| Magee Courier-Simpson County News

Delta State University in Cleveland, Miss., Tuesday, January 17, 2023. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today

Number of faculty layoffs at Delta State still in flux

Fri, 07/12/2024 - 04:01 PM

The university will notify faculty of layoffs on a case-by-case basis in six to eight weeks.

Delta State University is still working out the number of faculty it needs to lay off after the college board last month approved the president’s plan to achieve financial sustainability.

Summers and Butler-Washington: Carbon capture summer camp offers a glimpse of Mississippi’s future

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Wed, 07/10/2024 - 11:41 AM

Below is a business column by Zakiya Summers and Grace Butler-Washington:

Mississippi State Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees discuss the agenda during a meeting at the IHL headquarters in Jackson, Miss., on Thursday, June 20, 2024. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today

Salaries for two public university presidents creep toward $1 million a year

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Fri, 07/05/2024 - 06:31 PM

Mark Keenum, the president of Mississippi State University, and Glenn Boyce, the University of Mississippi chancellor, now make $950,000 a year.

Two public university presidents in Mississippi now make almost $1 million a year each while pay for faculty and staff at the state’s eight universities remains stagnant.

The hefty salaries are largely, but not entirely, due to the private foundations for the University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University supplementing the state salaries for Glenn Boyce and Mark Keenum, respectively.

Mississippi’s back-to-school sales tax holiday now one of the earliest in the nation

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Fri, 07/05/2024 - 05:31 PM

Magnolia State residents can enjoy tax-free shopping next weekend as they prepare to return to classes.

Mississippi’s back-to-school sales tax holiday has moved up two weeks this year as many schools across the Magnolia State start classes even earlier.

The 2024 sales tax holiday takes place between 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 12th and midnight on Sunday, July 14th, making it one of the earliest tax-free holidays in the nation.

Sales Tax Holiday Lands Mid-July

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Fri, 07/05/2024 - 09:51 AM

Shoppers in Mississippi will enjoy a longer, earlier back-to-school sales tax holiday this year. The annual event, which traditionally took place on the last Friday and Saturday in July, has been rescheduled to the second weekend of July, running from Friday, July 12, through Sunday, July 14.

The change comes in response to the state's earlier school start dates, according to State Sen. Walter Michel. "With students returning to class as early as mid-July, it made sense to move the tax-free weekend to better align with their needs," Michel said.

Evans takes reins as new Mississippi State Superintendent

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Wed, 07/03/2024 - 04:51 PM

Two years have passed since the Magnolia State has had a permanent State Superintendent of Education. See what Dr. Lance Evans has in mind as he begins his new role.

After two years of searching, the Mississippi Department of Education has a new State Superintendent in Dr. Lance Evans.

Sales Tax Holiday Lands Mid-July

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Wed, 07/03/2024 - 02:41 PM

Tunica County School District headquarters Credit: Kate Royals/Mississippi Today

Tunica school district returns to local control Monday, after nearly a decade

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Tue, 07/02/2024 - 11:31 AM

After almost a decade under state conservatorship, Tunica County School District returned to local control on July 1.

The takeover of the schools, which were placed under state control in July 2015, has been the longest district takeover in state history.

Historic Character Tour in M'hall, June 29 - Starts at 10 am

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Thu, 06/27/2024 - 04:42 PM

On Saturday, June 29, the Mendenhall Bicentennial Committee will sponsor "The Living History of Mendenhall Historic Character Tour of Main Street Mendenhall to the Revolving Tables" with living characters from Mendenhall's history. The tour will start at 10 AM. Golf cart Transportation provided.

IHL extends contract for Ole Miss Chancellor Boyce

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Thu, 06/27/2024 - 03:11 PM

The IHL Board President says Dr. Glenn Boyce has demonstrated a keen ability to lead the university to new levels of success.

A contract extension for the Chancellor of the University of Mississippi was approved by the Board of Trustees for the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) last month.

Dr. Glenn Boyce, the University of Mississippi’s 18th Chancellor, received his contract extension to June 30, 2028, during the May 16 IHL meeting.

Fannie Lou Hamer’s statue at the Memorial Park in Ruleville. Photo by Bryan Davis/Emmerich Newspapers/Copyright 2024

Remembering Fannie Lou Hamer: Monica Land, niece of the famed Civil Rights activist and Ruleville native pays tribute to her aunt

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Thu, 06/27/2024 - 12:51 PM

Everything I know about Fannie Lou Hamer, I learned from someone else. And that will forever haunt me as a tremendous loss of opportunity considering that she was my great-aunt.
Growing up, I often heard my family speak of her as an almost mythical figure. A woman, who not only prayed for change, but vowed herself to bring it. They’d laugh when they recalled the funny things she said or did. But their faces turned somber, cold and sad when they remembered the pain and sufferings she endured.

School budget increases by $2.5 million

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sfairchild

Wed, 06/26/2024 - 08:21 AM

The Simpson County School District’s public hearing to discuss the budget for the upcoming school year was also the district’s opportunity to present its 2024-2025 educational plan “expressed in dollars and cents,” according to Finance Director Sheila Copeland.
Copeland explained the various sources of revenue that compose the district’s budget by breaking them down into four categories: local, state, federal, and 16th Section.

Local artist Wade Stephenson discusses his work at Art in the Park.

Bicentennial fun continues

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Wed, 06/26/2024 - 08:13 AM

The backdrop for Saturday, June 22’s Mendenhall Bicentennial celebration events was lots of sunshine and warm temperatures; however, these did not prevent residents from enjoying Art in the Park and Glamour to Groovy with Runway Royalty.
Art in the Park at Alice Davis Park began at 10 a.m. featuring local artists, a light brunch and music provided by local band Cabin Crew. Books, paintings and other art mediums were showcased throughout the park. The natural shade provided by the trees and breeze helped keep the heat in check.

Charles McLaurin talks about the legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer during a panel discussion last weekend at Historic Club Ebony. Photo by Bryan Davis/Emmerich Newspapers/Copyright 2024

Freedom Summer at 60: The Story Behind the Strategy That Opened Mississippi to the World

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Wed, 06/26/2024 - 12:11 AM

On its face, Freedom Summer was a highly-coordinated voter registration drive, but there was much more to it. Veteran Civil Rights activist Charles McLaurin tells the story behind the strategy to expose the state to the world.

Jack Bishop, center, reconnects with Freedom Summer volunteers Len Edwards, Brooks Smith, Christopher Hexter and Charles McLaurin during the Freedom 60 Conference at Historic Club Ebony this past weekend. Photo by Bryan Davis/Emmerich Newspapers/Copyright 2024

Freedom Summer At 60: Jack Bishop Welcomes Old Friends Back to Sunflower County

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Tue, 06/25/2024 - 06:31 PM

Jack Bishop does not believe in coincidences.
That is true today, and it was true 60 years ago, when the Sunflower County native first met a group of Freedom Summer volunteers in Ruleville. The conversations and events of that summer would change Bishop’s life and perspective forever.
“I realized, more so now, but even back 60 years ago, that God was in control,” Bishop said. “As I look back on it every step I took, He was right there.”
Bishop was a rising senior at Delta State University in the summer of 1964.

Keenum approved for new four-year contract as Miss. State’s president

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Tue, 06/25/2024 - 06:01 PM

Dr. Mark Keenum is the institution’s 19th president, taking the reins of the university in January 2009.

The President of Mississippi State University has been contractually renewed for another four years by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL).

New Mississippi law makes ASL a foreign language credit

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Tue, 06/25/2024 - 05:51 PM

American Sign Language will count as a foreign language credit in Mississippi high schools, under a law that goes into effect July 1.

The force behind Senate Bill 2339 is Pearl Rver County high school teacher Miranda Loveless. Loveless teaches art and ASL at Pearl River Central High School. She fell in love with ASL as a teenager, which led her to becoming a special education teacher.

Delta State to cut degree programs with IHL’s approval

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Tue, 06/25/2024 - 04:21 PM

DSU President Dr. Daniel Ennis says the reorganization will allow the school to direct its limited resources to the academic areas that have the most enrollment without raising tuition.

Delta State University’s proposed changes to its academic programs were approved by the Board of Trustees for the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) during this month’s meeting.

Freedom Summer volunteer Bright Winn speaks during the Freedom 60 Conference that was held at Historic Club Ebony this past Friday and Saturday. Photo by Bryan Davis/Emmerich Newspapers/Copyright 2024

Freedom Summer at 60: Volunteer Bright Winn Recalls One-Year Stay in Sunflower County

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Mon, 06/24/2024 - 05:01 PM

Fred Bright Winn was a teenager in San Francisco, California, when he was first introduced to his bi-racial 4-year-old half-sister.
That introduction would change Winn and his family forever.
“My mother had been traumatized by the events and was very upset,” Winn told The Enterprise-Tocsin in a Zoom interview. “This, in those days, was forbidden, even here in San Francisco.”

IHL approves two new online degree programs at Southern Miss

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Mon, 06/24/2024 - 01:25 PM

The Board also approved a STEM learning center at Ole Miss as well as health research and community engagement centers at USM.

The creation of two new online degree paths were approved by the Board of Trustees for the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning this week. Both degree programs were requested by the University of Southern Mississippi.

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