| Magee Courier-Simpson County News

Rev. Walker had the honor of officiating at the wedding of one of his many nieces.

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Fri, 03/31/2023 - 01:13 PM

The newest Simpson County School District school board member, Rev. Ralph Walker, is a familiar face in Magee and the Simpson County area. He has been an active member of the public school system and of the Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church community.

Owner James Sinclair with his wife, Martha, and daughter, Caroline.

From one-man shop to staff of 128

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Fri, 03/31/2023 - 01:08 PM

James Sinclair opened AirSouth Cooling and Heating in March 2015 with one truck and one employee – himself. His marketing efforts consisted of driving Highway 49 North and South until someone called the phone number on the side of his truck.
With perseverance and determination Sinclair’s efforts paid off. AirSouth now has a fleet of 68 trucks with 128 employees and counting.

State board names interim superintendent a day after Senate rejection of Robert Taylor

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Fri, 03/31/2023 - 01:06 PM

The State Board of Education has named Mike Kent to serve as interim state superintendent for the next three months after the Legislature rejected Robert Taylor, whom the state board originally selected last November.

Montz treasures family’s WWII past

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Fri, 03/31/2023 - 01:05 PM

Roy Montz will be the first to tell you he is in awe of the young men who served in World War II. As he puts it, 18, 19 and 20 year olds simply doing what they had to do for their country with no thought of the outcome.

George Sharble of Magee doesn’t forget or minimize his service during the controversial Vietnam War. He poses in a shirt memorializing that difficult period.

Hard war trains Sharble for success

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Fri, 03/31/2023 - 01:01 PM

George Sharble, 74, is unassuming, quiet, and soft spoken with strength of character that is evident in his gait and handshake.
He is also a veteran of the Vietnam War with uncanny recall about his time there that some may consider a hardship. Sharble admits he still has flashbacks to those days but is thankful they are few and far between.

Roberts wears this cap every year on Veteran's Day. He actually attained three Purple Hearts but only received one. "See how good looking I am today compared to how I was about 72 years ago, before I went overseas!" he quips.

Roberts recalls his ‘Forgotten War’

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Fri, 03/31/2023 - 12:58 PM

According to www.WeHonorVeterans.org, “The Korean War is often called the ‘Forgotten War’ because it was largely overshadowed by WWII and Vietnam. The importance of this war in the history of the United States and the world is vastly understated; this conflict marked the first clear battle of the Cold War.”
One man in Simpson County remembers well his time as a medic and infantryman during the first year of fighting in Korea.

Joi Richardson on the red carpet at the premier of Interview with a Vampire in New Orleans.

Dream comes true for Richardson

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Fri, 03/31/2023 - 12:56 PM

At age 21 Joi Richardson is pursuing her childhood dream of becoming an actress with commercial credits and a successful television episode to begin building her body of work.
When Richardson was a little girl she and her sister Jessica would reenact parts from movies the two had watched. In school, however, Richardson admits she was considered a jock. She played basketball for the Puckett Wolves and still enjoys a game now and then. These days , though, most of her workouts are done at the gym.

Julia Montz, Roy's wife and Matt's mom, also spends a large portion of her time helping out with the syrup making. Here she feeds the stripped cane into the juice extractor. Pictures or not, she always wears a smile!

Montzes’ hobby may revive dying art

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Fri, 03/31/2023 - 12:54 PM

How many of us Baby Boomers remember grandparents or parents coming home with cane syrup in a shiny silver paint can? If you were born in the Southeastern United States I would venture a guess that it’s most of us.
Some might say making cane syrup is becoming a dying art. This newspaper even featured an article in Profile 2020 on the Nelson family who live near New Hope reviving the craft of making molasses.
Now a Magee family has taken on learning the particular, labor intensive techniques of growing sugar cane with the express intent of producing what they call “liquid gold.”

Amy Ramshur has published her first cookbook through Amazon. She is working on her second compilation.

Amy Ramshur is conquering it all

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Fri, 03/31/2023 - 12:49 PM

Amy Ramshur is a quiet, focused employee who works in the meat department at the Magee Piggly Wiggly. However unassuming in her white butcher’s coat and cap, hair tucked up, she is well versed and well known to her Pig customers.
“I used to work at a salvage store in McComb, Hudson’s, and I transferred from there to the one in Magee. I stayed for five years,” Ramshur said. When she found out Piggly Wiggly was hiring in May 2011 she applied and was hired as a cashier. She moved to stocking and then the meat market.

Quick family photos were taken in December 2022 before Tate re-entered the hospital. Pictured are Jason and Rebecca Clayburn with their three children, Caden, Tate and Callie Grace.

A devastating second diagnosis

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Fri, 03/31/2023 - 12:46 PM

While many cancers today have improved as far as treatments and survival rates, hearing the diagnosis is still stunning: You have cancer. But to hear it twice…sometimes there are no words.
Tate Clayburn of Magee was just a teenager when the family received the first diagnosis of grade 3 anaplastic astrocytoma. He had a seizure driving to church on October 4, 2017. “They discovered a mass on the brain that day,” his mother Rebecca said. On December 5, 2017, he had brain surgery and the biopsy was made in January 2018.

Magee Elementary School Principal Paul Lawrence (left) and music teacher Tammy Sanford (right) accept new American flag from VFW of Simpson County members Larry Berry, Harry Williams and Leo Windham (center, left to right) to be placed in school gymnasium.

Magee Elementary School Gifted New American Flag from the VFW of Simpson County

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Fri, 03/31/2023 - 12:35 PM

March 31, Magee Elementary School (MES) received a very special patriotic gift from members of the VFW of Simpson County.

VFW Post 9122 members Larry Berry, Harry Williams and Leo Windham presented MES Principal Paul Lawrence and music teacher Tammy Sanford with a new American flag to be placed in the school’s gymnasium.

According to Berry, plans to donate a flag to the school emerged after attending the MES Veterans Day program, which honored veterans and current service members from across Simpson County.

Increase in funding for Early Learning Collaboratives approved by Legislature

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Fri, 03/31/2023 - 12:16 PM

Currently, Mississippi has 35 state-funded early learning collaboratives comprised of school districts, Head Start agencies, childcare centers, and private non-profit organizations.

Lee inducted into USM Hall of Fame

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Fri, 03/31/2023 - 11:54 AM

Congratulations to Magee High School Class of 2019 Salutatorian Cynahmon Lee on being inducted into The Hall of Fame for The University of Southern Mississippi. Cynahmon is the daughter of Patrick and Audarshia Flagg. She will graduate in May Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Communication Studies and a minor in Social Media Content and Strategy.

MDE announces 2023 Parent of the Year

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Wed, 03/29/2023 - 11:50 PM

Below is a press release from the Mississippi Department of Education:

The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) announced today the 2023 Mississippi Parent of the Year is Kimberly Walker Nailor, a mother of two students in the Vicksburg-Warren School District.

Senate rejects Robert Taylor’s nomination for state superintendent of education

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Wed, 03/29/2023 - 11:34 PM

The Senate rejected the nomination of Robert Taylor for state superintendent of education on Wednesday.

Taylor was most recently a deputy state superintendent for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction before starting his role here on Jan. 17. A native of Laurel, he earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and has worked in North Carolina schools since 1992.

Superintendents from 16 school districts urge Senators to confirm Dr. Taylor

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Wed, 03/29/2023 - 02:12 PM

The State Superintendent of Education nomination passed the Mississippi Senate Education Committee on Tuesday and now awaits consideration in the full Senate.

IHL names Daniel J. Ennis next president of Delta State

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Wed, 03/29/2023 - 01:20 PM

The Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees has selected a new president of Delta State University following a nationwide search.

Senate Education Committee passes State Superintendent nomination to floor

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Wed, 03/29/2023 - 01:08 PM

The full Senate will now consider Dr. Robert Taylor’s nomination to lead Mississippi’s K-12 education system.

On Tuesday, the Mississippi Senate Education Committee held a meeting to discuss the nomination of Dr. Robert Taylor as the State Superintendent of Education. Despite concerns over the process by which Taylor was chosen, the Committee ultimately passed the nomination following discussion.

A tornado obliterated Chuck's Trailer Park in Rolling Fork Friday night. Not one mobile home remained Saturday, March 25, 2023. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today

In the wake of deadly tornadoes, schools react to power outages and building damage

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Mon, 03/27/2023 - 04:08 PM

Four school districts are closed Monday as a result of the deadly tornadoes that made their way across the state over the weekend and killed 21 people, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

The districts are:

Gov. Tate Reeves answers questions from the media after signing qualifying paperwork to run for reelection at the Mississippi Republican Headquarters in Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today

Reeves’ nominee to state Education Board rejected by Senate Education panel

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Mon, 03/27/2023 - 04:00 PM

The Senate Education Committee has rejected Gov. Tate Reeves’ nomination of DeSoto County resident Carra Powell to the Mississippi Board of Education.

Late Sunday, the Education Committee tabled the nomination. The Education Committee is expected to meet again before the session ends — presumably later this week — to take up the nomination of Robert Taylor for state superintendent of education.