260WOODLAND HILLS BAPTIST3327 Old Canton Rd., 981-1441WOODMAN HILLS MB468 Kearney Park Rd., Flora,879-8347GREATER MT. MORIAH3672 Medgar Evers Blvd.362-9088

BIBLEGRACE BIBLE CHURCH380 Highland Colony Pkwy.991-1910RIVERWOOD BIBLE5228 Old Canton Rd., 956-5694

CATHOLICST. FRANCIS OF ASSISICATHOLIC4000 W. Tidewater Ln.,Madison, 856-5556ST. PETER’S CATHOLIC123 N. West St., 969-3125ST. RICHARD CATHOLIC1242 Lynnwood Dr., 366-2335

CHRISTIANCOMMUNITY CHRISTIAN 543 Eldorado Rd., Pearl, 936-9618

DISCIPLES OF CHRISTFIRST CHRISTIAN645 Briarwood, 977-9477NORTHEAST CHRISTIAN 3169 W. Tidewater Ln.,Madison, 856-7399UNITED CHRISTIAN1730 Florence Ave., Ridgeland,354-1177

CHRISTIAN SCIENCEFIRST CHURCH OF CHRISTSCIENTIST731 S. Pear Orchard Rd., Ste. 9, 952-0307

CHURCH OF CHRISTMEADOWBROOK CHURCHOF CHRIST4261 I-55 N., 362-5374SOUTH MADISON CHURCHOF CHRIST338 Lake Harbour Dr.,Ridgeland, 856-2165

CHURCH OF GODCHRISTWAY1501 Old Fannin Rd.992-7474COBBLESTONE CHURCH OFGOD444 Pebble Creek Dr.,Madison, 853-6910FIRST CHURCH OF GOD829 Hwy. 51 N., Madison, 856-0652

EPISCOPALCHAPEL OF THE CROSSEPISCOPAL674 Mannsdale Rd., Madison,856-2593ST. ALEXIS EPISCOPAL650 E. South St.stalexisjackson.orgST. ANDREW’S EPISCOPAL305 E. Capitol St., 354-1535ST. COLUMB’S EPISCOPAL550 Sunnybrook Rd.,Ridgeland, 853-0205ST. JAMES EPISCOPAL3921 Oakridge Dr., 982-4880ST. LUKE’S EPISCOPALCHURCHN. College, Brandon, 825-5836ST. PETER’S BY-THE-LAKEEPISCOPAL1954 Spillway Rd., Brandon,992-2691ST. PHILIP’S EPISCOPAL5400 Old Canton Rd., 956-5788

EPISCOPAL (Cont.)ST. STEPHEN’S REFORMEDEPISCOPAL5049 Lakeland Dr., 992-4317

JEWISHBETH ISRAELCONGREGATION5315 Old Canton Rd., 956-6215

LUTHERANASCENSION LUTHERANOld Canton Rd./E. County LineRd., 956-4263CHRIST LUTHERAN4423 I-55 North366-2055GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERANHwy. 25, 992-4752NATIVITY LUTHERAN495 Crossgates Blvd., Brandon,825-5125

METHODISTALDERSGATE UNITEDMETHODIST655 Beasley Rd. 366-6630ANDERSON UNITEDMETHODIST6205 Hanging Moss Rd., 982-3997BELLWETHER, Flowood JA Performing Arts CenterBRIARWOOD UMC320 Briarwood Dr., 956-4035BROADMEADOW UNITEDMETHODIST4419 Broadmeadow Dr., 366-1403CHRIST THE WAYFREE METHODIST978-3423CROSSGATES UMC23 Crossgates Dr., Brandon,825-8677CHRIST UNITED METHODIST6000 Old Canton Rd.,956-6974EAST JACKSON UMC855 S. Pear Orchard Rd., 957-0515EMMANUEL UNITEDMETHODIST100 Shands St., 372-9424FIRST INDEPENDENTMETHODIST CHURCH OFMADISON1556 Hwy. 51N, 672-1240FIRST UNITED METHODISTRidgeland, 856-6456GALLOWAY MEMORIALUNITED METHODIST305 N. Congress St., 353-9691MADISON UNITEDMETHODIST2050 Main St., Madison, 856-6058PARKWAY HILLS UNITED METHODIST1468 Highland Col. Pky.,Madison, 856-2733RIVERSIDE INDEPENDENTMETHODIST1127 Luckney RdFlowood, 919-8311ST. LUKE’S UNITEDMETHODIST621 Duling Ave., 362-6381ST. MARKS UNITEDMETHODIST400 Grants Ferry Rd., Brandon,922-2131ST. MATTHEW’S UNITEDMETHODIST7427 Old Canton Rd., Madison,856-9581WELLS CHURCH UNITED METHODIST2019 Bailey, 353-0658WESLEY BIBLICALSEMINARY CHAPEL787 E. Northside, 366-8880

NAZARENEFIRST CHURCH OF THENAZARENE5416 Lakeland Dr., Flowood,992-8680ORTHODOXST. PETER’S ORTHODOX180 St. Augustine Dr., Madison,856-3894HOLY TRINITY, ST JOHN THETHEOLOGIAN GREEKORTHODOX CHURCH5725 Pear Orchard Rd.,Jackson, 601-355-6325

PENTECOSTALAPOSTOLIC REVIVALCENTER-UPC301 W. Washington St.,Ridgeland, 856-2385DAVIS TEMPLE CHURCH OFGOD IN CHRIST1700 Dalton St., 969-9519FIRST PENTECOSTAL5000 I-55S, 373-9000LANDMARK CHURCHSpringridge Rd., 372-7761PARKWAY1620 Mannsdale Rd., Madison,853-2607

PRESBYTERIANBRIARWOOD PRESBYTERIAN620 Briarwood956-4553COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN4000 Ridgewood Rd981-7236FIRST PRESBYTERIAN1390 N. State, 353-8316FIRST PRESBYTERIANCHURCH OF MADISON7717 Old Canton Rd., 856-6625FONDREN PRESBYTERIAN3220 Old Canton Rd., 982-3232GRACE CHAPELHwy. 463, Madison, 856-7223HIGHLANDS PRESBYTERIAN1160 H.C. Pkwy., Ridgeland,853-0636LAKELAND PRESBYTERIAN 5212 Lakeland Drive, Brandon,992-2448LAKESIDE PRESBYTERIAN2070 Spillway Rd., Brandon,992-2835NORTH PARK PRESBYTERIAN4624 Old Canton Rd., 362-2886PEAR ORCHARD PRESBYTERIAN750 Pear Orchard Rd.,Ridgeland, 956-3283TRINITY PRESBYTERIAN5301 Old Canton Rd., 977-0774REDEEMER CHURCH640 E. Northside Dr., 362-9987

SEVENTH DAYADVENTISTCOLLEGE DRIVE ADVENTIST CHRISTIANCHURCH110 College Dr., Pearl664-1408

NON-DENOMINATIONALCALVARY CHAPEL109 Jetport Dr., Pearl, 932-9673CONGREGATION BEITLECHEM - MESSIANIC110 Jones Ln. Ste F, Flowood601-933-4913CORNERSTONE CHURCH2460 Terry Road, 371-3323RIDGELAND FAMILYCHURCHOld Agency Rd., Ridgeland,856-2101CHURCH TRIUMPHANT731 S. Pear Orchard, 977-0007UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST4872 N. State, 982-5919UNITY OF JACKSON4660 McWillie, 981-9412VINEYARD CHURCH600 Grants Ferry Rd., 919-1414

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Philippines 4:13

Jackson CrimeThe Jackson Police Department received

the following reports for:Old Canton Road, 5700 block, auto burgla-

ry, June 29;Old Canton Road, 6100 block, larceny,

Kangaroo Express, July 14;Old Canton Road, 6200 block, auto theft,

July 14;Old Canton Road, 6300 block, auto burgla-

ry, July 6;Old Canton Road, 6300 block, auto theft,

July 18;Old Canton Road, 6300 block, larceny, July

19;Old Square, 1400 block, auto burglary,

August 9;Old Square, 1400 block, larceny, June 23;Orchardview Drive, 5800 block, house bur-

glary, August 1;Peachtree Street, 1500 block, auto burglary,

July 6;Peachtree Street, 1500 block, business bur-

glary, Belhaven College, July 25;Peachtree Street, 1500 block, larceny, July

15;Peachtree Street, 1700 block, house burglary,

August 11;Pear Orchard Road, 6200 block, larceny,

August 15;Pimlico Place, 400 block, house burglary,

June 30;Pine Hill Drive, 4000 block, house burglary,

July 26;Poplar Boulevard, 1400 block, house burgla-

ry, July 6;Poplar Boulevard, 700 block, auto burglary,

July 17;Poplar Boulevard, 700 block, auto burglary,

July 5;

Quinn Street, 1100 block, auto burglary, July21;

Quinn Street, 1100 block, larceny, July 21;Rebecca Court, 3800 block, house burglary,

August 1;Rebecca Court, 3800 block, house burglary,

August 1;Reddoch Drive, 500 block, auto burglary,

June 25;Riderwood Drive, 100 block, house burgla-

ry, August 8;Ridgeway Street, 2100 block, larceny, July

5;Ridgewood Court Drive, 6300 block, auto

burglary, August 6;Ridgewood Court Drive, 6300 block, auto

burglary, August 7;Ridgewood Court Drive, 6300 block, busi-

ness burglary, Pacos Restaurant, July 14;Ridgewood Court Drive, 6300 block, larce-

ny, July 31;Ridgewood Court Drive, 6300 block, larce-

ny, July 5;Ridgewood Road, 3600 block, larceny, June

21;Ridgewood Road, 3700 block, larceny, June

28;Ridgewood Road, 3800 block, auto burglary,

August 11;Ridgewood Road, 5000 block, auto burglary,

August 4;Ridgewood Road, 5000 block, house burgla-

ry, June 21;Ridgewood Road, 5000 block, robbery -

individual, June 29;Ridgewood Road, 5100 block, auto theft,

July 2;Ridgewood Road, 5800 block, aggravated

assault, August 6;Ridgewood Road, 5800 block, auto burglary,

four counts, July 25;Ridgewood Road, 5800 block, auto theft,

July 15;Ridgewood Road, 5800 block, auto theft,

two counts, August 9;Ridgewood Road, 5800 block, house burgla-

ry, July 26;Ridgewood Road, 5800 block, house burgla-

ry, June 21;Ridgewood Road, 5800 block, house burgla-

ry, June 22;Ridgewood Road, 5800 block, larceny,

August 2;Ridgewood Road, 5800 block, larceny, July

13;Ridgewood Road, 5800 block, robbery - car-

jacking, July 15;Ridgewood Road, 5800 block, robbery -

individual, July 26;Ridgewood Road, 5800 block, robbery -

individual, July 5;Ridgewood Road, 5800 block, robbery -

individual, June 30;Ridgewood Road, 5900 block, house burgla-

ry, June 23;Ridgewood Road, 600 block, auto burglary,

July 31;Ridgewood Road, 6100 block, auto burglary,




June 29;Ridgewood Road, 6100 block, larceny, July

15;Ridgewood Road, 6200 block, larceny,

Arrow Wood Products, July 15;Ridgewood Road, 6300 block, auto burglary,

August 9;Ridgewood Road, 6300 block, larceny, July

12;Ridgewood Road, 6300 block, larceny, July

16;

Ridgewood Road, 6300 block, larceny, July21;

Ridgewood, 5000 block, auto theft, July 14;River Thames Place, 5400 block, larceny,

July 19;River Thames Road, 5300 block, auto bur-

glary, June 22;River Thames Road, 5400 block, auto bur-

glary, June 22;Riverside Drive, 2100 block, auto burglary,

June 29;Riverwood Drive, 1300 block, auto burglary,

June 25;Robin Drive, 4100 block, auto burglary, July

16;Robin Hood Road, 300 block, auto theft,

July 13;Rollingwood Drive, 100 block, auto burgla-

ry, June 22;Rollingwood Drive, 300 block, auto burgla-

ry, June 25;Rollingwood Drive, 500 block, auto burgla-

ry, June 25;Romany Drive, 5000 block, stolen license

plate, August 11;Romany Drive, 5200 block, auto burglary,

June 25;Roxbury Road, 3900 block, house burglary,

July 20;Sagecrest Avenue, 2300 block, larceny,

August 5;Sandalwood Place, 1600 block, larceny,

June 24;Sedgwick Drive, 5300 block, house burgla-

ry, July 25;Sheppard Road, 400 block, business burgla-

ry, July 13;Sheridan Drive, 4800 block, auto theft, June

25;Sheridan Drive, 4800 block, house burglary,

June 29;Sherwood Drive, 700 block, house burglary,

August 4;St. Andrews Drive, 300 block, auto burglary,

July 18.

Page 15A

Crime Reportnorthside facts

By PATRICIA LAND STEVENSSpecial to the Sun

KATHRYN STOCKETT’S fine novel, The Help, hasbeen made into a movie in theaters now. Remember thekey word “novel” - the book is a work of fiction contain-ing much truth, but emphatically not to betaken in total for historical fact.

I claim authority in this venue because Ilived the life and walked the walk of a house-wife with wonderful “help” in Jackson before,during, and following the 1960s. Stockett’snovel opens in 1962 and since she was born in1969, her knowledge of the 1960s is basedentirely on hearsay.

I write now because at almost 85 years ofage, few of my generation are left to testifyand it makes me mad and sad for the world tothink there were no voices among the whitepopulace of Jackson in opposition to the rantings of ourstate government officials and the local newspapers. I par-ticularly want Jackson’s young people to have as full apicture as possible with reference to attitudes and actionsby citizens of Jackson during the ’60s. Facts include thepresence of many white people in Jackson who believedcivil rights to be a “birthright “ for all Americans andworked to achieve long overdue racial justice - we weretoo few, not loud enough, but we were there.

JACKSON HAD a divided white community as well asa division between black and white. Within the whitecommunity we knew each other’s viewpoint on “theissue,” and although there were times when leaving townwould have given relief from the public utterances ofintolerance and hate, none of us had to leave town solelybecause we held a minority viewpoint - as the character,“Skeeter” in The Help feels is necessary. It is certainly truethat there was intimidation by leaders of the majority(white supremacist) group and many in the minority groupwere, understandably, reluctant to show their true colorsfor fear of economic or social reprisal or worse. My hus-band and I had clear beliefs in common and were fortu-nate in that we were supported in our beliefs by our fami-ly. Such support was often not the case.

Again, factually speaking, there have always been long-time and prominent citizens of the Deep South who havebeen sickened and frustrated by racial injustice, andworked in a variety of ways to create a better life for allcitizens - I document only several of these instances in aletter published in The New Yorker in 2003. Unfortunately,these citizens have always been in the minority. Brown V.Board of Education (1954) began to force long overduechange. I wish all of Mississippi’s white citizens couldhave earlier understood that racial justice was not only amoral and legal issue, but an economic necessity ifMississippi was to prosper.

REVERTING AGAIN to The Help - the author, likemany adults of her generation, seems to be unaware of themale and female white residents of Jackson in favor ofcivil rights for all people.

I was part of a group of Jackson women who werestrongly in favor of civil rights for all people, as well asother aspects of racial justice, to be achieved through non-violent means. Starting in 1962 at the instigation of one ofJackson’s leaders, and with the support of others, we metevery Friday in each other’s homes, primarily to keep oursanity. Our purposefully loosely organized group was opento all women who cared about the issue of racial justice,especially including good schools for all children. We

were a private group only in that we met together tostrengthen each other and desired no publicity. Many ofthe women were active in community affairs, but somehad more private interests. We exchanged information -we cried and we laughed whenever possible.

Most of these women lived in Northeast Jackson(Belhaven, Eastover, Woodland Hills and other neighbor-hoods) - and had family names you would recognize.Those very active in community affairs (Jackson’s female“movers and shakers” so to speak) included past presi-dents and board members of Jackson organizations such asthe symphony league, junior league, Mississippi Museumof Art, Mississippi Natural Science Museum, the parentteachers association of various schools (public and pri-vate), active members of Christian churches and TempleBeth Israel Congregation, as well as many other organiza-tions.

However, we met together as individuals who hadbeliefs in common, not as representatives of any of themany organizations to which we might belong. We sup-ported the goal of a just society through our individualinfluence within organizations and in many personal ways.

Although The Help gives little indication of any whitecitizens overtly supporting racial justice, there is muchtruth and fact in Stockett’s presentation of the plight of theAfrican-American domestic employees. I am filled withadmiration and appreciation for Stockett’s depiction ofthose specific African-American characters. I clearly rec-ognize them and and I marvel at Stockett’s ability to createsuch authenticity.

OUR FAMILY, like many others, was fortunate in hav-ing African-American domestic employees (“help”) duringthe ’60s, and as was often the case we developed richemotional ties with several of those employees. Now, in2011, long past the employee-employer relationship, wecontinue to enjoy true friendship, certainly including socialtimes together. These good friends of ours have the samequalities of dignity, intelligence, sensitivity they had whenthey became our employees long long ago.

Could I have asked these ladies (yes, ladies) to use onlya designated bathroom in our home or could I have setaside dishes solely for their use - by the way - when theycould spare time from taking care of our precious babies?But Stockett is right - there were many (but not all) peoplewho didn’t think of that dichotomy or of the hurt theywere inflicting.

Stockett knows her African-American “help” and I wishshe could have infused her female white characters withthat same authenticity. The majority of the white femalecharacters seem one dimensional. As indicated earlier, I dorecognize some of the viewpoints expressed, howeversome of those women are cast as community leaders and Ihave trouble with that scenario. There certainly werewomen in Jackson leadership positions who held racistbeliefs, yet I cannot imagine any women speaking to or

about their employees in such a rude unfeeling declasse(yes, “tacky”) way. I bow, however, to the memories ofsome of my younger friends who tell me that as childrenvisiting homes of some of their friends they heard whitewomen express themselves in the style used by Stockett.

CONVERSATION AT the bridge table inThe Help brings us to the Jackson JuniorLeague. Odd that Kathryn Stockett makes theleague into such a big deal. Then and nowmembership in any branch of the junior leaguerequires being willing and able to work. At age23, my first league work included regular atten-dance at a maternal and child health clinicwhere another new league member and I han-dled the immediate needs of babies, while alsoweighing, measuring, etc., them while theirmothers were being seen in the clinic - thereby

relieving skilled personnel previously doing that work.This clinic was located in Bethlehem Center which servedits African-American neighborhood adults and children.(Bethlehem Center continues to serve the community.)The Jackson Junior League, like most community organi-zations, is comprised of individuals, each with their ownviewpoint and ideas about what constitutes good for thecity of Jackson. As was true with all members, some ofmy favorite projects became reality and some I wanted didnot receive approval.

Stockett’s depiction of the Jackson Junior League showsher hearsay information was badly flawed. Once again Ican claim authority in fact versus Stockett’s fiction, as Iwas an active member of the league when The Help opensin 1962. Furthermore, a few years prior to that I had beeneditor of the very newsletter, The Tattler, which Stockettaccurately names but misunderstands, and which plays abackground role in The Help. The mission of any juniorleague group, then or now, is to seek to improve the fabricof any and all segments of community life. In Jackson in1962, that included useful projects within what was then amore separate African-American community. Was thatwork “patriarchal,” thereby flawed, by today’s standards?Possibly, but many of the projects accomplished good forthat community. A personal benefit for me was that, as anolder league member (approaching age 40) and throughboard memberships in joint projects, I became acquaintedwith distinguished leaders within the African-Americancommunity and this led to friendships.

SKEETER in The Help feels she must leave Jackson insearch of a better life. However, if Stockett had been deal-ing with fact instead of her milieu of fiction, Skeeter mighthave found congenial women and men and perhaps shewould have chosen to remain in Jackson and help make abetter city.

We grasp truth in many ways and often through fiction(think Eudora Welty’s marvelous stories, all fiction withclear truth).

Despite Stockett’s apparent gaps in knowledge regardingthe beliefs and activities of many white Jacksonians whosupported civil rights and deplored the “face” ofMississippi at that time, Stockett does present many of theshocking racial injustices of that and previous eras.

The Help is a fine novel that deals with a shameful, butreal period in American life.

Lest We Forget.

Patricia Stevens and her husband Phineas, now maketheir home in Asheville, N.C.

Many supported civil rights for all

“There certainly were women in Jackson leadershippositions who held racist beliefs, yet

I CANNOT IMAGINE ANY WOMEN

SPEAKING TO OR ABOUTtheir employees in such a rude unfeeling declasse way.”


Page 17A

Continued from page 3Ayou think the ordinancewill pass?

“It will. The facility willstill be managed by the juve-nile judge and JacksonPolice Department. The onlydifference is that they, thecurfew offenders, will beheld in a separate facility.”

You are now in your sec-ond term on the counciland you’ve had an oppor-tunity to work under twomayors. What’s the differ-ence between the twoadministrations?

“When you compare bothstyles, we as a council hadbetter relationships withdepartment heads in gettingthings done for our con-stituents under Melton thanwe do now. Melton allowedcouncil members to havetotal involvement with cityemployees to address prob-lems in their wards. Meltontold department heads toaddress it whenever we hada problem in our ward. Now,all concerns have to go tothe office of the mayor, andthat prohibits the councilfrom getting problems cor-rected. A lot of our con-stituents look at us and ask‘why did we vote for youwhen you told us you couldfix our problems and youcan’t?’”

What do you tell yourconstituents?

“It makes you feel badwhen they keep calling andyou tell them you can’t getsomething corrected. Wework under a strong mayorweak council form of gov-ernment. The mayor isresponsible for supervisingall employees, except thecity clerk.”

The budget hearings aregoing on now. What isyour top priority in draw-ing up the budget?

“I think we must clean thecity up, such as tearingdown burnt structures anddilapidated houses, andmowing overgrown grass. Ialso think we need to findmoney to do a better jobworking with the streets inJackson.”

Frank

Bluntson

Continued from Page Onebut “there will be no moretestimony.”

The court will then rulebased on the briefs andwhat’s called the bill ofexceptions: “a compilationof documentation of boardminutes, comments madebefore the board on thisissue by the public, theplanning and zoning com-mission’s minutes, just allkinds of documents,”Danks said.

“And there were a lot ofdocuments in this case.[The bill of exceptions isprobably] three or fourinches thick - now to askme why it’s called that, Icouldn’t tell you,” headded with a laugh.

Federation

Lawsuit

Continued from Page Onecurrent Mississippi School for the Blind campus.

The project will include around 550,000 square feet ofspace. The lion’s share will be set aside for retail, with200,000 going for shops and restaurants. Another 150,000square feet will be set aside for office and professional space,and between 70,000 and 80,000 square feet will be set asidefor residential. Plans also include a 100,000-square-foot, 125-room hotel; and a 45,000-square-foot specialty grocery store.

“Interest in office space has been significant,” Duckworthtold the council. “We hope to attract tenants that moved outof the city to move back in. We’ll possibly attract them fromCounty Line Road and other areas that are becoming moremature.”

Duckworth didn’t say what retailers are looking at thedevelopment.

THE COUNCIL voted unanimously to rezone theacreage from a neighborhood mixed-use district (NMU-1) toa community mixed-use district (CMU-1).

Residential uses permitted under NMU-1 include single-family attached dwellings,two-family dwellings, multi-family homes, bed and break-fasts, group homes for six orfewer residents, residential daycares and nursing homes.

On the commercial side, stu-dios and galleries, offices up to2,500 square feet, neighbor-hood restaurants open no laterthan 11 p.m, retail stores up to3,000 square feet of floor area,bars, taverns, cocktail loungesor micro breweries, and per-sonal and commercial services with up to 3,000 square feetof floor area.

Under CMU-1, all uses allowed under NMU-1 are permit-ted, but regulations also allow for larger retail and profession-al establishments. Regulations are also less strict on restau-rants.

Permitted uses include commercial day care centers, hotels,retail stores (excluding those selling firearms or explosives),larger than 3,000 square feet, offices with more than 2,500square feet of space, general restaurants and fast food restau-rants, colleges, health clubs, department stores, shopping cen-ters and theaters.

Property to the north and east of the site is zoned for sin-gle-family residential, and the area to the south is zoned C-2,for limited commercial use.

The council approved the measure following a recommen-dation for approval from the city’s planning and zoning staff.

Those voting in favor included Ward One CouncilmanQuentin Whitwell, and council members Frank Bluntson,

Charles Tillman, Tony Yarber andMargaret Barrett-Simon.

Councilmen Kenneth Stokes andChokwe Lumumba were absentfrom the meeting.

MEMBERS seemed confidentthat the project would be a success.“We’re going to bring in nationaltenants, I’m certain of it,” saidWhitwell. “This is great forJackson and Northeast Jackson.”

Tillman, who represents WardFive, urged Duckworth to take onprojects elsewhere in the city once

the District is finished. “There’s an old saying: ‘go westyoung man.’We want you to go to West Jackson,” he said.

Bluntson, who serves Ward Four, recommended a restau-rant for the establishment. “What we need is a Cheddar’s.You can hardly get in there,” he said.

Duckworth didn’t commit to bringing in the restaurant, butdid espouse confidence in the tenants the District will bringin. “We’ll have something like it or better,” he said.

DUCKWORTH, Hines and the late Michael Barrancobegan working on plans to develop the old blind school in2006. Earlier this year, Duckworth was notified theMississippi Department of Finance and Administration hadapproved his proposal to buy and develop the land.


District at Eastover

Eastover Dr.

Berkley D

r.

Mon

tros

e La

ne

Meadowbrook Rd.

I 55

N

Old Canton Rd.

Fron

tage

Rd.

The DistrictThe Districtat Eastoverat Eastover

“We hope to attract tenants that

MOVED OUTof the city to move back in. We’ll possibly

attract them from County Line Road and

other areas....”--Ted Duckworth

Page 19A

BEFORE HUSBAND Willard and I leftJackson for a trip to the coast, brother Alvinhad given us instructions on operating thetoilet onboard his boat. “When you’re sit-ting down, all you have to do to work thehead is push the button on a panel right infront of you,” Alvin advised. “Nudgedagainst your knee, to be specific.”

And now, with our Florida condo havingbeen rented to family members, we werestaying on Alvin’s boat, The Sunchaser, atGulf Shores. “If that doesn’t work,” he hadcontinued, “and the head stops up, there’s azit-zapper under the sink with a dial you

turn. Just be sure you don’t put anythinginappropriate in the toilet, like beer cans ordead fish and you probably won’t have touse the zapper.”

Once my husband and I were on boardthe boat, unpacked, and had eaten our din-ner, we settled in for the night. Willard onthe lower bunk, me on the top one.

For a short-legged person, it was a majorproduction to get down from the top bunk,use the head and climb back into the topberth. I got up to visit the facilities severaltimes during the night but being as howI’m very considerate of other people, I wasglad there had been no need to run the zap-per and possibly wake up my husband. Allsystems seemed to be in good workingorder.

To say the least, it had been a long night.The last time I woke up I made myself holdstill for about three hours and tried to thinkpleasant thoughts. One of them was the$7,500 houseboat I had found for sale onthe Internet. I pictured my husband and meslipping over blue-green waters while dol-phins frolicked in front of the boat, or sun-set cruising down Ole River while a tapedeck played Jimmy Buffet singing“Margaritaville.” Finally, around sixo’clock, I mentally anchored my house-boat, swung down from the bunk bed, andmade a beeline to the head.

THE FLUSH BUTTON made a bignoise when I pushed it. Water whirled, then

stopped. Nothing went down. More waterinched into the bottom of the toilet. Ireached under the sink, turned the dial onthe zit-zapper and waited. Water whirled. Iheard a noise like a cow pulling its leg outof a bog. Nothing happened. Water rosehalfway up the bowl.

It was at that moment that I smelled thecomforting aroma of coffee. Alvin and wifeBecky didn’t have a coffee pot on board, soWillard and I had bought them one with atimer, as a hostess gift.

I abandoned the dysfunctional zit-zapperfor a moment and woke my husband. “Ifyou run the zapper, I’ll pour us some cof-fee.”

Unfortunately, I had forgotten to removethe plastic cover from the inside of the newpot, so when I tried to pour the coffee, itran all over the kitchen counter and pooledonto the floor.

“Willard!” I called down from the galley.“I need some help cleaning up the coffee.”

“Because of my bad back, it’s not goodfor me to climb the steps any more than Ihave to,” he reminded me.

So I cleaned up the coffee mess alone,then went down the galley steps to our fourfoot wide stateroom with its two and a halffoot wide bunk beds.

“Did you run the zit-zapper?” I asked“I can’t bend over because of a bad back.

I think I’ll just go on up to the salon andrest my back,” he said.

I RAN THE ZAPPER.Water whirled, the toilet filled, but noth-

ing disappeared. At that point, it would

have come as no surprise to see a shark’sfin cutting through the brackish water. Iwas beginning to re-think houseboat.

I climbed the galley steps leading to thesalon. “Because of your bad back, I’lldrive, but we have to go to a hardwarestore … right now,” I said. “To buy a dip-per and a pail.”

While I went into the store, because of abad back, Willard had to wait in the car.

When I was done, I slid behind thewheel with my purchases.

“I’ve been thinking over your plan,”Willard said. “You know, $7,500 soundslike a really good deal on a used houseboatand we could probably resell it later. If wesell your car it might be something worthconsidering. And another thing. The cap-tain’s chair on a houseboat might be justthe thing for my bad back.”

I thought about the chores awaiting mein The Sunchaser’s stopped-up head.

“Oh, Willard,” I said, as I pulled out ofthe parking lot, with my purchases.

“I looked at the printout of that house-boat again, and I made a mistake. Youknow I’m number challenged, and I didn’tsee one of the zeroes,” I said. “The boatdoesn’t cost $7,500. It cost $75,000,” I lied.“But it still sounds like a good deal to me.”

Willard pushed the recline button on hiscar seat until he was almost horizontal.“The captain’s chair probably wouldn’t letfar enough down for my bad back,” hesaid.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Ithought, and mentally pulled the plug andsunk the houseboat.

Zapper flusheshouseboat idea

By LOTTIEBOGGAN

keeping up with lottie

Tribute dinnerThe Jackson Authenticity Tribute Dinner and Awards

Ceremony will salute Dr. Wallace Conerly and benefit theJackson Fire Department. August 30, at the JacksonConvention Center. Black tie optional. For details call 601-948-7575.

CF benefitThe Mississippi Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will host

“Jeans and Jewels,” August 26, 7 p.m., at the home of Dr.and Mrs. Gene Barrett. Event features music, wine tastingand auctions. $30.

Anniversary concertBeth Israel Congregation will celebrate their 150th

anniversary with a concert September 17, 8 p.m., at theJackson Convention Center. $30 tickets can be ordered atTicketmaster.com or at the Jackson Coliseum ticket officeat 601-353-0603.

happenings


Friends and family gathered recently in thehome of George Aarons to celebrate theengagement of Mary Margaret Miller andBarry White. Chan Patterson co-hosted theparty, which included a cooking lessontheme.

As guests arrived they were greeted withlibations and sticky ribs hot off the grill.After the cocktail hour, the group gathered inthe kitchen, where Patterson gave a cookinglesson on homemade pasta.

The bridal couple demonstrated crackingeggs, sifting flour, kneading dough andpressing pasta. After the lesson, dinnerincluded pasta bolgnese, fresh salad withhomemade croutons, French bread andItalian cream cake.

Guests received party souvenir recipebooks entitled, “Cooking with MaryMargaret and Barry,” which included recipesfor each of the dishes they enjoyed duringthe party.

The couple will be married October 1 atSt. Peter’s Cathedral.

Shown are scenes from the party.

Engagement celebrationMary Margaret Miller, Barry White treated with cooking lesson

Julie Markle, Shannon Blakely,Mary Margaret Miller

Barry White, Mary Margaret Miller, Chan Patterson, George Aaron

Sandra, Mary Margaret and Tommy Miller Jenny Berryhill, Sarah Markham

Ginger Raff, Noreen Bozeman, Lindsay Nichols

social news section BThursday, August 25, 2011

Page 2B Thursday, August 25, 2011

Weddings & EngagementsELIZABETH LEA Thomas and

Christopher Lee Bowers were wed on theevening of June 25 at St. John theEvangelist Catholic Church in Oxford.

The bride is the daughter or Mr. and Mrs.Elliott Frank Thomas Jr. The bridegroom isthe son of Mr. and Mrs. Randal LeeBowers of Shreveport.

Officiating the nuptial mass was FatherJoe Tonos. Music was presented byMelody Carol Eubank, soloist; AnnBoswell Johnson, cantor; Charles F. Miles,musician; and Betty B. Harness, organist.Readers of the sacred Scripture wereCollins Woodbury Johnson and KatherineHallene Reed.

Escorted by her father, the bride wore agown of candlelight of embellished ribbonlace over satin, adorned with seed beads,sequins and bugle beads. The slim silhou-ette featured a bodice with a sweetheartneckline closed in the back with coveredbuttons. From the waistline fell a trumpetskirt, flowing into a circular train. The fin-gertip veil was edged with appliquédadorned with pearled beading and sequins.The bride carried a rosary with her bouquetthat belonged to her father. The bride’sbouquet was hydrangea, roses, peonieshand wrapped with candlelight ribbon.

Mary Kathryn Thomas of Jackson wasmaid of honor. Bridesmaids were KathleenMae Ambose and Josephine Luck Clark ofNashville; Mary Katelyn Armstrong, SallyKathryn Hazard, Laura Kathryn House,Mary Alexandra McCaskill, Emily Clark

McLaurin, Melissa Banister Russell, andMary Brook Traxler of Jackson; JenniferHart Burke and Elisabeth Camille Maddoxof Memphis; Jessica Glynn Fort ofMeridian; Courtney Andree LaBorde ofBaton Rouge; Louise Wallace Nesbitt ofWashington, D.C.; Susan Grace Roberts ofHattiesburg; Marjorie Ann Sauer ofRidgeland; Katherine Nichols Sneed ofBirmingham; and Virginia CatherineYarber of Oxford. They wore gowns ofcoral pink organza with a V neckline andself-tie at the natural waist. They carriedbouquets of hydrangea, roses, and peonieshand wrapped with candlelight ribbon.

Junior bridesmaids were Anna BlakeLively and Mary Elizabeth Lively, both ofRogers, Ark. Flower girls were NatalyaElizabeth Salvo and Olivia Quinn Salvo,both of Jackson. The bride’s proxy wasMary-Crosby Turner of Nashville.Attendants were Ellon Christine Eubank ofMadison; and Mary Blair Johnson and TaraHallie Tighe of Jackson.

THE BRIDEGROOM’S brother, ChaseNathan Bowers of Shreveport, was bestman. Groomsmen were Kane RichardAlber, Robert Dudley Park Jr., and ThomasRobert Stephenson of Memphis; JasonDwanye Cook of Oxford; Ben JarvusGreen-Ellis of Lafayette; Don PaulHargroder Jr. of Abbeville, La.; GeorgeAndrew Helow of Jacksonville; DannyTerrell Jackson of Brandon; David ReidNeely of Nashville; Dean Justin Sparks of

New York; William Travers Tapp Jr. of St.Petersburg, Fla.; Elliott Frank Thomas IIIof Jackson; and David Lee Traxler III ofWest Hollywood, Calif. The ring bearerwas Christian Michael Hargroder ofAbbeville.

Following the ceremony, the bride’s par-ents hosted a reception at the Mary BuieMuseum, where the guests enjoyed a cock-tail buffet and were entertained by themusic of The Compozitions.

On the eve of the wedding, the bride-groom’s parents hosted a seated rehearsaldinner at the Mary Buie Museum. Prior tothe rehearsal, the bridal party was honoredat a luncheon at the Oxford-UniversityClub. Co-hostesses were Jennie Clark,Stacy Duff, Diane Hazard, Janet House,Suzy Mayer, Tammy McLaurin, DebbieMcCaskill, Anne Nesbitt, Cathey Russell,Betty Sauer, and Carol Sneed.

A wedding day brunch was held at the MClub Room in the Starnes Center on thecampus of the University of Mississippi.Co-hosts and hostesses were Messieurs andMesdames Rob Barefield, John Bolls,Mickey Crosby, Ian Cross, Billy Denny,Joe Durfey, Winston Gilbert, HowardGraham, Sam Jew, Bill Johnson, PeterKeyes, Mitch Monsour, Johnny Neely,Stump Russell, Fred Salvo, Larry Stacy,and Bo Tighe.

After a wedding trip to the Sun Palace inCancun, Mexico, the couple is at home inMemphis.

Elizabeth Thomas, Christopher Bowers wed

Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Lee Bowers

Page 3B

social news

Weddings & EngagementsMiss Smith, Montgomery

wed at Madison UMCMELANIE LAYNE Smith and Wilkins

Montgomery Crawford Jr. were united inmarriage September 11, 2010 at MadisonUnited Methodist Church. The 6 p.m. cere-mony was officiated by Rev. BillBarksdale.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs.Leland Somers Smith III of Madison. Thebridegroom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. WixCrawford of Holly Bluff.

Nuptial music was provided by DavidHarrison, organist; the MississippiWeddings String Trio; and Erin Gall, vocal-ist.

Escorted by her father, the bride wore agown of ivory Alencon lace and silk fash-ioned with a portrait sweetheart necklineand natural waistline sashed with a widesatin ribbon centered with hand-cut silkflowers and beads. The full A-line skirt ofsilk overlaid with English net and appliquesof Alencon swept into a chapel train. Herwalking length veil of illusion was edged inlace matching that of the gown. She carrieda rounded cluster of Eskimo roses,hydrangeas, lisianthus and freesia. Thestems were wrapped with a satin ribbon andaccented with her grandmother’s broachand handkerchief.

Maid of honor was Emily Henke.Bridesmaids were Laci McCulloch Bonner,Jessica Douglas, Meagan Felker, andcousins of the bride Jeanne Sill, KatherineVilutis and Sara Vilutis. They wore gownsof sage chiffon with ivory cummerbundwaistlines and softly gathered skirts. Theycarried clusters of green hydrangeas,lisianthus, green button poms and hyper-nicum berries.

Erin Elizabeth Palmertree, niece of thebridegroom, was flowergirl. The bride’sproxy was her cousin, Jennifer Lawrence.Program attendants were Ellie Wallace,Whitney Lehr Ray and Claire Wilson.

THE BRIDEGROOM’S father was bestman. Groomsmen were Matthew Horton,Stanton Lauderdale, Michael Monaghan,

David Ratcliff, Brent Sanders and LeeSmith, brother of the bride. Ushers wereAlex Crawford and Michael Crawford,cousins of the bridegroom; HarrisVanBuskirk and Luke Yeatman.

Following the ceremony the bride’s par-ents hosted a reception at The Old CapitolInn, where guests dined and danced to themusic of The Soul Outsiders. On the eve ofthe wedding, the bridegroom’s parentsentertained the wedding party and familywith a rehearsal dinner at the MississippiCrafts Center.

After a wedding trip to Antigua, the cou-ple is at home in Flowood.

Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins MontgomeryCrawford Jr.

Miss Gooch, Stephensonplan September 10 service

MR. AND MRS. James Steven Goochannounce the engagement of their daughter,April Marie Gooch, to Robert RaoulStephenson Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. RobertRaoul Stephenson Sr. of Southaven.

The bride-elect is the granddaughter ofMr. and Mrs. Rudy Ainsworth and the lateJames Hines Gooch of Pearl, and Mr. andMrs. Ronald Ward of Chesapeake, Va.

Miss Gooch was graduated from PearlHigh School in 2004 with honors and wasa member of the Pearl High School Hall ofFame and Super Scholars.

She was graduated with a bachelor’sdegree in nursing from Mississippi Collegewhere she was a member of Sigma ThetaTau International, Phi Theta Kappa, and theLaguna Social Tribe. She is a registerednurse in the well baby nursery at RiverOaks Hospital.

THE PROSPECTIVE bridegroom isthe grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs.Raymond Stephenson of Monticello, Ark.,and the late Mr. and Mrs. Berry Jackson ofDermott, Ark.

Stephenson was graduated as the salutato-rian of his high school class at S.B.E.C. in1991. He received his bachelor’s degree ofaccountancy from the University ofMississippi in 1994, where he was graduat-ed magna cum laude.

He received his juris doctor from theUniversity of Mississippi School of Lawwhere he was graduated cum laude in

1997. Stephenson is a partner in the lawfirm of Wilkins Tipton, P.A., of Jackson.

The couple will exchange vowsSeptember 10, at 2 p.m., at McLaurinHeights Baptist Church in Pearl with areception to follow at the Pearl CommunityRoom.

Robert Raoul Stephenson Jr., April Marie Gooch

Give a gift subscription to the Northside Sun for just $20 per year locally

Central MS Ole Miss ClubGroup meets at convention center

social news

George Tomlinson, Frank and Ann Kinard

James and Erika Berry, Lillie FlenorlTim Lawless, Lynn Bailey

Hap Farber, Mary Kathryn McKell, Wally Byrd

David Francis, Hap Farber, Randy Reed, Lee Zuddleston

Cary and Peyton Parks, Henry Michel Blake Smith, Kent and Ken Peters, Reeves Smith

The Central Mississippi Ole Miss Clubannual meeting was held recently at theJackson Convention Center.

Shown are scenes from the event.


Page 5B

I’VE STILL GOT succulents on my mind,even though the temperature has moderatedsomewhat. Outdoors, in a once-and-futurerock garden, and indoors, in a set of diverseblue and white pots in a west-facing sunnywindow sill - this is what I’m looking for. Inmy mind’s eye (the most delightful place todesign any garden), I can see the wide-petalled rosettes in red hues, in that window,and in trailing, spreading profusion in a hot,dusty series of small hills in a corner of thepicket fence garden. These would of coursebe green-gray, because they would be theones my mother taught me something aboutgrowing.

First, I needed to read more about soil forsucculents, to review what I knew. I was cer-tain that it must be lean in organic matter, onthe sandy side, with a well-drained mineralbase, where the water drained right throughit. If you are searching in stores for the rightprepared potting mix (you are an optimist), itwill be heavier than you would expect. A bagof soil mix, advertised for cactus, probablyhas too much lightweight woody material.Sand is heavy in comparison.

If you have a regular potting mix, create a50/50 blend of it mixed with sharp sand.Once you’ve planted your succulents, fertil-ize regularly throughout the active growingseasons of spring and summer, to make upfor the lack of fertility in the soil mix. Andplant succulents with other succulents, soyou don’t have to provide moist soil for any-thing.

OUTDOORS, IN THE rock garden thatworked for me for a while, and will again, Iworked in small pebbles and crumbled oys-ter shell. I’d have liked to have used granitegrit, a component of chicken feed, but Inever have enough of it for my baskets ofminiature daffodils.

In the pots indoors, I will make the same

kind of sharp rocky base, and follow thepractice I’ve learned the hard way with myred-headed cactus - water the first day of themonth. That may not be enough, but that’swhy you talk to your plants, so they can letyou know what’s missing. Having watchedtwo plants die, and not delay in the doing ofit, you rather know what to look for.

Oh, and before I forget: When you aretransplanting cactus or succulents, especiallyto pots indoors, their lives and yours will behappier if you make it a two-step process,especially if the decorative pot is somewhatlarger than the plant in its plastic small pot.Make up your lean, gritty soil mix, spreadsome on the bottom of the pot, place theplant in its original pot on this soil base, andfill in around the sides, really stuffing it in,leaving only a half inch at the top. Waterthoroughly, more on the outer portion. Dothis a couple of times over a week’s space.

Then see if you can lift the inner pot andfind a neat and perfect space waiting for theplant. Carefully take it out of the store con-tainer, and set it in the space. You may findkitchen tongs helpful in this process…espe-cially if you have chosen spiny cactus ratherthan smooth succulents.

Next, I’d need to find the plants.Succulents are not something I’d ever wantto order by mail. I’ve broken off fragileleaves just transporting them in the car. Whyshould I expect them to survive an airflight,even with the best of packing. So you justsimply watch.

And when you find them, buy them. Icouldn’t have bought them in that NewJersey nursery eight years ago, because I hada week left of travel and a six-hour planeflight, two changes. But last winter I couldhave….my husband was buying some hard-ware supplies when I spotted just the redcolor I wanted for indoors. There were onlyfour, when I needed five for a matched set,

and they were more expensive than I’d liked.But I regret it.

NOW I’M ALL SET - places to establishthese new plants, knowledge reviewed thor-oughly about how to treat them, patience towatch and search for the right plants to buy.Just one more segment of homework to do -what, exactly, am I looking for.

My mother, who grew these succulentswell, called them “hens and chicks,” and ifyou look at them growing, the small cheerfulrosettes creeping out from beneath the wingsof the mother plant, you will understandwhy. But I knew them both as echeveriasand sempervivums, and I wanted to knowmore.

So I went to my basic reference, a newbook in the Timber Press offerings last fall,“The Encyclopedia of Container Plants,” byRay Rogers, a daffodil-growing and garden-writer friend from New Jersey. Ray teams upwith photographer Rob Cardillo in many ofhis books, giving you blended text and pic-tures to inspire and to educate.

Ray’s given to a touch of irreverent whim-sy which lightens up a serious subject. Oneof the things he is serious about is indexes,and the proper Latin names. So I foundmyself searching through lovely pictures andinteresting text, but couldn’t quite sort out theecheverias and the sempervivums.

So I decided I’d just e-mail him and askhim to clarify the differences, and he did, bythe next afternoon, “in just a couple of sen-tences, please.”

This is what he explained: “Echeveriasbloom from leaf axils in the rosettes andsempervivums bloom at the rosette termi-nals. This means that the individual plants ofecheveria bloom and continue to grow,whereas individual plants of sempervivumbloom once and then die.” Very basic.

Does this mean I now know which I’m

looking for? Not necessarily, as Ray contin-ues.

“Here’s the gardening significance: beforethey direct their energy to producing theirdeathwish bloomstalk, Sempervivum ‘hens’produce a few or many smaller ‘chicks” thatwill carry on after the hens die. That meansthere are normally lots of sempervivums inyour garden - so many you can give someaway or toss them over the fence.Echeverias, on the other hand, produce theiroffspring, or ‘chicks,’ much more sparingly.Ergo: they cost more and you need to keepcloser tabs on them to make sure you keepthem around.”

Now I was ready to go back to the pic-tures. And what I learned was that I likedboth of them, and couldn’t see enough differ-ence in appearance to choose. Which is agood thing, because I likely won’t have achoice. When they show up as potted plantsin a local garden center, the labels, fromsome mass-production center in Florida, mayor (likely) may not say echeverias or semper-vivums, or the botanical class of crassulacae- maybe just “hens and chicks” or likely“succulents.”

But if you like its looks, since you nowknow how to plant and care for it (lean onsoil, stingy on water, regularly but with avery light hand on feeding), you can buywith every expectation of enjoyment.

Gardening Glimpses

By Mrs. Herman McKenzie

Jamaica Me Crazy

Denise and Eddie Streety, Mary Douglas

Hunter Gibson, Jesica Hulsman, Olga Abramovich

Brad Fowler, Stephanie Daniel Jeanann and Jason Reeves

Christie Freeman, Leslie Webb; (front) Jamie Jones, Meagan Hannah,Stephanie Bowering

Jamie Woods, Andy Quinn, Pam Magee

Kirk and Kim Erickson, Chris Henderson, Andrea Jones

Bradley and Allison Tyler, David and Kimberly Hughes, BJ and Kurt Rademacher

The American Cancer Society fund-raiser,Jamaica Me Crazy, was held recently at theMississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum.The event featured music by The Chill, a silentauction, ball drop, food and a cash bar.


social news


Cancer society holds fund-raiser

Jackie Clanton, Michelle Burns,Philip Grisham

To include an event, e-mail [email protected] by 5 p.m. Thursday

AAuugguusstt // SSeepptteemmbbeerr

SUNDAY FRIDAYMONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY SATURDAY



28 29 30 31 1 2 3��MDAH

History is Lunch��Rebel Club of

JacksonKickoff meeting

��Mississippi OperaChorus auditions

��Millsaps CollegeAuditions

��Jackson FireDepartment

Dinner, awards ceremony��Barbershop Harmony

Meeting

��Fondren districtFondren After 5

��MS State HospitalSerendipity

��Municipal Art GalleryArtists reception

��New Stage TheatreSeason ticket packet

��MS Farmers Market,Greater Belhaven

Market

4 5 6 7 8 9 10��MDAH

History is Lunch

��New Stage TheatreSeason ticket packet ��Jackson Zoo

Hours��SIDS

Support group��Parkinson’sSupport group

��Ridgeland GardenClub

Meeting

��Eudora Welty LibraryProduction

��CelticFest MSFestival

��MS Farmers Market,Greater Belhaven

Market��Old Capitol Museum

Civil War re-enactors��CelticFest MS

Festival

21 22 23 24 25 26 27��MDAH

History is Lunch��Eudora Welty House

Storytime

��Greater Jackson ArtsCouncil

Art exhibition ends today

��Ag museumHours

��MMAConcert

��Barbershop HarmonyMeeting

��Boy ScoutsDinner

��Municipal Art GalleryHours

��New Collectors ClubLive auction

��MS Cystic FibrosisFoundation

Jeans and Jewels

��MS Children’sMuseumApple art

��MS Farmers Market,��Eudora Welty Library

Book sale��SneakyFest

Outdoor music festival��Children’s hospital��Grace House benefit

Calendar the northsidesun

August 24, Wednesday• Mississippi Department of Archives and History program, Mississippi Main Street Association director Bob Wilson talks about current Main Street activities. Noon - 1 p.m. in the William Winter building.

• Eudora Welty House “Storytime on the Side Porch,” 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. 353-7762.August 25, Thursday• Municipal Art Gallery, 839 North State St., Gallery hours: Tuesday - Saturday,

9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Closed Mondays. Admission free. 601-960-1582.August 26, Friday• Mississippi Museum of Art hosts Art by Choice, an exhibition, sale and auction

of artworks to benefit the museum. 601-960-1515.• MS Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Jeans and Jewels, 7 p.m. in the home of

Dr. and Mrs. Gene Barrett. $30, music, wine tasting and auctions.August 27, Saturday• Mississippi Farmers Market and Greater Belhaven Market, corner of High and

Jefferson streets. Most Saturdays, 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. 601-359-1159.• SneakyFest Music by local and regional bands, activities for the family,

local food vendors, 2914 N. State St. 601-487-6349.• Enchanted Evening Under the Stars Gala, 7 - 10 p.m., home of Susan & Chip Triplett. Tickets $100. 601-984-5273. Friends of Children’s Hospital benefit.

• Mississippi Children’s Museum Apple Arts Stamping. 601-981-5469.• Jackson Friends of the Library book sale, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at Eudora Welty Library.• Saving Grace Benefit for Grace House. St. James Episcopal Church, 6 - 9 p.m.

$35 per person. 601-353-1038.August 28, Sunday• Mississippi Opera auditions for new chorus members at Mississippi College. For appointment e-mail [email protected] with chorus audition in the subject line.

August 29, Monday• Millsaps College invites middle and high-school actors to audition for the production of “Little Women.” 5 p.m. in room seven in the Christian Center. Ellen Burke, 717-552-3712.

August 30, Tuesday• Jackson Authenticity Tribute Dinner and Awards Ceremony benefit for the Jackson Fire Department, Jackson Convention Center. 601-948-7575.

August 31, Wednesday• MDAH program, Historic Jefferson College director Robin Person gives a

virtual tour of the HJC site. Noon - 1 p.m. in the William Winter building.• Rebel Club of Jackson fall kickoff meeting, 5:30 p.m. at Table 100 Conference

Center, Flowood. 601-949-04621.September 1, Thursday• Historic Fondren District Fondren After 5, the first Thursday of every month, 5 - 8 p.m.at participating merchants.

• MS State Hospital Serendipity art exhibit, silent auction, 11:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. 351-8018.• Municipal Art Gallery artists reception, 5 - 7 p.m. for VSA Mississippi art group. Showing through September, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Sundays and Mondays.

September 2, Friday• New Stage Theatre offers “Your Passport to a Theatrical Journey,” season ticket packet.www.newstagetheatre.com.

September 3, Saturday• Mississippi Farmers Market and Greater Belhaven Market, corner of High and

Jefferson streets. Most Saturdays, 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. 601-359-1159.September 4, Sunday• New Stage Theatre offers “Your Passport to a Theatrical Journey,” season ticket packet.www.newstagetheatre.com.

September 5, Monday• The Jackson Zoo is currently open daily 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.September 6, Tuesday• Sudden Infant Death Syndrome support group, first Tuesday of each month, 7 p.m. at River Oaks Hospital. 601-362-0242.

• Metro Jackson Parkinson’s support group meets every first Tuesday, 2 p.m. at Redeemer Presbyterian Church. 601-845-6340.

• Ridgeland Garden Club monthly meeting 11 a.m. at the Ridgeland Recreation Center at Old Trace Park. Emily George, 601-898-1902.

special daysHAPPY BIRTHDAY

August 25: Ann Gordy, Jennifer Passons, Henry Lyell, Valerie McClellan, Blake Peters,Tracey Rhoden, Ann Rueff, Evelyn Tackett, Belmont Trapp, Troy Weathersby Jr.,Howard Greer, Frances Noble, Cheryl Newman, Kathryn McDaniel. August 26: BethHosey, Jim Stanley, Lisa DeLoach Trotter, Gary Conley, Jessica Whitehead, JohnCountiss III, Ginny Foster, Jane Nichols, Jim Stanley, A.G. Nash, Katherine Vandemark,Amy Cleveland, Lauren Hensarling, Sarah Williams, Brian Emory, the Rev. J.B.Welborn. August 27: Sam W. Warren Jr., Clem Burwell, Leigh Robertson, Ralph Maisel,Ethel Anepohl, David Banks, Charles Carr, John Lever, Andrew Neely, Keller White,Nan Carney, Jennifer Hawkins, T.L. Sullivan, Zach Tickle, Steve Kowalski. August 28:Freeman Bennett, Virginia Allen, Beth Henry, Dawn Johnson, Esther Martin, ClaudeShuttleworth, Kathryn Sulser, Charles McNair, Elizabeth Dendy Hogan, Tim Lawing,Bob Magee, Mike O’Quin, Cathy Thornton, Gay Eatmon Phillips, Angela Pierce. August29: Shelvy Falvey, Beau Bishop, Frances Rogers, Avery Buffington, Kelsey Evans, BenHenry, Kenny Parker, Betty Scott, Eleanor Wells, James C. Spencer. August 30: IrmaEllis, Michelle Nielsen, Lake Tolbert, Peyton Foster, Sonny Berbett, Anne Cook, MelissaIrby, Taylor Kitchings, David Pittman, Debbie Royer, Gray Secrest, Ann Simpson, StellaWilliams. August 31: Margaret Collier, David Dogan, Amos Mitchim, Davis Magee,Marshall Brown, Virginia Carlton, Kirk Nelson, Will O’Mara, Kenneth Raigins, MarkWann, Christopher Reagan, Peggy Clower, Gary Beeland, James Bolen, Ray Dearman,David Lyle.

HAPPYANNIVERSARYAugust 26: Mr. and Mrs. Dudley H. White Jr., John and Linda Lange. August 28:

Danny and Jamie Collier. August 29: Becky and Winfred Lott. August 31: Amos andBobbie Mitchim, John O. and Pat Williams, Jackie and Pat Johnson, Judy and MikeFrascogna, Hamilton and Polly Ware, Longstreet and Elizabeth Minor.

To add your ‘Special Days’ call 601-977-8122, write to P.O. Box 16709, Jackson, MS 39236 or [email protected].

August / September events

Page 7B


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BAPTIST HEALTH Systems is shar-ing its 100th birthday this year with aspecial person. Mary Ormand HealdSterrett of Lexington, Va., the first babyborn at Baptist hospital on August 11,1911, turned 100 last Thursday.

Mrs. Sterrett’s son, Dr. Reid Sterrett,contacted Baptist earlier this month withthe information about his mother’s birth-day. “She’s a continual inspiration to usand she’s full of sage advice,” said Dr.Sterrett. According to Dr. Sterrett, hismother is still very active, balances herown check book and writes thank younotes with a great deal of detail. “She’ssharpest early in the morning,” he said.“Early to bed and early to rise is hermotto.”

Mrs. Sterrett also still displays a keensense of humor. In a telephone interviewwith her from her apartment within anassisted living community in Lexington,she commented that her secret for a longlife is to eat plenty of turnip greens. “Inever liked turnip greens, but I like tosay that,” she said.

“We are delighted to celebrate thisvery special occasion with Mrs.Sterrett,” said Barbie Sullivan, M.D.,executive medical director of womenservices at Baptist. “We are sending herflowers and a birthday gift along withour very best wishes for a memorableday.”

MRS. STERRETT’S birth is docu-mented in “A Tradition of Caring,” ahistory of Baptist published in 1991:

“…Mrs. Robert R. Sterrett (born MaryOrmand Heald), was born in the hospitalon August 11, 1911, reportedly the firstbaby to be born in the little facility… Atthe time, the hospital was so new thatthey had not acquired necessary equip-ment and did not have a bed for the firstbaby….the doctor who I am sure wasDr. Shands, as he was always theHealds’ family doctor, borrowed thelaundry basket to use as a bed…Mrs.Sterrett later wrote the hospital that thelegend surrounding her birth was sub-stantiated in 1932. The fact of her birthwas included in documents found in thecornerstone of one of the hospital’s earlybuildings. The document showed thatshe was given a five-dollar gold piece tocelebrate the occasion.”

“My doctor was Dr. Harley Shands,”she said. “He was my doctor for a longtime. When I went to college, I had tohave a physical and I went to his down-town office and he told me the day I wasborn was the hottest day he’d ever expe-rienced. He said, ‘I had to change shirtstwice!’”

Adding to the story is what Mrs.

Sterrett recently shared with her son.“She did tell me that Dr. Harley Shandswas the obstetrician. As a young adulthe told her that her mother was in laborfor four days and he finally decided hecouldn’t wait any longer.” The goldpiece from Baptist later played a verysignificant role. Dr. Sterrett said hismother told him she used it to buy atrain ticket to travel to Ole Miss for herfirst job as a librarian.

MRS. STERRETT grew up in

Jackson and attended Millsaps College.“I walked every step of the way,” shecommented. She then earned a master’sin library science from Carnegie Tech,now Carnegie Mellon University inPittsburg.

As a young adult during the GreatDepression, she was offered two jobs:one in Minot, N.D., and one inNaugatuck, Conn. Following her dad’sadvice that the climate would be betterin Naugatuck, she moved toConnecticut, where she later met herhusband, Robert Sterrett. Coincidentally,after completing a Ph.D. in chemistry,he also was offered jobs in Minot andNaugatuck. Fortunately, he, too, choseConnecticut, and was working at U.S.Rubber at the time they met through acommon friend on the library board.

They married on July 7, 1938, andspent their honeymoon traveling toKentucky, where her husband was from,and to Mississippi. Over the years oftheir marriage, she worked as a librarianoff and on as they moved around for herhusband’s jobs in Naugatuck; LittleFalls, N.J.; Woodbridge, Conn.; Hixson,Tenn.; and Dalton, Ga. Their marriageof 35 years ended in April of 1973 whenher husband died. She eventually settledin Lexington, Va., and has been a fixturethere ever since.

Mrs. Sterrett has two living sons, Reidand Dr. John Sterrett.

Baptist celebrates first baby

Mary Ormand Sterrett

Walk for diabetesThis year’s Walk for Diabetes will be held October 2. For more information call601-957-7878 or visit www.msdiabetes.org. Money raised by the DiabetesFoundation of Mississippi stays in the state to fund research, provide life-sav-ing services, education and emergency assistance, as well as to send childrento Camp Kandu. Shown are (from left) Alon Bee, Jackson walk honorary chair;Kandu kid Gracie and mother, Beth Biedenharn, holding mascot Sugar.

Jefferson-Jackson-Hamer dinnerDemocratic fund-raiser held at convention complex

Amy McLain, Tony and Melissa DiFatta

Anne Welch, Ben Herring, Peyton Smith, Mark McClinton, Jessica MaloneCarrie Logan, Nancy Steen, Mike Adelman

Harvey Johnson, Brown Miller Laura and Jan Hackney, Nita Denicola

Andrew and Kate McMillin

Political strategist James Carville was thekeynote speaker at the MississippiDemocratic Party’s 31st annual fund-raiser.The Jefferson-Jackson-Hamer Dinner washeld at the Jackson Convention Complex.

The dinner was a chance for party mem-

bers to meet candidates and office holders.House Speaker Billy McCoy, who is retir-

ing this year, was also honored during thedinner.


social newsPage 9B

Flashback to the ’80sStorytellers Ball held at arts center

Lauren Garrick, Dea Hamett, Carmen Keys

Peter Clark, Ann and Claire Whitehurst

Susan Margaret Barrett, Scott Johnson, Melvin and Monique Davis

Dawn and Larry Brewer

Susan Riley, Sherry Downs, Sondra WaldropFreida Lauderdale, Lisa Ratzlaff

Abby Berry, Lauren Welford, Mary Clift Abdalla

Brenda Difatta, Gina and Michael O’Connell

Brian and Donna Sims

Ray and Susan Riley

Carrie Tilley, Byron Flowers

Becky and David Cummings

Ann and Ben Seale

Erica and Johnathan Smith, Phoebe Smith Porter, (seated) Phoebe Smith

The sixth annual StorytellersBall, “Flashback to the ’80s,”was held recently at the ArtsCenter of Mississippi. The eventis a fund-raiser for the arts cen-ter.

Shown are scenes from theball.

social news

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Page 11B

To advertise in the Northside Sun, call 601-977-0470

social news

VOLUNTEERS

The Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership marshaled hole number one during the Viking Classic. Volunteers included (from left, back) Melissa Killingworth, Ashley Varnes, Andee Hinton, Tony Meyers, Virginia Hodges,

Jamie Woods, Cynthia Caine; (front) Erin Mitchell, Sherie Dean.

Book saleJackson Friends of the Library will

hold a book sale August 27, 10 a.m. to2 p.m., at the Eudora Welty Library.For details call 601-968-5828.

Hawk watchJackson Audubon Society’s annual

hawk migration watch will beSeptember 17, 9 a.m. to noon, atVicksburg Military Park. Park entrance

fee, $8. For details call 601-956-7444.

Rebel kickoffThe Rebel Club of Jackson will hold

their fall kickoff meeting August 31,5:30 p.m., at Table 100 ConferenceCenter in Flowood. For details call601-949-4621.

Retirement classMillsaps College Community

Enrichment Series will offer a planningfor retirement class beginningSeptember 6 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Cost$69. To register call 601-974-1130 orvisit www.millsaps.edu.

Tri-Delta eventJackson area Delta Delta Delta alum-

nae are planning Deltas After Dark,September 8 at the Treehouse. Formore information contact Betty LynnFreeman at [email protected].


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social news

Greatest giftCommittee members plan for The Greatest Gift Concert, afund-raiser for The Christmas Village. The concert, featuringartists Dorothy Moore, Guy Hovis, Sam and Mary Haskell,and Georgia Thomas, will be held December 16 at theBelhaven University Center For the Arts. Tickets go on salethrough the Belhaven ticket office on November 1. Shownare (from left, back) Candi Talley, Rebecca Sharpe, Lisa Ray,

Jan Stringer, Britton Hatman, Jennifer Rhea, Miranda Creely,Amanda Burton, Deborah Meadors, Sharon Tew; (front)Connie Phillips, Carolyn Ragsdale, Beth Kellogg, Michaeland Brenda VanVelkinburgh, Connie Knox. Not pictured:Fannie Green, Carolyn Jefferson, Kim Mitchell, Patricia Eaves,Beverly Robinson, Steve Colston, Karen Lyon, Opal Croke,Carley Jeffcoat, Melinda King, Kim Lyle, Ann Barnes.

happenings

Page 13B

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Rafting in GeorgiaRising eighth-grade girls from JacksonAcademy and their dads recently went ona rafting trip to North Georgia. This is anannual event led by Coach Ray Higginsfor more than 25 years. Enjoying the tripare (from left, back) Carter Richardson,Avery Smith, Candice Fielder, Taylor Healy,Abby Tyner, Madison Carroll, MakennaAdams, Lucy Waller, Olivia Johnson, Rose

Maxwell, Sam Rhodes, Mallory McCubbins,Elizabeth McGowan, Elizabeth McDaniel,Amanda Ray, Clarke Wilkerson, GeorgiaGibson, Robyn Hadden, Alexis Ridgeway,Annalee Purdie; (fourth row) Mary OusleyOwen, Kendall Cockayne, Hannah Hudson,Camryn Kestenbaum, Sarah Buchannen,Abbey Lindsay, Maggie Cross, SydneyHays, Mary Chosen Caples, Allie Brown,

Glennis McWilliams, Hannah Wooten,Makenzie Carmody, Emma Carol Waller,Mary Paxton Gibson, Marguerite Johnson,Kathleen Giddon, Avenell Newman,Caroline Porch; (third row) Michael Caples,Chris Richardson, Johnny Healy, JayFielder, Pete Hays, Tim Lindsay, Ian Cross,Jim Brown, Scott Rhodes, Wes McCubbins,Rafe Hudson, Chuck Ray, Jim Wilkerson,

Patrick Ridgeway; (second row) JoeMaxwell, Bill Johnson, Ronnie Cockayne,Chuck Smith, Alan Purdie, PeteKestenbaum, Brad MacNealy, ReggyMcDaniel, David Adams; (first row) BertGiddons, Bryan Owen, Richard Newman,David Carroll, Ray Higgins, Don Waller;(front) Mark Wooten.

History is lunchMDAH History is Lunch upcoming programs include:

August 24, Bob Wilson on Main Street Association activities(Old Capitol); August 31, Robin Person on Historic JeffersonCollege, (William Winter building). Meetings are held noon -1 p.m.

StorytimeThe Eudora Welty House will offer “Storytime on the Side

Porch,” August 24, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Each week childrenkindergarten through third grade and their parents will hear aclassic story and make a related craft.

Theater auditionsMillsaps College is holding auditions for their production

of “Little Women.” Middle and high school age actors areneeded. Auditions are scheduled for August 29, 5 p.m., inroom 7 of the Christian Center. For details call Ellen Burkeat 717-552-3712.

happenings


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Fund-raiser eventMississippi Community Education Centerhosts the third annual golf tournament ben-efiting New Summit School October 7 atLake Caroline Golf Course. All proceeds willgo to New Summit School’s academic andenrichment programs. A reception will beheld following the golf tournament from

5:30 - 7:30 (pre-sold). Door prizes and achance to win vacation packages will beincluded. For more information visitwww.newsummitschool.com. Shown are(from left) Daniel Wooton, Elizabeth Rogers,Gracie McGill, and Locke Leverette.

Community helpEach year Jackson Prep recognizes thosestudents who give of themselves in com-munity service. Ninth-graders who receivedcommunity service medals are (from left)Sydney-Kirk Patti, gold medal andPresidential Service gold; Myers Mercier,

bronze medal and Presidential Servicebronze; Madeleine Griffin, silver medal andPrudential Spirit of Community nominee;and Cady Porter, gold medal andPresidential Service bronze.

Art saleThe Mississippi Museum

of Art will host Art by

Choice, sale and auction,August 26. VIP reception, 6p.m.; Sale, 7 p.m.; Live auc-tion, 8 p.m. For details andreservations call 601-960-1515.

Page 15B

For advertising information call 601-957-1125

Percy visitsPercy King and his amazing animals recently visited WeeCare Ridgeland. Rebecca Moss checks out the tortoise,while Ruby Buford, R.J. Goss, Austin Morgan, and AnnaKavanaugh watch.

National choral awardTwo Jackson Prep seniors received the National ChoralAward at senior high class day. The nationally recognizedaward is given to students who demonstrate merit, abilityand outstanding achievement. In addition, these students’contributions to the success of the school vocal programare exemplary for their loyalty, cooperation and conduct.Recognized are (from left) Carly Herm and Noah Killebrew.

HomecomingSt. Anthony Catholic School third-grade teachers (fromleft) Megan Kisner, Patti Reiss, and Julie Benson prepare towelcome students at the Back to School Homecomingevent.

BRIANNA BURSE, studentat St. Joseph CatholicSchool, advanced to final-ist standing in theNational AchievementScholarship Program of2011.

happenings


JCL recognitionTwo Jackson Prep ninth-graders received recognition atthe Junior Classical League State Convention. Shown are(from left) Sarah Adison Phillips, first place in Greek andRoman History I, first in Mythology I, third in Greek andRoman History II; and Robert Frey, second place in Greekand Roman History II, second in Mythology I and electedSenior Consul for Mississippi.

Graduation attendantsStudents (from left) Morgan Cora and Jade Burnett wereprogram attendants at the summer graduation ceremonyfor the Education Center School.

GARDEN PARTY

First Presbyterian Day School kindergarten teachers created garden hats for the welcome back garden party forFPDS teachers. Shown are (from left) Margaret Harvey, Jennifer Higginbotham, Janine Hutchinson, Mary Lynn

McDade, Kim Duhs, and Debbie Parker.

Page 17B

Start fourth gradeSt. Anthony Catholic School welcomedfourth-grade students (from left) JadenColeman, Hailey Desai, Alex Brunini, Anna

Chris Nicholas, Wyatt Davis, and MorrisseyClaire Harmon for the first day of school.

Golf winnersMississippi Boys Junior Amateur GolfTournament was played recently at LakeCaroline. There were 32 participants in the14 -15 age group. Winners are (from left)

Ross Bell, third place; Noah Hill, second;Blake Harris, first; Tucker Jenkins, fifth. Notpictured: Grant Motter, fourth.

PHIL LANE, (shown) andTaylor Donald, JacksonPrep seniors, receivedthe Choral PerformanceAward at the senior highclass day ceremonies fortheir talent, loyalty anddedication to the choralmusic program.

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advertisers

Support groupThe Metro Jackson

Parkinson’s Support Groupmeets every first Tuesday, 2p.m., at RedeemerPresbyterian Church. Formore information call 601-845-6340.

Art saleThe Mississippi Museum

of Art will host Art byChoice, sale and auction,August 26. VIP reception, 6

p.m.; Sale, 7 p.m.; Live auc-tion, 8 p.m. For details andreservations call 601-960-1515.

Arts and lectureMillsaps College Arts and

Lecture Series will featureBrunson Green, producer ofthe movie “The Help,”September 13, 7 p.m., in theAcademic Complex RecitalHall. For information on thisprogram and season ticketsfor the series call 601-974-1132 or visit www.millsaps.edu.

Teachers from St. RichardCatholic School recentlyparticipated in theMississippi ArtsCommission’s WholeSchools Summer Instituteheld at the MSU RileyCenter in Meridian. Duringthe Institute, they were

taught a variety of ways touse the arts across the cur-riculum to better educatetheir students. Attendingwere Elisabeth Ely, NormaThiel, Stacy Kaiser, JulieKehoe, Terri Cooper,Sarah Navoy, DenaKinsey, MargaretAnzelmo, DorothySpencer, Lari Sandel, LisaGeimer, and Jules Michel.


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school news

PepMadison Central sophomores (from left) Ellery Chancellor,Taylor Pendleton and Mary Holly Robinson, prepare forthe parade through Madison and the first pep rally of theseason for the Jaguars.

Goodwill volunteerSt. Joseph Catholic High School Senior Scott Montgomery(left) recently attended the Goodwill Industries VolunteerServices Volunteer Salute 2011 reception where he washonored as an Outstanding Community Volunteer.Montgomery is one of two young people chosen this yearfor this award. Also shown is Gray Wiggers, president andCEO of Goodwill Industries of Mississippi Inc.

names inthe news

happenings

Page 19B

school news

State flowersFourth-grade students at First PresbyterianDay School displaying their chalk drawnMississippi magnolias are (from left) El

Knotts, Allie Wise, Andrew Griffin, JimmyUnderwood.

Team buildingThe eight new teachers at St. JosephCatholic High School enjoyed a week of ori-entation, team building events and mentor-ing by other teachers before studentsreturned to school. Along with cookies andpumpkin bread, the highlight of their wel-

come baskets was a copy of “Teach Like aChampion”a modern classic in education.Shown are (from left, back) Steven Eastlack,Philip Ewbank, Abby Quetzau, TerryCassreino; (front) Amanda Weissinger, LouAnn Turner, Emily Lazor, Chance Theriot.


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Back to schoolMadison-Ridgeland Academy’s junior classheld their annual back-to-school partyrecently. Some of the students attendingwere (from left) Haley Thornton, Darbi Grace

Smith, Addison Smith, Laura Beth Reeves,Laura Katherine Blurton and Mary ElizabethEltiste.

Excel on NFEJackson Prep seniors (from left) Carter Barnett and PeytonReves excelled on the National French I Exam. Barnettplaced second in state, ninth in the nation; Reves, first instate and seventh in nation.

DESMOND DAVIS, presi-dent of the EducationCenter School’s studentcouncil, was recently hon-ored with two majorawards at the ECS gradua-tion and awards ceremo-ny. Davis received thePrincipal’s Award and theMartha Thomas KabbesAward.

sunlanders

in serviceAir National Guard

Airman Jeremy J. Wilsongraduated from basic mili-tary training at LacklandAir Force Base, SanAntonio. He is the son ofYolanda Bell ofWhitestone Road. Wilsongraduated in 2009 fromCallaway High School.

names in

the newsTeachers from St. Richard

Catholic School recentlyparticipated in theMississippi ArtsCommission’s WholeSchools Summer Instituteheld at the MSU RileyCenter in Meridian.Attending were ElisabethEly, Norma Thiel, StacyKaiser, Julie Kehoe, TerriCooper, Sarah Navoy,Dena Kinsey, MargaretAnzelmo, DorothySpencer, Lari Sandel, LisaGeimer, and Jules Michel.

Documents

August 25, 2011