| Magee Courier-Simpson County News

State Board of Education votes unanimously to ask for state takeover of Holmes County Consolidated School District

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Tue, 08/03/2021 - 04:00 PM

The Mississippi State Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend to Gov. Tate Reeves that the state take over the Holmes County Consolidated School District.

If the governor declares a state of emergency, the state will hire a new superintendent for the district, Jennifer Wilson, and the school board will be dissolved.

The return of local control would require five years of C grades in the MDE's annual accountability scores or until the state Board of Education votes to return it to local control.

Ruth Graham, daughter of the late evangelist Billy Graham, has joined forces with the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

Video: Ruth Graham, Daughter of the Late Evangelist Billy Graham Opens Up About Her New Ministry in Mississippi's Prison System

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Anonymous

Mon, 06/07/2021 - 04:27 PM

Ruth Graham has written a lot about forgiveness.

That was a word that was preached often by her father, the late evangelist Billy Graham, but the renowned pastor’s daughter said she did not truly fully understand the concept of forgiveness until she went inside Angola prison in Louisiana several years ago.

It was there that she first began working with Burl Cain, who was then head of the famed prison and is now the commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

Kamal King, bureau manager with Visit Mississippi's tourism department, speaks to the Indianola Rotary Club at the club's 2021 banquet on Tuesday night at the B.B. King Museum.

Video: Visit Mississippi's Kamel King Keynotes Indianola Rotary Banquet

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Anonymous

Thu, 06/03/2021 - 08:11 PM

Prior to Indianola Rotarians getting a sneak peak at The B.B. King Museum's multimillion dollar expansion on Tuesday night, Visit Mississippi Tourism Development Bureau Manager Kamel King addressed the club about the state of tourism in Mississippi.

King talked about Visit Mississippi's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with a host of other topics.

Visit Mississippi represents the tourism division of the Mississippi Development Authority.

Mississippi PEER Committee Releases Report on School Districts' Revenues and Expenditures

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brandonsup

Tue, 06/01/2021 - 03:41 PM

Below is a press release from The Mississippi Legislative PEER Committee:

The Mississippi Legislative PEER Committee is releasing its report titled A Review of Mississippi School Districts’ Revenue Sources and Expenditures for Fiscal Years 2016 through 2020.

Some of the Committee’s major findings include:

A rendering of the courtyard at the B.B. King Museum, which will be unveiled to the public on June 5.

B.B. King Museum To Celebrate Expansion In Grand Style June 5

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Anonymous

Thu, 05/27/2021 - 02:47 PM

The B.B. King Museum is having a party.

Several familiar acts, and a number of new faces may grace the stage on June 5 in Indianola as the museum celebrates the ribbon cutting of its multi-million dollar expansion that will include exhibits that focus on the last decade of King’s life.

Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson speaks to the Indianola Rotary Club this week.

Video: Secretary of State Visits Indianola Rotary

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Anonymous

Wed, 05/26/2021 - 04:53 PM

Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson visited the Indianola Rotary Club this week.

Watson spoke a variety of issues important to him and pertinent to the state, including elections, the recent Supreme Court decision to strike down Initiative 65 and the initiative process, as well as the potential need for a special session to remedy the legislative issue with the ballot initiative process.

Click the video to watch.

More than $4 billion in PPP loans have now made its way to Mississippi after Congress approved another round of federal support this year. Credit: Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today

PPP list: Who received federal loans in Mississippi?

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brandonsup

Fri, 04/30/2021 - 12:13 PM

More than $4 billion in loans have now made its way to Mississippi after Congress approved another round of federal support for businesses earlier this year.

As was the case after the first round of the Paycheck Protection Program last summer, the state’s top recipients so far include restaurants, doctors’ and dentists’ offices, legal practices, construction companies, car dealers, hotels and religious organizations.

Despite federal law, many domestic abusers keep their guns in Mississippi

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brandonsup

Fri, 03/26/2021 - 09:41 AM

This article is the third in a series about how the criminal justice system fails domestic violence victims in Mississippi.

Last year, 23-year-old Phoenicia Ratliff of Canton was kidnapped and shot by her ex-boyfriend before he turned the gun on himself. Just a week earlier, he had been arrested on domestic violence and stalking charges.

Mississippi schools will soon be required to teach computer science

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brandonsup

Fri, 03/26/2021 - 09:31 AM

Beginning in the 2024 school year, all Mississippi elementary, middle and high schools will be required to offer computer science courses.

This week, Gov. Tate Reeves signed into law “The Mississippi Computer Science and Cyber Education Equality Act,” which sets out a timeline for schools to incorporate the curriculum.

‘It’s depressing’: More Mississippi students are in virtual classrooms without teachers during pandemic

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brandonsup

Mon, 03/22/2021 - 12:49 PM

Even before the pandemic, Treasure Cosie was already on a path to not have a geometry teacher her junior year at Leland High School.

Her school district isn’t technically designated as a Critical Teacher Shortage area by the Mississippi Department of Education, but there aren’t enough teachers to teach even core subjects like math.

“You’re expecting to have a teacher teach you something you didn’t know before, but you don’t get that because you don’t have a teacher in the class,” Cosie said about her geometry course.

MDE: All Statewide Assessments to be Administered this School Year

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brandonsup

Mon, 03/15/2021 - 12:45 PM

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

All required federal and statewide assessments will be administered to public-school students this school year, including the 3rd Grade Reading Assessment and high school assessments for Algebra I, English II, Biology and U.S. History.

The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) has provided districts with pandemic-related flexibilities to make it easier to administer the assessments and to schedule in-person testing for virtual learners.

Bluegrass in the Park

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Anonymous

Fri, 10/15/2021 - 06:24 PM

Friends of Clarkco is excited to have their annual Bluegrass in the Park at Clarkco State Park on October 23. The event will begin at 10:00 a.m. and last until 8:00 p.m.
They have a variety of singers lined up to perform: Bounds and Determined with its seven time champion fiddle player, King Mountain Band, Patchwork String Band, Hylton Tyler Overstreet, and Rhonda Kelly.
The event only costs $2 per person to enter, and Friends of Clarkco anticipates a great response from the community for the event.

Black, low-income students will lose thousands in college aid under proposed program

brandonsup

Thu, 10/14/2021 - 02:36 PM

The Post-Secondary Board this week unanimously voted to recommend an overhaul of Mississippi’s financial aid programs that could completely change how the state helps students pay for college.

If adopted by the Legislature this upcoming session, low-income and Black students stand to lose thousands of dollars for college.

The program, called the “Mississippi One Grant,” was proposed Tuesday by a committee of eight financial aid directors at colleges and universities across the state.

History Is Lunch: Daniel de Visé, "The Rise and Reign of B.B. King"

brandonsup

Thu, 10/14/2021 - 09:36 AM

On October 13, 2021, Daniel de Visé discussed his new book King of the Blues: The Rise and Reign of B.B. King as part of the History Is Lunch series.

Adcox new manager

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sfairchild

Thu, 10/14/2021 - 08:08 AM

Next time you are by the Magee Co-op you may want to stick your head in and see a familiar face, Mike Adcox.
Long time Simpson County resident Mike Adcox has returned home to become the General Manager of the co-op replacing a personal friend Ricky Byrd. Byrd has taken a position with the co-op in Seminary.

Between 13-20 bus drivers for the Greenville Public School District skipped work to protest reduced pay and what they called poor work conditions. Credit: Kayleigh Skinner, Mississippi Today

Greenville school board: Not enough evidence to determine if bus drivers went on strike

brandonsup

Wed, 10/13/2021 - 10:36 AM

The school board for the Greenville Public School District said there was not enough evidence to determine whether the absences of 16 of the district’s 20 bus drivers in late April constituted a strike.

The alleged strike occurred over two days. On the first day, 15 bus drivers did not come to work. On the second, 16 did not show.

Several drivers spoke with media outlets, including Mississippi Today, and said they were protesting poor working conditions and low pay.

After two years of increasing unhappiness with Felecia Nave’s leadership, students and faculty say they no longer trust their president.

‘What’s happening in this house is hurting me’: Why students at Alcorn State called for their president to resign

brandonsup

Tue, 10/12/2021 - 04:24 PM

Dozens of students at Alcorn State University stood in silence on the campus lawn. They wore black shirts emblazoned with raised fists and held signs that summarized the mood on campus toward the president, Felecia Nave.

“We are brave.” “Talk to us.” “Nave doesn’t care if we live or die.”

MDE Announces New Members of State Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council

brandonsup

Tue, 10/12/2021 - 11:00 AM

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

The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) announced today the members of the State Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council. The council includes students in grades 11-12 or first year of college to serve as members for a term of two school years.

Mississippi Department of Education’s Emergency Procurements Spell Mishandling and Mismanagement

brandonsup

Tue, 10/12/2021 - 10:24 AM

Below is a column from the Bigger Pie Forum Editorial Board:

One area of state government that needs great reform is procurement. It is too easy for the system to be rigged to ensure preferred vendors procure contracts to the exclusion of less connected, but possibly better, providers.

One favored method being used presently due to federal and state COVID-19 relief funds, is for agency heads to declare an “emergency,” which allows them to bypass the normal review process for awarding state contracts.

Public-private partners have put around $1 million into the Up in Farms Food Hub, with the goal of getting more locally grown produce into the commercial marketplace. The project, which operated for just one season since it began, is part of the Soul City Hospitality parent company. Chains and a padlock held the door to the building closed on Oct. 7, 2021. Credit: Anna Wolfe, Mississippi Today

They took welfare money to turn ugly produce into meals, but fed no one

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brandonsup

Fri, 10/08/2021 - 01:36 PM

Nonprofit founder Nancy New handed restaurateur Jeff Good a check for $200,000 and then ghosted.

The idea was for their organizations to partner to create a food recovery and reclamation center. They would take food that groceries and restaurants didn’t want — what people picture as a bruised apple or an ugly carrot — and turn it into ready-to-eat meals for the hungry.

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