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Wednesday | November 4, 2020

Presidential election hinges on tight races

Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania could
prove crucial in determining who wins
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The fate
of the United States presidency
hung in the balance Wednesday
morning, as President Donald
Trump and Democratic chal-
lenger Joe Biden battled for
three familiar battleground
states — Wisconsin, Michigan
and Pennsylvania — that could
prove crucial in determining
who wins the White House.
It was unclear when or how
quickly a winner could be de-
termined. A late burst of votes
in Michigan and Wisconsin
gave Biden a small lead in those
states, but it was still too early
to call the race. Hundreds of
thousands of votes were also
outstanding in Pennsylvania.
The high stakes election
was held against the backdrop
Trump Biden
of a historic pandemic that has
killed more than 230,000 Amer-
icans and wiped away millions
of jobs. Both candidates spent
months pressing dramatically
different visions for the nation’s
future and voters responded in
huge numbers, with more than
100 million people casting votes
ahead of Election Day.
But the margins were ex-
ceedingly tight, with the can-
didates trading wins in bat-
tleground states across the
country. Trump picked up Flor-
ida, the largest of the swing
states, while Biden flipped Ar-
izona, a state that has reliably
voted Republican in recent elec-
tions. Neither cleared the 270
Electoral College votes needed
to carry the White House.
Trump, in an extraordinary
move from the White House,
issued premature claims of vic-
tory and said he would take the
election to the Supreme Court
to stop the counting. It was un-
clear exactly what legal action
he might try to pursue.
Biden, briefly appearing in
front of supporters in Delaware,
urged patience, saying the elec-
tion “ain’t over until every vote
is counted, every ballot is count-
ed.”
“It’s not my place or Donald
See PRESIDENCY, 8A

Sen. Cindy ‘It feels historic’

Hyde-Smith Despite long lines, pandemic safety measures,
reelected locals report steady voting process
Reps. Kelly and Guest
easily win re-election;
all initiatives pass
BY EMILY WAGSTER PET TUS
The Associated Press

JACKSON — Re-
publican U.S. Sen.
Cindy Hyde-Smith
has been re-elected
in Mississippi, defeat-
ing Democrat Mike
Espy in a repeat of a
2018 special election.
Hyde-Smith, 61, Hyde-Smith
presented herself as INSIDE
a loyalist to Presi- n FLAG: New
dent Donald Trump, state flag
while Espy said Re- approved.
publican policies Page 2A
have failed to help n OUR VIEW:
Tuesday’s
many Mississippi- election shows
ans, particularly there’s a pro-
those who need gressive streak
health care. even in deep
red Mississippi.
“The only thing
Page 6A
better than beating
Mike Espy is to beat
him twice,” Hyde-Smith told cheer-
ing supporters at her victory party
Tess Vrbin/Dispatch Staff
See HYDE-SMITH, 3A Citizens line up outside the Central Oktibbeha Fire Department in Longview to vote Tuesday afternoon. Poll workers and long-
time area voters both said the turnout was higher than they had ever seen before.

BY ISABELLE ALTMAN waited in line outside New

AND TESS VRBIN Hope Community Center was

Golden Triangle
ialtman@cdispatch.com, shorter than they’d expected,
tvrbin@cdispatch.com
they said. Once they made it

voters pull for Shortly after the polling into the building, they quick-
precinct in downtown Colum- ly received their pens, signed
bus opened at 7 a.m. Tuesday, in and were directed to the
Espy, new flag and the line of voters was already
out the door.
voting machines to cast their
ballots.

medical marijuana Poll workers described a

steady stream of voters, even
during a lunch lull, with more
Trump wins Lowndes; than 300 ballots cast by 11:40
a.m. By 3 p.m. it was nearly
Biden preferred in 450, not including a handful
of affidavits and curbside
Oktibbeha, Clay, votes.
Ada Irions, who has
Noxubee counties worked at polling precincts
in Columbus for 30 years and
DISPATCH STAFF REPORT
five presidents, said she had
never seen a crowd quite like
Voters in the Golden Triangle Tuesday.
area turned out overwhelmingly in “This is the biggest one,”
support of ballot initiatives legaliz- she said. “When we got
ing medical marijuana and approv- Barack Obama (in 2008), it
See LOCAL RESULTS, 8A was a crowd. But not like this
“I think they’ve done a
great job,” said Teresa, while
Scott added he thought the
stylus on the ends of the pens
were “a good touch.”
Isabelle Altman/Dispatch Staff
Poll worker Connie Floyd hands pens saying “I voted” to
During the pandemic, the
country experienced huge
voters waiting in line outside Caledonia Community Center on
Tuesday. The pens had a stylus on the end voters could use
turnout for the presidential
election, with more than 100
to cast their ballots instead of touching the screen. million ballots being cast
particular crowd. ... It’s dif- workers who showed them through early and absentee
ferent this time.” how to use the stylus end to voting alone. In Mississippi,
In New Hope and Caledo- cast their ballots on the vot- also deciding on a new state
nia, some voters waited in ing machines’ touchscreen, flag, a medical marijuana ini-
lines outside the precincts to help curb the spread of tiative and several Congres-
for several minutes, chatting COVID-19. sional races, most voters The
with friends or neighbors and But the 10 minutes that Dispatch talked to said they
taking pens from masked poll Scott and Teresa McGregor See VOTING, 8A

WEATHER FIVE QUESTIONS CALENDAR LOCAL FOLKS PUBLIC

Dunk Townsend
Fourth grade, Heritage
1 What two states include land purchased Thursday through Saturday MEETINGS
from Mexico in the 1854 Gadsden Purchase? ■ Art ’n Antiques Show and Sale:
Nov. 10:
2 What light-creating spell is also the name Starkville-Oktib-
of J.K. Rowling’s charity for children?? Columbus Cultural Heritage Foundation
beha Consoli-
3 What company, with headquarters in Cali- presents decorative arts and antiques at
dated School
fornia and a launch facility at Cape Canaveral the Rosenzweig Arts Center, 501 Main
in Florida, came from an idea of Elon Musk’s St. Complimentary wine and cheese District Board of
called Mars Oasis? preview party Nov. 5, 5:30-7:30 p.m.; Trustees meet-
4 The Chinese Grand Master of what tradi- antiques show and sale Nov. 6 10 a.m.- ing, 6 p.m., 401
tional board game was defeated by a Google 5 p.m., Nov. 7 10 a.m.-4 p.m. For com- Greensboro St.

72 Low 44
artificial intelligence program in 2017?
plimentary tickets, go to visitcolumbus@ Nov. 13:
High 5 What news outlet dropped its slogan, “Fair
and Balanced,” in 2017? visitcolumbusms.org, 662-329-1191. Starkville Board
Sunny
Answers, 7B of Aldermen
Full forecast on
page 3A. Friday through Sunday work session,
10 a.m., City
■ Downtown Christmas Open House:
Participating downtown Columbus Hall
INSIDE merchants offer promotions and a Nov. 17:
grand prize drawing during this holiday Starkville Board
Classifieds 7B Food 5B
Comics 4B Obituaries 4A shopping weekend, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. Aileen Loggins, of Eupora, works of Aldermen
Crossword 3B Opinions 6A 6-7; 1-5 p.m. Nov. 8 (select stores only). at the Sunflower grocery store on meeting, 5:30
Dear Abby 4B Main Street Columbus, 662-328-6305. Military Road in Columbus. p.m., City Hall

DISPATCH CUSTOMER SERVICE 328-2424 | NEWSROOM 328-2471

2A WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Mississippi approves flag with magnolia, ‘In God We Trust’

State has been without a flag since late legislators surrendered the last
state banner in the U.S. that in-
Confederate-themed flag in
1894 amid backlash to power
“If you try to erase history,
you’re doomed to repeat it,” said
June, when legislators surrendered the last cluded the Confederate battle Black people gained during Re- Routh, 50, a bank employee.
emblem — a red field topped construction. Joan Martin, 79, a retired
state banner in the U.S. that included the by a blue X with 13 white stars. Angela Reginal, 53, of Pearl, registered nurse from Pica-
The rebel flag has been used said she voted for the new de- yune, said she voted for the new
Confederate battle emblem by Ku Klux Klan groups and is sign. Reginal, who is Black, said flag because “I didn’t have any
widely condemned as racist. the Confederate-themed old choice.
BY EMILY WAGSTER PET TUS only design on the general The new Mississippi flag flag was “part of history,” and “There was just the one thing
The Associated Press election ballot, and voters were has the state flower on a dark although she said it never both- and I thought it looked pretty
asked to say yes or no. A major- blue background with red bars ered her, she believed it needed and it said ‘In God We Trust,’ so
JACKSON — Mississippi
ity said yes. on either end. The magnolia is to be changed. I voted yes on it,” said Martin,
will fly a new state flag with a
Legislators will have to put encircled by stars representing “For me, if it offends my who is white.
magnolia and the phrase “In
God We Trust,” with voters ap- the design into law, but they Mississippi as the 20th state. brother, I think it needs to be The law retiring the old flag
proving the design Tuesday. It are expected to do that with The flag also has a single star changed,” said Reginal, who specified that the new one could
replaces a Confederate-themed little fuss because they already made of diamond shapes rep- works in the office of a home not include the Confederate bat-
flag state lawmakers retired did the hard work of retiring a resenting the Native American health agency. tle emblem and must have “In
months ago as part of the na- flag that some people wanted to people who lived on the land be- A white voter at the same God We Trust.” Requiring the
tional reckoning over racial in- keep. fore others arrived. precinct in Pearl, Beki Routh, religious phrase helped per-
justice. Mississippi has been with- White supremacists in the said she voted for the new flag suade some conservative legis-
The magnolia flag was the out a flag since late June, when state Legislature adopted the but wanted to keep the old one. lators to let go of the old flag.

Democrats losing paths to Senate

control as Republicans hang on
The races attracted an unprecedented outpouring of including the Cabinet,
and can propel or stall
small-dollar donations from Americans apparently voting the White House agenda.
With Republicans now
with their pocketbooks to propel long-shot campaigns controlling the chamber,
53-47, three or four seats
BY LISA MASCARO AND they suffered a setback the COVID-19 crisis, its will determine party con-
MARY CLARE JALONICK in Alabama, and Republi- economic fallout and the trol, depending on who
The Associated Press wins the presidency be-
cans held their own in one nation’s uneasy mood all
race after another — in seemed to be on the bal- cause the vice president
WASHINGTON — can break a tie in the Sen-
South Carolina, Iowa, Tex- lot.
Hopes fading for Senate ate.
control, Democrats had as, Kansas and Montana, Voters ranked the pan-
dramatically limiting the demic and the economy as Democrats contested
a disappointing election seats from New England
night as Republicans places where Democrats top concerns, according
hoped to make inroads. to AP VoteCast, a national to the Deep South and the
swatted down an on-
“You wasted a lot of survey of the electorate. Midwest to the Mountain
slaught of challengers
money,” said White House “It’s time for a different West, reaching deep into
and fought to retain their
ally Sen. Lindsey Gra- approach,” said Democrat GOP strongholds. But by
fragile majority. Several
early Wednesday, the tal-

races remained undecid-
ed into Wednesday and at
least one headed to a run-
off in January.
It was a jarring out-
come for Democrats who
had devised an expanded
political map, eager to pro-
vide a backstop against
Log on.
ham in Columbia, South John Hickenlooper, a for-
Carolina, after defeating mer governor who unseat- ly was not too different
Jamie Harrison, despite ed Republican Sen. Cory from before Election Day.
the Democrat’s stunning Gardner in Colorado, The Democrats’ gains
were in Colorado and Ar-
$100 million haul for his during a live video mes-
izona, where former as-
upstart campaign. “This sage posted on Facebook.
tronaut Mark Kelly beat
is the worst return on in- Yet voters, for the most
GOP incumbent Martha
vestment in the history of part, stuck with the status
McSally. But they couldn’t
American politics.” quo.
hold on in Alabama: For-

www.cdispatch.com
President Donald Trump Trump loomed large Securing the Senate mer college football coach
and his party’s grip on over the Senate races as majority will be vital for Tommy Tuberville defeat-
the Senate. The races at- did Democratic rival Joe the winner of the presi- ed Sen. Doug Jones.
tracted an unprecedented Biden. The Trump ad- dency. Senators confirm
outpouring of small-dol- ministration’s handling of administration nominees,
lar donations from Amer-
icans apparently voting
with their pocketbooks
to propel long-shot cam-
paigns.
The voters’ choices
will force a rethinking of
Democratic Party strat-
egy, messaging and ap-
proach from the Trump
era.
While Democrats
picked up must-win seats
in Colorado and Arizona,

FBI investigates
robocalls
warning voters
to ‘stay home’
BY DAVID KLEPPER
AND JOHN FLESHER
The Associated Press

TRAVERSE CITY,
Michigan — Voters across
the U.S. received anony-
mous robocalls in the days
and weeks before Elec-
tion Day urging them to
“stay safe and stay home”
— an ominous warning
that election experts said
could be an effort to scare
voters into sitting out the
election.
The FBI is investi-
gating calls that seek to
discourage people from
voting, a senior official at
the Department of Home-
land Security told report-
ers Tuesday. Authorities
wouldn’t offer details.
The brief calls, which
featured a computerized
female voice, made no
mention of the election.
But given the lack of de-
tails, and the timing, the
message was clear, ac-
cording to Dan Doughty,
a Kansas City resident
who received the robocall
Tuesday morning.
“It felt like voter sup-
pression,” Doughty told
The Associated Press. “It
was even so vague that
whoever did it could say it
was about COVID.”
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2020 3A

Aldermen vote to compensate

employees who took pay cuts
City extends mask mandate for 30 more days
BY ZACK PLAIR
zplair@cdispatch.com
Starkville alder-
men approved a mea-
sure Tuesday that will
“make whole” city
officials and employ-
ees who took pay or
hour cuts for nearly
two months earlier
this year due to the Spruill
COVID-19 pandemic.
Anticipating a drastic shortfall
in sales tax revenue because of
measures to mitigate spreading the
virus — including a lockdown that
temporarily closed several busi-
nesses — the city on April 24 insti-
tuted a 20-percent pay or hour cut
for department heads, aldermen,
the mayor and other employees who
did not qualify for unemployment
relief. Those wages were restored to
their regular rate as of July 16. Since
sales tax collections were down only
a fraction of worst-case estimates,
now those employees and officials
will see a 20-percent increase on
their paychecks for the same num-
ber of pay periods they were cut to
make up for the wages they lost.
The boon will cost the city
$56,279.12, according to a docu-
ment in the e-packet for Tuesday
evening’s meeting, with portions
coming from the general, sanitation
and utilities funds.
“I think it was incredibly import-
ant to make those people whole,”
Mayor Lynn Spruill told The Dis-
patch before Tuesday’s meeting. “It
was a matter of fairness and equity,
since we have the capability to do
it.”
Aldermen discussed the mea-
sure at its Friday morning work ses-
sion, agreeing to place it on Tues-
day’s consent agenda, meaning it
could pass without discussion. Still,
Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver, one
of four aldermen who joined Tues-
day’s meeting via Zoom, made note
he thought it was the “noble and
right thing to do.”
City officials projected in April
that sales tax revenue could fall
short of Fiscal Year 2020 budget
expectations by as much as $1.3
million. That caused aldermen to
implement the pay cuts, as well as
furlough 47 other employees who
did qualify for unemployment relief.
Those furloughed employees,
Spruill said, are not included in the
compensation make-up measure
because their increased unemploy-
ment benefits paid many of them
more than they made while they
were working.
But Ward 2 Alderman Sandra
Sistrunk, who chairs the city’s
budget committee, said the short-
fall through Sept. 30 — the end of
the fiscal year — only amounted to
about $130,000. She credited feder-
al stimulus programs and increased
amounts of unemployment protec-
tion for helping preserve the over-
all economic picture. However, she
noted some businesses were more
negatively affected than others.
“As we were making those adjust-
ments in April, we were in lockdown
… not sure what was going to hap-
pen,” Sistrunk told The Dispatch
after Tuesday’s meeting. “What I
think happened is people shifted
where they spent their money —
shopping at grocery stores instead
of eating out as much (for example).
There’s no doubt some of our busi-
nesses suffered greatly.”
Both Sistrunk and Spruill said
the last two months of sales tax
collections actually outpaced the
same months of 2019, though food
and beverage tax revenue is still
lagging. Sistrunk expects the sales
tax report in November — which
will reflect September sales — to be
down because of the delayed start
to Southeastern Conference football
season, which normally would have
brought fans to Mississippi State for
several weekends.
In other business, the city ex-
tended its mask-wearing mandate
for 30 more days.

Mississippi voters approve medical marijuana

BY LEAH WILLINGHAM
The Associated Press/Report for
America
JACKSON — Voters
approved the legalization
of medical marijuana in
Mississippi, choosing to
adopt the less restrictive
of two medical marijuana
ballot measures.
Initiative 65 amends
the Mississippi Constitu-
tion to allow the prescrip-
tion by a doctor of up to
5 ounces (142 grams) of
marijuana per month for
people who suffer from
more than 20 medical
conditions.
The Mississippi De-
partment of Health will
issue a medical marijua-
na identification card
that would allow patients
to obtain medical mar-
ijuana from a licensed
treatment center. Mari-
juana sales can be taxed
at the current state sales
tax rate of 7 percent.
More than 100,000
people signed petitions
to put Initiative 65 on
the ballot. Voters had to
choose between Initia-
tive 65 and another med-
ical marijuana measure,
Alternative 65A, which
was a more restrictive
policy.

Hyde-Smith
Continued from Page 1A
in Jackson.
Hyde-Smith is the
only woman to have rep-
resented Mississippi in
the House or Senate. She
did not accept debate in-
vitations this year, draw-
ing criticism from Espy.
Hyde-Smith’s campaign
tweeted “100 Accom-
plishments in 100 days,”
emphasizing her support
of agriculture, efforts to
bring federal money to
the state and opposition
to abortion.
Espy, 66, is a former
U.S. agriculture secretary
and was trying to become
the state’s first Black sen-
ator since Reconstruction.
Jimmy L. Edwards, a
Libertarian candidate was
also in the Senate race
and ran a low-budget cam-
paign.
Justices Josiah Dennis
Coleman, Mike Randolph
and Leslie King were
re-elected to the state
Supreme Court. Yet to be
decided is one Supreme
Court race between Jus-
tice Kenny Griffis and
Court of Appeals Judge
Latrice Westbrooks, who
would be the first Black
woman on the Mississippi
Supreme Court.
Ballot Measure 2 —
House Concurrent
Resolution No. 47
Mississippi voters have
voted in favor of eliminat-
ing a Reconstruction-era
electoral college provi-
sion in races for governor
and other statewide offic-
es.
The Mississippi Con-
stitution currently re-
quires a statewide can-
didate to win a majority
of the popular vote and a
majority of the electoral
vote. One electoral vote
goes to the candidate re-
ceiving the most support
in each of the 122 state
House districts. If nobody
wins both the popular
vote and the electoral
vote, the race is decided
by the state House. But
representatives are not
obligated to vote as their
districts did.
Mississippi is the only
state with the multistep
process for electing a gov-
ernor. The process was
written when white poli-
ticians across the South
were enacting laws to
erase Black political pow-
er gained during Recon-
struction. The separate
House vote was promot-
ed as a way for the white
ruling class have the final
say in who holds office.
Black plaintiffs sued
the state over its electoral
process last year.
A medical marijuana
initiative and the pro-
posed design for a new
state flag both earned
voter approval as well on
Tuesday.

All four Mississippi

House members re-
elected
Two Republicans
— Trent Kelly and Mi-
chael Guest — and the
state federal delegation’s
sole Democrat, Bennie
Thompson, all bested
challengers on Election
Day. Republican Rep.
Steve Palazzo won his
race after running unop-
posed.

CORRECTION
■ In The Dispatch’s
Oct. 23 edition, the story
about the city of Colum-
bus’ debt and credit rating
mistakenly stated the SOLUNAR TABLE
The solunar period indicates

status of the city’s Fiscal

peak-feeding times for fish and game.
Wed. Thur.
Major 3:35a 4:30a
Year 2019 audit report. Minor 8:46p 9:32p
As of Oct. 9, it was under Major
Minor
4:03p
11:30a
4:57p
12:26p
review by the city’s con- Courtesy of Mississippi Department
of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks

tracted auditing firm.

The Commercial
Dispatch strives to report
the news accurately. When
we print an error, we will
correct it. To report an
error, call the newsroom at
662-328-2424, or email
news@cdispatch.com.
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Report a news tip: news@cdispatch.com
4A WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Virus hospitalizations surge as pandemic shadows US election

While daily infections were rising in all but
three states, the surge was most pronounced
in the Midwest and Southwest
BY ALEXANDRA OLSON
The Associated Press
Americans went to the polls
Tuesday under the shadow of
a resurging pandemic, with an
alarming increase in cases na-
tionwide and the number of peo-
ple hospitalized with COVID-19
reaching record highs in a grow-
ing number of states.
While daily infections were
rising in all but three states, the
surge was most pronounced in
the Midwest and Southwest.
Missouri, Oklahoma, Iowa,
Indiana, Nebraska, North Dako-
ta and New Mexico all reported
record high hospitalizations this
week. Nebraska’s largest hos-
pitals started limiting elective
surgeries and looked to bring in
nurses from other states to cope
with the surge. Hospital officials
in Iowa and Missouri warned
bed capacity could soon be over-
whelmed.
The resurgence loomed over
candidates and voters, fearful of
both the virus itself and the eco-
nomic toll of any new shutdowns
to control its spread. The debate
over how far to take economical-
ly costly measures has divided
a country already sharply po-
larized over President Donald
Trump’s turbulent four years in
office.
The pandemic colored who
voters chose at the ballot box
and how they did it. While many
Americans took advantage of ex-
panded access to mail-in voting,
lines were long in many polling
places, with record turnout ex-
pected and reminders of the pan-
demic everywhere.
“It’s very serious that we have
400 people gathered in one space
at the height of the pandemic
here in Wisconsin. So, we’ve tried
to take every measure to limit
the movement throughout the
room,” said Claire Woodall-Vogg,
the election commission director
of the city of Milwaukee, where
poll workers were spread out into
12 different pods to limit contact.

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Monday through Thursday; and
on Friday by 3 p.m. for Sunday
and Monday publication. For
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328-2471.
William Webber
AREA OBITUARIES
was a graduate of Clay
High School of Mont-
pelier and Mississippi
State University. He
was formerly employed
in computer technol-
ogy at Georgia Tech,
Boeing Company, the
announced by Lee- today, at West Memo-
Sykes Funeral Home of rial Funeral Home.
Columbus. West Memorial Funeral
Home of Starkville is
Marcia Foster in charge of arrange-
COLUMBUS — ments.
He is survived by his
Marcia Foster died Oct.
parents, Shenitra Law-
ston and James Suell
both of Starkville; and
siblings, Dru Lawston,
Bryson Lawston both
of Starkville and Tyriq
Scott of Salado, Texas.

wish to include, are available
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Does weather affect the spread of the coronavirus outside?
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Does weather affect
the spread of the corona-
virus outside?
Not really.
The World Health Or-
ganization says the virus
can be transmitted in
any kind of weather and
that there is no reason to
believe that cold weather
can kill it.
The U.N. health agen-
cy says the virus is mainly
spread between people.
Rain and snow might di-
lute any traces of the vi-
rus on benches or other
outside objects, but trans-
mission from surfaces is
not believed to be a major
contributor to the pan-
demic.
WEST POINT —
William Larry Webber,
75, died Oct. 29, 2020,
at North Mississippi
Medical Center of
Tupelo.
Graveside services
will be at 2 p.m. 2020,
Nov. 14, in Cairo
Cumberland Presby-
terian Cemetery, with
Joel Williams officiat-
ing. Calvert Funeral
Home of West Point is
in charge of arrange-
ments.
Mr. Webber was
born July 24, 1945, in
West Point, to the late
Emmett B. and Mary
Thornton Webber. He
er is that lower tempera-
tures are more likely to
keep people indoors —
potentially in more crowd-
ed spaces where the virus
can spread more easily.
Studies have shown
that a significant percent-
age of spread happens
within households when
people are sharing com-
mon areas like kitchens
and bathrooms.
WHO and others have
also warned that in indoor
spaces with poor venti-
lation, transmission hap-
pens more easily because
the virus can be spread
in the air and infectious
particles might remain
suspended in the air for
several hours.
McDonell-Douglas Cor-
poration and Georgia
Department of Natural
Resources.
He is survived by his
sister, Cheryl Gibson of
Dothan, Alabama.
Memorials may be
made to Cairo Cem-
etery Fund, c/o Judy
Chrismond, 23225 Hwy
50 West, West Point,
MS 39773.
George Lee Sr.
COLUMBUS —
George Lee Sr., 69,
died Oct. 31, 2020.
Arrangements are
incomplete and will be
clubs, gyms and even
choir practices. The coro-
navirus does not transmit
as often outdoors because
fresh air disperses the vi-
rus particles and people
are more easily able to
keep their distance from
others. But experts cau-
tion that if people spend
extended periods of time
outdoors close to others
without wearing masks,
coronavirus spread is still
possible.
Health officials say the
best way to stop transmis-
sion of the virus is to wear
a mask in public, stay at
least 6 feet away from peo-
ple not in your household
and frequently wash your
hands.
Renee Kim
31, 2020.
Arrangements are
incomplete and will be
announced by Lee- Renee Kinard Kim, 46, of Columbus, MS
Sykes Funeral Home of passed away Sunday, November 1, 2020.
Columbus.
A private family service will be held at later
date.
Deonte Lawston Mrs. Kim was born on August 28, 1974, in
STARKVILLE — Macon, MS, to Elaine Moore Sigafoose and Gary
E. Kinard. She was a nurse practitioner for many
Deonte Marqueze
years. Mrs. Kim enjoyed spending time with
Lawston, 22, died Oct.
her family, helping others, and loved her dogs-
25, 2020, in Aberdeen.
Cooper and Rosco.
Graveside services
Mrs. Kim is preceded in death by her maternal
will be at 11 a.m.
Thursday, in Memorial grandfather, Walter Beal Moore; and paternal
Garden Park. Visitation grandmother, Mary Alma Vance.
is from noon-6 p.m. Mrs. Kim is survived by her husband, Min
Kim; father, Gary(Molly) Kinard; mother, Elaine
(Kenny) Sigafoose; sons, Shey (Cindy) Vick,
Andrew Kim and Harrison Kim; daughter, Taylor
(Bayleigh) Vick; brothers, Shannon Williams
and Jason Williams; maternal grandmother,
Frances Moore; and a host of aunts, uncles,
nieces, nephews and friends.
Honorary pallbearers will be Dr. Bradley
Brown, Dr. James Woodard, Dr. Mathew Wade,
Dr. John Reed, Shannon Williams, Jason Williams,
Randall Edmonson, Justin Taylor, Robert Oswalt,
Willy Herrick and Sydney Brocksmith.
Memorials may be made to LeBonheur
Children’s Medical Center, P.O. Box 41817,
Memphis, TN 38174-181.
Compliments of
Dorothy Ray Lowndes Funeral Home
Memorial Services:
Saturday, Nov. 7 • 10 AM www.lowndesfuneralhome.net
A private memorial for
family and friends will be
held at Dotorthy’s home.
2nd Ave. N. Location
memorialgunterpeel.com

Shirley Williams
Scientists say the real Superspreader events
concern about cold weath- have been traced to night-

Dorothy Ray
On Thursday, October 29th, 2020, Dorothy
(Dot) Ray passed away at her home surrounded
by family at the age of 87.
Dorothy was born in Macon, Mississippi,
to Maggie and Bennie Gilmore. She settled
in Columbus in 1941. On August 11, 1950, she
married her sweetheart, Lewis Ray. Together
they had a daughter, Dottie, and two sons,
Bennie and Davis. Dorothy enjoyed gardening
and cooking. She loved traveling, decorating, and
spending time with family. She is remembered
most for her love and devotion to her family and
for her strength and courage.
She is preceded in death by her son, Bennie;
her father, Bennie Gilmore; her mother, Maggie
Gilmore; her sisters, Phyllis Martel, Jesta Kade
Billingsley; and her brothers, L.B. Gilmore and
Lloyd Gilmore,
Of her immediate family, she is survived by her
sisters, Polly Owens and Margaret Robinson and
was blessed by the strength and they provided
her all her life. She is also survived by her
daughter and her husband, Dottie and Hubert
Hord of West Point, her daughter-in-law, Barbara
Ray of Columbus, and her son and his partner,
Davis Ray and Andy Seabolt of Atlanta, Georgia.
She is also survived by her granddaughter and
her family, Brittany Weathers, her great-grand-
daughter Kinsley Weathers, and by her grandson
Benjamin Ray.
Family and friends are invited to her home
to gather for a private memorial on Saturday,
November 7th, 2020, at 10 AM.
The family requests no flowers, but
encourages donations to any Alzheimer’s or
Cancer Foundations or charities.
Sign the online guest book at
www.memorialgunterpeel.com
716 Second Avenue North • Columbus, MS
Shirley Ann Williams, 72,
of Columbus, MS passed away
Monday, November 2, 2020, at
her residence.
A visitation will be Thursday,
November 5, 2020, from 12:00
PM – 1:00 PM at Victory
Tabernacle. Funeral service
will follow at 1:00 PM, with
Rev. John Rhodes officiating
and Bro. Granville Wiggins assisting. Interment
will be in Ebenezer Cemetery Fernbank, AL
with Lowndes Funeral Home, Columbus, MS
directing.
Mrs. Williams was born on January 29, 1948,
in Columbus, MS to the late Birdie Adams
Perkins and Ottis Perkins. She attended Victory
Tabernacle Church. Mrs. Williams worked for
J. C. Penneys as a supervisor for many years,
she enjoyed working in the yard and having tea
parties. In addition to her parents, Mrs. Williams
is preceded in death by her husband Teddy “Ted”
Williams.
Mrs. Williams is survived by her sons, Tim
(Ellen) Williams of Columbus, MS and Stephen
(Becky) Williams of Columbus, MS; daughter,
Stephanie (Mark) Matthews of Belton, TX;
grandchildren, Ashley Rea, Kayleigh Rea,
Bradley Rea, Jessica Rea, Landon Matthews,
Treavor Hill, Shea Williams, Raven Ponds and
Brittany Williams; great-grandchildren, Preston
King and Annabell King; sisters, Myra Fry of
Columbus, MS and Annette Colvin of Warren,
AR.
Pallbearers will be Gee Wiggins, Jamie
Perkins, Anthony Gardner, Ricky Gardner,
Jonathan Fry and DJ King.
Honorary pallbearers will be Bradley Rea,
Landon Matthews, Treavor Hill and Preston
King,
Special thanks to Legacy Hospice and Dr.
John Stanback.
Memorials may be made to the donors choice.
Compliments of
Lowndes Funeral Home
www.lowndesfuneralhome.net
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2020 5A

Families, day cares feel strain

of new COVID-19 health rules
Parents, pediatricians and care operators are
finding that the new pandemic-driven rules offer
a much-needed layer of safety but also seem
incompatible with the germy reality of childhood
BY SALLY HO
The Associated Press
SEAT TLE — Joelle Wheatley
hit her pandemic-parenting rock
bottom after her son was sent home
from day care for a second time,
with the sniffles, due to stricter
health guidelines in a symptom-sen-
sitive COVID-19 world.
It was supposed to be Jacob’s
first day back after a stressful 10-
day home quarantine for another
mild symptom that turned out to be
harmless. Frustrated, desperate —
there were no other care options,
and she needed to focus on work
— and certain that the 2-year-old’s
runny nose and cough were also
benign, the Seattle mom defied the
day care’s orders and brought him
back the next day anyway.
“I was just so sure he had a cold,
and that sounds so irresponsible,”
said Wheatley, 43, who works at
an early education nonprofit. “But
I honestly was just in such a low
place.”
As more families make the jump
back to group day care this fall in
an attempt to restart lives and ca-
reers, many parents, pediatricians
and care operators are finding that
new, pandemic-driven rules offer
a much-needed layer of safety but
also seem incompatible with the
germy reality of childhood.
They stem largely from corona-
virus guidelines issued by the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Preven-
tion lowering the fever threshold,
disqualifying even a single bout of
diarrhea or vomiting and making
sniffles suspect in group settings.
But the guidelines don’t take into
account that young children are
prone to catching the common viral
infections that help build up their
immune systems, or that seasonal
allergies, crying, even teething and
normal playground exertion can
prompt a COVID-19-like symptom.
And the price parents and kids
pay for such symptoms — which
could easily signal either a happy,
healthy toddler, or a lurking case of
the disease that has now killed more
than 230,000 people in the U.S. — is
now a dayslong disruption.
That’s a reality Wheatley knows
all too well: Jacob was turned away
again on Day 2 and she then had to
scramble to get him a coronavirus
test and an appointment with a doc-
tor who wrote a note confirming the
boy was virus-free. It took two days
to get Jacob back to preschool, caus-
ing her anxiety about his health and
guilt over neglecting work.
Medical experts acknowledge
the lines are blurry for kids with
symptoms.
The CDC notes on its website
that young children commonly
have up to eight respiratory illness-
es or colds each year as a matter of
course. In its guidelines for K-12
schools, the CDC warns that ex-
cluding children for longer than
“existing” policies over COVID-19
symptoms alone could cause un-
necessary absences.
The American Academy of Pedi-
atrics’ latest child care guidelines
released in October initially didn’t
include congestion, runny nose,
vomiting or diarrhea on its symp-
toms checklist. Following questions
from The Associated Press, the pe-
diatricians’ group updated its rec-
ommendations on Friday to include
those symptoms in alignment with
the CDC, calling it an oversight.
Dr. Elaine Donoghue, who
helped write the pediatricians’ child
care guidelines, said any symptom
must be taken seriously if it looks
even vaguely like COVID-19. While
young children are prone to minor
infections, they now in theory face
less exposure to those milder ill-
nesses due to pandemic-related so-
cial distancing, and that means the
calculus behind assessing symp-
toms changes.
“We should not be expecting
certainty during a pandemic,”
Donoghue said. “This is an uncer-
tain time.”
Considered essential in many
states, day cares are one of the few
services that have remained open
through the pandemic that’s now
stretched nine months and count-
ing in the U.S. Numerous programs
have permanently closed, though
there are signs families are trick-
ling back to preschool.

Midwestern states with few virus rules have low unemployment

The governors say their decisions
not to impose harsher restrictions
are paying off with fewer business
closures and more hiring
BY JOSH FUNK
The Associated Press
OMAHA, Neb. — Five
of the six states with the
nation’s lowest unem-
ployment rates are in the
Midwest, have Republican
governors and have almost
no restrictions intended
to slow the spread of the
coronavirus.
The governors say their
decisions not to impose
harsher restrictions are
paying off with fewer busi-
ness closures and more
hiring reflected in the
strong jobless numbers.
But economists say it’s not
so simple. Although busi-
nesses that are struggling
during the pandemic can
benefit when governors
opt not to require masks or
limit in-door gatherings,
other factors may play an
even bigger role in produc-
ing such low unemploy-
ment rates.
And those same rules
that could initially help the
states’ economies also are
blamed for their leading
the nation in coronavirus
infection rates, raising
questions about whether
their hands-off approach is
sustainable. North Dako-
ta and South Dakota have
the most cases per capita
in the U.S., and Nebraska
and Iowa aren’t far behind.
“If hospitalization and
death rates increase,
then you have a motiva-
tion by politicians to close
the economy down. That
would be very deadly and
push unemployment rates
back up,” said Ernie Goss,
an economist at Creighton
University in Omaha.
For now, though, those
Midwestern states have
a lock atop the unemploy-
ment rankings, far below
the national average rate
for September of 7.9 per-
cent. Nebraska leads the
nation with a 3.5 percent
unemployment rate, fol-
lowed by South Dakota,
Vermont, North Dakota,
Iowa and Missouri.
Most of the Midwestern
governors imposed some
restrictions last spring, but
they were among the first
to ease them, arguing that
spring and imposing a
mask mandate. Vermont
they needed to balance
efforts to slow the virus’
now has one of the nation’s
lowest COVID-19 infec-
spread with the need for a tion rates along with the
robust economy. third-lowest unemploy-
“I’ve got to believe that ment rate.
if you shut down harder,
you’re going to see a more
severe impact to your in-
dustries and the longer
you’re shut down, the hard-
er it’s going to be for those
industries to rebound,” Ne-
braska Gov. Pete Ricketts
told The Associated Press.
Missouri Gov. Mike
Parson, who tested posi-
tive for COVID-19 in Sep-
tember, has touted a bal-
anced approach to coping
with the pandemic. And
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds
urged residents not to let
the virus dominate their
lives.
In South Dakota, Gov.
Kristi Noem said: “There’s
consequences to what
we’ve seen happen in oth-
er states — that shutting
down businesses, stop-
ping people’s way of life
has some devastating im-
pacts. We’re taking a very
balanced approach.”
In contrast, Vermont
Gov. Phil Scott, a Repub-
lican, has worked aggres-
sively to tamp down the
virus, including closing
some businesses in the
Opinion
6A WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2020
PETER BIRNEY IMES Editor/Publisher
BIRNEY IMES III Editor/Publisher 1998-2018
BIRNEY IMES JR. Editor/Publisher 1947-2003

Dispatch
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

OUR VIEW
Tuesday’s election shows there’s a progressive
streak even in deep red Mississippi
I
n case you were wondering,
medical marijuana is approved for
those suffering from Post Trau-
matic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) under
Mississippi’s new medical marijuana
program.
With America holding its breath in
agonizing anticipation of the results
of the too-close-to-call Presidential
election, the citizen-backed medical
marijuana initiative (Initiative 65)
is well on its way to approval with a
margin so large that any votes left to
be counted will have little bearing on
the outcome.
In a state where conservative
orthodoxy again flexed its muscles
— President Trump held a 25-point
lead over Democrat Joe Biden while
incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-
Smith rolled to an 18-point win over
Democrat Mike Espy — the three
ballot initiatives tilted heavily toward
progressive ideas.
By an almost 4-to-1 margin, Mis-
sissippi adopted a new flag to replace
the Jim Crow-era flag that featured
Confederate imagery in its canton.
That may not sound particularly pro-
gressive until you reflect that 19 years
ago Mississippians voted by a 2-to-1
margin to retain the old flag.
Another initiative to change how
the election of statewide elections
are determined when no candidate
receives a majority of the votes was
approved by 78 percent of the voters.
Under the old method, an enduring
vestige of the 1890 Jim Crow state
constitution, the House of Repre-
sentatives determined the winner in
that circumstance. With Blacks well
on the way to being disenfranchised
at the time, this method ensured no
Black candidates could win statewide
office since an all-white House of
Representative would determine the
outcome.
As a result of Tuesday’s vote, those
elections will now be determined by
runoff elections.
The final of the ballot initiatives
was the medical marijuana question.
Broadly speaking, medical mari-
juana has ceased to be controversial.
Mississippi joins 33 other states and
the District of Columbia in adopting a
medical marijuana program.
Yet opponents of medical mar-
ijuana tried to cast the issue in a
conservative vs. liberal light, deliber-
ately conflating medical marijuana —
which will be available only through a
medical doctor’s prescription — with
recreational marijuana.
Opponents called medical marijua-
na dispensaries “pot shops” and Gov.
Tate Reeves referred to supporters of
medical marijuana as “stoners.”
The efforts didn’t stop there. After
more than 200,000 Mississippians
signed a petition to put medical
marijuana on the ballot, the Legisla-
ture placed a competing initiative on
the ballot, essentially a “ghost bill”
that offered few details about how its
medical marijuana program would
operate or when — if ever — it would
be implemented. It was a nakedly
transparent effort to confuse voters
and dilute support for a medical mari-
juana program of any kind.
Voters were neither fooled nor
converted by any of those tactics,
approving Initiative 65 by a 3-to-1
margin. It is a stunning rebuke of the
Legislature and its tactics.
By the end of the night Tuesday,
two things should be clear:
First, the Republican brand in the
state remains virtually unassailable,
as the presidential and senatorial
results demonstrate.
Second, Mississippians can be sur-
prisingly progressive, as the passage
of the ballot initiatives prove.

POLITICS CARTOONIST VIEW

People feel what
they feel. There’s
no arguing
T
herapists counseling
couples in trouble tend
to follow this game plan:
Before the combatants start
hashing out the issues, they must
acknowledge that their mates
feel what they feel.
These words stick in my head
as Americans face the stress of
political schism — each side see-
ing calamity in electoral loss. Be-
sides steeling oneself for possi-
ble defeat, the best way to ensure Froma Harrop
some inner calm is to recognize
that the rational arguments were
long-ago made, so let the other side feel what it feels.
That doesn’t mean one has to agree with the other side.
One can counter an opinion with reason and facts. It is
counterproductive, however, to dismiss what’s churning in
the other person’s gut.
My politics are center-left and issue-oriented. My antip-
athy toward President Donald Trump started in my head
and spread to my heart. Trump’s genuine talent is to build
a fan base through seduction, to entertain as an entryway
to people’s emotions. Thus, there’s little to gain in holding
debate-club arguments with its members — conceding a
point while noting the on-the-other-hands.
Nowhere does this approach seem more futile than in
farm country. Before Trump became president, American
agriculture was one of the world’s great exporting powers.
Trump’s trade war destroyed all that and replaced mighty
Springsteen wrestles with death
B
markets with government checks. Even the Trump-friend- ruce Springsteen “I’ll see you in my dreams,” he promises a
ly Wall Street Journal called this policy “farm welfare.” is wrestling with departed friend in one song. “I’m alive and I’m
Many farmers fancy themselves small-government death. out here on my own,” he exults in another song,
conservatives, and some do suffer a twinge of discomfort You hear him as you also offered to the spirit of lost friends. In yet
over the traditional taxpayer subsidies that keep them float high above leafless another song, he sings a lament many have sung
afloat. The latest round of checks, though, could mean that trees dusted with snow. before: “One minute you’re here, next minute
more than 40 percent of farm income now comes from the The scene, captured in you’re gone.”
government, according to the University of Missouri. creamy tones of black None of this is particularly surprising coming
At a rally in Omaha, Trump blatantly ripped away the and white, is one of from an introspective poet who notched his 71st
veil of farmer independence. He came right out and said, beauty almost unbear- birthday in September. Yet the theme resonates
“Some people say our farmers do better now than they did ably elegiac, sacred in beyond the A ARP set in a godawful year that
when they actually had to farm.” its stillness. Then he has gone out of its way to remind us that life
His critics heard this as a humiliation to farmers, and it speaks, giving words to Leonard Pitts makes no promises. We lost the Black Panther
appears that a few farmers have pulled away from him. But a truth all too familiar and the Black Mamba this year. We’ve also
82 percent still support him, according to a Farm Journal to anyone who has lived long enough to see skin lost over 231,000 of our family and friends to a
poll. Never mind that farm bankruptcies are at an eight- grow loose and hair turn thin and gray. pandemic.
year high. They still see Trump as friend and protector, as “Age,” he says. “Age brings perspective and But, as Springsteen sings, you and me, we’re
a great negotiator who has a plan. the fine clarity one gets at midnight on the alive. Improbably, gloriously, so.
Their thinking is delusional, but their affection for tracks, looking into the lights of an oncoming And what to do with that? He decided to con-
Trump remains untouchable. This is not to question their train. It dawns on you rather quickly, there’s vene the E Street Band, most of its members old
patriotism or doubt they are good people. It’s that all one only so much time left. Only so many star-filled friends of many decades and countless stages.
can do is accept their worldview as what it is and move on. nights, snowfalls, brisk fall afternoons, rainy They gathered in the studio on his New Jersey
Trump supporters elsewhere see him as a way to escape midsummer days.” farm and recorded these songs. The music is
what they feel is their invisibility. How else explain their All this is from “Bruce Springsteen’s Letter muscular and lean, the keyboard chimes, the
attention-begging antics — the trucks with the big Trump To You,” the Apple TV documentary on the sax sasses, the drums punch as hard as Mike
flags slowing traffic on highways or the threats to a Biden making of Springsteen’s new album of the same Tyson ever did. In other words, it sounds like
campaign bus. They couldn’t possibly think these obnox- name. It is, he tells you on film, a suite of songs Springsteen, same as he ever was.
ious displays were going to win votes for their hero. But born on a deathbed. Meaning that they were Yet, some of the best moments of the doc-
that’s not the point. written after a vigil with George Theiss who, umentary are found not in the songs, but in
While I waited in line outside a Costco in Norwalk, before he was a 68-year-old carpenter stricken between, as old friends toast, laugh and re-
Connecticut, a noisy guy behind me was jumping around with lung cancer, was a teenager playing in a member with that ease born of being, well . . .
and bellowing his Trumpian views to a companion. He was Jersey Shore band called the Castiles with his old friends. It lends the music a kind of urgent
costumed up in Trumpian regalia. girlfriend’s brother, Bruce Springsteen. joy that comes not despite the fact that we are
This is Joe Biden country, where support for the former “With George’s death,” says Springsteen in finite, but through it. By way of it. Because of it.
vice president is so strong few even bother putting out voiceover, “I was the last living member of the Finite at 71, yes, but also finite at 31.
lawn signs. This guy’s message was simply “Look at me! mighty Castiles.” He says this by way of intro- That’s the thing age knows that youth is slow
Look at me!” The bored people in line found him mildly ducing “Last Man Standing,” a propulsive paean to figure out, and it’s the moral of 2020, the wis-
amusing. Since he had his face mask on and was not about to gigs long past in days long gone, to being dom whispered above snow-whitened trees. You
to change any Electoral College votes, I, too, enjoyed the young and loud, rocking together against the get only so many star-filled nights and rainy
show. world. Which makes it also, inevitably, a song midsummer days. Only so much baby laughter.
You don’t have to respect the opinions of others, but about the swiftness and the thievery of time, a Only so many carnivals. Only so much music.
there’s little point in disrespecting their feelings. They re- song that implicitly asks, Hey, what happened to So it is always a good idea to take joy urgently.
ally believe this stuff — or say they do. And when it comes 1967? One minute you’re here.
down to political outcomes, what’s the difference? Not that memory and mortality are the only Leonard Pitts Jr., winner of the 2004 Pulitzer
Froma Harrop, a syndicated columnist, writes for the themes Springsteen wrestles. But they are the Prize for commentary, is a columnist for the Mi-
Providence (Rhode Island) Journal. Her e-mail address is ones he keeps returning to, as if he can’t stop ami Herald. Email him at lpitts@miamiherald.
fharrop@gmail.com. ruminating on the impermanence of life. com.
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2020 7A

High court could halt move

toward leniency for kids who kill
The case before justices involves Mississippi inmate
Brett Jones, then 15 and living with his grandparents
when he fatally stabbed his grandfather
BY JESSICA GRESKO
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Su-
preme Court on Tuesday suggest-
ed it could halt what has been a
gradual move toward more lenien-
cy for children who are convicted
of murder.
In cases over more than a de-
cade, the court has concluded that
children should be treated differ-
ently from adults, in part because
of their lack of maturity. But the
court, which has become more con-
servative over the last few years,
could decide not to go any further.
The justices on Tuesday were
hearing a case about sentencing
juveniles to life without parole.
The court has previously said that
should be rare, and the question
before the justices has to do with
what courts must do before decid-
ing to impose a life without parole
sentence on a juvenile.
During arguments, which the
justices heard by phone because of
the coronavirus pandemic, Justice
Samuel Alito suggested the court
has gone too far.
“What would you say to any
members of this court who are
concerned that we have now gotten
light years away from the original
meaning of the Eighth Amendment
and who are reluctant to go any fur-
ther on this travel into space?” Alito
asked at one point, referencing the
amendment’s prohibition against
“cruel and unusual” punishment.
Justice Clarence Thomas and
Justice Neil Gorsuch also indicat-
ed they take issue with the court’s
most recent case about juvenile life
sentences.
The case the court was hearing
Tuesday is the latest in a series of
cases going back to 2005, when the
court eliminated the death penalty
for juveniles. Five years later, the
court barred life-without-parole
sentences for juveniles, except in
cases where a juvenile has killed
someone.
Then, in 2012, the justices in a
5-4 decision said juveniles who kill
can’t automatically be sentenced
to life with no chance of parole. A
related decision four years later
said those sentences should be
reserved “for all but the rarest of
juvenile offenders, those whose
crimes reflect permanent incorri-
gibility.”
The justices are now being
asked whether a juvenile has to be
found to be “permanently incorrigi-
ble,” incapable of being rehabilitat-
ed, before being sentenced to life
without parole.
But the court has changed sig-
nificantly in recent years. More
conservative justices have replaced
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and
Justice Anthony Kennedy, whose
votes were key to the 2012 decision.
The specific case before the
justices involves Mississippi in-
mate Brett Jones, who was 15 and
living with his grandparents when
he fatally stabbed his grandfather.
The two had a fight in the home’s
kitchen after Bertis Jones found
his grandson’s girlfriend in his
grandson’s bedroom. Brett Jones,
who was using a knife to make a
sandwich before the fight, stabbed
his grandfather first with that knife
and then, when it broke, with a dif-
ferent knife. He was convicted and
sentenced to life in prison without
the possibility of parole.
Jones, who is now 31, says he is
not “permanently incorrigible” and
should therefore be eligible for pa-
role. Mississippi says the Eighth
Amendment doesn’t require that
Jones be found to be permanently
incorrigible to receive a life-with-
out-parole sentence, just that
Jones’ youth when he committed
his crime be considered.
The case is Jones v. Mississippi,
18-1259.

US formally exits Paris pact aiming to curb climate change

Pact requires countries to set their own voluntary targets
for reducing greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide
BY FRANK JORDANS
The Associated Press
BERLIN — The Unit-
ed States on Wednesday
formally left the Paris
Agreement, a global pact
forged five years ago to
avert the threat of cata-
strophic climate change.
The move, long threat-
ened by U.S. President
Donald Trump and trig-
gered by his administra-
tion a year ago, further
isolates the United States
in the world but has no
immediate impact on in-
ternational efforts to curb
global warming.
Some 189 countries
remain committed to the
2015 Paris accord, which
aims to keep the increase
in average temperatures
worldwide “well below” 2
degrees Celsius (3.6 de-
grees Fahrenheit), ideally
no more than 1.5C (2.7 F),
compared to pre-indus-
trial levels. A further six
countries have signed,
but not ratified the pact.
Scientists say that any
rise beyond 2 degrees
Celsius could have a dev-
astating impact on large
parts of the world, raising
sea levels, stoking tropi-
cal storms and worsening
droughts and floods.
The Paris accord re-
quires countries to set
their own voluntary tar-
gets for reducing green-
house gases such as car-
bon dioxide. The only
binding requirement is
ies and businesses in
the United States have
pressed ahead with their
own efforts.
that nations have to ac- Democratic presiden-
curately report on their tial candidate Joe Biden
efforts. has said he favors signing
The United States is the U.S. back up to the
the world’s second big- Paris accord.
gest emitter after China of With the United States
heat-trapping gases such outside the pact, it will be
as carbon dioxide and its harder for the rest of the
contribution to cutting
world to reach the agreed
emissions is seen as im- goals.
portant, but it is not alone
in the effort. In recent
weeks, China, Japan and
South Korea have joined
the European Union and
several other countries in
setting national deadlines
to stop pumping more
greenhouse gases into
the atmosphere.
While the Trump ad-
ministration has shunned
federal measures to cut
emissions, states, cit-

Cruise industry throws in the towel on 2020, looks to 2021

BY MAT T OT T health experts and the were potential cauldrons
AP Business Writer U.S. Centers for Disease of infection. After being
Control and Prevention, renewed several times
SILVER SPRING, Md. the association said. the most recent order ex-
— The cruise industry On Friday, federal pired in October, with the
has jettisoned hopes of health officials issued new guidelines effectively
restarting operations this new rules that will enable bringing the no-sail order
year. large cruise ships to start to an end.
Days after both Car- sailing again in U.S. wa- The cruise industry
nival and Norwegian ters, though not immedi- has been essentially
extended a halt on cruis- ately. Among the CDC’s closed for business since
es through the end of requirements is that ship mid-March, when it be-
the year, the group that owners must test all pas- came clear that the deadly
represents cruise lines sengers and crew at the and contagious virus had
with 95 percent of global start and end of all voy- already been sweeping
ocean-going capacity said ages, which are limited to through the U.S. unabat-
Tuesday that its members seven days. ed for weeks. The cruise
have agreed to extend the In mid-March, the association estimates that
suspension of U.S. sailing CDC ordered cruise the suspension of cruises
operations for the rest of ships to stop sailing to snuffed out more than $25
2020. U.S. ports after several billion in economic activi-
The announcement outbreaks convinced of- ty, and 164,000 American
comes just days after the ficials that the vessels jobs.
U.S. government effec-
tively lifted its no-sail or-
der despite a global spike
in coronavirus infections.
Cruise Lines Inter-
national Association —
which includes cruise
giants Princess, Carni-
val, and Royal Caribbean
— said that its members
have voluntarily opted to
maintain the current sus-
pension of cruise opera-
tions in the U.S. through
the end of the year.
Members “will use
the remainder of the
year to prepare for the
implementation of exten-
sive measures to address
COVID-19 safety” with
the guidance of public

cdispatch.com
8A WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Voting
Continued from Page 1A
felt the presidential race be-
tween President Donald Trump
and his Democratic opponent
Joe Biden was the major draw.
“Everybody knows the flag’s
going to change,” Caledonia
resident Herman Smith said
while waiting on his brother to
finish voting. “It’s no big deal. It
probably should have changed
years ago.”
Voters said anxiety over
COVID-19, racial tensions
and other national issues are
making Americans feel more
anxious than usual, which is
bringing them to the polls in ab-
normally large numbers.
“I think everybody feels a
little anxious,” Anna Gaines
Johnson said after she voted at
her polling place on 15th Street
North in Columbus. “This year
feels so different. ... It definitely
has a different vibe.”
Smith was more frank.
“To put it bluntly, it’s all the
crap that’s on the news 24 hours
a day, and people are anxious,”
he said. “That’s what I think.”
But they didn’t appear to be
anxious about voting itself. Ev-
ery voter The Dispatch spoke
with in Lowndes County agreed
the process went smoothly —
or at least as smoothly as pos-
sible when poll workers have to
enforce voters staying six feet
away from each other despite
the higher-than-average turn-
out.
“I felt very safe,” Johnson
said. “That was one of my con-
cerns. But I thought they had
a great system in there. It was
easy and quick.”
At 18, Grace Bowen has nev-
er voted in any election before
and wasn’t quite sure what to
expect, though she said she ex-
pected her wait to be longer.
Still, she admitted the high
turnout and the precautions
taken by election officials and
voters during the election have
made for an interesting first-
time voter experience.
“I think it feels historic,” she
said. “This has never happened
before.”
Oktibbeha County
The polling place at St.
Joseph’s Catholic Church in
Starkville is lucky to get 30 vot-
ers in most elections, poll work-
er Lynn Zimmerman said.
Around 3 p.m. Tuesday,
more than 300 people had voted
there. Many were Mississippi
State University students, and
many of those were first-time
voters, Zimmerman said.
“We’ve been amazed,” she
said. “They seem to be more
knowledgeable about what’s go-
ing on.”
Like in Lowndes County,
polling places throughout Ok-
tibbeha County saw high turn-
out and lines well out the door.
The line outside the National
Guard Armory in Starkville
stretched through the parking
lot, all the way to the railroad
tracks that run parallel to High-
way 12, by 7:30 a.m., half an
hour after polls opened.
The polling place at Cen-
tral Oktibbeha Fire Station,
which served both precincts in
Longview, had never had such
long lines in the experiences of
voters or poll workers.
“This is the first time I ever
saw a line here,” said Johnny Ea-
sley, who has lived in Longview
for 15 years and is a regular vot-
er. “There’s (usually) no line.
You just walk up to the door and
you’re in and out in a minute.”
Easley said he arrived around
9 a.m. but chose to come back
in the early afternoon when the
line would be shorter. It was not
as much shorter as he would
have liked, since he walks with
a cane, but he brought a folding
chair to make the hourlong wait
easier.
He said he voted for Trump,
“the only one I know who’s run-
ning.”
Sidney Sansing, 18, also
chose Trump for president in his
first election as an eligible voter,
but he said he preferred Demo-
crat Mike Espy over Republican
incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith
in the U.S. Senate race. He said
he would rather vote for who he
believes is best fit for a position
rather than vote for one party or
the other across the board.
Sansing said he believes vot-
ing is crucial to bringing about
change. Colin James, another
18-year-old first-time voter, and
Marlon Fair, a 29-year-old resi-
dent of southeastern Oktibbeha
County, both agreed.
“I voted because I wanted
to see change,” said James, an
MSU student who voted at St.
Joseph’s Catholic Church. “I
don’t really know how to put it
into words, but I just want to
see more social reform ... and I
think that as part of our democ-
racy, everything is subject to
change.”
Fair said he voted for Espy
and for Initiative 65, an option to
legalize medical marijuana, but
declined to say who received his
vote for president.
The Oktoc polling place had
seen 474 voters, almost half of
the total registered, by Tuesday
afternoon. Poll worker Kristie
McGee said it was an “abnor-
mally high” turnout.
Lillie McGee, a resident of
the Oktoc area for about 50
years, said Tuesday was just
another election for her and
neither the candidates nor the
issues held much significance
to her.
Fair, a regular voter and life-
long Oktoc resident, held a dif-
ferent perspective.
“I hope all the young people
were able to vote who can,” he
said. “It makes a big difference
for your parents and your grand-
parents.”
Clay, Noxubee counties
In Clay County, many of the
14 precincts saw long lines of
voters in the morning, said Cir-
cuit Clerk Kim Brown Hood.
“One in the middle of down-
town (West Point) was kind of
wrapping around the building,”
she said. “It was pretty long. A
couple of our in-town precincts
were pretty lengthy this morn-
ing.
“I think it’s amazing; I think
it’s great,” she added of the
turnout. “I think everybody
should take the time to exer-
cise their right to vote.”
Noxubee County Circuit
Clerk Freda Phillips told The
Dispatch on Tuesday she is
glad to see a “large” voter turn-
out at some of the precincts
she traveled to in the morning.
Compared to the 2016 election,
she said the volume of voters
this year seems similar.
“Each of my largest pre-
cincts has lines outside the
door,” Phillips said. “One of
them is right behind the court-
house (in Macon) and (the line)
is out to the highway.”
Despite the high voter turn-
out, she said the process went
smoothly.
“We haven’t had any prob-
lems here,” she said.
Dispatch reporter Yue Stella
Yu contributed to this report.

Local results
Continued from Page 1A
ing a new state flag, while
also showing support
Democrat Mike Espy for
senator and all but Lown-
des County pulling for
Democrat Joe Biden in the
presidential race.
In Lowndes County,
voters preferred challeng-
er Espy to Republican
U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-
Smith 13,657 votes (50.66
percent) to 12,918 (47.92
percent).
However, Lowndes vot-
ers preferred Republicans
in other races. In the pres-
idential election, Repub-
lican President Donald
Trump received 13,699
(50.75 percent) of votes,
while Biden received
12,913 (47.84 percent).
Meanwhile in the 1st Con-
gressional District race,
Republican incumbent
Rep. Trent Kelly received
14,463 votes, or 55.83
percent. His Democratic
challenger Antonia Elia-
son received 11,406 votes
(44.03 percent).
Voters voted 17,491 to
6,393 — 73.23 percent
to 26.77 percent — to ap-
prove one of two proposed
measures legalizing med-
ical marijuana. Of the two
measures, 16,726, (76.62
percent) of voters, opted
for Initiative 65, which
would have added the
issue to the state consti-
tution. Only 5,104 voters
(23.38 percent) opted
for Initiative 65A, which
would have given the pow-
er of enacting medical
marijuana policies to the
state Legislature.
Lowndes County vot-
ers even more overwhelm-
ingly approved the pro-
posed new state flag, the
Magnolia flag, with 21,648
voters (81.17 percent) to
5,021 (18.83 percent).
Lowndes County also
approved House Concur-
rent Resolution No. 47,
making it so that candi-
dates for state office must
win a majority of the vote
to win a race, at 21,428
(83.63 percent) to 4,194
(16.37 percent).
In the only competitive
local race, Democratic
incumbent Frances O.
Stewart hung onto her
role as District 5 election
commissioner with 2,375,
or 57.12 percent to Demo-
cratic challenger Tiffany
Turner’s 1,754, or 42.18
percent.
Lowndes County also
re-elected state Supreme
Court justice for District
3 Josiah Coleman, with
14,828 votes (67.83 per-
cent). His challenger, Per-
cy L. Lynchard, received
only 6,848 (31.33 percent).
Circuit Clerk Teresa
Barksdale said the total
numbers included the ab-
sentee ballots. There are
still 347 affidavits officials
will begin processing to-
day at 1 p.m., and more
mail-in absentee votes
are expected to come in
throughout the week.
Oktibbeha County
In Oktibbeha Coun-
ty, Biden leads narrowly
with 8,243 votes, or 50.50
percent of the vote, while
Trump has received 7,617
votes, or 46.66 percent.
Similarly, Democrat
Espy has received 8,756
votes for U.S. Senate,
or 53.81 percent of the
vote, while Republican
incumbent Hyde-Smith
has received 7,232 votes
(44.44 percent) and Lib-
ertarian candidate Jimmy
Edwards has received 281
votes (1.73 percent).
The county issued
3,376 absentee ballots
this year, more than twice
the amount four years
ago, which Circuit Clerk
Tony Rook said was about
1,600. Of those, 3,131 bal-
lots issued will be counted
today or Thursday, as well
as 710 affidavit ballots,
Rook said.
Oktibbeha County vot-
ers overwhelmingly ap-
proved the new state flag
with 13,547 yes votes over
2,615 no votes thus far
(83.82 to 16.18 percent).
Voters also supported the
legalization of medical
marijuana, with 10,566
(70.86 percent) in favor
of either of two proposed
resolutions, and 9,887
(74.78 percent) in favor of
Initiative 65. 4,721 votes (70.2 percent) In the Senate race, 3,112 to 838 margin (78.8
They also approved to Lynchard’s 1,956 (29.1 Espy led Hyde-Smith by percent to 21.2 percent).
an initiative requiring a percent). a 4,067-1,165 margin (77.4 Noxubee voters ap-
majority of the vote in Circuit Clerk Kim to 22.2 percent). proved the change to elec-
statewide elections, rath- Brown Hood said those In the House race, tion procedures by an 87
er than a majority vote in figures include in-person Benford, who received percent to 13 percent mar-
each congressional dis- and absentees received 73.4 percent of votes, led gin (4,019 to 603).
trict, with 12,603 in favor through election day. Guest, 3,508 to 1,268. Finally, Noxubee vot-
and 2,893 against (81.33 In the Supreme Court ers approved the new
to 18.67 percent). Noxubee County Place 1 race, Latrice West- state flag by an 86 per-
Oktibbeha voters fa- In Noxubee County, brooks led Kenny Griffis, cent to 14 percent margin,
vored Republicans in Biden outgained Trump 2,667 to 1,532 (63.4 to 36.4 4,318 votes to 103.
other races, including by a 3,972-1225, or 75.6 percent). All absentee votes had
incumbent U.S. Reps. percent to 23.3 percent, On the medical mari- been counted, but at least
Kelly (R-1st District) and margin. All other candi- juana vote, Noxubee vot- 80 provisional/affidavit
Michael Guest (R-3rd Dis- dates received 60 votes ers chose Initiative 65 votes will be counted at 3
trict). (1.2 percent). over Initiative 65A by a p.m. today.
Incumbent Coleman
has a comfortable lead
over Lynchard received in
the state Supreme Court
race.
County election com-
missioners Greg Ful-
gham, Sissy Smitherman,
Myles Carpenter and
Ernest Rogers ran un-
opposed for reelection.
District 4 Commissioner
Joe Baker, a Republican,
was re-elected with 2,682
votes to his unaffiliated
opponent Anastasia El-
der’s 1,123 (70.45 to 29.50
percent).
Clay County
Biden and Espy car-
ried Clay County, where
4,611 votes (56.8 percent),
were cast for Biden to
3,336 (41.1 percent), cast
for Trump. Espy received
4,866 votes (60 percent)
to Hyde-Smith’s 3,144
(38.8 percent). Eliason
outpaced Kelly with 3,946
votes (51.4 percent) to
3,724 (48.5 percent).
Voters also approved
medical marijuana, with
5,333 votes for either
Initiative 65 or Initiative
65A, to 1,774 votes against
both. They also approved
Initiative 65 over Initiative
65A, 5,209 (78.1 percent)
to 1,464 (21.9 percent).
Clay County voted yes to
the new flag, 6,257 (78.5
percent) to 1,711 (21.5
percent), and the House
resolution 6,303 (81.9 per-
cent) to 1,359 (18.1 per-
cent).
Coleman was also the
preferred candidate for
Supreme Court, with

Presidency
Continued from Page 1A
Trump’s place to declare
who’s won this election,”
Biden said. “That’s the
decision of the American
people.”
Vote tabulations rou-
tinely continue beyond
Election Day, and states
largely set the rules for
when the count has to
end. In presidential elec-
tions, a key point is the
date in December when
presidential electors met.
That’s set by federal law.
Several states allow
mailed-in votes to be ac-
cepted after Election Day,
as long as they were post-
marked by Tuesday. That
includes Pennsylvania,
where ballots postmarked
by Nov. 3 can be accepted
if they arrive up to three
days after the election.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom
Wolf tweeted that his state
had over 1 million ballots
to be counted and that
he “promised Pennsylva-
nians that we would count
every vote and that’s what
we’re going to do.”
Trump appeared to
suggest those ballots
should not be counted,
and that he would fight for
that outcome at the high
court.
Sports
MISSISSIPPI STATE FOOTBALL
SPORTS LINE
662-241-5000
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2020
B
SECTION

Hill will opt out of 2020 season, prepare for NFL draft
BY BEN PORTNOY
bportnoy@cdispatch.com
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State
running back and Columbus native
Kylin Hill is opting out of the rest of
the 2020 season.
After it was reported last week that
Hill was leaning toward ending his
MSU career early to prepare for the
NFL draft, the former Columbus High
School standout confirmed the news
officially via a Facebook post Tuesday
morning.
“2020 has been an unprecedented
year, filled with uncertainty due to a
pandemic that has forced all of us to
adapt as best as possible,” he wrote
in a lengthy announce-
ment. “With that, and
after much prayer and
discussion with my fam-
ily, I have decided to opt
out for the remainder of
the season and declare
for the 2021 NFL Draft.” Hill
Hill added in a sub-
sequent tweet that his family, includ-
ing his mother, had been affected by
COVID-19 and that his brother recent-
ly had brain surgery.
Since reports surfaced regarding
Hill’s status, head coach Mike Leach
twice said he had not heard from Hill.
A source with knowledge of the
situation previously told The Dis-
patch that Hill would be suspended
for MSU’s game against Texas A&M
game on Oct. 17 though the reasoning
for it and whether it would be a one-
game suspension was unclear.
Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger
reported last week the suspension oc-
curred due to Hill’s involvement in an
outburst following MSU’s loss to Ken-
tucky on Oct. 10.
Hill did not appear in uniform
during MSU’s 41-0 loss to No. 2 Ala-
bama on Saturday.
With his MSU career now official-
ly over, Hill finishes with 2,535 yards
rushing and 16 touchdowns. During
his junior season in 2019, he conclud-
ed the year with 1,350 yards — just 41
shy of Anthony Dixon’s single-season
MSU record — to lead the Southeast-
ern Conference at the end of the reg-
ular season.
Hill’s legacy will also be remem-
bered for his activism during the 2020
offseason. A notable voice in the dis-
cussion surrounding the removal of
the Confederate battle emblem from
the Mississippi state flag, he threat-
ened to sit out the season should it not
be changed. Hill was given a key to
the city of Columbus in late July.
“Mississippi Will always be my
home,” he wrote Tuesday. “We’ve
made history together both on and
off the field, and as we move on to the
next level, that will only continue.”

Starkville MISSISSIPPI STATE FOOTBALL

continues to
rebound in
new AP poll
With Hill gone, where do Bulldogs turn at RB?
BY THEO DEROSA
tderosa@cdispatch.com

The Starkville High

School football team
hasn’t played since Oct.
16, but the Yellow Jack-
ets saw another climb in
the new Associated Press
Mississippi high school
football poll, released
Tuesday.
Nine Mississippi me-
dia outlets, including The
Commercial Dispatch,
were polled on the top
five teams in each class
and the top 10 overall.
Teams earned 10
points for a first-place
vote, nine for a sec-
ond-place vote, and so on.
Starkville (7-2)
climbed from fifth to
third in the overall rank-
ings while maintaining
the No. 3 spot in MHSAA
Class 6A. Oak Grove and
Oxford finished ahead of
the Jackets in both cate-
gories.
D’Iberville and South
Panola rounded out the
top five in Class 6A, while
See POLL, 3B
Mansel Guerry/Mississippi State Athletics
Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill carries the ball against Arkansas on Oct. 3 at Davis Wade Stadium. Hill announced Tuesday he
would be opting out of the rest of the 2020 season and declaring for the 2021 NFL draft.

Voting, BY BEN PORTNOY

bportnoy@cdispatch.com
bly as far as not hav-
ing played very much,”
Assuming MSU fol-
lows this trend, Marks,
be the featured back be-
ginning as soon as Satur-
Lee Witherspoon could
also receive some touch-

activism STARKVILLE
Mississippi State lost
—
Leach said after MSU’s
Oct. 3 loss to Arkansas,
a game in which Hill
the second-highest rated
recruit in the Bulldogs’
2020 recruiting class,
day against the Commo-
dores depending on his
injury status (Leach said
es. A three-star back in
the class of 2019, With-
erspoon has worked
replace perhaps its most dynam-
ic offensive weapon Tues-
day morning.
was injured after receiv-
ing just a single carry.
should expect to see the
lion’s share of the car-
Monday he hoped he’d
be ready to go after he
mostly as a kick returner
this year but did notch 22

practice, Senior running back

and Columbus native
“I don’t have a perfect
knowledge of how much
ries.
The Atlanta prod-
left the Alabama game),
Johnson should receive
carries for 101 yards and
a touchdown during his

games
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — announced his long ex-
Just past noon on Elec-
tion Day, after casting
her vote where the NBA’s
Wizards and NHL’s Cap-
itals play, Mary Pittman
exited through one of
the arena’s glass doors.
Perched on the 77-year-
old retiree’s walker: a
stars-and-stripes hat
touting the basketball
team, autographed on the
brim in fresh black ink.
“No line,” Pittman
said about Tuesday’s bal-
loting. “No waiting. No
confusion. No fuss.”
At a time when ath-
letes are embracing ac-
tivism like never before,
refusing to heed the
unfounded admonition
framed two years ago
by one TV talking head
as “shut up and dribble,”
See ELECTION DAY, 3B
Kylin Hill, who led the
Southeastern Confer-
ence in rushing during
the 2019 regular season,
pected decision to opt
out of the rest of the sea-
son to prepare for the
NFL draft.
While Hill’s departure
was initially reported last
week and he did not trav-
el for MSU’s 41-0 loss to
Alabama on Saturday in
Tuscaloosa, the decision
offers closure to the will
he, won’t he saga and
allows head coach Mike
Leach to key in on what’s
left in his backfield.
Heading into a must-
win game against Van-
derbilt, it’s now expected
former four-star recruit
Jo’quavious Marks and
fellow freshman Dillon
Johnson will shoulder
the load the rest of the
way.
“I thought the young
backs played admira-
they played in the past,
but I know it’s not very
much. But I do think it
was pretty good being
pressed into service
there.”
Though Hill’s depar-
ture is only a recent issue,
the five games played
this season should shed
some light on where car-
ries fall between Johnson
and Marks.
Through MSU’s 1-4
start, Marks leads the
team with 31 carries for
121 yards compared to
Johnson’s 13 carries for
47 yards and the team’s
lone rushing touchdown
this year. As for Hill, he
fell right in between the
freshman tandem with
15 carries for 58 yards,
though that was largely
affected by his virtual
non-playing against Ar-
kansas and his missing
games against Alabama
and Texas A&M, the lat-
ter due to suspension.
uct concluded his high an ample workload. inaugural campaign.
school career with 6,391 At 6-foot and 215 Speaking with re-
rushing yards, 275 re- pounds, the Greenville porters Monday, Leach
ceiving yards and 554 native is the bigger of offered optimism in his
return yards as a do-it- MSU’s freshman tail- youthful running backs
all gamebreaker. Since backs. In limited oppor- room that is now down
arriving at MSU, Marks tunities this fall, Johnson its most prolific play-
has flashed the look of has run with a bruising maker. But for what the
a dynamic college-level style between the tack- group lacks in experi-
runner, racing through les and offers a powerful ence, it boasts in varying
defenders with a low pad compliment to Marks’ running styles and youth
level and an ability to speed. that could pay off down
extend short passes into “ I’m just trying to the road.
first downs as evidenced do what I’m supposed “It bodes well for the
by his 31 catches for 139 to do,” he said following future, but you scratch
yards this season — the the loss to Arkansas. and claw right now,”
most of any player on the “My first touchdown, Leach said in reference
roster. it’s unbelievable. I can’t to the number of young
“I feel very comfort- even explain the feeling, contributors MSU is
able,” Marks said of his but (the game) didn’t touting at present. “Now
fit in the offense during end how I wanted it. We the other good news
his lone media availabil- still lost, so at the end of is they’re getting reps
ity this season on Oct. the day, I just need to go right now that guys at
6. “I think it shows a lot back, watch film and see other places wouldn’t
of my skill sets...In the what I need to do better necessarily have be-
NFL they’re trying to and just continue work- cause they’d be playing
see who can catch the ing.” behind somebody. By
ball and block, so I feel With one-time Mich- the time they get to their
like that’s good for being igan running back Ka- junior year, they’ll have,
in the air raid.” reem Walker no longer in some cases, two full
While Marks should on the team, sophomore years of experience.”
2B WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Horse racing on slow track with efforts to address diversity

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Horse racing returns
to Kentucky this week-
end for another signature
event it hopes will garner
the attention of a main-
stream audience.
While it wants to be
considered among North
America’s major sports,
the industry has so far
lagged behind others in
terms of how it is active-
ly addressing systemic
racism concerns during a
nationwide reckoning on
the issue. Owners Greg
Harbut and Ray Daniels
hope the Breeders’ Cup
signals the start of a real
conversation in horse rac-
ing, but they aren’t wait-
ing around for change in
an industry they feel has
been largely tone-deaf
due to a lack of prominent
Black stakeholders in
place to guide the sport
during turbulent times.
“Conversations are be-
ginning, but at this stage,
that’s all we’re receiving is
audio,” said Harbut, who
co-owns Kentucky Derby
horse Necker Island and
is co-founder along with
Daniels of an organiza-
tion aimed at increasing
minority involvement in
racing. “We need some
video to match the au-
dio. When that happens,
I think you’ll see things
change. But the industry
has to decide where it’s at
now. Does it really want to
see change?”
Unlike golf using the
springboard of Tiger
Woods’ dominance to
champion diversity initia-
tives, tennis diversifying
its leadership group and
seeing an influx of play-
ers since Venus and Ser-
ena Williams burst on to
the scene or the National
Hockey League hiring
Kim Davis as executive
vice president to oversee
social impact, horse rac-
ing has been slow to mar-
ket to, attract and hire
minorities outside of jobs
on the backstretch and as
jockeys.
“They have kind of hid
from the problem,” Dan-
iels said. “A lot of organi-
zations feel as long as it’s
not happening inside my
organization, it’s probably
not a place for me to com-
ment or a place for me to
take a stand.”
By Derby week in Sep-
tember, there was an ac-
knowledgement that the
sport is “not doing enough
quickly enough” and has
“not successfully created
an environment in which
everyone feels welcome
or included.” Churchill
Downs said it’s “commit-
ted to taking real, con-
crete action to address
institutional roadblocks
to progress and playing
our part in advancing the
changes America so des-
perately needs.”
Still, being slow to
change isn’t hurting the
sport financially.
Even during the pan-
demic that has emptied
grandstands, business
is thriving, with record
money being wagered all
over the country, a trend
that’s expected to contin-
ue Friday and Saturday
with 14 Breeders’ Cup
world championship rac-
es at Keeneland worth
$28 million.
But horse racing has
been unable to bring in
fresh faces with no pre-
vious connection to the
sport, especially minori-
ties. By founding the Ed
Brown Society named for
the 19th century Black
trainer, Harbut and Dan-
iels hope they can cre-
ate a pipeline for Black
executives and sprout a
generation of new fans to
diversify a crowd that’s
predominantly white on
days without big races.
“When you go to the
track, you see a 98, 97%
really Caucasian audience
or crowd that is partak-
ing in the sport,” Daniels
said. “When you do have
a chance to bring other
cultures to the track, they
are quite shocked that
this is not something that
the industry is working
on across the whole coun-
try.”
Some of the few peo-
ple of color in positions
of influence — includ-
ing Jason Wilson, pres-
ident and CEO of stats
site Equibase, and Ali-
cia Hughes, director of
communications for the
National Thoroughbred
Racing Association —
struggle to effect change
in a stubborn sport.
Wilson learned early
that endorsing diversity
means nothing without
policies and procedures
to address it.
“Racing is kind of just
waking up to the fact that
it could do more and it
needs to kind of do more,”
Wilson said.
Daniels believes that
change has to start from
the top and trickle down,
a struggle because horse
racing has no central gov-
erning body and there-
fore no national market-
ing effort outside major
events. But Daniels and
other Black members of
the horse racing commu-
nity have started some
conversations and report-
ed largely positive experi-
ences.
“Whenever you have
a small number of a cer-
tain group, there really
is no issue, per se, be-
cause nobody else feels
threatened,” Wilson said.
“We’re not even at the
point where there are
enough people where the
system’s going to really
just have a true issue.”
One of the few black,
U.S.-born jockeys on the
circuit, Kendrick Car-
mouche also has expe-
rienced the best of the
sport, heartened by the
widespread response
when he broke his right
leg last year. After kneel-
ing with fellow jockeys in
the paddock before the
first race when racing re-
turned to New York over
the summer, he under-
stands actions like those
are done for him because
not many in the industry
can empathize.
“I think they under-
stand what’s going on,
but they don’t want to be
publicly out there with
it,” Carmouche said. “A
lot of people, if they don’t
believe in it, they’d rather
not set their mind up to
think that way.”

Arenado, Gordon each win 8th Gold Glove

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Gordon, Hernández, Perez’s 2021 salary search’s Defensive Index.
White and Wong earned escalated by $250,000 to From 2013-19, the index
ST. LOUIS — Colora- $18,519 bonuses, prorated $5.75 million, and Barn- was about 25% of the to-
do Rockies third baseman portions of $50,000. Are- hart’s by $250,000 to $4 tal, with the rest voting by
Nolan Arenado won his nado and Robert earned million. major league managers
eighth consecutive Gold $9,259, prorated portions Because of the short- and up to six coaches per
Glove and right fielder of $25,000, and O’Neill ened season, the awards team.
Mookie Betts snared his earned $3,704, a prorated were based on the Society
fifth in a row on Tuesday, portion of $10,000. for American Baseball Re-
his first with the World
Series champion Los An-
geles Dodgers after four
with Boston.
Kansas City Royals left
fielder Alex Gordon also
won his eighth Gold Glove
— and fourth straight —
in his final major league
season.
Chicago Cubs first
baseman Anthony Rizzo
earned the honor for the
third straight year in the
pandemic-shortened sea-
son and fourth time over-
all. He was joined for the
first time by Cubs short-
stop Javier Báez.
Cincinnati catcher
Tucker Barnhart won
for the second time and
first since 2017. St. Louis
second baseman Kolten
Wong won for the second
year in a row, six days af-
ter the Cardinals allowed
him to become a free
agent rather than exer-
cise his $12.5 million op-
tion for 2021.
St. Louis left fielder Ty-
ler O’Neill, Atlanta pitch-
er Max Fried and San
Diego center fielder Trent
Grisham were first-time
winners in the National
League.
Gordon and Cleveland
catcher Roberto Pérez
were the only players to
repeat in the AL. They
were joined by seven first-
time winners, including
Indians second baseman
César Hernández. The
others were Seattle first
baseman Evan White and
shortstop J.P. Crawford,
Texas third baseman Isi-
ah Kiner-Falefa and right
fielder Joey Gallo, Chica-
go White Sox center field-
er Luis Robert and Los
Angeles Angels pitcher
Griffin Canning.
The 36-year-old Gor-
don announced his retire-
ment in September. He
joined Hall of Fame out-
fielder Roberto Clemente
and first baseman Wes
Parker (both in 1972) as
the only position players
to win a Gold Glove in
their last big league sea-
son, according to Sportra-
dar.
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2020 3B

Wisconsin-Purdue game off amid coronavirus outbreak

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Wisconsin has can-
celed Saturday’s home
game against Purdue, the
second straight game the
10th-ranked Badgers have
called off as COVID-19 cas-
es within their team contin-
ue to rise.
School officials an-
nounced Tuesday that
three more players and
two additional staffers
have tested positive since
Saturday, bringing the
program’s total number
of active cases to 27. That
includes 15 players and 12
staffers.
All team-related activi-
the health and safety of
the guys,” athletic director
Barry Alvarez said. “No
one wants to be on that
field any more than I do.
But I’m not going to lose
track of priorities.”
This marks the second
consecutive week that
Wisconsin has canceled a
game due to the virus out-
break. The Badgers had
been scheduled to visit Ne-
braska on Oct. 31. Neither
game will be rescheduled.
“While we looked for-
ward to our game this
weekend against Wiscon-
sin, we understand the
Badgers’ decision to cancel
based on medical advice
their team and staff,”
Purdue athletic director
Mike Bobinski said in a
statement. “The health,
well-being and safety of all
student-athletes, coaches
and staff remains the top
priority for the entire Big
Ten and will continue to
guide decision-making.”
The Purdue-Wisconsin
matchup becomes the 38th
game involving a Football
Bowl Subdivision team to
get postponed or canceled
as a result of the pandemic.
Wisconsin’s 27 active
cases all have arisen since
Oct. 24, the day after Wis-
consin’s season-opening
45-7 victory over Illinois.
“It just didn’t feel as
though we had our arms
around it and had things
controlled as I thought we
needed,” Alvarez said.
When Wisconsin can-
celed the Nebraska game
last week, Alvarez said the
school had reached the “or-
ange/red” levels in the Big
Ten protocols based on its
rate of positive tests. The
Big Ten says teams in that
area must proceed with
caution; among the steps is
Sudoku
considering the viability of YESTERDAY’S ANSWER
playing.
Alvarez said Tuesday
that Wisconsin still hasn’t Sudoku
Sudoku is a number-
placing puzzle based on
Yesterday’s answer
reached the “red/red” Sudoku
a 9x9 gridis witha several
num- 6 7 8 3 9 4 1 2 5
threshold that forces a ber-placing
given numbers.puzzleThe object 4 2 9 7 1 5 3 6 8

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

ties for Wisconsin remain and their need to control Ten players and 11 staffers team to stop practices and based onthe
is to place a 9x9
numbers 1 3 5 2 6 8 4 7 9
paused indefinitely. any additional transmis- have tested positive over competition for at least sev- grid
1 to 9with
in theseveral
empty spaces 7 5 3 8 2 1 6 9 4
“I’m concerned with sion of the virus within the last seven days. en days. given
so that numbers.
each row, eachThe 9 1 4 5 7 6 8 3 2
object
column and each 3x3 the
is to place box 8 6 2 9 4 3 5 1 7

Poll
numbers
contains the1same to 9 number
in
the empty spaces so 2 8 6 1 5 9 7 4 3
only once. The difficulty 5 9 1 4 3 7 2 8 6
that each row, each
level increases from
Continued from Page 1B column and each 3 4 7 6 8 2 9 5 1
Monday
3x3 boxtocontains
Sunday. Difficulty Level 11/03

Madison-Ridgeland Acad-
emy was fourth overall
and D’Iberville was fifth.
Starkville forfeited last
week’s game against War-
ren Central because of
COVID-19 and will wrap
up the regular season Fri-
day at Clinton. If the Jack-
ets lose, they’ll miss out
on a spot in the Class 6A
playoffs.
In other polls
— West Point (6-3)
gained ground but still
fell short of the Class
5A rankings. The Green
Wave received 17 points,
tops among teams outside
the top five of Neshoba
Central, Lafayette, West
Jones, Picayune and Rid-
geland. West Point has
won two straight games,
routing Columbus and
New Hope, since losing
back-to-back contests
against Lake Cormo-
rant and Grenada. Like
Starkville, West Point
must win Friday’s home
game against Center Hill
to qualify for the playoffs.
— Heritage Academy
(7-2) received only The
Dispatch’s fifth-place vote
among Mississippi pri-
vate schools, earning the
Patriots six points in the
poll. Among teams out-
side the top five, Presby-
terian Christian received
18 points, Cathedral had
eight, and Wilkinson
County Christian Acad-
emy also had six. The
same five schools — Mad-
ison-Ridgeland Academy,
Leake Academy, Jackson
Prep, Jackson Academy
and Greenville Christian
— comprised the top five.
Heritage Academy will
host Starkville Academy
in the MAIS Class 5A
quarterfinal round Friday.
— Noxubee County
(6-1) remained second
behind Magee in the
Class 3A poll Tuesday.
The Tigers once again re-
ceived three of nine first-
place votes, while Magee
earned the other six. West
Marion, Columbia and
North Panola rounded
out the top five. Noxubee
County did not play last
week after its opponent,
Aberdeen, had to forfeit
because of COVID-19.
The Tigers will host By-
halia in the first round of
the Class 3A playoffs on
Friday in Macon.
Here’s the ballot Theo 3. Columbia (7-2) the same number only once. The difficulty level
DeRosa submitted for The 4. Magee (7-0) increases from Monday to Sunday.
Dispatch: 5. North Panola (6-1)
Overall top 10 Class 4A
1. Oak Grove (8-0) 1. Louisville (8-1)
2. Starkville (7-2) 2. Newton County (9-
3. Madison-Ridgeland 0)
Academy (10-0) 3. Pontotoc (8-1)
4. Oxford (8-0) 4. Poplarville (6-3)
5. West Jones (8-2) 5. Corinth (5-3)
6. Leake Academy (10-
0)
7. D’Iberville (8-0) Class 5A
8. Lafayette (7-2) 1. West Jones (8-2)
2. Lafayette (7-2)
9. Ridgeland (8-2)
3. Ridgeland (8-2)
10. Neshoba Central
(9-1) 4. Neshoba Central (9-
1)
5. Picayune (8-1)
Class 1A
1. Nanih Waiya (8-0)
2. Lumberton (7-1) Class 6A
3. Biggersville (9-0) 1. Oak Grove (8-0)
2. Starkville (7-2)
4. TCPS (6-2)
3. Oxford (8-0)
5. Simmons (6-1)
4. D’Iberville (8-0)
Class 2A 5. South Panola (8-2)
1. Taylorsville (9-1)
2. North Side (7-0) Private schools
3. Enterprise Clarke 1. Madison-Ridgeland
(7-1) Academy (10-0)
4. Scott Central (7-1) 2. Leake Academy (10-
5. Union (7-2) 0)
3. Jackson Prep (8-2)
Class 3A 4. Greenville Christian
1. Noxubee County (6- (8-1)
1) 5. Heritage Academy
2. West Marion (6-2) (7-2)

Election Day
Continued from Page 1B
there was vivid symbol-
ism in the wide use of
team arenas and stadiums
as voter registration and
polling sites.
If the United States’
fields of play once were
walled off from politics —
Colin Kaepernick, whose
33rd birthday happened
to be Tuesday, saw his
sideline kneeling to call
attention to police brutal-
ity and systemic racism
contribute to his status
as a “former NFL quar-
terback” — they have
become fertile ground for
those sorts of statements
in 2020.
“Athletes, like anyone,
are entitled to their opin-
ion,” Pittman said. “But I
don’t have to agree with
it.”
And that’s absolute-
ly fine, said Ish Smith,
the Wizards guard who
signed Pittman’s cap.
“I’ve loved and respect-
ed how we have ... been
able to speak out on cer-
tain things that was, in
the past, uncomfortable.
It says a lot. Says how far
we came as athletes. And
we’re going to keep grow-
ing, keep evolving,” Smith
said.
“Sports and politics
— usually people keep to
one side,” he said. “Now
they’re intertwining.”
Indeed, that inter-
section never has been
as pronounced as now,
whether manifested in
the messages on courts
and jerseys during the
NBA season. Or walkouts
staged by that league’s
players and followed by
others from tennis to
hockey. Or the unfurling
of a black ribbon held by
the Washington Nationals
and New York Yankees
before they knelt in uni-
son at the first game of
the Major League Base-
ball season.
“When I played, play-
ers and coaches were
never — maybe not nev-
er; rarely — asked about
politics and voting,” Gold-
en State Warriors coach
Steve Kerr said. “But the
times are different. Our
country is in turmoil, and
everybody plays a role.”
Tuesday, meanwhile,
was that rare day in the
U.S. without scoreboards.
No competition. No
practices. Nothing (oth-
er than a rather ho-hum
NFL trade deadline).
Some of that was cour-
tesy of the coronavirus
pandemic — the 2020-21
NBA and NHL seasons
normally would be in full
swing, but the delayed
finishes of their previous
seasons pushed back the
upcoming ones — and
some of it was because of
Election Day. The NFL
and Major League Soc-
cer ordered everyone to
take a day off. Similarly,
the NCAA barred every
top-division college team
from playing or training.
Yet sports’ presence
was felt.
Athletes can “encour-
age people to listen to
one another, to unite and
come together, more so
than divide,” Miami Dol-
phins coach Brian Flores
said. “I think that’s im-
portant to a lot of the play-
ers. I think they want bet-
ter for this world.”
There were wide-reach-
ing, nonpartisan “get
out the vote” efforts en-
dorsed by players, teams
and leagues themselves,
including Los Angeles
Lakers superstar LeB-
ron James’ “More Than a
Vote” group, formed not
long after the the police
killings of George Floyd
in Minneapolis and Breo-
na Taylor in Louisville.
There also were ath-
letes — and ex-athletes
— who made it a point
to let folks know which
candidate, party or po-
sitions they support: en-
dorsements of President
Donald Trump tweeted
by golf’s Jack Nicklaus
and football’s Brett Favre;
rally speeches in support
of former Vice President
Joe Biden by Philadelphia
76ers coach Doc Rivers;
phone calls boosting
Biden by Olympic figure
skating medalist Michelle
Kwan. In August, two-
time NBA MVP Stephen
Curry appeared with his
wife, Ayesha, and their
two daughters in a video
endorsing Biden during
the Democratic National
Convention.
It’s an environment
that led Wizards shooting
guard Bradley Beal, Ten-
nessee Titans linebacker
Will Compton, NASCAR
driver Bubba Wallace and
others to proudly note
they were voting for the
first time. And led WNBA
players Tamika Catch-
ings and Chiney Ogwu-
mike to sign up to be poll
workers. And led Okla-
homa City Thunder point
guard Chris Paul to join
nearly 2,500 people on a
march to a voting site in
North Carolina. And led
safety Rodney McLeod
and some Eagles team-
mates to encourage voter
turnout by riding a dou-
ble-decker bus around
Philadelphia.
Part of that enthusi-
asm, to be sure, is a result
of stoking by Trump, who
loudly decried peaceful
protests by Kaepernick
and other players and
prompted more athletes
and teams than in the
past to skip the traditional
champions’ White House
visits.
“Certainly, there
are fans out there who
provide pushback: ‘All
we want to do is watch
sports. We don’t want to
be involved in politics,’”
said Len Elmore, a former ACROSS
NBA player who teaches a 1 Lily variety
Columbia University class 6 Herring’s kin
about athlete activism 10 Steer clear of
and social justice. “But
11 Make amends
those are the same people 12 Orange coats
who will push back on the
13 Lively dance
notion of racism existing 14 Quiche start
and permeating all of our
15 “That’s life”
lives.” 16 Finish
In Cleveland, Ian Craw- 17 Commotion
ford — who wore an MLB 18 So far
Indians hat while voting 19 Coffee
at the NBA Cavaliers workers
arena — said he’s all for 22 Russian
athletes expressing their denial
thoughts on big issues. 23 “Othello”
“I don’t necessarily villain 2 City on the 25 Venezuelan
know if, ‘Oh, LeBron is 26 Amusement Rhône river
saying that, so I’m just go- park attractions 3 Stressful 27 Diving bird
ing to do whatever LeBron 29 Touch lightly period 28 Future ferns
says to do,’ but it brings 32 Toddy base
4 Toppers 29 Chooses
out other opinions and it 33 Quick taste
5 TV spots 30 Parts of
kind of makes you think 34 Opinion
6 Hide away hearts
a little more about the opener
7 Like colanders 31 Skimpy
situation,” Crawford said. 36 Gambling city
8 Sock site swimwear
“People who are kind of 37 Hag 35 Print supplies
9 Traded
curmudgeonly and (the) 38 Car part 36 Part
11 Wise saying
‘stick to sports’ kind of 39 Twisted 15 Shelley work 38 Atlas page
thing is ridiculous.” 40 Writer Walker 17 Bar member
Wallace, the only full- 41 Hangs low 20 Brief time
time NASCAR driver who 42 River to the 21 Plopped
is Black, found himself in Rio Grande down
a Twitter back-and-forth DOWN 24 Kind of map
with Trump in July, which 1 Line of work or code
he referred to Tuesday as
“being thrown into the
political fire” — and con-
nected to his decision to
vote.
Wallace thinks ath-
letes are going to make
themselves heard regu-
larly now.
“You can’t just do it
once,” he said. “It’s defi-
nitely something that will
keep going on. And I keep
encouraging other ath-
letes to keep exercising
their right, using their
platforms, using their
voices.”
As Warriors guard Da-
mion Lee put it: “These
are the times where ev-
eryone’s ready for it. It’s
not a moment; it’s a move-
ment.”
4B WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

College hoops scheduling still chaotic as season nears

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The NCA A’s announcement
of a college basketball start
date led to huge scramble as
schools tried to fill out sched-
ules altered by the coronavirus
pandemic.
Instead of getting easier
with time, the task of building
schedules has become more
difficult as the season’s start
date nears.
Travel is an issue. So is find-
ing common testing protocols.
Restrictions in every state are
all different and constantly
changing with virus cases on
the rise. The cancellation of
several multiteam events left
huge holes. Even sorting out
officiating has presented chal-
lenges.
It’s been like trying to simul-
taneously build 353 separate
puzzles with overlapping and
sometimes-missing pieces —
and time is running out.
“We don’t know a lot of
things,” Duke coach Mike
Krzyzewski. “But we know
we’re going to have March
Madness. We know we’re go-
ing to have a regular season.
We just don’t know much about
both — and it’s a hell of a way to
run a railroad.”
The coronavirus ran col-
lege basketball, like every oth-
er sport and aspect of life, off
the rails in March. The NCA A
Tournament was wiped out and
so was part of the payout to
member schools, a whopping
$375 million shortfall.
Following the lead of sports
like the NFL and Major League
Baseball, the NCA A opted to
start college basketball’s reg-
ular season on Nov. 25. The
NCA A reduced the maximum
number of games from 31 to 27
for teams playing in multiteam
events, 25 for those that don’t.
The plan is to play the NCA A
Tournament in March, possibly
in a “bubble” environment like
the NBA and NHL did.
Even with meticulous plan-
ning before the NCA A’s an-
nouncement, teams had a tough
time finding opponents.
The season was pushed
back, so games set for early
November had to be postponed
or dropped from the schedule.
Lost games had to be replaced
with new opponents, with a
premium placed on regional
schools since most teams don’t
want to fly during a pandemic.
Virus testing protocols had
to be worked out and finding
officials, many of whom work
multiple games a week in differ-
ent states and conferences, was
a complex, unexpected issue.
Several multiteam events
moved locations — the Maui In-
vitational from Hawaii to North
Carolina, the Cancun Chal-
lenge from Mexico to Florida
— leading to teams dropping
out. Other multiteam events
were canceled, leaving sched-
uling holes.
ESPN last week announced
the cancellation of a planned
NBA-like bubble in Orlando
due to schools’ concerns about
health and safety protocols.
The elimination of those eight
events left two dozen teams
scrambling to find replacement
games.
“There’s been nothing like
it,” Illinois coach Brad Under-
wood said. “It’s truly COVID
2020, unprecedented as so
many things are. We don’t have
a lot of answers. We have a ton
of questions that all have to be
answered.”
Underwood described Illi-
nois’ schedule as a blank sheet
of paper last month, and the
Illini have since added a Dec.
8 game against Duke in the
ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Krzyzewski believes the
Blue Devils have a 27-game
schedule in place, but that’s ob-
viously subject to change. Duke
will host a multiteam event at
Cameron Indoor Stadium with
Bellarmine, Howard and Elon
in early December, but it has
announced no other games out-
side of playing Illinois.
Gonzaga, projected to be a
top-5 team, has games against
Baylor and Iowa scheduled for
December and a full home-and-
away slate of West Coast Con-
ference games. The WCC re-
portedly is looking into playing
in a Las Vegas bubble for con-
ference games, so that could
change.

Comics & Puzzles

DILBERT
Dear Abby
D
EAR ABBY:
I am a
39-year-old
woman who has
been in a relation-
ship for five years
and married for
two. Abby, I am
consumed with
regret for marrying
this man. He’s
loyal and has a
ZITS good job, but he
spends most of
our money on
food (eating out
at work, drinking
expensive beers,
Dear Abby
buying tools, etc.)
and he is probably the most
negative person I know. His
negativity is so overwhelming it
has pulled me down closer to
his level than where I started
when we met.
I feel trapped. I don’t want
to be single at 40, and I know
GARFIELD somewhere in there I love
him, so I’m working on my
own energy so it won’t affect
me so much. He just makes
everything so miserable with
his attitude. He exudes bad en-
ergy. He pouts, throws temper
tantrums, is rude, condescend-
ing, and EVERYONE around him
can feel his bad moods. He has
only recently started therapy
and I want to be patient, but
I have this loop playing in my
head — “I hate his guts!” I
know it’s not true, but I am so
CANDORVILLE resentful and remorseful for
marrying him. Is there anything
I can do to save
my marriage?
Is it even worth
it? — SECOND
THOUGHTS IN
CALIFORNIA
DEAR SEC-
OND THOUGHTS:
There is
something you
can do, and I
sincerely hope
you will take it to
heart. Recognize
that “pouting,
temper tantrums,
condescension
and (constant)
negativity” is
hostile and abusive. I am glad
your husband is receiving pro-
fessional help to improve his
behavior and attitude. Now it’s
time for you to do the same. If
you do, it will help you to clear
your head and your soul. It will
also give you deeper insight
into whether this is worth it.
P.S. Saving your marriage
will have to be a joint effort.
This is not something you can
do on your own.
DEAR ABBY: I’ve been deal-
ing with some emotional stress
for well over a year. I’ve recently
found out my wife’s ex was
much more well-endowed than I
am. I understand that’s not the
most important thing, but it is
messing with me mentally. One
reason is, a long time ago when
she was drunk, she asked me
why it was so small. When I
came across pictures of him, it
all came back.
I feel like we need to talk
about it, but I don’t know how
to start. I know she will get mad
and I don’t think she would tell
me the truth. A lot of things
go along with these feelings,
which is part of why it bothers
me so much. I probably need to
just let it go, but it continues to
haunt me. We have been mar-
ried a long time and have had
our share of problems. How
do I get past this? Any help or
guidance would be greatly ap-
preciated. — NOT MEASURING
UP IN ALABAMA
DEAR NOT MEASURING UP:
What, exactly, is the “truth”
you are afraid your wife will
conceal if you bring this out in
the open? If she thought you
couldn’t satisfy her needs, she
wouldn’t have married you. The
question I would like answered
is where those old photos were
when you stumbled across
them. Were you going through
her belongings because you
feel insecure about things other
than your anatomy? This does
need to be discussed when you
are both sober, because if you
remain silent, your insecurity
will only grow worse. Please
don’t wait to do it.
Dear Abby is written by
Abigail Van Buren, also known
as Jeanne Phillips, and was
founded by her mother, Pauline
Phillips. Contact Dear Abby
at www.DearAbby.com or P.O.
Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA
90069.

Horoscopes
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Nov.
4). This year, you’ll live by your
word — confidently, boldly. Also,
you’ll share your opinions with
people who adore you and need
your input; it’s more of a rarity
than you may realize. Enjoy
the special status. Lifestyle
upgrades happen over the next
three months. You’ll conquer a
BABY BLUES habit and favorably impact your
health. Cancer and Virgo adore
you. Your lucky numbers are: 2,
20, 1, 18 and 50.
ARIES (March 21-April 19).
To keep in mind the imperma-
nence of things can be a kind of
spiritual practice, the benefits
of which include more fully in-
habiting this moment, which will
BEETLE BAILEY
MALLARD FILLMORE
FAMILY CIRCUS
never come your way again.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20).
Something that is very easy to
you is actually quite laborious to
someone dear to you, and the
realization has you wanting to
extend help, ease the load or
come to an arrangement.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21).
You’ve taken the time to think
about just the right words to
describe what you offer to the
world. Your communication is
on point today, and people will
want to listen to, pay attention
to and reward you.
CANCER (June 22-July
22). Politeness is the main
ingredient of a decent society.
Decorum that all adhere to
makes so much more possible
for the group. Culture problems
within a team can be solved
with good manners.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22).
Insecurity has many faces.
Sometimes it shows up in a
false veneer of superiority.
But don’t you worry. Even the
impenetrably cool are no match
for your disarming charm.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22).
Once again, you’ll be reminded
of the importance of attitude.
If not everything, it’s certainly
something. With a slight adjust-
ment, you’ll become perfectly
suited for the job you most need
to do.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct.
23). Glue needs hours to dry;
cement needs a day to set up;
and people do not become tight
overnight. The chemical reac-
tions that make a bond happen
over time and cannot be rushed.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov.
21). You set out to lift people,
not to lean on them. And yet,
you wouldn’t want to rob anyone
of the chance to help you. You
need it, and they need to give
it — a perfect confluence of
interests.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec.
21). You bond with people for
reasons neither you nor they
understand, and it’s that way for
life. Such is the pleasure and
privilege of human connection.
Enjoy.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan.
19). The effort that goes into
impressing a person hardly ever
pays off directly, but it does
pay off in other ways, namely in
inspiring people to do and be
better at their job.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.
18). Even though you expe-
rience things in linear time,
creations rarely happen like
that. Endings sometimes come
first, beginnings last... the time
to title things is generally at
the end, when you at last know
what it actually is.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March
20). The boundaries always
exist somewhere. Better for you
to bring them tighter than for
the world to do it. The trick is
knowing where to set them to
provide yourself the illusion of
freedom.

At the end of the day

SOLUTION:
Food
Like apple
Apples can transform a salad, like this apple and chicken salad. Read on
for recipes for a winter apple salad with pomegranate vinaigrette, a cara-
mel apple salad, an apple cheese and walnut salad, and a cheddar apple
salad with maple dressing.
week. For the time being, I’m
visit. It was a simple version —
chopped apples, mayo, walnuts
or pecans, sometimes grapes or
familyfeatures.com
Steak Au Poivre topped with sauce
showcases tender filet mignons that
can be ready in under half and hour.
Consider
these savory
centerpieces
FAMILY FEATURES
C
elebrate the season and
create long-lasting memories
this year by serving tasteful
main courses centered around
tender cuts of beef.
With hand-cut choices like a
bone-in Frenched prime rib roast,
butcher’s cut filet mignons, a beef
brisket flat and premium ground
beef from Omaha Steaks, you can
See CENTERPIECES, 6B
with that?
Salads with apples, a cool
weather favorite
BY JAN
SWOOPE an adult, I still do. And I’ve been
jswoope@
cdispatch.com
T
hese
days I’m
going to
the grocery store twice
a month. I used to go once a
trying to reduce as much
crowd exposure as possible.
Thing is, of course, mak-
ing fewer trips means I
need to buy about twice
as much per visit, a
cumbersome chore.
Several friends are
ordering and picking
up, but I do like to
peruse and pick. On
my last few visits, I’ve
been drawn to the shiny
Red Delicious apples
piled in the bins. They’re
hard for me to resist. I’ve
recently resurrected mak-
ing an apple salad my aunt
used to prepare when we’d
Save time with simple sweet potato recipes
FAMILY FEATURES
T
ime is of the essence in many
kitchens across the country,
especially during this busy
season when everything seems to
happen at once. Whether it’s in-per-
son or virtual school responsibilities,
extracurricular activities, work dead-
lines or family obligations leaving you
with less time, creating delicious and
nourishing meals for loved ones that
you can be proud of doesn’t have to
take up an entire morning or evening.
When time is short and your fam-
ily is hungry, you can turn to Honest
Earth Mashed Sweet Potatoes from
the potato experts at Idahoan. With
no artificial colors, flavors or preser-
vatives, they are made with simple
ingredients, including sweet potatoes,
brown sugar and real butter. They’re
a good source of vitamin A and rich
in fiber, antioxidants and minerals,
including potassium and iron, making
them a perfect addition to nutritious
family meals.
As the first product of its kind,
Honest Earth Mashed Sweet Potatoes
save precious prep, cook and cleanup
time because they come ready to heat
in just 60 seconds right in their con-
venient, microwavable pouch. That
means your family can say “good
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2020 n 5B
choosemyplate.gov
raisins. As a child, I loved it. As
searching out other ways to use
apples in salads this fall. Adding
apples makes us feel like we’re
eating a bit healthier and delivers a
crisp, sweet flavor.
Recipes today celebrate the ap-
ples of autumn. I hope you’ll pick
one out to try soon.
APPLE AND CHICKEN SALAD
2 red apples (such as Cameo Apples)
2 celery stalks (diced)
2 chicken breasts (skinless, cooked,
diced, about 2 cups)
1/4 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
16 lettuce leaves (Bibb, Romaine, green
or red leaf)
n Cut apples in quarters; remove core
and chop.
n In a medium size bowl, mix all ingredi-
ents, except lettuce.
n To serve, arrange lettuce on serving
plates top with apple and chicken salad.
(Source: Produce for Better Health Foun-
dation, choosemyplate.gov)
See APPLES, 6B
Sweet potato casserole with pecans and toasted marshmallows will upgrade
any feast this winter.
morning” to a creative breakfast like
Sweet Potato Waffles with Whipped
Cream and Berry Compote in just a
matter of minutes.
As dinnertime draws near, turn to
an American classic and the nostalgic
taste of comfort food — Sweet Potato
Casserole with Pecans and Toasted
Marshmallows — to warm you and all
LIFESTYLES EDITOR
Jan Swoope: 328-2471
familyfeatures.com
Grapes and apples combine flavors
in this sheet pan pie.
Make small
holiday
celebrations
special with
a fresh menu
FAMILY FEATURES
H
oliday festivities with
immediate family members
or just a few friends rather
than larger gatherings may feel
different than normal, but you can
make the most of the situation
with these tips to add intimacy and
special meaning to celebratory
moments:
n Use special dishes, glassware
and linens to convey the tone of
the celebration. Go ahead and use
your best dishes or enhance your
everyday plates with the use of
cloth napkins or a festive table-
cloth. Bring out the fancy glasses
to savor every sip.
n Arrange visually appealing,
individual mini-snack platters for
each person. Combine grapes with
a special cheese, crackers, olives
and nuts for an easy way to curb
appetites before the main course.
n Set a festive table with a
simple but creative centerpiece.
For instance, you can combine can-
dles, flowers and draped bunches
of colorful grapes. Place votive
candles on mirrors for added
shimmer and sparkle. Tie a gold
or silver wire ribbon bow around
the napkins at each place setting.
Handwritten place cards with
guests’ names can add a surpris-
ing and special touch.
n Stay healthy to enjoy the
holidays. Choose healthy foods
like fruits and vegetables that
help support the immune system.
Maintain your exercise schedule
as much as possible and ensure
you are getting enough sleep.
See CELEBRATIONS, 6B
familyfeatures.com
your loved ones from the inside-out.
Requiring just a few ingredients, it’s
an ideal solution for busy weeknights
when you need a shortcut that doesn’t
sacrifice quality or taste.
For more information and
time-saving recipe ideas, visit Idaho-
an.com/sweet.
See SWEET POTATOES, 6B
6B WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Apples
Continued from Page 5B
together pomegranate juice, 2 medium Fuji apples, halved, (see below) 1 teaspoon minced dried
WINTER APPLE SALAD vinegar, mustard and honey in
n With an electric mixer,
beat the cream cheese and cored and sliced 1/8 inch 4 ounces white Cheddar onion
WITH POMEGRANATE a blender jar. Drizzle in vege-
table oil slowly while running.
caramel topping together until
creamy. Add marshmallow
thick
1/3 cup crumbled blue
cheese, cut into short, thick
matchsticks
1/3 cup vegetable oil

VINAIGRETTE Season with salt and pepper.

1/4 cup pomegranate juice
1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic
vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon style
mustard
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste
6 cups spinach and romaine
lettuce mixture
1 large apple, cored and
chopped (Honey Crisp, Fuji or
Gala)
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
(from 1 pomegranate)
1/2 cup toasted, roughly
chopped walnuts 6 slices
bacon, fried and crumbled
4 ounces blue cheese crum-
bles
n For vinaigrette, combine
n For salad, toss spinach and
lettuce with enough dressing
to coat. Place on six salad
plates. Top with apples, pome-
granate seeds, walnuts, bacon
and blue cheese. Drizzle with
a little additional dressing.
(Source: extension.tennessee.
edu)
CARAMEL APPLE SALAD
8 ounces cream cheese,
softened
2 tablespoons caramel ice
cream topping (or syrup)
1 (7-ounce) jar marshmallow
crème
1 (8-ounce) container frozen
whipped topping, thawed
4 tart apples, cored and
chopped
4 Payday candy bars
crème and beat until com-
bined and smooth. Fold in
whipped topping just until
combined.
n Add apples and candy bars
and fold together. Chill until
ready to serve. Drizzle with
additional caramel just before
serving.
(Source: extension.tennessee.
edu)
APPLE, CHEESE
AND WALNUT SALAD
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic
vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon style
mustard
1 clove garlic, crushed
Black pepper to taste
8 cups torn mixed lettuce
cheese
1/4 cup coarsely chopped,
toasted walnuts
n In a small mixing bowl
whisk together the oil, vinegar,
mustard, crushed garlic and
black pepper. Let stand a few
minutes. Remove and discard
the garlic clove.
n In a large bowl toss the let-
tuce and apple slices with the
vinaigrette. Arrange on a large
platter. Sprinkle with blue
cheese and walnuts. Serve
immediately.
(extension.tennessee.edu)
CHEDDAR APPLE SALAD
WITH MAPLE DRESSING
4 cups torn Boston Bibb
lettuce
Maple Poppy Seed Dressing
1 apple, peeled, cored and cut
into short, thick matchsticks
1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
Maple glazed pecans (see
below)
n Toss the lettuce with a little
of the dressing and mound on
each of 4 plates. Top with the
cheese, apple, pepper and
onion. Lay the pecans on top
and drizzle with a little more
dressing.
FOR THE MAPLE POPPY
SEED DRESSING
1/4 cup real maple syrup
2 tablespoons apple cider
vinegar
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
n In a bowl whisk together the
syrup, vinegar, pepper, salt,
poppy seeds and onion. While
whisking, slowly drizzle in the
vegetable oil. Let sit in refrig-
erator for a couple of hours
until ready to serve.
FOR THE MAPLE
GLAZED PECANS
3 cups pecans
1 tablespoon imitation maple
extract
1/2 cup brown sugar
n Combine all ingredients.
Bake at 300 degrees F. until
just toasted. Cool and store in
airtight container.
(Source: extension.tennessee.
edu)

Celebrations
Continued from Page 5B
n Opt for homemade
over processed foods for
signature dishes then
reinforce with prepared
items to fill out the menu,
if needed. Let your guests
bring part of the meal or
something to contribute
to the festivities.
Adding a sweet touch
to the menu can help
keep guests coming back
for more. For example,
fresh California grapes
are available into January
and are perfect for the
holiday season. Enjoy
them as a fresh, healthy
snack or side dish, or as
an ingredient to add taste
and visual appeal to rec-
ipes to make the season
feel special.
Start the meal with
a simple but beautiful
salad such as Grape and
Spinach Salad with Rasp-
berry Balsamic Dressing,
where the grapes provide
festive color and pleasing
texture. Cap off the cele-
bration with homemade
Grape and Apple Sheet
Pan Pie.
Visit grapesfromcal-
ifornia.com/recipe to
find more holiday-worthy
dishes from appetizers
and entrees to sides,
snacks and desserts.
familyfeautures.com
Start your meal off with
this grape and spinach
salad with raspberry bal-
samic dressing.
GRAPE AND SPINACH
SALAD WITH
RASPBERRY BALSAMIC
DRESSING
Prep time: 20 minutes
Servings: 8
8 cups fresh baby spinach,
washed
4 1/2 cups California grapes
1 1/4 cups mandarin orange
segments, drained if using
canned
1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
3/4 cup bottled light balsamic
vinegar and oil dressing
1/4 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons raspberry jam
3/4 cup crunchy chow mein
noodles
n In large salad bowl, com-
bine spinach with grapes,
oranges and onion.
n Whisk together dressing, or-
ange juice and jam. Pour over
salad and toss until greens
are coated with dressing.
Divide among eight plates and
top with crunchy noodles.
GRAPE AND APPLE
SHEET PAN PIE
Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 50 minutes
Servings: 16
Dough:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 1/2 sticks cold unsalted
butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup ice water, plus addition-
al if needed
Filling:
3 pounds Granny Smith or
other tart apples, peeled and
thinly sliced (about 9 cups)
4 cups black California grapes
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all- purpose
flour
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 pinch salt
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
Demerara sugar, for garnish
n To make dough: In large
bowl, whisk flour, sugar and
salt. Add butter and toss with
flour mixture. Smash each but-
ter cube flat then use fork to
stir in cold water. Knead lightly
until dough comes together in
ball. Transfer to floured work
surface and use well-floured
rolling pin to roll into 10-by-15-
inch sheet. Fold each short
side into middle and close
like a book. Fold once more
to make thick block and cut
in half. Wrap each piece in
plastic and chill at least 30
minutes or overnight.
n To make filling: In large
bowl, combine apples, grapes,
sugar, flour, lemon juice and
salt; set aside.
n To assemble pie: Heat oven
to 375 F.
n Roll one half of dough out
to 18-by-13-inch rectangle.
Transfer to 10-by-15-inch
heavy baking sheet; place
in refrigerator to chill while
rolling out top sheet. Roll out
remaining dough to 18-by-13-
inch rectangle and use pastry
cutter to cut into 1 1/2-inch
wide strips.
n Transfer filling into chilled
pastry and spread evenly. Lay
dough strips on top of filling in
lattice pattern and crimp sides
together. Mix egg with water
and brush top of pie. Sprinkle
with demerara sugar and bake
until filling is bubbling, and
crust is nicely browned, about
45-50 minutes.

Centerpieces
Continued from Page 5B
create elegant holiday centerpieces
such as Steak Au Poivre or a unique
generational recipe, the Simon Family
Brisket. Each cut of beef is hand-carved
by expert butchers, flash-frozen to cap-
ture freshness and flavor at its peak and
delivered directly to your door.
Find more inspiration to create
a memorable holiday meal at Oma-
haSteaks.com.
STEAK AU POIVRE
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Servings: 2
2 butcher’s cut filet mignons (5-6 ounces
each), thawed
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1/3 cup brandy or cognac
1 cup cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
n Season steak with salt and pepper. Press
seasoning into meat to create even coating.
n In large skillet over medium-high heat, heat
vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon butter until just
smoking. Add steak and sear 4 minutes on
each side for medium-rare. Once cooked to de-
sired doneness, transfer steak to cutting board
and tent with foil to rest.
n Reduce heat to medium and add brandy to
skillet. Allow to cook down about 1 minute while
stirring to scrape off any browned bits from
bottom of pan. Once brandy reduces by half,
add cream, Dijon mustard and remaining butter;
continue cooking until mixture begins to reduce
and thicken, 5-7 minutes. Slice steaks against
grain and top with sauce.
SIMON FAMILY BRISKET
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 4 hours, plus 20 minutes resting
time
Servings: 4
1 beef brisket flat (2 pounds), thawed
1 package (1.1 ounces) dry onion soup mix
1 can (14 ounces) whole cranberries
1 cup chili sauce
1 cup ginger ale
n Preheat oven to 250 F. Place brisket in large
ovenproof baking dish.
n In bowl, mix onion soup mix, cranberries and
chili sauce. Spoon over top of brisket. Pour
ginger ale around edges of brisket.
n Cover with foil and bake 4 hours.
n Remove from oven and let rest 20 minutes.
Remove brisket from baking dish and place on
cutting board. Slice brisket against grain and
place in serving dish. Top with sauce and serve.

Sweet potatoes
Continued from Page 5B

SWEET POTATO WAFFLES n In medium bowl, whisk

WITH WHIPPED CREAM
AND BERRY COMPOTE
Yield: 4 large waffles
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, separated
3/4 cup 2 percent milk
1 pouch mashed sweet
potatoes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil,
plus additional for brushing on
waffle iron, divided
Berry compote:
1 cup raspberries
1cup blackberries
1cup blueberries
2-3 tablespoons granulated
sugar
1dash lemon zest or juice
Whipped cream
n Preheat waffle iron to medi-
um heat.
flour, baking powder and salt.
n In separate bowl, blend egg
yolks (reserve whites), milk,
sweet potatoes and 2 table-
spoons oil until smooth.
n Add flour mixture to egg
and milk mixture; blend until
no clumps remain.
n In separate bowl, whip
reserved egg whites until stiff
peaks form. Fold egg whites
gently into batter.
n Using pastry brush, oil
waffle iron then add batter
and cook until waffle removes
easily. Repeat with remaining
batter.
n To make berry compote:
Wash raspberries, blackber-
ries and blueberries. Drain
but do not dry. In small sauce-
pan over medium-low heat,
warm berries. Add sugar and
lemon zest or juice. Cook until
berries have broken down and
juice reaches low simmer.
Serve warm over waffles and
top with whipped cream.
SWEET POTATO
CASSEROLE WITH
PECANS AND TOASTED
MARSHMALLOWS
Servings: 2
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 pouch mashed sweet
potatoes
nonstick cooking spray
1 1/2 cups miniature marsh-
mallows
n Position oven rack in upper
one-third of oven. Preheat
oven to 350 F.
n In blender, blend pecans
into sweet potatoes.
n Divide between two 1-cup
ramekins sprayed with non-
stick cooking spray. Sprinkle
with marshmallows and bake
about 15 minutes, or until Tell your child a bedtime story.
marshmallows are toasted
and browned.
Classifieds
LEGALS
CALL US: 662-328-2424
Legal Notices
PUBLIC NOTICE:
Metro Site, Inc., is proposing to
build a 265-foot Self-Suppor-
ted Telecommunications Tower.
Anticipated lighting application
is medium intensity dual
red/white strobes. The site loc-
ation is 281 Mount Vernon
Road, Columbus, Lowndes
County, MS 39702 (33° 29’
15.69” North and 88° 18’
11.46” West). The Federal
Communications Commission
(FCC) Antenna Structure Regis-
tration (ASR, Form 854) filing
number is A1177281.
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS – In-
terested persons may review
the application
(www.fcc.gov/asr/applications)
by entering the filing number.
Environmental concerns may
be raised by filing a Request
for Environmental Review
(www.fcc.gov/asr/environment-
alrequest) and online filings are
strongly encouraged. The mail-
ing address to file a paper copy
is: FCC Requests for Environ-
mental Review, Attn: Ramon
Williams, 445 12th Street SW,
Washington, DC 20554. HIS-
TORIC PROPERTIES - Public
comments regarding potential
effects on historic properties
may be submitted within 30
days from the date of this pub-
lication to: Rachel A. Keane,
Terracon, 524 Elmwood Park
Boulevard Suite 170, New Or-
leans, LA 70123; (504) 321-
9379;
rachel.keane@terracon.com.
PUBLISH: 11/4/2020
IN THE CHANCERY COURT OF
LOWNDES COUNTY, MISSIS-
SIPPI
IN THE MATTER OF THE ES-
TATE OF DOROTHY ALICE
HODGES, DECEASED
CAUSE NO.: 20-0205-JNS
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
COUNTY OF LOWNDES
Letters of Administration have to communicate effectively
been granted and issued to the both written and orally and
undersigned upon the Estate of be able to work with all
Dorothy Alice Hodges, De-
ceased, by the Chancery Court
of Lowndes County, Missis-
sippi, on the 22nd day of Octo- port directly to CL&W’s
ber 2020. This is to give no-
tice to all persons having
claims against the Estate of
Dorothy Alice Hodges, De-
ceased, to Probate and Re-
gister their claims with the
Chancery Clerk of Lowndes
County, Mississippi, within
ninety (90) days from the first
publication date of this Notice
to Creditors. A failure to so Pro-
bate and Register their claims
will forever bar them.
This the 26th day of October
2020.
/s/ Thomas S. Hodges, Jr.
THOMAS S. HODGES, JR., Ad-
ministrator
PUBLISH: 10/28, 11/4 &
11/11/2020
IN THE CHANCERY COURT OF
LOWNDES COUNTY, MISSIS-
SIPPI
IN THE MATTER OF THE ES-
TATE OF JANICE RILEY, formerly lent opportunity to earn
known as JANICE GREEN, DE-
CEASED
CAUSE NO.: 2020-0171-PDE
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
COUNTY OF LOWNDES
Letters of Administration have
been granted and issued to the
undersigned upon the Estate of
Janice Riley, formerly known as
Janice Green, deceased, by the
Chancery Court of Lowndes
County, Mississippi, on the 8th
day of October 2020. This is to
give notice to all persons hav-
ing claims against said estate
to probate and register same
with the Chancery Clerk of
Lowndes County, Mississippi,
within ninety (90) days from the
first publication date of this No-
tice to Creditors. A failure to so
probate and register said claim
will forever bar the same.
This the 16th day of October
2020.
/s/ Jerry C. Jones, Administrat-
or
PUBLISH: 10/21, 10/28 &
11/4/2020
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
CAUSE NO.: 2020-0192-S
THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
LOWNDES COUNTY
Letters Testamentary have
been granted and issued to the
undersigned upon the estate of
JOYCE FRANCES DUNSER, de-
ceased, by the Chancery Court
of Lowndes County, Missis-
sippi, on the 29th day of
September, A.D., 2020. This is
to give notice to all persons
having claims against said es-
tate to Probate and Register
same with the Chancery Clerk
of Lowndes County, Missis-
sippi, within ninety (90) days
from this date. A failure to so
Probate and Register said
claim will forever bar the same.
This the 29th day of Septem-
ber, 2020.
/s/ Anthony Robert Dunser
ANTHONY ROBERT DUNSER
PUBLISH: 10/28, 11/4 &
11/11/2020
Buy. Sell. Trade. Rent.
Legal Notices
The following vehicle has been
abandoned at
Jim’s Towing and Recovery LLC
1020 ½ Gardner Blvd
Columbus, MS 39702
2003 Ford Mustang
VIN #1FAFP40483F355747
If not claimed it will be sold on
November 5, 2020, at 10 AM
at 1020 ½ Gardner Blvd.,
Columbus, MS by Jim’s Towing
and Recovery LLC. They will be south walls & Porte−
sold for monies owed for the
tow bill, storage fees, and allmetal parapet cap, alum−
other expenses incurred to pro-inum framed windows &
cess the claims.
Witnessed this the 23rd day of on 7 columns, exterior
October, 2020.
Jim’s Towing and Recovery LLC framing, Interior walls 3 5/
Publish: 10/28 & 11/4/2020 plans. 662−245−1098.
EMPLOYMENT
CALL US: 662-328-2424
General Help Wanted
EMPLOYEE COACH
Columbus Light and Water
Columbus, MS
Columbus Light & Water
Department (CL&W) is a
public utility system serving
over 13,000 customers,
providing electric, and wa-
ter and wastewater ser-
vices in Columbus, Ms.
CL&W seeks to contract a
consultant Coach to coun-
sel CL&W employees on
both personal and employ-
ment issues. The Coach
will counsel employees on
practices to improve per-
sonal and employment rela-
tionships. The Coach must
identify and implement em-
ployee action plans,
provide on-going feedback
and follow up with each
employee. A Coach must
be able to maintain confid-
ential records, be access-
ible at odd hours, be able
levels of CL&W’s organiza-
tion. This position will re-
Board of Directors.
Minimum Qualifications in-
clude: Must have a Bachel-
or’s of Science Degree pre-
ferred Psychology, pre-
ferred Master’s Degree in
Counseling. Licensed Pro-
fessional Counselor in the
State of Mississippi or Na-
tionally Certified Counselor
and must have (8-10) years
of field counseling experi-
ence.
Qualified applicants must
submit a resume to Linda
Triplett, Columbus Light &
Water Department, and
P.O. Box 949, Columbus,
MS 39703-0949.
THE COMMERCIAL
DISPATCH seeks a motiv-
ated, contracted carrier for
the Caledonia area. Excel-
money for college. Must
have good transportation,
valid driver's license & in-
surance. Delivers on
Sunday morning and Mon-
Fri afternoons. Apply at The
Commercial Dispatch, 516
Main Street in Columbus.
No phone calls please.
Good help isn’t hard to find if you know
where to look. Start your search here.
Houses For Sale: Other
Place your ad online today at ads.cdispatch.com
BUSINESS
ADS STARTING AT $25
Business Opportunity
FIRST PENTECOSTAL
CHURCH is accepting BIDS
for the following: Exterior
walls w/ 8" metal stud
framing, EIFS on east &
cochere, wood blocking &
doors, install stone veneer
metal door & frame 1 door,
Porte−cochere metal stud
8 metal stud framing per
Stocks & Bonds
DIGITAL ENTREPRENEURS
NEEDED!!
Whether you want to design bedroom
a life or make EXTRA
MONEY!!
*Profit in first 48−72 hours Refrigerator,
*All from your
SMARTPHONE or
COMPUTER
*Work whenever you want
*More time freedom
For more information, text
the word "Freedom" to
601.850.1528. Call us at: 662−205−0005
All 50 states
RENTALS
ADS STARTING AT $25
Apts For Rent: North
FOX RUN APARTMENTS
1 & 2 BR near hospital.
$595−$645 monthly.
Military discount, pet area,
pet friendly, and furnished
corporate apts.
24−HOUR PROFESSIONAL
GYM. ON SITE SECURITY.
ON SITE MAINTENANCE.
ON SITE MANAGEMENT.
24−HOUR CAMERA
SURVEILLANCE. Benji &
Ashleigh, 662−386−4446.
Apts For Rent: South
Downtown Loft: Very nice 1
bdrm loft, wood floors, tall
ceilings, above a downtown
business. Great location.
Call before 9:00 p.m.
$650. 662−364−1610
Large 2−bedrm apartment. 3BR/2BA MH in New Hope. toys, lamps & much more!
Recently renovated, very
nice, includes washer /
dryer, lots of closets, great name & message,
location. Must see inside. 205−712−6697.
$850. 662−364−1610
Apts For Rent: West
VIP
Rentals
Apartments & Houses
1 Bedrooms
2 Bedroooms
3 Bedrooms
Furnished & Unfurnished
1, 2, & 3 Baths
Lease, Deposit
& Credit Check
viceinvestments.com
327-8555
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 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2020 n 7B
Apts For Rent: Other Lots & Acreage Sporting Goods
1.75 ACRE LOTS Good/
Bad Credit Options. Good
Crawford Army Surplus
on Main in Crawford.
COMMUNITY
credit as low as 20% down, Now for sale: Metal Ammo
$499/mo. Eaton Land, cans 30&50 cal, $10; ADS STARTING AT $12
662−361−7711. .155mm Howitzer treated
wood ammo boxes, Travel & Entertainment
Approx. 7 acres located $5&10; Army steel
between Dale Road and bunkbeds, $125; Field
Buck Egger Road at end of Artillery camo nets with PUBLIC CATFISH POND
Renon Lane. $30,000 spreader poles, $225; 130 Hillcrest Dr
Call; leave message. Unissued camo (BDU/ Catfish contest Oct. 1−
662−549−0696 ACU/ABU) military 6− 31. $200 for most
pocket fatigues, $35 & M− weight. $100 for Big
For Sale: 17+/− acres, 65 field coats & fire− Fish. 2 drawings for
3442 Nashville Ferry Rd. retardant coveralls, $50; $50 valued prizes. Call
Has 2 trailer spots on polypro col weather under 662−386−8591 for
garment, $18; details.
property. Partially wooded.
OCP T−shirts, $5.
$25,500. 662−327−8712.
Call 662.769.1889
ED SANDERS GUNSMITH
GARAGE SALES
Open for season!
Tue−Fri: 9−5 & Sat: 9−12
The Military Square Over 50 years experience!
Apartments are now TWO FREE SIGNS Repairs, cleaning, refin−
accepting applicants! ishing, scopes mounted &
zeroed, handmade knives.
We have 1, 2, and 3 Auctions
Located: Hwy 45 Alt, North
units available.
All apartments are newly of West Point, turn right on
remodeled, and include:
Columbus Lowndes Yokahama Blvd, 8mi & turn
Humane Society Online left on Darracott Rd, will
New Washer/Dryer, New
Let us help you. Advertise here!
Facebook Auction: see sign, 2.5mi ahead
New A/C Unit! Follow Brass Gavel shop on left.
Auctions on Facebook 662−494−6218.
We also offer rent Thursday, Nov. 5th @ 6pm
discounts for:
for the live auction.
−Active Military Items can be viewed on
VEHICLES
−Veterans
−Seniors
CLHS FB page. Five Questions:
Estate Sales
ADS STARTING AT $12 1 Arizona and
COLEMAN LIVING ESTATE SALE
Mrs. Helen G Myers
Autos For Sale New Mexico
RENTALS 1586 North Oliver St.
TOWNHOUSES & APARTMENTS Brooksville, MS 39739
Fri & Sat 9am−4pm. 2006 FORD Ranger FX4
2 Lumos
1 BEDROOM Sun 1−4pm. ext. cab, 4.0 L Eng. with
2 BEDROOMS
Allen organ, oak DR table
w/ 9 chairs, china cabinet,
only 208K miles. Has
camper shell, bed rug,
3 BEDROOMS Singer sewing machine,
3 SpaceX
brush guard with light bar,
chairs, rugs, accessories, new tires in Sept, cold air
LEASE, silver plate, Oneida
© The Dispatch
intake, new water pump in
stainless flatware, Oct, and new A/C in 2019.
DEPOSIT
4 Go
Corningware, Rivireware, Has 3 coats of ceramic
AND maps, books, shop, coating. Looks & runs
storage room & much good. Only $8500.
CREDIT CHECK more. View at 501−545−7750 in
www.estatesales.net Columbus. 5 Fox News
662-329-2323 Antiques and Collectibles
662−570−5686
2411 HWY 45 N Mask required.
COLUMBUS, MS Garage Sales: East
Houses For Rent: East 228 N. McCrary Rd.
Fri. & Sat. 7a−3p. Indoor.
Clothes and misc.
3BR/1BA, stove, refrig−
erator, fresh paint & hard− By the post office.
wood floors. Available
Garage Sales: North
11/1. $600/mo + $500
dep. No HUD, no pets.
3625 AZALEA CIRCLE
662−295−3022. Sat. 6a−until. Kitchen
Mobile Homes for Rent items, home decor, teen
boy’s & women’s clothing,
$650 dep + $650/mo. No
pets, quiet area. Leave full
Garage Sales: Caledonia
Even if you
769 BUCK EGGER RD. don’t get out much
Sat. 7a−1p. Bargains!
Too many items to list! these days, you can
Come check us out! still “go shopping” in the
REAL ESTATE Classifieds. You can find exactly
what you’ve been looking for.
MERCHANDISE
ADS STARTING AT $25
Find someone to mow the lawn
Houses For Sale: East ADS STARTING AT $12 •
Find someone to clean the house
3BR/2BA in 55+
community of Plantation
Firewood / Fuel •
Pointe. For more info call FIREWOOD FOR SALE. Find that special recliner
after 5pm, 662−251− •
7664.
Various lengths.
662−295−2274. Buy a computer system
Houses For Sale: Southside General Merchandise •
1512 WASHINGTON AVE Buy a used car
Mobile Home Frames •
3BR/1.5BA, living room w/
gas log−heat, dining room,
2 Mobile Home Frames for
Buy that rare coin for your collection
front/back porch, natural
$500 Each. 30 Free
Concrete Blocks w/ Each . . . and lots more
gas heat, window units−
Frame
The CommerCial
cooling, storage bldg &
carport. 1,230 sq ft.
Call 662−425−9451.
2 Electric Tongue Jacks
DispaTCh
$150 Each
Houses For Sale: Other For More Info. Contact
Jessie Brooks @
FSBO: 4BR/4.5BA 662−272−8711
10,000+sqft, situated on
13 ac in South Lowndes Co 516 Main St.
@ 627 Canfield Rd. New Sell idle items Columbus, MS 39701
Hope school district. 50x
with a quick action
662-328-2424
100 shop, in ground pool
w/pool house & 1.5 acre classified ad.
stock pond. Ideal place for
ads.cdispatch.com
www.cdispatch.com
mini farm! $675,000.
662−327−3477
SERVICE DIRECTORY
PROMOTE YOUR SMALL BUSINESS STARTING AT ONLY $25
Building & Remodeling General Services General Services Painting & Papering
SUGGS CONSTRUCTION A & T TREE SERVICES SULLIVAN’S PAINT
CO. Building, roofing, Bucket truck & stump SERVICE
remodeling, & home repair. removal. Free est. Special Prices.
Licensed & Bonded. Serving Columbus Interior & Exterior Painting.
662−242−3471. since 1987. Senior 662−435−6528
citizen disc. Call Alvin @
Carpet & Flooring 242−0324/241−4447 Plumbing
"We’ll go out on a limb for
you!"
ACME, INC.
Stan McCown
DUMP TRUCK HAULING. "We fix leaks."
Slag − $400 Natural gas & water.
Clay Gravel − $250 662−386−2915
Available for hauling any
materials. Filling in
swimming pools.
Columbus. Call Walter,
Fall Special: 4 Rms $99 662−251−8664.
1 Room − $50
2 Room − $70 Lawn Care / Landscaping
3 Rooms − $90 WORK WANTED: Licensed
Carpet−Rugs−Tile−Cars & Bonded. Carpentry, minor
electrical, minor plumbing, JESSE & BEVERLY’S
DAVID’S CARPET &
Grow your
UPHOLSTERY insulation, painting, demo− LAWN SERVICE
lition, gutters cleaned, Mowing, cleanup, tree
CLEANING
business.
Call for more info! pressure washing, land− cutting, landscaping,
662−722−1758 scaping, cleanup work. sodding & bush hogging.
662−242−3608. 662−356−6525
8B WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com