| Magee Courier-Simpson County News

Mississippi universities halt funding for student groups, citing DEI law

Thu, 09/04/2025 - 05:18 PM

Some Mississippi universities have stopped giving money to student organizations for club activities due to uncertainty over a state law — on hold by a federal judge — that bans diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public schools.

It’s one of the first widespread, tangible consequences of a law that attorneys say will have sweeping ramifications across the state’s education system.

Did a ‘32-year-old white guy from New Jersey’ skew a Delta homecoming queen election?

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Wed, 09/03/2025 - 11:22 AM

Runner-up’s mother takes Gentry High School officials to court to find out.

Mississippi Delta socialite Tonia Sims-Bush was escorted by an aunt and friends as she walked up the white marble steps of the Leflore County courthouse. Her burlap-hued dress billowed in the hot wind, carved wooden disc earrings swayed from each lobe, and black mascara lent her stony expression considerable intensity.

Breakfast, lunch participation rates vary across Mississippi schools

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Wed, 09/03/2025 - 09:38 AM

A recent PEER report shows the overall cost of food in Mississippi schools ranges from $1.35 per meal to $8.16.

A recent report from the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) reviewed the nutrition programs offered at select school districts in Mississippi.

The Other Side Podcast: House Ed Chairman Rob Roberson recaps school choice hearing, outlines issues moving forward to legislative session

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Tue, 09/02/2025 - 12:48 PM

House Education Chairman Rob Roberson, on the heels of a first select committee hearing on school choice and other education policy, tells Mississippi Today that lawmakers should be open to discussions on school choice, consolidation or any other measures that might move the state’s education system forward. “The only people who don’t have school choice now are poor kids,” Roberson said. He said such issues need to be detached from partisan politics and viewed with open minds.

Photos for The E-T
Photos shared with The Enterprise-Tocsin by Jim Whitfield, one of an aerial view of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation in the days after the storm. The small photo shows Whitfield, right, pictured with Dr. Sean Appleyard at the then Hancock Medical Center.

20 Years Later: For those in her path, Katrina’s winds still blow strong

editor1

Fri, 08/29/2025 - 02:32 PM

It is a sound that Jim Whitfield will likely never forget.
Tropical storm and hurricane force winds pounded the metal siding of the Harrison County Courthouse for hours on August 29, 2005.
That sustained collision of wind and the metal created a humming sound.
“When the wind gets to a certain speed, it will catch a resonance, and it will hum,” Whitfield told The Enterprise-Tocsin during a recent interview about his experience on the Mississippi Gulf Coast during Hurricane Katrina’s landfall twenty years ago. “I can hear that humming almost now.”

Northrop Grumman opens high-tech aerospace lab at Northeast Mississippi Community College

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Thu, 08/28/2025 - 03:34 PM

The defense contractor’s investment in the Corinth campus creates a pipeline for high-tech careers as the company reports strong quarterly growth.

Defense technology giant Northrop Grumman officially opened its new aerospace laboratory at Northeast Mississippi Community College’s (NEMCC) Corinth campus this week, marking a significant milestone in Mississippi’s workforce development initiatives.

MSMS seeks additional funding for facilities, operational needs

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Thu, 08/28/2025 - 02:58 PM

Local funds do not follow students when they are accepted to the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science.

Administrators at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS) addressed the State Board of Education last week to cover several changes they believe would benefit the school and its students.

MSMS Executive Director Ginger Tedder spoke to the need for building maintenance as well as additional appropriations and scholarship opportunities for the students.

Tougaloo College in Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, July 19, 2023. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today

Tougaloo College seeks new president amid faculty and alumni concerns

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Thu, 08/28/2025 - 02:38 PM

WittKieffer, a Chicago-based consulting and executive firm, is assisting in the search process.

Tougaloo College, the private historically Black institution located in north Jackson, is seeking its 15th president in the school’s 156-year history. Donzell Lee, the current president, will remain in his role until June 2026.

Student assessment scores see slight drop in Mississippi

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Thu, 08/28/2025 - 12:34 PM

“Overall, the four content areas showed a slight drop in proficiency, which is unusual for Mississippi,” said Dr. Paula Vanderford.

Assessment scores demonstrating proficiency within Mississippi schools saw a slight dip for the first time in years, according to results shared during the most recent meeting of the Mississippi State Board of Education.

“Overall, the four content areas showed a slight drop in proficiency, which is unusual for Mississippi,” said Dr. Paula Vanderford, Chief Accountability Officer.

Trump administration officials promote expanded education freedom in Mississippi

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Thu, 08/28/2025 - 12:02 PM

“Even the best school isn’t the best school for every student,” Dr. Lindsey Burke said Monday at a hearing of the Mississippi House Select Committee on Education Freedom.

Members of the Mississippi House Select Committee on Education Freedom heard testimony from two Trump administration officials on Monday on how school choice could help students and parents in the Magnolia State.

Jackson State University Interim President Denise Jones-Gregory, speaks during a JSU presentation before Institutions of Higher Learning board members, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in Jackson. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today

IHL officials announce Jackson State University president search

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Tue, 08/26/2025 - 03:52 PM

Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning’s board announced Thursday it will begin its official search process for selecting a new president at Jackson State University, three months after the position became vacant.

Davis:Sororities go woke – and taxpayers helped pay for it

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Tue, 08/26/2025 - 03:40 PM

Below is a political opinion column by Lesley Davis:

Lesley Davis says American taxpayers unwittingly funded a radical ideological takeover that discriminated against women by pushing men into single sex organizations and private spaces.

U.S. Secretary of Education makes two stops in Oxford

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Tue, 08/26/2025 - 03:28 PM

Secretary Linda McMahon read to students and said it was a joy witnessing the state’s remarkable strides in early literacy.

As part of her national tour, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon visited Oxford Early Childhood Learning Center on Wednesday where she took a moment to interact and read to some of the children.

McMahon made the visit as part of her Returning Education to the State’s Tour, where she will visit a school district in all 50 states.

First meeting of Mississippi House Education Freedom Select Committee set

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Tue, 08/26/2025 - 03:10 PM

The agenda will feature two respected leaders in education policy, Dr. Laurie Todd-Smith and Dr. Lindsey Burke.

The first meeting of the Mississippi House Education Freedom Select Committee will feature two speakers, Dr. Laurie Todd-Smith and Dr. Lindsey Burke.

As Jackson State University president search looms, politics may make the position more difficult

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Tue, 08/26/2025 - 02:58 PM

The next leader of the historically Black university faces extreme pressure from constituent groups and state legislators under a changing higher education landscape.

The presidency at Jackson State University has had its fair share of tumultuous transitions.

Crew supervisor Nathan Hudson has been with Southern Pine Electric Cooperative 26 years. "There's something about it, like it gets in your blood." He was a young journeyman during Katrina.

Remembering Hurricane Katrina 20 Years Later - Hudson sees some good from storm

sfairchild

Tue, 08/26/2025 - 02:27 PM

Nathan Hudson with Southern Pine Electric Cooperative began as an apprentice lineman only five years before catastrophic hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005. He was a young journeyman at the time.
Hudson, now 47, has been with Southern Pine for 26 years and currently supervises his own six man crew.

Barry and Renee McCool met working at Southern Pine in New Hebron, marrying a few months later. They worked Katrina together, living in her office. Her Southern Pine family helped her celebrate her 40th birthday there, complete with a wheelchair to signify she was over the hill. Renee recently retired and said she saw Barry more when they worked together than she does now.

Remembering Hurricane Katrina 20 Years Later - Couple works together through storm

sfairchild

Tue, 08/26/2025 - 02:24 PM

Barry and Renee McCool, who have been married for 32 years, were celebrating number 12 just before Hurricane Katrina hit Simpson County. They have an interesting tale as they were both employed with Southern Pine – he as a lineman, she as a dispatcher.
Barry has been with Southern Pine 40 years, having joined as a right-of-way ground man. He left that crew in 1987 and went to a linemen crew driving a bucket truck. His next step was apprentice lineman.

Kenneth Lewis was sheriff of Simpson County during the days of Hurricane Katrina. He says all in all the county handled the disaster well but also hopes there is never another storm like it.

Remembering Hurricane Katrina 20 Years Later - ‘Everybody helped everybody’

sfairchild

Tue, 08/26/2025 - 02:20 PM

In a conversation with former Simpson County Sheriff Kenneth Lewis regarding Hurricane Katrina, he said the county was expecting the storm to be as bad as it was. He added that he learned a lot too.
“Probably two to three weeks before, we started having regular emergency management meetings – talking with the weather bureau, MEMA – on the phone. We got representatives from hospitals, the school board, all kinds of places to come in. They had us right on queue for what the winds were going to be. But we still didn’t know it was going to be as bad as it was,” Lewis explained.

Serviceman Tommy Sullivan has been employed by Entergy for 40 years, its longest serving employee. He will retire near the end of this year.

Remembering Hurricane Katrina 20 Years Later - Lineman says ‘Katrina the worst’

sfairchild

Tue, 08/26/2025 - 02:15 PM

Tommy Sullivan with Entergy Corporation is the longest serving and oldest employee with the company across Mississippi and possibly the entire service area, according to Candace Coleman, senior communication specialist.

Jimmy Clyde was mayor of Magee during Hurricane Katrina.

Remembering Hurricane Katrina 20 Years Later - Magee learned resilience

sfairchild

Tue, 08/26/2025 - 02:10 PM

Do you remember where you were Monday, August 29, 2005? It was the day that changed the lives of thousands of people across the Mississippi Gulf Coast region.

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