| Magee Courier-Simpson County News

Kayla Tate White, formerly Buening, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Alison Kessler of Madison County, Ala., lost their children to murder-suicides at the the hands of their former intimate partners despite their desperate pleas for help to the courts and law enforcement. Now, these two grieving mothers are fighting to get legislation passed in their respective states that would protect other children in domestic violence situations. Jim Rassol and Eric Schultz/MCIR

MCIR: Two mothers saw the system fail to protect their children from violent men. Now they’re trying to reform the system.

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Tue, 09/13/2022 - 05:02 PM

Prologue

Alison

Alison Kessler read the text again on her smartphone: I want to see your head separated from your body.

She swallowed hard. That text on May, 19, 2020, was one of many threatening messages she received from John Stacey, the father of her 4-year-old son.

He had stalked her on social media, and when she blocked him, he created fake accounts to harass her. He even put a tracker on her car to watch her every move.

Former Gov. Phil Bryant helped Brett Favre secure welfare funding for USM volleyball stadium, texts reveal

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Tue, 09/13/2022 - 04:16 PM

Never-before-seen text messages show former Gov. Phil Bryant tried to shepherd a proposal to use welfare funds on the construction of a new volleyball stadium for retired NFL player Brett Favre – a project prosecutors have called a scheme to defraud the government. Bryant has previously denied any involvement with the project, which has emerged as the centerpiece of a massive criminal scandal in which prominent officials misspent or stole millions in welfare funds intended for the nation’s poorest residents.

Mississippi Stories: Ellis Nassour

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Mon, 09/12/2022 - 10:24 AM

In this episode of Mississippi Stories, Mississippi Today Editor-at-Large Marshall Ramsey sits down with author, reporter and playwright Ellis Nassour. Nassour, a native of Vicksburg has lived a colorful life covering celebrities and the entertainment scene.

Ada Miller Robinson (left) aids customer Clemontine Whitaker with a purchase at the Afrikan Art Gallery in Jackson, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today

This art gallery brings Africa to the ‘City With Soul’

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Mon, 09/12/2022 - 09:56 AM

Jean Carson warmly welcomes customers who stop by the Afrikan Art Gallery at 800 North Farish St., a few blocks north of downtown Jackson, through a haze of scented, burning incense, making sure to mention the gallery’s goods are authentic and handmade.

Mississippi Auditor Shad White attends Cindy Hyde-Smith's watch party at the Westin Jackson Wednesday, November 27, 2018. Credit: Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today/ Report for America

Judge denies state auditor’s motion to dismiss defamation case by Ole Miss professor

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Wed, 09/07/2022 - 04:34 PM

A Hinds County Circuit Court judge has denied State Auditor Shad White’s motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought by University of Mississippi Professor James Thomas.

In his January 2021 motion, White alleged he could not be sued for defamation for allegations he made that Thomas, by participating in a two-day event called a “Scholar Strike,” violated state law prohibiting public employees from striking.

Marquise Hunt (left) and Maisie Brown deliver water to a Jackson, Mississippi resident on September 1, 2022. Credit: Rory Doyle/Deep Indigo Collective for Mississippi Today

‘The wall people are running into’: For JSU student, city water crisis highlights limitation of government

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Wed, 09/07/2022 - 04:24 PM

This is the first of three stories of activists in Jackson fighting for clean, running water in the midst of the city’s water crisis.

Maisie Brown pulled her aunt’s army green Ford Edge onto I-55, heading north past the port-a-potties outside the Hilton on County Line Road.

‘The wall people are running into’: For JSU student, city water crisis highlights limitation of government

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Wed, 09/07/2022 - 04:24 PM

This is the first of three stories of activists in Jackson fighting for clean, running water in the midst of the city’s water crisis.

Maisie Brown pulled her aunt’s army green Ford Edge onto I-55, heading north past the port-a-potties outside the Hilton on County Line Road.

Welcomes queen

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Wed, 09/07/2022 - 03:46 PM

Jill Conner Browne (center), The Sweet Potato Queen and New York Times bestselling author, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson during a recent meeting. She is shown with Immediate Past President Uriel Pineda (left) and current President Larry Anderson.

AccelerateMS expands high school career counseling

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Wed, 09/07/2022 - 08:56 AM

Thanks to a significant investment by AccelerateMS, Magee High School and Mendenhall High School will soon benefit from a career coaching program designed for public high schools across the state of Mississippi.

Superintendent Otha Belcher answers parent questions at a community meeting in the Cleveland School District on August 25, 2022. Credit: Julia James/Mississippi Today

Bullying allegations, no air conditioning: Why parents are frustrated with the Cleveland School District

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Tue, 09/06/2022 - 04:38 PM

On the first day of school this year, seven of the eight school buildings in the district here didn’t have working air conditioning, leading multiple classes to be conducted simultaneously in the auditorium as parts of the building reached temperatures in the 80s.

Mississippi Stories: Dr. Alyssa Killebrew

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Tue, 09/06/2022 - 10:00 AM

In this episode of Mississippi Stories, Mississippi Today Editor-at-Large Marshall Ramsey sits down with Dr. Alyssa Killebrew to talk about her life and incredible resilience in the face of crushing loss and grief and her work to help kids work past their trauma.

Mississippi plans to tax student debt relief. But Paycheck Protection Program loans are tax exempt.

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Tue, 09/06/2022 - 09:34 AM

Thanks to a longstanding state tax provision, Mississippians who are eligible for the Biden administration’s student debt relief will be on the hook for up to $1,000 in additional state income taxes next year.

On the federal level, student debt relief is tax exempt until 2026 due to a provision in the American Rescue Plan Act. But in Mississippi, where the state tax code differs from the federal government’s, the Department of Revenue plans to tax student loan forgiveness as income the way it does any form of debt cancellation — as income.

MDE: Nominate a 7-12 Mississippi Teacher for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching

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Fri, 09/02/2022 - 11:24 AM

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

The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) invites nominations and applications for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). The award is the highest honor the United States gives to teachers of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and computer science.

Portable toilets remain outside a dorm at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi on September 1, 2022. Credit: Rory Doyle/Deep Indigo Collective for Mississippi Today

JSU seeking federal funding to study water system, but state says it’s ‘not a guarantee’

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Thu, 09/01/2022 - 05:04 PM

Jackson State University wants to use federal pandemic relief funds to study overhauling the campus water and sewer system, an investment that officials say is necessary to maintain health and safety as the city’s water emergency has upended the start of the fall semester.

But the Department of Finance and Administration – the state agency tasked with overseeing the $25 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds allocated to Mississippi’s public university system – can’t say yet if it will fund JSU’s proposal.

James E. Hughes, father of Corey Maurice Hughes, poses for a portrait near his home in the Palmers Crossing community in Hattiesburg, Miss., Tuesday, August 16, 2022. Corey was shot and killed by a Forrest County Sheriff's deputy, as deputies attempted to transport him to a mental health facility. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today

Deputies were supposed to take him to the hospital. They killed him instead.

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Thu, 09/01/2022 - 10:24 AM

Mental health and law enforcement are intertwined in a little-known legal practice called civil or involuntary commitment. James Hughes believes his son would still be alive if the process for commitment involved more mental health professionals.

These children died at their father’s hand. Top row: Aaden Moreno, Ty Tesoriero, Greyson Kessler; bottom row: Claire Randall, Austin Edwards, Jordan Blackwell and three sisters, Rebecca, Katheryn and Leslie Gonzales.

MCIR: Children become collateral damage in domestic violence epidemic

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Wed, 08/31/2022 - 10:46 AM

Editor’s Note: This story is the first in the Forgotten series, which explores the often ignored victims of domestic violence homicides — not women alone, but children, other family members and even pets.

Tirany Savage told a Michigan judge in June that her estranged husband, Bo, was acting erratically and threatening violence.

Portable showers, prepackaged food: How Jackson colleges are responding to the water crisis

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Wed, 08/31/2022 - 09:00 AM

Many college students are using portable showers and toilets as Jackson’s water emergency causes little to no water pressure on campuses throughout the city, forcing schools to move classes online and go without air conditioning.

Administrations at three colleges and universities based in Jackson – Belhaven University, Millsaps College, and Jackson State University – are not sure how long these contingency measures, like limiting dining hall hours and distributing bottled water, will last.

Lisa Ellis, right, gives Mary Coppola lunches for her children at Clinton Park Elementary Monday, March 23, 2020. Lunches were handed out to families after school were closed to do COVID-19. Credit: Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today, Report For America

JPS schools go virtual due to water crisis, but still offering breakfast and lunch

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Tue, 08/30/2022 - 04:34 PM

All Jackson Public School District students shifted to remote learning on Tuesday due to Jackson’s water crisis.

State officials announced Monday night that the water system for the city of Jackson was failing, with thousands of Jackson residents already having little or no water pressure and officials cannot say when adequate, reliable service will be restored.

The city water system has been plagued with problems for years, including tens of thousands of residents losing water for multiple weeks during a 2021 winter storm.

It's a family affair. Lorena, Melanie, Becky and Dixie McCoy are all members of American Heritage Girls Troop #MS1271, participating at their age appropriate level. They are the daughters of Jason and Melissa McCoy.

Girls group gains ground

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Mon, 08/29/2022 - 09:08 AM

Four young ladies whose family resides in Simpson County joined a fairly new organization, American Heritage Girls (AHG), just over a year ago.
Dixie, Becky, Melanie, and Lorena McCoy are members of Troop #MS1271 that meets at The Pointe Church on Star Road in Brandon, MS.
The four girls are the daughters of Jason and Melissa McCoy. Twin boys round out the family. Melissa has been a homeschool mom for many years. They discovered AHG watching Focus on the Family’s Adventures in Odyssey when the organization aired an episode to honor the 25th anniversary of AHG.

Ribbon Cutting held at new Rally’s

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Mon, 08/29/2022 - 09:06 AM

A ribbon cutting event was held at the new Rally’s in Magee, which happens to be the first Rally’s franchise in Mississippi. It is located on Hwy. 49 S. Owner Michael Quinn was down for the event as was Rally’s District Manager, Oscar Thompson. General Manager Chrishada Stiff and Manager Andrea Jones were on hand as well as members of the Board of Directors of the Magee Chamber of Commerce.

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