Mcja 8 30 2012

JOURNALMADISON COUNTY

VOLuME 31 NuMBER 35 Copyright © 2012 Madison County Journal MADISON COuNTY, MISSISSIPPI

Madison County’s leading newspaper.

Serving Madison, Ridgeland,Canton, Flora, Northeast

Jackson

AuGuST 30, 2012 ** 75 CENTS

BankPlus announcesnew VP

Arnemann named VP of Private Client Group.

— See Page a9

INSIDE

Author Peter Brown visitsMannsdale Elementary.

SPORTSJaguars beat Starkville24-8 despite weather

Jaguars defeat Starkville despitea wet and windy evening.

— See Page B1

BuSINESS Peter Brown visits

Mannsdale

www.madisoncountyjournal.com

OPINIONCory Wilson PAGE A4

BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVESLigon Duncan PAGE A5

OPINIONBrian Perry PAGE A4

Madison County residents joined theranks of many Mississippians who audi-tioned to prove that they have what ittakes to be a contestant on CBS’ hit real-ity television show “Survivor.”

The show is in pursuit of new mem-bers to cast for season 25, which willtake place in the Philippines and is set topremier Sept. 19. Jackson CBS affiliateWJTV has stepped in to recruit contest-ants from the metro.

“So far we’ve seen about 50 or 60people but we’re expecting about 150people,” said Mike MacGown, a Madi-

son County resident and advertising con-sultant for the television station.

“Part of our thought process atWJTV is that Survivor is a great brandfor CBS. It’s a great brand for WJTV andit’s been several years since we’ve had aSurvivor casting call in this market,”MacGown said.

Twenty-three-year-old Ben Wilson ofMadison made the early-morning trek toAntonelli College’s Flowood campus onSaturday for the audition.

“It was exciting to audition becauseI’m attempting to challenge myself to dosomething out of the ordinary,” he said.“It’s kind of nerve-racking to be put infront of a camera and vain only 60 sec-

onds to make yourself sound interest-ing.”

This was Wilson’s first live castingcall, but he sent in a video submissionfor a past season.

“I’ve been watching the show since Iwas 11 years old, so I’m a fan,” he said.“That’s the reason I’m interested ingoing. I feel like I know the gameplayand I think I have what it takes.”

Standing 6’3’’ Wilson said he runs tokeep in shape, adding that he’s “notexactly Superman either.”

His goal is to be the first Mississippi-an to join the cast in quite some time.

“There hasn’t been anyone from Mis-

Madison County man auditions forseason 25 of television’s ‘Survivor’

With Hurricane Isaac down-graded to a tropical storm andcreeping along over southeasternLouisiana, heavy outer rainbands were moving into MadisonCounty Wednesday afternoonwith flash flooding anticipatedthrough Thursday.

After the storm made its firstlandfall on Tuesday just south-west of the mouth of the Missis-sippi River at about 6:45 p.m., itthen wobbled westward and backout over water. Around 11 p.m., itwas about 75 miles southeast ofNew Orleans with the same sus-tained winds. It remained stalledfor hours, with bands of wind andrain continuing to churn over anarea stretching several hundredmiles.

Around 4 a.m. on Wednesday,the storm began to move slowlynorth again, making a secondlandfall west of Port Fourchon,La. But it continues to progressslowly, and “surge heights of 6 to10 feet are still occurring alongportions of the coast of South-eastern Louisiana and Mississip-pi,” according to the NationalHurricane Center.

Federal officials have warnedrepeatedly that the storm, whichkilled 29 people in Haiti and theDominican Republic, will gener-ate high seas, intense rain andserious flooding in coastal andinland areas for days.

There had been no deathsreported in Mississippi byWednesday afternoon.

In a 12-hour period, Isaac had

only moved 75 miles with windsup to 80 m.p.h. and rainfall ofmore than an inch an hour.

In New Orleans, levies wereholding, but areas like Plaquem-ines Parish south of the city wereunder water.

The Mississippi River at NewOrleans flowed backwardsbecause of the storm surge,according to the National Weath-er Service.

Mississippi authorities havereported making a number of res-cues, including that of a familywith a 6-month-old baby and adog who had been living on ahouseboat on the Pearl River nearthe Mississippi-Louisiana border.

On Wednesday, Biloxi wasbeing hammered by bands ofwind and rain. A curfew had beenextended to noon, and the city’sstreets were virtually empty. Thepolice were stopping the fewdrivers on the streets.

The coast itself was a study ofgray on gray: It was impossibleto determine where the gulf’swaters ended and the overcastskies began.

Paul and Kim Punzo, wholive just across the street from thebanks of the Biloxi River, hadwater up to their driveway. Mr.Punzo expected three more feet.

“It’s all in the timing, with thestorm surge and the high tide, sowe’ll keep watching it,” said Mr.Punzo, 44. “We’ve got ourkayaks tied to the porch, andwe’re ready to go.”

Hurricanepreparationmostly a drill

ISAAC

Committee on Reunion zoning meets to talk issues

See Survivor, page A2

An ad hoc committee of the MadisonPlanning and Zoning Commission held ameeting on Aug. 23 to address severalissues raised by homeowners in Reunion,Ingleside, Annandale and other develop-ments.

John Reeves, chair of the committeeand one of 11 P&Z commissioners, saidthe meeting was an opportunity to put torest some fears about a comprehensiveplan that could possibly allow commer-cial developments, amongst other things,

in areas such as Reunion.The committee, comprised of Reeves,

Cindy Keller and Dick Durgin, wasformed after an intense commissionmeeting on Aug. 13 when a proposedcomprehensive plan from the CentralMississippi Planning and DevelopmentDistrict (CMPDD) was to be discussed.

Reeves said the Aug. 23 meetingwent very well and they were able toanswer a lot of homeowners’ questions.

“The committee’s responsibility is tomeet with the property owners in theseareas and talk with them and work withthem to make sure that whatever we do

promotes homeownership and protectsthe existing homeowner base,” he said.“We went over all the concerns. Forexample, the residents indicated that theydo not want any commercial develop-ment on 463 other than what’s alreadybeen approved.

“We voted unanimously to recom-mend that,” he continued. “The CMPDDplan had positioned a public park — afuture public park — in Reunion touch-ing the lake. Reunion homeowners areconcerned about that and we are too. Wedo not want to put anything inside of analready-approved development other

than what’s approved for.”The committee, once again, voted

unanimously to recommend nothing gointo a development other than what wasinitially approved.

“In Reunion, it’s designed forhomes,” he added. “That’s what we’ll putthere. Not the park.”

Reeves also said it’s his understand-ing there is a rift between some of theReunion homeowners and the develop-ers as to future development.

“That was what was explained to us,”he said. “The homeowners in Reunionare concerned the developer might try —

might want to put structures in Reunionthat are not compatible with the upscalesingle family home base that is Reunion.

“For example, there was concernthere might be an attempt to put town-houses there or garden homes,” he con-tinued. “But, the homeowners that werethere expressed they don’t want that.They do not want high-density housing.And we agree. The committee votedunanimously to back the homeowners onthat.”

He added, “We recommend no high-density housing in Madison period.”

clockwise, from top: The National Guard in Biloxi on Beach Boulevard in front of the Beau Rivage; canal Street in Neworleans at the height of the storm; Madison county schools dismissed at noon on Wednesday.

Pat Bruce, left, and cindy Phillips of Madison county at the Republican Nationalconvention in Tampa Tuesday night. Phillips is a Mississippi delegate. Bruce is analternate delegate. Five delegates and six alternates from Madison county areamong those representing Mississippi. Behind them are U.S. Sen. Roger Wickerand his wife Gayle. Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney is scheduled togive his acceptance speech tonight at about 9 p.m.

By AliNe cARAMBATMadison County Journal

By MicHAel SiMMoNSMadison County Journal

At the RNC

See iSaac, page A2

— See inside

See reunion, page A2

Photo by Brendan Hoffman/The New York Times

Photo by Michael Simmons Photo by Michael Appleton/The New York Times

Page A2, Madison county Journal, August 30, 2012 www.madisoncountyjournal.com

sisippi on the show since Season 8and they are on Season 24 now,”he said. “I told them that I comefrom a family with eight people inthe house and how sometimes it’sjust a challenge to get food in mystomach before someone elsewould grab it from me.”

People from all over havecome to the Jackson area to audi-tion for the show, some flying asfar as New York City, Los Ange-les, Panama City, and Memphis,although a majority of those whoauditioned are local, MacGownsaid.

He’s seen many interestingpeople come out to audition andhas heard many unique storiesthat would make some the perfectcontestants to show their test ofwill on Survivor.

“We have had one lady comein with a bunch of medals piledaround her neck wearing a run-ning outfit,” he said. “She’s run20 marathons and had on medalsfrom all of her marathons. She’s acourt reporter and she was justdoing her thing. It was just reallyinteresting to see this lady with lit-erally probably 20 pounds ofmedals sitting around her neck.”

McGown said that the audi-tions have appealed to a numberof Madison County residents andthe one unique quality that can beidentified is their overall healthi-ness and love for the outdoors.

“I’m from Madison County.One thing that I’ve noticed aboutthose who auditioned from Madi-

son County — and not to put any-body off in the Jackson Metroarea; there’s a lot of great peoplehere who are just as healthy —but a lot of the people who cameout from Madison County to audi-tion seemed the healthiest,” hesaid.

“They are outdoorsy, I don’tknow what it is with these peoplebut they love the outdoors, andthere are a lot of people who areconfident in what they do. And ifyou think about it, Survivor is atest of will.”

Antonelli College Flowoodcampus director Debbie Moorewas excited to see such a positiveturnout for the event and notedthat she has seen some very inter-esting auditions by people worthyof making the show from Madi-son County.

“We have had some very inter-esting people come out. MadisonCounty does have their fair shareof very interesting characters andwe’ve had some people here whoare attorneys, court reporters,we’ve had people who are stu-dents.”

While many were willing toshow that they have what it takesto be dropped on a remote islandsolely to depend on their naturalsurvival instincts, WJTV SalesManager Jeff Inman said thatmany who auditioned, despitetheir bravery, were still a littlenervous to be in front of a camerafor the first time.

“It seems like everyone who’scome out to audition is a littlenervous being in front of a camerafor the first time,” he said.

In addition Inman also saidthat “Survivor” is just one of threeCBS reality shows that WJTV

planned to have casting calls for,and that the local affiliate will behosting two more next year forThe Amazing Race and BigBrother.

Survivorcontinued from page A1

Shaggy’s Harbor Bar & Grill in Pass christian Harbor Wednesday as Hurricane isaacmoved in posted on Mississippi Gulf coast Facebook page.

Billy Hewes took this photo Wednesday in Gulfport as the storm surge from Hurricaneisaac covered Beach Boulevard.

Reeves continued, “Actually,everything the homeownerswanted, we agreed. Every con-cern they expressed, we agreedwith them. We are all homeown-ers in Madison ourselves. Welove Madison. We like it for whatit is. The city of Madison is a jew-el. It’s been managed very welland we want to uphold that as acommittee and as a commission.”

After the Aug. 13 meeting,P&Z Commissioner Bob Hustonresigned from his position.

William Peacock, chairman ofthe P&Z Commission, recusedhimself because he works forCMPDD.

Reeves said all of the ire fromresidents was misunderstood,noting that the 11-member com-mission had not even seen thecomprehensive plan until theAug. 13 meeting and had noplans on adopting or approving itthat evening.

Another ad hoc committeemeeting has been scheduled for5:30 p.m. on Sept. 6 at a place tobe announced.

The full commission will meetat 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 10 at theMadison Justice Complex.

Hurricane Isaac’s pendingarrival prompted many evacueesfrom the Gulf Coast to head northearlier this week to seek shelterand many made the trek to Madi-son County.

Many area hotels and motelsreported being booked solid asearly as last Saturday as peoplebegan flowing into town to fueltheir vehicles and stock up onitems like food, water and otherstorm-ready supplies.

According to Madison HiltonGarden Inn Director of SalesRachel Bolanos, all 134 roomshad been booked solid since Sat-urday and will continue to bebooked through the remainder ofthe week.

“It happened really quick Sat-urday,” she said. “We’ve beenbooked like this for storms andhurricanes in the past and we justtry to make sure that we stock upon everything that we need at thehotel and that we’re staffed prop-erly so that we’re ready for all theevacuees when they get here.

“We’re getting tons of calls aday and we’re just telling peoplethat we’re completely sold outand I think that most of the hotelsin the area are facing the same sit-

uation as well.” Front Desk Manager Destiny

Josey for the Days Inn and Suitesin Ridgeland reported the samescenario as they filled the last oftheir 51 rooms on Saturday aswell.

“Now we’re just stocking upon our breakfast items. We dohave water here that will be avail-able for guests if they need butwe’re just running our regularschedule as of right now,” Joseysaid.

She said that the hotel doesnot allow animals, however inpast hurricanes they have madeexceptions when given permis-sion by higher management.

“We do not allow pets but Iknow that in previous years dur-ing natural disasters we havemade exceptions for them,” shesaid.

Front desk employee of theHoliday Inn Express in Ridge-land, Jasmine Joshua, said onMonday that they only had threeking rooms available for thatnight only but they have alsobeen booked to max capacitysince Saturday.

“We have 111 rooms and all ofthem have been booked since Sat-urday for the rest of the week,”she said.

Madison County Emergency

Management Director ButchHammock had initial plans toopen up to four shelters in thecounty, but said on Tuesday after-noon evacuees would be directedto the Mississippi Coliseum inJackson instead.

“We just did a weather brief-ing, and apparently the storm ismoving more to the west, butthat’s still not going to change awhole lot over here,” Hammocksaid. “We’re still looking at a lotof rain and the possibility of sometornadoes and of course thepotential for flooding is alwaysthere.”

After Hurricane Katrina, offi-cials learned the importance ofmaximizing shelter space so thatsupplies and assistance could beadequately apportioned. As ofTuesday afternoon, the JacksonColiseum only had a couple ofdozen people using the facility,which can hold up to 700 peopleif needed.

However, Hammock did saythey would likely open the Can-ton Community Center to helpwith elderly residents in thenorthern part of the county in caseof flooding. He said in the eventof heavy flooding in those parts,emergency responders wouldhelp evacuate residents to theCommunity Center.

Isaac evacuees from Coastfind shelter in Madison

By AliNe cARAMBATMadison County Journal

As early as Sunday, whenIsaac appeared to be making abeeline for Jackson and MadisonCounty, some residents quietlybegan filling up with gas andstocking up on groceries.

Then Monday and Tuesdaywere extremely busy days at TheFresh Market at Renaissance ascustomers piled up on everythingfrom water to dry rations, saidstore manager Glenda Anderson.

“People came in to stock upon water, ice, cereal, chips, milk,and ready-made food like sand-wiches,” she said on Wednesday.“It’s been kind of light this morn-ing, but yesterday and Mondaywere busy. A lot of customers saidthey were stocking up for thestorm.”

Anderson said she had twopallets stacked with 24-packs ofbottle water that sold out quickly.

Ric Martinez, store managerof Mac’s Fresh Market in Ridge-land, reiterated Anderson’s state-

ments. “Traffic has picked up quite a

bit, especially people looking forwater,” he said.

“We had a truckload of waterbooked and scheduled to come inMonday. It came late Mondaynight. We never ran out andwe’ve got plenty left. We hit thatjust right considering that water isbooked three weeks in advance.”

He said customers alsostocked up on sandwich materi-als, chips, milk and bread.

The supermarkets weren’t theonly places to be inundated withcustomers at the beginning of theweek. Gas stations throughoutMadison and Ridgeland werefilled with cars lined up to top offgas tanks and fill up containers.

Cedric Jackson, manager ofCappy’s BP on Old Canton Roadin Ridgeland, said traffic washeavy and steady on Monday.

“Everybody was buying gasfor their generators and filling uptheir gas tanks,” he said.

“They were afraid they weregonna run out of gas like it hap-

pened in Katrina.”He said there were lines all

day and the station ended up run-ning out of fuel around 9 p.m.Luckily, they were able to getanother shipment in that evening.

Jackson added that peoplewere also stocking up on bottledwater and bread.

In Madison, at the Kroger onu.S. 51, police were dispatchedon Monday evening as massivelines formed at the fuel pumps.

Madison PD Asst. ChiefRobert Sanders said patrol beatshave been adjusted and officershave kept an eye on gas stationsand supermarkets in the eventcrowds become very large.

“It’s for public safety,” heexplained. “Whenever one of thestations runs out (of fuel) we’llhave an officer in the area.”

Other gas stations, such as theKangaroo Express on Rice Roadin Ridgeland, ran out of regularunleaded quickly and joineddozens of similar stations waitingfor refueling.

Residents stock groceries,purchase gas in anticipation


Lessons from Hurricane Kat-rina seven years ago to the dayremnants of Hurricane Isaacmoved through Madison Countyas a tropical storm prepared themunicipalities, officials said.

Ridgeland Mayor GeneMcGee and his department headswere holding daily meetings thispast week just watching and wait-ing for what was expected to betropical force winds and torrentialrains that could cause flash flood-ing.

“We have our preparationsalready made,” he said earlier inthe week. “Our emergency man-agement operation is brokendown by departments. We havean operations center at city hallwith backup generators.”

Backup generators are also atthe police department and firedepartments. Several traffic sig-nals throughout the city have bat-tery backup systems, which wereput in place after Katrina.

After Katrina, Ridgeland’ssewage pumping system and 911system were offline for sometime. McGee said those issueswere addressed following thestorm and there are redundanciesin place to ensure those don’t failagain.

“There were things obviouslywe did not have (for Katrina),” hesaid. “Now we have backup bat-tery systems on our traffic signals

for intersections that would haveheavier traffic. We did not have asmuch backup for sewer pump sta-tions nor did we have backupgenerators. And our 911 system isprotected through our backupsystem at the police department.”

Public works crews workedon Sunday and Monday cleaningout drainage areas.

Madison the City unveiled anew Emergency Notification TextMessaging System to residentsthis week.

Madison Mayor MaryHawkins Butler said, “Being ableto effectively communicate withpeople instantly allows our city tobe proactive in dealing with anyemergency situation we are facedwith.”

Residents can opt-in by tex-ting STORM to (601)-707-8356.

Mara Hartmann, communica-tion director for Entergy Missis-sippi, said crews are mobilizedand ready to work on power out-ages that are likely to occurbecause of the high winds.

“We do expect an impact, par-ticularly on our southwest Missis-sippi customers,” he said. “Evenin Jackson and Madison, highwinds wreak havoc with powerlines.”

On Monday, Hartmann saidthe company was looking for anadditional 4,350 mutual assis-tance and contract workers,although that number couldchange based on availability andweather conditions.

She encouraged people to vis-it www.entergystormcenter.comfor a comprehensive guide onhow to deal with severe stormsand downed power lines, too.

As many as1,500 NationalGuard troops had been deployedto the coast and 45 MississippiHighway Patrol troopers sent toaffected areas to help local lawenforcement, according toMEMA.

More than 80,000 sandbagshave been distributed and truck-loads of water, food and genera-tors are staged and ready fordelivery to affected areas.

How to helpResidents may call the

MEMA information line at 1-866-519-6362 for updates.

The American Red Cross isalso soliciting sponsorships formeals for volunteers manningthe state’s 2-1-1 Call Center.

Companies an sponsor a mealfor approximately $200 byemailing Scott Waller [email protected].

The Salvation Army asksthose who want to help to visitwww.salvationarmyusa.org orcall 1-800-SAL-ARMY.

Donors may text “STORM”to 80888 to make a $10 dona-tion. Checks may be made outto The Salvation Army DisasterRelief, P.O. Box 100339,Atlanta, GA 30384-0339. Pleasedesignate “2012 HurricaneRelief” on all checks.

Remnants of Katrina onofficials’ minds this week


Their house is a couple of feetoff the ground. The only time ithas flooded was during HurricaneKatrina, he said, when three feetof river water filled the two-bed-room house.

The couple had sent three oftheir children to stay with rela-tives who are either on higherground or who have brick homes.But the Punzos stayed, waking uphappy that the storm had notcaused major damage through thenight.

More than 600,000 people inLouisiana were without power. In

Mississippi, Mississippi Powerwas reporting 11,000 outages,Coast Electric 30,000, Entergy4,800, Singing River and otherco-ops about 8,000, the Associat-ed Press was reporting.

Roads all through Pass Chris-tian and Long Beach were flood-ing even some north of the rail-road tracks, The Sun Herald wasreporting late Wednesday. Somehouses appeared to be gettingwater inside or were close, thenewspaper reported.

Madison County officialswere “watching and waiting” allmorning Wednesday anticipatingstrong winds and plenty of rainthrough Thursday that could easi-ly lead to flooding in low-lyingareas.

Rain bands from Isaac began

moving into southern MadisonCounty about 2:30 p.m. Windgusts of 25 m.p.h. were recordedas early as about noon.

“Our biggest threat is going tobe the flooding,” said MadisonCounty Emergency ManagementDirector Butch Hammock said.“We are going to get heavy rain-fall.”

Wednesday evening churchactivities were cancelled at Madi-son’s First Baptist Church andJackson’s First PresbyterianChurch, among others because ofthe anticipated potential severityof the storms.

Madison County schools dis-missed at noon on Wednesdayand officials said classes wouldbe cancelled on Thursday.

Reunioncontinued from page A1

Isaaccontinued from page A1

See iSaac, page A6

Madison county Journal, August 30, 2012, Page A3www.madisoncountyjournal.com

At ease with the stormSeven years ago, the world

came to a standstill for my fam-ily and I when the largest naturaldisaster to ever hit the u.S.came barreling through thesmall beach community that Ihad called home for more than20 years.

The eye of Hurricane Katrinahad set sight on the tiny town ofWaveland and in her viciousrage she took almost everythingthat we held dear to our hearts,leaving chaos and destruction tosubstitute a lifetime of memo-ries.

The devastation that rockedour community, my family,came from more than highwinds, flooding and tidal surges,the damage incurred by herwrath was personal.

Like a criminal, she bargedin and stole pictures, valuables,furniture, items of sentiment, theroof that covered my grandpar-ent’s heads, and worst of all, thelives of some we called friendsand neighbors for years.

When the fierce stormstruck, I was attending collegein Texas. I watched helplessly asI turned on the news coveragefrom the Weather Channel film-ing just a couple of streets downfrom my house hoping to get aglimpse of my road so that Icould find out whether or not thehome I was raised in still stood.

I saw former schoolmates onnational news channels standingbroken and sobbing in front oftheir disheveled homes lookingfor any piece of history to sal-vage from the wreckage. Sittingin distress, I wondered if any ofmy precious keepsakes werelost in the midst of rubble andhow long would it be before Iwould be able to have any typeof communication with my par-ents or my aunt and uncle inNew Orleans, who stayed intheir home to ride out the storm?

I’m blessed to say that myfamily was more fortunate thanmost, in that our house, which is

less than a mile from the beach,withstood the hurricane forcewinds of Katrina; however, itendured more than eight feet ofwater damage and it took wellover a year before it completelyfelt like home again.

Coming home from collegeto visit, I felt like a stranger inmy house and around the smalltown I had once been so familiarwith. Over time, my parents,grandparents, aunts, uncles,neighbors and friends beganrebuilding their lives while Iwatched from afar.

Hurricane seasons came andpassed over the next sevenyears, I graduated from collegeand decided to pursue my careerin journalism here in MadisonCounty, a place I’m proud to callhome now.

Living more than three hoursaway from the Coast, I nolonger have to worry aboutevacuating, boarding up myhome, gathering my belongingand leaving at first sight of astorm. It wasn’t until the recentthreat of Hurricane Isaac that Ibegan to realize that I could putdistance between me and thestorm, but I would never reallybe able to separate myself frommy hometown.

Like a bad dream occurringall over again, fear and vulnera-bility came rushing back to meas I hurriedly prepared for myparent’s arrival. I panicked formy parent’s home, would it beable to make a narrow escape asit did last time or would fatedecide to pick up where it leftoff?

I panicked for Waveland, atown that has come so far in the

last several years, would they bestrong enough to pick up thepieces if something should hap-pen?

It wasn’t until I began writ-ing a story on Madison County’spreparations for the storm that Ibegan to feel at ease.

Residents have kindlyopened their arms to many dis-placed communities runningfrom harm’s way. Cities likeMadison, Ridgeland and Cantonare on standby, ready to help inany way that they can while theyprepare for the worst and hopefor the best.

Watching my old communityand new community cometogether and unite to provideshelter and support for oneanother has reminded me ofsomething that most people for-get when all is calm in the warmwaters of the Gulf of Mexico,and that is we Coasties are aresilient kind.

It is easy to become lost inthe chaos of a hurricane, but it isimportant to remember that wehave — and always will — per-severe.

In the wake of adversity,through the brunt of the storm,have a strength that compels usto fight for place we love andprotect what we hold most dearto us. We are humble enough toask for help from our neighbor-ing counties and states becausewe know there is strength innumbers. We take care to keepour faith strong, hold God’severlasting love close to ourhearts, and we endure becausewe refuse to be kept down. Weare resilient.

So as we prepare for Hurri-cane Isaac’s wrath, I cautionhim to prepare for ours becausewe don’t roll over that easy, andour strength is untouchable.

Aline Carambat is a staffreporter at the Madison CountyJournal.

ALINE CARAMBAT

Seven years ago HurricaneKatrina leveled the MississippiGulf Coast and following a leveefailure in New Orleans, floodedthe iconic Louisiana city. The2005 natural disaster permeatedconversations early in the week atthe Republican National Conven-tion in Tampa, Florida. With Hur-ricane Isaac at the time projectedto sweep onto the Mississippi andLouisiana coasts but formerlymore likely to impact Tampa, theGOP had scrapped the openingnight of the Convention.

Four years prior with Republi-cans meeting in convention inMinnesota, Hurricane Gustav hitLouisiana. Haunted by the per-ception that President George W.Bush had failed to adequatelyrespond to Katrina, many fromthe Gulf Coast delegations leftthe Convention early, the festivi-ties and messages were toneddown and delegations fromaround the country preparedemergency supply kits to beshipped south from St. Paul toGustav’s victims.

President Bush and the feder-al response were not the only tar-gets of hurricane ire after Katrina.Louisiana Governor KathleenBlanco appeared indecisive andunable to manage the disaster.New Orleans Mayor Ray Naginfled to a hotel penthouse as thecity unraveled below him. Con-gressman William Jefferson ofNew Orleans used the NationalGuard to get to his own houseand kept the troops waiting for anhour while he secured his valu-ables, potentially diverting themfrom rescue duty.

Mississippi’s response andleadership provided a stark con-trast. Citizen volunteers loadedup their trucks and trailers andheaded to the Coast with water

and fuel and tools and food. Con-gressman Gene Taylor, a formerCoast Guard skipper, patrolledthe Gulf on search and recoverymissions. Congressman ChipPickering facilitated moving vol-unteers through the law enforce-ment check-points and workedwith oil companies to get fuel tolocal first responders and hospitalgenerators. Congressman RogerWicker on the House Appropria-tions Committee and SenatorThad Cochran as chairman of theSenate Appropriations Commit-tee started the work on recoveryfunding. And coordinating all thestate’s efforts, the Washingtonassets, national and foreign aidinto Mississippi, law enforce-ment and rebuilding was Gover-nor Haley Barbour.

Those who had electricity inthe days and weeks followingKatrina grew accustomed to Bar-bour’s press conferences whereclad in a MEMA pull over andoperating on very little sleep, heupdated citizens on rescue,recovery and rebuilding. Hepraised the charitable hearts ofMississippians and exhortedthose in the Magnolia State to“hitch up their britches” torebuild the Coast better thanbefore.

His leadership and manage-ment following Katrina propelledhim through a successful reelec-tion campaign and national polit-ical observers and the mediabegan to seriously watch whetherBarbour had an eye on the White

House.A former governor who

declined to make a bid for presi-dent, Barbour was in his elementin Tampa. In Republican politics,he is a rock star still. As the suc-cessful former Chairman of theRepublican National Committee(1994’s Republican Revolution),former Chairman of the Republi-can Governors Association(2009’s gubernatorial victories inVirginia and New Jersey), andnow a major player with KarlRove’s American Crossroads andhis own Resurgent Republic –Barbour remains a favorite in themedia for his insight and humor;a favorite in the party for hiscounsel and strategy; and canhardly enjoy a meal in publicwithout Republican activists(teenagers to senior citizens)wanting to shake his hand and geta picture.

By foregoing a run for theWhite House, he has moved intothe role of party elder statesman,although armed with an iPad,sporting black Reeboks and com-pleting an aggressive media andevent schedule – early morningnews shows, late night recep-tions, political briefings and anappearance at the tech heavy“Blogger Bash” - he would likelyscoff at the “elder” description.

Barbour told Republicans inTampa a convention is moreimportant to a challenger than theincumbent because it is an intro-duction of that candidate to thenation. Voters already believeObama has failed to lead thecountry during the economicdownturn, now they need to beshown that Mitt Romney brings abetter alternative. He said Presi-dent Barack Obama’s campaignhas portrayed Mitt Romney as “a

Hurricane plus politics = BarbourBRIAN PERRY


opinion & editorials

BIBLE SELECTION

“Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he hassent.”” — John 6:29 (eSv)

“To glorify God, and enjoy Him forever.”

MICHAEL SIMMONSAssociate Editor and Publisher

JAMES E. PRINCE IIIEditor and Publisher

Founded in 1982

(uSPS 687-570)The Madison county Journal is published every Thursday by the Madison county Publishing co., inc., 293 commerce ParkDrive, Ridgeland, MS 39157, James e. Prince iii, president. Subscriptions are: $28 per year in Madison and Hinds counties;$32 in-state; $35 out-of-state. Single copy price is 75¢. Periodicals postage paid at Ridgeland, MS.

The Madison county Journal reserves the right to edit or reject any or all advertising.

PoSTMASTeR: Send address changes to: The Madison county Journal, P.o. Box 219, Ridgeland, MS 39158.

Human after allRICH LOWRY

Mitt Romney has been theblank space at the center of thepresidential campaign.

He’s a private man who’s hardto get to know. He seems asuncomfortable talking about him-self — and especially braggingabout himself — as a politiciancan be and still run for nationaloffice.

During the primaries, he saidhe made money, “but not verymuch,” giving speeches. Hisdetractors jumped: Only someoneas filthy rich as Mitt Romneycould think $375,000 over a peri-od of a year was “not very much.”But the phrase had as much to dowith Romney’s instinctive mod-esty.

The Obama campaign hasdiligently worked to fill in theblanks left by Romney’s reti-cence. The result is the perversespectacle of a campaign of per-sonal destruction against a man ofthe highest personal character.

Of all the tasks for the Rom-ney campaign at this week’sRepublican convention, burnish-ing the personal image of the can-didate should be the easiest. He isa man utterly committed to hisfamily and his faith, whose life isstudded with acts of devotion andgenerosity.

His foremost character wit-ness will be his wife, Ann. Thetwo of them have a great love sto-ry. As related by the biography bytwo Boston Globe reporters, “TheReal Romney,” Mitt fell in lovewith Ann practically at first sight.Attending nearby prep schools inMichigan, they went to see “TheSound of Music” on their first

date. He first asked her to marryhim after they had gone to promtogether and she was just 16.

When he went off to college atStanford university, he snuckback to Michigan on weekends tosee Ann over the objections of hisfather, who worried about hisgrades. At one point, he sold offsome of his clothes to buy a tick-et to see her. Off in France as amissionary, he worried constantlythat she would meet someoneelse.

When they were married andhad their boys, the cardinal rulewas that the kids could never dis-respect their mother. For all theenergy Romney poured into hiscareer, he never brought workhome. He didn’t socialize withcolleagues, so he wouldn’t losetime with his family.

When Ann was diagnosedwith multiple sclerosis in the late1990s, Mitt was “the most painedand afraid I had ever seen him,” aformer colleague told The NewYork Times. He dove into makingher better, becoming a “miniexpert” in the disease.

Romney’s emphasis on familyis grounded in his Mormonism.He has been a leader in the churchsince he was a young man. Hehas given not just his money but

his time and energy. He lived hisfaith.

“The Real Romney” is filledwith stories of Romney’s quietacts of kindness. When two sonsof a Boston-area Mormon familywere seriously injured in a caraccident, Mitt and Ann personallydelivered gifts to them on Christ-mas Eve, and Mitt offered to payfor their college. When a neigh-bor’s 12-year-old son died, Rom-ney organized the effort to build aplayground in his name and thenled the cleanup crew to maintainit. When a neighbor’s housecaught on fire, he organizedneighbors to run in and save hisbelongings.

Mitt Romney is literally agood neighbor. Of course, per-sonal character isn’t everything,or Bill Clinton never would havebeen elected president. The realtrick for the Romney campaign isto connect the candidate’s person-al qualities — the can-do opti-mism and Boy Scout’s character— to his program.

Romney has been especiallyhesitant about talking about hisfaith, which is still anathema tosome. But he shouldn’t be shy.We will come to know Mitt Rom-ney regardless. It will either bethe distorted picture of a monsterout of the world of private equity,or something closer to the truth, aman with a deep wellspring ofpersonal decency who can betrusted with the highest office inthe land.

Rich Lowry is editor ofNational Review.

Seven years ago, the worldcame to a standstill whenthe largest natural disasterto ever hit the U.S. camebarreling through my

hometown.

Seven year itchCORY WILSON

It seems more than ironicthat, virtually seven years to theday, the Mississippi Coast facesanother hurricane landfall.While Isaac is also a hugestorm—800 miles across, bysome measures, it has not beenas well organized as Katrinawas. Katrina blew up overnightinto a Category 5 monster spin-ning perfectly in the Gulf. By thetime Katrina moved ashore, shewas a strong Category 3 hurri-cane.

I remember Katrina, but notin the way most Mississippiansdo. We were not here. We hadliterally just moved to Washing-ton that weekend to start a yearas a White House Fellow. ThatAugust Sunday in 2005, I hadcalled home to talk to my dad.He had astayed in Moss Point.Overnight Saturday is when themagnitude of the storm becameclear, but it was too late then togo anywhere. His voice wasnervous.

We talked on Monday too, asthe waters came up to the house,but not into it. We grew up onthe water, just north of where theEscatawpa meets thePascagoula. But our street washigher than most in south Jack-son County. My dad wasstunned at the water. We knew ifthe water was that high in MossPoint, it was a calamity in most

other places along the Coast. Mydad’s house sits about 75 milesfrom where Katrina actuallylanded.

Starting my stint at the Penta-gon, I saw Katrina through theeyes of folks back home andthrough the response efforts ofthose in DC. Many folks, evenin metro Jackson, could no bet-ter believe what they were see-ing as I could, from a distance. Iremember walking through oneof the offices in the Pentagon,where a television played a RedCross commercial. It was like somany other Red Cross commer-cials, but this one stopped me inmy tracks. This ad was showingscenes of devastation fromhome, not from some distantland.

It was surreal. My year work-ing for the White House in largepart centered on the placeswhere I grew up. I was workingfor President Bush, but he wason the Coast more than he was inDC, it seemed.

While many in the nationalnews seem to forget, Katrina did

in fact come ashore in Mississip-pi, not Louisiana. It sits in a lotof folks’ craws that while themedia fixated on New Orleansin the aftermath of Katrina, Mis-sissippians, who had sufferedthe direct hit, were just busy dig-ging out and cleaning up.

This week, many Mississip-pians had palpitations when arumor circulated that the Weath-er Channel referred to Mississip-pi as "the land mass" betweenNew Orleans and Alabama. Notsure how that started, but evenbefore we became Land Mass,Isaac's slanted coverage broughtback the irritation.

Of course, Isaac has alsobrought back the resilience anddetermination that so definedMississippians in the aftermathof Katrina. And in the aftermathof so many other storms and oth-er disasters. I was not born whenCamille hit, the old benchmark.But she was part of the lore ofgrowing up. And I recall vividlyspending a night in 1979 at mygrandmother’s house inPascagoula when Frederic cameto town. The eye went right overus, in the middle of the night.My grandfather shooed me backinto the house, as we bothlooked up to see stars and com-plete stillness. Before the eye-wall hit again.

In Republican politics,Barbour is a rock starstill and has has movedinto the role of partyelder statesman.

We will come to know MittRomney regardless. It willeither be the distorted

picture of a monster out ofthe world of private equity,

or something closerto the truth.

Isaac has also broughtback the resilience anddetermination that so

defined Mississippians inthe aftermath of Katrina.

See Perry, page A5See WilSon , page A5

plutocrat married to a knownequestrian” – out of touch withthe average American. But Oba-ma and Romney are both million-aires, Barbour said, Obama by“writing two books about him-self” and Romney by building

businesses and creating jobs. Bar-bour said to stay encouraged, innational polls Romney barelytrails President Barack Obamaand Barbour noted Jimmy Carterled Ronald Reagan by nine pointsat this time in 1980. According topolling results released by Bar-bour, 54% of voters believe thecountry is not moving “Forward”– the theme of President BarackObama’s campaign.

Barbour’s message to assem-

bled Republicans was to stay onmessage to win. The key to theelection is for Republicans to talkabout the economy, PresidentObama’s record, and presentRomney as a favorable alterna-tive.

Brian Perry is a partner in apublic affairs firm. Contact himat [email protected].

I remember Elena comingthrough in 1985. Then, we shel-tered in downtown Moss Point,and watched as a lot of down-town blew up Main Street pastus. I guess Elena was not as badas Frederic. Before the powerever came back on, and beforethe chain saws died down, theMoss Point High marching band

was out practicing at Tiger Sta-dium. I remember because I wasin the band. It was my last sea-son, maybe because of the com-bination of hurricane, humidityunrelieved by electricity and airconditioning, and carrying whatfelt like a lead sousaphone onmy 125-pound frame.

But I digress. We will getthrough Isaac, and beyond thedeluge of rain, it will hopefullyturn out to be “only” a Category1 storm. Still, any storm bringsback a lot of memories of other

ones. That old familiar anxietymixed with gritty confidence.

The Land Mass betweenNew Orleans and Alabama hasbeen through a lot. And we haveshown that we can overcome.We are more prepared, more onedge, more resolved. We’vebeen through this before.

Cory T. Wilson of Madison isan attorney with the firm of Hei-delberg Steinberger Colmer &Burrow. To contact Cory, [email protected].

This week we’re looking atRomans 1:18-20. Everythingbefore verse 18 was Paul’s intro-duction and now he begins a longsection that runs all the way toRomans 3:20 in which he sets forththe bad news. Paul knows thatunless you understand the badnews, you cannot understand andappreciate the good news.

The gospel makes no sensewithout two things: Sin and God’sWrath. If I have no sin to be savedfrom, the message of salvation isutterly irrelevant. For that reason, inRomans 1:18-3:20 Paul is going tomake sure that we understand thebad news. Before he elaborates onthe glorious truths outlined for us inRomans 1:16-17, he’s going tospend a good long time to makesure we appreciate just what God issaving us from.

I. God's righteous wrath isrevealed against sin, all sin and allsinners (v. 18)

Here Paul wants us to under-stand that the gospel is necessary.Consider the parallelism in 1:17-18,Paul explains why we need thegood news of the gospel, why thegood news is so good, and he’stelling us here why the gospel isnecessary: God’s wrath is upon theungodly and the unrighteous.

He says that God’s wrath isrevealed from heaven against allungodliness and unrighteousness.In those two terms he indicates bothimpiety and immorality. He indi-cates a lack of God-centeredness inour thinking, believing, living, inour attitudes, in our priorities andour actions, and a contempt forGod’s law: that is the condition ofall men.

In fact, he characterizesmankind, and the Gentiles in partic-ular, as those who suppress the truthin unrighteousness. These are notpeople who are ignorant of thetruth. They know the truth, but theywork very hard not to allow it tohave any impact on their thinking,their living, their believing, theirworshiping.

And so the Apostle Paul says thewrath of God is revealed fromheaven against them.

That indicates that they knowthat their actions are wrong. Paul is

saying here that the wrath of God isbeing revealed continually. In otherwords, these people see that there isa right and a wrong because Godvisits with punishment and justiceand judgment. The wrath of God isbeing revealed everywhere; theysee the wrath of God is beingrevealed, and yet they do not run toGod; they do not flee to Christ; theydo not embrace the gospel; they areunder God’s rightful condemnation.

Paul argues in these three vers-es that God’s wrath is just, that it isright for God to be angry againstsin.

Our culture doesn’t believe thatpeople are evil or that God’s wrathis right. They equate wrath withhate. The culture doesn’t believethat wrath and love are compatible.But Paul has already started off bycharacterizing mankind as a wholeas worthy of judgment, as ungodlyand unrighteous.

Let’s not forget Paul himselfsays that Christ died for the ungod-ly. That’s who He died for. He diedfor the ungodly. If you don’t thinkyou’re ungodly, Christ didn’t diefor you. Christ died for the ungodly.If we insist upon justifying our-selves, then Christ’s salvation is notfor us. God’s wrath is just, and Paulis saying that it’s being revealedagainst sin.

II. There is no such thing asan atheist (v. 19)

Paul carries out this argumentexplaining the reason for his wrath:God’s wrath is justified because allpeople know God and yet areungodly. God’s wrath is justifiedbecause He is known among thepeoples. No one can claim igno-rance. Paul says everyone knowsGod because God Himself hasmade Himself evident to them.They know God, God is plainlyseen. And suppressing that knowl-edge of the truth makes mankindliable for sin.

Paul’s argument is not that aman’s ignorance is inexcusablebecause God’s revelation is so clear,but that man’s religious behavior, orlack of it, is inexcusable becauseman is not ignorant.

Paul is saying we know, and westill don’t worship; we still don’tobey, we still don’t love God; we

still don’t love our neighbor. Weknow it, and we don’t do it. Paulsays there’s nobody who doesn’tknow God, who doesn’t alreadyready know the one true God, andyet they choose not to worshipHim.

III. God's nature, eternityand power are made knownthrough His creation (v. 20)

The ungodly are without excusebecause they know so much aboutGod. Paul says the world, creationitself shows you that the one trueGod exists. And you even seesomething of His eternity. Theworld is not eternal; He is. You cansee something of His power. Theworld didn’t create itself. You cansee something of His attributes, Hiswisdom, His perfection, His good-ness, and even His judgment as youlook at the world around you. Paulis not merely asserting that God isrevealed, but that He has been clear-ly seen.

Look at the words of verse 20:"Has been clearly seen and under-stood." We get it and we still sup-press it. And then Paul turns to thelanguage of the law courts. Pauluses a word, “unapologia,” that is,“without excuse,” a technical Gre-co-Roman legal term. We havenothing to say for ourselves. Youknow there are a lot of people whothink they will argue with God onthe last day, but Paul says everymouth will be shut on that daybecause there is no defense againstthis.

Humanity was created in theimage of God, yet we were ungod-ly. We had the law of God writtenon our hearts, yet we were unright-eous. We were in rebellion againstGod, and everybody in the worldfalls into that camp unless they’re inChrist Jesus.

And the Apostle Paul says thatthis is why the good news is sogood to me, because that’s wherewe are, whether you like it not, thatis where you are.

But God in His goodness, in Hislove, in His grace, in His mercy hassaved me through the righteousnessof Christ. All I did was trust on theLord Jesus Christ alone for my sal-vation as is offered in the gospel,and I became a child of God.

St. Matthew's unitedMethodist Church is hosting aninaugural golf scramble at theCanton Country Club where pro-ceeds will benefit the church'sHart Hall renovation and Hon-duras mission efforts.

The tournament will be Sept.6.

For more information, call(601) 201-5595 or (601) 856-9581.

Thursday, 9/650’s Plus event

Come and join us for Ridge-land Recreation & Parks 50’sPlus on Thursday, from 11:30a.m.–1 p.m., at the RidgelandRecreational Center.

Bring a large salad and/orvegetable. Chicken, tea, coffee,and dessert will be provided.Our program this month is the“ABC’s of Medicare.”

We will also have musicalentertainment by Robby Stringerand Linda Blackwell.

You must register by callingLynda at (601) 856-6876.

Friday, 9/7-9/9celticFest Mississippi

Immerse yourself in Celticart, music and culture beginningat 10 a.m. at the MississippiAgricutlure and Forestry Muse-um.

The event will also featureeducational workshops, familyand children’s activities, andplenty of Celtic food. For moreinformation, visitwww.celticfestms.org or call(601) 713-3365.

Saturday 9/8cMT Support Group

The Support Group for Char-cot-Marie-Tooth disease, aninherited neurological disorder,will meet on Saturday, Septem-ber 8, 2012, 2-4:30 P.M. at theBaptist Healthplex, 102 ClintonParkway. Visitors are welcome.For more information, please call601-825-2258

Tuesday, 9/11Mystery readers

The Madison County MysteryReaders will meet at 10:30 am, atthe Ridgeland Public Library.New members and guests fromthe entire metro area are wel-come. For more information,please call (601) 853-8392.

elton John

Musical legend Sir Elton Johnwill perform at the MississippiColiseum at 8 p.m.. Tickets startat $77.

9/11-9/23Southern comedy

Mississippi’s only not-for-profit professional theatre, NewStage Theatre, will be hosting“The Foreigner” by Larry Shue.Winner of two Obie Awards andtwo Outer Critics Circle Awardsas Best New American Play andBest Off-Broadway Production,“The Foreigner” may be one ofthe funniest American plays everwritten.

Charlie's shyness renders himhelpless in conversation - sowhen a friend covers for him bytelling the other guests in a ruralGeorgia fishing lodge that he isan exotic foreigner and speaks noEnglish, Charlie ends up hearingmore — MuCH more — than heshould — and the hilarity begins.For ticket information, call (601)948-3533 or visit www.new-

stagetheatre.com.

Friday, 9/21Symphony at Sunset

The Fondren RenaissanceFoundation hosts an evening ofmusic from the Mississippi Sym-phony Orchestra at The Cedarson Old Canton Road. Bring blan-kets, lawn chairs and picnic bas-kets. Admission is free. For moreinformation, call (601) 981-9606

Saturday, 9/22century ride

Baptist Cancer Services inJackson, is hosting the annualCyclists Curing Cancer CenturyRide on Saturday, Sept. 22.

The journey begins at theBaptist Healthplex-Clinton andstretches all along the historicNatchez Trace. Lunch is provid-ed after the event. All proceedsbenefit Baptist Cancer ServicesSerenity Garden for cancerpatients and their families.

Thursday, 9/27Denim and Diamonds

This year, Denim & Dia-monds celebrates the GoldenYears of Motown with thedynamic Mo’Money band andguest recording artist TonyaYoungblood. The eveningincludes a networking reception,a fabulous silent auction, deli-cious dinner and electrifyingentertainment. Mississippi PhotoBooths, LLC will also be there tocapture our guests in their daz-zling attire. Each guest willreceive a very special keepsakeas a memento of the dynamicgala.

Tickets are $65 per personand may be purchased by VISA,MasterCard, cash or check or bycalling the Ridgeland Chamber at(601) 991-9996.

Come join us on a musicaljourney back to the glory days ofMotown — a sound that defineda generation and left an indeliblestamp on the heart, soul andmind of fans worldwide!


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The bad news: The wrathof God against mankind

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Ridgeland's Ann Smith elementary 2012-2013 PTo Board includes, seated from left,christina lowry, co-VP of academic affairs; Marci Williams, secretary; Dixie livingston, pres-ident; Merry lunsford, co-VP of public relations; Melanie McKinley, co-VP of fundraising;(standing) Jan Richert, co-VP of public relations; Kristy Tubb, co-VP of parental relations;christy Westby-Gibson, co-VP of fundraising; Jeff and Jill Schmidt, treasurers; Sissy lynn,executive vice president; Jenny culver, co-VP of public relations. Not pictured Tammra cas-cio, co-VP of academic affairs, and Harriet carter, co-VP of parental relations.

Award winning author and illustrator, Peter Brown, visited Mannsdale elementary art class-es to promote his new book, creepy carrots, and teach the students about illustratingbooks. With him are Brianna lewis, Arshbir Banipal, lindsey Ackerman, Kendall calloway,Peter Brown, caitlyn Roberts, Hallie Gipson and Jacob Sumlin.

Wilsoncontinued from page A4

Perrycontinued from page A4


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8 miles ne of canton,near Sharon

192 acres, most in 20-year pine plantation

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call601.859.5251

Scholarship grows for UMstudents killed in Oct. 2011

On Monday, the MississippiState Department of Health(MSDH) reports 10 new humancases of West Nile virus (WNV)for 2012. The reported cases are inForrest (1), Lamar (1), Lawrence(1), Lincoln (2), Madison (1),Marion (1), Rankin (2), and War-ren (1) counties, bringing the statetotal for 2012 to 95 cases and twodeaths. This is the greatest numberof cases reported by the end ofJuly since 2002.

In 2011, Mississippi had 52WNV cases and five deaths. TheMSDH only reports laboratory-confirmed cases to the public.

MSDH is currently workingwith city and county officials toboost mosquito control efforts intheir jurisdictions by providingmap specific information forspraying efforts.

The agency has developed andprinted educational materials anddoor-hangers for mayors, boardsof supervisors and other electedofficials that are now being dis-tributed locally through civicgroups, churches and volunteerorganizations. The MSDH is alsoworking with the Mississippi HighSchool Athletics Association andthe Mississippi IndependentSchools Association in announc-ing public service messages athigh school football games andother athletic events.

Peak season for WNV is July,August, and September in Missis-sippi, but mosquito-borne illness-es can occur year-round. Missis-sippians should take appropriateprecautions to reduce the risk ofcontracting WNV and other mos-quito-borne illnesses.

Like many university of Mis-sissippi students, MasonWilbanks, Sam Clayton Kelly andWalker Kelly enjoyed the Groveon football Saturdays. All threegraduated from Madison CentralHigh School, attended BroadmoorBaptist Church and pledged thesame fraternity.

But on the morning of Oct. 30,2011, the three friends were killedas they headed back to Ole Misswhen their car veered off Interstate55 north of Jackson and crashedonto Highway 35. Their legacieswill continue together, though,thanks to the many lives theytouched and to a memorial schol-arship created in their names.Family, friends and the KappaAlpha Order have contributed$81,000 to an endowment thatcontinues to be open for gifts.

Ken Wilbanks of Madison,Mason’s father, said there hasbeen “overwhelming support andconcern” from the Ole Miss fami-ly and from across Mississippi.

“The families are extremelytouched and truly humbled by theoutpouring of love and supportshown us during this very difficultand trying time,” he said.

“But I can’t say I’m surprised.That, to me, is the essence of whatOle Miss truly is about, and whatthose who aren’t ‘Rebels’ willnever fully understand about thiswonderful institution. ‘We are OleMiss’ is much, much more than acheer on Saturdays in the fall.”

Sam Clayton’s father, SamKelly of Madison, spoke about thestudents’ priorities that he hopeswill live on through the scholar-ship.

“It is not often that you hear theterm ‘legacy’ used in regard to 18-and 19-year-old boys, but the termclearly fits Mason, Walker andSam Clayton,” Kelly said. ”Theyleft a legacy of what it means to betrue friends, humble servants andavid Ole Miss Rebels. As parents,

we are humbled that our boysmade, and continue to make, suchan impact on so many. Throughthe overwhelming support of theKappa Alpha Order and manyfriends, this scholarship endow-ment will allow Mason, Walkerand Sam Clayton’s legacy to con-tinue well into the future.”

Losing young people affectsthe entire community, saidThomas “Sparky” Reardon, deanof students. “Students are the fab-ric that makes up Ole Miss. Whenyou lose one, you hurt. When youlose three outstanding young menat the beginning of their collegecareers, it is particularly devastat-ing.”

Responding to the loss, uM’sKappa Alpha chapter contacted itsnational organization for support,as well as KA members, parentsand friends across the Southeast,said chapter President MatthewJones of Birmingham.

The Ole Miss chapter alsohosted activities, including a silentauction and a golf tournament, tocontribute to the scholarshipendowment.

“We’re pleased that the schol-arship endowment has reachedthis level, but it’s something wehope will continue to grow longafter the current members havegraduated and new faces take ourplace,” Jones said. “We feel theamount of support we’ve receivednot only reflects on these threeyoung men, their families and ourchapter but also on the university,its administration and alumni. TheOle Miss family cares. Our chap-ter received support from otherGreek and campus organizations.These were three really great guyswho were basically getting theirlives started, and so many peopleknew them.”

That sentiment was echoed byChris Kelly of Madison, Walker’sfather.

“In the short time that these

boys spent on the campus of OleMiss, they were able to touch thelives of many,” he said. “Thescholarship endowment wasestablished to make sure that theirenthusiasm for helping others con-tinued.

With the support of the univer-sity of Mississippi, the KA frater-nity, and countless friends andfamily this has become a reality.Though Mason, Sam Clayton andWalker were only able to partici-pate in just over two months oftheir Ole Miss dream, these schol-arships will assist in making surethat other students have the abilityto make their Ole Miss dreamscome true.

And at the same time, thescholarships will keep the conta-gious spirit of Mason, Sam Clay-ton, and Walker alive on the cam-pus of Ole Miss for years tocome.”

Wilbanks and his family wereoften on the Oxford campus.

“Having taken Mason to OleMiss sporting events his entirelife, I am just so thankful he got toexperience life as an Ole Miss stu-dent, albeit brief,” Ken Wilbankssaid. “Mason once expressed hisfeeling for his university in a highschool English paper: ‘If my fam-ily were a color, it wouldn’t be justone. It would be both red and bluebecause my whole family bleedsOle Miss.’ Mason, Sam Claytonand Walker were loving the OleMiss experience, and KA played alarge part. We want God to be glo-rified through all this. More thananything else, that’s what wewant.”

Sam Kelly reflected on thesymbolism of the scholarship.

“The Ole Miss alma materreminds us that ‘There Ole Miss iscalling, calling, to our hearts fondmemories.’

Through this scholarshipendowment, the fond memoriescreated by Mason, Walker andSam Clayton during their shorttime at Ole Miss will live forever.And, our hearts will be forevergrateful to our Ole Miss, theirfriends and the Kappa AlphaOrder for this great remem-brance.”

The endowment is open togifts from individuals and organi-zations.

To contribute, send checkswith the Kelly, Kelly andWilbanks Scholarship noted to theuniversity of Mississippi Founda-tion, P.O. Box 249, university,Miss. 38655; contact SandraGuest at 662-915-5208 [email protected]; or visithttp://www.umfoundation.com/makeagift.

Ten newWest Nilecases in state

Water washes over a pier in Gulfport, Miss. on Tuesday. Hurricane isaac hovered over theGulf coast on Wednesday morning, punishing southeast louisiana with 80 mph wind gusts,horizontal rain and the threat of calamitous flooding.

The lake Borgne Surge Barrier, designed to protect New orleans and surrounding areasfrom flooding, is closed in New orleans on Tueday. Tropical Storm isaac, projected to landsomewhere along the Mississippi or Southeast louisiana coast Tuesday evening, was onthe verge of becoming a category 1 hurricane early Tuesday, though precisely where itwould make landfall remained guesswork.

The National Weather Servicesaid that tropical storm forcewind gusts could develop and aTropical Storm Watch was ineffect for Madison County.

Rain bands associated withIsaac were expected to be push-ing into the region with windgusts up to 45 m.p.h. The poten-tial for a few brief tornadoes waspossible, the NWS said.

For nearly a week, MadisonCounty officials and residentshave been watching and waitingto see what Isaac would bring.(See story, page A2.)

“We’re not going to let ourguard down though,” Hammock

added. “This thing is real broad.Nothing has really changed.We’re still concerned about thelow-lying areas and trying tokeep the trees out of the roads.”

He said communication andpreparation have been solidthroughout the county andmunicipalities leading up toIsaac, adding that everyone in thestate learned after Hurricane Kat-rina.

“People are a lot better pre-pared than they used to be,” hesaid. “They take it serious now.”

Hurricane Isaac formed as theninth named storm and fourthhurricane of the 2012 Atlanticseason around Aug. 15 as a tropi-cal wave from the west coast ofAfrica, where a majority of hurri-canes that hit the Gulf Coastbegin.

A week later, it traveled

through Cuba, Haiti and Hispan-iola leaving deaths and floodingin its wake. As it entered the Gulfof Mexico it slowed down, whileintensifying in speed, ultimatelybecoming a Category 1 hurricaneon Aug. 28. Isaac was over 800miles wide at its largest point.

Since Isaac entered the Gulf,there were numerous forecastmodels as meteorologists wereunable to pinpoint its exact trajec-tory.

On Wednesday, it continued tobe a slow-moving storm, travel-ing at approximately six m.p.h.,moving northwest into Louisiana.The outer bands though, particu-larly the rougher eastern bands,are expected to cause heavy rain-fall and flooding throughout partsof Mississippi.

Isaaccontinued from page A2

Suzy Dinger shared this photo Wednesday from Braithwaite, la., (Plaque-mines Parish) as Hurricane isaac stalled over southeastern louisiana.

Photo by Michael Appleton/The New York Times

Photo by Brendan Hoffman/The New York Times


oBiTuarieSedna Todd abernathy

Edna Todd Abernethy, 87, of Madison diedSaturday, Aug. 25, 2012, at Hospice Ministries.Services were held Tuesday, August 28, at Myrtleunited Methodist church and burial followed atGerizim Cemetery in Myrtle. united FuneralService of New Albany was in charge of thearrangements.

Mrs. Abernethy was born Oct. 13, 1924, in theRio Grande Valley of Texas in the town of Donna.At age 14, she moved to the New Albany, Miss.area and graduated from Macedonia High School.She had been a resident of The Home Place inMadison since 1998.

Mrs. Abernethy was preceded in death by herhusband of 56 years, James Abernethy. Survivorsinclude her son, J. Samuel Abernethy of Dahlone-ga, Ga.; daughter, Suzanne Parker of Madison;one granddaughter; two great-granddaughters; sis-ter, Ethel Montgomery of Brandon; and severalnieces and nephews.

She was a member of Myrtle united MethodistChurch and was also involved with St. Matthew'sunited Methodist Church in Madison for manyyears. Memorials may be made to either of thosechurches or to The Home Place.

Martha Jane Hamilton HammondMartha Jane Hamilton Hammond died Sunday,

Aug. 26, 2012, at Highland Home in Ridgelandwhere she was a resident. Services were heldWednesday, Aug. 29 at Broadmoor Baptist Churchand interment was at Oakwood Cemetery inWinona. Wright and Ferguson Funeral Homeassisted with the arrangements.

Mrs. Hammond was born March 4, 1925, inJonesboro, Ark. to Jack Lansford and ConnieBillingsley Hamilton of Grenada County andMontgomery County, Miss. After her father'sdeath in 1929, she and her mother moved back toWinona and her mother later married H. E. John-son. She graduated in 1942 from Winona HighSchool where she was valedictorian and home-coming queen. She attended Mississippi StateCollege for Women, now MuW, and graduatedwith honors. After college, she taught high schoolEnglish briefly in Tchula and Panama City, Fla.

She married her high school sweetheart,Arnold Townsend Hammond, on May 14, 1949,and they lived in Winona until 1960 when thenmoved to Jackson. The Hammonds joined Broad-moor Baptist Church and Mrs. Hammond taughtSunday School.

After raising four children, Mrs. Hammondobtained her Ph.D. in English, attending Missis-sippi College and the university of Southern Mis-sissippi. She taught English for several years atMississippi College.

She was preceded in death by her husband; sis-ter, Rebecca Johnson Turnage; and brother,Lawrence Johnson. Survivors include her chil-dren, Linda Bloszies of Seale, Ala., LaurieWilliams of Marietta, Ga., Jack Hammond ofJackson, and Lee Hammond of Jackson; and fourgrandchildren.

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Delta lambda chapter of Delta Gamma Fraternity recently welcomed 87 new members atMississippi State University during our formal recruitment this past August. New membersfrom this area include Reagan McNerney (New Hebron), Sydney Simpson (Flora), Mary-Paige Hall (clinton), Haley irwin (clinton), Haley Butler (Brandon), Millie Adams (Ridgeland),Madison Burrell (Pelahatchie) (Back Row) elizabeth Garland (Jackson), Kelsey Jones(Jackson), Marley Gill (Raymond), emily McBride (Madison), caroline Blake (Madison),emily Ann Kirkland (Madison), Mary Margaret Tolbert (Madison) and Kate Blankenstein(Brandon). Not pictured Melissa Archer (Jackson).


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BankPlus promotionBankPlus announced recently

that Natalie Arnemann was pro-moted to vice president in thebank’s Private ClientGroup. Arnemann has over sevenyears of experience in the bank-ing industry and has worked as anofficer in the BankPlus PrivateClient Group for four years.

A native of Jackson, Arnemannis a 2001 graduate of JacksonPreparatory School and 2005graduate of the university ofMississippi.

In the community, Arnemannis a member of the Junior Leagueof Jackson, serving as co-chair of

the McClean Fletcher Grief Cen-ter Project. She serves as classrepresentative in the JacksonPrep Alumni Council and on thesocial committee in the Tri-DeltaAlumni Association. Arnemannalso serves on the Arthritis Foun-dation’s Jammin’ for Joints eventcommittee.

She and her husband MichaelArnemann live in Jackson, haveone son Baker, and attend St.Richard’s Catholic Church

Horne makes promotionsHORNE LLP, one of the

nation’s top accounting and busi-ness advisory firms, announcedpromotions for several teammembers in the Ridgeland office.

Michael Campbell was pro-moted to senior associate. Camp-bell focuses on health care assur-ance, including traditional auditand other assurance services suchas IT compliance and risk man-agement, internal audit and finan-cial statement health care audits.

Jim Wadlington was promot-ed to manager, and Laura Gillen-water, Julia Jesuit and LoriCrocker to senior associate. Eachfocuses on health care reimburse-ment and advisory services. In

addition, several promotionswere made for team membersfocusing on disaster recoverymanagement in the metro-Jack-son area.

Trey Breckenridge, JonathanKrebs and Jimmy Smith werepromoted to manager. MelissaPowell, Amanda Richardson,Johnny Sanders and BillWadlington were promoted tosupervisor.

venture’s Data centerVenture Technologies recently

announce that their DataCenter is in compliance with therigorous requirements of theSOC Type II Audit.

“The primary focus of this ini-tial audit was security,” saidNor-man Katool, co-founder andCFO. Venture will be auditingavailability and additionalaspects in the coming years.

The Data Centers providesVenture’s VTCloud® Servicesincluding Hosted Apps, HostedEmail, uCloud – Hosted VoIP,Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Busi-ness Continuity and Watch –Security and Monitoring to tensof thousands of users internation-ally.

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robertson heads naSraPat Robertson, executive

director of the Public Employ-ees’ Retirement System of Mis-sissippi (PERS), is the new pres-ident of the Executive Board ofthe National Association of StateRetirement Administrators(NASRA).

NASRA is a non-profit asso-ciation whose members are thedirectors of the nation's state, ter-ritorial, and largest statewidepublic retirement systems. NAS-RA members oversee retirementsystems that hold more than $2trillion in assets, and providepension and other benefits tomore than two-thirds of all stateand local government employ-ees.

A graduate of MississippiState university with a bache-lor’s in accounting, Robertsonhas worked at PERS since 1980and has served as the agency’sexecutive director since 2005.Along with NASRA, she is amember of the GovernmentalAccounting Standards AdvisoryCouncil, Bank of New YorkClient Advisory Board, Missis-sippi State university College ofBusiness Executive AdvisoryBoard, National Council onTeacher Retirement LegislativeCommittee, Advisory Board ofthe Mississippi Certified PublicManager Program, and a gradu-ate of the State Executive Devel-opment Institute of the John C.Stennis Institute of Governmentat Mississippi State university.

Robertson is a Certified Pub-lic Accountant, Certified Gov-

ernment Financial Manager, Cer-tified Public Manager, CertifiedRetirement Counselor, and Certi-fied Retirement Administrator.

She also has been involvedwith the Government FinanceOfficers’ Association of the unit-ed States and Canada, serving onthe Executive Board from 2003to 2006 and as a representative tothe Public Pension CoordinatingCouncil from 2001 to 2003.

Travel tips off i-55To avoid congestion at the

Old Agency exit off I-55 north,travelers are advised to use theRidgeland exit and the newFrontage Road instead.

Drivers may travel along thenew Frontage Road to SteedRoad.

If you are going to the Ren-aissance, turn left onto SteedRoad and go under I-55. Thenturn left onto the Frontage Roadalongside the Renaissance atColony Park.

If you are going to HighlandColony Parkway, turn left ontoSteed Road and go straight untilyou reach the Parkway.

If you are going to HolmesCommunity College and aretravelling from I-55 north, pleaseuse the Ridgeland exit and thenew Frontage Road. Follow it toSteed Road where you will turnright and go straight to Sunny-brook Road.

Travel tips on old agencyIf you are going to Olde

Towne Middle School in Ridge-land from Old Agency Road,

please use the dual left turn lanesonto Sunnybrook Road. Two leftturn lanes for Sunnybrook Roadare open and ready for your use.

If you are going to HolmesCommunity College in Ridge-land from Old Agency Road,please use the new FrontageRoad to Steed Road, then Sunny-brook Road.

educational outingOn Aug. 30 from 3 p.m.-7

p.m., the Mississippi Museum ofNatural Science, the MississippiChildren’s Museum, the Missis-sippi Agriculture & ForestryMuseum and the MississippiSports Hall of Fame & Museumwill provide free admission andstay open late to provide educa-tors with the resources they needfor the new school year.

Educators will receive freeeducational resource materials,meet contacts from other agen-cies and organizations, play andlearn in exhibits and galleries,find out more about programs,field trips, and teacher work-shops, shop in each museum’sgift store, ask our staff questions,enjoy free refreshments and reg-ister to win door prizes with atotal value of $1,000.00.

No advance registration isrequired.

The event is for adults onlyand is open to all educators:classroom and home schoolteachers, administrators, day-care providers, librarians, oryouth group leaders.

neWS BrieFS

Pictured is the Ridgeland High School TiTAN yearbook financial staff for the 2012-2013school year. left to right are Shekinah Robinson, Kalah Walker, clara Beth Herrmann,Andrea Fields, editors Anna Margaret Stanley and Rhae'Ven ellis, Avery Huff, MichelleNguyen, Allison Bunch and chelsie Jones. Not pictured is Alexis Moore.

christ covenant Schoolfirst graders courtlyn Taylor

and Matthew Ryan, right,love finding vegetables

growing in the school gar-den — especially giant

cucumbers!


*GM is Gray Daniels Chevrolet General Manager. Offers with approved credit. See dealer for full details.

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Documents

Mcja 8 30 2012