Established 1879 | Columbus, Mississippi
CDISPATCH.COM
UNDER THE CAPITOL DOME
Analysis: Reeves
tries to balance
concerns of
health, jobs
‘If you are in the vulnerable
category, if you are over
the age of 65, if you have
pre-existing conditions,
getting out of your
home has risks.’
Governor Tate Reeves
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JACKSON — Missis-
sippi Republican Gov. Tate
Reeves is having to bal-
ance his libertarian-lean-
ing instincts with public
health concerns during
the coronavirus pandem-
ic.
It’s been his job the Reeves
past several weeks to or-
der some businesses to temporarily
close and to restrict people’s face-to-face
interactions to try to slow the spread of
the highly contagious virus. His state-
wide “shelter in place” order remains in
effect until May 25.
Reeves is gradually letting business-
es reopen even as numbers of confirmed
COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to
rise.
Restaurants could start serving food
and drinks their dining rooms and pati-
os Thursday, after more than a month
of being limited to carry-out service or
deliveries. Barbershops, beauty salons
and gyms are allowed to start reopening
Monday. They all must meet safety stan-
dards such as limiting customers and
taking extra steps for sanitation.
The governor has said repeatedly
that people should use their own best
judgment.
“If you are in the vulnerable catego-
ry, if you are over the age of 65, if you
have pre-existing conditions, getting
out of your home has risks,” Reeves said
Friday. “Going to a salon has risks, but
we’re trying to put measures in place to
minimize those risks. We recognize also
See CAPITOL DOME, 6A
UNITED WAY FOOD DRIVE
Dionne Humphries, a volunteer from Community Counseling, loads food items
into a car during Friday morning’s United Way of Lowndes County food drive
at Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office. United Way volunteers along with the East
Columbus Lions Club and LCSO provided food for 762 families during the event.
Despite rainy weather, Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins said cars began
lining up on Airline Road at 5 a.m. By the start of the distribution, cars were
lined up all the way to HIghway 69, Hawkins said.
WEATHER
Layla Partell
Fourth grade, Annunciation
69 Low 47
High
Partly cloudy
Full forecast on
page 2A.
Monday | May 11, 2020
‘Consistent and positive’
Johnson recalls life at Starkville High
as both student and teacher
Anita Milons Johnson sits in front of her home in North Starkville Sunday. A 1993 graduate of Starkville High, she
returned to her alma mater as a teacher and girls basketball coach in 1998.
BY ZACK PLAIR
zplair@cdispatch.com
A
nita Milons Johnson walked
into Starkville High School
in 1998 as her alma mater’s
new sophomore English teacher.
She had replaced the long-ten-
ured and beloved Frances McCa-
rty, who had retired the previous
spring.
But Johnson, who majored in
English and minored in Spanish at
Ole Miss, had earned her teaching
certification through the state’s
alternate route — a few teach-
Slim Smith/Dispatch Staff
FIVE QUESTIONS
1 What flavorful cable TV hit show
culminates in a showdown at Kitchen
Stadium?
2 Who were the first two presidents to
be impeached?
3 What 90s teen heartthrob titled his
2007 memoir “Out of Sync”?
4 Which former U.S. president, who
famously enjoyed chowing down on fast-
food burgers, went vegan for a healthier
heart in 2010?
5 What does a chef do with a mando-
line?
Answers, 5B
INSIDE
Classifieds 5B Dear Abby 3B
Comics 3B Obituaries 4B
Crossword 2B Opinions 4A
DISPATCH CUSTOMER SERVICE 328-2424 | NEWSROOM 328-2471
MONDAY PROFILE
ing-centered courses plus a stan-
dardized exam to get her license
— so she had not student-taught or
interned before her own name was
on a classroom door. Honestly, she
recalled, she wasn’t sure she knew
what she was doing.
“My first year, I was just like,
‘Lord, am I doing this right? Do
I really know what I’m talking
about?’” Johnson, now finishing
her 22nd year with the district,
said Sunday. “It was just a lot of
questioning myself.”
As much as Johnson may have
More federal aid set for
state after Easter tornadoes
Clarke, Grenada, Jasper, Lawrence, Panola and Walthall
counties have been approved for assistance
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PEA RL — The Mississippi Emer-
gency Management Agency says
more counties have been approved for
federal disaster assistance following
damage by April storms.
MEMA announced Saturday that
individuals in six more counties —
Clarke, Grenada, Jasper, Lawrence,
Panola and Walthall — have been ap-
proved for assistance.
Governments have been approved
for additional assistance in three
counties — Jones, Covington and Jef-
ferson Davis. That means they can
get aid to remove debris and do per-
LOCAL FOLKS
Ragan Hubbard, of Starkville, has
moved 13 times within the area. She
wants to be a drama major in the future.
FREE!
Zack Plair/Dispatch Staff
doubted, it proved unnecessary.
“She is a wonderful teacher, just
like she was a wonderful student,”
said Sally Warren, who taught
Johnson sophomore English and
has taught in the room beside hers
since Johnson joined the faculty.
“She was goal-oriented and confi-
dent as a student just like she is as
a teacher. She looked at what she
needed to do and did it with author-
ity, making the classroom her own
in no time. She’s a natural.”
Warren was just one of the
See PROFILE, 6A
manent repair work on roads, bridges,
water treatment plants, utilities and
parks.
FEMA initially approved individual
and more limited government assis-
tance in Jones, Covington and Jeffer-
son Davis counties.
The state is asking FEMA to ap-
prove assistance to governments in 25
more of Mississippi’s 82 counties.
MEMA says it will open disaster
assistance centers in the newly ap-
proved counties. Residents in counties
approved for individual assistance can
begin applying for federal aid by reg-
See FEDERAL AID, 3A
PUBLIC MEETINGS
May 12: Starkville-Oktibbeha
Consolidated School District
Board of Trustees meeting, 6
p.m., 401 Greensboro St.
May 15: Starkville Board of Al-
dermen work session, 10 a.m.,
City Hall, stream live at the City
of Starkville Facebook page
May 18: Oktibbeha County
Board of Supervisors meeting,
Chancery Courthouse, 9 a.m.
May 19: Starkville Board of
Aldermen meeting, 5:30 p.m.,
City Hall, Stream live at the City
of Starkville Facebook page
May 29: Starkville Board of Al-
dermen work session, 10 a.m.,
City Hall, Stream live at the City
of Starkville Facebook page
2A MONDAY, MAY 11, 2020
ELECTION 2020
Trump takes cautious approach
to highlighting Biden accuser
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WA S H I N G T O N
— President Donald
Trump rarely holds
his fire, hurling accu-
sations true and false.
But when it comes
to the sexual assault
allegation leveled
against Joe Biden, his Trump
Democratic rival, the
president has been un-
usually reticent.
Trump didn’t pub-
licly address the issue
until April 30, more
than a month after
former Senate staffer
Tara Reade alleged on Biden
a podcast that Biden
sexually assaulted her in a Capitol
Hill basement in 1993. Biden has ve-
hemently denied the allegation, say-
ing it never happened.
When Trump has talked about
the accusation, he’s been tepid.
“I don’t know anything about it,”
Trump first said in response to a re-
porter’s question. “I think he should
respond. You know ... it could be
false accusations. I know all about
false accusations. I’ve been falsely
charged numerous times. And there
is such a thing.”
He offered the same line on Fri-
day during an interview with TV’s
“Fox & Friends.”
“Look, he’s got to fight that battle.
I’ve had battles, too, where I’ve had
false accusations, many times,” he
said. “I’ve had many false accusa-
tions made, I can tell you that. Many.
And maybe it is a false accusation.
Frankly, I hope it is, for his sake.”
Trump’s comments highlight the
complicated calculus he faces as he
tries to weaponize a rival’s potential
vulnerability when he himself has
been accused of assault and unwant-
ed touching by a long list of women
— allegations he, too, denies.
While Trump has never been shy
about using his own weaknesses as
ammunition — an “I’m rubber, you’re
glue” strategy he used in 2016 to try
to blunt attacks against him — the
November contest between Biden
TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Monday, May 11, the 132nd
day of 2020. There are 234 days left in
the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On May 11, 1502, Christopher
Columbus left Cadiz, Spain, on his
fourth and final trip to the Western
Hemisphere.
On this date:
In 1858, Minnesota became the
32nd state of the Union.
In 1935, the Rural Electrification
Administration was created as one of
President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New
Deal programs.
In 1943, during World War II, U.S.
forces landed on the Aleutian island of
Attu, which was held by the Japanese;
The Dispatch
The Commercial Dispatch (USPS 142-320)
Published daily except Saturday.
Entered at the post office at Columbus, Mississippi.
Periodicals postage paid at Columbus, MS
POSTMASTER, Send address changes to:
The Commercial Dispatch, P.O. Box 511, Columbus, MS 39703
Published by Commercial Dispatch Publishing Company Inc.,
516 Main St., Columbus, MS 39703
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
and Trump is the first presidential
race since the dawn of the #MeToo
era. The movement has spurred
numerous women to come forward
with allegations of sexual assault,
including against prominent men in
politics, entertainment and other in-
dustries.
Trump is stepping up his attacks
on Biden on other fronts, particular-
ly an effort to portray him as soft on
China. But in resisting the urge to
seize on Reade’s allegation, Trump is
acknowledging the bind he’s in with
women, who could help decide the
election.
And some supporters say the big-
ger issue heading into the fall will be
Trump’s response to the coronavirus
and economic collapse.
“The specifics of the Reade al-
legation are secondary,” said Jason
Miller, who served as the commu-
nications director for Trump’s 2016
campaign and argued that the alle-
gations are less damaging to Biden
than other weaknesses the episode
exposes.
“This just reminds people that
Biden has been in office” for more
than 40 years, Miller said. “It re-
minds people that he’s part of that
permanent political class.”
It was a different story during the
closing months of Trump’s 2016 cam-
paign against Hillary Clinton, when
Trump repeatedly invoked allega-
tions against her husband, former
President Bill Clinton.
Following the release of the
“Access Hollywood” tape in which
Trump bragged about using his
fame to sexually assault women,
Trump launched a scorched-earth
campaign against Hillary Clinton
that included inviting her husband’s
accusers to the second presidential
debate. His campaign organized a
surprise news conference featuring
four of Bill Clinton’s accusers in an
attempt to throw Hillary Clinton off
her game.
Four years later, the landscape is
different. In the wake of the #MeToo
movement, Trump and his campaign
have instead focused much of their
response to Brett Kavanaugh, the
Supreme Court Justice whose nom-
the Americans took the island 19 days
later.
In 1947, the B.F. Goodrich Com-
pany of Akron, Ohio, announced the
development of a tubeless tire.
In 1950, President Harry S.
Truman formally dedicated the Grand
Coulee Dam in Washington state.
In 1953, a tornado devastated
Waco, Texas, claiming 114 lives.
In 1960, Israeli agents captured
Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In 1973, the espionage trial of Dan-
iel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo in the
“Pentagon Papers” case came to an end
as Judge William M. Byrne dismissed
all charges, citing government miscon-
duct.
SOURCE: The Associated Press
SOLUNAR TABLE
The solunar period indicates
peak-feeding times for fish and game.
Mon.
Major 4:41a
Minor 12:01a
Major 5:09p
Minor 10:20a
Courtesy of Mississippi Department
of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks
Answers to common questions:
Phone: 662-328-2424
Website: cdispatch.com/help
Report a news tip: news@cdispatch.com
ination was nearly derailed by sexual
misconduct allegations.
“This is an outstanding man. He
was falsely charged. What happened
with him was an absolute disgrace to
our country,” Trump said of Kavana-
ugh on the day he first spoke about
Reade.
Trump’s campaign has also high-
lighted statements made by Demo-
crats during the Kavanaugh episode
to try to portray them as having a
double standard when it comes to
which accusers they believe.
“During Justice Kavanaugh’s
hearings, Biden made clear that all
women should be believed when
they come forward with allegations
of sexual assault,” Trump campaign
spokeswoman Erin Perrine said in
a statement. “In a dramatic shift,
Biden now says ‘believe women’
doesn’t actually mean ‘believe wom-
en.’”
It’s a message the Trump cam-
paign is reinforcing to supporters.
“Joe Biden & the Dems believe he
should be held to a different standard
than the one they set for Brett Kava-
naugh. Let’s hold them accountable,”
read one text sent to supporters.
For its part, the Biden campaign
has sometimes struggled to respond
to the Reade allegation. It initially
released a written statement deny-
ing the accusation while arguing
that women should have the right
to come forward with their stories,
which should be reviewed by the me-
dia.
Biden himself didn’t publicly ad-
dress the accusation until a May 1
interview on MSNBC in which he
unequivocally denied Reade’s alle-
gation. He repeated that denial in
subsequent media appearances last
week.
But the weeks of relative silence
prompted much hand-wringing
among Democratic operatives, who
worried Biden was letting the allega-
tion overtake his campaign. Female
voters remain a key voting bloc for
the Democratic Party, and some
expressed concern that the allega-
tion could significantly undermine
Biden’s support among women, par-
ticularly young women.
Tues.
5:36a
12:53a
6:03p
11:18a
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com MONDAY, MAY 11, 2020 3A

AROUND THE STATE

Barbers to snip again in Mississippi as virus rules loosen
Reeves: Hair salons and barbershops can reopen today
but must follow social distancing guidelines
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JACKSON — Some
Mississippians will be
able to take that inch of
hair off beginning Mon-
day thanks to a further
rollback of coronavirus
restrictions, but the fall-
out from the COVID-19
pandemic continues to
spread across the state
even as some protest that
Gov. Tate Reeves hasn’t
done enough to loosen
up.
The Republican
Reeves says hair salons
and barbershops can
reopen today as long as
chairs are at least 6 feet
apart, employees and cus-
tomers wear face masks
and everyone is screened
for virus symptoms. Cus-
tomers are supposed to
wait outside until stylists
are ready for them.
Gyms can reopen
Monday too at 30% ca-
pacity, operating under
restrictions.
The moves come as
Mississippi officials on
Sunday reported nine
new deaths and 123 new
cases, pushing the total
number of cases above
9,500 and the total num-
ber of deaths to at least
430.
Michelle Johnson of
Fountain of Love hair
salon in Southaven told
WREG-TV she’s eager to
open in part because em-
ployees need money.
“They’ve been living
off their savings and that
can only go on for so
long,” Johnson said.
She said her employ-
ees have been at a com-
petitive disadvantage
because salons in nearby
Tennessee opened last
week.
Others say they will
stay closed for a while
longer,
“We just feel that it’s
really just too soon,”
barber Rickey Boggan
in Meridian told WTOK-
TV. “You’re dealing with
more people and with
more people, more risks
are associated.”
Some courts will also
reopen Monday, although
defendants in Columbus
are being asked to sign in
outside and wait in their
vehicles for a phone call
with further instructions.
The city of Oxford is al-
lowing restaurants to re-
open their dining rooms
on Monday after a delay
behind the statewide re-
opening. West Point says
shoppers and store em- Mea told WHBQ-TV.
ployees must start wear- “They are getting a jump
ing masks beginning
Monday, while a similar
on us, and we are sitting
down here wondering
requirement was lifted in where and when and how
Starkville. and for the governor’s of-
Reeves’ “Safer at fice to get us back up.”
Home” order now extends Reeves’ moves are not
until May 25. He has said enough for some, though.
he might loosen more The Sun Herald reports
restrictions between that about 150 people
now and then, a move attended a protest Satur-
that could be welcomed day in Biloxi to protest
by thousands of casino restrictions, although
employees statewide. In about 50 of them partici-
Tunica County, some lo- pated from a distance.
cal business people say They heard from
they fear that Mississip- Ocean Springs Mayor
pi’s delay in reopening Shea Dobson and state
casinos behind Arkansas Sen. Chris McDaniel, two
could accelerate a shift Republicans who sug-
in gambling dollars to a gested that restrictions
casino in West Memphis, aimed at preventing the
Arkansas. spread of the virus were
“It’s great for Arkan- tyrannical violations of
sas, but it’s bad for Mis- Americans’ rights.
sissippi,” Tunica auction “We will not accept our
house owner Howard rights being trampled on
any longer,” Dobson said.
GOP state Sen. Chris
McDaniel said America
was founded by revolu-
tionaries, and told the
crowd they shouldn’t be
ashamed of that legacy.
“They didn’t let the
fear of dying stop them
from living,” McDaniel
said. “You and you alone
are ultimately responsi-
ble for your safety.”
The audience cheered
when McDaniel said,
“We’ll take our chances
because we’d rather be
free.”
E. Brian Rose, presi-
dent of the Jackson Coun-
ty Republican Club, and
Dan Carr, who heads the
Harrison County Repub-
lican Club, organized
the event. When asked
why, Rose said, “Be-
cause somebody told me
I couldn’t.”

Former Texas mayor named at Chapel Hill. She recently completed

president at college in Mississippi
HOLLY SPRINGS — A historically
black college in northern Mississippi is
naming the former mayor of San Antonio
as its next president.
Trustees of Rust College in Holly
Springs on Friday announced Ivy Taylor
as the 12th president of the 800-student
school, which is affiliated with the Unit-
ed Methodist Church.
Taylor will succeed David Beckley,
who has been Rust’s president for 27
years. The Texan will be the first female
president of Rust, chosen after an eight
month search.
Taylor served as mayor of San Anto-
nio for three years and as a member of
the San Antonio City Council for five
years.
She spent six years as a lecturer in
public administration at the University of
Texas at San Antonio. She also served on
the San Antonio Planning Commission
and was previously a commissioner for
the San Antonio Urban Renewal Agency.
“We believe the abilities she gained
in non-profit management and political
leadership will be readily transferable to
an academic setting,” said David Swin-
ton, chair of Rust’s board of trustees.
Taylor holds a bachelor’s degree from
Yale University and a master’s degree
from the University of North Carolina
a doctorate in education at the Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania with a dissertation
focusing on leadership at historically
black colleges and universities. Taylor
currently works as a consultant and is a
trustee of Huston-Tillotson University in
Austin, Texas, and University of the In-
carnate Word in San Antonio.
“I am thrilled to be part of writing the
next chapter for this historic institution,”
Taylor said in a statement.
3 wounded in shooting in northeast
Mississippi, 1 in custody
WOODLAND — Three people have
been shot and wounded at a house in
northeast Mississippi.
Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott told
local news outlets that the shooting hap-
pened around 5 p.m. Saturday in the ru-
ral northern reaches of the county.
The victims were taken to hospitals in
West Point and Tupelo. At least two were
seriously wounded.
Scott said deputies have someone in
custody, but didn’t release a name and
said no charges had been filed. He prom-
ises a further update Monday. Online
jail records for Clay County on Sunday
showed no one in custody matching the
description of the incident.
SOURCE: The Associated Press

Federal aid
Continued from Page 1A
istering online at http://www.Disaster-
Assistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-
FEMA(3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (T TY)
for the hearing and speech impaired.
Easter tornadoes in Mississippi dam-
aged more than 1,400 homes and 80
businesses, killing 12 people. The Na-
tional Weather Service confirmed a to-
tal of 15 twisters, including one storm
with top winds of 190 miles (305 kph)
with a path that stretched for 68 miles
(110 kilometers) across southern Mis-
sissippi and a damage field that topped
out at 2.25 miles (3.6 kilometers) wide.

Get promoted? Win an award?

Send us your business brief.
news@cdispatch.com
subject: Business brief
Opinion
4A MONDAY, MAY 11, 2020
RACE IN AMERICA
Black people are
dying to know
T
hat
video
broke
my heart.
If you’ve
seen it,
you need
no further
explanation.
You know
exactly what
video I’m
talking about Leonard Pitts
and why it
shattered me.
If you haven’t, be advised that the clip
in question depicts the last seconds in
the life of Ahmaud Arbery. He was just
25, a young man out jogging on a sun-
ny Sunday afternoon in Glynn County,
Georgia.
A white man, 64-year-old former
district attorney’s investigator Grego-
ry McMichael, saw him running and
thought he looked like the suspect in
a series of local break-ins. In other
words, he was black. McMichael and
his 34-year-old son Travis armed
themselves, jumped in a truck and
took off.
The video, taken from a trailing
vehicle, shows Arbery jogging toward
the waiting truck. The elder McMi-
chael told police he and his son called
out to Arbery to wait because they
wanted to talk to him. He said Arbery
instead “began to violently attack”
Travis. In the video, they are seen
wrestling over Travis’ rifle.
It barks three times. Mortally
wounded, Arbery tries to run, but his
legs buckle and he falls on his face.
This happened on Feb. 23; the
McMichaels were not arrested. Two
prosecutors recused themselves,
citing professional ties to the father.
Before doing so, one of them declared
there was no probable cause to arrest
this two-man lynch mob because the
law gave Travis McMichael the right
to use deadly force to defend himself.
Apparently, Arbery had no corre-
sponding right to protect himself from
an unknown assailant with a gun.
It was not until Thursday, two days
after release of the video triggered
a national chorus of condemnation
raining down on the tiny south Geor-
gia county, that the McMichaels were
finally jailed. It had taken 74 days.
Seventy-four days. And will that bring
justice? This is America, so don’t hold
your breath.
If that sounds bitter, well, bit-
terness seems an entirely appropriate
response to what was captured in
that video. Meaning not just another
murder of another unarmed man, but
yet another iteration of the eternal, in-
fernal arrogance that infects so much
of white America, this notion that a
white man or woman has the divine
right to require any given black person
to justify their presence and activities.
“Why are you barbecuing in that
public park?”
“Why are you swimming in that
public pool?”
“Why are you jogging down that
public street bothering no one, mind-
ing your own damn business?”
All white people? No. Of course
not. But more white people than many
white people would readily concede.
And the very need to place that dis-
claimer, the recognition that without
it — and likely, even with it — some
white readers will go away clutch-
ing their pearls about my supposed
“racism” toward them, speaks vol-
umes. Racism is not hurt feelings. It is
systematized oppression that bars you
from opportunity and steers you to-
ward calamity every waking day from
cradle to grave, that allows you to be
murdered on camera, in cold blood in
broad daylight — and your assailants
to be home in time for dinner.
Trayvon, Tamir, Michael, Philando,
John, Amadou, Ahmaud ... it’s enough.
It’s too much.
And all the “good” white people
who needed the disclaimer, who need-
ed their blamelessness acknowledged,
must understand that it’s not enough
that you’re able to avoid getting caught
on video being a racist jerk.
No, ask yourself: What am I doing
to dismantle a system of privilege that
oppresses others while advantaging
me every waking day from cradle to
grave? What am I doing to help my
brothers and sisters be free?
Black people are dying to know.
Leonard Pitts Jr., winner of the 2004
Pulitzer Prize for commentary, is a
columnist for the Miami Herald. Email
him at lpitts@miamiherald.com
Dispatch
CARTOONIST VIEW
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Voice of the people
Comments on Trump comparing himself to Lincoln
President Trump has been comparing himself to Pres-
ident Lincoln. Favorably. Since he has claimed to be the
best president ever, I suppose that goes without saying.
He even made his claim at the Lincoln Memorial.
When I think of Abraham Lincoln, I think of his char-
acter. He always sought to find a way to achieve political
goals within a strict ethical compass. I think of his wit.
There are whole books of his witticisms. I think of his
eloquence. We still read the Lincoln-Douglas Debates,
the Inaugural Addresses. We still get choked up at the
Gettysburg Address. I think of his ability to learn from
and use the skills of his political enemies.
Finally, I think of his belief in we the people. He
wrote, “We the people are the rightful masters of both
Congress and courts. Not to overthrow the Constitution,
but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.”
More apt to President Trump’s comparison, “I am a firm
believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be
depended on to meet any national crisis. The great point
is to bring them the real facts.”
Bill Gillmore
Columbus
Feels officer punishment was too much
Yes, I/we don’t know the rest of the Tabertha Hardin
meets Fido story. So what! Slim is correct. Tabertha
was sent to the dog house for a perfectly normal human
response to being attacked, in my opinion. I guarantee
that if I had been in her shoes, I would have spoken like a
sailor and I was never in the navy. In addition, my reflex-
es would have provided the impetus to kick Fido into next
month or to deliver a quick dose of lead poisoning from
my sidearm. What does the police manual dictate as the
appropriate response to being attacked by a domestic an-
imal? Please let me know if the body cam video makes it
to YouTube. If the Columbus City Council is going to give
Tabertha a “Sit” and “Stay” order, at least pay her. Don’t
treat her like a dog.
Martin Pomphrey, M.D.
Mayhew
Concerned with rights and debt
The COVID-19 crisis has shown how fragile our consti-
tutional rights are. Our freedom of religion, freedom of as-
sembly and freedom of speech, to name a few, have been
questioned and in some cases denied. We as American
citizens had better wake up. I’m not a conspiracy theory
nut, but something is going on. There are those that want
a one world government and government control of our
everyday life. We have shut down some businesses, but
have let others open. You can go to Walmart or Lowe’s but
you can’t get a hair cut? Think about it folks, something
isn’t right. The ole frog in a pot of water rings true. Slowly
turn the heat up and the next thing you know, you have a
cooked frog. I’m not saying there’s not a lot of unknowns
about the virus, but to shut down the world’s economy
based on models
that have been shown are wrong makes one think
about those predicting things. There are those elitist
that think they are smarter than the common folk. This
disease is bad but, I think it has become a political thing
now. The economy has crashed, due to the shut down.
The government has come to the rescue, but the money
they have given away has to be printed. I’m not complain-
ing about the government helping out, but printing more
dollars means inflation. I went to Lee High School years
ago, and I know the government does not create income.
News alert! The government receives money from taxing
us lowly citizens. This goes against the belief that the
“Government has plenty of money in D.C.”. This epidem-
ic, pandemic or what ever you call it is a wake up call to
everyone. Precious blood has bought our freedom, but it
might be at stake due to the power grab of some in high
political places. We have seen reported deaths from this
new virus, but not much reporting of deaths from other
PETER BIRNEY IMES Editor/Publisher
BIRNEY IMES III Editor/Publisher 1998-2018
BIRNEY IMES JR. Editor/Publisher 1947-2003
The
BIRNEY IMES SR. Editor/Publisher 1922-1947
ZACK PLAIR, Managing Editor
BETH PROFFITT Advertising Director
MICHAEL FLOYD Circulation/Production Manager
MARY ANN HARDY Controller
causes. No flu,
cancer or even natural causes of deaths has been
reported. Every death seems to be COVID 19. All I’m
saying is a little common sense will go along way. There
have been 2 local cases reported that turned out not to be
COVID 19. My point is who do you believe? The question
is, are you concerned enough to take a stand or believe
everything the government tells you? The old saying “I’m
from the government and I’m here to help you” is not
necessarily a good thing some time. Time will tell. I pray
for those of the next generation. As a senior citizen, I have
lived in the best of times in America. My concern is, what
kind of world am I leaving for my children and grandchil-
dren?
Pray for America. God bless America.
Lee Roy Lollar
Columbus
Appreciates health care workers
Nurses and nurse practitioners: thank God for your
dedicated loyal compassion of care and true concern
for the wellbeing and health of others totally (mentally,
physically, and developmentally). Not only when we (the
citizens and visitors) are in your clinics and hospitals you
stop and assist during accidents, illness in supermarkets
or wherever the need is: you swing into action. God gave
you the gift to pursue the knowledge; you are implement-
ing your skills to the highest potential. Thank you! After
we go home, you follow up by calling to check on us.
Public: please take the time to fill out the survey.
Give them (nurses and nurse practitioners) their
flowers while they serve us. Flowers or cut in half Krispy
Kreme donuts will boost their spirits. A fruit tray is a wise
choice! Love! Love! Love!
Special thanks to:
n Dr. John Stanback and staff, Dr. Julius Kato and
staff, and Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle (I
climb and walk up hills Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
at 67 years young.)
n LeBonheur Children’s Hospital staff of Mem-
phis, TN – In memory of Aidan D’Wayne, 1/25/2020-
4/11/2020, resting in peace at home with the Lord. Aiden
caused our family to refocus and prioritize our relation-
ship with God and each other. We are stronger together!
n University of Mississippi Medical Center (Ky, my
great-grandson, is four years old and is healthy and well).
Pat Fisher Douglas
Columbus
Correction to Emmerich column
Wyatt Emmerich referenced a web page claiming
38576 deaths from COVID-19 across the United States.
The table from which he pulled his data had this note:
Note: Number of deaths reported in this table are the
total number of deaths received and coded as of the date
of analysis and do not represent all deaths that occurred
in that period.
Data during this period are incomplete because of the
lag in time between when the death occurred and when
the death certificate is completed, submitted to NCHS
and processed for reporting purposes. This delay can
range from 1 week to 8 weeks or more, depending on the
jurisdiction, age, and cause of death.”
If you check https://www.cdc.gov/coronavi-
rus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html, as of May
8th, the number was 75477.
Bonnie Oppenheimer
Columbus
A letter to the editor is an excellent way to participate
in your community. We request the tone of your letters be
constructive and respectful and the length be limited to 450
words. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, gram-
mar and length. While commentary on national issues is
always welcome, we limit candidate endorsements to one
per letter-writer. We welcome all letters emailed to voice@
cdispatch.com or mailed to The Dispatch, Attn: Letters to the
Editor, PO Box 511, Columbus, MS 39703-0511.

IN WASHINGTON
New week brings new challenges for WH
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The Trump
administration’s leading health
experts on safely dealing with the
novel coronavirus will be testifying
in a Senate hearing by a videocon-
ference this week after three of
them and the committee’s chair-
man were exposed to people who
tested positive for COVID-19.
Adding to a string of potentially
awkward moments for President
Donald Trump, Vice President
Mike Pence himself self-isolated
for the weekend after a staff mem-
ber tested positive for COVID-19.
Pence leads Trump’s coronavirus
task force.
The images of top administra-
tion officials taking such precau-
tions come as states seek to loosen
economic restrictions put in place
to mitigate the virus’ spread.
In the Senate, a staff member
for the office of Sen. Lamar Alex-
ander, R-Tenn., tested positive for
COVID-19, leading Alexander to
decide to preside over Tuesday’s
hearing by teleconference while
self-quarantining at home in Ten-
nessee for two weeks.
As the health experts discuss
the administration’s response to
the outbreak, lawyers for Trump
will hope to persuade a Supreme
Court with two of his appointees
to keep his tax and other financial
records from being turned over to
lawmakers and a New York district
attorney.
The justices are hearing argu-
ments by telephone in a pivotal le-
gal fight that could affect the pres-
idential campaign. Rulings against
the president could result in the
quick release of personal financial
information that Trump has sought
strenuously to keep private.
On Thursday, a House panels
hears from Dr. Rick A. Bright, for-
mer director of the Biomedical Ad-
vanced Research and Development
Authority. Bright asserts that he
was summarily removed from his
job and reassigned to a lesser role
because he resisted political pres-
sure to allow widespread use of hy-
droxychloroquine, a malaria drug
favored by Trump.
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
Pence spends weekend at home
after exposure to infected aide
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Vice Pres-
ident Mike Pence was self-isolat-
ing Sunday after an aide tested
positive for the coronavirus last
week, but he planned to return to
the White House on Monday.
An administration official said
Pence was voluntarily keeping
his distance from other people in
line with guidance from the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Pre-
vention. He has repeatedly tested
negative for COVID-19 since his
exposure but was following the
advice of medical officials.
His action came after three of
the nation’s top scientists took
their own protective steps follow-
ing possible exposure to a White
House staffer infected by the coro-
navirus.
“Vice President Pence will con-
tinue to follow the advice of the
Perhaps most important of all
the week’s developments, the ad-
ministration and Congress will
be watching how businesses and
consumers react as states gradu-
ally loosen restrictions that were
designed to slow the spread of the
coronavirus.
Decisions about how fast to re-
open are being made with a general
election less than six months away,
and Trump and other incumbents
face the prospect of seeking an-
other term in the midst of a public
health and economic crisis.
“If we do this carefully, working
with the governors, I don’t think
there’s a considerable risk,” Trea-
sury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
said on “Fox News Sunday.” “Mat-
ter of fact, I think there’s a consid-
erable risk of not reopening. You’re
talking about what would be per-
manent economic damage to the
American public.”
Mnuchin was one of several eco-
nomic advisers the White House
MONDAY, MAY 11, 2020 5A
White House Medical Unit and
is not in quarantine,” spokesman
Devin O’Malley said Sunday. “Ad-
ditionally, Vice President Pence
has tested negative every single
day and plans to be at the White
House tomorrow.”
Pence has been at home since
returning to Washington from a
day trip to Iowa on Friday and did
not appear at President Donald
Trump’s meeting with military
leaders Saturday at the White
House. Pence was informed of the
aide’s positive test shortly before
departing for that trip.
An official initially said Pence
planned to continue working from
home, before Pence’s office clari-
fied that he planned to work from
the White House on Monday. It
was not immediately clear how
Pence’s steps to self-isolate would
impact his professional or public
engagements.
dispatched on Sunday to place the
focus on the merits of loosening
restrictions on the economy. Yet
attention to possible risks of infec-
tion also turned to how the virus
seemed to find its way into the
White House complex.
Top task force officials who have
gone into quarantine because of
exposure to a person at the White
House who tested positive for the
virus include Dr. Anthony Fauci,
the director of the National Insti-
tute of Allergy and Infectious Dis-
eases; Dr. Robert Redfield, director
of the CDC; and the commissioner
of the Food and Drug Administra-
tion, Dr. Stephen Hahn.
Fauci’s institute said he was
“taking appropriate precautions”
to mitigate the risk to others while
still carrying out his duties, tele-
working from home but willing to
go to the White House if called. Of-
ficials said both Redfield and Hahn
will be self-quarantining for two
weeks.
6A MONDAY, MAY 11, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

AROUND THE WORLD

Iran friendly fire missile strike in drill kills 19 sailors
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TEHRAN, Iran —
An Iranian missile fired
during a training exer-
cise in the Gulf of Oman
struck a support vessel
near its target, killing
19 Iranian sailors and
wounding 15, Iran’s mili-
tary and state media said
Monday, amid heightened
tensions between Tehran
and Washington.
The statement signifi-
cantly raised the death
toll in Sunday’s incident
from what was reported
just hours earlier, when
Iran’s state media said at
least one sailor was killed.
The Konarak, a Hen-
dijan-class support ship,
which was taking part
in the exercise, was too
close to a target during an
exercise on Sunday when
the incident happened,
the reports said. The
vessel had been putting
targets out for other ships
to target. The media said
the missile struck the ves-
sel accidentally.
The friendly fire inci-
dent took place near the
port of Jask, some 1,270
kilometers (790 miles)
southeast of Tehran, in
the Gulf of Oman, state
TV said.
A local hospital admit-
ted 12 sailors and treated
another three with slight
wounds, the state-run
IRNA news agency re-
ported.
Iranian media said the
Konarak had been over-
hauled in 2018 and was
able to launch sea and
anti-ship missiles. The
Dutch-made, 47-meter
(155-foot) vessel was in
service since 1988 and
had capacity of 40 tons. It
usually carries a crew of
20 sailors.
Iran towed the Konarak
into a nearby naval base
after the strike. A photo-
graph released by the Ira-
nian army showed burn
marks and some damage
to the vessel, though the
military did not immedi-
ately offer detailed pho-
tographs of the site of the
missile’s impact.
Iran regularly holds
exercises in the region,
which is close to the stra-
tegic Strait of Hormuz,
the narrow mouth of the
Persian Gulf through
which 20% of the world’s
oil passes. The U.S. Na-
vy’s 5th Fleet, which
monitors the region, did
not immediately respond
to a request for comment.
Iranian media rarely
report on mishaps during
exercises by the country’s
armed forces, signaling
the severity of the inci-
dent. It also comes amid
months of heightened ten-
sions between Iran and
the U.S. since President
Donald Trump unilater-
ally withdrew from Teh-
ran’s nuclear deal with
world powers in 2018 and
imposed crushing sanc-
tions on the country.
It marks the second se-
rious incident involving a
misfired missile by Iran’s
armed forces this year. In
January, after attacking
U.S. forces in Iraq with
ballistic missiles, Iran’s
paramilitary Revolution-
ary Guard accidentally
shot down a Ukrainian jet-
liner, killing all 176 people
on board.

Profile
Continued from Page 1A
familiar faces with whom
Johnson had to forge
new relationships. Her
principal at SHS when
she graduated there in
1993 had become her
boss, and many of her
former teachers were her
coworkers.
“It was hard adjusting
from calling the teachers
by their last names to
them saying, ‘Oh no, call
me by (my first name),’”
she said. “I just couldn’t
do it.”
Because of that, and
by function of her also
being an assistant girls
basketball coach at the
school, Johnson refers to
most of her coworkers by
just their last name.
Most everybody who
knows Johnson usually
just calls her “Bird.”
“From some people I
get ‘Mrs. Bird,’” she said.
That nickname came
from her father when
she was a child, though
Johnson said she’s never
been given a definite
reason why. It followed
her through high school,
where she was a basket-
ball star on nationally
ranked teams, and even
to Ole Miss, where she
played guard for a Rebels
program that reached the
NCAA tournament three
straight years — once
making it to the Sweet 16
during her tenure.
She did all that while
raising her first of three
children, Jaquez, whom
she had a few months
after graduating high
school and just two weeks
before starting classes
in Oxford. With a strong
family support system
behind her, Johnson
played out her four years
of eligibility and excelled
academically — even as
basketball began to slide
into a more manageable
place in her priorities.
“Basketball was such
a big part of my life,”
said Johnson, who grew
up in a family with two
brothers who played
Southeastern Conference
football and another who
played some professional
baseball. “I played (recre-
ational league), AAU and
all the way up. But after
I had Jaquez, … (basket-
ball) wasn’t the center of
my universe.”
Consistency
Even today, though,
basketball remains a
huge part of who Johnson
is.
When she came to
SHS as a teacher, she
also was the eighth grade
head girls coach. Then
she took on the ninth
grade team. About seven
years ago, she became
the assistant for the high
school team, the same
program she helped take
to three state finals as a
player, finally winning
the championship her
junior year. The program
had flagged somewhat
since, but came soaring
back under a coaching
staff, led by Kristie Wil-
liams, with high expecta-
tions and players who all
“bought in.”
The program won
back-to-back state titles
in 2017 and 2018.
“We raised the expec-
tations, and (the players)
came to them,” Johnson
said. “Everybody doesn’t
just come to see the boys
play. They know the girls
are playing, too.” jump from the classroom
Consistency drives to administration.
the team’s success on the That could present
court, the same princi- new opportunities for
ple Johnson uses in the Johnson, maybe even
classroom, where she away from the town she
teaches junior advanced and husband, Terell, call
placement language in home — where Jacquez
addition to sophomore graduated and their two
English. younger sons, Nyjal, 17,
“I listen to my stu- and Daejon, 15, attend
dents and I can relate high school.
to what they’re going “I’ve worked side by
through,” she said. “I side with her for so long,
can relate to things that I can’t imagine being up
might go over everyone there without her,” War-
else’s head and I can ren said. “I’ve taught two
relate to the latest rap of her kids, and I can’t
song. I try to be a good wait to teach her last son
mixture. And when you if I can hang in there that
are being consistent and
positive with students,
long. She’s my fam.”
And for fam, Warren
the difference you make also earns another spe-
happens naturally, a lot
cial honor from Johnson.
of times without you even
“I finally got to where
knowing it.”
I call her by her first
Of course, being
name,” she said.
among the most highly
rated high school players
in school history gives
Johnson some credibility
with the current players.
She doesn’t toot her own
horn, but she doesn’t
have to.
“I don’t have to say
anything,” she said.
“They come tell me stuff
(they heard I did).”
Johnson still has a
little game left in the
tank, too.
“I can still play. You’re
not going to out shoot
me,” she said. “My mind
still thinks I can run up
and down the court, but
my body ….”
Johnson earned her
master’s in secondary
education from Missis-
sippi State and will soon
finish her specialist
certification in education-
al leadership, something
that would qualify her to

Capitol dome
Continued from Page 1A
that the spread of the vi-
rus has risks. The spread
of the economic collapse
has risks.”
Reeves spent eight
years as state treasurer
and eight as lieutenant
governor before being
inaugurated as governor
in January. He has consis-
tently advocated a limited
role for state government.
Legislators cut several
thousand jobs from the
state government work-
force when Reeves had
a big role in writing bud-
gets as lieutenant gover-
nor.
Fairly early in the pan-
demic, Reeves said he’s
concerned about people
facing “abject poverty”
because of job losses. It’s
a phrase he has not often
used in speeches or in-
terviews during 16-plus
years of serving in public
office in a state that has
been one of the poorest in
the U.S. for generations.
During news conferences
about COVID-19, Reeves
often mentions people
who are having to file
unemployment claims for
the first time in their lives.
The governor says
his top adviser during
the pandemic is the state
health officer, Dr. Thom-
as Dobbs. He is also lis-
tening to business exec-
utives and to people who
express concerns about
the economy.
Reeves frequently says
that restarting Mississip-
pi’s economy is not like
flipping a light switch
from off to on but like us-
ing a dimmer switch to go
from dull to bright.
He emphasizes the role
of personal responsibility,
saying that people should
mostly remain home and
that they should wear
masks in public, keep
distance between them-
selves and others and
avoid taking the whole
family to the grocery
store if possible.
“If we do not want to
return where we were sev-
eral weeks ago, with more
businesses closed and
more shelter-in-place — I
have to ultimately make
that decision,” Reeves
said last week. “But the
thing is, the people of
Mississippi can make
that decision first — if the
people of our state will be
smart, if they’ll stay safe.”
Reeves said city and
county law enforcement
officers have done “a fan-
tastic job” of enforcing
safety orders during the
pandemic, and state law
enforcement officers are
available to help them. As
more businesses reopen,
Reeves said the best en-
forcement of safety stan-
dards will come from
within.
“The number one per-
son that it is going to en-
force this is the person
that is actually opening
the business. It’s the
employees. It’s Missis-
sippians. It’s people who
care about not only them-
selves, but about their
fellow man,” Reeves said.
“I am convinced that the
industries that we are re-
opening are going to do a
better job of monitoring
it themselves than any
governmental entity ever
will.”
Sports MISSISSIPPI STATE FOOTBALL ANALYSIS
SPORTS LINE
662-241-5000
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n MONDAY, MAY 11, 2020
B
SECTION

BREAKING DOWN THE MSU RECEIVING CORPS

Jim Brown/USA TODAY Sports

Mississippi State Bulldogs wide receiver Osirus Mitchell (5) rushes against Louisville Cardinals linebacker T.J. Holl (35) during the second half of the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30 at
Nissan Stadium.
BY BEN PORTNOY
bportnoy@cdispatch.com
STARKVILLE — With
spring commencement at
Mississippi State now offi-
cially passed, summer has
arrived in Starkville.
And while the MSU
football team has yet to
endure its usual regimen
of spring practices due to
the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic, there remains
a growing optimism a 2020
football season will be
played — though an exact
start date and the logistics
behind such an occurrence
remain unknown.
Over the next week-
plus, we’re going to dive
into the Bulldogs’ depth
chart heading into the
summer and what it might
look like once competition
is allowed to begin.
Following last week’s
three-part look at the de-
fense and Sunday’s foray
into the running back
room, let’s stick with of-
fense and the MSU wide
receiving corps.
Sans the quarterback,
no position will be more
crucial to success in Mike
Leach’s first year at the
helm than the Bulldogs’
wide receivers. On the sur-
face, the group is rebuild-
ing in 2020 given the grad-
uations of Stephen Guidry,
Deddrick Thomas, Malik
Dear and Isaiah Zuber —
a group that combined for
three of MSU’s top six pass
catchers a year ago.
That said, the cupboard
isn’t completely bare for
assistant coaches Dave
Nichol and Steve Spurrier
Jr. Senior JaVonta Payton,
a one-time Ole Miss com-
mit before a two-year stint
at Northwest Mississippi
Community College, has
shown flashes of track-lev-
el speed on the outside and
in the slot. Entering his
final year of competition,
Payton should emerge as a
go-to guy in some capacity
in 2020.
Classmate Osirus
Mitchell should also be
a ringleader of the 2020
receiving corps, though
inconsistency has plagued
him throughout his ca-
reer. The final addition to
MSU’s 2016 class, Mitch-
ell led the team with 430
yards and six touchdowns
on 29 receptions last sea-
son but the bigger prob-
lem for Mitchell is that he
faded down the stretch —
recording just five catches
over the Bulldogs’ final
four games.
At 6-foot-5, 210 pounds,
the Sarasota, Florida na-
tive has the ability to be a
dynamic threat in Leach’s
wide-open air raid offense,
but he’ll have to find some
semblance of consistency
in 2020.
Beyond Payton and
Mitchell, Copiah-Lincoln
Community College prod-
uct Malik Heath should
see the field immediately
during his first season in
Starkville. A former top-
200 prospect who commit-
ted to MSU out of Callaway
High School, Heath blos-
somed into the No. 2 junior
college wide receiver in the
See MSU, 2B

After career year with Bulldogs, Williams ready to move on Under 1% of MLB
BY THEO DEROSA employees test positive
for virus antibodies
tderosa@cdispatch.com

When the Mississippi

State softball team’s sea-
son was put on hold March
12 due to the coronavirus
pandemic, the Bulldogs
harbored hope of an even-
tual resumption.
But senior second base-
man Lindsey Williams had
her doubts.
“It was sort of an un-
known, but I think deep
down I knew that it was
over,” Williams told The
Dispatch on Thursday.
Soon, she was home
in Mobile, Alabama, for
good, still trying to take
everything in.
“‘This doesn’t feel
right,” Williams told her
See WILLIAMS, 2B
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Just
0.7% of Major League
Baseball employees test-
ed positive for antibodies
to COVID-19, the illness
caused by the new coro-
navirus.
The small number of
positive tests, announced
Sunday, was positive
news for a sport pushing
ahead with plans to start
its delayed season.
Researchers received
Austin Perryman/MSU Athletics
6,237 completed surveys
Mississippi State senior second baseman Lindsey Williams hit her first home run with
the Bulldogs on Feb. 12 against Alabama State at Nusz Park. With her engineering from employees of 26
degree completed and a full-time job lined up, Williams chose not to take an extra clubs. That led to 5,754
year of eligibility when it was offered by the NCAA. samples obtained in the
U.S. on April 14 and 15
and 5,603 records that
were used. The survey
kit had a 0.5% false posi-
tive rate.
Dr. Jay Bhattacha-
rya of Stanford, one of
the study’s leaders, said
the prevalence of the
antibodies among MLB
employees was lower
than for the general pop-
ulation during testing in
New York, Los Angeles,
the San Francisco area
and Miami.
“I was expecting a
little bit of a higher num-
ber,” Bhattacharya said
See MLB, 2B
2B MONDAY, MAY 11, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

MSU
Continued from Page 1B
class of 2020. Re-pledging
to the Bulldogs on July 27,
he’ll give MSU another
college-ready receiver to
thrive in Leach’s offense.
“The biggest thing
about him is he’s a guy
that’s been a lot of plac-
es and camps and he’s
worked on being a receiv-
er that runs good routes,”
Co-Lin coach Glenn Da-
vis told The Dispatch in
August. “(He’s) worked
on releases. He’s a very
polished guy. When he
doesn’t think too much,
Lideatrick “Tulu” Griffin.
Griffin comes to MSU
as one of three top-300
prospects in MSU’s
2020 signing class after
a standout two-way ca-
reer at Philadelphia High
School. As a senior he
caught 23 passes for 413
yards and three touch-
downs while adding an-
other eight scores on 41
rushing attempts.
As for Ducking, he’s
the less heralded of
MSU’s pair of junior col-
lege receivers, but was
Starkville High School
native Rufus Harvey
could also have an impact
as a slot receiver. Harvey,
who led the Yellow Jack-
ets to the MHSA A 6A
semifinals, was among
the final adds to MSU’s
2020 class after finishing
his senior year with 75 re-
ceptions for 1,066 yards
and 16 touchdowns.
“He’s really good with
the ball in his hands — I
think that’d be the quick-
est way to describe it,”
Leach said of Harvey in
happened, but he’s very
productive with the ball
in his hands.”
The 2020 season will
see a complete restock of
the underachieving MSU
receiving corps from a
season ago as they wel-
come a new pass-heavy
offense to Starkville. But
with experienced options
in place, the Bulldog
passing attack stands to
flourish whenever the
season may come.
“I know the last two
years of Washington
Sudoku YESTERDAY’S ANSWER

things come naturally to

him.”
Other names to watch
in 2020 include Holmes
an impact performer
during his two years at
February. “He’s a pretty
complete player as far
State, I think we had 10
or more receivers with
Sudoku
Sudoku is a number-
placing puzzle based on
Sunday’s answer
Holmes C.C. in Goodman as being productive on 20 or more receptions,” Sudoku
a 9x9 gridis witha several
num- 8 9 3 4 5 7 1 6 2
— finishing his sopho- special teams and on of- Spurrier said in Febru- ber-placing
given numbers.puzzleThe object 6 1 4 8 3 2 7 9 5

2020 Conceptis Puzzles, Dist. by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

Community College sign- more campaign with nine fense. It’s kind of like, in ary. “So guys are excited based onthe
is to place a 9x9
numbers 7 2 5 6 9 1 3 8 4
ee Caleb Ducking and Un- catches for 207 yards and some place, it’d be kind about their possibilities grid
1 to 9with
in theseveral
empty spaces 2 8 6 9 7 3 4 5 1
der Armour All-American three touchdowns. of inexplicable how it and their opportunity.” given
so that numbers.
each row, eachThe 4 7 1 5 6 8 2 3 9
object
column and each 3x3 the
is to place box 3 5 9 2 1 4 8 7 6

Williams
numbers
contains the1same to 9 number
in
the empty spaces so 5 3 2 7 4 9 6 1 8
only once. The difficulty 1 6 8 3 2 5 9 4 7
that each row, each
level increases from
Continued from Page 1B column and each 9 4 7 1 8 6 5 2 3
Monday
3x3 boxtocontains
Sunday. Difficulty Level 5/09

family. “‘I’m supposed to
be at class. I’m supposed
to be at practice.’”
On a FaceTime call
with sophomore catcher
Jackie McKenna, who
was already back in her
home state of Florida,
Williams could still only
think of the things — and
the people — she missed.
Williams tried to pro-
cess what had been taken
from her and her team,
which had started its sea-
son with a record of 25-3,
the best start in Missis-
sippi State history. At that
fateful, final March 12
practice, as Williams and
the Bulldogs stretched on
the outfield grass one last
time, they were just more
than 24 hours away from
their Southeastern Con-
ference opener against
Kentucky at Nusz Park in
Starkville.
“I think I’ll just remem-
ber how great this year
was,” Williams said. “I
think it was gonna be the
best year. We were gonna
make a run for it.”
Just five days after that
final practice, the South-
eastern Conference offi-
cially canceled competi-
tion for the remainder of
the season, and March
30, the NCA A Division I
Council granted athletes
in spring sports a waiver
for an extra year of colle-
giate eligibility to make
up for it.
At the team’s end-
of-the-year meetings in
mid-April, Fa Leilua, Al-
yssa Loza, Candace De-
nis and Christian Quinn
all accepted that offer,
officially choosing to play
with the Bulldogs for one
more year.
Williams declined it.
“You always want to go
back and play, but you al-
ways have to think about
every outcome and every
factor that goes into it,”
Williams said. “It doesn’t
only affect me; it affects
everyone that I’m around
and my family.”
2020 proved to be a
season of high-water
marks for not only the
Bulldogs but Williams
herself. After finding her-
self in the starting lineup
only four times in her
first three years with the
team, Williams started
21 games at second base
this spring, hitting. 295
and driving in 10 runs.
Against Alabama State
on Feb. 12, she hit her
first career home run; in
her final game on March
11 at Southern Miss, she
turned a slick double play
to end the bottom of the
first inning by snaring a
liner and stepping on sec-
ond to force out the base-
runner.
“I love defense, so I’m
really happy I ended out
that way,” Williams said
of the play.
As the Bulldogs’ hit-
ting coach, Samantha
Ricketts watched Wil-
liams’ maturation before
Ricketts took over the
reins as the team’s head
coach this year. To Rick-
etts, Williams has be-
come proof that young
players who stay patient
in the face of inconsistent
playing time often wind
up finding a path to suc-
cess at Mississippi State.
“We’re gonna tell the
Lindsey Williams story
to teams for the three
years to come,” Ricketts
said. “She’s just such a
great example in this
day and age when play-
ers want that immediate
gratification, and she
really just put her head
down and worked and
was a great teammate.
She led by example. She
didn’t complain. She was
a good leader. To see how
her hard work paid off for
her, I think, is just a great
story that we can contin-
ue to share with other
players who continue to
come into the program.”
But Williams made the
tough decision not to con-
tinue that story by forgo-
ing a fifth season with the
Bulldogs, pointing to her
completed education and
her future job opportuni-
ties as critical factors.
Graduating from Mis-
sissippi State on May
1 with a major in civil
engineering, Williams
doesn’t need to pursue a
master’s degree, which
could have kept her in
classes in Starkville for
at least an extra year. To
officially become an en-
gineer, all she needs to
do is pass the FE (Funda-
mentals of Engineering)
and PE (Principles and
Practice of Engineering)
examinations.
Consequently, after
talking it over with her
family in Mobile, Wil-
liams decided she didn’t
want to spend an extra
year in college.
“It’s hard not to go
back and play that one
last year, especially the
way all of this ended,”
Williams said. “It all
comes to an end eventu-
ally, and education is the
most important thing,
so that’s ultimately what
made my decision.”
Williams has lined up
a full-time job for herself
in her hometown, too.
Late in the spring semes-
ter, a girl she interned
with at the infrastructure
consulting firm Volkert,
Inc., called Williams to
ask if she was interested
in some part-time work
with the company. Wil-
liams agreed, and she’s
currently helping out
with Volkert; she said
a full-time offer will be
coming as soon as her
college degree officially
goes through.
It’s one big reason why
Williams made her de- the same number only once. The difficulty level
cision, and it’s why her increases from Monday to Sunday.
fellow seniors are excited
for her and understand-
ing of why she won’t be
returning in 2021.
“As much as we all
wanted Lindsey back,
we’ve known she’s had
a lot lined up for herself
and worked really hard to
line a lot of job opportu-
nities up for herself and
graduate in four years Sunday’s Cryptoquote:
and have a lot of big goals
ahead of her,” Denis said.
Quinn, Williams’
roommate in Starkville,
had heard Williams talk
excitedly about her ca-
reer every day for nearly
two years after Quinn
transferred in from Flor-
ida Southwestern Col-
lege. Despite knowing
the decision Williams
would make, Quinn said
it wasn’t easy to process.
“It’s tough not being
able to see someone that
you’ve become close
friends with every day,”
Quinn said.
But Williams will still
keep in touch with her
former Bulldog team-
mates, saying she was ex-
cited that Quinn, Denis,
Leilua and Loza will all
get one more year with
the team.
“They’re still gonna
be my senior class, so I’ll
ACROSS
definitely be rooting for
1 Book part
them every single game,”
5 “Gone With the
Williams said.
Wind” plantation
She plans to make
9 Used a stop-
the 3½-hour drive up to
Starkville every weekend watch
10 Make suitable
she can to watch her old
squad play at Nusz Park 12 Give a
speech
— a sign Williams’ im-
pact on the team will still
13 Barber’s tool
14 Taking it easy
be felt.
“She’s only down the
16 “Where did —
wrong?”
road from Starkville, so
17 School near
she’s probably gonna be
Windsor
up here a lot more than
18 2012 candi-
we imagine,” Quinn said.
“It’ll still be good.”
date Sunday’s answer
21 Decimal base
wines activity

MLB
Continued from Page 1B
during a telephone news
conference. “The set of
people in the MLB em-
ployee population that we
tested in some sense have
been less affected by the
COVID epidemic than
their surrounding com-
munities.”
Data for players was
not separated in the study,
and some MLB family
members were included.
Spring training was
stopped March 12 and
opening day was pushed
back from March 26 be-
cause of the pandemic.
MLB intends to give the
players’ association a pre-
sentation this week for a
possible start to the sea-
son, and has said frequent
testing would be neces-
sary.
Antibodies are pro-
duced by a person’s im-
mune system if they have
been infected by a virus.
These tests are different
than the polymerise chain
reaction (PCR) tests used
to detect active infection.
“By using two different
technologies, both PCR to
diminish the active virus,
as well as the antibody,
the serology tests, that
will give you better infor-
mation and may even be
able to alleviate some of
the concerns with false
positives,” said Daniel
Eichner said of the Sports
Medicine Research and
Testing Laboratory in Salt
Lake City. another of the
study leaders.
“So I would definitely
advocate if anyone was
going to put a program
together to get their sport
of their work back, is to
utilize both different tech-
nologies,” he said.
The University of
Southern California also
participated in the study.
Bhattacharya said
MLB employees are
younger than the overall
population and took pro-
tective measures such as
frequent hand washing
when they reported to
spring training in early
February, earlier than
most people.
No MLB employees
have been known to have
died from COVID-19.
While the percentage
of Los Angeles Angels
employees with posi-
tive test was the highest
among teams, the error
22 Mechanic’s
place 41 Dick Tracy’s 19 Metal sources
23 Stunned love 20 Fuming
24 Namely 22 Spanish cat
DOWN 23 Week part
26 Hockey’s
margin is too high to Bianca Mulaney, who au- Bobby 1 Buccaneer 24 Quiz show
draw results because 29 Coloring need 2 Warring fodder
thored the study.
just 123 tests were in- 30 Gobi setting woman 25 Frat torture
The Chicago Cubs,
cluded from the team. 31 Columnist 3 Arrive 26 Egyptian god
Cincinnati, Colorado 4 Genesis 27 Frees of suds
Bhattacharya called and Miami did not par- Smith
the results “both good 32 Looking garden 28 Wild party
ticipate, Bhattacharya 5 Road goo 29 Staff symbol
and bad news” because intently
said. A pre-print server 6 Nabokov novel 30 Blue hue
they showed the virus 34 Musical set in
has not spread wide- will publish the study 7 Tearing down 33 Bank state-
Argentina
ly in MLB but still has this week, and it will be 37 Swear 8 Orbital point ment No.
many baseballers left to sent to a journal for peer 38 Penalized 9 Apartment sign 35 Golf peg
target. Eichner said re- review. 39 Old newsman 11 Hector’s 36 Throw in
sults could mean MLB Test kits were provid- 40 Like some home
employees had been dil- ed by the Partnership 15 Pasture
igent in use of personal for Clean Competition,
protective equipment, which funds anti-doping
such as masks. research, and research-
“If this population was ers worked for free.
social isolating and prac-
Mulaney said the
ticing good PPE, then it
shows that that worked prevalence of positive
and it didn’t get the tests for antibodies was
spread in there,” Eichner higher in areas that have
said. “And then the flip been harder hit by the
side of that is that means virus, such as New York,
it’s worked well, then and lower in less-impact-
they keep doing it.” ed areas, such as Ohio.
Sixty people tested “This is a special pop-
positive in the raw data, ulation. It’s not it’s not
and the figured was ad- representative of the
justed to about 42 to ac-
American population
count for false positives
and false negatives. at large,” Bhattacharya
Over 95% of the partic- said. “But it’s an import-
ipants were under 65 and ant population because
few reported comorbid- it allows us to get a peek
ities, according to Stan- at the nationwide preva-
ford medical student lence.”

Column: Will the new coronavirus kill spitting in sports?
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
We come not to praise
the loogie, but to bury it.
Already banned on side-
walks, outlawed indoors
and pooh-poohed by polite
society, that gob of saliva
and Lord-knows-what-else
is done mucking up sports.
In the wake of the new
coronavirus, teams are
revoking the germ-land-
ing privileges that turned
dugouts, benches, boxing
rings and even grass fields
into potential biohazard
sites.
No sharing towels, hats,
bats, gloves or water bot-
tles. Which could mean the
golden era of spitting, slob-
bering, gleaking, glanding,
hawking, hocking, venom-
ing and expectorating is
about to dry up. Or not.
Comics & Puzzles
DILBERT
ZITS
GARFIELD
CANDORVILLE
BABY BLUES
BEETLE BAILEY
MALLARD FILLMORE
“About time they did
something,” said Bobby
Valentine, who played
and managed in the major
leagues for more than 40
years, including two stints
in the Japanese Pacific
League.
“I was over there for sev-
en years and I could proba-
bly count on one hand how
many times I saw a ball-
player spit. Heck,” he add-
ed, “they don’t even chew
gum.”
But a moment later, Val-
entine remembers a photo
tucked in a drawer some-
where in his Stamford,
Connecticut, home. It re-
minds him why the loogie
will not disappear without
a fight.
“It’s a picture of me af-
ter a game from 30 years
ago, back when I was man-
FAMILY CIRCUS
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
aging the Rangers and be-
hind me there’s this elon-
gated view of the dugout.
There must have been 200
of those green Gatorade
cups and all this other …
let’s just say gunk, laying
around.
“And I used to won-
der even then,” Valentine
mused, “why guys couldn’t
clean up after themselves.”
The answer may be as
old — and as American —
as the sport itself. Baseball
began as a working-man’s
game on sandlots and
dusty diamonds, and more
than a few players strug-
gling with “cotton mouth”
turned to chewing tobacco
(and later gum and sun-
flower seeds) to work up
some moisture. It became
an institution in no time
flat.
Pitchers figured out
that loading a glob onto
one side of the ball made
it dip like crazy. Fielders
pounded spit into the pock-
et of stiff leather gloves to
soften them up and hitters
rubbed it on their hands or
lacquered up bat handles to
improve their grips, at least
temporarily. But it had psy-
chological value, too.
Spitting helped some
soothe jangling nerves,
show contempt or machis-
mo, or just mark their ter-
ritory like dogs do. It was
only a problem when an
opponent got in the way of
its gravity.
It isn’t just baseball, of
course. Rough-and-tumble
sports like soccer and foot-
ball embraced the practice
at the beginnings of their
games, too, and once grab-
Dear Abby
D
EAR ABBY:
I had this
friend that I
met eight months
ago at a local
boxing gym here
in Chicago. We got
along extremely
well and even
hung out a couple
of times. However,
she left her job
at the gym two
months later and
things started
falling apart.
I started
sending excessive Dear Abby
messages on her
social media, and she didn’t
like it. By the following month,
she had enough. She told me I
have an unhealthy attachment
to her and we would go our
separate ways. She blocked me
from all social media, and she
hasn’t contacted me since.
Four months later, I am bet-
ter, but she is still in my head.
I really want to write her a nice
and sincere letter and reconcile we purchased with our last
with her and have her be my
friend again. I didn’t know that I
was doing something wrong.
I have tried reaching out to
her multiple times recently via
email, to no avail. In the mean-
time, one of her friends told me
she has moved to Texas, which
makes it even more heart-
breaking. How can I show her I
can be her friend again without
Horoscopes
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (May
11). You get free in more ways
than one this year. You will
drop a demand you’ve made on
yourself and feel amazing about
the choice. In another instance,
you will drop everything else to
meet a demand, to the tune of
a sweet reward. Exciting rela-
tionships are part of the fun, as
is an overhaul of your domestic
scene. Scorpio and Sagittarius
adore you. Your lucky numbers
are: 7, 40, 22, 48 and 31.
ARIES (March 21-April 19).
The feelings don’t mean any-
thing until part of you decides
what they mean. Don’t accept
this meaning as the truth. It’s
really just the first thing your
mind went to. If it’s not helpful,
bing a swig of water on the
sidelines during a break
became available, it practi-
cally elevated it into an art
form. But don’t expect any
new masterpieces to flow
soon.
With Germany’s Bunde-
sliga considering a return
to play within week s, Mi-
chel D’Hooghe, the chair-
man of FIFA’s medical
committee, is strongly ad-
vising against any soccer
league restarting until the
fall. But if they do, he wants
even the most casual drib-
ble on the pitch punished
with a yellow card.
“It is unhygienic … I
think we should have to
avoid that at maximum,”
D’Hooghe said. “The ques-
tion is whether that will be
possible.”
More genteel pursuits
exhibiting those
same “toxic”
behaviors? — GUY
WITH A WOUND-
ED HEART
DEAR GUY:
You have already
done enough.
You have done
so much, in fact,
that the young
woman felt
she was being
stalked. She has
sent you clear
signals that she’s
not interested in
being friends — or
anything more
— with you. For your own sake,
take the hint, leave her alone
and, please, learn from this
experience so you won’t repeat
it with someone else.
DEAR ABBY: I am 60, and
my husband is 64. We lost
everything in the recession. A
dear friend helped us get back
on our feet, and my son and
husband built a home on land
dollar. We have a mortgage and
all the bills that come with it.
We have no savings, pension
or life insurance. I work 40
hours a week, and my husband
is partially disabled from an
autoimmune disease.
My son, who is studying
to become an RN, is 33. He
lives with us and pays $550 a
month, which pays the property
send your mind somewhere
else.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20).
People have go-to emotions —
things they are better at dealing
with, states they understand
and can navigate like a home-
town. Realizing this, who can
you learn from to increase your
emotional awareness?
GEMINI (May 21-June 21).
Abundance is a state of mind.
When you feel rich, the actual
numbers aren’t the point. That’s
all relative. Wealth is a matter
of putting a high value on what
is already yours.
CANCER (June 22-July 22).
A fantasy is like a gift you give
yourself. It can do more than
entertain you. A good fantasy
MONDAY, MAY 11, 2020 3B
like tennis and golf have
proved that it is, although
both Tiger Woods and
Sergio Garcia handed
over hefty fines for leaving
something besides sweat
out on the course.
Basketball and hockey
are stuck indoors, but only
one of them said no to spit-
ting. Puckheads defend
hockey’s choice by argu-
ing players who get a tooth
knocked out during a game
shouldn’t have to swallow a
chiclet. Fair enough. But
if you’ve ever watched a
game and seen how much
blood, sweat and tears they
voluntarily share on the
bench, it shouldn’t come as
a surprise that the National
Hockey League has been
hit twice in recent years by
outbreaks of mumps.
taxes. He has slowly brought
his girlfriend into our home,
whom we like, but she does
not contribute financially. I
have asked my son for some
extra money, and he refused.
We will always appreciate how
he pitched in and helped us in
creating a new home. What can
I do without starting a family
war? — KEEPING THE PEACE
DEAR KEEPING: It would
have been interesting to know
what reason your son gave you
for his refusal. Continue talking
with him about it. Unless the
girlfriend is unemployed, she
should at least pay for her food
and a share of the utilities if
she is living in your home.
DEAR READERS: This is Na-
tional Women’s Health Week.
Because of the current health
crisis, taking care of your
health is now more important
than ever. Make it a priority.
Eat healthy, give yourself the
gift of exercise, manage your
stress levels, get the sleep
you need, and schedule that
appointment to see your doctor
or dentist as soon as they are
seeing patients again. Take
steps to eliminate behaviors
that put you at risk — smoking,
texting while driving and not
wearing a seatbelt. Your health
is your most precious posses-
sion, so please, take care of
it. For more information, visit
womenshealth.gov. — Love,
ABBY
can pull you forward, making
you aware of where you are now
compared with where you want
to be.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Your
stars tell a message of pleasant
urgency. There’s something to
be gained, and you must act
on it at once. This will mean
deciding what not to do so you
have the resources you need to
make your move.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22).
People’s responses can be
unpredictable and untimely.
Whatever you can do to guide
them along will smooth the
process. Think about what you
want them to do and reverse
engineer the exchange.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23).
You will gladly take on the high
level of responsibility of which
you are capable. There’s a de-
cision to be made, and you are
the best person to make it. You
will follow through with the work
you know you need to do.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov.
21). You are happy to fill in the
blanks for another person, work
behind the scenes to make
them look good and do what you
can to make their dream come
true. This graciousness will
eventually come back to you.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec.
21). It may take longer than
usual to get going this morning,
but once your mind kicks into
a certain mode, you will come
up with brilliantly creative and
exceptionally workable plans.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan.
19). There are these moments
in which you feel that the way
things are now is intolerable
and untenable, but with a
total change of direction much
could be solved. Hypothetically
explore the options.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.
18). Today’s struggles will not
be tomorrow’s. What changes
the game is not the accumula-
tion of hours and days. Rather,
it’s the resolutions you make
and the actions you take to
eradicate the problem.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March
20). You would love to spoil
someone with attention, as it
would please you to be able to
give someone else what you
wanted but didn’t get. These
dynamics are complex, but they
play out simply.
Contact lens
SOLUTION:
4B MONDAY, MAY 11, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Jerry Stiller, comedian and ‘Seinfeld’ actor, dies at 92

The comedian died of natural causes
according to son on Twitter
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Com-
edy veteran Jerry Stiller,
who launched his ca-
reer opposite wife Anne
Meara in the 1950s and
reemerged four decades
later as the hysterically
high-strung Frank Cos-
tanza on the smash televi-
sion show “Seinfeld,” died
at 92, his son Ben Stiller
announced Monday.
He died of natural
causes, his son — a come-
dy star himself — said in
a tweet.
Jerry Stiller was a
multi-talented perform-
er who appeared in an
assortment of movies,
playing Walter Matthau’s
police sidekick in the
thriller “The Taking of
Pelham One Two Three”
and Divine’s husband
Wilbur Turnblad in John
Waters’ twisted comedy
“Hairspray.”
He also wrote an au-
tobiography, “Married to
Laughter,” about his 50-
plus year marriage to soul
mate and comedic cohort
Meara, who died in 2015.
And his myriad television
spots included every-
thing from “Murder She
Wrote” to “Law & Order”
— along with 36 appear-
ances alongside Meara on
“The Ed Sullivan Show.”
Stiller, although a sup-
porting player on “Sein-
feld,” created some of the
Emmy-winning show’s
most enduring moments:
co-creator and model
for the “bro,” a brassiere
for men; a Korean War
cook who inflicted food
poisoning on his entire
unit; an ever-simmering
salesman controlling his
explosive temper with the
shouted mantra, “Sereni-
ty now!”
Stiller earned an 1997
Emmy nomination for
his indelible “Seinfeld”
performance. In a 2005
Esquire interview, Still-
er recalled that he was
out of work and not the
first choice for the role of
Frank Costanza, father to
Jason Alexander’s neurot-
ic George.
“My manager had re-
tired,” he said. “I was
close to 70 years old, and
had nowhere to go.”
He was initially told to
play the role as a milque-
toast husband with an
overbearing wife, Estelle,
played by Estelle Harris.
But the character wasn’t
working — until Stiller
suggested his reincar-
nation as an over-the-top
crank who matched his
wife scream for scream.
It jump-started the
septuagenarian’s career,
landing him a spot play-
ing Vince Lombardi in a
Nike commercial and the
role of another over-the-
top dad on the long-run-
ning sitcom “King of
Queens.”
While he was known
as a nut-job father on the
small screen, Stiller and
wife Meara raised two
children in their longtime
home on Manhattan’s Up-
per West Side: daughter
Amy, who became an ac-
tress, and son Ben, who
became a writer, director
and actor in such films
as “Dodgeball,” “There’s
Something About Mary”
and “Meet the Parents.”
He and Ben performed
together in “Shoeshine,”
which was nominated for
wikimedia.org
a 1988 Academy Award
in the short subject cate-
gory.
Stiller was consider-
ably quieter and reflective
in person than in charac-
ter — although just as
funny. The son of a bus
driver and a housewife,
Stiller grew up in Depres-
sion-era Brooklyn. His
inspiration to enter show
business came at age 8,
when his father took him
to see the Marx Brothers ing on “The Ed Sullivan
in the comedy classic “A Show” and working night-
Night at the Opera.” clubs nationwide.
Years later, Stiller The pair also wrote
met Groucho Marx and and performed radio
thanked him. commercials, most mem-
Stiller earned a dra- orably a series of bits for
ma degree at Syracuse a little-known wine called
University after serv- Blue Nun. The duo’s ads
ing in World War II, and boosted sales by 500%.
then headed to New York Ben Stiller recalled trips
City to launch his career. with his sister to Cali-
There was a brief involve- fornia when his parents
ment in Shakespearean would head west to do
theater, including a $55 a television appearances.
week job with Jack Klug- The couple went on to
man in “Coriolanus.” appear as a team in doz-
But his life and ca- ens of film, stage and tele-
reer took off after he met vision productions. One
Meara in spring 1953. of them was “After-Play,”
They were married that a 1995 off-Broadway show
fall. written by Meara.
The seemingly mis- Stiller joined “Sein-
matched pair — he a feld” in 1993, and moved
short, stocky Jewish guy on to “King of Queens”
from Brooklyn, she a when the other Jerry &
tall, Irish Catholic from company went off the air
the Long Island suburbs in 1998. He also appeared
— shared an immediate in Ben Stiller’s spoof on
onstage chemistry, too. modeling, “Zoolander,”
They were soon appear- released in 2001.

COMMERCIAL DISPATCH
OBITUARY POLICY
Obituaries with basic informa-
tion including visitation and
service times, are provided free
of charge. Extended obituaries
with a photograph, detailed
biographical information and
other details families may wish
to include, are available for a
fee. Obituaries must be sub-
mitted through funeral homes
unless the deceased’s body has
been donated to science. If the
deceased’s body was donated
to science, the family must
provide official proof of death.
Please submit all obituaries on
the form provided by The Com-
mercial Dispatch. Free notices
must be submitted to the news-
paper no later than 3 p.m. the
day prior for publication Tuesday
through Friday; no later than 4
p.m. Saturday for the Sunday
edition; and no later than 7:30
a.m. for the Monday edition.
Incomplete notices must be
received no later than 7:30 a.m.
for the Monday through Friday
editions. Paid notices must be
finalized by 3 p.m. for inclusion
the next day Monday through
Thursday; and on Friday by 3
p.m. for Sunday and Monday
publication. For more informa-
tion, call 662-328-2471.
Lonnie Gordon
VERNON, Ala. —
Lonnie Ross Gordon,
78, died May 8, 2020, at
his residence.
AREA OBITUARIES
Family visitation her residence.
is at 2 p.m. today at Arrangements are
Dowdle Funeral with incomplete and will be
Terry Robinson offici- announced by Memori-
ating. Burial will follow al Gunter Peel Funeral
at Shiloh Cemetery. Home and Crematory,
Dowdle Funeral Home College Street location.
of Millport is in charge
of arrangements.
Mr. Gordon was born
Oct. 16, 1941, in Lamar
County, to the late
Duff Clyde Gordon and
Kittie Nabors. He was
formerly employed with
Fayette Cotton Mill/
Fruit of the Loom Co.
In addition to his par-
ents, he was preceded
in death by his sisters,
Billie Jean Robinson
and Kathleen Cun-
ningham; and brother,
Cleon Gordon.
He is survived by his
wife, Linda; daughters, Barbara Wilbur
Incomplete
Kittie Duncan, Deidra College St. Location
Gilliland, and Jenni-
fer Vann; son, Daren
Gordon; brothers,
Dennis Gordon and
Roland Gordon; seven
grandchildren; and four
great-grandchildren.
Barbara Wilbur memorialgunterpeel.com
COLUMBUS — Bar-
bara Rice Wilbur, 78,
died May 10, 2020, at

Send in your church event!

Email editorialassistant@cdispatch.com
Subject: Religious brief
Classifieds
Employment
Call us: 662-328-2424
Customer Service
LOCAL LAW FIRM is seek-
ing Receptionist/Secretary.
Previous experience
helpful but not necessary.
Computer skills a must.
Email resume to:
job109@cdispatch.com
General Help Wanted
FULL TIME Experienced
Heavy Equipment Operator.
3 years minimum experi-
ence needed with front end
loader, dozer, excavator,
and off-road haul truck.
Must be able to pass a
drug screen and a back-
ground check. Must be
able to legally work in the
United States. Apply in per-
son at Bacco Materials,
Inc., 1771 Stinson Creek
Road, Columbus, MS
39705. No phone calls.
CALEDONIA BUSINESS
needs General Laborer.
Valid driver's license,
transportation & experi-
ence helpful. Will train on
the job if needed. Call
Jesse & Beverly's Lawn
Service at 662-356-6525.
THE COMMERCIAL
DISPATCH seeks a motiv-
ated, contracted carrier for
the Brooksville & Macon
area. Excellent opportunity
to earn money for college.
Must have good transporta-
tion, valid driver's license
& insurance. Delivers on
Sunday morning and Mon-
Fri afternoons. Apply at The
Commercial Dispatch, 516
Main Street in Columbus.
No phone calls please.
Medical / Dental
Clinical Medical Assistant
We are looking for a Clinic-
al Medical Assistant for our
fast paced OB/GYN office
in Columbus, MS. Experi-
ence as a medical assist-
ant in an OB/GYN setting
or other clinical medical
setting is required. Re-
sponsibilities will include
patient care and office sup-
port. Full job description
will be discussed at the
time of interview. This is a
part-time or full-time posi-
tion. Availability needed
Monday-Friday. Benefits
offered for full-time posi-
tion after waiting period.
Email resume to
job108@cdispatch.com
Real Estate
REAL ESTATE office needs
Administrative Office
Assistant to work 35 hours
weekly, M-F. Must possess:
organizational skills with
attention to detail; com-
puter skills including
Microsoft office, Excel,
Outlook & QuickBooks; pro-
fessional and courteous
communication skills with
clients, public & co-work-
ers. Send resume' to
Blind Box 674 c/o The Commercial Property For Rent
Commercial Dispatch,
P. O. Box 511, FOR RENT LOCATED NEAR
Columbus, MS 39703. DOWNTOWN. 3,000 sq. ft.
truck terminal, 9,500 sq.
ft. shop & 3,200 sq. ft.
Read local. office/shop. Buildings can
be rented together or
separately. All w/ excellent
cdispatch.com access & Hwy. 82 visibility.
662−327−9559.
Looking for goods
or services?
Find it in classifieds
662-328-2424
Just a click
away!
One call will bring you results.
Mobile Homes for Rent
Rentals 4BR/2BA MH w/ private
setting & 1.5 acres in
Caledonia. Covered back
Ads starting at $25 porch. No pets, no smok−
ing. Call 662−352−3205,
Apts For Rent: West leave msg if no answer.
VIP
RENT A CAMPER!
CHEAPER THAN A MOTEL!
Rentals
Utilities & cable included,
from $145/wk − $535/mo
Columbus & County School
Apartments & Houses locations. 662−242−7653
or 205−442−2011.
1 Bedrooms
2 Bedroooms
3 Bedrooms
RV/MOBILE HOME SITE
East or West Columbus or
Furnished & Unfurnished
near CAFB, Caledonia
schools. 601−940−1397.
1, 2, & 3 Baths Office Spaces For Rent
Lease, Deposit OFFICE SPACE FOR
& Credit Check
LEASE. 1112 Main St.,
Ste. 5. 3700 sq. ft.
viceinvestments.com
327-8555
Plenty of private parking.
662−327−9559.
Real Estate
Apts For Rent: Caledonia
2 BR, 1 BA w/ W/D
connections. Application
Fee, Background and Credit Ads starting at $25
Checks required. $500.00
662−436−2255 Lots & Acreage
Apts For Rent: Other 1.75 ACRE LOTS.
Good/Bad Credit Options.
1ST MONTH − RENT FREE! Good credit as low as 10%
1−2 BR Apt: $350−435 down, $299/mo. Eaton
1−2BR TwnHm: $625−650 Land, 662−361−7711.
Lease, Dep, Credit Check.
Coleman Realty
Garage Sales
662−329−2323
Two free signs
Estate Sales
ESTATE SALE
116 GARDENIA DR.
Thur/Fri/Sat/Sun, 7a−5p.
Furniture, appliances, etc.
337−766−1363 for info.
Garage Sales: New Hope
2212 New Hope Rd.
Tables, clothes, chairs,
etc. 662−370−9356.
Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon, 6a−6p.
Merchandise
Ads starting at $12
COLEMAN Bargain Column
RENTALS Drill bit set. 19 bits by
TOWNHOUSES & APARTMENTS
Irwin. $8. 662−244−5861.
1 BEDROOM
2 BEDROOMS Fire Place tools, never
3 BEDROOMS
used. Poker, Shovel and
broom. Black in color, $8.
662−244−5861.
LEASE,
© The Dispatch
DEPOSIT
Turquoise Ring, Size 10,
AND Large green stone, Sterling
CREDIT CHECK Silver .925 stamped.
Never worn. $11.
662-329-2323 662−244−5861.
Farm Equipment & Supplies
2411 HWY 45 N
COLUMBUS, MS JOHN DEERE MODEL M
TRACTOR. A set of one row
cultivators w/ hydraulic lift,
has been repainted, looks
good & runs good, $3500.
Call 662−436−2037.
General Merchandise
2018 40FT Gooseneck
Trailer w/ 5ft dovetail, 12
ton axles, 10−4inch straps
& tarps. $8,500. 662−251
−3001.
ads.cdispatch.com
ads.cdispatch.com
Ads appear in The Commercial Dispatch,
The Starkville Dispatch and Online
To place ads starting at only $12,
call 662-328-2424 or visit ads.cdispatch.com
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n MONDAY, MAY 11, 2020 n 5B
General Merchandise Motorcycles & ATVs Pets
WANTED FREON R12.
We pay CA$H.
1993 KAWASAKI
VOYAGER XII Only 25,500
Community Akc German Shepards
Puppies ready for pick up
R12 R500 R11. miles. Runs & looks good. June 30th, with papers and
Convenient. No problems. $3000 OBO. Ads starting at $12 1st shots, great with
Certified professionals. Can be seen local. children, good protection!
312−291−9169 501−545−7750. Travel & Entertainment $500.00 662−341−0862
RefrigerantFinders.com/ad
Five Questions:
PUBLIC CATFISH POND
WHITE POSTER BOARD
Shop @ 130 Hillcrest Drive.
24"x23" Open Tues−Sat, 7a−5p
Classifieds
Appointment Only, call
1 “Iron Chef”
$0.50 each
100 in stock 662−386−8591
Visit 516 Main Street
or call 662−328−2424
2 Bill Clinton &
GOT A Andrew Johnson
Vehicles
CLUNKER?
3 Lance Bass
Ads starting at $12
Campers & RVs
Find a new ride 4 Bill Clinton
2012 JAYCO EAGLE 5th
with The Dispatch
WHEEL, 39ft, 4 slide−outs.
2BR, 48" TV & 27" TV. Classifieds
$26,500. 662−386−9605.
5 Slice
General Help Wanted
Classes / Training Insurance Services-General
COMPUTER and IT TRAINING PRO- DENTAL INSURANCE from Physicians DISH NETWORK. $59.99 for 190
GRAM! Train ONLINE to get the skills to Mutual Insurance Company. Coverage Channels! Blazing Fast Internet,
become a Computer and Help Desk for (350) procedures. Real dental insur- $19.99/mo. (where available.) Switch &
Professional now! Now offering a ance - NOT just a discount plan. (Don’t Get a FREE $100 Visa Gift Card. FREE
$10,000 scholarship qualified applicants. wait!) Call now! Get your FREE Dental Voice Remote. FREE HD DVR. FREE
Call CTI for details! 833-992-0228 (M-F Information Kit with all the details! Streaming on ALL Devices. Call today! 1-
8am-6pm ET) 1 - 8 5 5 - 3 9 7 - 7 0 4 5 877-628-3143
EARN YOUR HOSPITALITY DEGREE www.dental50plus.com/mspress #6258
ONLINE! Earn your Associates Degree UP TO $15,000.00 of GUARANTEED Services-Legal
ONLINE with CTI! Great career advance- Life Insurance! No medical exam or DENIED SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILI-
ment with the right credentials! Learn health questions. Cash to help pay funer- TY? Appeal! If you're 50+, filed for SSD
who's hiring! Call 833-992-0228. (M-F al and other final expenses.Call and denied, our attorneys can help get
8am-6pm ET) Physicians Life Insurance Company- 844- you approved! No money out of pocket!
PHARMACY TECHNICIAN TRAINING 439-8447 or visit Call 601-203-3826
PROGRAMS From Ultimate Medical www.Life55plus.info/ms
Academy Offer Quality Healthcare
Medical Supplies
Education to Students 100% online.-
Ultimate Medical Academy: 1-866-664- ATTENTION DIABETICS! Save money
4140 on your diabetic supplies! Convenient
TRAIN ONLINE TO DO MEDICAL home shipping for monitors, test strips,
BILLING! Become a Medical Office insulin pumps, catheters and more! To
Professional online at CTI! Get Trained, learn more, call now! 877-368-0628
Certified & ready to work in months! Call VIAGRA and CIALIS USERS! 50 Pills
833-992-0228. (M-F 8am-6pm ET) SPECIAL $99.00 FREE Shipping! 100%
guaranteed. CALL NOW! 844-821-3242
For Sale
Miscellaneous
CHURCH FURNITURE - FACTORY
DIRECT! Custom built, pews and pulpit DONATE YOUR CAR TO CHARITY.
furniture and cushions for hard pews. Receive maximum value of write off for
Factory Direct to you. Call for quote. 1- your taxes. Running or not! All condi-
800-231-8360. www.pews1.com tions accepted. Free pickup. Call for Place Your Classified Ad
ENJOY 100% Perfectly Tender and details. 855-400-8263 STATEWIDE
Guaranteed! 20 Main Courses PLUS STATEWIDE CLASSIFIED ADVERTIS-
get 4 FREE Burgers. Order The Butcher’s ING available in over 90 newspapers. STATEWIDE RATES:
Bundle - ONLY $69.99. Call 1-855-398- Call 601-981-3060 to place your adver- Up to 25 words...........$210
5977, mention code: 61086LDF or visit tising order. 1 col. x 2 inch.............$525
www.omahasteaks.com/dinner192 1 col. x 3 inch.............$785
GENERAC STANDBY GENERATORS. Services-General 1 col. x 4 inch...........$1050
The weather is increasingly unpredictable. DIRECTV - Switch and Save!
Be prepared for power outages. FREE 7- $39.99/month. Select All-Included Nationwide Placement
year extended warranty ($695 value). Available
Package. 155 Channels. 1000s of
Schedule your in-home assessment today. Shows/Movies On Demand. FREE Genie Call MS Press Services
Call 1-844-316-8630. Special financing HD DVR Upgrade. Premium movie chan- 601-981-3060
for qualified customers. nels, FREE for 3 mos! Call 1-855-978-
3110
Week of May 10, 2020
Service Directory
Promote your small business starting at only $25
Carpet & Flooring General Services General Services Lawn Care / Landscaping
A & T TREE SERVICES HILL’S PRESSURE JESSE & BEVERLY’S
Bucket truck & stump WASHING. Commercial/ LAWN SERVICE
removal. Free est. Residential. House, Mowing, cleanup,
Serving Columbus concrete, sidewalks & landscaping, sodding,
since 1987. Senior mobile washing. Free est. & tree cutting.
citizen disc. Call Alvin @ 662−386−8925. 662−356−6525
242−0324/241−4447
"We’ll go out on a limb for SAM’S LAWN SERVICE
you!" CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY
$545 plus Filing Fee No lawn too large or too
small. Mowing, trimming &
DAVID’S CARPET & CHAPTER 13 BANKRUPTCY weedeating.
UPHOLSTERY DUMP TRUCK HAULING. All Attorney Fees Through The Plan
Slag − $400 Call 662−243−1694
CLEANING AND Jim Arnold, Attorney
DISINFECTING 1 Room Clay Gravel − $250 Painting & Papering
− $50 Driveway & Trailer Park 662-324-1666 • 601-656-6914
2 Rooms − $70 Grating. Columbus. Call 104 South Lafayette Street, Starkville Lloyd’s Painting
3+ Rooms − $30 EA Walter, 662−251−8664. For All Your Residential
Rugs−Must Be Seen SKILLED CRAFTSMAN. Interior & Exterior
Car Upholstery WORK WANTED: Any kind of work! We can Painting Needs,
Cleaning Available Licensed & Bonded. build, paint, drywall, clean Call Shelby Lloyd.
662−722−1758 Carpentry, minor electrical, & cut grass. Reasonable 662−836−6016
minor plumbing, insulation, rates. Safe & Reliable.
painting, demolition, 662−386−3658. SULLIVAN’S PAINT
Got leaky pipes? gutters cleaned, pressure SERVICE
Find a plumber in the
classifieds.
washing, landscaping,
cleanup work, moving help.
Are you a painter? Special Prices.
Interior & Exterior Painting.
662−242−3608. Advertise here! 662−435−6528
662-328-2424
6B MONDAY, MAY 11, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com