Established 1879 | Columbus, Mississippi
CDISPATCH.COM
Pilgrimage canceled for second straight year
Preservation Society president: It would be too
difficult to keep social distancing on home tours
BY ISABELLE ALTMAN
ialtman@cdispatch.com
COLUMBUS — The
2021 Columbus Spring
Pilgrimage has been
canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic,
the Preservation So-
ciety of Columbus an-
nounced in a press re- Leike
lease Monday.
It would have been the 80th year
for the annual festival, which cele-
Jerry Montgomery plays his harmonica at the hospital track in Columbus Wednesday afternoon. He is self-taught and has
been playing since 2017. “Whatever comes to mind, I play,” he said.
Supes OK immediate raises for 64 of lowest-paid employees
Board stops short of approving Brooks’
plan to raise all county workers to at
least $15 per hour over next 3 years
BY SLIM SMITH
ssmith@cdispatch.com
LOWNDES COUNTY
— A plan to close pay dis-
parities and bring all Lown-
des County employees to at
least a $15 per hour pay rate
over three years won partial
approval during Monday’s
board of supervisors meet-
ing.
The board voted 3-1 to
provide 50-cent pay raises
for 37 employees and 75-cent
pay raises for 27 others —
all of whom are making less
INSIDE
Classifieds 6B
Comics 4B
Crossword 6B
Dear Abby 4B
Obituaries 5A
Opinions 4A
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Tuesday | March 2, 2021
Rachel George,
owner of Basker-
ville Manor, greets
visitors in front of
her home her home
brates the history and architecture in this Dispatch
of Columbus and brings thousands file photo from the
of visitors to the city every spring 2018 Columbus
for tours of historic homes and oth- Spring Pilgrimage.
er events. Pilgrimage was originally This year’s Pilgrim-
scheduled for April 5-18. age, initially sched-
Last year’s Pilgrimage was also uled for April, has
canceled when Mississippi State De- been canceled due
to the COVID-19
partment of Health and the Centers pandemic, the Pres-
for Disease Control and Prevention ervation Society of
recommended in March all large Columbus an-
gatherings be canceled, causing nounced in a press
schools to shut down, restaurants release Monday.
See PILGRIMAGE, 6A Dispatch file photo
MUSIC IN THE PARK Three juvenile
passengers
injured in weekend
collision with train
Driver attempted to
cross tracks in front
of train near New Hope
DISPATCH STAFF REPORT
LOWNDES COUNTY — Three
juveniles were severely injured Sat-
urday afternoon after the car they
were riding in collided with a train
southwest of New Hope, Lowndes
County authorities said.
Lowndes County deputies and
volunteer firefighters were called
to the tracks at the intersection of
Hughes Road and Frisco Road, Sher-
iff Eddie Hawkins said. The driver
of the car had attempted to cross the
tracks when the train hit the car, he
said, knocking it into a ditch.
In addition to the driver, three
juveniles were in the car, Hawkins
said. Each of them were sent to a
hospital in Birmingham, Alabama,
for treatment. The driver did not
suffer serious injuries.
Lowndes County Emergency
Management Agency Director
Deanna Robinson/Dispatch Staff
Cindy Lawrence said the train was
owned by Alabama Southern Rail-
road Company, while the tracks
are managed by BNSF (Burlington
Northern Santa Fe) Railway. Repre-
sentatives from Alabama Southern
did not return a call from The Dis-
patch by press time.
County Administrator Jay
Fisher confirmed that mon-
ey already set aside for pay
raises in the current budget
Brothers wanted
would cover the additional
pay for the current year.
for questioning
than $15 per hour — effec-
tive immediately. The total
“At the time the board was
budgeting, there was money in Saturday shooting
cost to the county is $61,378, Brooks Fisher set aside to address two de-
which includes benefits.
to four years and 75 cents
partments, justice court and Police still investigating
Board President Tripp E911, where the pay was the
Hairston, District 3 Super-
for people who have been
here more than five years,”
lowest,” Fisher said. “But I incident that injured 4
visor John Holliman and think the feeling then was
Brooks said. “People who DISPATCH STAFF REPORT
District 5 Supervisor Leroy that we didn’t have enough
have been here less than a
Brooks voted for the propos- information on other depart- COLUMBUS — Columbus po-
year aren’t part of this.”
al, with District 1 Supervisor The lowest-paid county ments, and the decision was lice are searching for two brothers
Harry Sanders opposed. Dis- employee prior to Monday’s made to wait until we knew wanted for questioning in a weekend
trict 4 Supervisor Jeff Smith vote made $11.50 per hour. more about those depart- shooting that injured four people.
did not attend. Federal minimum wage is ments. That money hasn’t The brothers are identified as
“What you have is a 50- $7.25 per hour. been distributed. So there is Chandler Malic Burnett and Anto-
cent raise for employees who The board approved the money to cover these costs nio Lamar Roland, both of Colum-
have been here from one amended proposal after See SUPES, 6A See SHOOTING, 3A
FIVE QUESTIONS CALENDAR LOCAL FOLKS PUBLIC
1 Which city is not also the
Today through Saturday MEETINGS
name of a TV show — Albuquer- Today: Starkville
que, Dallas, Fargo or Nashville? ■ “Twisted Tales of Poe”:
Board of Aldermen,
2 Who did Stephen Colbert Mississippi State’s Shackouls
replace as host of “The Late 5:30 p.m., City Hall
Honors College presents
Show” on CBS? March 3: Oktibbe-
this radio drama at honors.
3 What is the more common ha County Board
msstate.edu. Free.
name for the Basilica di San Pi- of Supervisors,
etro in Rome which touts a dome 9 a.m., work
designed by Michelangelo?
4 What 2015 Pulitzer Prize-win-
Tuesday, March 16 session, Chancery
■ 100+ Women Who Care: Courthouse
ning novel is about a blind
French girl and a German orphan
during WWII?
5 Which of these animal species
Members of 100+ Women
Who Care Columbus will
receive an invitation March
March 9:
Starkville-Oktibbe-
ha Consolidated
is the most endangered in the 16 to watch a video presenta- School District
wild — African elephant, giant tion by three randomly-drawn Board of Trustees
panda or Amur leopard? Lowndes County nonprofits. meeting, 6 p.m.,
Members will then vote their Greensboro Center
Answers, 6B
choice for the combined March 16:
donation Impact Award. Visit Adrianna Sykes loves spending time Starkville Board
100wwccolumbusms.org for with her baby boy, her profession as a of Aldermen, 5:30
details. nurse and watching “Friends.” p.m., City Hall
DISPATCH CUSTOMER SERVICE 328-2424 | NEWSROOM 328-2471
2A TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

A THOUSAND WORDS

Birney Imes/Dispatch Staff

Trigon Jones escorts his granddaughter Kalie Jones, 3, as she rides her bicycle on Ninth Street South Saturday
morning. Trigon has four children. Kalie is his only grandchild.

Minimum wage hike all but dead

in big COVID-19 relief bill
Congressional leaders want to send President
Joe Biden the legislation by March 14
BY ALAN FRAM
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Democrats’
hopes of including a minimum
wage increase in their $1.9 trillion
COVID-19 relief bill seemed all but
dead as the Senate prepared to de-
bate its own version of the House-
passed aid package.
Four days after the chamber’s
parliamentarian said Senate rules
forbid inclusion of a straight-out
minimum wage increase in the re-
lief measure, Democrats on Mon-
day seemed to have exhausted their
most realistic options for quickly
salvaging the pay hike. In one de-
cision, they abandoned a potential
amendment threatening tax in-
creases on big companies that don’t
boost workers’ pay to certain levels.
“At this moment, we may not
have a path but I hope we can find
one” for pushing the federal pay
floor to $15 an hour, said No. 2
Senate Democratic leader Richard
Durbin of Illinois.
Senate Democrats hope to un-
veil their version of the broad relief
package and begin debate as ear-
ly as Wednesday. Congressional
leaders want to send President Joe
Biden the legislation combating the
pandemic and bolstering the econo-
my by March 14, the date emergen-
cy jobless benefits that lawmakers
approved in December expire.
The overall relief bill is Biden’s
biggest early legislative priority. It
looms as an initial test of his ability
to unite Democrats in the Senate
— where the party has no votes to
spare — and risks lasting damage
to his influence should he fail. Re-
publicans are strongly against the
legislation and could well oppose
it unanimously, as House GOP law-
makers did when that chamber ap-
proved the bill early Saturday.

Senate confirms Cardona as Biden’s education secretary

Former teacher has vowed to make
reopening schools his top priority
BY COLLIN BINKLEY
AP Education Writer
The Senate voted Mon-
day to confirm Miguel
Cardona as education sec-
retary, clearing his way to
lead President Joe Biden’s
effort to reopen the na-
tion’s schools amid the
coronavirus pandemic.
Cardona, 45, a former
public school teacher
who went on to become
Connecticut’s education
chief, was approved on a
64-33 vote.
He takes charge of the
Education Department
amid mounting tension
between Americans who
believe students can safe-
ly return to the classroom
now, and others who
say the risks are still too
great.
Although his position
carries limited author-
ity to force schools to
reopen, Cardona will be
asked to play a central
role in achieving Biden’s
goal to have a majority of
elementary schools open
five days a week with-
in his first 100 days. He
will be tasked with guid-
ing schools through the
reopening process, and
sharing best practices on
how to teach during a pan-
demic.
The Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Preven-
tion last month released
a road map for getting
students back into class-
rooms safely. The agency
said masks, social dis-
tancing and other strate-
gies should be used, but
vaccination of teachers
was not a prerequisite for
reopening.
Cardona, who gained
attention for his efforts
to reopen schools in Con-
necticut, has vowed to
make it his top priority to
reopen schools.

FBI chief to face questions about extremism, Capitol riot

BY ERIC TUCKER law enforcement agencies
The Associated Press about the potential for vio-
lence that day.
WASHINGTON — Questions about the
FBI Director Chris Wray FBI’s preparations for the
is set to testify for the first riot, and investigations
time since the deadly Jan. into it, are expected to
6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, dominate Wray’s appear-
with lawmakers likely ance Tuesday before the
to press him on whether Senate Judiciary Commit-
the bureau adequately tee. He’s also likely to be
communicated with other pressed on how the FBI
is confronting the nation-
al security threat from
white nationalists and do-
mestic violent extremists
and whether the bureau
has adequate resources to
address the problem.
The violence at the
Capitol made clear that a
law enforcement agency
that revolutionized itself
after the Sept. 11, 2001,
attacks to deal with inter-
national terrorism is now
scrambling to address
homegrown violence
from white Americans.
President Joe Biden’s ad-
ministration has tasked
his national intelligence
director to work with the
FBI and Department of
Homeland Security to as-
sess the threat.
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021 3A

Hosemann: Mississippi Senate will analyze House tax plan

‘I have concerns about raising anybody’s taxes.
There are significant things to discuss here.’
Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann
BY EMILY WAGSTER PET TUS the state economist to analyze
The Associated Press House Bill 1439, which is more
than 300 pages long.
JACKSON “I have concerns about rais-
— Mississippi ing anybody’s taxes,” Hose-
Lt. Gov. Delbert mann said. “There are signifi-
Hosemann said cant things to discuss here.”
Monday that the The bill would phase out the
state Senate will personal income tax and cut
thoroughly ex- the 7 percent grocery tax in
amine a House half over several years. It would
bill that proposes Hosemann also increase several other tax-
several significant changes in es, including the state sales tax
state tax rates. on most items, which would go
Hosemann, a Republican, from the current 7 percent to
said during an online press 9.5 percent. Tax rates would in-
forum that he has asked cer- crease on items including cars
tified public accountants and and trucks, cigarettes, alcohol,
farm equipment and manufac-
turing equipment.
Mississippi does not collect
income tax from retired peo-
ple, and Hosemann said he has
heard from retirees who wor-
ry about paying a higher sales
tax. He said farm groups are
concerned about increasing the
cost of tractors and other big
equipment. Hosemann said he
is concerned about altering tax
credits for job creation and tax
deductions for charitable dona-
tions.
Hosemann said he wants the
Mississippi Manufacturers As-
sociation and the Mississippi
Economic Council to weigh in
on the proposed changes.
House leaders introduced
their tax overhaul proposal
on Feb. 22, and they pushed it
through the Ways and Means
Committee the same day. They
pushed it through the House on
an 85-34 vote the next day, with
72 votes needed to pass. It was
mostly a partisan split, but a
few Democrats voted for the bill
and one Republican opposed it.
The bill did not include a fis-
cal note to outline the impact
the proposed changes could
have on the state budget.
Enacting changes to state
tax laws takes a three-fifths
majority of both the House and
the Senate. Republicans hold
enough seats in each chamber
to make changes without need-
ing any votes from Democrats.
Republican Gov. Tate Reeves
mentioned his wish to phase
out the income tax in Novem-
ber, when he released his bud-
get proposals for the year that
will begin July 1. He touched on
it again during his State of the
State address in January.
As the House was debating
its bill last week, Reeves said he
opposes increasing tax rates.
Overriding a veto would require
a larger margin of two-thirds of
the House and Senate.
During Mississippi’s bud-
get year that ended June 30,
the state collected about $5.8
billion from all types of state
taxes, fees and other sources,
including lawsuit settlements,
according to the state Depart-
ment of Finance and Adminis-
tration. The biggest chunk of
money, about $2.2 billion, came
from sales taxes. The next-larg-
est source was about $1.8 billion
from individual income taxes.

Georgia House passes Republican

bill rolling back voting access
GOP: Measure is needed to restore
the public’s confidence in elections
BY BEN NADLER
AND ANILA YOGANATHAN
The Associated Press
ATLANTA — Repub-
lican lawmakers in Geor-
gia muscled legislation
through the state House
on Monday that would roll
back voting access, over
the objection of Dem-
ocrats and civil rights
groups gathered at the
Capitol to protest.
The bill comes after re-
cord turnout led to Dem-
ocratic wins in Georgia’s
presidential election and
two U.S. Senate runoffs.
House Bill 531 passed
the lower legislative
chamber by a vote of 97-
72. It now goes to the state
Senate for more debate.
The far-reaching bill
would require a photo ID
back the confidence of
our voters back into our
election system,” said
Republican Rep. Barry
for absentee voting, limit Fleming, the measure’s
the amount of time voters chief sponsor.
have to request an absen- Democrats say the leg-
tee ballot, restrict where islation furthers Trump’s
ballot drop boxes could lies and would dispropor-
be located and when they tionately affect voters of
could be accessed, and color.
limit early voting hours “It’s pathetically obvi-
on weekends, among ous to anyone paying at-
many other changes. tention that when Trump
It is one of a flood lost the November elec-
of election bills being tion and Georgia flipped
pushed by GOP lawmak- control of the U.S. Senate
ers across the country to Democrats shortly af-
this year that would add ter, Republicans got the
new barriers to voting. message that they were
Republicans say the in a political death spiral,”
measure is needed to re- Democratic Rep. Renitta
store the public’s confi- Shannon said. “And now
dence in elections, after they are doing anything
former President Donald they can to silence the
Trump and his allies re- voices of Black and brown
lentlessly pushed false voters specifically, be-
claims about fraud. cause they largely pow-
“House Bill 531 is de- ered these wins.”
signed to begin to bring Dozens of protesters
gathered just outside
the Capitol on Monday
in opposition to the bill,
chanting “say no to voter
suppression” and “protect
the vote.”
“Today, before the eyes
of this country, Georgia is
poised to pass some of the
most egregious, danger-
ous and most expensive
voter suppression acts in
this entire nation, rolling
back years of hardball
progress and renewing
our own reputation for
discrimination,” the Rev.
James Woodall, president
of the Georgia NAACP,
said at the rally.
Alaina Reaves, the
president of the Clayton
County Young Demo-
crats, was among the pro-
testers.
“We take one step for-
ward and then you know
these legislators are try-
ing to bring us up to two
steps back,” Reaves said.

Shooting
Continued from Page 1A
bus, according to a Columbus Police Depart-
ment press release. Police Chief Fred Shelton
said both are juveniles.
The shooting occurred on the 1200 block of
Seventh Street South at 4:40 p.m. Saturday. A
suspect or suspects shot at a vehicle containing
four people, all of whom were taken to Baptist
Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle. One vic-
tim was treated and released, while three oth-
ers were flown via helicopter to other hospitals
in the state for further treatment. As of Monday
morning, they were still in critical condition,
Shelton said.
Investigators are asking anyone with infor- Courtesy photos
mation on the shooting or the whereabouts of Columbus police are searching for two brothers, Chandler Malic Cheap thrills.
Burnett and Roland to call Golden Triangle
Crime Stoppers at 800-530-7151 or send a tip
Burnett, left, and Antonio Lamar Roland, for questioning in a Go for a walk.
weekend shooting that injured four people on the 1200 block of
on the P3 phone application. Seventh Street South.

AROUND THE STATE

2 dead, 3 arrested groups were attending broke out and guns were
a birthday party at the fired. Kimble said weap-
after gunfire at Wilson Lounge in Patti- ons were recovered at the
Mississippi bar son when the argument scene.
PAT TISON — A week-
end shooting at a Missis-
sippi bar that left two peo-
ple dead has resulted in
three arrests so far.
The Vicksburg Post
reports that authorities
are looking for a fourth
suspect as well in the
shooting early Sunday in
Pattison.
Suspects arrested so
far range in age from 18
to 24. Claiborne County
authorities say they face
charges of aggravated
assault and murder in the
deaths of Gerreinsha Gib-
son, 21, and Justin Mar-
shall, 23. SOLUNAR TABLE
The solunar period indicates

Claiborne County
peak-feeding times for fish and game.
Tues. Wed.
Major 3:45a 4:37a
Sheriff’s Investigator Maj. Minor 10:08p 11:16p
Troy Kimble said Gibson Major
Minor
4:11p
10:12a
5:03p
10:48a
was a bystander and Mar- Courtesy of Mississippi Department
of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks

shall was a member of one

The Dispatch
of two groups involved
in the dispute that led to
gunfire.
The Commercial Dispatch (USPS 142-320)
Kimble said the groups Published daily except Saturday. Answers to common questions:
were rap groups that had Entered at the post office at Columbus, Mississippi.
Periodicals postage paid at Columbus, MS Phone: 662-328-2424
been insulting each other POSTMASTER, Send address changes to:
through their music on The Commercial Dispatch, P.O. Box 511, Columbus, MS 39703 Website: cdispatch.com/help
social media. Published by Commercial Dispatch Publishing Company Inc.,
516 Main St., Columbus, MS 39703
Report a news tip: news@cdispatch.com
Members of both
Opinion
4A TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021
OUR VIEW
Gardening, a perfect pandemic therapy
I
t’s been almost a year since
COVID-19 arrived in our commu-
nity.
It’s been a tough year for all of us,
and even with the arrival of vaccines,
we’re probably months away from what-
ever we once considered normal.
It’s been a year of grief, worry,
stress and disorientation and while the
end may be in sight, it’s still something
of a hazy image on the horizon.
We are still in the coping phase,
which is why we offer the following
recommendation.
Go outside, dig into the earth and
plant something.
OTHER EDITORS
The Constitution and Supreme Court
set a high bar for gun control
On February 14, President Biden
marked the third anniversary of the
deadly shooting incident at Marjory
Stoneman Douglas High School in Park-
land, Florida, with an announcement
that he is calling on Congress to enact
“commonsense gun law reforms.”
As always, the details matter. The
president defined “commonsense” as a
requirement for background checks on
all gun sales, a ban on “assault weapons
and high-capacity magazines,” and an
end to “immunity for gun manufacturers
who knowingly put weapons of war on
our streets.”
The U.S. Supreme Court held in 2008,
in the District of Columbia v. Heller deci-
sion, that the Second Amendment right
to “keep and bear arms” is an individual
right that is not contingent on service in
“a well-regulated militia.” That means
the U.S. Constitution limits the federal
government’s power to pass laws restrict-
ing that right.
Exactly where are the limits? That’s
always a matter of interpretation. The
Heller opinion, written by the late Asso-
ciate Justice Antonin Scalia, held that the
District’s law prohibiting the possession
of handguns was over the line, as was
its law requiring residents to keep their
lawfully owned, registered long guns
“unloaded and dissembled or bound by a
trigger lock or similar device” unless the
guns were located in a place of business
or in use for lawful recreational activi-
ties.
Scalia wrote that the handgun ban
“amounts to a prohibition of an entire
class of ‘arms’ that is overwhelmingly
chosen by American society” for the
“lawful purpose” of “the inherent right
of self-defense.” Under any standard that
the court has used, he wrote, “banning
from the home ‘the most preferred
firearm in the nation to keep and use
for protection of one’s home and family,’
would fail constitutional muster.”
So if the president’s definition of
“assault weapon” and “weapons of war”
includes commonly owned firearms
and magazines, it’s likely that new laws
banning these or seeking to create new
legal liability for their manufacturers will
be found unconstitutional by the U.S.
Supreme Court, should these laws be
challenged.
And there’s no doubt that such laws
would be challenged. After Biden’s state-
ment was released, the Firearms Policy
Coalition responded, denouncing what it
called “unconstitutional and immoral pol-
icies including bans on common semi-au-
tomatic firearms and ammunition maga-
zines.” A number of lawsuits over various
state laws related to firearms ownership
are already working their way toward the
high court.
The Heller decision was 5-4, with
Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter,
Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Steven Breyer
in the minority.
Former President Donald Trump cam-
paigned as a staunch defender of Second
Amendment rights, and it would not be
surprising, to say the least, if the three
justices he appointed to the high court
share that view to some extent. Associate
Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh
and Amy Coney Barrett likely have creat-
ed a solid majority to strike down broad
bans on semiautomatic weapons and laws
that flatly prohibit law-abiding citizens
from exercising the right to carry a gun.
In Scalia’s words, “the enshrinement of
constitutional rights necessarily takes
certain policy choices off the table.”
That won’t stop the Democratic
majorities in Congress, together with
the president, from enacting doomed
laws, or from sending fundraising letters
attacking their opponents. It’s always
about the next election. It remains a
fact that constitutional rights cannot be
overridden by a majority vote, except on
the Supreme Court.
Orange County (Calif.) Register
(Feb. 18)
You may be surprised how much it
will do for your psyche.
According to psychologists, the
benefits of gardening are often under-
estimated. Most people recognize that
gardening is good exercise and that
growing your own food promotes a
healthy diet.
But psychologists suggest that
something else happens to people
when they are gardening.
For many, it’s an act of learning to fo-
cus on the things we control and accept
those things we cannot control. The
pandemic has left many of us feeling
powerless. In the garden, we have a de-
CARTOONIST VIEW
MISSISSIPPI VOICES
Pushing income tax elimination uphill
I
n Greek mythology, Si-
syphus was doomed to
an eternity of pushing
a boulder uphill. Modern
proponents of state-based
tax reform can relate.
A failed experiment in
Kansas has served as a
cautionary tale for legisla-
tors considering changes
to the tax code.
Only Kansas’ hill is
a mirage — an obstacle Russ Latino
of misperception, not of
substance. In 2012, the state began
implementing aggressive income
tax cuts. Between 2012 and the 2017
repeal of Kansas’ tax cuts, the state
enjoyed record-high private sector
employment, with a job-growth rank-
ing among states that improved ten
spots after cutting taxes. The state
also broke the record for new busi-
ness start-ups in 2012, 2013, 2014,
and again, in 2016.
Kansas reminds us of two things.
First, the size of the government’s
coffers and the wellbeing of a state’s
people are not the same thing. Sec-
ond, there are two sides of the fiscal
coin. The year the state implemented requirements, it provides a rebuttal
cuts, it increased state spending by
$432 million. Tax revenue continued
to climb after the cuts, just not as
quickly as legislators could spend.
House Bill 1439, passed out of the
Mississippi House of Representa-
tives, would eliminate Mississippi’s
income tax gradually. It seeks to
crest the Kansas hill by providing
a path to maintain state revenue,
with reasonable limits on spending
growth. Unfortunately, thoughtful
approaches are often complex ap-
proaches, not easily understood and
easily misrepresented.
In 2022, HB 1439 would imple-
ment a substantial increase in the tax
exemption available to Mississippi’s
workers, such that an individual
Make Your Voice Heard
Write The Dispatch: voice@cdispatch.com
Dispatch
The
gree of control that we don’t find in oth-
er areas of our lives. In the garden, we
don’t have complete control, of course,
but we are active participants with the
ability to influence the outcome.
Gardening helps us learn, adapt and
accept. One rule of gardening is not
everything will go as planned. How
we respond makes us better, more
confident, less prone to give up. Our
tomatoes won’t always turn out like the
picture on the seed package, and we
discover that’s OK, too.
In the garden, we find ourselves
in the moment, doing that moment’s
work. That’s a powerful stress reducer.
earning $47,700, or a
married couple earning
$95,400, would pay no
state income taxes. This
would mean thousands of
dollars kept in the pockets
of Mississippi workers to
spend on their families, in
their communities, and in
growing their businesses.
Distinct from Kansas’
law, the bill would offset
loss in income tax reve-
nue with a shift toward
consumption taxes and a broadening
of the tax base. As revenue increased
in subsequent years, HB 1439 would
gradually increase the income tax
exemption available until the state in-
come tax was repealed in its entirety.
Complete elimination has been
projected by year ten. The projection
hinges, in large part, on another im-
portant feature of the legislation—a
strong fiscal rule that restricts
growth in government spending to
1.5 percent annually.
HB 1439 seeks to thread a
narrow needle. On one hand, by
implementing offsets and revenue
to critics who warn that tax changes
would negatively impact the ability of
government to provide for core func-
tions. On the other, it implements
limits on government spending that
would be among the best in the coun-
try, while providing a long-term net
tax reduction.
But is the juice worth the compli-
cated squeeze? Answering that ques-
tion requires some honesty. Missis-
sippi’s tax revenue has climbed by
nearly a third over the last decade.
As a percentage of our economy, we
have the 17th highest tax burden in
the nation.
In the meantime, Mississippi
households have the lowest median
incomes in America, with a negative
PETER BIRNEY IMES Editor/Publisher
BIRNEY IMES III Editor/Publisher 1998-2018
BIRNEY IMES JR. Editor/Publisher 1947-2003
BIRNEY IMES SR. Editor/Publisher 1922-1947
ZACK PLAIR, Managing Editor
BETH PROFFITT Advertising Director
MICHAEL FLOYD Circulation/Production Manager
MARY ANN HARDY Controller
It connects us to the natural world
that brings perspective.
There is something powerfully
life-affirming in the hours spent in the
garden.
So, now that prime planting time has
arrived, we urge you to drop by your
local nursery, pick out a few vegetables
or flowers, along with the other gar-
dening necessities, and get your hands
dirty.
At a time when so many things in
this difficult year seem to have been
spinning out of control, getting down
the earth is a great way to refresh the
body, mind and spirit.
growth rate over the last decade
when adjusted for inflation. Our eco-
nomic and population growth have
been equally stagnant, while we have
the second lowest labor force partici-
pation rate in the country.
Eliminating the income tax is not
a magic bullet, but it is an important
step beyond the status quo. Nine oth-
er states already operate without an
income tax. Those nine states have
tax burdens that are roughly half
of Mississippi’s while experiencing
far greater growth in state revenue.
How? Their populations and their
economies are growing leaps and
bounds over not only Mississippi, but
the nation, with more than double the
national population growth average
and economic growth 36 percent
above national average.
In a recent report released by
Empower Mississippi, Jorge Barro,
a Ph.D. economist at the Baker Insti-
tute at Rice University, studied the
potential effects of income tax elimi-
nation in Mississippi. Dr. Barro found
that if done properly, the elimination
of the income tax — even if offset by
some upward adjustment in consump-
tion taxes — would materially aid
Mississippi, increasing productivity,
income levels, economic growth, and
housing values. Through empirical
research, he also determined a likely
positive effect on population growth.
In the coming weeks, there will be
legitimate debate to ensure the form
of the legislation maximizes impact.
That’s good. There will be detrac-
tors, who are motivated by political,
ideological, or self-interest. That’s
to be expected. But if conservatives
can keep their eyes on the prize, we
can push the boulder over the hill
and set a new example of what good
tax reform looks like, right here in
Mississippi.
Russ Latino is President of Empow-
er Mississippi.

States easing virus restrictions despite experts’ warnings
‘I think that people are excited to put this past them and
be able to start to get back to their ways of doing things’
BY HEATHER
HOLLINGSWORTH
AND TAMMY WEBBER
The Associated Press
MISSION, Kan. —
With the U.S. vaccination
drive picking up speed
and a third formula on the
way, states eager to re-
open for business are eas-
ing coronavirus restric-
tions despite warnings
from health experts that
the outbreak is far from
over and that moving too
quickly could prolong the
misery.
Massachusetts on
Monday made it much
easier to grab dinner and a
show. In Missouri, where
individual communities
get to make the rules,
the two biggest metro-
politan areas — St. Louis
and Kansas City — are
relaxing some measures.
Iowa’s governor recently
lifted mask requirements
and limits on the number
of people allowed in bars
and restaurants, while
the town of Lawrence,
home to the University of
COMMERCIAL DISPATCH
OBITUARY POLICY
Obituaries with basic informa-
tion including visitation and
service times, are provided
free of charge. Extended
obituaries with a photograph,
detailed biographical informa-
tion and other details families
may wish to include, are avail-
able for a fee. Obituaries must
be submitted through funeral
homes unless the deceased’s
body has been donated to
science. If the deceased’s
body was donated to science,
the family must provide official
proof of death. Please submit
all obituaries on the form pro-
vided by The Commercial Dis-
patch. Free notices must be
submitted to the newspaper
no later than 3 p.m. the day
prior for publication Tuesday
through Friday; no later than 4
p.m. Saturday for the Sunday
edition; and no later than 7:30
a.m. for the Monday edition.
Incomplete notices must be re-
ceived no later than 7:30 a.m.
for the Monday through Friday
editions. Paid notices must be
finalized by 3 p.m. for inclusion
the next day Monday through
Thursday; and on Friday by 3
p.m. for Sunday and Monday
publication. For more informa-
tion, call 662-328-2471.
Elaine Parrish
COLUMBUS —
Elaine Parrish, 66, died
Feb. 28, 2021, at her
residence.
Private funeral
services will be held
at a later date. Lown-
des Funeral Home of
Columbus is in charge
of arrangements.
Mary Hanson
AMORY — Mary
Louise Hanson, 85,
died Feb. 27, 2021, at
her daughter’s resi-
dence in Birmingham,
Alabama.
Funeral services
are at 2 p.m. today,
at Cleveland-Moffett
Funeral Home, with
Tim Cunningham and
Jonathan Holloway
officiating. Burial will
follow at New Prospect
Cemetery. Visitation is
from 1-1:45 p.m. prior to
services at the funeral
home. Cleveland-Mof-
fett Funeral Home of
Amory is in charge of
arrangements.
Mrs. Hanson was
born Feb. 28, 1935, in
Monroe County, to the
late Eulis Smith Sr. and
Ada McWhirter Smith.
She was a graduate of
Aberdeen High School
and Mississippi Uni-
versity for Women. She
was formerly employed
in production and man-
agement with United
Technologies and was
a member of Primitive
Baptist Church.
In addition to her
Kansas City restaurateur Mike Lee
Kansas, now lets estab-
lishments stay open until
midnight.
Mike Lee, who owns
Trezo Mare Restaurant
& Lounge in Kansas City,
said he hopes increased
vaccine access, combined
with warmer weather, will
improve business.
“I think that people are
excited to put this past
them and be able to start
to get back to their ways
of doing things,” Lee said.
The push to reopen
comes as COVID-19 vac-
cine shipments to the
states are ramping up.
Nearly 20 percent of the
nation’s adults — or over
50 million people — have
received at least one dose
of vaccine, and 10 percent
have been fully inoculat-
ed 2 1/2 months into the
campaign to snuff out the
virus, according to the
Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention.
Johnson & Johnson
shipped out nearly 4
million doses of its new-
ly authorized, one-shot
AREA OBITUARIES
parents, she was pre-
ceded in death by her
husband, James Hal
Hanson; and siblings,
Hazel Kitchens, Clara
Smallwood, Stanton
Smith, Fred Smith and
Johnny Smith.
She is survived by
her children, Mike
Hanson of Columbus,
Rebecca Simpson
of Birmingham and
Elizabeth Hanson
Tidwell of Amory;
siblings, Mildred Allen
of Huntsville, Alabama
and Anita Boyd of
Memphis, Tennessee;
seven grandchildren;
and nine great-grand-
children.
Pallbearers will be
Jonathan and Michael
Holloway, Matt, Blake,
and Jake Hanson and
Clint Simpson.
Twila Schmidt
MACON — Twila
Mae Jantz Schmidt, 79,
died Feb. 27, 2021, at
her residence.
Funeral services
will be at 10:30 a.m.
Wednesday, at Brooks-
ville Mennonite
Church. Burial will
follow in the church
cemetery. Visitation
is from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
today, at the church.
Cockrell Funeral Home
of Macon is in charge of
arrangements.
Memorials may
be made to Oakwood
Retirement Communi-
ty, 55 Oakwood Drive,
Brooksville, MS 39739.
Cathy Pickens
WEST POINT —
Cathy Marcia Pickens,
49, died Feb. 23, 2021,
at Emory University
Hospital in Atlanta,
Georgia.
Graveside services
are at 1 p.m. today, at
Bethel M.B. Church
Cemetery in Hamilton,
with Achante Smith
officiating. Visitation is
from 12:30-1 p.m. prior
to services at the ceme-
tery. Carter’s Mortuary
Services of West Point
is in charge of arrange-
ments.
Mrs. Pickens was
born Aug. 27, 1971, in
Chicago Heights, Illi-
nois, to the late James
“J.B.” Pickens and Nola
Lou Pickens. She was
formerly employed as a
certified nurse assis-
tant and chef.
In addition to her
parents, she was
preceded in death by
her siblings, Theodore
‘Teddy’ Dismuke, Celia
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021 5A
WHO: ‘Premature,’ ‘unrealistic’ COVID-19 will end soon
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS “If we’re smart, we can finish with
the hospitalizations and the deaths and
GENEVA — A senior World Health the tragedy associated with this pan-
COVID-19 vaccine Sun- Organization official said Monday it was
demic” by the end of the year, he said at
day night to be delivered “premature” and “unrealistic” to think
media briefing.
to states for use starting the pandemic might be stopped by the
Ryan said WHO was reassured by
on Tuesday. The compa- end of the year, but that the recent ar- emerging data that many of the licensed
ny will deliver about 16 rival of effective vaccines could at least vaccines appear to be helping curb the
million more doses by the help dramatically reduce hospitaliza- virus’ explosive spread.
end of March and a total tions and death. “If the vaccines begin to impact not
of 100 million by the end The world’s singular focus right only on death and not only on hospital-
of June. now should be to keep transmission of ization, but have a significant impact on
That adds to the sup- COVID-19 as low as possible, said Dr. transmission dynamics and transmis-
ply being distributed by Michael Ryan, director of WHO’s emer- sion risk, then I believe we will acceler-
Pfizer and Moderna and gencies program. ate toward controlling this pandemic.”
should help the nation
amass enough doses by
midsummer to vaccinate against reopening too “We stand to complete- high levels and have even
quickly, as worrisome ly lose the hard-earned risen slightly over the
all adults. The White
House is encouraging coronavirus variants ground that we have past several days.
gained.” “We cannot be re-
Americans to take the spread.
Cases and hospitaliza- signed to 70,000 cases
first dose available to On Monday, the head
tions have plunged since a day and 2,000 daily
them, regardless of man- of the CDC, Dr. Rochelle
the end of January, and deaths,” Walensky said.
ufacturer. Walensky, urgently
warned state officials and deaths have also dropped Overall, the outbreak
In New York City,
ordinary Americans not sharply, but they are still has killed more than a
where limited indoor din-
to let down their guard, running at dangerously half-million Americans.
ing has resumed, officials
said the J&J vaccine will saying she is “really wor-
Erlene Alford
help the city to inoculate ried about reports that
millions more people more states are rolling
by summer, including back the exact public
through door-to-door vac- health measures that we
Erlene Crutchfield Alford
cinations of homebound have recommended.”
went to be with the Lord on
senior citizens. “I remain deeply con-
Thursday, February 4, 2021.
But the efforts come cerned about a potential
At the age of 90, she passed
with strong warnings shift in the trajectory of
peacefully at home surrounded
from health officials the pandemic,” she said.
by family.
A private memorial will
be held at a later date to be
determined.
She worked for both
American Bosch and Mississippi State University,
but her great love was her family. To the family,
Dismuke and Jeannie late Nathaniel and
she was Mama, Granny, and Aunt Erke. She was
Range. Mary Mack. She was
the epitome of a strong, independent woman who
She is survived by a member of Calvary
raised 4 daughters and played an important role
her partner, Robert M.B. Church.
in raising several grandchildren. She enjoyed
Sessions; children, In addition to her
sewing, attended gospel singing, and spending
Achante Smith of Hou- parents, she was
time with her family.
ma, Louisiana, Shade preceded in death
She is preceded in death by her parents,
Shader, Hya Khader by her husband Rev.
Thomas and Ruth Crutchfield; four of her sisters,
both of Chalmette, Lou- Olden Jones; children,
Ruth Stockman, Louise Ellis, Effie Thompson
isiana, Hamzeh Khader Diane D. Butler and
and Irene Carter; four brothers, Franklin
of Tylertown and Suha Richard L. Jones;
Crutchfield, Edwin Crutchfield, Earl Crutchfield
Khader Metairie of siblings, Dorothy M.
and Jimmy Crutchfield; and a great-grandchild,
Louisiana; siblings, Stroggins, Maratha
Brooklyn Lewis-Kelly.
Bernadette Dismuke, Hollingsworth, Fannie
She is survived by two sisters, Betty Vaugine
Rhonda Dismuke, Per- Williams, Willie, Joe,
of Missouri and Pasty Lovell of Arkansas; four
cy Randle, Ellen Lind- Otis Mack and Roy L.
daughters, Nancy Bordelon (Don) of Louisiana,
sey and Dedra Randle; Thompson.
Janice Brown (George) of Texas, Mary Guin
and five grandchildren. She is survived by
(Warren) of Mississippi and Carolyn Andrews
her children, Terrell
(Tim) of Mississippi. She leaves behind seven
Lawrence Heflin Jones of Columbus,
grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren, one
STARKVILLE — Hilda Johnson of
great-great-grandchild and a host of nieces
Lawrence William Belleville, Illinois,
and nephews. She was loved and will be dearly
“Butch” Heflin died Gloria Ussery of Co-
missed.
Feb. 26, 2021, at his lumbus and Marissa
Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s
residence. Jones of Charlotte,
Research Hospital 501 St. Jude Place Memphis,
A private memorial North Carolina; eight
TN 38105.
service will be held at a grandchildren; and six Compliments of
later date. Welch Funer- great-grandchildren. Lowndes Funeral Home
al Home of Starkville www.lowndesfuneralhome.net
is in charge of arrange- Jerry Marshall
Carl Holloway
ments. CALEDONIA —
Mr. Heflin was born Jerry Marshall, 71, died
to the late Adrian Hef- March 1, 2021, at Rush
lin and Dorothy Merritt Hospital. Carl Maurice Holloway
Heflin. He was a veter- Arrangements are passed away Thursday,
an of the U.S. Army and incomplete and will be February 25th at home.
was formerly employed announced by Lown- He was born in 1947, in
as a truck driver with des Funeral Home of Raleigh, North Carolina
Burkhalter. He is Columbus. and grew up in Meridian,
survived by his wife, Mississippi. His parents were
Jennifer Estes Heflin; Carl M. Holloway and Julia M.
children, Andrea Heflin Holloway. He was educated
of Byhalia and Matthew at Meridian Junior College
Heflin of Starkville; and University of Southern Mississippi where
siblings, Pam Vidrine, he received his Bachelor’s of Science degree
Paula Milliken, Mike in Finance. He began his banking career with
Heflin and Dennis Hef- the First National Bank of Meridian, went on
lin; and one grandchild. to become a national bank examiner for the
Office of the Comptroller of Currency serving
Dan Jones in the office of Montgomery, Alabama. In 1974,
COLUMBUS — Dan he was hired by John Mitchell at the Peoples
Savings Bank as the Assistant Vice President of
Ella Jones, 82, died Feb.
27, 2021. Starkville Operations and retired as Executive
Vice President in charge of system operations in
Grave-
side 1997. Upon retirement from the bank, he formed
Holloway & Associates Inc., a bank consulting
services
will be at company working with community banks in
Helen Willis Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Alabama.
11 a.m. Memorial services will
Thurs- He served on the Board of Directors for the
be held at a later date.
day, at College St. Location National Bank of Commerce Capital Corporation
(later Cadence Bank), was active in Boy Scout
Memorial Jones
Gardens. work, United Way of Starkville, served as director
of the Starkville Chamber of Commerce, was a
Visitation will be from
1-5 p.m. Wednesday, member of Faith Baptist Church and various civic
and charitable activities in the community. Carl
at Lee-Sykes Funer-
al Home. Lee-Sykes served on The American Bankers Association
Education Committee and was the Chairman of
Funeral Home of Co-
lumbus is in charge of the Mississippi Bankers Association Operations
memorialgunterpeel.com
arrangements. Committee. He was devoted to his family and his
dogs and loved being Poppy more than anything.
Mrs. Jones was born
March 4, 1938, to the He loved watches and cars, and collected both.
He was preceded in death by his parents; and
sister, Carol Diane Holloway.
He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Diane;
sons, David (Marianne) and Nathan; daughters,
Kristen and Amanda (Chris); and grandsons,
Carter and Asher.
A graveside service will be held at Memorial
Gardens Park, Wednesday, at 2:00 PM.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to
Faith Baptist Church.
You may go online at www.welchfuneralhomes.
com to leave a condolence.
Paid Obituary - Welch Funeral Home
6A TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Health
HEALTH TIP
n A teaspoon of apple cider vinegar keeps the doctor away: A teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in
a glass of water helps aid digestion, relieve bloat, boost immunity, regulate blood sugar levels and more.
Organic, raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar is recommended.
Source: https://fourwellness.co

Health tips from Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen

The hidden risks of adult
peanut allergies
Charles Schulz launched the
“Peanuts” cartoon on October
2, 1950, in seven newspapers.
Eventually it appeared daily in
2,600 papers in 75 countries.
The funny and often poignant
responses of Charlie Brown
and the other Peanuts charac-
ters resonated with adults, not
just kids.
According to a Northwest-
ern University survey pub-
lished in the Journal of Allergy
and Clinical Immunology,
peanuts can do that. Research-
ers have discovered that more
adults than kids have a peanut
allergy! In fact, 4.5 million
Americans over the age of 17
have the condition — and many
developed it as grown-ups.
Sadly, they are sidelined when
it comes to management of the
condition.
While the Food and Drug
Administra- to tree nuts or were imploring parents to raise And, say the researchers, it’s
tion recently shellfish. children with “a code to live not easy to repair a biome once
approved an If you by.” More than 50 years later, the damage is done. That may
allergy thera- suspect you we still need to be reminded of be why you may need to take
py (Palforzia) have a peanut how important that is — espe- probiotics long-term. Stop
for kids 4 to allergy, see a cially when it comes to kids’ taking them and the microbes
17, there are doctor pronto nutritional code of conduct. you’re beneficially introducing
no therapies for a diagnosis Two new studies reveal that into your gut often fade away.
approved by the and treatment. the food choices kids make — Bottom line: Feed your kids
Food and Drug If you are diag- and that parents make for them whole, high-fiber foods, largely
Administration nosed but don’t — can lead to serious health unprocessed, with no added
for adult-onset carry an EpiP- problems as adults. The first, sugars or syrups, only 100
food allergy. Drs. Oz and Roizen published in JAMA Cardiology, percent whole grains and lean
en (injectable
That leaves epinephrine) found that adolescents ages proteins (max one serving of
many of the to counter an 12 to 18 with elevated lousy red meat a week and no pro-
approximately 900,000 adults allergic reaction (anaphylac- LDL and triglyceride levels are cessed red meats). Then they’ll
who end up in the ER every tic shock), start doing it now headed for coronary artery cal- have a fighting chance to avoid
year with a reaction to peanuts — all the time, everywhere. cification in their 30s and 40s. America’s epidemic of diabetes
without all the help they need. And check out foodallergy. That means they’re at risk for and obesity. That’s a code to
According to the study, too org for more info on adult food premature stroke, heart attack live by!
many folks 17 and older are not allergies. and dementia. Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of
receiving essential counseling The second study, done in “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike
and a prescription for life-sav- a lab, indicates that eating too Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness
ing emergency epinephrine. Teach — and feed — your much fat and sugar as a child Officer and Chair of Wellness
Compounding the problem: children well can cause a lifelong disruption Institute at Cleveland Clinic.
Two-thirds of adults with When Crosby, Stills, Nash in your gut biome, affecting To live your healthiest, tune
peanut allergy have at least & Young sang “Teach Your everything from glucose into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit
one other food allergy, often Children Well” in 1969, they regulation to immune strength. www.sharecare.com.

Pilgrimage
Continued from Page 1A
and other businesses to
temporarily close and all
massive events to be can-
celed or postponed.
Though vaccines are
now available and events
are starting to creep
back, Preservation Soci-
ety President Dick Leike
said it would have been
too difficult for the own-
ers of Columbus’ historic
homes to ensure guests
maintained social dis-
tancing guidelines on the
home tours.
“These are, of course,
private homes, and we
would have to pay atten-
tion to what the health
department and the CDC
and everybody’s say-
ing about meeting, like
keeping their distance,
social distancing, wear-
ing masks and of course
washing your hands and
all of that and staying in
the small groups,” Leike
said. “The social distanc-
ing part was one of the
toughest parts because
they want you to keep a
six-foot social distance.
We would have maybe, on
an afternoon or morning,
as many as 90 people in a
three-hour window there.
... It would have been very
difficult to make sure to
keep that, because (vis-
itors) don’t all come just
evenly spaced.”
He added many of the
home owners are older,
placing them in the popu-
lation most vulnerable to
COVID-19.
This would have been
the first year the Pres-
ervation Society, which
formed in 2019, ran the
home tours independent-
ly of the Columbus Con-
vention and Visitors Bu-
reau. The Preservation
Society is made up of
about 50 members, pri-
marily owners of historic
homes, Leike said. The
organization formed with
plans to help CVB stage
Pilgrimage in 2020 and
take over altogether this
year.
Other spring events
scheduled
Leike said members
held off on plans for Pil-
grimage this year while
keeping an eye on the
pandemic, but that in a
normal year, the festi-
val would include more
events than just home
tours.
“If we’d gotten to that
stage of knowing we were
going to put it on, we
would probably have had
some other events tied
into it, of course,” Leike
said. “It’s just that we had
to put it off, so we haven’t
done that.
“The (Preservation)
Society would be con-
cerned with everything
in preservation,” he add-
ed. “It could be different
things besides homes.
It could be some other
properties, something
in conjunction with the
other historic parts of
Columbus.”
Leike said Pilgrimage
may be rescheduled for
later this year, but those
dates are still being de-
termined. The press re-
lease says members are
looking forward to the
2022 Pilgrimage.
The Preservation
Society also asked for
funds to help with his-
toric preservation in Co-
lumbus, since sales from
Pilgrimage tickets would
normally go to those ef-
forts. Anyone wishing to
support the Preservation
Society can make dona-
tions at preservecolum-
bus.com.
Some events that have
traditionally been part
of or coincided with Pil-
grimage are back on for
this year. Catfish in the
Alley, a downtown festi-
val with live music, food
and arts vendors, is still
scheduled for April 8-10,
said CVB Director Nancy
Carpenter.
Tales from the Crypt
is being altered this year.
The event is traditionally
a series of performanc-
es by Mississippi School
for Mathematics and
Science students who
research and write their
own monologues and
skits based on the lives of
figures buried at Friend-
ship Cemetery in Colum-
bus, but MSMS teacher
Chuck Yarborough said
this year the students
have different research
projects. The plan is for
them to write scripts and
film them to air online
in mid-April, rather than
having live performances
in the cemetery. Howev-
er, he said, some of those
plans are still being de-
termined.
The Mayor’s Unity
Picnic, an annual event
organized by the city of
Columbus and typically
held during Pilgrimage,
has not been scheduled
yet, said City Public In-
formation Officer Joe Dil-
lon. He said if Gov. Tate
Reeves relaxes some of
the gathering restrictions
throughout the state, the
picnic could still be held
some time this spring.

Supes
Continued from Page 1A
if the board decides it
wants to do this.”
Chief Financial Offi-
cer Lloyd Price said that
$37,500 was put into the
justice court and E911
budgets for pay raises
that could be used for
those approved Monday.
The rest would cover
qualifying employees
across all other depart-
ments.
Brooks initially offered
a plan for incremental
raises over three years,
citing that 79 of the coun-
ty’s 348 employees (22.7
percent) currently earn
less than $15 per hour.
Though he agreed
Monday to a more limit-
ed plan, he hopes to con-
tinue discussions about
raising the county worker
minimum wage to $15 per
hour as part of the budget
process in 2022 and 2023.
Brooks said if the
board ultimately ap-
proves that plan, the addi-
tional cost for 2022 would
be $104,745 and $101,110
for 2023. The cumulative
cost over the three-year
period would be $267,242.
“What you would have
over that time, is people
coming off that list and
other people coming on,
like people who have
reached one year of ser-
vice,” Brooks said.
Sanders said he felt go-
ing to a county-wide $15
minimum wage as too
high.
“What I don’t think
a lot of people under-
stand is our hospitaliza-
tion (benefits),” Sanders
said. “That $14, I could support that. a p p r ov i n g
works out I just think $15 per hour the three-
to probably is a little high. I think year plan.
$3 to $4 per there’s a lot of people in “I think
hour. That’s Congress and the Senate what we
more than who think that, too.” should do
$600 per Brooks said he didn’t is look at it
month. And dispute the value of the each year
with the Sanders benefits, but he said em- and budget Hairston
pandemic, I think since ployees are often focused time to see how the rais-
we are self-insured, our on the bottom line. es would impact the total
hospitalization insurance “What employees look budget,” he said. “I’m in
is going to go up tremen- at on payday is what’s in favor of the raise for the
dously so that’s going to their paycheck,” Brooks rest of the year because
be even a greater benefit said. the money is there. But
to the employee. If we Hairston said he did we can’t say that for the
wanted to get to $13.50 or not feel comfortable with upcoming years.”

If you don’t read The Dispatch, how are you gonna know?
Sports
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THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021
SECTION

Experience proves crucial for Panthers in semifinal win

BY THEO DEROSA
tderosa@cdispatch.com
JACKSON — Before
the West Lowndes girls
basketball team took the
court for Monday’s MH-
SA A Class 1A semifinal
against Biggersville,
coach Takeea Bozeman
reminded her team of
one important advan-
tage the Panthers held
over the Lions.
“We were here last
year,” the fifth-year
West Lowndes coach
told her players. “They
were not.”
Even though the Pan-
thers were soundly beat-
en by eventual champion
Pine Grove in last year’s
state semifinals, the ex- with seniors Marvaysha
perience they took away Seals, Ashanti Williams,
from playing on the Takara Givens and Lau-
same stage in the same ren Bell on the roster.
venue — the Mississip- But Tydajasha Hood,
pi Coliseum in Jackson Averi Sanders, Nenah
— helped West Lown- Young and Quankeria
des hang on for a 44-40 Halbert all received se-
win over Biggersville on rious minutes as juniors
Monday. last year. Along with se-
“This was the same nior Gracie Wells, they
team that played last formed an all-senior
year,” Bozeman said af- starting five Monday
ter the Panthers’ win. morning.
“The nerves were still “It means a lot to us
there; the fear wasn’t because we’ve been
there this year because playing ball with each
we’d already played on other since seventh
this court.” grade,” said Hood, who
Theo DeRosa/Dispatch Staff
Of course, several led the Panthers with
West Lowndes senior Averi Sanders (2) makes a layup during the second quarter
West Lowndes players 17 points in the victory. of Monday’s MHSAA Class 1A semifinal against Biggersville at the Mississippi
saw little to no time on “We’ve been working for Coliseum in Jackson. Sanders had 12 points, including the game-sealing layup off a
the court last season See EXPERIENCE, 3B steal in the final seconds, as the Panthers beat the Lions 44-40.

MSU v. WEST LOWNDES 44, BIGGERSVILLE 40

Southern
Misss
baseball
postponed to
Wednesday
DISPATCH STAFF
Mississippi State will
wait one more day before
returning to the diamond.
MSU announced
Monday morning that its
game against Southern
Mississippi, originally
scheduled for Tuesday,
has been bumped back
to Wednesday due to im-
pending weather. The
game will still be held at
Trustmark Park in Pearl.
MSU concluded its
first weekend of home
competition Sunday with
a walk-off win over Tu-
lane. The Bulldogs took
Games 2 and 3 of the se-
ries via game winning
hits in the ninth inning
after dropping Friday
night’s contest 7-3.
Coach Chris Lemonis’
squad moved up to No. 3
in D1 Baseball’s Top 25
rankings following the
pair of victories. The Bull-
dogs were also ranked
No. 2 in Baseball Ameri-
ca’s weekly rankings.
Southern Miss took
two games off of UConn
this past weekend and
currently sit at 4-3 on the
year. The Golden Eagles
also won two of three
games against Northwest-
ern State between Feb. 21
and 22 and lost a midweek
contest at South Alabama
on Feb. 23.
Cardinals
agree to
terms with
free agent
edge rusher
JJ Watt
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TEMPE, Ariz. — J.J.
Watt has agreed to a
two-year contract with
the Arizona Cardinals,
showing that the fran-
chise will be aggressive
once again in their push
to snap a five-year play-
off drought.
The team announced
the deal with the free-
agent edge rusher on
Monday. Watt was re-
leased last month by
the Houston Texans,
for whom he won three
NFL Defensive Player
of the Year awards.
A person familiar
See WATT, 3B
West Lowndes girls hold off Biggersville
in MHSAA Class 1A semifinal
West Lowndes senior Tydajasha Hood (12) had the tying free throw and go-ahead layup as the Panthers beat Biggersville 44-40 in
Monday’s MHSAA Class 1A semifinal at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson. West Lowndes will play Ingomar in the state title game at 1
p.m. Thursday.
BY THEO DEROSA
tderosa@cdispatch.com
JACKSON — Tydajasha
Hood clutched the edge of the
court with both hands.
Fouled hard at the basket
with a minute and 22 sec-
onds remaining in Monday’s
MHSA A Class 1A semifinal
against Biggersville, the West
Lowndes High School senior
landed on her stomach well
behind the left side of the
rim. Already nursing an inju-
ry from earlier in the quarter,
Hood stretched out her arms
to grab the side of the floor
and save herself from a short
but ungainly spill onto the
dull gray concrete of the Mis-
sissippi Coliseum.
For a moment, as Hood
fought to hold on, it felt like
the Panthers’ hold on the
game was teetering on the
edge just like their star was.
West Lowndes, once up 12
points, trailed 40 -39 after a
sustained Biggersville run at
time the senior was fouled.
But a teammate helped
Hood to her feet. She made
the second of two free throws
to tie the game for a final time.
And thirty-four seconds later,
she hit the go-ahead layup in
a 44-40 win that sent West
Lowndes into Thursday’s
state championship game
against Ingomar.
“That goes to show what
kind of heart she has,” fifth-
year coach Takeea Bozeman
said of Hood’s perseverance
through pain to put the Pan-
thers on top. “She’s all about
the team.”
But Hood, who led West
Lowndes with 17 points Mon-
day, wasn’t alone in giving the
Panthers a chance to win their
second state championship
and their first since 2004. Se-
nior spark plug Averi Sanders
had 12 points, including the
game-sealing layup off her
own steal with six seconds to
go, as she and Hood got the
job done.
“One is an offensive gen-
eral; the other one is a defen-
sive general,” Bozeman said.
“They cover both ends of the
floor. I just told them, ‘Play
your game. Play your game.’
Averi had the best defense
of her life out there, and Ty-
dajasha actually had the best
offensive night of her life out
there. They knew what they
were supposed to do.”
That, Bozeman said, was
to win. West Lowndes nearly
didn’t.
After the Panthers
stretched the score to 33-23
in their favor with roughly
Theo DeRosa/Dispatch Staff
five minutes to go, Biggers- teams do. It took us a little lon-
ville finally began to hit the ger to adjust to their adjust-
shots it missed all morning. ment, but once we did, I was
Leileigh Moody buried a cor- pretty confident that we were
ner 3-pointer to cut the lead
to seven, and the Lions soon
going to win.”
It was all but certain when
had the lead down to three
before Hood stole the ball and
Sanders stripped Biggers-
ville sophomore Hannah Sea-
injured herself in the process.
She passed to Sanders, who
go near the right wing with
the clock winding down. The
was fouled and made both free
throws out of the one-and-one.
diminutive senior finished
a left-handed layup over the
With 2:26 to go, West Lown-
des’ lead was back to six, and
Lions’ Goldee Butler with six
seconds remaining.
the Panthers had possession.
Biggersville responded
“It meant a lot for us,” Hood
said of the clutch play. “When
with a 7-0 run to take the lead
she did that, we knew we had
for the first time since the
it.”
score was 9-6 with 1:55 left in The Panthers had managed
the first quarter. Asia Stafford to hold on after forcing 12
put back a missed free throw
first-half turnovers to open up
from Aaliyah Moody to put
a sizable lead. Part of that was
the Lions on top 40 -39.
due to solid clock manage-
“We didn’t quit,” Biggers-
ment: Up 19-12 with 2:01 to go
ville coach Cliff Little said.
in the second quarter, West
“We just took a little while to
get started.” Lowndes elected not to let the
Lions touch the ball again un-
But Bozeman knew a run
til after halftime.
was coming from the Lions,
Sanders dribbled in place
and it was up to how her expe-
near midcourt for an entire
rienced starting lineup would
minute, then passed the ball
respond. When she saw Hood
to Hood for a repeat. With 12
hit the tying foul shot and lat-
seconds to go, Hood made her
er cut through the defense for
move. The Panthers missed
the go-ahead score, she was
more at ease. two shots inside, but senior
Nenah Young cleaned up a
“I knew that they were go-
ing to change things to ad- putback with one second to go
just,” she said. “That’s what See PANTHERS, 3B
2B TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021
By opting out of video game, ND calls attention to NIL issue
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The NCAA’s proposal
to permit athletes to earn
money from endorse-
ments would stand in the
way of players’ names,
images and likenesses
being used in EA Sports’
new college football video
game.
Until that changes,
Notre Dame doesn’t want
to be in the game. The
Fighting Irish are not
alone among major col-
lege football programs
passing on inclusion in
the rebooted game until
players can get paid to be
in it, too.
Notre Dame athletic
director Jack Swarbrick
told The Associated
Press on Monday that
the school went public
last week with its deci-
sion not to be included
in the game to call atten-
tion to a major issue that
has not been thoroughly
addressed as the NCA A
tries to reform NIL rules:
group licensing.
“I’m certain we’ll head
into August with name,
image and likeness in
some form,” Swarbrick
In-game video returning to baseball for 2021
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
For Chris Owings’ first
seven years in the majors,
he could pop into the vid-
eo room to take a look at
his at-bats during a game.
Then last season, the
utility infielder for the
Colorado Rockies had to
make due with a printout.
“You’d come back in
the dugout and you’d say,
‘Hey where was that pitch
at?’” Owings said Mon-
day. “It would be like it
is on the MLB app where
it just shows where the
pitch crossed the plate.
You go from seeing every
pitch where it crossed,
where your swing was,
to just being able to see
where the pitch was on a
piece of paper.”
It was a jarring change
Hawks fire Pierce following high hopes, disappointing start
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA — Atlan-
ta Hawks coach Lloyd
Pierce was fired less than
halfway into a season that
began with heightened
expectations but was be-
set by injuries.
Hawks president Tra-
vis Schlenk announced
the move on Monday.
The Hawks are 14-20
and 11th in the Eastern
Conference, following a
109-99 loss at Miami on
Sunday night. It was the
Hawks’ 11th loss after
holding a fourth-quar-
ter lead. The teams play
again in Miami on Tues-
day.
Pierce, 44, gave no in-
dication that he thought
he was in trouble after
Sunday’s loss. He ran the
Hawks’ practice on Mon-
day morning in Miami.
Schlenk said he and
his staff made the de-
cision to fire Pierce on
Monday morning and
decided against waiting
until the All-Star break to
announce the move.
“I just felt like we need-
ed a new voice to take the
next step,” Schlenk said
Monday night in a Zoom
call with reporters.
The Hawks named
Nate McMillan interim
coach. McMillan, the
former Indiana Pacers
coach, was added to
Pierce’s staff in the off-
season. McMillan has a
661-588 record with Seat-
tle, Portland and Indiana.
McMillan filled in for
Pierce when Pierce was
recently away from the
team while his wife was
giving birth. The Hawks
were 2-1 with McMillan
during Pierce’s absence.
Atlanta’s was Pierce’s
first job as a head coach.
told AP. “Among my con-
cerns is that the group
licensing dynamic is just
not getting the consider-
ation it needs. It’s really
complex.”
EA Sports announced
last month it was re-
launching its new col-
lege football series, eight
years after the popular
NCA A Football game was
discontinued. The NCA A
was sued by former col-
lege athletes for inappro-
priately using their imag-
es and likenesses in the
video games and lost.
Notre Dame became
the first school to pub-
licly state it would not
be part of the new game
unless athletes could be
compensated for it.
The game is about two
years away from being
available to consumers,
but EA is in the process
of acquiring the rights to
logos and marks of each
school. Swarbrick said
that led to the timing of
Notre Dame’s decision.
Since Notre Dame
went public with its
choice, Northwestern did
the same in response to a
question from the Chica-
for some hitters during
a down year for offense
during the pandem-
ic-shortened season. But
Major League Baseball
has cleared the way for
the return of in-game vid-
eo on dugout iPads begin-
ning on opening day, with
catcher signals clipped
when they are displayed
on a computer.
Washington Nationals
first baseman Ryan Zim-
merman, who opted out
of last season because
of COVID-19 concerns,
called video “a huge part
of the game.”
“A lot’s been said about
video rooms and how
some people incorrectly
used them. But I think
we’ve kind of handled that
situation,” he said. “Hav-
He was previously an as-
sistant with Philadelphia,
Memphis, Golden State
and Cleveland.
Schlenk said he timed
the move to help the team
have a second-half resur-
gence. He said he still
believes the Hawks can
make the playoffs.
“As we said at the be-
ginning of the season, our
goal was to have progress
this year to move for-
ward,” Schlenk said. “We
just felt that wasn’t hap-
pening as quickly as we
wanted.”
Schlenk blown
fourth-quarter leads
weren’t the only factor in
the the move.
“I won’t say that’s the
sole reason,” he said. “I
would say for us to accom-
plish what we want to this
year, this was the time to
make the decision.”
The Hawks last ap-
peared in the playoffs in
2017. The team has re-
built around point guard
Trae Young and forward
John Collins and invested
heavily in veterans in the
offseason.
Key additions include
Bogdan Bogdanovic,
Danilo Gallinari, Rajon
Rondo and Kris Dunn.
The Hawks’ talent also
received a major upgrade
with the addition of center
Clint Capela.
The Hawks had free-
agent money to spend,
and Schlenk wasted no
time in adding Gallinari
(three years, $61.5 mil-
lion), Rondo (two years,
$15 million) and Dunn
(two years, $10 million).
Dunn has yet to play,
due to his ongoing recov-
ery from ankle surgery.
Bogdanovic has missed
25 games. Gallinari has
missed nine games.
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
go Sun-Times. Tulane is-
sued a social media post
similar to Notre Dame’s
saying it would not par-
ticipate.
Tulane AD Troy Dan-
nen acknowledged that
Notre Dame paved the
way for its announce-
ment.
“It’s not like the en-
tire country gasps that
they cannot be Tulane
in the video game,” Dan-
nen said. “This is about
aligning and maybe put-
ting the student-athletes’
interest before anyone
else’s.”
Swarbrick said com-
ing out in favor of clear-
ing the way for players to
be compensated for their
participation in the video
game was not about try-
ing to rally support for
that position.
“I wasn’t trying to en-
courage other schools to
make any decision one
way or another relative to
EA,” Swarbrick said.
The NCA A’s NIL
proposal tries to create
separation between the
schools and athletes. Ath-
letes would be permitted
to make money from
ing the delays with the
live feeds and things like
that allow you to basically
squash all of that stuff.
“Hitters and pitchers,
honestly, use video during
the game, and it gives us
the best chance to be suc-
cessful and it gives us the
best chance to, basically,
put the best product on
the field. Things like that,
that help us perform bet-
ter, should be able to be
used.”
For decades, base-
ball players retreated to
a clubhouse video room
to check out their at-bats
or take a closer look at a
reliever entering a game.
Then Houston was penal-
ized in January 2020 for
an electronic sign-steal-
ing scheme during the
The biggest move
came when Schlenk made
Bogdanovic an offer —
four years for $72 million
— the Sacramento Kings
didn’t match.
Injuries to Bogdanovic
and others have prevent-
ed Pierce from having a
healthy roster, however.
Perhaps most dis-
rupting to the Hawks’
progress was the loss of
emerging star De’Andre
Hunter to knee surgery.
Hunter, who had emerged
as a scoring complement
to Young and Collins, has
missed 16 games.
The injuries were not
enough to overcome man-
agement’s disappoint-
ment with the slow start.
This was supposed to be
the season the Hawks
returned to the playoffs,
and Pierce acknowledged
before the season it was
time to win.
“It makes it more chal-
lenging, but we’re not go-
ing to sit here and blame
the injuries for where we
are, either,” Schlenk said.
Atlanta went 20-47 last
season and finished in a
virtual tie for last in the
Eastern Conference, per-
centage points ahead of
Cleveland.
The Hawks were one
of eight teams excluded
from the NBA’s restart.
Other NBA coach-
es were surprised by
Pierce’s firing.
Philadelphia 76ers
coach Doc Rivers said he
was “really shocked” and
“really disappointed.”
“I just talked to him, I
want to say five days ago,”
Rivers said. “He just had
a brand-new baby. This is
a tough business, boy. It’s
tough. I’ve always thought
it was really difficult in
a rebuild. ... Most of the
sponsorship deals, per-
sonal appearances or for
being an online influenc-
er, but those deals would
not involve the schools.
Athletes would not be al-
lowed to use school logos
or marks.
That means under the
current proposal, the vid-
eo game could not depict
specific players play-
ing for their teams. The
Clemson quarterback,
for example, could not be
identified as DJ Uiagale-
lei.
The NCA A’s proposal
would not stop players
from joining together
for group licensing op-
portunities without the
schools’ involvement. But
the association’s desire
to keep the brands of the
athletes and schools sep-
arate will make it difficult
for the players to capital-
ize on the return of the
video game.
Gabe Feldman, direc-
tor of Tulane’s Sports Law
Program, said players be-
ing compensated for the
video game is more of a
joint licensing problem
than one of group licens-
ing. A joint agreement
Astros’ run to the 2017
World Series title and
again in the 2018 season.
The coronavirus pandem-
ic also led baseball to lim-
it clubhouse access.
The prohibition of in-
game video access coin-
cided with a .245 MLB
batting average during
the shortest regular sea-
son since 1878, the lowest
since .237 in 1968 and
down from .252 in 2019.
The average number of
home runs per game de-
clined from the record
set in 2019, and the differ-
ence between strikeouts
and hits increased despite
the short season.
“It definitely made it a
little more difficult for hit-
ters,” Texas Rangers out-
fielder David Dahl said.
rebuilds unfortunately go
the way of Lloyd Pierce.
You’re in the middle of
the rebuild and then you
blame the coach for the
losses that you had no
chance to win. Unfortu-
nately that’s just the way
it’s worked in the league.”
Pierce has agreed to
serve on San Antonio
coach Gregg Popovich’s
staff with the U.S. Olym-
pic team.
“He’s one of the fine
young coaches,” Popovich
said. “Just a really knowl-
edgeable guy, a people
person, very mature. A
sad day to have somebody
lose a job like that. Now,
we all know it’s a volatile
environment and that type
of thing, but you don’t want
to miss on people like him.
It’s like missing on a real-
ly good player in the draft
or evaluating somebody
wrongly.”
Denver coach Michael
Malone said he was “com-
pletely shocked” Pierce
was fired “at this point.”
“His commitment to
the Atlanta Hawks and the
city of Atlanta was inspira-
tional,” Malone said.
Pierce, hired in 2018,
was 63-120 (.344) with
the Hawks, missing the
playoffs in each of his two
completed seasons.
Next Big Ten Showdown:
No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 4
Illinois
ANN ARBOR, Mich.
— Illinois coach Brad Un-
derwood gained a new ap-
preciation for Michigan’s
season recently when he
saw Baylor struggle a bit
after a lengthy layoff.
Michigan, of course,
had a similar stretch with-
out a game earlier this sea-
son, and the Wolverines
between schools, players
and EA Sports would be
beneficial for everyone
involved.
“The value of these
games is their realism
and getting to control the
actual player,” Feldman
said.
There are also plenty
of unanswered questions
about how group licens-
ing would work with col-
lege players. With profes-
sional athletes, players’
unions negotiate group
licensing deals for mem-
bers. No such union or
association currently ex-
ists for college athletes.
“The fundamental
problem here is: How do
you do it effectively? How
does it work?” Swarbrick
said. “How do you legally
bind a group? They’re not
employees.”
“What is the mecha-
nism?” he added.
The NCA A was pre-
pared to vote on NIL leg-
islation in January, but
that vote was put on hold
after the Justice Depart-
ment warned the associ-
ation its new rules could
violate antitrust law.
The NCA A is also hop-
“You can’t go back and
look at where was that
pitch, how are they throw-
ing me, what my timing
looked like, little things
like that that I checked
out in the past.”
Chicago White Sox
manager Tony La Russa,
hired in October, likes
how players will be in the
dugout with the iPads
rather than going back to
the video room.
“If you’re always going
in the clubhouse to watch
your at-bat and then you
come out after three outs,
you lose a sense of the
game,” said La Russa,
who last managed in the
big leagues in 2011 with
the Cardinals. “I think the
fact that they would have
it in the dugout is a step in
barely missed a beat.
“It’s very, very, very,
very impressive — and
I don’t think I put that in
perspective until the other
night when I watched Bay-
lor in the Kansas game,”
Underwood said. “Mich-
igan’s been great, and I
think it shows their com-
mitment and their veteran
leadership.”
The second-ranked
Wolverines host fourth-
ranked Illinois on Tuesday
night in the next marquee
matchup of this Big Ten
season. The conference
had three teams in the
top five and four in the
top seven in Monday’s AP
Top 25 poll, and now it’s
finally time for Michigan
and Illinois — the top two
teams in the standings —
to meet.
They were supposed to
play Feb. 11, but the Mich-
igan athletic department
began a coronavirus-relat-
ed pause during the latter
half of January, and the
Wolverines missed five
games.
Since that break, Mich-
igan is 5-0, including a win
over then-No. 4 Ohio State
and a 22-point blowout
against an Iowa team that
is now No. 5.
The Wolverines (18-1,
13-1) are making up two of
the games they missed, so
they’re in the middle of a
stretch of five games in 11
days to close the regular
season.
“I’m trying to do the
best I can as far as pre-
serving their energy,
with all this quick turn-
around, and not wearing
them down in practice,”
Michigan coach Juwan
Howard said. “I’ve been
impressed in how they’ve
responded.”
After routing Iowa on
ing for help on NIL from
Congress. There have
been five bills introduced
related to college sports
and NIL compensation
since December.
Numerous state-lev-
el bills are also in the
pipeline, including one
in Florida that has been
signed into law and goes
into effect July 1.
The NCA A wants a
federal law to usurp the
state laws and provide
some protection for fur-
ther legal challenges.
On that front, the Su-
preme Court is set to
hear the NCA A’s appeal
of a ruling in a federal an-
titrust case.
Swarbrick said he is in
favor of the NCA A wait-
ing until the Supreme
Court weighs in to pass
its NIL legislation be-
cause the opportunity to
take control of the issue
has already been missed.
“We’ve got ourselves,
as we frequently manage
to do in college athletics,
in sort of the worst possi-
ble position,” Swarbrick
said.
the right direction.”
How much in-game
video helps depends on
the hitter. For some, it’s a
major part of routine. Oth-
er players don’t find it as
helpful.
Chicago Cubs man-
ager David Ross said he
wasn’t into video during
his playing career, but he
understands why some
guys rely on the tool.
“When you can see
that on video, of where
they’re trying to attack
you, rather than the feed-
back that you get without
seeing it, maybe you’re
like ‘OK, maybe they’re
trying to attack me in and
exploit a weakness in,’
and you start kind of set-
ting your eyes and your
sights there,” Ross said.
Thursday night, Michi-
gan had to return for an
afternoon game at In-
diana on Saturday. The
Wolverines won that one
by 16.
“We’ve got to now fo-
cus on the recovery,” for-
ward Isaiah Livers said.
“Guys still got to get their
homework done, focus
on their scout and film.
It’s kind of less physical,
hands-on stuff.”
Michigan is now sched-
uled to play 17 Big Ten
games during the regular
season. Illinois (18-6, 14-
4) is on track to play the
full 20. If the league uses
winning percentage in
conference games to de-
termine the regular-sea-
son championship, Michi-
gan would clinch that with
a victory in any of its final
three games, assuming no
more makeup games are
added.
But there’s been no
definitive announcement
from the Big Ten on
whether that is indeed the
process, and the league
hasn’t responded to re-
quests for clarity from The
Associated Press. Under-
wood acknowledged Mon-
day that Michigan is “in a
really good position” to be
the top seed in the con-
ference tournament, but
even he didn’t seem total-
ly certain about whether
winning percentage would
determine that seeding.
“I don’t know that ex-
actly,” Underwood said.
“We met as a head coach-
es group a couple of weeks
ago just to discuss the
move, but to get into spe-
cifics ... it’s going to take
somebody a lot smarter
than me to figure that out
and understand what that
formula’s going to be.”
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021 3B

Column: Hendrick finds victory lane with rare outside hire

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHARLOT TE, N.C.
— Hendrick Motorsports
believes in developing
talent within. Take a job
in the parts department
or sweep floors in the
chassis shop, every entry
point within the company
offers opportunity to ad-
vance.
Especially crew chiefs.
The Hendrick system
makes it a priority to nur-
ture its young talent and
incentivize staying with
the organization. A me-
chanic can pay his dues,
climb into a leadership
position with a seven-fig-
ure salary and compete
for championships.
The formula produced
eight different Cup Se-
ries crew chiefs the last
two decades, including
championship -w inners
Chad Knaus and Alan
Gustafson. HMS went
outside the organization
only three times in that
period: Dale Earnhardt
Jr. brought Tony Eury Jr.
with him in 2008; Kenny
Francis came with Kasey
Kahne in 2012; and Keith
Rodden replaced France
three years later.
The current four-car
Hendrick lineup features
three homegrown crew
chiefs. The fourth? Well,
the team broke from pat-
tern and dipped down to
the Truck Series for its
newest hire.
Knaus, winner of sev-
en titles with Jimmie
Johnson, moved into an
executive role this year
and left a vacancy atop
William Byron’s young
team. When asked who
he wanted as his new
crew chief, Byron wanted
Rudy Fugle, the guy he
spent one season with in
Trucks when Byron was
18 and brand new to NA-
SCAR’s national level.
It was an unusual re-
quest — Fugle had never
worked in the Cup Series
and only crew chiefed
one Xfinity Series season
11 years ago — and Hen-
drick rarely hires outside
the organization. Gordon (sixth race), back to Fugle. be paired with someone
“It can be an intimi- Harry Hyde with Geoff “He’s battled for who would push him.
dating place. We tend to Bodine (eighth) and Rob- championships, he’s Byron in two seasons
bring in people young,” bie Loomis with Gordon managed a lot and he has under Knaus showed
Knaus, now the compe- (ninth). Only Gary Nel- fit in remarkably well,” steady improvement,
tition director said Mon- son in 1986 made it to Knaus said. “Quite hon- twice qualified for the
day. “The bloodlines run victory lane faster than estly, I think that’s from playoffs and earned
really deep at HMS and Fugle with a Bodine vic- working with Kyle. Kyle his first career victory
we have a culture here tory in the Daytona 500. has a very high level ex- in last August’s regu-
that is pretty unique. Fugle had been iden- pectation of everything lar-season finale.
Looking inside is what tified in 2019 as a poten- he does and that’s the “Chad prepped Wil-
we typically do, but in tial Cup crew chief when same thing we have at liam to get to this point.
this situation, we felt we Knaus took over the HMS. I could not have done
wanted someone with No. 24 team. Knaus was “So I think Rudy that three years ago,”
experience who had a searching for a new engi- came in not as intimi- Fugle said. “He built a
significant amount of neer and Fugle became a dated as somebody else great team. I came in
success and could handle candidate at Byron’s sug- may have been in that and this was an amazing
pressure.” gestion. But as the inter- role.” race team. We’ve got all
Fugle delivered Sun- view process stretched Fugle, for his part, the right pieces.”
day in his third race on, Knaus recognized credited Knaus for hand- Previous experience
as Byron’s crew chief. that Fugle was effectively ing him a turn-key race together and an existing
The duo won at Home- running Busch’s Truck team. Although he can relationship gave Fugle
stead-Miami Speedway, Series team and was make personnel chang- a jump on his rookie Cup
the same track where overqualified to be an en- es at his discretion, Fu- season. Byron qualified
they’d won their seventh gineer. gle has so far retained on the front row for the
and final race together in In eight seasons at the No. 24 personnel he Daytona 500 but a car
2016 when Byron drove a KBM, Fugle led the inherited. capable of contending
truck for Kyle Busch Mo- program to two driver And with Byron, the was damaged in an ear-
torsports. championships and five hard work had already ly crash. The No. 24 has
The win made Fugle owner titles. His trucks bene done. Hendrick shown speed and was
the second-fastest crew won 28 races, seven moved Knaus to Byron actually dominant in
chief to win at Hendrick with Byron in 2016. in 2019 after an under- Sunday’s victory — By-
Motorsports, ahead of When Knaus moved into whelming rookie season ron led a race-high 102
Steve Letarte with Jeff management, he circled in which Byron asked to of 267 laps.

Watt
Continued from Page 1B
with the contract told
The Associated Press
that the total package is
worth $31 million. The
person spoke on condi-
tion of anonymity be-
cause the team did not
reveal any terms.
A five-time All-Pro,
Watt — who turns 32 in
three weeks — has been
one of the NFL’s best
players for a decade, but
asked out in Houston,
which is undergoing a
roster upheaval. Watt
joins another former
Texans star, wide receiv-
er DeAndre Hopkins, in
Arizona. Hopkins was
acquired by the Cardi-
nals in a one-sided trade
a year ago.
Watt had one year re-
maining on a six-year,
$100 million contract
with the Texans.
Watt’s signing is an
indication that the Car-
dinals are willing to
spend money in their
effort to return to the
playoffs for the first
time since 2015. They
finished with an 8-8
record in 2020, losing
five of their last seven
games to fall just short
of the postseason.
Defensive coordina-
tor Vance Joseph can
now add Watt to a group
that already has veteran
edge rusher Chandler
Jones, who had 19 sacks
in 2019 before his 2020
season was cut short by
a biceps injury. The Car-
dinals also have young known for his offensive
playmakers such as line- acumen — and was
backer Isaiah Simmons brought to mentor 2019
and Pro Bowl safety No. 1 overall pick quar-
Budda Baker. terback Kyler Murray
Hopkins foreshad- — but now the defense
owed Watt’s arrival in might be just as import-
the desert a few weeks ant to the Cardinals’
ago on Instagram, when success.
he posted a picture of Though he has been
the two players, includ- plagued by injuries
ing Watt in a photo- in recent years, Watt
shopped Cardinals jer- started all 128 games
sey with the message in which he appeared in
“Let’s finish what we the past 10 years after
started ... ” entering the league as
Watt’s arrival will Houston’s first-round
certainly ratchet up the selection, 11th overall,
pressure on third-year in the 2011 draft out of
Cardinals coach Kliff Wisconsin. In 2017, he
Kingsbury, who wasn’t was selected as the Wal-
quite able to push Arizo- ter Payton NFL Man of
na into the postseason the Year for his work
in 2020. Kingsbury’s in helping Houston re-
cover from Hurricane
Harvey. Watt, who long
has been lauded for his
humanitarian efforts,
helped raise more than
$40 million in hurricane
relief in 2017.
He was the league’s
top defensive player in
2012, 2014 and 2015.
Then injuries began to
slow him. He appeared
in only three games in
2016 and five the next
season, sidelined by
back problems and then
a broken leg. In 2019,
Watt missed half of the
schedule with a torn
pectoral muscle.
He returned to play
the entire 2020 sea-
son and was effective,
though not dominant.
So the Cardinals like-
ly are not getting a vin-
tage Watt, the only play-
er in NFL history with
20 or more sacks and 10
or more passes defended
in a single season, doing
it in both 2012 and 2014.
He’s tied for fifth among
defensive lineman in
league history with six
touchdowns in the reg-
ular season, including
three TD catches.
He has 101 career
sacks, and over the past
decade leads the league
in tackles for losses
(172), quarterback hits
(281), multi-sack games
(26) and sack yards (713
1-2).

Experience
Continued from Page 1B
this moment.
Against a Biggers-
ville team fielding just
one junior and no se-
niors on the roster, West
Lowndes’ experience —
and size — proved supe-
rior.
Lions coach Cliff Lit-
tle depicted a starting
lineup full of “nervy”
sophomores, which
could explain Biggers-
ville’s early shooting
struggles. Little said the
Lions took more outside
shots in the first quarter
Monday than they typ-
ically take in a normal
game — and they failed
to connect on nearly all
of them.
West Lowndes, mean-
while, arrived at the ven-
ue earlier than last year
to hoist some extra shots
pregame. The Panthers
hit two 3-pointers in the
first quarter en route
to building a nine-point
halftime lead.
Little said playing in
the cavernous Coliseum
can “psych out” players
gracing its floor for the
first time, and that was
probably the case for his
Lions on Monday.
“This environment
can do a lot to you,” he
said. “There’s no doubt
I think that probably
helped ( West Lown-
des).”
Still, the Panthers
weren’t completely im-
mune to the pressure.
When Biggersville
broke through and took
a one-point lead with un-
der two minutes to go,
West Lowndes’ players
looked tense. Sopho-
more Ti’Teyana Brewer,
who had just fouled out,
fretted on the bench
flanked by two equally
concerned teammates.
“We were nervous,
but we had to keep our
composure,” Hood said.
She certainly did, hit-
ting a tying free throw
with 1:22 to go after her
first one bounced out of
the cylinder.
“I knew I had to put
an arc on it,” Hood said.
“I had to make it.”
Hood followed up the
make with what proved
to be the winning layup
with 48 seconds to go,
and senior Averi Sand-
ers made a game-sav-
ing steal and fast-break
score to close out the
contest.
The two plays were
final reminders of what
West Lowndes had and
Biggersville did not.
“We just had to use
our experience through-
out the game to win,”
Bozeman said.

Panthers
Continued from Page 1B

to make it a nine-point the seniors took the Pan- Christian 49

game at the break.
“Our plan was to run
time off the clock — not
that much time,” Boze-
man said. “But we saw
that they were not going
to come out, and we’d
rather just not turn the
ball over, not shoot wild
shots and give them a
chance to score, so we
just held it as long as
they were going to let us
hold it.”
Little said his team
didn’t open up its attack
until the second half,
and though the Lions
briefly took the lead, it
was too little, too late.
“We just didn’t play
very well,” he said.
“They did what they
had to do to make us do
that.”
For West Lowndes,
that was defense, athlet-
icism and timely plays
by Hood and Sanders as
thers from the edge of
elimination to a chance
at glory.
Bozeman expressed
confidence that her
team will come out on
top in Thursday’s 1 p.m.
final against Ingomar
in what would be her
first state championship
while coaching the Pan-
thers.
“It’s going to mean
the world when we win
because this will be my
first one,” she said. “It’ll
mean the world.”
Other scores
MHSA A semifinals
Class 1A girls: Ingo-
mar 58, Simmons 33
Class 1A boys: Big-
gersville 62, McAdams
30
Class 1A boys: Ingo-
mar 64, McEvans 48
Class 4A girls: Choc-
taw Central 72, Pass
Class 4A girls: Ponto-
toc 37, Moss Point 21
Class 4A boys: Ray-
mond 55, Itawamba Ag-
ricultural 37
Class 4A boys: Lanier
60, Pontotoc 57, OT
Prep Softball
Saltillo 2, New Hope 1
SALTILLO — New
Hope softball dropped
a 2-1 game Monday at
Saltillo.
The Trojans got one
run in the top of the
seventh, but it wasn’t
enough offense to beat
the Tigers.
Zoe Goodman led
New Hope with two hits,
and Adi Dueitt drove in
the Trojans’ run. Due-
itt pitched a six-inning
complete game with five
strikeouts.
New Hope will play
Thursday at East Web-
ster in Maben.
4B TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
Williamson pushes Pelicans past NBA-leading Jazz, 129-124
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ble-digit lead heading assists, seven rebounds that in any way shape or
into the fourth. “After and two blocks, giving form,” said Utah guard
NEW ORLEANS — the first two quarters of New Orleans three start- Donovan Mitchell, who
Zion Williamson showed me kind of reading their ers with 20-plus points. scored 21 points. “This
no fear of renowned Jazz defense, I really got a “Any time we all pay is a tough loss. I think
rim protector Rudy Gob- feel for it and I just was like this, I definitely like we’re all pretty upset
ert and spearheaded a on the attack.” our chances,” Ball said. about this because it’s
relentless — and effec- And the defenders he Pelicans reserve JJ stuff that we knew. It
tive — assault on the attacked included the Redick scored 17 points, wasn’t like we were
Utah basket. 7-foot-1 Gobert, a two- highlighted by a pair tired. It wasn’t like they
Williamson had 26 time NBA defensive of four-point plays on did anything (unexpect-
points, 10 rebounds and player of the year. 3-pointers as he was ed). We just didn’t have
five assists, and the New “Rudy Gobert is a phe- fouled. the urgency, and that
Orleans Pelicans held off nomenal defender and Bojan Bogdanovic hit can’t happen.”
a late Utah comeback bid phenomenal shot-block- seven 3s and finished Ball, however, said
to beat the NBA-leading er. So, it’s not easy mak- with a game-high 31 the Pelicans “knew
Jazz 129-124 on Monday ing shots over him,” Wil- points for Utah (27-8), we can get to the rim
night. liamson said. “Honestly, which was outscored 74- against pretty much
“My mindset was, I looked to draw the foul 56 in the paint in losing anybody. It’s one of our
whatever I can do to initially, but somehow I for just the eighth time strengths.”
give my teammates en- finished those shots.” this season, but also the New Orleans led by
ergy, I’m going to do it,” Brandon Ingram second time in three as many as 17 in the sec-
said Williamson, whose scored 26 points and games. ond half and was still up
dominant third quarter Lonzo Ball added 23 “We’ve got to own the 14 when Ball’s 3 made it
gave New Orleans a dou- points to go with eight paint and we didn’t do 122-108 with 3:54 left.
Comics & Puzzles
DILBERT
Dear Abby
D
EAR ABBY:
I have been
married for
26 years. Five
years ago, my
husband gave
a young lady
$5,000 through
credit card
charges over a
six-month period.
We are not
ZITS wealthy. When I
found the charges
in our credit
report, he took a
second job to pay Dear Abby
it off.
I don’t think
their relationship was sexual
because he is impotent. It was
hurtful. While he was taking
this young lady shopping, he
told me he was at work.
Recently, I (accidentally)
caught him going to another
young lady’s apartment to help
GARFIELD her with things like hanging a
TV. I don’t care if he helps peo-
ple. What I DO care about is his
sneaking around to do it. I have
tried talking to him about why
he feels he needs to sneak. He
has no answer. What makes
men sneak? — DECEIVED IN
KENTUCKY
DEAR DECEIVED: Your hus-
band may fear your disapproval
of his relationships — however
platonic they may be — with
these younger women. What
CANDORVILLE
Horoscopes
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (March
2). With stars in your eyes, you
will dive into a new venture.
Moving forward will be a glide
for the first three months.
Absorb all you can and apply it
as you go. You probably won’t
feel completely ready to take
on the greater responsibilities
coming your way in June, but
agree anyway. Destiny favors
you. Aries and Taurus adore
BABY BLUES you. Your lucky numbers are: 3,
20, 1, 44 and 16.
ARIES (March 21-April 19).
When you establish a bound-
ary, you expect it to be tested,
but certainly not every time.
If you have to keep asserting
yourself, consider that it might
BEETLE BAILEY
MALLARD FILLMORE
FAMILY CIRCUS
But Utah steadily
chipped away during the
next three minutes, pull-
ing to 125-124 on Royce
O’Neale’s 3 with 46.7
seconds left. Mitchell,
who scored eight of his
points in the final min-
utes to help give the Jazz
a chance, missed a driv-
ing floater with a chance
to put Utah back in the
lead.
Gobert, who had 22
points, nine rebounds
and five blocks, was
called for a loose-ball
foul trying to get the re-
bound and Williamson
hit two free throws to put
New Orleans up three.
Utah’s last chance
to tie went awry when
New Orleans swarmed
perimeter shooters and
makes people
of both genders
sneak, by the
way, is usually a
sense of guilt.
DEAR ABBY:
My boyfriend, my
33-year-old son,
his girlfriend and
their 4-year-old
son all live with
me. They are ex-
pecting their sec-
ond child. I own
the home and
pay all the bills
(utilities, phone,
food, etc.).
The problem
is, my kids don’t
like my boyfriend. His grandkids
call me Grandma, so I would
like my grandkids to call him
Grandpa. My son and his girl-
friend won’t allow their son to
do it. They insist on calling him
by his first name.
I asked for a compromise
and to call him Uncle. They
refuse and say he didn’t “earn”
that name. I said it’s just
teaching the children to respect
their elders. When I grew up
and when I raised my son, we
called older people Aunty and
Uncle. I’m not sure what to do
because we all live in the same
house, and I would like all of us
to get along. — WISHING FOR
RESPECT IN HAWAII
DEAR WISHING: You may
have taught your son to respect
be easier to leave and try again
elsewhere.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20).
Any effort to acquire or cling
to things will be tempered by
this wisdom: All is temporary.
Accepting the fleeting nature
of ownership is to make room
for happiness with the things,
people and time you have.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21).
You know better than to get too
comfortable in your own opin-
ion. You strive to give your ideas
the sort of rigorous inquiry that
would bring about truth and
reason. The guidance of others
helps, too.
CANCER (June 22-July
22). Sure, you need limits, but
Mike Conley was forced
to attempt a leaning,
double-clutch 3 from the
corner that missed the
rim. Williamson direct-
ed the rebound to Ball,
who fired his final assist
downcourt to Josh Hart
for a game-sealing dunk
that had the socially
distanced crowd of just
less than 3,000 jumping
out of their seats in full
voice.
Jordan Clarkson
scored 20 points in 27
minutes off the bench.
... Conley finished with
10 points. ... Utah had its
highest scoring second
quarter of the season
with 41 points ... Utah
shot 45.5% (46 of 101),
including 17 of 43 from
3-point range.
his elders when he was growing
up, but it appears he has had a
serious memory lapse. Shame
on him.
Because you foot all of the
bills for the roof over his and
his family’s heads as well as
the food in their mouths, re-
mind him that you are the head
of that household, and you will
not have anyone with whom you
are involved disrespected. As it
stands, you and your boyfriend
are being disrespected, so as
head of the household, please
assert yourself.
DEAR ABBY: Our son,
“Justin,” is getting married.
He told his dad the other day
that his fiancee would like for
my husband to go with Justin
to his salon to get his hair cut
and beard trimmed for the
wedding. My husband is upset
about it because he feels his
soon-to-be daughter-in-law is
implying that his haircut isn’t
good enough. As the wife and
future mother-in-law, I’m unsure
how to handle this situation.
Help, please. — GROOMING
GROOM’S DAD IN GEORGIA
DEAR G.G.D.I.G.: Try to
get your offended spouse to
laugh about it. Point out that
EVERYONE looks better with a
fresh haircut and a trim. Even
you and me. Most people want
to spruce up and make them-
selves more presentable for a
special event. Why should your
husband be any different?
this is a time to set them far
out there — so far that you
can’t even see them from where
you’re standing. Truly, you can
trust yourself, so stretch; dare;
and run.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22).
You’re able to see bigger.
So instead of doing what is
necessary to get through the sit-
uation, get by or get the grade,
you’ll do what’s necessary to be
the person you want to be.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22).
If this day wore perfume, it
would be called “Evanescent.”
When the action goes down, you
get the overriding sense that it’s
special, singular and observable
but for the briefest moment.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23).
Things will be theatrically pre-
sented, so don’t believe for a
second that the transformations
you see have occurred over-
night. Productive change comes
about very slowly. (You’re in one
right now, in fact, and you only
need to keep going.)
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21).
To wish without commitment is
to engage in an entertaining dis-
traction that pushes your dream
further away from you. Instead,
wish with intent, determination
and follow-through.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec.
21). You’re fascinated by the
way a person conducts busi-
ness — restrained, disciplined
and focused strictly on what
matters. What you don’t fully
realize is that you have those
same qualities you so admire.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan.
19). Not all promises come with
the words “I promise,” and the
ones that do are as suspect as
people who say, “Trust me.” But
if you understand who a person
is, you’ll be able to accurately
predict what the person will do.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.
18). You have a humor about
you and a deep interest in the
thoughts and lives of others
— two qualities that attract
the best and brightest to you.
You’re headed for truly delightful
interactions.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March
20). Behavior is a universal lan-
guage — a communication that
can be trusted over any word
ever uttered. You will concen-
trate your efforts on the actions
that define you.
Jump the gun
SOLUTION:
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021 5B
Classifieds
LEGALS
Call us: 662-328-2424
Legal Notices
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
CAUSE NO.: 2021-0030-JNS
THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
LOWNDES COUNTY
Letters Testamentary have
been granted and issued to the property to satisfy the past due opment District, 106 Miley
undersigned upon the estate of and any other charges owed.
CHARLIE WILLIAM UPTON, de-
ceased, by the Chancery Court NOW THEREFORE, notice is
of Lowndes County, Missis-
sippi, on the 12th day of Febru-
ary, A.D., 2021. This is to give
notice to all persons having
claims against said estate to
Probate and Register same
with the Chancery Clerk of
Lowndes County, Mississippi,
within ninety (90) days from
this date. A failure to so Pro-
bate and Register said claim
will forever bar the same.
This the 12th day of February,
2021.
/s/ Terry Lee Upton
TERRY LEE UPTON
/s/ Dewayne Upton
DEWAYNE UPTON
PUBLISH: 2/23, 3/2 &
3/9/2021
Public Notice
Relative Risk Site Evaluation
COLUMBUS AFB, MISSISSIPPI
The Air Force completed the
Relative Risk Site Evaluation
(RRSE) for COLUMBUS AFB to
support sequencing of environ-
mental restoration work. The
RRSE process is used to evalu-
ate the relative risk posed by
an environmental restoration
site in relation to other sites.
Restoration sites in Compre-
hensive Environmental Re-
sponse, Compensation, and Li-
ability Act (CERCLA) phases pri-
or to remedy-in-place are evalu-
ated in the process. Due to dis-
covery of PFOS/PFOA, a RRSE
was completed for the sites.
Relative risk is not the sole
factor in determining the se-
quence of environmental res-
toration work, but it is an im-
portant consideration in the pri-
ority setting process.
At COLUMBUS AFB, six restora-
tion sites were evaluated in the
process. The Overall Site Cat-
egory scores were one site
“High”, one site “Medium”,
and four sites “Low”.
This Relative Risk Site Evalu-
ation is issued in accordance
with the DoD Defense Environ-
mental Restoration Program
and is available for public re-
view for 30 days as of this no-
tice. This RRSE can be found
at AFCEC CERCLA Administrat-
ive Record (AR): ar.afcec-
cloud.af.mil. Scroll to the bot-
tom of the page and click on
“Continue to site”, then select
“Active Duty”, scroll down the
Installation List and click on
Columbus AFB, MS”, then
enter 711.0 in the “Installa-
tion AR #” field. Then click
“Search” at the bottom of the
page. Click on the spy glass to ated, contracted carrier for
view the document.
For more information or to sub- money for college. Must
mit written comments, please
contact us at 334/953-1109,
Mr. James R. (Bob) Barnwell, or
email at
james.barnwell.1@us.af.mil.
PUBLISH: 2/28, 3/1, 3/2, 3/3 Commercial Dispatch, 516
& 3/4/2020
IN THE CHANCERY COURT OF
LOWNDES COUNTY, MISSIS-
SIPPI
IN THE MATTER OF THE ES-
TATE OF LARRY B. MAXEY, DE-
CEASED
LINDA B. MAXEY, ADMINIS-
TRATOR
NO. 2021-0008-PDE
RULE 81 SUMMONS BY PUB-
LICATION
THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
TO: THE UNKNOWN HEIRS OF
LARRY B. MAXEY, DECEASED
NOTICE TO DEFENDANT(S)
You have been made a Defend-
ant in the suit filed in this
Court by Linda B. Maxey, Peti-
tioner, seeking to determine
the heirs-at-law of Larry B.
Maxey, Deceased. You are
hereby summoned to appear
and defend against the Peti-
tion for Determination of Heirs
of Larry B. Maxey filed in this
action at 9:30 o’clock a.m. on
the 20th day of April, 2021, in
the Chancery Courtroom of the
Lowndes County Courthouse, in
Columbus, Mississippi, and in
case of your failure to appear
and defend, a judgment or or-
der may be entered against you
granting the relief requested in
the Petition.
You are not required to file an
answer or other pleading, but
you may do so if you desire.
Issued under my hand and the
seal of said Court, this the
18th day of February, 2021.
CHANCERY CLERK, LOWNDES
COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI
BY: /s/ Shantrell W. Grander-
son
D. C.
PUBLISH: 2/23, 3/2 &
3/9/2021
Buy. Sell. Discover.
On the web: ads.cdispatch.com • Or call: 662-328-2424
Ads appear in The Commercial Dispatch,
The Starkville Dispatch and Online
To place ads starting at only $12,
call 662-328-2424 or visit ads.cdispatch.com
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021 n 6B
Legal Notices Medical / Dental Mobile Homes for Rent
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
COUNTY OF LOWNDES
The Golden Triangle Plan-
ning and Development Dis-
3BR/2BA MH in New Hope.
$650 dep + $650/mo.
Merchandise
trict is accepting applica- No pets, quiet area. Leave
NOTICE OF SALE tions for part-time person- voicemail with full name & Ads starting at $12
WHEREAS, the following ten- al care attendants to work message, 205−712−6697.
ants entered into leases with in the Golden Triangle area. Sporting Goods
MAIN STREET MINI STORAGE Applicants must have a val- 4BR/2BA MH, on private 1
for storage space in which to id driver’s license, reliable acre setting with covered ED SANDERS GUNSMITH
store personal property and transportation and liability back porch. Caledonia Open for season!
insurance on vehicle. Male school dist. Credit check Tue−Fri: 9−5 & Sat: 9−12
WHEREAS, default has been and female applicants
made in the payment of rent required. Call 662−251− Over 50 years experience!
needed. Contact Minnie
and MAIN STREET MINI STOR- 3205 & leave message. Repairs, cleaning, refin−
AGE pursuant to said Leases is Lindsey at the Golden Tri- ishing, scopes mounted &
authorized to sell personal angle Planning and Devel- RENT A CAMPER! zeroed, handmade knives.
CHEAPER THAN A MOTEL! Located: Hwy 45 Alt, North
Drive, P. O. Box 828, Stark- Utilities & cable included, of West Point, turn right on
ville, MS 39760. No tele- from $150/wk − $555/mo Yokahama Blvd, 8mi & turn
phone calls please. left on Darracott Rd, will
hereby given that MAIN STREET Columbus & County School
MINI STORAGE will offer for locations. 662−242−3803 see sign, 2.5mi ahead
sale, and will sale at auction to or 601−940−1397. shop on left.
Rentals Sudoku
the highest bidder for all per- 662−494−6218.
sonal property in storage units YESTERDAY’S ANSWER
leased by the following ten-
ants at MAIN STREET MINI
STORAGE, 1702 Main Street,
Columbus, MS, on March 24,
Ads starting at $25 Real Estate Vehicles Sudoku
Sudoku is a number-
placing puzzle based on
Yesterday’s answer
2021, at 9:00 AM. Sudoku
a 9x9 gridis witha several
num- 9 5 8 3 6 7 4 1 2
Apts For Rent: North Ads starting at $25
Property to be sold is believed Ads starting at $12 ber-placing
given numbers.puzzleThe object 3 6 4 1 9 2 5 7 8
2021 Conceptis Puzzles, Dist. by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
to be good, but at such sale, 802 17TH ST. N.
Farms & Timberland based onthe
is to place a 9x9
numbers 2 7 1 8 5 4 9 6 3
MAIN STREET MINI STORAGE
will convey only such title as is
2 bed/ 1 bath, all electric,
Motorcycles & ATVs grid
1 to 9with
in theseveral
empty spaces 5 4 2 7 1 8 3 9 6
ceramic tiled bath, carpet,
vested in it pursuant to its appliances. $475/Mth. given
so thatnumbers.
each row, eachThe 7 8 9 2 3 6 1 5 4
object
column and each 3x3 the
is to place
lease with the following and al- 203 ACRES ’05 HONDA REBEL 250
lowed under Mississippi Code Credit check. Call Long & PRIME TIMBERLAND box 6 1 3 9 4 5 8 2 7
Annotated Section 85-7-121 et Long @ 662−328−0770. $270,000
Black, red & grey. Actual
numbers
contains the1same to 9 number
in
seq (Supp 1988.) Exc deer, turkey hunting
miles, 1,432. $1200.
the empty spaces so 1 9 6 4 2 3 7 8 5
Apts For Rent: West 662−364−0120. only once. The difficulty 8 3 5 6 7 9 2 4 1
Billups - F-3
Good Investment that each row, each
(615)719−8329 level increases from
column and each 4 2 7 5 8 1 6 3 9
VIP
Monday
3x3 boxtocontains
Sunday.
Community
Carter - H-8 Difficulty Level 3/01
Houses For Sale: New Hope
Rentals
Hendricks - G-10 the same number only once. The difficulty level
Storage House converted increases from Monday to Sunday.
Scott - E-19
Apartments & Houses
into a small house. Ads starting at $12
Bradford - A-7, A-1 Plumbing and Electrical
1 Bedrooms
already installed. Lost & Found Items
Coley - E-5 Small kitchenette and
2 Bedroooms
bathroom. $6,000.
Kuhn - E-16 Missing M&O RR Fireplace
678−368−0631
Tate - H-5 3 Bedrooms Lots & Acreage
Mantle. A $200 Ransom
will be paid for recovery of
Burr - A-23-C Furnished & Unfurnished Fireplace mantle pried from
wall of Crawford’s M&O RR
1.75 ACRE LOTS: Good/
Franklin - G-2 1, 2, & 3 Baths Bad Credit Options. Good Section House. No
credit as low as 20% down, questions will be asked
Lease, Deposit
Prentice - A-5 $499/mo. Eaton Land, and the "law" is NOT
& Credit Check 662−361−7711. involved. 662−769−1889.
WITNESS MY SIGNATURE on
the February 21, 2021. viceinvestments.com Pets
327-8555
Restricted residential lot,
Mary Tuggle, Owner very nice, over 3 acres with
MAIN STREET MINI STORAGE some trees. Callaway REGISTERED DACHSHUND
1702 Main Street Estates off Taylor Thurston puppies for sale.
Columbus, MS 39702 Apts For Rent: Other Road. $35,000. Call Long Ready to go now!
1-662-241-5231 & Long, 662−386−2023. Call 205−596−3264.
PUBLISH: 3/2, 3/9 &
3/16/2021
Five Questions:
Employment
1 Albuquerque 4 “All the Light
We Cannot
Call us: 662-328-2424
General Help Wanted
2 David See”
Letterman
5 Amur leopard
HELP NEEDED: Looking for
someone with a good work
3 St. Peter’s
ethic, a reliable source of
transportation and a posit-
ive attitude. Must be able
to work off of a ladder and
walk on a roof. Bonuses
for production output.
$12/hr. 662-574-0062.
THE COMMERCIAL
DISPATCH seeks a motiv- COLEMAN
RENTALS
the Caledonia area. Excel- TOWNHOUSES & APARTMENTS
Place an ad safely
lent opportunity to earn
1 BEDROOM
have good transportation, 2 BEDROOMS
valid driver's license & in-
3 BEDROOMS
from home with
surance. Delivers on ACROSS
Sunday morning and Mon-
LEASE, 1 Rum-soaked
© The Dispatch
Fri afternoons. Apply at The
DEPOSIT
the Classifieds.
cake
Main Street in Columbus. AND 5 Closes up
No phone calls please. 10 Conductor
CREDIT CHECK
Seiji
It’s a classified 662-329-2323 12 Eye opening
13 It ended in
2411 HWY 45 N 1918
rule-of-thumb: COLUMBUS, MS 15 Make mis-
We tell readers takes
Houses For Rent: North 16 Blazing
what they need 17 Was a
COLONIAL TOWNHOUSES. pioneer
to know to buy 2 & 3 bedroom w/ 2−3
what they need.
bath townhouses. $650 to
$750. 662−549−9555. ads.cdispatch.com 18 More pro-
found
Ask for Glenn or text. 20 Wallop
21 Mongrel’s
Service Directory
warning ing research 19 Abner’s father
22 Aspiration 42 Agreeable 20 Concise
23 Director answers 24 Was a fink
Almodóvar 43 Lewd look 25 Ocean lane
25 Ooze DOWN 26 Concert
1 Bent down- bonus
Promote your small business starting at only $25 28 Diamond
ward 27 Turns out-
covers
Building & Remodeling General Services General Services Painting & Papering 31 Jealousy’s kin 2 Islands off ward
32 Canada’s Portugal 29 Convict’s
HOME REPAIRS &
CONSTRUCTION.
GRAVEL, $360 PER LOAD.
Local delivery, 14 yd truck. BANKRUPTCY QUALITY PAINTING
Ext/Int Painting capital 3 Unproductive hope
Repair damaged doors, Backhoe & Dozer work. CHAPTER 7 Sheet Rock Hang, Finish & 34 High card 4 Piercing tool 30 Veer sud-
holes in doors, door sills, Mobile Home Pads & BANKRUPTCY Repair. Pressure Washing. 35 Ump’s call 5 Petty argument denly
and door jambs. Repair Driveways. Concrete work. $545 plus Filing Fee Free Estimates. Ask for
36 Spectrum 6 Afr. neighbor 33 Venomous
holes in walls and ceilings.
Repair fascia boards and
662−497−1388
CHAPTER 13
specials! Larry Webber,
662−242−4932. color 7 God of light snake
8 Roster 35 Lofty poems
soffit. Electrical, plumbing HANDYMAN−CERTIFIED IN BANKRUPTCY 37 Athletic best
& carpentry. Stairs & MAINTENANCE All Attorney Fees Through The Plan SULLIVAN’S PAINT 40 Bandleader 9 Big hammer 38 Avoid the
decks. Electrical, woodwork, Jim Arnold, Attorney SERVICE
Shaw 11 Stick truth
Call 662−549−7031. plumbing, decks, roofing,
662-324-1666
Special Prices. 14 Band’s big 39 Animation
drywall, painting, concrete, Interior & Exterior Painting. 41 Do painstak-
General Services yard work, hauling, moving. 104 South Lafayette Street, Starkville 662−435−6528 commitment frame
All credit cards accepted. Please visit our website:
Payment plans. Will trade jimharnold.com
A & T TREE SERVICES
for almost anything. Saturday morning appointments
Bucket truck & stump
removal. Free est. 662−386−3658. available for Starkville Office.
Serving Columbus
since 1987. Senior WORK WANTED: Licensed Lawn Care / Landscaping
citizen disc. Call Alvin @ & Bonded. Carpentry, minor
242−0324/241−4447 electrical, minor plumbing, JESSE & BEVERLY’S
"We’ll go out on a limb insulation, painting, demo− LAWN SERVICE
for you!" lition, gutters cleaned, Fall Cleanup, Tree Cutting,
pressure washing, land− Landscaping, Sodding & Are you a painter?
scaping, cleanup work. Bush Hogging
ads.cdispatch.com 662−242−3608. 662−356−6525 Advertise here!
In the Classifieds section.