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Monday | June 8, 2020

‘All we want is justice and for all of this to stop’

Community leaders, public officials in Columbus join citizens in rally to pray for justice
BY YUE STELLA YU
syu@cdispatch.com
Marching down Main
Street, R.J. Matthews pulled
off his blue cloth mask and
held up his left hand in the air.
“We pray, God, use this
moment to give us justice, to
give us change,” Matthews,
lead pastor at Kingdom Vision
International Church, prayed
through a megaphone.
“Justice for all,” he repeat-
edly chanted, his voice high-
er and higher, veins pumping
through his skin. And behind
him, hundreds of demonstra-
tors marched, prayed and
chanted along.
The crowd of roughly 200
walked from Columbus Po-
lice Department to Lowndes
County Courthouse as part of
the “Jesus and Justice Rally”
Sunday afternoon, with many
holding up “Black Lives Mat-
ter” signs to protest against
racial injustice.
The rally, conducted peace-
fully, was the latest of many
in Columbus and Starkville
in the wake of national outcry
sparked by the death of black
man George Floyd in Minne-
apolis after white police officer
Derek Chauvin knelt on his
neck for almost nine minutes.
More than 2,000 attended a
rally in Starkville on Saturday.
n TOP PHOTO: Lowndes County Courthouse is reflected in Cycelia
Matthews’ sunglasses during a Kingdom Vision International
Church worship service on Sunday. People gathered in front of the
courthouse again later in the day for the Jesus and Justice Rally,
which was also organized by Kingdom Vision International Church.
Photo by Claire Hassler/Dispatch Staff.
For Columbus residents, Canyon Boykin, a white former
the Sunday march also was police officer who shot and
a response to Mississippi At- killed black man Ricky Ball
torney General Lynn Fitch’s in 2015 after Ball ran a traffic
decision March 29 to drop the stop.
manslaughter charge against See PROTESTS, 6A

Town hall
meeting on
Ricky Ball
case planned
for Tuesday
Panel discussion to be
held on Facebook Live
DISPATCH STAFF REPORT
The city of Columbus will host a
livestreamed Town Hall meeting Tues-
day night where a panel of experts
will answer questions about crime and
policing in Columbus, including ques-
tions about the Ricky Ball case.
“Policing in Columbus” will stream
on Facebook Live at 5:30 p.m., accord-
ing to a Columbus Police Department
press release. Panelists, which include
representatives from CPD, the Lown-
des County District Attorney’s Office
and The Dispatch, will answer ques-
tions which the audience are encour-
aged to submit live during the event.
Sitting on the panel will be Colum-
bus Police Chief Fred Shelton, Mayor
Robert Smith, Dispatch Publisher Pe-
ter Imes, Lowndes County NAACP
President Lavonne Latham Harris,
District Attorney Scott Colom and a
representative from the “Justice for
Ricky Ball organization.” Moderators
See PANEL, 3A
MONDAY PROFILE
History to spare means history to share
Ward helps others find their family
roots through his family’s records
BY SLIM SMITH
ssmith@cdispatch.com
R
ufus Ward doesn’t just write and lecture about
history. He lives and breathes it.
His family is connected to one of the most
prominent families in Lowndes County history, and
Ward is widely known as the most authoritative voice
on the history of the area, the unofficial historian of
Columbus.
Born on the sixth anniversary of D-Day, he turned
70 on Saturday. He’s authored two books of history,
been the co-author or contributing author on three
others, written more than 500 history columns pub-
lished in The Dispatch and has been the go-to source
for innumerable newspaper and magazine pieces,
including a New York Times section-cover story on
the origins of Memorial Day.
His home on College Street, Ole Homestead, built
in the 1820s, is the oldest known surviving struc-
ture in the original city limits and one of the oldest
homes in North Mississippi. It is filled with historical
artifacts, including a spittoon once owned by John
Adams, the second president of the United States,
and an original Matthew Brady photo from the 1850s
used as the model for the portrait of the family patri-
Claire Hassler/Dispatch Staff
arch Thomas C. Billups, which hangs over the man- Local historian Rufus Ward poses for a portrait on Thursday on
tle. There are also original sketches from Columbus his porch in Columbus. Ward said his interest in local history
native Josh Meador, one of the artists who worked on was sparked by his family members, who were also fascinated
See WARD, 6A by history. “I grew up in it,” Ward said.

WEATHER FIVE QUESTIONS LOCAL FOLKS PUBLIC

1 What do the letters in NAFTA stand MEETINGS
for? June 9: West Point
2 What is the name of the pirate ship in Board of Select-
J. M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan”? men, 5:30 p.m. City
3 Mushrooms and toadstools can form Hall
naturally growing arcs or circles called June 12: Lowndes
what magical name?
4 Which two Pennsylvania football County School Dis-
Lily Bradley trict, 12:30 p.m.,
teams combined in 1943 to form the
First grade, Annunciation Central Office
Steagles?
5 The Roman Catholic nun Mother Tere-
83 Low 74
June 15: Lowndes
sa is recognized for her missionary work County Board of Su-
High with the poor in which Indian city? pervisors meeting,
Rainy and windy
Full forecast on Answers, 6B 9 a.m., Lowndes
page 3A. County Courthouse
June 16: Colum-
bus City Council,
Municipal Complex,
INSIDE 5 p.m., stream
Classifieds 6B Dear Abby 3B live at facebook.
Comics 3B Obituaries 4B com/CityofColum-
141st Year, No. 75 Crossword 5A Opinions 4A Andrew Burchfield of Starkville wants everyone to stay safe. busMS/

DISPATCH CUSTOMER SERVICE 328-2424 | NEWSROOM 328-2471

2A MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Democrats proposing new police

procedures, accountability
Overhaul to tackle
several aspects of Houston to hold 6-hour public
law enforcement
accountability viewing of Floyd’s casket
Floyd’s family and will provide a video
and practices THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
message for Floyd’s funeral service. A
HOUSTON — Mourners will be
currently under able to view George Floyd’s casket
Biden aide on Sunday described the
plans of the Democratic presidential
fire by protests Monday in his hometown of Houston,
the final stop of a series of memorials
candidate. They did not include at-
tending the service.
in his honor. Biden expects to give the family his
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A six-hour viewing will be held condolences, said the aide, who dis-
at The Fountain of Praise church in cussed Biden’s plans on condition of
WASHINGTON — southwest Houston. The viewing is anonymity.
A sweeping overhaul open to the public, though visitors will Previous memorials have taken
of police oversight and be required to wear a mask and gloves place in Minneapolis and Raeford,
procedures is being pro- to comply with coronavirus-related North Carolina, near where Floyd
posed by Democrats in guidelines. was born. At the Minneapolis tribute
response to the deaths Floyd’s funeral will be Tuesday, Thursday, those in attendance stood in
of black Americans at followed by burial at the Houston Me- silence for 8 minutes, 46 seconds, the
the hands of law enforce- morial Gardens cemetery in suburban length of time prosecutors say Floyd
ment, according to a Pearland, where he will be laid to rest was pinned to the ground under the
draft outline obtained by next to his mother, Larcenia Floyd. officer’s knee before he died.
The Associated Press. George Floyd died May 25 after Floyd was raised in Houston’s
The Justice in Polic- a white Minneapolis police officer Third Ward and was a well-known for-
ing Act, to be unveiled pressed his knee into his neck for mer high school football player who
Monday, would limit le- several minutes even after he stopped rapped with local legend DJ Screw. He
gal protections for police, responding. His death has inspired moved to Minneapolis several years
create a national data- international protests and drawn new ago to seek work and a fresh start.
base of excessive-force attention to the treatment of African His face now appears on a mural in
incidents and ban police Americans by police and the criminal his old neighborhood, and his name
choke holds, among oth- justice system. was chanted by tens of thousands last
er changes. It is the most Former Vice President Joe Biden week at a protest and march in down-
ambitious changes to law plans to travel to Houston to meet with town Houston.
enforcement sought by
Congress in years.
Rep. Karen Bass,
since Floyd’s death. And Sen. Lindsey Gra- Sen. Cory Booker, a
D-Calif., chairwoman of
House Judiciary Com- ham, R-S.C., the chair- Democratic rival who
the Congressional Black
mittee Chairman Jerrold man of the Senate Judi- had been critical of Biden
Caucus, which is leading
Nadler, D-N.Y., a co-au- ciary Committee, has during the presidential
the effort, said called it
thor with Bass and the said his panel intends to primary campaign, said
“transformative.”
Democratic senators, hold a hearing to review he “fully” put his faith in
“We’re in a real mo-
will convene a hearing on use of force issues and Biden now “to be the per-
ment in our country,”
the legislation this week. police practices. son who could preside
she said Sunday on CNN,
It is unclear if law en- The presumed Dem- over this transformative
speaking after days of
forcement and the pow- ocratic presidential change.”
massive protests set off
erful police unions will nominee, Joe Biden, has “This is a referendum
by the death of George
back any of the proposed backed a ban on choke- on who we are as Amer-
Floyd and other African
changes or if congressio- holds and other elements icans and who we’re go-
Americans involving the
nal Republicans will join of the package. ing to be to each other,”
police.
the effort. “I can’t breathe” has Booker said on NBC.
Bass said the package
At least one Repub- become a rallying cry by Booker and fellow
from House and Senate
lican, Sen. Mike Lee protesters. Floyd plead- one-time presidential
Democrats will be bold-
of Utah, who has long ed with police that he hopeful, Sen. Kamala
er than any law enforce-
pushed for a criminal couldn’t breathe, echo- Harris of California, are
ment changes of the past
justice overhaul, has said ing the same phrase Eric co-authors of the pack-
decade. “It is time for
he’d like to review the Garner said while in po- age in the Senate.
police culture in many
package coming from lice custody in 2014 be-
departments to change,”
Democrats. fore his death.
she said. “And we believe
that the legislation will
make a major step for-
ward in that direction.”
The package con-
fronts several aspects
of law enforcement ac-
countability and practic-
es that have come under
criticism, especially as
more and more police vi-
olence is captured on cell
phone video and shared
widely across the nation,
and the world.
The draft document
said the proposed legisla-
tion would revise the fed-
eral criminal police mis-
conduct statute to make
it easier to prosecute of-
ficers who are involved in
misconduct “knowingly
or with reckless disre-
gard.”
The package would
also change “qualified
immunity” protections
for police “to enable indi-
viduals to recover damag-
es when law enforcement
officers violate their
constitutional rights,” it
says.
The legislation would
seek to provide greater
oversight and transpar-
ency of police behavior
in several ways. For one,
it would grant subpoe-
na power to the Justice
Department to conduct
“pattern and practice”
investigations of poten-
tial misconduct and help
states conduct indepen-
dent investigations.
And it would create a
“National Police Miscon-
duct Registry,” a data-
base to try to prevent of-
ficers from transferring
from one department to
another with past mis-
conduct undetected, the
draft said.
A long-sought federal
anti-lynching bill stalled
in Congress is included
in the package.
However, the pack-
age stops short calls by
leading activists to “de-
fund the police,” a push
to dismantle or reduce
financial resources to
police departments that
has struck new intensity
in the weeks of protests
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2020 3A

Clay supes OK $500,000 bond for road work in District 3

Inmates in work
program to resume
labor today
BY GARRICK HODGE
ghodge@cdispatch.com
WEST POINT –– The Clay
County Board of Supervisors
decided Thursday to authorize
issuing a $500,000 road and
bridge bond to be used for re-
pairs in District 3.
The county will repay the
debt over a maximum term of
15 years. Supervisors also set
the sale date of the bonds for
June 25.
District 3 Supervisor R.B.
Davis said his Clay County operates differ- ent of the $500,000 road and or neglected cemeteries and
top street pri- ently than others in the Gold- bridge bond Thursday, had a public roads of the county.
orities for road
work with the
en Triangle, as the county is
organized using a beat system
20-year outstanding bond to-
taling $500,000 issued in 2000
Scott said social distancing
will be essential.
allotted funds
were Mac Pate
instead of a unit system.
Under a unit system, the
that will be paid off by Aug. 1,
Clay County Chancery Clerk
“They have to toe the line,
no ifs ands or buts about it,”
and Palestine county works as its own enti- Amy Berry said. Scott said.
Davis roads, but he ty with a county administrator Each of the county’s other At an earlier meeting this
also hoped to see and a road manager that over- districts has one outstanding
month, Scott said some pre-
improvements on Old Highway sees all the roads in that county. bond out for $500,000, with the
cautions will include taking an
10, Gates Road and Joe Myers They work under the guidance exception of District 4, which
inmate’s temperature twice a
Road. He acknowledged the of the board of supervisors and has two outstanding $500,000
$500,000 likely wouldn’t cover county engineer to ensure all bonds dating back to 2008 and day, once at the beginning and
all construction needed. the roads are maintained. With 2013. end of the work detail. The su-
“We’re ordering these bonds the beat system, each supervi- Also at Thursday’s meeting, pervisor of the work detail will
so I can have money to repair sor is individually responsible Sheriff Eddie Scott said in- also have his or her tempera-
my roads with,” Davis said. “… for working with the county mates who are part of the joint ture checked. Further, workers
We’re in dire need of money to engineer to ensure the roads state county work program are will have to change clothes im-
do more road work and repairs. and bridges of the district they set to return to work today. mediately upon arriving back
It doesn’t go far, but it’s what represent are maintained. Some projects inmates work on to prison upon completion of
we can get.” District 3, the lone recipi- involve cleaning up abandoned their work.

UNDER THE CAPITOL DOME

Analysis: Protesters talked, 1st-year lawmaker listened

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JACKSON — Democratic
state Rep. Zakiya Summers of
Jackson has been in the Missis-
sippi House only since January.
She stepped into a leadership
role Friday when protesters
were demanding to enter the
state Capitol and were being
blocked by police officers who
stood in front of a locked door.
The protesters wanted any
elected official — the gover-
nor, the attorney general, any
available legislator — to listen
to their grievances about police
brutality against African Amer-
icans.
Summers was the only law-
maker to be found inside the
Capitol on an afternoon that
the House and Senate were not
meeting. At the request of Cap-
itol police, she stepped outside
to speak to the crowd of about
200.
Summers made an immedi-
ate connection, letting protest-
ers know she was listening to
their concerns.
“I want the same thing y’all
want — no free killing,” Sum-
mers said.
One of the protesters held
a megaphone to amplify the
freshman lawmaker’s voice.
Summers said that as a black
woman, she worries about the
possibility of police brutality
against her three sons, her hus-
band or her father.
“Yes, ma’am,” one of the pro-
testers responded. “Come on
with it,” said another.
“It’s time out for the foolish-
ness,” Summers said. “And it’s
time out from people being in
positions and using their posi-
tion and using their privilege
and using their whiteness to
continue to oppress our peo-
ple.”
The protesters had already
been to the Sillers state office
building across the street from
the Capitol, where they were
turned away when a police offi-
cer told them the building was
closed because of the coronavi-
rus pandemic. They wanted to
deliver a letter to Republican
Attorney General Lynn Fitch,
criticizing her decision to drop
the prosecution of a white for-
mer police officer, Canyon Boy-
kin, in the 2015 shooting death
of an African American man,
Ricky Ball, after a traffic stop.
Fitch’s predecessor, Dem-
ocrat Jim Hood, persuaded a
grand jury to indict Boykin in
2016 on a manslaughter charge.
Boykin pleaded not guilty and
was awaiting trial. After Fitch
took office in January, she had
her staff review the case, and
she announced May 28 that
she was dropping the charge
after concluding the evidence
showed Boykin acted in self-de-
fense. The case was dropped
“with prejudice,” meaning it
can’t be refiled.
The Mississippi Poor Peo-
ple’s Campaign organized the
Friday protest and wrote the
letter to Fitch. Summers prom-
ised she would deliver copies to
every lawmaker. Her voice also
choked with emotion as she
stood with Ball’s young daugh-
ter and told the crowd that “sys-
temic racism is real.”
“This is not a moment. This
is a movement,” Summers said.
“My heart is filled. What a time
to be a legislator, right? What a
time to be in a position where
you can create the change that
you want to see.”
During a news conference
Thursday, Summers had stood
with other members of the Mis-
sissippi Legislative Black Cau-
cus in the Capitol rotunda. They
said they hope national protests
about police treatment of Afri-
can Americans will focus atten-
tion on some changes they have
sought for years. Democratic
Rep. John Faulkner of Holly
Springs said the proposals in-
clude the mandated use of body
cameras by law enforcement
officers and the appointment of
special prosecutors in cases of
officer-involved shootings.
Faulkner said caucus mem-
bers have also sought to require
“racial impact statements” for
all pieces of legislation, evalu-
ating how proposed laws might
affect African Americans.
And they have pushed for
automatic restoration of voting
rights when a person completes
a sentence for a disenfranchis-
ing felony. Mississippi’s cur-
rent system disproportionately
hurts African Americans. Leg-
islators must vote to restore
suffrage on a person-by-person
basis, and only a few of those
requests are granted each year.
Summers’ action of listening
to the protesters helped diffuse
tension Friday. Summers also
praised the Capitol police, who
had stood stoically while sev-
eral protesters yelled in their
faces.
“I love our security because
they’re doing their job,” said
Summers, who was flanked by
several officers. As Summers
spoke, a Capitol policewoman
stood with her arm protectively
around the lawmaker’s back.

Cristobal now a depression drenching Mississippi River basin

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW ORLEANS —
Tropical Storm Cristobal
weakened into a depres-
sion early Monday after
inundating coastal Lou-
isiana and ginning up
dangerous weather along
most of the U.S. Gulf
Coast, sending waves
crashing over Mississippi
beaches, swamping parts
of an Alabama island town
and spawning a tornado in
Florida.
Heavy rainfall and a
storm surge continued
posing a threat across a
wide area of the coast af-
ter Cristobal made landfall
Sunday afternoon packing
50-mph (85-kph) winds
between the mouth of the
Mississippi River and the
since-evacuated barrier
island resort community
of Grand Isle.
At 5 a.m. EDT Mon-
day, the storm was cen-
tered about 40 miles (65
kilometers) north of Ba-
ton Rouge, Louisiana,
with top winds of 35 mph
(55 kmh). It was moving
north-northwest at 10 mph
(17 kmh).
Cristobal’s remnants
could be a rainmaker for
days. Its forecast path
takes it into Arkansas and
Missouri by Tuesday, then
through Illinois and Wis-
consin to the Great Lakes.
“It’s very efficient, very
tropical rainfall,” National
Hurricane Center Direc-
tor Ken Graham said in a
Facebook video. “It rains
a whole bunch real quick.”
Forecasters said up to
12 inches (30 centimeters)
of rain could fall in some
areas. The weather ser-
vice warned that the rain
would contribute to rivers
flooding on the central
Gulf Coast and up into the
Mississippi Valley, posing
a new test of the belea-
guered pumping system
designed to drain flood
waters from the streets of
New Orleans.
Coastal Mississippi
news outlets reported
stalled cars and trucks as
flood waters inundated
beaches and crashed over
highways. On the City
of Biloxi Facebook page,
officials said emergency
workers helped dozens of
motorists through flood
waters, mostly on U.S. 90
running along the coast.
In Alabama, the bridge
linking the mainland
to Dauphin Island was
closed much of Sunday. day afternoon and hadn’t ed, with many businesses its, so residents should
Police and state transpor- returned. A helicopter and already boarded up due avoid underpasses and
tation department vehi- local officials were assist- to the coronavirus. Dan- low-lying areas prone to
cles led convoys of motor- ing in the search for Ted iel Priestman said people inevitable street flooding.
ists to and from the island Roach and Jennifer Lingo- may be “overwhelmed” President Donald
when breaks in the weath- ni, the Coast Guard said in by the coronavirus and Trump agreed to issue an
er permitted. But condi- a statement. recent police violence and emergency declaration for
tions improved as the rain Elsewhere in south protests. They seemed Louisiana, officials said.
bands passed, and people Louisiana, water covered “resigned to whatever In Florida, a tornado
walked on the beach un- the only road to Grand happens —­t happens,” he — the second in two days
der partly sunny skies on Isle and low-lying parts said. in the state as the storm
Monday morning in Gulf of Plaquemines Parish at At one New Orleans approached — uprooted
Shores, Alabama. the state’s southeastern intersection, a handmade trees and downed power
In Louisiana, rising tip. “You can’t go down “Black Lives Matter” sign, lines Sunday afternoon
water on Lake Pontchar- there by car,” shrimper wired to a lamp post, rat- south of Lake City near
Acy Cooper said Sunday tled in a stiff wind as the Interstate 75, the weath-
train near New Orleans
of one marina in the area. crew of a massive vacuum er service and authori-
pushed about two feet of
“You have to go by boat.” truck worked to unclog a ties said. There were no
water into the first floor of
Rain fell intermittent- storm drain. reports of injuries. The
Rudy Horvath’s residence
ly in New Orleans’ famed The Sewerage & Wa- storm also forced a wa-
— a boathouse that sits on
French Quarter on Sun- ter Board of New Orleans terlogged stretch of Inter-
pilings over the brackish
day afternoon, but the said the city’s aging street state 10 in north Florida to
lake. Horvath said he and
streets were nearly desert- drainage system had lim- close for a time Sunday.
his family have lived there
a year and have learned to
take the occasional flood
in stride. They’ve put ta-
bles on the lower floor to
stack belongings above
the high water.
“We thought it would
be pretty cool to live out
here, and it has been,”
Horvath said. “The sun-
sets are great.”
The U.S. Coast Guard
said it was searching for
two people who went out in
a 20-foot yellow boat near
Slidell, Louisiana on Sun-

Panel
Continued from Page 1A
will be United Christian
Church Pastor Steven
James and City Attorney
Jeff Turnage.
The panel is being
held partially in response
to Mississippi Attorney
General Lynn Fitch’s de-
cision to dismiss charges
against a white former
the AG’s Office. izens to ask questions
After Fitch dropped about the Ball case, as
the charge against Boy- well as other issues relat-
kin, Colom asked for her ed to policing and crime.
office to turn over evi- “This is an outstand-
dence in the case to him ing opportunity for lead- SOLUNAR TABLE
The solunar period indicates
so he could release it to ers to answer questions peak-feeding times for fish and game.
Mon. Tues.
the public. concerning policing in Major 3:21a 4:16a
9:24a
Minor 8:23a
The dismissal of the Columbus,” he said in the Major 3:49p 4:42p
charges, along with pro- press release. “We will Minor 11:10p 11:53p
Courtesy of Mississippi Department

Columbus police officer, tests against police brutal- discuss the dismissal of
of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks

Canyon Boykin, who fa-
tally shot Ricky Ball, an
African American, during
a traffic stop in North
Columbus in 2015. A
grand jury indicted Boy-
kin for manslaughter in
2016, shortly after Colom
turned the case over to
ity nationwide in response
to the deaths of George
Floyd, Breonna Taylor
and Ahmaud Arbery, has
led to three peaceful pro-
tests in Columbus in the
last two weeks.
Smith said the panel
will be a chance for cit-
the Ricky Ball case by the
state Attorney General
and also the policy of the
Columbus Police Depart-
ment regarding deadly
force.”
To stream the panel, go
to www.facebook.com/
CityofColumbusMS/.
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Opinion
4A MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2020
PETER BIRNEY IMES Editor/Publisher
BIRNEY IMES III Editor/Publisher 1998-2018
BIRNEY IMES JR. Editor/Publisher 1947-2003

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

ZACK PLAIR, Managing Editor

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

POSSUMHAW
Come, sit a spell
Just be, whatever you are with what-
ever you have, and realize that that is
enough to be happy. There’s a whole
world out there, right outside your win-
dow. You’d be a fool to miss it.
— Charlotte Eriksson
author of “You’re Doing Just Fine.”
striking prey. Last week Rex didn’t feel well and cars, farm equipment, delivery trucks,
That would his left eye looked weepy. I cut back his ATVs, and the mail lady. Other days it’s
be bass or rations because animals don’t eat much quiet and the dust settles back down.
bream-maybe when they don’t feel well. I took a cold The trees are so full now you can hardly
a water snake. wet rag, held his head, and wiped his eye define the passing vehicle. No other
Turtles are several times a day. He got bright eyed houses can be seen from here. More
floating. Birds and picked up his appetite then it hap- likely to see deer, turkeys, buzzards,
are singing. A pened again. Probably pollen allergies. It armadillos, and possums.

O
nce upon a time before we could
hold computers in the palm of our
hand, I saw an ad in the Oxford
American Magazine. The ad showed
John Grisham sitting in a chair with a
book-sized computer on his lap. Grish-
am, his chair, and his computer were
in the middle of a spacious green field.
There was a tall tree with green leaves
at his side and the sky was blue. The in-
tention was to show Grisham writing his
best-selling novels on his laptop in the
wide-open spaces connected to nothing
but the nature around him. That’s how I
remember it.
That image was probably close to
twenty years ago but I’ve dreamed of it
ever since; so today I’m sitting outside
with my laptop on my knees connected
to nothing but the nature around me.
The weather is delightful. Grass is grow-
ing high and green; the trees are lush.
Around the lake the swamp irises still
crowd the water’s edge. Yellow blooms
have faded. Green ivy grows abundantly
covering the wooden deck leading to the
dock and the floating platform. Fish are
carpenter ant quickly clears up with eye washing. Columns by Shannon Bardwell of
crawls by my The Prairie house sits on a gravel Columbus appear in The Dispatch weekly.
foot. road. Some days the road seems busier Email reaches her at msdeltachild@msn.
A male cardi- than it ought to be with pickup trucks, com.
Shannon Bardwell nal lights below
the empty bird
feeders. There’s no seed for the summer
but perhaps some wild growing thing
is nestled down in the grass for him to
nibble on. Hummingbirds zoom past my
head. I feel I should shut my eyes in case
they veer off course. They head toward
the red glass hummingbird feeders-their
favorite.
Occasionally I can hear movements
of the rabbits in their cages. They have
a nice view on three sides. Rex and
Hatcher are quite content to be fed twice
a day with fresh greens-clover and dan-
delions. One thing I love about animals
is how they learn to trust you. A stranger
can walk up to the rabbits’ hutches and
they will scurry frightened to the back
corner. However, when I come, they run
to the front eager to eat and push on my
hand. I pet them and comb their hair
while they eat.

STATE OF THE NATION CARTOONIST VIEW

America is better than this

T
he orchestrated violence roiling an
increasing number of American
cities is cause for considerable con-
cern. There are myriad explanations being
offered by the media and pundits. But the
voices that are largely silent during this time
of chaos are the very people who are a cen-
tral factor in the lawlessness and violence
that is spreading.
Our societal problems are being expo-
nentially magnified by the decline in the
quality of personnel who advance to com-
manding, decision-making roles in police Armstrong Williams
departments and mayoral offices. This
impotence and incompetence is also on full
display among the elected officials serving in the House of Represen-
tatives and the Senate.
The profound lack of effectiveness of these self-important leaders
in federal, state and municipal governments is now on display. This
disappointing reality is the result of decades of decline in the abili-
ties of people who are elected to serve the public but seem to spend
far more time preening for cameras and promoting themselves to
ever-higher levels in terms of title, compensation and power.
There is almost total silence from the elected leadership in Wash-
ington of late. Few state and municipal figures, with the exception of
Atlanta’s mayor, Keisha Bottom, have dared to venture before a micro-
phone during the past several months of the pandemic. And that si-
lence has been magnified in the wake of the murder of George Floyd
being carried out at the hands of a uniformed police officer in broad
daylight as phone cameras recorded every moment of the horror.
Few people in America have seen someone die right before their
eyes. It is a thing that can change you — that moment when the life
and spirit of someone you know and love, or even that of a complete
stranger, leaves their body.
The videos showcasing the execution of George Floyd put that mo-
ment on full display. A life was needlessly ended by an act of violence
while powerless bystanders pleaded with police officers to act with
decency and humanity. The arrogance and cruelty demonstrated by
an officer sworn to serve and protect the very people he was crushing
sickened the nation and shocked our conscience.
Americans have been jolted awake and are focused now on the
grave injustices that have become institutionalized. And many are
increasingly frightened by a series of events that seem to be spiraling
out of control.
Sadly, the voices of those who are motivated not by justice but
rather the quest for destruction, chaos and a collapse of our demo-
cratic system seem to be growing louder and more active than those
of the huge numbers of Americans who desire constructive, systemic
change in the way we are governed.
Bear in mind that some who are looting and creating mayhem are
bands of opportunists and low-life thieves. But many others belong
to organizations that are well-funded and have plans of action. Such
groups, including antifa, plan and direct acts that require logistics,
funding, equipment, weapons and the moving of tools of destruction
to various cities in an attempt to foment unrest.
The breathtaking incompetence of the FBI and other federal agen-
cies, coupled with a lack of resources and effective tools and tactics
that should be within every police department, are today visible to
all. This inability to adequately protect businesses and law-abiding
citizens from violence should enrage every American.
Antifa is just one of the more visible operators being blamed for
this chaos. But the truth is that we have a much larger, deeper and
more chilling problem on our hands. There is no doubt in my mind
that foreign intelligence services are orbiting in or around this issue
and contributing to the violence.
They see an opportunity to further destabilize the United States.
They want to roll back our influence. Unable to defeat us militarily,
they want to strike at us economically and to chip away at our society,
causing the population to lose confidence and trust in our system and
structure of government.
We must not play into their hands. Pursuing justice in the wake
of George Floyd’s murder is a noble aim. Creating systemic changes
and identifying competent leaders who can improve our society is the
right thing to do. Allowing ourselves to devolve into chaos, violence,
wanton destruction and anarchy plays right into the hands of our
nation’s enemies. Americans are better than that.
Armstrong Williams is an American political commentator, entrepre-
neur, author, and talk show host.
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2020 5A

IN POLITICS

Democrats look to counter GOP

vote-by-mail fraud claims
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
‘The 2020 election is the most pivotal election that
WASHINGTON — Democrats
are mounting a new effort to push I can think of, and we have known for a while that
back against a well-funded Republi-
can campaign that seeks to under-
there would be efforts made to suppress the vote.’
mine public confidence in mail-in Former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams
voting, which President Donald
Trump has said, without offering “While everyone is focusing on Thus far, the new Democratic
proof, will lead to election fraud. the vote-by-mail argument, the ar- coalition has not raised additional
Fair Fight, an organization led by
former Georgia gubernatorial can-
chitecture of their work is incred-
ibly broad,” Abrams said. “One of
funds for the effort, though that
could change. Abrams, who is Sudoku YESTERDAY’S ANSWER

didate Stacey Abrams, has joined

forces with Priorities USA, the
our missions will be to raise the
resources necessary to push back
among those being considered for
Joe Biden’s running mate, said she Sudoku
Sudoku is a number-
placing puzzle based on
Sunday’s answer
largest Democratic outside group, against their efforts across the aims to raise millions for the cause. Sudoku
a 9x9 gridis witha several
num- 7 4 6 8 1 9 2 3 5
and American Bridge, the party’s country.” “I don’t think there’s a path for ber-placing
given numbers.puzzleThe object 9 1 3 2 6 5 4 7 8

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

opposition research clearinghouse, Over more than a decade, Repub- Trump getting reelected without based onthe
is to place a 9x9
numbers 5 8 2 7 3 4 1 6 9
to form a new effort called Voter licans have enacted laws at the state voter suppression tactics,” said Da- grid
1 to 9with
in theseveral
empty spaces 2 9 1 5 8 7 6 4 3
Suppression Watch. level that Democrats argue makes it vid Brock, a prolific fundraiser who given
so that numbers.
each row, eachThe 8 3 5 6 4 1 9 2 7
The aim is to not only counter harder for members of their base to is one of the founders of American object
column and each 3x3 the
is to place box
numbers 4 6 7 9 2 3 5 8 1
Republicans in the courts but in vote. These include voter ID laws, Bridge. “While there’s an improba- contains the1same to 9 number
in
1 7 8 4 5 6 3 9 2
public relations, too, while playing efforts to limit polling locations in ble path for Trump to get an Elec- the empty spaces so
only once. The difficulty 3 2 4 1 9 8 7 5 6
offense by providing opposition re- urban areas and rules that limit ear- toral College victory, donors should that each row, each
level increases from
search that often forms the grist of ly voting. Republicans have argued be paying attention and giving to column and each 6 5 9 3 7 2 8 1 4
Monday
3x3 boxtocontains
Sunday.
critical news stories. that their efforts are aimed at limit- the overall effort.” Difficulty Level 6/06

“The 2020 election is the most
pivotal election that I can think
of, and we have known for a while
that there would be efforts made
to suppress the vote,” Abrams said
Sunday in an interview with The
Associated Press. “We need to not
only have a concerted effort to push
back, but we need to raise aware-
ness, too.”
Even before the coronavirus pan-
demic, a partisan fight over ballot
access was playing out in a handful
of state courts. But now that the vi-
rus has raised fears that in-person
voting could be a threat to the elder-
ly, those in poor health and people
of color, whom statistics show have
disproportionately borne the brunt
of its effects, efforts to expand vot-
ing by mail have faced stiff opposi-
tion from Trump and his allies.
They argue, without offering ev-
idence, that it will lead to increased
voter fraud, even as they have en-
couraged Republicans to cast bal-
lots by mail in a number of recent
elections. Trump casts his own bal-
lots by mail.
Democrats say the Republican
opposition to mail voting is also a
smokescreen being used to push
for broader voting limitations.
ing widespread voter fraud, though
there’s little evidence to back those
claims up.
Bolstered by a federal court rul-
ing, for the first time in decades,
the GOP will also be allowed to con-
duct poll monitoring on election day
in November.
Historically, there is no evidence
of widespread voter fraud through
mail-in voting. But some social
media users have pushed grandi-
ose theories casting doubt on the
method. Trump has encouraged
the skepticism, saying during a
televised briefing that “a lot of peo-
ple cheat with mail-in voting.” Last
month, he tweeted: “Don’t allow
RIGGED ELECTIONS!”
Democrats and voting rights
groups contend they simply want to
protect the voting rights of all citi-
zens, and they note that repeated
studies have found no widespread
fraud and no partisan benefit to ex-
panded voting.
“We want to build a strong co-
alition to make sure that what’s
happening on the Republican side
doesn’t go unanswered,” said Anee-
sa McMillan, the director of stra-
tegic communications and voting
rights at Priorities USA.
His group has already unearthed the same number only once. The difficulty level
evidence that Trump and his allies increases from Monday to Sunday.
aim to limit ballot access.
A recording the group provided
to the AP in December revealed a
Trump adviser told Republicans in
Wisconsin, a crucial battleground
state, that the GOP was counting on
voter suppression tactics to provide
an edge on Election Day.
“Traditionally it’s always been
Republicans suppressing votes in
places,” Justin Clark, a senior po-
Sunday’s Cryptoquote:
litical adviser and senior counsel
to Trump’s reelection campaign,
told Wisconsin Republicans at a
November 2019 event. “Let’s start
playing offense a little bit. That’s
what you’re going to see in 2020. It’s
going to be a much bigger program,
a much more aggressive program, a
much better-funded program.”
Democrats say Trump’s claims
of voter fraud have morphed what
was once a quiet focus of the party
into a broader culture war issue.
“You can immediately see it is
political,” said McMillan. “The bad
thing about Donald Trump is that
he says the first thing that comes to
his mind; the good thing about Don-
ald Trump is that he says the first
thing that comes to mind.”

Virus, racial unrest
force Trump campaign
to recalibrate
WASHINGTON — the black man who died
Less than five months
before voters will decide
his fate, President Don-
ald Trump is confronting
a vastly different political
reality than he once envi-
sioned. For starters, if the
election were held today,
he’d likely lose.
The president, West
Wing advisers and
campaign aides have
grown increasingly con-
cerned about his reelec-
tion chances as they’ve
watched Trump’s stand-
ing take a pummeling
first on his handling of
the coronavirus pandem-
ic and now during a na-
tionwide wave of protests
against racial injustice.
His allies worry the pres-
ident has achieved some-
thing his November foe
had been unable to do:
igniting enthusiasm in a
Democratic Party base
that’s been lukewarm to
former Vice President Joe
Biden.
Trump was facing
tougher political pros-
pects even before the
death of George Floyd,
after a white Minneapolis
police officer pressed his
knee for almost nine min-
utes into Floyd’s neck last
month.
COVID-19’s mounting
human and economic
tolls — and the presi-
dent’s defiant response —
cost him support among
constituencies his cam-
paign believes are key
to victory in November.
His signature rallies had
been frozen for months,
and his cash advantage
over Biden, while vast,
wasn’t growing as quick-
ly as hoped because the
pandemic put a halt to
high-dollar fundraisers.
Internal campaign sur-
veys and public polling
showed a steady erosion
in support for Trump
among older people and
in battleground states
once believed to be lean-
ing decisively in the pres-
ident’s direction, accord-
ing to six current and
former campaign officials complained to advisers
not authorized to speak in their roughly weekly
publicly about private White House meetings
conversations. The cam- about the perception that
paign recently launched a he is losing to Biden and
television ad blitz in Ohio, has pressed his aides
a state the president car- for strategies to improve
ried by 8 percentage his standing. Late last
points four years ago, and month, the Trump cam-
it sees trouble in Arizo- paign moved two veteran
ACROSS
na and warning signs in political aides into senior 1 Poet Ogden
once-deep-red Georgia. leadership roles, reflec- 5 Yoga class
Trump aides have tive of an effort to bring sights
warned the president more experience to the 9 Contradict
that the renewed national campaign team. And on 10 Similar
conversation about racial Friday, the campaign 12 Cobbler fruit
injustice and the presi- brought on board former 13 Nostalgic
dent’s big “law and order” communications chief Ja- song
push have animated parts son Miller as a senior ad- 14 Promotes for
of the Democratic base — viser as well. money
black and younger voters The White House 16 Unwell
— whose lagging enthusi- seized on better-than-ex- 17 Wallet bills
asm for Hillary Clinton in pected economic news 18 Tourist stops
2016 cleared the way for Friday — the nation 21 Ram’s mate
Trump’s narrow victory. added 2.5 million jobs in 22 Makes
“I have polls,” Trump May and the unemploy- pigtails Sunday’s answer
told Fox News Radio on ment rate fell — with an 23 Hairstyles
Thursday, dismissing a over-the-top victory lap,
DOWN 22 Seethe
24 Goes bad 1 Brother’s son 23 Dove sound
spate of public surveys selling it as a sign of a
26 Chasm 2 Like edelweiss 24 Movie photos
showing him trailing post-pandemic economic
Biden in key states. “Just comeback that the pres-
29 Casual walk 3 Window parts 25 Would-be
like last time, I was losing ident’s advisers believe 30 Galileo’s 4 Foot part lawyer’s major
to Hillary in every state, will be the single most birthplace 5 China chair- 26 Temple
and I won every state.” important factor in victo- 31 Even score man support
Though outwardly ry in November. 32 Gulps down 6 The whole 27 Small keys
confident, Trump has SOURCE: AP 34 Backstreet amount 28 Designer’s
37 Cove 7 Neatened up asset
38 Angry look 8 Useful abilities 29 Antlered
39 Country 9 Treat the animal
division turkey 30 Ship of 1492
40 Graceful bird 11 Snaky fish 33 Prudent
41 Headphones 15 Screeches 35 Pitching stat
site 19 Clumsy ones 36 Desire
20 “My country
— of thee”
6A MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Protests
Continued from Page 1A
District Attorney Scott Colom, who
is among the many protesters and local
leaders calling for the public release of
evidence in Ball’s case, said Sunday his
office has received the case file and plans
to release it online. The release, he said,
was a result of multiple protests from
the community, including one on Friday
led by Columbus native David Horton in
Jackson outside Fitch’s office.
“Yesterday — I’m proud to say — that
she gave me the case file for the case of
Ricky Ball,” Colom said Sunday. “What
we are going to find out is the truth. We
are going to put it on my website, we are
going to let every person that wants a
look at it be the all judge and jury.”
Like Colom, many city and state offi-
cials attended the Sunday march, includ-
ing Mayor Robert Smith, Police Chief
Fred Shelton, Lowndes County District
5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks, State Rep.
Kabir Karriem (D-Columbus) and Coun-
cilmen Joseph Mickens, Pierre Beard
and Stephen Jones of Wards 2, 4 and 5
respectively. Many of them spoke out
during the rally against systemic racism
and pledged effort toward better policies.
“Regardless of what happened, we will
still follow the process and we will seek
the truth,” Shelton told The Dispatch.
“What I would like to see for this depart-
ment is an effective, efficient and cooper-
ative police department.”
The protest, themed around prayers
and proclamations of the Gospel, aims to
appeal for racial justice and draw wisdom
from God’s word, Matthews told The Dis-
patch.
“Let’s connect and unite around the
heart of Jesus for justice,” he said. “It’s
not Jesus or justice; it’s Jesus and justice,
because Jesus is for justice.”
Finding strength in faith
Stephanie Williams said she brought
her two sons to the march to educate
People bow their heads and close their eyes during a Kingdom Vision International
Church worship service on Sunday outside the Lowndes County Courthouse. White
chairs were spread out on the lawn in front of the stage for people to sit. Others brought
their own lawn chairs or stood in the shade of trees or near their cars.
them about racism. Her 12-year-old son,
Jayden Williams, was holding up a sign
that read “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” at the
rally.
“I feel mad,” Jayden said, “because
they are doing things wrong by killing,
by arresting for no reason and by not giv-
ing them the respect that we need.”
“You think our ancestors fought for an
equal (society), and seeing the way it’s
going now is heartbreaking, it’s scary,”
Stephanie said. “All we want is justice and
for all of this to stop.”
To protest peacefully, Stephanie said,
is something she wants her sons to learn
from.
“I hate that they are seeing (the vio-
lence), and I want them to be beyond this,
I want them to grow from this,” she said.
“Jesus doesn’t stand with violence. He
was peaceful.”
Michael Carr, of West Point, said he
Claire Hassler/Dispatch Staff
turns to God for strength whenever he is
hurt by racism in society. Lining up at the
head of the marching crowd, he carried
a wooden cross almost twice his height.
“It hurts to the heart, it’s painful, hard
to see,” Carr said of the recent violence
against blacks. “It just made me feel more
and more focused on God.”
The rally was spurred by the pain felt
within the black community for hundreds
of years, said Orlando Richmond, lead
pastor at Northside Christian Church in
West Point.
“For just over 400 years, we have been
in this situation in America, and make
no mistake about it — it emanated from
slavery,” Richmond said. “This is a long-
standing problem and the time to end it is
right now.”
Referencing the story of Nehemiah
in the Bible and his efforts to repair the
broken walls of Jerusalem, Richmond
urged sustained actions against racism
and called for systemic changes from the
leadership.
“We will not come down off that wall,”
he said. “I suspect that there will be train-
ing initiatives, policies put in place. This
is not simply about a police chokehold.
Hearts and minds must change.”
Leadership speaks up
Colom, Smith and Karriem, all of
whom have publicly condemned the
timing and method of Fitch’s decision to
dismiss the Ball case, all participated in
the rally. Following in Colom’s footsteps,
Smith and Karriem both criticized Fitch
on their social media last week for drop-
ping the charges days after Floyd’s death
and urged for an explanation for the dis-
missal.
Calling for community involvement,
Colom encouraged citizens to participate
in a town hall meeting surrounding the
use of police force at 5:30 p.m. on Tues-
day, which can be accessed online at face-
book.com/CityofColumbusMS/.
“We can’t allow people to be young and
black, and that’s all it takes to be a threat,
not anymore,” he said. “We are going to
let you all be a part of the conversation.”
Mickens, who marched at the head of
the crowd, also compared Ball’s death to
that of George Floyd.
“Floyd’s death was a wake-up for the
country. His murder was a tragedy,” he
said. “Ricky Ball happened on my watch.
We pray that we will have no more cases
like this.”
Smith, who voiced support for peace-
ful protests while speaking at Sunday’s
event, encouraged more such protests to
follow in the next month.
“Let’s keep it going,” Smith said. “I en-
courage all our pastors and leaders, black
and white, for the next month, let’s con-
tinue to have rallies and protests for unity
in the city of Columbus, Mississippi.”

Ward
Continued from Page 1A
many of Walt Disney’s
early classic films.
Although not formally
trained as a historian —
he was an attorney for 35
years, retiring in 2009 —
history has always been
his passion and almost
every casual conversation
turns quickly to history.
Ward has so much his-
tory, both personal and
regional, he’s compelled
to share it.
“I’ve given a lot of the
family records to the
(Columbus-Lowndes
Public Library) and a
huge collection, over
1,200 documents, to
Mississippi State and
some documents to the
Mississippi Department
of Archives and History,”
Ward said. “I try to put it
out there so people can
use it.”
At a time when the
subject of racial injustice,
a theme throughout the
sweeping history of the
nation, is dominating the
national conversation,
Ward’s connection to
that history has provided
most of what he calls the
most rewarding — and
painful — contributions.
Through his family
records, Ward has been
helping black citizens
trace their own roots — a
man who has so much
history, providing it to
those who have very
little.
“The genesis of that
was that I found the
Billups family plantation
records, including infor-
mation about the slaves,”
Ward said. “It contained
births, marriages, all
kinds of information,
something a lot of people
didn’t know about. I want-
ed to get it out there.”
Mona Vance, archivist
at the Columbus-Lown-
des Public Library, said
such records are vital for
black citizens as they try
to discover their family
histories.
“For so many genera-
tions, the African-Amer-
ican experience was
sort of buried in the
records of the dominant
class,” said Vance, who
has worked closely with
Ward, who does much
of his research at the li-
brary. “So often, you have
to find the African-Amer-
ican voice in the records
written about them, not
written by them.
“Rufus is a great
example of this. It’s not
just his family’s histo-
ry that is contained in
those documents, it’s the
community’s history,”
she added. “Our history
is intertwined.”
Discovering history
Over the years, Ward
said he’s lost count of the
number of black resi-
dents who have used his
family records to discov-
er their family histories.
“Probably the most
interesting and reward-
ing moment to come out
of all that happened a
few years ago,” he said.
“Mona called from the
library and said a black
family from New Orleans
was there interested in
genealogy. The lady’s
great-great-great grand-
father had been a Billups
slave. She asked if I could
come help them access
family records.
“When I got there and
was introduced, the lady
started laughing,” he
added. “I said, ‘You obvi-
ously know something I
don’t know.’ She said her
father’s name was Rufus
Billups.”
While talking with the
woman, Ward learned
she and her family had
always been interested in
— and placed importance
on — education.
“That made me recall
something I had come
across years before,”
Ward said. “After the
Civil War, an educator
from the North had come
down to set up a school.
In his diary, he wrote
about telling the planta-
tion owners that they had
an obligation to provide
an education to their for-
mer slaves. He also wrote
that Col. Billups had set
up a school, but he was
the only plantation owner
in the area who had done
that.”
The lady from New generations, history was them, to learn and grow
Orleans shared some- only about the white man, from them.”
thing else: Rufus Billups predominantly in terms As a historian, Ward
went on to become the of wars and politics. But recognizes the impor-
first black general in the when people share these tance of sharing the full
United States Air Force. stories, we begin taking story.
“The fact that her a more holistic approach “History isn’t all good
great-great-great grand- by looking at history and it isn’t all bad,” Ward
father would have had the from all genders, back- said. “It’s both. Whether
importance of education grounds and races to tell it’s good or bad, there’s
instilled him through everyone’s story, not to a story there and a lot of
my great-great-great glorify the things that times, it’s an important
grandfather establishing
are negative, but to study story.”
a school means a lot to
me,” Ward said.
A painful sharing
Even so, exploring
that part of his family’s
history is not always
easy.
“The slave stuff makes
me uncomfortable, but
there it is,” Ward said.
“If it can help someone
to learn about their own
family, it’s something I
want to do.”
That’s part and parcel
of American’s complicat-
ed story, Vance said.
“Rufus, like it is with
many families, has
stories that have painful
chapters,” Vance said.
“But we can’t shy away
from that and hide it,
which was something
that happened for years
and years in a lot of
families.
“But when you recog-
nize it, stare it in the face
and say, ‘This isn’t some-
thing I’m proud of, but
it’s important,’” Vance
added. “For so many
Sports
SHAW WINS SECOND STRAIGHT AT THE MAG
BY THEO DEROSA
tderosa@cdispatch.com
Jeremy Shaw had come
close to a win at Magnolia
Motor Speedway multi-
ple times before taking
the checkered flag in the
Crate Racin’ USA Late
Models feature race at the
Sportsman World Cham-
pionship May 24.
Now, he’s apparently
got the 3/8-mile dirt track
all figured out.
Shaw started on the
pole of the Late Mod-
els feature in Saturday’s
weekly racing series
event at The Mag, led
every lap and cruised to
a victory in his red and
black 1S car.
“To come back tonight
and back it up with anoth-
er win, it’s pretty exciting
to get two in a row out
here,” Shaw said.
Shaw, of Millport, Al-
abama, finished rough-
ly three seconds ahead
of second-place Randall
Beckwith of Kilmichael.
Ryan Colby, Jamie Tolli-
son and Austin Franklin
rounded out the top five.
Shaw said the track
was in good condition
for the 20-lap feature
race, allowing him to run
smoothly wherever he
chose.
“I felt like we could
move around pretty good
on the bottom and the
top,” he said.
He said starting on
the pole “never hurts” but
that if he’d had to come
from the middle of the
pack, he could have still
sped his way to victory.
“I felt like we had a
car good enough that we
could have raced our way
up there if we needed to,”
Shaw said.
Shaw said he’ll be back
in Columbus in two weeks
for the final two days of
the General Tire Clash at
The Mag, set to run June
18-20.
Lucas Oil Late Model
Dirt Series and COMP
Cams Super Dirt Series
MISSISSIPPI STATE FOOTBALL
Buys brings size, legacy to Bulldogs’ O-line
BY BEN PORTNOY
bportnoy@cdispatch.com
STARKVILLE
Reed Buys always felt
—
like he could compete at
the Division I level. Now
he’ll have his chance.
A behemoth offensive
lineman out of Jones
County Junior College
and the brother of former
Ole Miss tackle Talbot
Buys, Buys committed to
Mississippi State on May
18 — 103 days after Na-
tional Signing Day — as
the likely final addition to
the Bulldogs’ 2020 class.
“It’s not normal for
a school to sign some-
body this late,” Buys told
The Dispatch. “It’s just a
blessing how it happened
and I’m just really excit-
ed.”
While Buys commit-
ted later than most, his
decision to attend MSU
has long been in the
works.
Having negotiated a
grayshirt path with then-
coach Joe Moorhead in
which he would play a
season at Jones College
before joining the Bull-
dogs for spring practic-
es, Moorhead called the
former Warren Central
standout after the sea-
son to ask if he’d spend
another season in junior
college before heading to
Starkville.
As the weeks came
Jeremy Shaw drives the 1S car during the Crate Racin’ USA Layne Late Models race Saturday at Magnolia Motor
Speedway in Columbus. This event was 20 laps, and Shaw held the lead the entire time.
cars will run $5,000-to-
win programs Thurs-
day and Friday and a
$15,000-to-win, 100-lap
event Saturday.
Street Stocks, Crate
Racin’ USA Late Models
and Ranch House Diner
Factory Stocks will also
be competing Friday. On
Saturday, Street Stocks,
Late Models and Glenn’s
BBQ and Fish Late Model
Sportsman programs will
run.
Crate Racin’ USA
Sportsman
Brett White is back at
the top.
After losing two weeks
ago to Booger Brooks in
the Mag’s Memorial Day
Weekend event, White
left no doubt in Saturday
night’s 15-lap Glenn’s
Fish and BBQ Crate Ra-
cin’ USA Sportsman race.
White won his fourth
Sportsman event of the
season, starting on the
pole and never giving up
Courtesy of Jones County Junior College Athletics
A 6-foot-4, 290-pound offensive lineman out of Jones
College, Reed Buys committed to MSU on May 18 as
the likely final addition to the Bulldogs’ 2020 class.
and went, Buys’ future
was again thrust into lim-
bo after Moorhead was
fired in early January and
replaced with ex-Wash-
ington State coach Mike
Leach. Remaining in con-
tact with MSU Director
of High School Relations
Brad Peterson and Direc-
tor of Football Recruiting
Communications Rod
Gibson, Buys also heard
from a number of Group
of Five programs gaug-
ing his interest.
Unsure on if he could
join MSU for the spring
semester, he planned on
committing to UAB. But
as the COVID-19 pan-
demic bore down on the
United States, freshman
Brevyn Jones (Illinois)
and senior Stewart Reese
(Florida) transferred out
of the program, opening
a spot for Buys at MSU.
Jeremy Shaw holds up a No. 1 after winning first
place in the Crate Racin’ USA Layne Late Models race
Saturday at Magnolia Motor Speedway. Shaw is from
Millport, Alabama, and won his second straight race.
“I thought he was
one of the top freshman
offensive lineman that
we’ve brought in here
in our four years here,”
Jones College head coach
Steve Buckley told The
Dispatch. “We hated to
lose Reed after one year,
but we don’t hide our
kids. We make kids that
are qualifiers available,
and Reed was a qualifi-
er. … He had a dream
of playing Power Five
football, and when that
dream becomes a reality
for those kids, we’re not
upset about it. We’re glad
he has the opportunity.”
Helping Jones Col-
lege to a 7-3 record and
an appearance in the
MACJC playoffs for the
third consecutive year,
Buys already has a year
of college football under
his belt — though it was
Claire Hassler/Dispatch Staff
limited on practice time.
Battling a high-ankle
sprain for much of the
2019-20 season, Buys saw
his development stunted
to a degree as coaches
limited his participation
in practices to keep him
healthy for games. Once
game day did come, Buys
continued to contend
with his ailing ankle. He
began wearing an ex-
tra-high cleat on top of
the internal taping he’d
receive. Another layer of
spat over his cleats was
also added for support.
“I taped it as much as
I could so I couldn’t even
feel it,” Buys said. “Play-
ing through it, I just tried
to forget about it and do
my little assignment on
the field, and I felt like I
played through it pretty
well. I just tried to play
with an edge.”
At 6-foot-4, 290
pounds, Buys brings in-
stant size and talent to
an offensive line unit that
will be in need of some
depth come fall camp.
Priding himself on
pass-blocking, he says
the air-raid offense
Leach will run bodes well
for his game — though
he expressed his desire
to continue being a maul-
er at the point of attack.
“Offensive line we’re
supposed to be big, nasty
and tough and wanting to
See BUYS, 2B
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2020
Claire Hassler/Dispatch Staff
the lead. He built a solid
lead over second-place
finisher Tony Shelton of
Steens and won handily.
Mike Pickard of Steens
was third, with Chase
Williams and Zack Owens
rounding out the top five.
Colby Ponds of Caledo-
nia was seventh, and Ca-
leb Pickard of Columbus
was 12th.
Street Stocks
Jamie Sudduth was
happy to let them fight.
After the Millport, Al-
abama, racer shot to the
outside on the sixth lap to
grab the lead from Shay
Knight of Steens in Satur-
day’s Three Star Tire and
Auto Crate Racin’ USA
Street Stocks race, Sud-
duth held the lead while
Knight battled Justin
McRee for second.
“That’s what I wanted,”
Sudduth said.
He took advantage of
a caution after five laps
were completed to shoot
past Knight less than a
NASCAR
Harvick cherishes
Atlanta win, looks
to help off track
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HAMPTON, Ga. —
After another dominant
performance at one of
his favorite tracks, Kevin
Harvick relished the past
and looked ahead to the
future.
He wasn’t entirely fo-
cused on what he can do
behind the wheel.
Harvick cruised to
victory Sunday over Kyle
Busch and Martin Truex
Jr. in the NASCAR Cup
race at Atlanta Motor
Speedway, leading the fi-
nal 55 laps on a day that
began with the series ac-
knowledging the social
unrest in the country.
Before taking the
green flag, the 40 cars
stopped in front of the
towering, empty grand-
stands on the front
stretch to listen to a
message from NASCAR
president Steve Phelps
and observe a 30-second
moment of silence in the
wake of George Floyd’s
death while in police cus-
tody.
Harvick also joined
other drivers in making
a video that promised to
push for much-needed
changes in the fractured
nation.
SPORTS LINE
662-241-5000
B
SECTION
full lap the restart, saying
the slowdown helped him
get settled and plan the
move.
“I knew I could,” Sud-
duth said. “I just had to
get a good run.”
That he did, and he
grabbed his second win at
The Mag to boot.
“It feels good,” Sud-
duth said. “It feels really
good.”
Factory Stocks
John Johnson IV of
Ethelsville, Alabama, won
the Ranch House Diner
Factory Stocks race Sat-
urday.
Johnny Pannell was
second, and Nathan Page
was third. John A. Beard
Jr. of Columbus was
fourth, and Jarrett Jones
was fifth.
Thomas Gable of West
Point was 12th, Aidan
Fletcher of Columbus was
13th, Craig Barham of Co-
lumbus was 18th, Bobby
Barksdale of Columbus
was 20th, and Jr Card of
West Point was 21st.
Modifieds
Jason Byrd of Carbon
Hill, Alabama, won Sat-
urday’s Crate Racin’ USA
Modifieds event.
Shane Burns finished
second in the six-car field,
while Jimmy Anderson of
Columbus was third.
Tyler Castle, Jennifer
Byrd and Cody Wright
rounded out the field.
Hot Shots
Brandon Meeks of
Booneville won the sev-
en-car Hot Shots race Sat-
urday, beating out James
Page of Baldwyn and Wil-
liam Dunlap of Guntown.
Ed Caulder of Colum-
bus finished fourth, and
Peyton Manzo of Bald-
wyn was fifth.
Judd Murphy of Colum-
bus and Brandon Glenn of
Steens finished sixth and
seventh, respectively, to
round out the field.
“Something has to
change. When you look at
what happened in Minne-
apolis, it’s just disgrace-
ful to everyone,” he said.
“It’s just unbelievable
to sit and watch these
things happen. It’s really
confusing. It makes you
confused and mad. Now
we know what we need to
do and where to start.”
Harvick won for the
second time since NA-
SCAR returned from the
shutdown caused by the
coronavirus pandemic,
adding to his emotional
victory at Darlington in
the first race back.
Harvick came into the
day having led 1,138 laps
on the 1.54-mile Atlanta
trioval, far more than any
other driver in the 40-car
field.
This one was more of
the same. Harvick was
out front for 151 laps —
more than twice as many
as anyone else — and
claimed his a third victo-
ry in Atlanta, where he
got first Cup triumph in
2001 and another win two
years ago.
“For me, this place is
pretty special,” said Har-
vick, who beat Busch by
more than 3 1/2 seconds,
See NASCAR, 2B
2B MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2020
Fan experience to change profoundly amid pandemic
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo.
— Dayton Moore remem-
bers so clearly the vast
sections of empty seats
inside Kauffman Stadium
when he took over as gen-
eral manager of the Kan-
sas City Royals, and he
remembers just as vividly
— nearly a decade later
— how those seats filled
and fans roared as the
long-suffering club won
the World Series.
Those dueling memo-
ries make the thought of
playing games in empty
stadiums hard for Moore
to fathom.
“I know how much
strength all players draw
from the fans and envi-
ronment,” he said, when
asked about plans to play
a shortened season with-
out crowds, “and you
need that support to get
NASCAR
Continued from Page 1B
with Truex nearly 5 sec-
onds behind. “It brings
back a lot of memories.”
On a reverse victory
lap, Harvick held three
fingers outside his car,
a tribute to the late Dale
Earnhardt. Harvick was
the driver who replaced
Earnhardt after the sev-
en-time champion was
killed in a crash at Dayto-
na in 2001.
Three weeks later,
Harvick took the check-
ered flag in Atlanta.
“To celebrate the life
of Dale Earnhardt and ev-
erything he meant to our
sport, is obviously pretty
special to me,” Harvick
said.
He now has 51 wins —
breaking a tie with Ned
Jarrett and Junior John-
son for the 12th spot on
the career list.
“You just shake your
head and say, ‘Man, I
can’t believe this is hap-
pening,’” Harvick said.
“It’s pretty crazy when
you think about. I’ve been
very lucky to drive cars
for a living.”
Seven-time Cup cham-
pion Jimmie Johnson, in
what may have been his
final Atlanta appearance,
was given the honor of
delivering the “start your
engines” command to
his fellow drivers. The
speedway also renamed
a grandstand in honor of
Johnson, who is retiring
as a full-time competitor
Buys
Continued from Page 1B
punish the person in front
of you,” he said. “So I’m
trying to do that every
single play, and if I don’t,
I’m doing it the next and
just try and make my op-
ponent miserable.”
Now with just a few
weeks before he arrives
through an entire Major
League Baseball sched-
ule.”
As lockdowns are lift-
ed and restrictions eased,
sports are finally starting
to emerge in the corona-
virus pandemic. But in
virtually every situation,
fans are not yet being al-
lowed to attend and the
only consensus for now is
that there could be a long
period of empty or nearly
empty seating. Some U.S.
universities are modeling
for 25% capacity for the
upcoming football season
or maybe half-full arenas
for the ensuing basketball
season.
“I think for most
sports, a reduced crowd
wouldn’t negatively im-
pact the overall experi-
ence, especially in a situ-
ation like baseball or even
the NFL,” said Katy Lucy,
a digital marketing agent
NASCAR Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick celebrates winning the Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speed-
way on Sunday in Hampton, Georgia. Harvick led the final 55 laps to beat Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr.
at the end of the year.
A five-time winner
on the 1.54-mile trioval,
Johnson had another
strong run in Atlanta. But
his seventh-place show-
ing extended a winless
that stretches back more
than three years.
NASCAR returned to
Atlanta to make up a race
that was initially sched-
uled for March 15. It be-
came the first race to be
on campus for his inaugu-
ral season in the maroon
and white, Buys has spent
recent days on vacation in
Florida. Speaking with
Talbot on an almost daily
basis, the younger Buys
has gotten a glimpse into
what it will take for him
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
from Atlanta whose fan-
dom is split between all
things Georgia Bulldogs
and the Washington Cap-
itals. “But it would be dif-
ferent for sure for those
who attend in person.”
Count her family
among those who would
pause before heading to
the ballpark.
“For me personally, I’m
not sure I would feel com-
fortable attending a live
sporting event until there
is a known treatment or
widely available vaccine,”
Lucy said. “I trust the
institutions to put the
proper measures in place;
however, making sure
that they are enforced is
another matter.”
Many college and pro
sports teams already
were dealing with declin-
ing ticket sales. Watch-
ing at home or stream-
ing games are factors,
postponed as U.S. sports
largely shut down to deal
with a pandemic that has
now claimed more than
110,000 American lives.
This time, it was the
spot where NASCAR wad-
ed into the debate over
the injustices endured by
African Americans — a
striking move for a sport
that once embraced Con-
federate symbols and still
struggles to overcome its
to make an impact at the
next level and, more spe-
cifically, in the Southeast-
ern Conference.
“He’s always training
me, and after practice and
after games he’ll critique
my film and just coach me
up the best he can,” Buys
as is the changing social
makeup of fan bases. Dy-
namic pricing, increases
in parking and concession
prices, and a push toward
luxury seating have exac-
erbated the problem.
Major League Baseball
attendance has declined
six of the past seven sea-
sons. In college football,
13 of the 130 schools that
played in the Football
Bowl Subdivision report-
ed average crowd sizes
of 50% or less last season.
Even the NFL has seen
an increase in empty
seats despite its generally
rock-solid popularity.
So as coronavirus
concerns linger, how are
teams going to lure fans
back when stadiums do
reopen?
Loyalty and engage-
ment apps, widespread
around the major leagues
and colleges even be-
Brynn Anderson/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Network
perception as a conser-
vative bastion reserved
largely for whites.
Bubba Wallace, the
only African American
in the Cup series, donned
a black T-shirt with the
words “I Can’t Breathe”
and “Black Lives Matter”
while standing on pit road
before the race.
Wallace finished 21st
and appeared to faint af-
ter climbing from his car
said. “So it’s kind of like
having an at-home offen-
sive line coach.”
And while Talbot and
father Mark — a member
of the 1977 SEC champi-
onship team at Ole Miss
— concluded their colle-
giate football endeavors
fore the pandemic, will
become even more com-
mon and interactive as
teams try to recapture
lost revenue. There also
will be more behind-
the-scenes content and
enhancements available
via smartphones that will
only be available to those
in the stadium or arena,
offering fans something
unique over fans watch-
ing at home.
“Fans want that experi-
ence to be top-notch, peri-
od. That’s why teams are
thinking about this,” said
Britton Stackhouse Mill-
er, senior vice president at
Fortress U.S., a developer
of engagement and inte-
gration systems with cli-
ents in European soccer,
baseball, the NBA, NFL
and NHL.
Temperature checks,
hand sanitizer distribu-
tion stations and touch-
on a blistering day when
temperatures climbed
into the mid-80s. He said
he was OK and did a por-
tion of a television inter-
view but then was wasn’t
able to speak.
Wallace was taken by
ambulance to the infield
care center, where to was
sitting up as he was taken
inside on a stretcher. He
was treated and released
a short time later, though
on the opposite side of the
Egg Bowl rivalry, smack
talk hasn’t quite ramped
up in the Buys house-
hold. Instead, there’s sim-
ply excitement for Reed’s
opportunity to compete at
the SEC level.
“Whether it was for
less vending will become
the norm for a while. Even
concessions will change,
though one big difference
— gulp — could lead to a
lot of grumbling.
“If you don’t sell beer
the number of visits to the
bathroom drops dramat-
ically,” said Marc Ganis,
the director of sports con-
sulting firm Sportscorp.
“So for a time we may
have to think about not
selling beer.”
It won’t just be the vast
oceans of bench seats left
open, either. Many ex-
perts believe those hardy
fans will be the first to
return. It’s the corporate
suites from which many
colleges and pro franchis-
es derive so much of their
gameday revenue that
may end up being emp-
ty until long after games
have resumed. Economic
woes may last a while.
no additional details were
provided on what caused
his problem.
Maybe it was the heat.
Maybe it was just the
emotion of becoming the
sport’s most outspoken
voice since Floyd died
while in the custody of
Minneapolis police.
Phelps spoke to the
drivers over their radio
sets before they took the
green flag.
“Our country is in pain
and people are justifiably
angry, demanding to be
heard,” Phelps said. “The
black community and all
people of color have suf-
fered in our country, and
it has taken far too long
for us to hear their de-
mands for change. Our
sport must do better. Our
country must do better.”
All 40 crews stood on
the wall in front of their
pit boxes. One of Wal-
lace’s crew member held
up the T-shirt, which the
driver removed before
climbing into his car.
Floyd’s death has
sparked massive protests
in all 50 states and around
the world demanding an
end to law enforcement
brutality against people
of color.
Harvick said he’s ready
to join the cause.
“There’s things we can
do to try to help our com-
munities, help the conver-
sation,” he said. “We need
to change.”
Ole Miss, Mississippi
State or somewhere else,
it’s always been a dream
of mine to definitely play
for (MSU) and to be at
that highest level,” Buys
said. “That’s just kind of
why I decided to go to
JUCO.”
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
IndyCar gets through well-screened, delayed opener in Texas
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS screens over the cockpits drew nearly 1.3 million about to start on the
of the cars. viewers, making it the streets of St. Petersburg,
FORT WORTH, Tex- “We knew coming in it most-watched IndyCar Florida, and the extend-
as — Through all of was going to be a tough race outside the India- ed hiatus that followed
the uncertainty and un- situation for the IndyCar napolis 500 on any net- because of the pandemic,
knowns after more than Series putting together work since 2016. It was the all-in-one-day opener
eight months since the the race and making sure the biggest audience for ended with Dixon tak-
last IndyCar race, Scott we could put on the show an NBC telecast of any ing the checkered flag at
Dixon and another pair of to entertain people,” said IndyCar race away from dusk. The 200-lap race
former champs relied on Simon Pagenaud, who the Brickyard. on the 1 1/2-mile, high-
their experience for podi- was runner-up behind Five-time champion banked oval came after
um finishes. Dixon. “That’s what we Dixon sped away in the practice and qualifying
There were no specta- do, that’s what this busi- No. 9 Chip Ganassi Hon- earlier in the day when
tors, and there won’t be ness is about.” da on a restart with three the heat index was con-
for the next race on July And people watched, laps left for a comfortable sistently around 100 de-
4, but the series finally even though the only 4.4-second winning mar- grees Fahrenheit — and
started its season that spectators at the track — gin over a pair of Team much hotter in cars and
was delayed by the coro- where the grandstands Penske drivers, 2017 In- on the track.
navirus pandemic with a can seat well over 100,000 dyCar champ Pagenaud “We hadn’t tested
long, well-screened day people — were those with and polesitter Josef here, the Aeroscreen
— from the health screen- access to the condos over- Newgarden, the defend- was new, hadn’t run the
ings everyone had to go looking Turn 2. ing and two-time series tires. A lot of big chang-
through just to get inside NBC Sports said Sun- champion. es going on,” Dixon said.
Texas Motor Speedway to day that the Saturday Nearly three months “You really had to go in
the new protective wind- night prime-time telecast after the season was with an open mind and
Comics & Puzzles
DILBERT
Dear Abby
D
EAR ABBY:
My roommate
owns the
house. His girl-
friend and her two
children are over
here all day, every
day. I have my own
living room, office
and bedroom, and
we share the kitch-
en and bathroom.
I’m clean and
ZITS respectful and try
to mind my own
business. The
problem is, neither
of them work. They Dear Abby
drink heavily every
day and then scream and fight
for hours. Since COVID-19, they
have been drinking even more
and fighting constantly. Some-
times it gets physical.
My roommate is a verbally
abusive drunk, and his girlfriend
threatens to leave when he
starts abusing her kids, but
GARFIELD doesn’t follow through. I have
intervened a couple of times on
behalf of the children, but there’s
only so much I can do.
Lately, they’ve been scream-
ing at the top of their lungs about
me. I work from home and often
customers on the phone hear
them drop F-bomb after F-bomb.
I’m afraid their behavior will lead
to me losing my job. They’re also
up until 2 or 3 a.m. every night
fighting, which keeps me from
sleeping (even with earplugs).
I’m completely stressed out
CANDORVILLE and starting to get depressed.
Horoscopes
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (June
8). The cosmic bounty that falls
to you over the next 12 months
involves a whole lot of love and
all the building blocks for endur-
ing and enriching relationships.
You get more psychic, too. You’ll
think about people and then
hear from them, happen on
magical coincidences and have
BABY BLUES instinctive knowledge in new
situations. Aries and Leo adore
you. Your lucky numbers are:
10, 23, 7, 14 and 28.
ARIES (March 21-April 19).
You know who your go-to people
are for different needs. When
new things come up today, it’s
the perfect excuse to enlarge
BEETLE BAILEY
MALLARD FILLMORE
FAMILY CIRCUS
kind of make sure that
all the work you’d done
really worked out. ... Re-
ally hard on the rookies,
a lot of people that haven’t
been here before. For the
veterans, I think (expe-
rience) was definitely an
advantage.”
IndyCar’s next race
is at Indianapolis, on the
road course and not the 2
1/2-mile track that hosts
the Indy 500, which was
pushed back from its tra-
ditional Memorial Day
weekend date until Aug.
23.
Dixon’s 47 wins are the
most among active driv-
ers and third on the ca-
reer list behind A.J. Foyt
(67) and Mario Andretti
(52). Dixon extended his
own record by winning a
I’m not sure what
to do. I have
limited funds, so
moving would be
difficult. I’m won-
dering if you have
any suggestions
so I can weather
the storm. — BAD
SITUATION IN
UTAH
DEAR BAD
SITUATION: This
storm isn’t going
to end. I feel for
the children whose
mother doesn’t
protect them
from her abusive
boyfriend. The result will be
they will think they deserve the
mistreatment they are receiving,
which may affect them for the
rest of their lives.
I am not sure there is a
way to “weather” the storm.
Because these addicts cannot
control their behavior, and it is
affecting the way your clients
perceive you, it would be better
to get out of there. If possible, go
live temporarily with a friend or
relative until you find affordable
alternative living quarters. Your
job may depend on it.
DEAR ABBY: My daughter-
in-law “Hannah” told one of
my children that she is sorry
she married my son. He does
not know. They are both young
adults.
Hannah and her mother had
pushed for the marriage. She
even bought her wedding dress
your circle. Soon this network
will serve others, too.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20).
The particular kind of charisma
you have today involves the way
you move and the focus of your
words. You get to the point,
and people will skip ahead to
join you.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21).
What costs more will be worth
more. You’ll sharpen your sens-
es and knowledge so you end
up with something that gives
you back all that you’ve invested
and then some.
CANCER (June 22-July 22).
You don’t have to educated or
advise today; rather, you’re in a
MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2020 3B
race in his 16th consecu-
tive season, and matched
Foyt’s mark of 18 seasons
overall with a victory.
“I feel very lucky and
privileged to do what I
do, to get to race with the
best in the world,” Dixon
said. “To still have A.J.
and Mario come to the
track, I think that’s the
coolest thing. And the
Unsers, a lot of legends of
the sport.”
The season opened at
one of the series’ fastest
and trickiest tracks, with-
out testing, with limited
practice time and revised
tire rules. It was also the
debut of the new protec-
tive clear windscreens
that are anchored to the
cockpit with a titanium
frame.
before he proposed. My son
loves her. He is special-needs,
lower IQ and gullible.
What do I do with this
information? It will hurt him,
but I don’t want him wasting
years married to someone who
doesn’t love him. He deserves
better than that. — SAD MOM IN
FLORIDA
DEAR SAD MOM: Your son
needs to know what Hannah has
been saying and receive as much
support from the family as possi-
ble. I think the news should come
from the person in whom Hannah
confided rather than from you,
which could be perceived as
meddling. This should also be
discussed with an attorney. I
hope you will do it soon, before
there are children involved.
DEAR ABBY: On May 3, you
responded to a cancer patient
about what to say to those who
bring up her cancer. What do you
recommend to readers whose
good friends disclose their can-
cer for the first time? What can
be said that shows concern, un-
derstanding and being support-
ive? — AT A LOSS FOR WORDS
DEAR AT A LOSS: I will share
what I have said to people I care
about when told of their diagno-
sis. I hope it will guide you. I tell
the person I am sorry to hear
the person is having to fight that
battle, that I will mention him or
her in my prayers until remis-
sion is accomplished, and offer
whatever emotional support the
person is willing to accept from
me. And then I follow through.
position to relate to and amuse
others. You’ll answer objections
and give people what they’re
looking for.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22).
There are times to stay true
to the values of the people
around you and society at large,
and then there are times to be
disruptive. The rebel in your soul
needs a talking-to.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22).
You will ask your friends and col-
leagues for advice knowing full
well that each opinion is but one
point of information in a sea of
other opinions. Your gut instinct
is just as valid as anyone’s.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23).
The world inside a phone is
low-risk and low-commitment
with a return that is low-excite-
ment. The real world requires
high-level decision-making and
courage and will bring commis-
erate returns.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov.
21). To outwardly express the
version of yourself that most
accurately reflects who you are
on the inside and be accepted
and celebrated for it too -- that’s
heaven on earth.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec.
21). The people who are right
for you in business, friendship
and any kind of relationship,
really, are the ones who will be
as honest, present and reliable
as you are. Accept no less.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan.
19). The more requirements
and qualifications you impose,
the narrower your options will
be. When you get stuck, let go
of some of your rules and then
see if that doesn’t give you the
wiggle room you need to break
free.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.
18). You have the goodwill to
give your best even when you
can’t see an end to your efforts.
That’s the quality that gets you
hired, promoted, befriended or
even married in the weeks to
come.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March
20). There is compelling charis-
ma on offer at the intersection
of humility and egomania.
That’s where the superstars
live. Ego without humility, or
humility without ego, won’t sell
tickets.
Ice cube
SOLUTION:
4B MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2020
World reaches 400,000 virus deaths as pope urges caution
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BARCELONA,
Spain — The confirmed
global death toll from the
COVID-19 virus reached
at least 400,000 fatalities
on Sunday, a day after
the government of Brazil
broke with standard
public health protocols
by ceasing to publish
updates of the number of
deaths and infections in
the hard-hit South Ameri-
can country.
Worldwide, at least
6.9 million people have
been infected by the
virus, according to Johns
Hopkins University,
whose aggregated tally
has become the main
worldwide reference for
monitoring the disease.
Its running counter says
United States leads the
world with nearly 110,000
confirmed virus-relat-
ed deaths. Europe as a
whole has recorded more
than 175,000 since the
virus emerged in China
late last year.
Health experts, howev-
er, believe that the John
Hopkins tally falls short
of showing the true trage-
dy of the pandemic.
Many governments
have struggled to pro-
duce statistics that can
reasonably be considered
as true indicators of
the pandemic given the
scarcity of diagnostic
tests especially in the
first phase of the crisis.
Authorities in Italy and
Spain, with over 60,000
combined deaths, have
acknowledged that their
COMMERCIAL DISPATCH
OBITUARY POLICY
Obituaries with basic informa-
tion including visitation and
service times, are provided free
of charge. Extended obituaries
with a photograph, detailed
biographical information and
other details families may wish
to include, are available for a
fee. Obituaries must be sub-
mitted through funeral homes
unless the deceased’s body
has been donated to science.
If the deceased’s body was
donated to science, the family
must provide official proof of
death. Please submit all obitu-
aries on the form provided by
The Commercial Dispatch. Free
notices must be submitted to
the newspaper no later than 3
p.m. the day prior for publica-
tion Tuesday through Friday; no
later than 4 p.m. Saturday for
the Sunday edition; and no later
than 7:30 a.m. for the Monday
edition. Incomplete notices
must be received no later
than 7:30 a.m. for the Monday
through Friday editions. Paid
notices must be finalized by 3
p.m. for inclusion the next day
Monday through Thursday; and
on Friday by 3 p.m. for Sunday
and Monday publication. For
more information, call 662-328-
2471.
Donald Blaylock Jr.
MILLPORT, Ala. —
Donald F. Blaylock Jr.,
62, died June 5, 2020.
Services were at 5
p.m. Sunday, at Dowdle
Funeral Home. Burial
followed in Pleasant
Grove Cemetery. Dow-
dle Funeral Home of
Millport was in charge
of arrangements.
Mr. Blaylock was
born May 31, 1958,
in Millport, to Mary
Hellon Blaylock and
the late Donald Blay-
lock Sr.
In addition to his
mother, he is survived
by his wife, Anne
Blaylock; and siblings,
Donna Gail Hunnicutt,
Mary Hydrick and
Jackie Grimsley.
Junior Whitaker
SULLIGENT, Ala.
— Junior Whitaker, 64,
died June 6, 2020, at his
residence.
Funeral services
will be at 2 p.m. Tues-
day, at Otts Funeral
Home Chapel, with
B.J. Boman officiating.
Burial will follow in
Wesley Chapel Ceme-
Howls of protest as UK starts
14-day quarantine for arrivals
LONDON — Britain began
imposing a 14-day quarantine
Monday on travelers coming
into the country — a sweeping
measure meant to halt the fur-
ther spread of COVID-19 that
has been roundly criticized by
the tourism industry.
All passengers — bar a hand-
ful of exceptions like truckers
or medical workers — will be
asked to fill in a form detailing
exactly where they will self-iso-
late for two weeks and give a
phone number so authorities
can check up on them. The re-
quirement applies regardless if
they are citizens or not.
In England, new arrivals
should stay indoors and rely on
death count is larger than
the story the numbers
tell.
Brazil’s government
has stopped publishing a
running total of coronavi-
rus deaths and infections;
critics say it’s an attempt
to hide the true toll of the
disease.
Brazilian President
Jair Bolsonaro went as far
as to tweet on Saturday
that his country’s disease
totals are “not represen-
tative” of Brazil’s current
situation, insinuating
that the numbers were
actually overestimating
the spread of the virus.
Critics of Bolsona-
ro, who has repeatedly
clashed with health
experts over the serious-
ness of the disease and
has threatened to take
tery. Visitation is from
6-8 p.m. today, at the
funeral home. Otts Fu-
neral Home of Sulligent
is in charge of arrange-
ments.
Mr. Whitaker was
born Aug. 4, 1955, in
Aberdeen, to the late
Connie Ray Whitaker
Sr. and Sallie Brewer.
He was formerly em-
ployed as a truck driver
and owner of Sipsey
Creek Trucking Co.
He was a member of
Detroit Baptist Church.
In addition to his
parents, he was pre-
ceded in death by two
infant daughters; and
sister, Linda Whitaker.
He is survived by his
wife, Theresa Whita-
ker; children, David
Whitater and Jennifer
Rawls; sister, Brenda
Price; and four grand-
children.
Jo Conner
CALEDONIA — Jo
Carolyn Conner, 58,
died June 7, 2020, at
her residence.
Arrangements are
incomplete and will be
announced by Memori-
al Gunter Peel Funeral
Home and Crematory
Second Avenue North
location.
Mattie Milner
FULTON — Mattie
B. Milner , 89, died
June 3, 2020, at North
Mississippi Medical
Center of Tupelo.
A going home
service will be at noon
Saturday, at Lavender
Memorial Funeral
Service Chapel. Buri-
al will follow in Sinai
Cemetery. Visitation
will be one hour prior
to services at the fu-
neral home. Lavender’s
Funeral Service of
Aliceville is in charge
of arrangements.
Mattie Garner
ALICEVILLE,
Ala.— Mattie B.
Farner, 76, died June 6,
2020, at her residence.
A graveside going
home celebration will
be at 10 a.m. Saturday,
in Cedar Grove Baptist
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
others to get their food. They tine will cause “untold devasta- Britain has the second-most
can only leave for specific rea- tion” for the country’s tourism most recorded coronavirus
sons like needing urgent med- industry, not just on the airlines. deaths in the world — 40,625 —
ical care or medicine. Those “The thousands of hotels, the after the United States. Prime
who fail to comply with the thousands of visitor attractions, Minister Boris Johnson’s Con-
quarantine rules could be fined. restaurants in the next couple servative government has been
“There are quite a lot of un- of months - July and August are roundly criticized for its slow re-
knowns about the situation,’’ the two key months for British sponse to fighting the outbreak.
Crime, Policing and Justice tourism,’’ he said. “We’re fac- Many in his government, in-
Minister Kit Malthouse told the ing thousands of jobs losses cluding Johnson himself, came
BBC. “But for the moment, hav- because of a stupid, ineffective down with coronavirus.
ing a clear set of rules around quarantine.” British Airways, EasyJet and
international travel is critical.” Authorities had no immedi- Ryanair have written to the Brit-
The quarantine was imposed ate answers as to why the 14-day ish government applying for a
after a heated debate on wheth- quarantine wasn’t put in place on judicial review, arguing that the
er it would help British efforts to March 23, when Britain began quarantine rules are dispropor-
tamp down the U.K. outbreak or its lockdown, or why an excep- tionate.
simply stamp out any hopes that tion was made for attending the Willie Walsh, the boss of IAG
the British tourism industry funeral of a close family relative — the group that owns British
will recover following the coun- when funerals are known to be Airways — has said that airlines
try’s coronavirus lockdown. virus-spreading events. Britain had not been consulted about
Ryanair chief executive Mi- did not close its borders during the move.
chael O’Leary says the quaran- the worst of the outbreak. SOURCE: AP
Brazil out of the World victory, don’t cry victory In the U.S., the virus
Health Organization, too soon,” Francis said. churns on underneath
said the decision was a “Follow the rules. They the unrest provoked
maneuver by the hard- are rules that help us to by the death of George
man-style leader to hide avoid the virus getting Floyd and increasingly
the depths of crisis. ahead” again. directed at President
Brazil’s last official The Argentine-born Donald Trump’s handling
numbers recorded over pontiff has also ex- of the protests.
34,000 virus-related pressed dismay that the On Sunday, the U.K.
deaths, the third-highest virus is still claiming revealed that places of
toll in the world behind many lives, especially in worship can reopen from
the U.S. and Britain. It Latin America. June 15 — but only for
reported nearly 615,000 Francis was clearly private prayer.
infections, putting it sec- delighted to see several Worries have surfaced Woody Robinson
ond behind the U.S. hundred people gathered over the past couple Visitation:
After Bolsonaro below his window in St. of weeks that Prime Monday, June 8 • 6-8 PM
Memorial Gunter Peel
stoked his clash with Peter’s Square on Sun- Minister Boris Johnson’s College St. Location
health experts, Pope days for the pope’s noon government is easing
Francis cautioned people blessing after Italy eased the restrictions too soon, Martha Donovan
in countries emerging its restrictions on public with new infections Graveside Services:
from lockdown to keep gatherings. potentially still running Tuesday, June 9 • 11 AM
Memorial Gardens
following authorities’ Many counties like at 8,000 a day. As things 2nd Ave. North Location
rules on social distanc- the U.S. and Britain stands, nonessential
ing, hygiene and limits on insist that they can ease shops, including depart- Angela Walker
movement. restrictions before having ment stores, are due to Memorial Services:
Tuesday, June 9 • 2 PM
“Be careful, don’t cry stalled their outbreaks. reopen on June 15. Memorial Gunter Peel Chapel
2nd Ave. North Location
Jo Connor
Incomplete
AREA OBITUARIES 2nd Ave. North Location
Church Cemetery. Lofaye Walker, Wil- Linda Walker, Alice
Lavender’s Funeral lie Walker, Kendrick Ivy, James Walker,
Service of Aliceville is Walker and Jermaine Bernardia Mickens
in charge of arrange- Walker; siblings, Lottie and Robert Wright; 17 memorialgunterpeel.com
ments. Wright, Hattie B. grandchildren; and four
Savior, Patricia Walker, great-grandchildren.
Marcus Hodges
ALICEVILLE,
Ala. — Marcus Terrell
Hodges, 43, died June
4, 2020, at UAB Hospi-
tal of Birmingham.
A home going
celebration will be at
11 a.m. Wednesday,
at Lavender’s Funeral
Service Chapel. Buri-
al will follow in B.B.
Chapel Cemetery.
Visitation will be from
2-5 p.m. Tuesday, at the
funeral home. Laven-
der’s Funeral Service of
Aliceville is in charge
of arrangements.
Cheryl Clark
COLUMBUS —
Cheryl Clark, 62, died
June 2, 2020, at her
residence.
Arrangements are
incomplete and will be
announced by Lown-
des Funeral Home of
Columbus.
Shirley Walker-Wilbon
MACON — Shirley
“Nug” Lean Walk-
er-Wilbon, 58, died
June 3, 2020, at Win-
ston Medical Center of
Louisville.
Services will be at
11 a.m. Tuesday, in
Mayhan Cemetery. Vis-
itation is from 2-5 p.m.
today, at Lee-Sykes
Funeral Home. Lee-
Sykes Funeral Home of
Macon is in charge of
arrangements.
Mrs. Walker-Wilbon
was born Feb. 10, 1962,
to the late James and
Betty Jean Walker. She
was formerly employed
as a short order cook in
Mashulaville. She was
a member of Bible Way
Church.
In addition to her
parents, she was pre-
ceded in death by her
children, Fannie Bell
and Betty Marie Walk-
er; and sister, Dorothy
Jean Washington.
She is survived by
her husband, Willie
Wilborn; children,
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2020 5B
Classifieds
Employment
Call us: 662-328-2424
General Help Wanted
CARPENTER NEEDED w/ at
least 4 yrs. of experience.
Ideal candidate will have an
eye for detail, be depend-
able, have good communic-
ation skills, reliable trans-
portation & basic tools. We
specialize in home remod-
els & new construction.
Call 662-312-3130 for info.
AREA BUSINESS
is seeking a mature,
motivated person who
enjoys interacting with
people, being outdoors
and multitasking. Skills
related to maintaining
equipment and/or farm
work are desired but not
required. Person needs to
be flexible enough to pitch
in where ever needed but
also keep their core
responsibilities in mind.
If you enjoy a different ex-
perience on the regular,
meeting new people and
believe in customer
satisfaction this job might
be for you.
Please submit resume to:
Blind Box 675 c/o The
Commercial Dispatch
PO Box 511
Columbus, MS 39703
CALEDONIA BUSINESS
needs General Laborer.
Valid driver's license,
transportation & experi-
ence helpful. Will train on
the job if needed. Call
Jesse & Beverly's Lawn
Service at 662-356-6525.
JAMIE'S SALON is seeking
a barber, cosmetologist or
nail technician. Must have
clientele. Ask for Jamie,
662-327-3132.
THE COMMERCIAL
DISPATCH seeks a motiv-
ated, contracted carrier for
the Brooksville & Macon
area. Excellent opportunity
to earn money for college.
Must have good transporta-
tion, valid driver's license
& insurance. Delivers on
Sunday morning and Mon-
Fri afternoons. Apply at The Houses For Rent: North
Commercial Dispatch, 516
Main Street in Columbus. HOUSE FOR RENT BY
No phone calls please. OWNER. 220 Mclemore
Road, Columbus. 1750sqft
Real Estate Brick house in quiet neigh−
borhood. 3 bedrooms & 2
COLEMAN REALTY seeks full baths. No HUD,
Administrative Office Columbus City school
Assistant. Must possess: district. $1000/mo with
organizational skills with 1 mo deposit. Serious
attention to detail; com- inquiries only please. Call
662−574−3202 to see the
puter skills including
Microsoft office, Excel, house or make application.
Outlook & QuickBooks;
professional & courteous
communication skills with
2−3 Bedroom w/ 1.5 Bath
clients, public & co-work-
ers. Send resume' to
P.O. Box 9306,
Columbus, MS 39705.
It’s a classified
rule-of-thumb:
We tell readers
what they need
to know to buy
what they need.
Rentals
Ads starting at $25
Apts For Rent: North
FOX RUN APARTMENTS
1 & 2 BR near hospital.
$595−$645 monthly.
Military discount, pet area,
pet friendly, and furnished
corporate apts.
24−HOUR PROFESSIONAL
GYM. ON SITE SECURITY.
ON SITE MAINTENANCE.
ON SITE MANAGEMENT.
24−HOUR CAMERA
SURVEILLANCE. Benji &
Ashleigh, 662−386−4446.
Just a click away!
ads.cdispatch.com
Apts For Rent: West
Merchandise
VIP
Rentals Ads starting at $12
Apartments & Houses Bargain Column
1 Bedrooms Purses 3 Rockwear Hobo
purses, excellent condition
2 Bedroooms $20. 662−245−3635
3 Bedrooms
Furniture
Furnished & Unfurnished
Power Lift Love Seat by
1, 2, & 3 Baths Serta This power lift love
Lease, Deposit
seat was purchased new
for my elderly father;
& Credit Check however, He passed before
it was put into service.
viceinvestments.com Until recently, it was still in
327-8555 three boxes as it came
from Serta via the shipper.
Original new cost
Apts For Rent: Other $2,000...sacrificing at
$500.00 662−574−4640
General Merchandise
2018 40FT Gooseneck
Trailer w/ 5ft dovetail, 12
ton axles, 10−4inch straps
& tarps. $7,000.
662−251−3001.
MERCHANDISE
Collectibles, Santas,
snowmen, longaberger
baskets, antiques, lamps,
some furn., & pewter.
Call 662−312−6207
WHITE POSTER BOARD
$0.50 each − 24"x23"
Visit 516 Main Street
or call 662−328−2424
COLEMAN
RENTALS Lawn & Garden
TOWNHOUSES & APARTMENTS
HAYES DAYLILIES
1 BEDROOM Open mornings. M−S.
2 BEDROOMS 1069 New Hope Rd. Call
662−251−6665.
3 BEDROOMS
LEASE,
© The Dispatch
Vehicles
DEPOSIT
AND
CREDIT CHECK Ads starting at $12
662-329-2323 Autos For Sale
2411 HWY 45 N
2004 FORD T−BIRD. Two
tops, hard & soft. Little
COLUMBUS, MS over 100k mi. Excellent
Condition. Call Holly at
Eaton Motor Company in
Houston, 662−705−1143.
Community
Ads starting at $12
Travel & Entertainment
PUBLIC CATFISH POND
@ 130 Hillcrest Drive.
Open Tues−Sat, 7a−5p
HOUSE FOR RENT 662−386−8591
Call for pricing.
Fenced in yard. $675.
662−549−9555.
Ask for Glenn or text.
Five Questions:
Real Estate
1 North
Ads starting at $25
Houses For Sale: New Hope America
Free Trade
16 WIDNER IN NEW HOPE
Agreement
Newly remodeled. 3BR/
2BA home. Approx. 1,500
sqft. Has 25’x30’ wired
metal shop w/ roll−up front
& side door. $158,500.
2 Jolly Roger
662−549−9298.
Lots & Acreage
3 Fairy rings
1.75 ACRE LOTS.
Good/Bad Credit Options.
Good credit as low as 10%
down, $299/mo. Eaton
Land, 662−361−7711.
4 Pittsburgh
Waterfront Property
Steelers and
NEWLY RENOVATED three
bedroom, two 1/2 bath
Philadelphia
home in private community
with community boat
Eagles
landing. Property sits on
Tibbee Creek and is
conveniently located to
West Point, Columbus, and
Starkville. Home has a
5 Calcutta/
screened in back patio with
a deck that overlooks
Kolkata
Tibbee Creek. $198,800.
662−549−2768
Ads appear in The Commercial Dispatch,
The Starkville Dispatch and Online
To place ads starting at only $12,
call 662-328-2424 or visit ads.cdispatch.com
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2020 n 6B
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Service Directory
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Building & Remodeling Childcare General Services Lawn Care / Landscaping
HOME REPAIRS & Emmanuel’s Christian HILL’S PRESSURE LAWN CARE
MAINTENANCE Work Academy−Child care WASHING. Commercial/ Mowing, weed eating,
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CARPET INSTALLATION.
Re−Stretch & Repair also
Painting & Papering
avail. I accept select jobs. CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY
$545 plus Filing Fee QUALITY PAINTING.
Call Walt, 662−574−8134.
CHAPTER 13 BANKRUPTCY Ext/Int Painting.
Sheet Rock Hang, Finish &
MOUNTING TV’S AND All Attorney Fees Through The Plan
HIDING WIRES
Mount TV: Jim Arnold, Attorney
Repair. Pressure Washing.
Free Estimates. Ask for
$60/TV (mount not incl) 662-324-1666 • 601-656-6914 specials! Larry Webber,
662−242−4932.
Mount TV & hide wires: 104 South Lafayette Street, Starkville
$120/TV (mount not incl)
Johnny Beamon SULLIVAN’S PAINT
662−251−8472 SKILLED CRAFTSMAN. Any SERVICE
kind of work! We can build, Special Prices.
General Services paint, drywall, clean, Interior & Exterior Painting.
pressure wash & cut grass. 662−435−6528
DAVID’S CARPET & A & T TREE SERVICES Reasonable rates. Safe &
Are you a
UPHOLSTERY Bucket truck & stump Reliable. 662−386−3658.
CLEANING removal. Free est.
painter?
1 Room − $50 Serving Columbus
2 Rooms − $70 Lawn Care / Landscaping
since 1987. Senior
3+ Rooms − $30 EA
citizen disc. Call Alvin @
Rugs−Must Be Seen 242−0324/241−4447 Jake’s Mowing
Car Upholstery Cleaning Mowing, Weed−eating,
"We’ll go out on a limb for
Available Blow off walks, Trim shrubs
you!"
662−722−1758 Free quote. Great pricing.
Call, text, leave message.
WORK WANTED: 662−570−8815
Licensed & Bonded.
Carpentry, minor electrical, Advertise
Got leaky pipes? minor plumbing, insulation, JESSE & BEVERLY’S
painting, demolition, LAWN SERVICE here to
Find a plumber in the
classifieds.
gutters cleaned, pressure
washing, landscaping,
Mowing, cleanup,
landscaping, sodding, grow your
business.
cleanup work, moving help. & tree cutting.
662−242−3608. 662−356−6525