Okolona MS News Commentary and Reading Recommendations

A scary situation. Check out the article for details!

From http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.d.../501290350/1002:
 
By state law, school districts cannot operate at a deficit.
"We cannot fund education unless we see some type of revenue increase, whether it's taxes or fees," Pearl schools Superintendent Stan Miller told a panel of four lawmakers. (...)
"They have very little wiggle room to raise money," said Senate Education Chairman Mike Chaney, R-Vicksburg.(...)

Gov. Haley Barbour repeatedly has said he won't support a tax hike. "Hopefully, some people will have a change of heart on revenue enhancements, but right now we'll work with what we've got," Gordon said. "We cannot abandon public education in Mississippi.

It's almost a cliche, but our future is in the hands of our children, and a bright future starts with well-funded schools and quality education!
 
Something has to be done to move schools even higher on the priority list of everyone.

06:21 AM   

W. Raspberry, an Okolona resident, writes about the importance of education in shaping a child's future. He makes very important points. It is true that too many (especially low-income) parents don't realize the importance of creating a learning-centered environment.

From http://www.sunherald.com/mld/thesunheral...ial/9805476.htm:
 
The problem is that we have thousands and thousands of parents, mostly poor, with only a limited understanding of the transforming power of education. Many of them are poor because they left school, which, in any case, wasn't working for them. How can they tell their children of the wonders education will open up for them?

Another important point mentioned in the article: Even parents who don't feel qualified to give their children academic help still can make a world of difference, by emphasizing how important it is to keep learning and to do well in school.

09:45 AM   

BassFan.com has an interesting article on a fishing tournament on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.

From http://www.bassfan.com/news_article.asp?id=1018:
 
The last time the Bassmaster Tournament Trail visited Mississippi's Tenn-Tom Waterway was for the August 2003 Central Open. Fishing was tough then, and is also tough now for this week's Elite 50 event
(...) Then it was so hot and muggy the anglers needed gills almost as much as the fish, which were lethargic, and limits were smallish (the winning weight was 39-04 for 3 days). And though fishing is traditionally better in the spring here, now the fish are not yet fully recovered from the spawn, and are scattered. Add to that scenario the recent rains that have muddied the river system (prompting many "mud hole" comments from anglers), and bites are literally few and far between.

Tournament species are largemouth bass, with some spotted bass and few smallmouth bass.

09:08 AM   

I wish I could sue someone over not getting enough money. Oh well.

From http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/8648995.htm:
 
Okolona Mayor Sherman Carouthers has sued the city council seeking back pay from a salary increase he says he never received.
In the suit, which gives only one side of the legal argument, Carouthers claims the council on Sept. 12, 2001, adopted a budget that included a $40,000 salary for the mayor - more than double what he was making. He said the council failed to abide by the budgeted salary.(...)

Councilman Bill Reifers said Tuesday that the city cannot afford to give Carouthers an increase.
"I didn't think we could afford one from the get-go," he said. "We're no better off now than we were then."(...)

Carouthers said Tuesday he came into office earning $18,836 a year, and with his lawsuit, he is seeking back pay since the 2001 approval of a salary increase.

Maybe it's not enough to carry the honor of being the mayor of 'The Little City That Could.' Maybe the council members were still in shock on Sept. 12, when they adapted the budget (just one day after 9/11). In any case, it's not good to have lawsuits going on within the city government. The town needs full attention.

07:15 AM   

An hour-long morning exercise? I wonder how many people in Mississippi get that. From the looks, not many.

From http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/n...ate/8344788.htm:
 
Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Gordon, 59, returned to the Senate on Friday after being treated at the University of Mississippi Medical Center for chest pains.
He was released Thursday after several hours of observation.
(...) "What was so encouraging is that (Sen. Alan) Nunnelee said they all (senators) prayed for me and it was 31-20 for me to live," Gordon said.

07:23 AM   

The Clarion-Ledger features a great article today about German companies in Mississippi. German companies have invested $340 million in Mississippi manufacturing plants and other operations, employing 2,500 workers.

From http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0402/27/zbd2.html:
 
German companies operate in 50 Mississippi locations, and of the 2,500 jobs they provide, 1,300 are in manufacturing, according to the Mississippi Development Authority.
(...) German companies operate in 50 Mississippi locations, and of the 2,500 jobs they provide, 1,300 are in manufacturing, according to the Mississippi Development Authority.
(...) Gov. Haley Barbour has arranged to have an American Eurocopter on hand at the Air Guard airfield today to inspect when he greets Schroeder.
(...) Barbour said. "American Eurocopter and other foreign companies already have a substantial investment in Mississippi, and there is the strong potential for a lot more."

The article goes on to point out other interesting facts, for example the effect of the recent drop of the dollar against the euro on car manufacturers, and German-American business relationships gone sour, e.g. the temporary German ownership of Jim Henson's Muppets.
 
Very much worth a read. Like a hands-on lesson in global economy.
 
Aberdeen can be proud to be the place where BASF's polymer is manufactured, the kind that absorbs liquid in diapers. 130 people from in and around Aberdeen are employed at the manufacturing plant.

08:37 AM   

Good to know that bonding company employees are getting their daily amount of exercise.

From http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/7753977.htm:
 
A bonding company employee faces a firearms charge after he and City Council member Robert Smith chased a bond jumper several blocks near downtown this past weekend.
(...) Johnson, 44, of Smith Bail Bonding was charged after he fired two warning shots from a .357-magnum handgun Friday night.
Police Chief J.D. Sanders said the shot was an attempt to stop Darnell Welch, 33, of Macon, who allegedly ran from the bondsmen outside the Greyhound bus station.
Sanders said the bondsmen had received information that Welch, who had failed to appear in court on two counts of resisting arrest and two counts of false information, was going to leave on a bus.
The charge of discharging a weapon in the city limits is a misdemeanor.

Disturbingly enough, the article does not say if Welch was caught. Guess he got away.

09:06 AM   

An article in the Clarion Ledger reports local success with anti-smoking efforts at the Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi.

From http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0401/18/ma02.html:
 
For at least six months, Pontotoc resident Judy Putt's three daughters regularly told her about the health risks associated with smoking.
Brooke, 9, Christian, 8, and Laken, 6, learned about smoking hazards at North Pontotoc Attendance Center through the Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi and, apparently, the lessons stuck.
What they said was nothing Putt didn't already know. Her mother died of lung cancer. Still, it took a Christmas card from Christian to make her stop.
"It said, 'Please quit smoking, Mommy, so you won't die.' That kind of floored me," Putt said. "I quit three weeks ago."

Drastic measures, for sure. But necessary. Children get constantly bombarded with images that make smoking look cool - the flipside has to be shown, too. - Interestingly enough, my own elementary-school-age son had dozens of lessons warning him not to smoke. But then one day he told me - 'I'll never smoke, only when I'm an adult'! Looks like in his mind, he combined the lessons with the reality of some adults smoking around him, to the 'over-18' rule.

06:54 AM