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Sunday | November 22, 2020

Duggin named new Community Counseling CEO

‘Popcorn man’ emphasizes communication and connection,
plans to challenge stigma around mental health
BY YUE STELLA YU
syu@cdispatch.com
Before learning his name at
Community Counseling Ser-
vices, some of Richard Dug-
gin’s colleagues first knew
him as “the popcorn man.”
Duggin, a self-described
popcorn lover, would often
treat his co-workers to a fresh
bag of the snack at a new staff
orientation or on a regular
Monday.
“Even if you don’t need it,
the smell of popcorn tends to
bring a smile to people’s face,”
said Duggin’s colleague, CCS
Chief Operations Officer Kar-
en Frye.
Apart from the role of pop-
corn provider, Duggin has
worn many hats over the past
seven years at CCS, where he
oversaw the organization’s fi-
nances and helped with daily
operations as chief financial
officer. But now, he has taken
on a new role.
Duggin was appointed
CCS’s executive director by
the regional Board of Com-
missioners in October fol-
lowing former CEO Jackie
Edwards’ retirement. The or-
ganization announced the ap-
pointment earlier this week.
Board President Ralph Bill-
ingsley said Duggin was the
right fit.
“We are confident in Rich-
ard’s abilities to lead his ded-
icated team in ensuring that
the mental health needs of
individuals in our service area
are met,” Billingsley said in a
press release.
Duggin will manage an or-
ganization with more than 370
employees offering services
to residents in seven counties
— Choctaw, Clay, Lowndes,
Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Web-
ster and Winston. The organi-
zation covers a wide range of
services from outpatient ther- Yue Stella Yu/Dispatch Staff
apies to in-house residential Community Counseling Services Chief Operations Officer Karen Frye
and new Executive Director Richard Duggin pose for a portrait at the
treatments and helps those
organization’s office in West Point Friday morning. Duggin, who worked
with mental health issues for Community Counseling as chief financial officer for seven years
with housing needs. before assuming his new position in October, said he hopes to help
See DUGGIN, 8A end the stigma around mental health.

From BULLDOGS BATTLE IN ATHENS

Confederates
to Cavaliers
Caledonia took range
of ages, ethnicities,
opinions to choose
new school mascot
BY SLIM SMITH
ssmith@cdispatch.com

Caledonia’s new mas-

cot is the Cavaliers, but
there was nothing cav-
alier about the process
used to select it.
“This was something
we all took very seri-
ously,” Caledonia High
School Principal Grego-
ry Elliott said. “We want- Elliott
ed to get it right and a big
part of that was getting the process right.”
In July, as the debate over the state
flag, with its Confederate imagery, was
reaching critical mass, the Lowndes
County School District board voted to
discard Caledonia’s Confederates mas-
cot, leaving the Caledonia administrators
with the task of finding a more inclusive,
less controversial namesake.
The school board’s decision was not Chamberlain Smith/Georgia Athletics
universally approved in the Caledonia Georgia wide receiver Jermaine Burton (7) makes a catch against Mississippi State safety Landon Guidry (35) during
community. Some favored retaining the Saturday’s game at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. MSU was able to hang with the 13th-ranked Bulldogs but fell
See CALEDONIA, 3A 31-24. For more coverage see page 1B

Starkville considering recycling contract with Waste Pro

Partnership with MSU no longer on the table, city officials say
BY TESS VRBIN
tvrbin@cdispatch.com
When Starkville first paused
a recycling program that oper-
ated at a financial loss, city lead-
ers considered forming a part-
nership with Mississippi State
University’s program, which
has a contract with the Waste
Pro USA office in Columbus.
Instead, the city is now work-
ing on its own contract with
Waste Pro, Mayor Lynn Spruill
said.
“While I always love to part-
ner with MSU when the oppor-
tunity presents itself, some-
times it’s better not necessarily
to do that, and this proves to be
one of those times,” she said.
Any recycling program
would have to be both struc-
tured and financially feasible for
the city, and Spruill and Ward
2 Alderman Sandra Sistrunk
both said a contract with Waste
Pro would not be a burden like
the previous city-run recycling
program was. The city had a
contract with Waste Manage-
ment to haul the collected recy-
clables to Tupelo, and the cost
went up from about $40,000 to
about $60,000 this year while
revenues totaled only about
$24,000, Sistrunk said.
Aldermen voted in Septem-
ber to indefinitely suspend the
Spruill Sistrunk
city’s recycling program as of
Oct. 1 and did not include it in
the Fiscal Year 2021 budget.
The potential contract would
name the sanitation building on
North Washington Street as the
city’s sole location for residents
to drop off recyclable materials,
as it was after Starkville sus-
pended curbside recycling pick-
up in March. Curbside pickup
is not currently a viable option,
said Sistrunk, who chairs an ad
hoc committee that formed last
year with the goal of improving
the recycling program.
Suspending curbside pick-
up was supposed to be a
cost-saving measure due to the
See RECYCLING, 8A

WEATHER FIVE QUESTIONS CALENDAR LOCAL FOLKS PUBLIC

1 Which soccer player was No. 2 on the Monday, Nov. 30 MEETINGS
list of highest-paid athletes in the world in Nov. 30: Lowndes
■ Virtual Christmas Tree Lighting: County Board of Su-
2016?
2 What country is home to the Brisbane Columbus lights its city tree via Facebook pervisors meeting,
Festival, Taste of Tasmania and a search for Live and WCBI at 6 p.m., with carolers and 9 a.m., Lowndes
the country’s best dad bod? special guests including Santa and Miz County Courthouse,
3 What term did actor Kit Harington tell Claus. Virtually chat with Santa following facebook.com/
Briley Pyle Allure he hates, even though he was known
for the style? the lighting. Main Street Columbus, 662- LowndesCountyMis-
Third grade, Annunciation 328-6305. sissippi/
4 Who was sworn into the U.S. Supreme

73 Low 43 Court in 2017 to fill former Justice Antonin Dec. 1: Columbus

High Scalia’s spot?
Tuesday, Dec. 1 City Council, 5
A few showers 5 What does Venus stand on in Botticelli’s p.m., Municipal
painting “Birth of Venus”? ■ “Deck the Halls”: Lowndes County
Full forecast on Complex, face-
Answers, 5B Master Gardeners host a Christmas deco-
page 3A. book.com/CityofCo-
rating seminar at 10 a.m. via Zoom. (Mem- lumbusMS/
bers may sign up to attend in person at Dec. 15: Colum-
INSIDE the Lowndes Extension office, if desired.) bus City Council,
Classifieds 4,5B Lifestyles 9,10A Register for the video conference at 5 p.m., Municipal
Comics 9,10B Obituaries 4,5A msstateextension.zoom.us/meeting/regis- Jevonte Sloan, of Columbus, Complex, face-
Crossword 5B Opinions 6A ter/tJwsdO2sqD4rH9aNj7xibIs0KNCiuhbd- attends MUW and likes playing book.com/CityofCo-
141st Year, No. 217 Dear Abby 7B Sports 1B b5VI to receive a link. 662-328-2111 basketball. lumbusMS/

DISPATCH CUSTOMER SERVICE 328-2424 | NEWSROOM 328-2471

2A SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

ASK RUFUS

The First Thanksgiving?

T
hanks- on the James New England celebration and set its origin in New
giving River below and not much celebrated England.
is a present-day elsewhere in the country. By the way, Hale also
holiday filled Richmond. Beginning in 1846, Hale wrote a book of poetry,
with history, The ceremony began a national promo- “Poems for our children,”
tradition and of thanksgiv- tion of Thanksgiving and which contained her
food. ing that they its New England roots. poem, “Mary Had a Little
The had was not It was her efforts that Lamb.”
earliest local spontaneous popularized Thanksgiv- Rufus Ward is a local
mention of or their own ing across the country historian.
Thanksgiving idea. It was a
I have found ceremony of
is in the Nov. thanksgiving
30, 1838, Rufus Ward to God for
Columbus their safe
Southern Argus which arrival that had been
reported that the gover- set out in the company’s
nors of Massachusetts charter from London.
and New Hampshire set The charter provided,
aside Nov. 29 as a day to “that the day of our ship’s
be observed as “a day of arrival at the place as-
public Thanksgiving.” signed ... shall be yearly
Then on Jan. 12, 1839, and perpetually kept holy
The Columbus Democrat as a day of thanksgiving
reported that Thanks- to Almighty God.” That
giving was celebrated at was the first officially
the “lunatic Asylum in designated Thanksgiving
Worcester, Mass, where Day, Dec. 4, 1619.
the Thanksgiving feast President George Courtesy photo
consisted of turkey, Washington had first A Thanksgiving menu suggested in The New Dixie
pumpkin and mince pie called for “a Day of Receipt Book, a 1902 cookbook that belonged
followed by a dance.” Publick Thanksgivin” to to Sallie Billups of Columbus.
One of the unan- be held on Nov. 26, 1789,
swered questions of the but it was up to individual ly, the celebratory meal first fresh oysters began
history of Thanksgiving states to decide whether was not just a luncheon arriving from the coast,
is, when was the first to celebrate it and, if so, but included breakfast and oysters thus became
celebration that we would on what day. The celebra- and supper too. associated with Thanks-
call Thanksgiving? Most tion of Thanksgiving in A 1902 cookbook that giving and Christmas in
people, when they think Mississippi in the early belonged to Sallie Billups Columbus.
of Thanksgiving, think of and mid-1800s seemed to of Columbus provides As to why the Plym-
the Pilgrims at Plym- be at the whim of the gov- a suggested menu for outh Thanksgiving is
outh, Massachusetts. ernor. On Nov. 20, 1852, Thanksgiving. For celebrated and not the
However, if Thanksgiv- a Columbus newspaper breakfast, there would earlier ones, Gannnon
ing is based on early reported that Mississippi be grapes, oatmeal, wrote in an article in
Europeans in America would celebrate Thanks- sausage, scrambled eggs, USA Today: “The En-
celebrating their safe giving Day on Oct. 14. In browned potatoes, grid- glish wrote the history
arrival or survival with 1854, 23 states officially dle cakes, maple syrup and established the
a feast of thanksgiving celebrated Thanksgiving and coffee. For dinner traditions. That’s life, get
to God to which Indians on Nov. 24, but Missis- (lunch) there should be over it.” Why, then, was
who had befriended them sippi was not one of them oysters on the half shell, Plymouth, Massachu-
were invited, then the and did not officially mutton broth, celery, setts rather than Virginia
Pilgrims in 1621 were far celebrate it at all. turkey stuffed with given credit though it too
from the first. In 1863, President oysters, cranberry sauce, was English?
The Spanish who Abraham Lincoln mashed potatoes, baked Sarah Hale is the
founded St. Augustine, declared that the last squash, boiled onions reason. She was born
Florida, had their own Thursday in November with cream sauce, peach in New Hampshire and
feast of thanksgiving and be set aside as a national pickles, Waldorf salad, became a national figure
invited friendly Indians day of Thanksgiving. cheese wafers, mince as editor of Godey’s
in 1565. Historian Mi- To add a week to the pie, pudding, nuts, fruit Lady’s Book, a popu-
chael Gannon in his book Christmas shopping sea- and coffee. Supper was lar national magazine.
“The Cross in the Sand” son, President Franklin to be light, consisting of Thanksgiving during
calls that celebration “the Roosevelt moved the date cold turkey, tea biscuits, the early 1800s was a
first community act of back to the second to last cottage cheese, sweet
religion and thanksgiv- Thursday in November tomato pickles, thanks-
ing in the first permanent in 1938. Then in 1942, he giving cake, fruit and tea.
(European) settlement in compromised and set the Oysters and oyster
the land.” date as the fourth Thurs- dressing are a tradition
There are also two day in November. It has at Thanksgiving meals
early celebrations of since remained that date. in many Columbus
Thanksgiving in Virgin- As big a role as food homes. It is a tradition
ia. At Jamestown, when plays with Thanksgiving, that began more than
a relief ship arrived in references to special 185 years ago. It was fall
the spring of 1610 after recipes for Thanksgiving before the water in the
the “starving time” of the foods did not become Tombigbee rose enough
previous winter, there common in Southern for regular steamboat
was a celebration of cookbooks until around traffic between Colum-
thanksgiving for their de- 1900. It is then that bus and Mobile, and the
liverance. Even more sig- Thanksgiving menus weather was cool enough
nificant as to the history start appearing and the to bring up wet croaker
of Thanksgiving was the day which had been con- sacks filled with fresh
settlement of the Berkely sidered a day of prayer oysters. The celebration
Company in 1619. begins to be referred to of Thanksgiving was
That settlement was as a holiday. Interesting- at the same time as the

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 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020 3A

AROUND THE STATE

Many GOP lawmakers Mississippi abuse trial delayed
for ex-Catholic Church friar
Catholic elementary school where
West worked as a teacher and later
healthiest thing is for us to be able
to tell the truth and then work to-

shrug off Statehouse GREENWOOD — The trial for

a former Catholic Church friar ac-
principal. The abuse allegedly oc-
curred both on school grounds and
on out-of-state school trips.
gether.”
The U.S. Department of Interior
has included $400,000 for Forks of

mask-wearing rules
cused of sex abuse at a Mississippi
school has been postponed.
Paul West, a former member
of the Franciscan religious order,
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
was supposed to face trial on Tues-
day for allegations that he sexually
LIT TLE ROCK, Ark. — Many Republican law-
molested students in the 1990s at
makers in states where coronavirus cases and
Greenwood’s St. Francis of Assisi
hospitalizations have surged are not only rejecting
School.
statewide mask mandates. They’re also resisting
No new trial date was immediate-
rules requiring them in their own capitols.
ly set, Kelly Roberts, senior deputy
Efforts to require lawmakers and staff to wear
clerk of the Leflore County Circuit
masks have received a cool reception even in state-
Court, told The Greenwood Com-
houses that have seen outbreaks of the virus or
monwealth.
where Republican governors have issued statewide
West’s court-appointed lawyer,
mandates. It’s echoing a partisan divide nationwide
Wallie Stuckey, sought the contin-
over a simple step that health experts say is proven
uance that was granted. Stuckey
to help keep others safe.
said he filed the request because he
Many legislatures are still planning and drafting
hadn’t received all the information
rules for their 2021 legislative sessions, while four
he’s legally due from the state about
chambers approved rules requiring masks for ses-
the witnesses and evidence that will
sions this year, according to the National Confer-
be presented to the jury.
ence of State Legislatures.
West was indicted by a Leflore
Nearly 200 legislators nationwide have test-
County grand jury in August on two
ed positive for the virus and four have died from
counts of sexual battery and two
COVID-19 since the pandemic began, according to
counts of gratification of lust. The
figures compiled by The Associated Press. After at
Mississippi attorney general’s office
least four dozen Mississippi lawmakers tested pos-
is prosecuting the case.
itive in the largest outbreak in a legislature, where
The former Franciscan is ac-
masks were encouraged but not required for law-
cused of sexually abusing two cous-
makers.
ins when they were students at the
If convicted, West could spend
the rest of his life behind bars. He
has pleaded not guilty.
West also is facing a charge in
Wisconsin of second-degree sexual
assault of a child.
Historic site proposed at former
Mississippi slave market
NATCHEZ — A federal agency
could put money toward eventual
development of a historical site that
was once one of the largest slave
markets in the United States.
Enslaved people were sold from
1833 to 1863 at the Forks of the Road
site in Natchez, Mississippi. The
site currently has a sign and a small
monument made of concrete and
shackles. Officials have been work-
ing since 2005 on proposals to turn
it into a more detailed memorial.
“Of course, Black history is
American history. But more than
that, this is human history,” said
Kathleen Bond, superintendent of
Natchez National Historical Park.
“We all understand the humanity
of the different experiences people
have had in this country. I think the
the Road in a priority list of recom-
mended spending from the federal
Land Water Conservation Fund for
the federal fiscal year that began
Oct. 1, the Natchez Democrat re-
ported. The federal budget has not
been finalized.
Congress could give the National
Park Service money to purchase pri-
vately and commercially-owned par-
cels within the 18-acre (7.3-hectare)
Forks of the Road site, Bond said.
Bond told The Associated Press
that $400,000 would buy some, but
not all, of the privately owned prop-
erty.
Natchez is in the process of do-
nating nine city-owned land parcels
to the National Park Service to de-
velop the area.
Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson said
inclusion of Forks of the Road in fed-
eral funding proposals was a result
of collaboration between Natchez,
Adams County and lobbyists hired
by the city and county. He said the
funding proposal also received sup-
port from all of Mississippi’s con-
gressional delegation.
SOURCE: AP

Caledonia
Continued from Page 1A
Caledonia High School students Lucy Willcutt (freshman), Will Donald (junior) and
Lisa Bassett (sophomore) were members of a nine-person committee charged
with selecting a new mascot for Caledonia’s schools. The group met weekly to set
criteria and select finalists from submissions provided by K-12 students. “Cavaliers”
was chosen as the new mascot after a vote of more than 1,600 K-12 students.
Confederates mascot, ad-
opted in 1957, while oth-
ers chaffed over not hav-
ing a say in removing it.
Elliott recognized the
sensitive nature of the
task.
“We knew certainly,
there were people on both
sides of it and everyone’s
views were important,”
Elliott said.
To achieve that,
the schools formed a
nine-person committee
made up of administra-
tors, students and alumni.
“We wanted the com-
mittee to be diverse and
representative,” Elliott
said.
The makeup of the
committee included six
white members, three
Black members, five
male, four female and
ranged in age from 14 to
81.
Four students, one
from each grade at the
high school, were chosen
to serve on the commit-
tee, along with the princi-
pals of the three schools
on campus (Elliott, ele-
mentary school principal
Roger Hill and middle
school principal Karen
Pittman) and two alum-
ni, Myrtle Burke (Class
of 1952) and Tari Shields
(Class of 2000).
The four students —
two Black, two white, two
males and two females —
were selected for their
standing among their
class peers — freshman
Lucy Willcutt, sopho-
more Lisa Bassett, junior
Will Donald and senior
Jarvis Leigh.
“It made me feel really
good to be chosen,” Will-
cut said. “That they felt
kids looked up to me and
the faculty and teacher
chose me was an honor.”
Slim Smith/Dispatch Staff
Beginning shortly
after the school year
started, the committee
met weekly to establish
criteria for the new mas-
cot and how the selection
process would be han-
dled.
Of no small concern
was how those who pre-
ferred the old name
would respond, a group
that was also reflected on
the committee.
Burke was one of
those who preferred
keeping the old mascot.
“I would have liked to
have kept the old name,”
said Burke, who noted
that the school had no
mascot at all until five
years after she graduat-
ed. “If you look at Web-
ster’s dictionary defini-
tion, Confederate means
one who is united in a
league. I didn’t see any-
thing offensive in that.
But when they asked me
to help find a new name,
I agreed.”
Cognizant of the sup-
port of the old name,
Donald said the commit-
tee tried to preserve at
least some elements of
the old name.
“Keeping the old name
wasn’t really an option,”
he said. “So we wanted
to move forward and pick
a name we could all feel
proud of and be unified
around.”
The committee’s re-
quirements for the new
mascot included keeping
the old “swords up” im-
agery and school colors
of cardinal and white. Al-
though not a stipulation,
the committee favored
keeping the “double C”
alliteration. K-12 stu-
dents were encouraged
to submit their ideas for
the new mascot.
“The ones from the
elementary school were
so cute,” Willcutt said.
“One of them was the
Bunnies.”
“That was my favorite,
too,” Bassett said. “They
took a lot of time on the
pictures they drew. It
was sweet.”
From the submis-
sions, the committee
chose three finalists —
Cavaliers, Cardinals and
Commodores — which
were then placed on a
ballot for the students to
choose from.
Elliott said more than
1,600 votes were cast,
with Cavaliers being the
top choice, gaining 57 Bassett, a cheerlead-
percent of the vote. er, said going without
Bassett said she felt a mascot through the
the process that allowed recently completed foot-
students to play a prom- ball season limited the
inent role in both the creativity applied to
planning and selection signs prepared to adorn
turned what could have the stadium on Friday
been a divisive task into nights.
something positive. “It was just generic,
“It was really awesome ‘we’re No. 1’ stuff,” she
to hear about the his- said. “Now that we have
tory of the school from a mascot, we can be a lot
(Burke and Shields),” more creative. It’s going
she said. “And at the to be a lot of fun.”
same time, we could look Donald, who plays
to the future. I just think football, said the new
it’s awesome that years mascot will be some-
from now, we can look thing the team and
back on this and say, ‘I school can support.
had a part in that.’” “I think we did a good
The students said the job,” he said. “I think
selection of a mascot has Cavaliers is something
created excitement in everybody is going to
the student body. rally around.”
Isabelle Altman/Dispatch Staff
Caledonia High School Principal Gregory Elliott holds a
T-shirt sporting the new mascot for Caledonia schools,
the Cavaliers, at a Lowndes County School District
school board meeting at the district’s central office on
Nov. 13. Students at Caledonia’s schools voted for the
Cavaliers as a replacement to the former Confederate
mascot. Elliott stressed the logo on the T-shirt is just a
mock-up and not the final version.

SOLUNAR TABLE
The solunar period indicates
peak-feeding times for fish and game.
Sun. Mon.
Major 7:23a 7:46p
Minor 2:38p 3:10p
Major 7:23a 8:08a
Minor 12:59a 1:57a
Courtesy of Mississippi Department
of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks

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4A SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

COMMERCIAL DISPATCH
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Betty Fitzgerald
WEST POINT
— Betty Jo Coggins
Fitzgerald, 76, died
Nov. 18, 2020, at North
Mississippi Medical
Center of West Point.
Graveside services
were held Saturday,
in Cairo Cumberland
Presbyterian Ceme-
AREA OBITUARIES
In addition to her College Street location Linda James
parents, she was is in charge of ar-
COLUMBUS — Lin-
preceded in death by rangements. da G. James, 73, died
her husband, Rob- Mrs. Kessinger was Nov. 19, 2020, at her
ert Cecil Fitzgerald; born June 6, 1927, in residence.
siblings, Inez Coggins Columbus, to the late Arrangements are
Bock, Bessie Cog- Grover and Catherine incomplete and will be
gins Huelett, Mildred Hopkins Morris. She
announced by Carter’s
Coggins Bowman, was formerly em-
Funeral Services of
James “Pete” Coggins, ployed with the Ma-
Columbus.
Horace Coggins, J.G. rine Corps Logistics
“Buddy” Coggins, Jr., Base. See OBITS, 5A
Woodrow Coggins In addition to her
and William Sonny parents, she was
Coggins; and one preceded in death by
great-grandchild. her husband, Charles
She is survived by W. Kessinger; and son
her children William Joel Michael Killman.
David Fitzgerald and She is survived
Robert Allen Fitzger- by her children, Kay
ald both of West Point; Bracknell of Albany
three grandchildren; and Teresa Killman of
and six great-grand- Columbus; stepdaugh-
children. ter, Sara Gifford of
Pallbearers will be Divide, Colorado; one
Dale Harris, Scott Har- grandchild; and one
din, Jimmy Edwards, great-grandchild.
Timmy Turner, John Memorials may be
Edwards and Eddie made to the Albany
Scott. Rescue Mission, 604 Annie Kessinger
Jerry Oxendine
Memorials may be N. Monroe St., Albany, Graveside Services:
made to Cairo Cumber- GA, 31701. Wednesday, Nov. 25 • 1 PM
Friendship Cemetery
land Cemetery Fund College St. Location
Jerry Jerome Oxendine, a
c/o Judy Chrismond, David Mitchell proud member of the Lumbee
23225 Hwy 50 W. West
Point, MS, 39773.
COLUMBUS — Da-
Indian Tribe, known as Chief
vid Mitchell, 88, died
to his friends in Alabama
Nov. 19, 2020, at DCH
and Mississippi, was born
Betty Carroll of Tuscaloosa, Ala-
April 2, 1958, to the late
COLUMBUS — Bet- bama.
Clyde Oxendine and Queen
ty Carroll, 80, died Nov. Arrangements are
Esther Hunt Oxendine in
11, 2020, at Baptist Me- incomplete and will be
memorialgunterpeel.com Lumberton, Robeson County,
morial Hospital-Golden announced by Carter’s
North Carolina. He spent his
Triangle. Funeral Services of
childhood in Robeson County, NC and called
Arrangements are Columbus.
Fairmont, NC home.
incomplete and will be

tery, with Bob Edwards
officiating. Calvert
Funeral Home of West
Point was in charge of
arrangements.
Mrs. Fitzgerald was
born Aug. 20, 1944,
in West Point, to the
late Ruby Parrish and
J.G. Coggins. She was
formerly employed as
a manager with Han-
cock Fabrics and was
a member of Cum-
berland Presbyterian
Church.
Joy Clay
On August 12, 1975, at the age of 17, he
announce by Lowndes
enlisted in the United States Marine Corp and
Funeral Home of Co-
received his basic training at Parris Island, South
lumbus.
Joy Marie Pearson Clay, 88, passed away Carolina. While in the Marines he received
the rank of E-4 Corporal. He participated in
Annie Kessinger Thursday, November 19, 2020, at Trinity Nursing
the European Tour of 1976, as well as the West
ALBANY — Annie Home, Columbus, MS.
A graveside service was on Saturday, November Pacific Tour. His tours of duty included Norway,
Morris Kessinger, 93, Denmark, England, Japan and the Philippines.
died Nov. 19, 2020. 21, 2020, at 11:00 AM at Whitehall United
Methodist Church Cemetery Louisville, MS While serving, he received two good conduct
Graveside ser- awards. No matter where he encountered other
vices will be at 1 with Rev. Andy Pearson officiating and Lowndes
Funeral Home, Columbus, MS directing. Marines, they would always say “Semper Fi”.
p.m. Wednesday, in Once a Marine, Always a Marine.
Friendship Cemetery, Joy, who indeed brought great joy to everyone
she knew, was born on September 20, 1932, in After being honorably discharged from the
with Bobby Sanderson Marine Corp, he worked for McDonald Douglas
officiating. Memorial Choctaw County, MS to the late Walter Roy
Pearson and Alice Narcissus Gordon Pearson. in California building aircraft. After working in
Gunter Peel Funeral California, he returned to his beloved family and
Home and Crematory, She attended Winston County schools where she
was on the basketball team. With a true life story friends in Robeson County, NC. It was there that
he married Bonita Jones and had two children,

Robert Allan Smith

On November 12, 2020, after an illness at age
68, Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Robert Allan
Smith passed from the arms of his loving wife into
God’s care. A stoic, upright man, Allan served his
Nation for over 45 years in the United States Air
Force (USAF) and in the Department of Defense
(DoD), Pentagon. Humbly, Allan followed the
path of Christ. He was a devoted member of the
Fort Belvoir Community Chapel, Fort Belvoir,
VA. Allan married the love of his life, Dr. Patricia
Moseley. Happily, they celebrated over twenty
years of joyful devotion.
Allan graduated from Mississippi State
University with a Bachelor of Science degree
and as a member of the USAF Reserve Officer
Training Corps. Later he obtained a Masters
of Science degree from Troy State University.
Upon his Military commissioning, he completed
USAF Pilot Training, Fort Rucker, AL, and a
decade later served there as a Flight Examiner,
Instructor Pilot, and Academic Instructor. As a
Commander for multiple Squadrons and missions
worldwide, his leadership and focus on his
unit personnel achieved outstanding results in
rescue and medical evacuation missions. He was
assigned to the Pentagon, USAF Headquarters,
and upon retirement began an exemplary career
as a federal civilian employee in the DoD, USAF
Headquarters. Mr. Smith is greatly missed by
many Military colleagues for his dedication and
significant contributions and by his Pentagon
Chapel friends.
Allan is predeceased by his parents, Retired
Chief Master Sergeant (CMSgt) Robert and Mrs.
Elise Smith; and his mother-in-law, Mrs. B. E.
Moseley.
Allan is survived by his devoted brother,
David Smith (Jeanne); daughters, Ms. Jenny
Pechou, Ms. Ashley Smith and Mrs. Sarah
Tinsley (Daniel); and cousins, Maxwell Carroll
(Barbara) and Dr. Cheryl Powell (Gil). Allan
loved his brothers and sisters-in-law, Mrs. Janet
Sellers (David), Frank Moseley (Dr. Christine),
and Jeff Moseley (Edith); and father-in-law,
Retired CMSgt James Moseley.
Allan and Patricia honored and cared for
his elderly parents, who were members of the
Columbus Community Chapel, Columbus Air
Force Base, MS, and his mother-in-law, a member
of Ivy Creek United Methodist Church, AL. Allan
dearly loved his grandchildren and receiving
their drawings and letters. He was thrilled to go
fishing in the FL surf and on the “Queen P” with
first mate, Patricia, and deckhands, Sarah and
granddaughter, Harper. He relished fishing in
the Biloxi Sound, Back Bay, and barrier islands
with David, Frank, Jeff, and Jim.
Interment will be at Arlington National
Cemetery with full Military honors at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his
name to Samaritan’s Purse, Wounded Warrior
Project, or Ducks Unlimited.
Paid Obituary - Demaine Funeral Home
of love at first sight, Joy married Raymond Paul
Clay on December 25, 1950, in Louisville, MS. Brittany and Jerry Jr.
They moved to Columbus in 1956 where soon On Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 1992, he
afterward they opened up Fairlane Barber Shop. moved to Mississippi to help his sister, Lucille, at
Justin’s Upholstering in Columbus, Mississippi,
Joy helped her husband with the bookkeeping of
his business and was a homemaker. They enjoyed after the passing of her husband. He would
remain in the Columbus, MS and Ethelsville, AL
a wonderful life together until his death in 1983.
Joy was very proud of her home and loved to area until being placed on Hospice with a bad
heart and returning to NC September 5, 2018,
improve on it and move things around. Her yard
was immaculate and she loved working in it. It almost twenty-six years to the day that he moved
from NC to MS.
received comments from many as one of the
“prettiest yards anywhere”. Joy was a dedicated Jerry’s hobbies included restoring old muscle
cars and tractors, gardening and landscaping.
mother first and foremost. She treasured her sons
and embraced every moment with them. When He was always willing to do what he could to help
others. He loved people and won many friends by
her sons were older she worked at Quality Stamp
Store and later in life retired from The National his jovial and outgoing personality. He also loved
NASCAR and Alabama Football
Bank of Commerce Accounting Department.
She especially loved and was devoted to her role One of the proudest moments of Jerry’s life
was when he went on a mission trip to Mexico.
as “Mama Clay” to her grandsons who all adored
her. Her daughters in law were indeed blessed to And he loved to go to his favorite place, Myrtle
Beach, South Carolina.
have had such a loving and Christian woman for
their “Mother-in-love”. Her laugh was contagious After a long battle with heart disease and
COPD, he died peacefully in his sleep at his
and a sound that her family will always treasure.
Joy was of very strong faith and served the Lord home, the evening of Monday, November 9, 2020;
and because he received the Lord as his Savior,
wholeheartedly as a long-time member of Wesley
Methodist Church. Joy was a member of Circle 4 he made the journey to his Heavenly home where
he joined family and friends who preceded him
at Wesley and enjoyed her time of fellowship with
these ladies and her Sunday School Class. She and where he awaits other loved ones to join him.
In addition to his parents, Jerry was preceded
loved antiques, refinishing furniture, searching
flea markets for that special treasure, and in death by two sisters, Marilyn Oxendine Scott
and Glenda Ruth Oxendine Foeller; and three
reading her bible. She was there to cheer on her
grandsons at any event that they participated in brothers, Anthony Wayne Oxendine, Kenneth
Oxendine and Lloyd Ray Oxendine.
if her health and the weather allowed.
In addition to her parents, Mrs. Clay is Jerry leaves to cherish his memories one son,
Jerry J. Oxendine, Jr.; one daughter, Brittany
preceded in death by husband, Paul Clay;
Oxendine; two grandchildren, Brianna Townsend
sister, Warlene Hathorn; brothers, H.J “Foots”
and Jayden Townsend; five sisters, Helen H. Cook,
Pearson, Estel Pearson, Earcel Pearson, Burrel
Geraldine Oxendine, Linda O. Maynor (Timmy),
Pearson, Fearon Pearson, Eldridge Pearson and
Lucille O. Burgess and Jeanette O. Ramirez
Paul “Jack” Pearson; and great-grandson, John
(Victor) all of North Carolina; two brothers, Ricky
Pearson Clay.
Oxendine of New York and Melvin Gerald Jacobs
Joy is survived by her sons, Stewart “Catfish”
of Myrtle Beach, SC; Bonita Jones, the mother of
(Malinda) Clay of Columbus, MS and Mark
his children, of North Carolina; a host of nieces,
(Sharon) Clay of Hernando, MS; sister-in-law,
nephews, cousins, friends and his beloved cat,
Nora Clay of Gulfport, MS; brother-in-law, T. J.
Puddy. Some friends in AL & MS who were
Moore of Caledonia, MS; grandsons, Jeremy
very close to Jerry include Roger Hutcherson,
(Karen) Clay of Columbus, MS, Wesley Clay of
Billy Ponds, Linwood and Faye Hughes, Peggy
New Orleans, LA, Adam (Kacy) Clay of Oxford,
Burton, Keith and Patsy Swedenburg, Eugene
MS, Brantly (Anna) Clay of Morris, AL and
Barton, Brother Trey Reese, Gene and Mavis
Jonathan (Lacey) Clay of Hernando, MS. Mama
Brown, all of Ethelsville, AL; George Baldwin,
Clay was also blessed with 12 great-grandchildren
James Frye, Daniel Ponds, Gary Miller, Peggy
that she was so very proud of and her eyes would
Wills and Special Friend, Patsy Robertson, of
shine with love and pride when speaking of
Columbus, MS.
them. She was “Aunt Joy” to numerous nieces
Visitation, family only, was Friday, November
and nephews and other extended families that
13, 2020, from 12 noon until 2:00 PM, at Floyd
she loved dearly and enjoyed making her famous
Funeral Services in Fairmont, North Carolina,
caramel cake for their reunions. All of these
with words of comfort brought by Brother Trey
people she loved dearly and touched deeply. We
Reese following the visitation. Interment was
will not say goodbye but will keep her memory
at Pleasant View Baptist Church Cemetery in
and love alive in our hearts until we meet again.
Fairmont.
Mama Clay’s grandsons will have the honor of
serving as pallbearers to carry her to her final Paid Obituary - Floyd Funeral Home
resting place beside Grandaddy Clay.
Memorials may be made to Whitehall UMC
#10954 Hwy 14 West Louisville, MS 39339. Visit us
Compliments of on the web at
Lowndes Funeral Home cdispatch.com
www.lowndesfuneralhome.net
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020 5A

Some governors ignore CDC advice on Thanksgiving gatherings

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS gent pleas from the Cen- Burgum, who recently

Coronavirus infections
are ravaging South Dako-
ta, where more than half
of tests have come back
positive for weeks. Yet
Gov. Kristi Noem won’t
require masks or take oth-
er measures to curb the
spread, including urging
families to limit Thanks-
giving gatherings.
Oklahoma Gov. Kev-
in Stitt said he’ll attend a
college football game over
the weekend and spend
the holiday with his par-
ents, noting that, “Oklaho-
mans should be with their
loved ones over Thanks-
giving.”
And in Tennessee,
where hospital beds are
filling up and some hos-
pitals struggle to find
enough nurses, Republi-
can Gov. Bill Lee said he
has no plans to impose
restrictions, though he
would “encourage Tennes-
seans to think hard” about
celebrating together.
As the public health
crisis spins out of control
and hospitalizations and
deaths soar, health ex-
perts have agonized for
weeks over the potential
for explosive virus spread
from indoor celebrations.
Yet several Republican
governors in hard-hit
states refuse to echo ur-
ters for Disease Control
and Prevention for Amer-
icans to stay home next
Thursday.
“We know what will
happen. We know that
three to four weeks from
Thanksgiving, we will
see an exacerbation of
the outbreaks,” said Dr.
Georges Benjamin, ex-
ecutive director of the
American Public Health
Association, who called
the governors’ reluctance
to impose restrictions or
encourage people to stay
home a “tragedy” motivat-
ed by politics.
The United States has
had more than 11 million
diagnosed infections and
more than 253,000 deaths
from the coronavirus
since the start of the pan-
demic. And hospitals in
many states are running
out of beds and are short
on nurses, including in
the states where gover-
nors are reluctant to act.
“By not walking the
talk .. I think they’re
sending a very dangerous
message to their citizens,”
Benjamin said.
Yet some governors
who for months echoed
President Donald Trump’s
criticism of measures
to control the virus are
now relenting, including
North Dakota Gov. Doug
ordered the use of masks
statewide.
And Republican and
Democratic governors
from several Midwestern
states issued a joint vid-
eo urging people to say
home for Thanksgiving
and wear masks to slow
the spread of the virus
until a vaccine is widely
available.
Ohio’s Republican gov-
ernor, Mike DeWine, and
his wife, Fran, cancelled
their annual Thanksgiv-
ing gathering at their
farm in southwestern
Ohio, saying it would be
too risky for Fran DeW-
ine’s 94-year-old mother
and two new grandchil-
dren who are just days old.
Instead, they will cel-
ebrate with family via
Zoom or FaceTime and
deliver food or see family
members from a distance
as they pick up turkey,
homemade rolls, pies and
apple dumplings made by
Fran DeWine.
Louisiana Gov. John
Bel Edwards, a Democrat,
is urging people to limit
Thanksgiving gatherings,
saying, “We ought to love
our loved ones enough to
not want to expose them
to the dangers of COVID.”
And Michigan’s Dem-
ocratic governor, Gretch-
en Whitmer, who has
Carson says he’s ‘out of the
woods’ after battling COVID-19
STERLING, Va. — Housing Sec- Carson said he was “extremely sick”
retary Ben Carson is crediting unap- but saw “dramatic improvement” after
proved, experimental treatments with taking a botanical treatment derived
saving his life after he became “des- from the oleander plant. Carson said
perately ill” following his infection he has underlying conditions, which
with the coronavirus. he did not specify, “and after a brief
There is no medical evidence that period when I only experienced mi-
the treatments Carson cited worked. nor discomfort, the symptoms accel-
A retired neurosurgeon, Carson erated and I became desperately ill.”
said Friday that he believes he’s now Carson said Trump was aware of
“out of the woods.” He disclosed that his condition and “cleared me for the
his wife, Candy, also had COVID-19, monoclonal antibody therapy that he
the disease the coronavirus causes. had previously received, which I am
Carson tested positive earlier this convinced saved my life.”
month. The White House declined com-
Most people recover from the dis- ment Saturday, instead referring
ease, which has killed more than questions about possible intervention
250,000 Americans and sickened into Carson’s medical care by Trump
nearly 12 million, including President to the Department of Housing and Ur-
Donald Trump and members of his ban Development. HUD also declined
family. to comment.
In a statement posted on Facebook, SOURCE: AP
weathered backlash from
residents over business
closures and mask orders,
said she will spend time
on Thanksgiving with
extended family on Zoom
rather than in-person, and
urges others to do the
same.
Still, some governors
say they’re counting on
residents to make up their
own minds, even as cases
in their states soar.

Obits
Continued from Page 4A

Essie Fenton
COLUMBUS ­— Es-
sie Fenton, 95, died
Nov. 21, 2020, at Baptist
Memorial Hospi-
tal-Golden Triangle.
Arrangements are
incomplete and will be
announced by Carter’s
Funeral Services of
Columbus.
Hunter Gregory
COLUMBUS ­—
Hunter Lee Gregory,
73, died Nov. 20, 2020
at Baptist Memorial
Hospital-Golden Trian-
gle.
Arrangements are
incomplete and will be
announced by Carter’s
Funeral Services of
Columbus.
Edward Walton
COLUMBUS ­— Ed-
ward Leroy Walton, 76,
John Longmire offici-
ating. Burial will follow
at Memorial Gardens of
Columbus. Visitation is
Monday one hour prior
to service time.
Mrs. Blair was
born Oct. 18, 1942,
in Brooksville to the
late Grover Cleveland
and Sudie Mae Me-
nees Smith. She was a
graduate of Brooksville
High School. She was
formerly employed at
Seminole Manufactur-
ing and was a member
of Caledonia United
Methodist Church.
In addition to her
parents, she was pre-
ceded in death by her
sister, Martha Smith
Cooper; and one infant
sister.
She is survived by
her husband, William
T. Blair of Caledonia;
sons, David Blair of
to the late Peter J. and
Katie Irene Smith Un-
ruh. She was formerly
employed as a C.N.A.
with Noxubee General
Hospital and as a per-
sonal caregiver for the
elderly.
In addition to her
parents, she was pre-
ceded in death by her
husband, Vernon Un-
ruh; an infant son and
daughter; eight broth-
ers; one sister; two
grandchildren; and two
great-grandchildren.
She is survived by
her children Paula Gies-
brecht of Macon, Debra
Ratzlaff of Guntersville,
Alabama, Colleen
Koehn of Macon and
Anita Livesey of Bridge-
water, Maine; siblings,
Pete Unruh, Larry Un-
ruh, Orma Giesbrecht
and Fern Schmidt; 15
Peggy Chandler
grandchildren; and 43
great-grandchildren.
Peggy Ann Chandler
of Columbus, Mississippi,
peacefully passed away on
September 26, 2020.
A graveside memorial service
will be Friday, November 27,
2020, at 1:00 PM at Mt. Vernon
Church Cemetery with Pastor
Jeff James officiating.
Mrs. Chandler was born to
the late John Wesley and Robbie Bickerstaff on
November 19, 1934, in Vernon, Alabama. Peggy
graduated from Lamar County High School

died Nov. 15, 2020, at
his residence.
Graveside services
were Saturday at Union
Cemetery in Columbus
with Minister Henry
Williams officiating.
Visitation was Friday at
the chapel of Carter’s
Funeral Services of
Columbus.
Mr. Walton was born
Aug. 5, 1944, in Colum-
bus to the late Lemon
Waldon and Lilla Scott
Hayes. He was former-
ly employed at CECO
and Pizza Hut. He was
a member of El Bethel
M.B. Church and was
a veteran of the United
States Army.
In addition to his par-
ents, he was preceded
in death by his broth-
ers, Charles E. Walton,
Robert Lee Hayes,
Robert E. Hayes, Henry
Lee Scott, Jerry Hayes
and L.D. Walton.
He is survived by
his siblings, Cherry
Johnson, Perry Hayes,
Danny Hayes and
Faye Morris, all of
Columbus, and Lindsey
Waldon of Southfield,
Michigan.
Margaret Blair
CALEDONIA ­—
Margaret Elizabeth
Smith Blair, 78, died
Nov. 21, 2020, at Baptist
Memorial Hospi-
tal-Golden Triangle.
Services are 2 p.m.
Monday at the chapel of
Memorial Gunter Peel
Funeral Home, College
Street location, with
Mantachie and Wesley
Blair of Caledonia;
daughter, Amy Blair
Crews of Wiggins;
brother, Grover Cleve-
land Smith Jr. of Tyler,
Texas; and two grand-
children.
Memorials may
be made to St. Jude
Children’s Research
Hospital, 501 St. Jude
Place, Memphis, TN,
38105-9959.
Lorraine Unruh
BROOKSVILLE —
Lorraine Joyce Unruh
Unruh, 87, died Nov.
18, 2020, at Oakwood
Manor.
Services were at
10:30 a.m. Saturday,
at Brook Haven Men-
nonite Church, with
Galen Schmidt and
Gladwin Koehn offici-
ating. Burial followed
in South Haven Menno-
nite Cemetery. Visita-
tion was at the church.
Cockrell Funeral Home
of Macon was in charge
of arrangements.
Mrs. Unruh was
born June 28, 1933, in
Gray County, Kansas,
Louise Mankus
Louise Susan (Pokrefky)
Mankus, 66 years old, passed
away on Wednesday, November
18, 2020, in Granger, Indiana.
Louise was born on August
3, 1954, in San Francisco,
California to Leota May Griggs
and Ivan Charles Pokrefky,
both of whom preceded her in
death.
Louise was raised in Las Vegas, Nevada—a
graduate of Vo-Tech High School. She later
moved to Mishawaka, Indiana, and then to
Columbus, Mississippi. Louise worked all her life
in the electronics/manufacturing field. She loved
growing flowers in her garden, her dachshund
babies and watching sunrises.
Louise leaves behind daughters, Heather
Younkin and husband Rob and Sarah Barbour
and husband Brett; grandsons, Matthew and
Gabriel Barbour; sisters, Lee Ann Sanders and
Lisa Wiemers and husband Orville; nephew, Eric
Wiemers; and niece, Catherine (Wiemers) Sori.
We will miss her forever.
No services are planned at this time. Palmer
Funeral Home—Hickey Chapel and Southlawn
Cremation Services are assisting the family.
Contributions in memory of Louise may be
donated to Black Pine Animal Sanctuary, 1426
W. 300 North, Albion, IN 46701.
Online condolences may be left for the Mankus
family at www.palmerfuneralhomes.com
Paid Obituary - Palmer Funeral Home
in 1954. She married the late Winston Ray
Chandler on December 20, 1954, and they lived
together in Columbus, MS for 42 years. She had
a very successful work history while working in a
pediatrician’s office for years. In 1973, she began
working at Mississippi University for Women in
the Book Store. She later transitioned to the Post
Office where she retired after 24 years of service
to The W. She was a longtime member of Mount
Vernon Church and a loyal Pink Lady through
the Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle
Volunteer Auxiliary. Peggy was a wonderful
cook. She spent countless hours in the kitchen
cooking for her family, relatives, and friends. She
also spent many summers canning and freezing
a variety of vegetables from Winston’s garden.
Peggy was immeasurably proud of her family.
She was the happiest when preparing wonderful
Southern meals for those she loved. You were
a blessed person to have been gifted a coconut
or chocolate cake or possibly a lemon pie from
Peggy Chandler. Though she will be missed
terribly, we smile knowing her life was lived to
the fullest! She left us wonderful stories of her
childhood at the old home place in Vernon, and
we now cherish the memories of her committed
and constant nurturing she gave to her family
home in New Hope. We have wonderful, joyous
memories, and we are so much better because
of her.
In addition to her parents, Mrs. Chandler is
preceded in death by her husband, Winston; her
sister, Linda Bickerstaff Butler; and Linda’s son,
Michael Ridgeway.
Peggy is survived by her two children, Mitzi
Carol Green and her husband, Tom, of Columbus,
and John David Chandler and his wife, Kristie, of
Birmingham; and four grandchildren, Patty Ann
Bogue and her husband, Bobby, Madison Rose
Bishop and her husband, William, Christopher
Byrne Chandler and John Wesley Chandler.
The family would like to express great
appreciation to the staff at The Windsor Place for
the loving care shown to her.
Contributions can be made to Palmer Home
for Children, P.O. Box 746, Columbus, MS 39703
or Mount Vernon Church, 200 Mt. Vernon Road,
Columbus, MS 39702.
Compliments of
Lowndes Funeral Home
www.lowndesfuneralhome.net
Opinion
6A SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 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
Roses and thorns
A rose to
Columbus’s
own Robert
Woodard, who
was the 40th
player chosen
in Wednesday’s NBA Draft.
Woodward was selected by the
Sacramento Kings, the 10th
player chosen in the second
round, foregoing his final
two seasons of eligibility at
Mississippi State to become
the second Columbus native
chosen in the NBA draft in
40 years (Andrew Toney, first
round, 1985 by the Philadel-
phia 76ers). No matter how his
pro career turns out, it’s worth
considering what an achieve-
ment the draft represents. Of
the three major pro sports, the
NBA is the most difficult to
become a draft pick, with just
two rounds (60 players) and
510 total roster spots available.
The odds of a high school se-
nior being chosen in the draft
is a microscopic .03 percent.
Wednesday’s draft is a testa-
ment not only to Woodard’s
talent and potential but years
of dedicated training required
to join perhaps the most elite
athletic fraternity in the world.
Columbus and MSU folks
take vicarious pleasure in this
remarkable achievement and
wish him the best in his pro
career.
A rose to
David Little
and Jason
Walker, both
of whom have
announced
they will not be seeking third
terms on the Starkville Board
of Aldermen when the city
holds its municipal elections in
2021. Little announced his de-
cision during Tuesday’s BOA
meeting, prompting Walker to
announce his decision public-
ly. Walker has said privately
he would not seek a third term
earlier this year. Little and
Walker served during a tumul-
tuous yet productive period in
the city’s history, a period that
included controversial issues
of LGBTQ and civil rights,
annexation and an ambitious
expansion of the city’s parks.
The two often disagreed on
policy, but both men were
guided by genuine beliefs
about what was best for the
city. Their departure allows
for new members and new
ideas to step forward. The city
will be well-served if the new
members follow the examples
set by Little and Walker. We
thank them for their service to
the community.
A rose to the
nine member
committee cho-
sen to establish
a new mascot
for Caledonia
schools. The committee was
formed early in the school
year after the school district
voted to retire the school’s old
mascot (The Confederates
since 1957) this summer in an
effort to rally the school be-
hind a more inclusive mascot.
Although there was still some
allegiance to the old mascot,
even on the committee, the
process was conducted in
such a way to turn a potential
bitter task into a positive,
encouraging assignment. The
committee was made up of
four students (Lucy Willcutt,
Lisa Bassett, Will Donald and
Jarvis Leigh), principals of the
elementary, middle and high
schools (Roger Hill, Karen Pit-
tman, Gregory Elliott) and two
community members (Myrtle
Burke and Tari Shields), which
chose three finalist from
among more than a dozen sub-
missions: Cavaliers, Cardinals
and Commodores. Students
from each grade voted for
their choice with Cavaliers
capturing 57 percent of the
vote and becoming the new
mascot. Let’s hear it for the
Cavaliers and the new chapter
in Caledonia’s history the new
mascot represents.

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

Have we given up on democracy?
A meme that has floated around
in political science circles for many
years goes like this: “If a conserva-
tive loses in a democracy, he will
not give up conservatism, he will
give up democracy.” I had thought
that this was just a witticism among
academics from the notoriously
left-wing universities. But now come
the post-election assaults. First, the
avalanche of lawsuits arguing with
no evidence that there was voter
fraud. Then, lawsuits arguing that
the forms of the elections were not
followed punctiliously. Now, the
legal avenues seemingly frustrated
(courts do like evidence), State offi-
cials are being pressured to ignore
the vote and certify electors for
President Trump.
In Michigan, the Republicans
enjoy a majority in both the state
Senate and House. The president
has invited Michigan’s congressional
leaders and the two Republicans
on the canvassing board (who will
certify the election) to the White
House. They are going. What will
they discuss with the author of The
Art of the Deal?
In Georgia and Pennsylvania, PARTIAL TO HOME
both with Republican state legisla-
tures, the White House has made
similar demands, but so far there
has been no invitations to the presi-
Winter light
dential mansion. “We lose a great deal to lengthen and the air to magnolia, a tree we expect in cem-
President Trump has laid the when we lose the sense and turn warm and moist. eteries and the yards of antebellum
groundwork for all this. For a year he feeling for the sun. When all The end-of-day light mansions, are in evidence.
has been claiming that there would has been said, the adven- show begins around 3:30 Google “wild magnolia” and you’ll
be voter fraud, saying that if he lost, ture of the sun is the great or 4, as was noticed by this get the FaceBook page of a chicken
it would have to be via a “stolen natural drama by which we motorist traveling along place in Martinsville, Virginia.
election.” He made this claim in a be- live, and not to have joy in Waverly Ferry Road this Try “native magnolia,” and you’ll
wildering variety of ways, and made it and awe of it, not to share past week find the following in “The American
it incessantly. Never with a shred in it, is to close a dull door The stretch of road be- Gardener,” the magazine of the Amer-
of evidence. But tyrannies toppling on nature’s sustaining and tween the railroad tracks ican Horticultural Society:
democracies (the Third Reich come poetic spirit.” at Ralph Williamson’s “Magnolias are the aristocrats of
to mind) have shown that evidence — Henry Beston, Amer- camp house and Wilkins- America’s native trees, primordial
does not matter, only loud repetition. ican writer and naturalist, Birney Imes Wise Road offers tantaliz- relics thousands of millennia in the
Say it loud enough and long enough, 1888-1968 ing snapshots of Columbus making and little more advanced today
however absurd, and people will Lake, fingers of mercury-like water than at the time of their origin, when

I
come to believe it. People have come
to believe it. In the face of evidence,
usually from Republican officials,
that the election results are correct,
without errors or fraud, a vast crowd
of people still believe the election
was stolen. One of the two Republi-
cans on the Michigan Canvassing
Board has said that he has to be con-
vinced that what the president has
been saying is wrong and that there
needs to be an audit, and this in the
face of compelling evidence that the
election in Michigan was fair and
above-board. This is one of the men
about to visit the White House.
If the efforts to suborn party
officials in the states fail, what will
he try next? He still has the power to
declare a state of emergency. He can
use the Insurrection Act of 1807. He
has the power to declare martial law.
He has the power to start a war!
President Trump had indeed
given up democracy. The important
question is, have we? THE STAFF OF THE DISPATCH
Bill Gillmore
Columbus
A letter to the editor is an excellent
way to participate in your community.
We request the tone of your letters be
constructive and respectful and the
length be limited to 450 words. We re-
serve the right to edit letters for clarity,
grammar and length. We welcome all
letters emailed to voice@cdispatch.
com or mailed to The Dispatch, Attn:
Letters to the Editor, PO Box 511,
Columbus, MS 39703-0511.
t seemed strangely incongruous surrounded by vegetation made iri- dinosaurs still rumbled the earth.
to sit in the predawn light at my descent by the late-day winter sun. Based on the fossil record, they date
laptop in PJs and Paul Thorn auto- A day or two later, resolved to from at least the Cretaceous Peri-
graphed baseball cap singing hosan- be part of that watery landscape, I od—135 to 100 million years ago—and
nas to Mother Nature. walked my kayak to the edge of the some experts believe they may be even
While some may rue the coming East Bank Landing of Columbus Lake older than that.”
season with its cold nights and muted and placed it on the water. Nearby, at At the edge of the water, a blue
colors, these past few weeks have the east end of the parking lot, two heron stands poised, as if waiting for
been nothing short of glorious. girls, rhythm and blues blasting from John James Audubon to happen by
Maybe this is Mother Nature’s their car, took selfies with the lake as with his sketchpad.
antidote to the pandemic. She is a backdrop. At one point I take a photo of a wall
pulling out all the stops in her efforts The pool on the east side of the of vegetation that seems to shimmer
to lure us outside, into nature, into the Waterway, though shallow, offers an with life. The resulting image is life-
sunlight and fresh air. unexpected diversity of plants and less, and I delete it right away.
Sure, the day when the Pagans wildlife. There are several islands, at In less than an hour, after a circuit
rally at Stonehenge is still a while least one of which, had a burgeoning around the islands, just as the sun
away — the winter solstice this year is tick infestation on the summer day I dips from sight, I make for the land-
Dec. 21 — but this pure, brilliant light visited. They hitch rides to the island ing, a bit awed and gratified to have
coming from the south will be with on deer, a friend said. experienced such sublime beauty so
us for several months. That is until On this afternoon sweet gum close to home.
our spinning top of a planet has again adorned in wine red; prehistoric Birney Imes (birney@cdispatch.com)
tilted toward the sun causing the days cypress with its russet foliage and is the former publisher of The Dispatch.
EDITOR/PUBLISHER Debbie Foster Zack Plair Bobby Williams
Mary Ann Hardy Ben Portnoy
Peter Imes
Eddie Johnson Slim Smith
Courtney Laury Jan Swoope
PRODUCTION
ADVERTISING Roderick Bell
Tess Vrbin
Claudi Arrington William Hudson
CIRCULATION Yue Stella Yu
Mike Lindsey
Kelly Ervin Michael Floyd
Melissa Johnson Jamie Morrison
Kadee Holmes MAILROOM
Beth Proffitt Anne Murphy
Deanna Robinson-Pugh Christina Boyd
Tina Perry
Mary Jane Runnels Joseph Ellis
Luther Shields NEWS Jeffrey Gore
Jackie Taylor Isabelle Altman Katrina Guyton
Theo Derosa Doris Hill
BUSINESS OFFICE Matt Garner Quaylon Jones
Lindsey Beck Garrick Hodge Marquisto Miller
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020 7A

Wisconsin officials: Trump observers obstructing recount ues to be obstruction.” clerks filled in missing address
Trump paid $3 million, as required by state law, for the partial Joe Voiland, a lawyer speak- information on the certification
ing to commission members on envelope where the ballot is in-
recount that began Friday and must conclude by Dec. 1 behalf of the Trump campaign, serted, even though the prac-
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
denied his side was acting in tice has long been accepted in
eventual court challenge, part appeared to be two Trump bad faith. Wisconsin.
of a push in key states to undo representatives at some tables “I want to get to the point The campaign also alleges
MILWAUKEE — Election
his election loss. where tabulators were count- of dialing everything down … thousands of absentee ballots
officials in Wisconsin’s largest
A steady stream of Republi- ing ballots, violating rules that and not yelling at each other,” don’t have proper written pa-
county accused observers for can complaints in Milwaukee call for one observer from each Voiland said. perwork, and that some absen-
President Donald Trump on was putting the recount far campaign per table. Posnanski At least one Trump observer tee voters improperly declared
Saturday of seeking to obstruct behind schedule, county clerk said some Trump representa- was escorted out of the build- themselves “indefinitely con-
a recount of the presidential George Christenson said. He tives seemed to be posing as ing by sheriff’s deputies Satur- fined,” a status that allows them
results, in some instances by said many Trump observers independents. day after pushing an election to receive a ballot without photo
objecting to every ballot tabula- were breaking rules by con- At one recount table, a official who had lifted her coat ID. Those challenges were be-
tors pulled to count. stantly interrupting vote count- Trump observer objected to ev- from an observer chair. An- ing rejected.
Trump requested the re- ers with questions and com- ery ballot that tabulators pulled other Trump observer was re- There have been at least 31
count in Milwaukee and Dane ments. from a bag simply because they moved Friday for not wearing a recounts in statewide elections
counties, both heavily liberal, in “That’s unacceptable,” he were folded, election officials face mask properly as required. in the U.S. since the most fa-
hopes of undoing Democrat Joe said. He said some of the Trump told the panel. Trump paid $3 million, as re- mous one in Florida’s presi-
Biden’s victory by about 20,600 observers “clearly don’t know Posnanski called it “prima quired by state law, for the par- dential election in 2000. The
votes. With no precedent for a what they are doing.” facie evidence of bad faith by tial recount that began Friday recounts changed the outcome
recount reversing such a large Tim Posnanski, a county the Trump campaign.” He add- and must conclude by Dec. 1. of three races. All three were
margin, Trump’s strategy is election commissioner, told ed later: “I want to know what is His team is seeking to dis- decided by hundreds of votes,
widely seen as aimed at an his fellow commissioners there going on and why there contin- qualify ballots where election not thousands.

IN THE NATION AROUND THE WORLD

Court: Tennessee can enforce
Down syndrome abortion ban
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A feder-
al appeals court ruled Friday that
Tennessee can begin outlawing
abortions because of a prenatal
diagnosis of Down syndrome, as
well as prohibit the procedure if
it’s based on the race or gender of
the fetus.
Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill
Lee enacted the so-called “reason
bans” earlier this year as part of a
sweeping anti-abortion measure.
The law gained national attention
because it banned abortion as ear-
ly as six weeks — making it one of
the strictest in the country — but
it included several other anti-abor-
tion components.
The law was immediately
blocked by a lower federal court
just hours after Lee signed it into
law.
However, the 6th Circuit Court
of Appeals’ decision will allow the
state to enforce the reason bans
while abortion rights groups con-
tinue their court battle against
that law.
The plaintiffs, which include
Tennessee abortion providers be-
ing represented by reproductive
rights groups, had argued the ban
was improperly vague, but the
court disagreed.
Currently, more than a dozen
states have similar reason bans in
place.
“These bans are just another
way anti-abortion politicians are
attempting to limit the constitu-
tional right to abortion care and
to create stigma,” said Nancy Nor-
thup, president and CEO of the
Center for Reproductive Rights,
in a statement. “Decisions about
whether and when to continue or
to end a pregnancy are best made
by the individual and their family.”
The Attorney General’s office
said in a statement that they “ap-
preciate the Sixth Circuit lifting
the lower court’s injunction” and
looked forward to continuing de-
fending the statute.
“Our law prohibits abortion
based on the race, gender, or di-
agnosis of Down syndrome of the
child and the court’s decision will
save lives,” Lee said in a statement.
“Protecting our most vulnerable
Tennesseans is worth the fight.”
Immediately following the ap-
peals court ruling, the plaintiffs’
attorneys filed a request in lower
federal court for a temporary re-
straining order to block the rea-
son bans once again, but this time
argued the law illegally prohibits
a patient from “obtaining consti-
tutionally protected pre-viability
abortion care.”
“(The) Sixth Circuit only ad-
dressed plaintiffs’ vagueness
claims and explicitly declined to
issue any ruling with respect to
plaintiffs’ claims that the Reason
Bans violate patients’ constitution-
al right to pre-viability abortion,”
the attorneys wrote.
The court had not issued a rul-
ing on that as of Friday evening.
Down syndrome is a genetic
abnormality that causes develop-
mental delays and medical con-
ditions such as heart defects and
respiratory and hearing problems.
According to the National Down
Syndrome Society, about one in ev-
ery 700 babies in the United States
— or about 6,000 a year — is born
with the condition, which results
from a chromosomal irregularity.
The rarity of the condition has
prompted abortion rights groups
to paint the Down syndrome bans
as part of yet another thinly veiled
effort by lawmakers to continue
chipping away at a patient’s right
to an abortion.
SOURCE: AP
Protesters burn part
of Guatemala’s
Congress building
GUATEMALA CITY
— Hundreds of protesters
broke into Guatemala’s
Congress and burned part
of the building Saturday
amid growing demonstra-
tions against President Ale-
jandro Giammattei and the
legislature for approving a
budget that cut education-
al and health spending.
The protest came as
about 7,000 people were
demonstrating in front
of the National Palace in
Guatemala City against
the budget, which protest-
ers say was negotiated and
passed by legislators in
secret while the Central
American country was
distracted by the fallout of
back-to-back hurricanes
and the COVID-19 pan-
demic.
Video on social media
showed flames shooting
out a window in the legis-
lative building. According
to media reports, securi-
ty agents fired tear gas at
protestors and there were
people injured.
Giammattei con-
demned the fires in his
Twitter account Saturday.
“Anyone who is proven
to have participated in the
criminal acts will be pun-
ished with the full force of
the law.” He wrote that he
defended people’s right to
protest, “but neither can
we allow people to vandal-
ize public or private prop-
erty.”
The president said he
had been meeting with
various groups to present
changes to the controver-
sial budget.
Discontent had been
building over the 2021 bud-
get on social media and
clashes erupted during
demonstrations on Friday.
Guatemalans were an-
gered because lawmakers
approved $65,000 to pay
for meals for themselves,
but cut funding for corona-
virus patients and human
rights agencies.
SOURCE: AP
8A SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Duggin
Continued from Page 1A
His transition to the new
role, Duggin said, was smooth
due to his professional expe-
rience in the field for two de-
cades.
Duggin said he was drawn
to the field of counseling since
he was a teenager. When he
was a middle schooler in Mem-
phis, he said, he helped talk a
girl out of killing herself by tell-
ing her there were people who
liked her.
“(She) had a knife to her
wrist,” Duggin said. “She con-
nected with me (and would
not) take her eyes off me, and
she ended up putting the knife
down. … I felt good that I was
able to maybe in some way
help her. I never, 25 years later,
thought that I would be work-
ing in the field of mental health
and counseling, but I am.”
In 2001, Duggin began
working part time as a youth
director for a Baptist church
in Tennessee while finishing
school for his bachelor’s de-
gree in psychology at Mid-Con-
tinent University in Kentucky.
The issues he had to deal with,
he said, were challenging for
him.
“I felt called to do that,” Dug-
gin said of his job at the time.
“... (I) learned really quick that
I wasn’t nearly prepared for all
of the issues that the kids had.”
Duggin went on to receive
his master’s degree in profes-
sional counseling from Liberty
University in Virginia in 2008
and worked as a case manager
and therapist at a mental health
center in Tennessee. Some of
the cases he dealt with, he said,
were domestic abuse-related,
and he needed to keep the neg-
ative feelings at bay.
“It affected me,” he said. “I
had two kids, small kids at the
time. I loved on them a little
more and (said), ‘I want you to
know how much I love you and
I wouldn’t do anything to hurt
you.’”
Duggin will now lead CCS
into its fifth decade with rough-
ly 20 years of experience under
his belt. Over the years, he
said, the biggest takeaway was
the skills he mastered in com-
munication.
“You try to get down to their
level, empathize with them,
let them know somebody does
care,” he said. “Sometimes
it’s just listening, letting them
vent, (and that) is cathartic.”
Frye said in the years she’s
worked with him, she’s been
struck by Duggin’s generosity
in offering help to others.
“When he first came in 2013,
… he made a commitment and
an effort to go and talk to peo-
ple one on one,” she said. “He
ended every one of those con-
versations with: ‘What do you
need from me?’”
COVID-19 brings hardship
Taking over the organiza-
tion during a pandemic, Dug-
gin said, proved challenging.
Prior to the pandemic, CCS
offered many of its services in
person. But when the pandem-
ic hit, many operations had to
shift online, and the organi-
zation’s ability to offer acute
care for its patients became
limited.
“The ones that were miss-
ing those daily services,
coming to those programs, to
me, were the ones the most
affected. Part of the purpose
of those programs is to keep
them from self-isolating and
being by themselves all the
time,” Duggin said. “It’s life or
death.”
Convincing patients with
intellectual disabilities to wear
masks and take precautions is
also challenging.
“It’s a constant, daily, min-
ute-by-minute reminder,” Dug-
gin said.
And sometimes, he had to
deal with loss — not just to
the pandemic but also to iso-
lation. One patient who tested
positive, he said, decided to
quarantine at home, but even-
tually overdosed. Following
her death, CCS set up in-house
isolation rooms for quaran-
tined patients and allow them
to participate in group activi-
ties behind closed doors, Dug-
gin said.
“That’s when we said, ‘We
got to double down and come
up with a system where folks
need to be able to stay,’” he
said.
Changing the mindset
Duggin said his priority in
the new role is to challenge
and educate people about the
stigma around mental illness
through CCS’s services.
“One in four people have
mental illness. And for the most
part, it’s not something you can
see,” Duggin said. “The person
arguing at the bus stop with
nobody in front of him, who is
clearly schizophrenic or hallu-
cinating or whatever. And they
look scary. They are really not
scary, they are just dealing
with their own issues standing
on the street corner. But that’s
what is associated with mental
illness.”
Duggin said the organiza-
tion is changing that mindset
through its services. Tradition-
ally, those with mental health
issues would be sent directly
to state-run facilities, Duggin
said. CCS, on the other hand,
aims to provide treatments and
help them adapt to a communi-
ty-based life.
“Somebody being locked up
all their life, it’s just not right,”
he said. “In order to (change)
that, there’s got to be support
and assistance in the communi-
ties for those individuals, creat-
ing a system of care where folks
would get discharged from
a state hospital and we wrap
them around with services so
they can continue to live in the
community.”

Recycling
Continued from Page 1A
COVID-19 pandemic, but
hauling costs for the city
actually went up when the
amount of contaminated or
non-recyclable materials
increased.
Additionally, only about
10 percent of city residents
signed up for the recycling
program, which cost $2 per
month, and there was no
way to ensure that every-
one who dropped off bags
was a paying customer,
Sistrunk said.
A contract with Waste
Pro might solve that prob-
lem, Spruill said. The po-
tential partnership with
MSU would have required
citizens to drop off their
recyclables in specific bags
that would identify them as
paying customers, but that
might not be necessary
with Waste Pro.
“The way we’re poten-
tially looking at arrang-
ing it, we won’t need to
purchase bags,” Spruill
said. “(Recyclables) will
be sorted by those who do
the recycling, and they can
use whatever receptacle
they want to and sort them
when they get there.”
Employees of the city’s
Sanitation and Environ-
mental Services depart-
ment would be stationed at
the drop-off site to check
materials for contamina-
tion or food waste during
set hours, and the city
would install a fence at the
site to prevent people from
dropping things off after
hours, Sistrunk said.
Recyclable materials
would include tin, paper
and cardboard — “because
right now everybody seems
to be getting lots of card-
board boxes through the
mail,” Sistrunk said — but
the city is not guaranteed
to collect plastic, partly due
to fluctuating demand in
the recycling market and
partly due to contaminated
materials.
“If you have a ketchup
bottle that’s got a little bit
of ketchup at the bottom,
it’s no longer recyclable.
If you have a greasy pizza
box, that’s not recyclable,”
Sistrunk said. “So we have
some education efforts
that we’ll have to make, as
well as getting everything
structurally in place.”

TODAY
IN HISTORY
On Nov. 22, 1963,
John F. Kennedy, the 35th
President of the United
States, was shot to death
during a motorcade in
Dallas; Texas Gov. John
B. Connally, riding in the
same car as Kennedy, was
seriously wounded; sus-
pected gunman Lee Harvey
Oswald was arrested.
Vice President Lyndon B.
Johnson was sworn in as
president.
SOURCE: AP
Lifestyles
Make the most
LIFESTYLES EDITOR
Jan Swoope: 328-2471
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020 n 9A

of the holidays
with Quick Thoughts at
Bites tips
BY JAN SWOOPE
jswoope@cdispatch.com

A
s the end of a stressful
2020 nears its end, two free
Mississippi State University
Extension Services’ Quick Bites
programs focus on decorating the
season and preserving memories.
Quick Bites are interactive,
Thanksgiving
hour-long video sessions offered on
designated Thursdays each month.
Experts on a variety of topics share
their insight with those who sign
up to participate either at a local
county Extension office, or via
Zoom video conferencing.
Programs for December include:
■ Dec. 3 — MSU Plant & Soil
Sciences instructor Lynette Mc-
Dougald returns with floral designs
in a program titled “Traditions.”
The focus will be on creating
arrangements with locally collect-
ed materials, involving young and
old collaborations and reviving old
ornaments.
Register in advance for this
meeting at msuext.ms/qb2020-12-
03 to receive a confirmation email
with information about joining the
meeting.
■ Dec. 10 — ­ “Making Digital
Memories” features Assistant
Extension Professor Mariah
Morgan of the MSU Center for
Technology Outreach with advice
on organizing digital photos. She
will share basic to advanced tips
to upload photos from your phone,
photo storage, printing photos and
online products for making digital
memories to share with friends and
family.
Register for this program at Jan Swoope/Dispatch Staff
msuext.ms/qb2020-12-10. One way to make Thanksgiving memories is to do for others. On Thursday, Rhonda Sanders of the Community
Interested individuals may also Benefit Committee, left, and Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins show off frozen turkeys donated for a local
turkey drive, a partnership of the Benefit Committee, the Sheriff’s Department and the City of Columbus. Due to
contact their county Extension
pandemic concerns, instead of cooking and giving out prepared meals this year as usual, volunteers distributed
office about participation. (In hundreds of the whole turkeys Saturday at the Columbus Soccer Complex.
Lowndes County, 662-328-2111;
Oktibbeha County, 662-323-5916;
Clay County, 662-494-5371.) BY JAN SWOOPE turn!’ Oh, how I miss her, but she is one blessing I can
jswoope@cdispatch.com count. She was a wonderful mother who taught me so

H
much about how to love. Making memories, building
ere we are, counting down the days to one of relationships and counting the blessings God has given
the most unusual Thanksgivings many have us is what Thanksgiving is all about.”
experienced. For most of us, it will probably look
IN THE GARDEN different. We may have to spend it apart from loved
Dena Bradford, Columbus
WITH FELDER ones we usually share the table with. Perhaps it helps ■■■
to view it as an opportunity to think outside the box,

Of growing whether that means moving everything outdoors, or

visiting virtually. One thing the pandemic does not
affect, however, is our ability to recall and treasure
“My wife Regina’s and my most sentimental Thanks-
giving memories revolve around our first Thanksgiv-

and giving
ing as parents. Our son, CJ, was born a
memories past — and to make new ones. For today’s month and a half prematurely on Nov.
paper, a few of your neighbors do just that. 4, 2009, at University Medical Center in

thanks
“Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love that it’s
a day to reflect on our blessings and spend time with
family and friends. I have wonderful
Jackson. We were very fortunate to be
able to stay on the campus of the Univer-
sity Medical Center’s Ronald McDonald

I
barely survived a potent scorpion
this week, in my kitchen which is
as experimental as my garden.
It started with me fiddling with
a recipe, which is nothing new.
Starting with the plain fare of our
country’s first Thanksgiving feast,
we’ve added and substituted new
ingredients to fit our situation.
Sometimes they work, sometimes
not.
The latter nearly did me in
this week, in my continuing
COVID-lockdown inspired quest to
conquer my cabin’s tiny kitchen. I
tried a new twist on my special jal-
See FELDER, 10A
memories of going to my grandparents,
helping Mammaw prepare the food,
eating a huge dinner, and then playing.
The adults would always nap after the
big meal. Mammaw always said eating
turkey made you sleepy!
My grandmother always made a gra-
ham cracker candy, and I couldn’t wait Bradford
to lick the bowl when she finished. Now
these are some traditions that I want
to pass on to my grandchildren. This pandemic and
losing my mother in August will make Thanksgiving a
little different this year. Mom handed me her dressing
recipe about three years ago and said, ‘Now, it’s your
House so we could visit CJ numerous
times throughout each day. The medical
staff and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Coleman
nurses were very compassionate and
supportive in helping us adjust to having a child born
prematurely with medical issues. They took great care
of him and us while we became acclimated to seeing
our child in an incubator blanketed with a heart moni-
tor, a feeding tube and numerous other equipment. On
Thanksgiving Day 2009, we were so grateful that we
were able to hold CJ in our arms for the first time. We
were thankful and grateful for all the prayers, bless-
ings and well wishes sent our way during that time.”
Crayton Coleman, Starkville
See THANKSGIVING, 10A

COVID cancels Country Store, but

support for Lee Home still needed
BY JAN SWOOPE gins for homemade cakes, pies, candies,
jswoope@cdispatch.com breads and more for holiday tables.

A
fter 59 years, the annual Country
Store Bake Sale at the Stephen
D. Lee Home and Museum in
Columbus will not take place this year.
The event presented by the Association
for the Preservation of Antiquities in
Columbus and Lowndes County, and
the Stephen D. Lee Home Foundation,
supports maintenance of the Mississippi
Landmark built in 1847. Traditionally
Kelly Hayes/Courtesy photo
From left, Renee Phillips, Lucy Phillips and Lisa Kerby mail out notices saying the held the Tuesday before Thanksgiving,
Country Store Bake Sale at the S.D. Lee Home has been canceled for this year. the Country Store is known for enthu-
Donations toward upkeep of the historic home and museum in Columbus are still siastic patrons who line up early for the
appreciated. opening bell that signals shopping be-
“After much discussion between the
board members, it was decided that the
Country Store should be canceled,” said
Rita Douglass, Association president..
“This would have been the 60th Country
Store at the Lee Home, but due to the
coronavirus, it was decided for the health
and safety of the community — and
keeping within the guidelines set by our
state and local leaders — not to have our
fundraiser this year.”
Proceeds of the sale have supported
upkeep and improvements to the home at
See COUNTRY STORE, 10A
10A SUNDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Felder
Continued from Page 9A
frezi, a thick, spicy curry
dish with hot peppers.
I try to include home-
grown herbs and spices
whenever I can, working
in new varieties of staples
such as garlic, okra, toma-
toes and peppers. But my
most recent mistake was
substituting a few slivers
of a squat little pepper
known worldwide as the
Trinidad Scorpion, the
second hottest pepper on
earth (behind the Caroli-
na Reaper).
Its sweet, fruity flavor
is hard to detect when
you’re gasping for breath;
it is so pungent, just cut-
ting mine open released
a fiery piquant gas that
nearly ran me out of the
kitchen. For comparison,
according to standard
Scoville Heat Unit tests,
jalapeno peppers are
considered very mild;
Scorpions are over a thou-
sand times hotter.
Had to wash my hands
three times to get rid of
the oil from just handling
the pepper, and I had to
keep my face away from
the capsicum-caustic
steam coming from the oil
I was sautéing the pepper
in. Luckily, I knew that
the pepper oil heat is tem-
pered a bit upon cooking,
and that the mouth burn
generally subsides within
a few minutes. And let me
Felder Rushing/Courtesy photo
Felder Rushing holds Scor-
pion peppers; they’re not
to be trifled with.
tell ya, the flavor was ex-
quisite, plus the lingering
endorphin buzz was worth
it all.
This brings me to
replacement foods just
before a special harvest
festival. The foods with
which we modern South-
erners celebrate Thanks-
giving are quite different
fare than what the Pilgrim
settlers and their Native
American neighbors
scraped together.
Almost four hundred
years ago, the partici-
pants of this pan-cultural
get-together shared what
they could grow, forage,
fish or hunt. There were
game birds, smoked fish,
shellfish and venison,
with side dishes of native
beans and squashes, and
autumn-fresh or dried
fruits and nuts includ-
ing onions, turnips, tart know how to predict the
cranberries, walnuts and winter from the spoon,
chestnuts. knife, or fork shape found
A thick mush was in split persimmon seeds?
boiled from flint corn Ask an old timer for the
which, because the details.
settlers’ sugar was long Come Thanksgiving,
gone, was probably sweet- I’ll roast a few of my sweet
ened with molasses which potatoes until creamy,
the Native Americans had blend in this year’s cane
long learned to cook down
molasses, and top with
during the spring’s maple
Delta-grown pecans.
sap flow.
Spoon the sweet baked
There were no pota-
dish beside a slab of ham
toes, no sweetened cran-
berry sauce or cornbread or turkey, add cornbread
dressing with homegrown
dressing. They didn’t even
have pies, because there herbs, slices of my own
was no butter or wheat tomatoes, tangy home-
flour for pastry crusts. made bread-and-butter
Pumpkins were likely pickles ...
baked with their innards And give thanks.
blended with herbs and Felder Rushing is a Mis-
nuts, and their seeds were sissippi author, columnist,
roasted. and host of the “Gestalt
Since then, while Gardener” on MPB Think
attempting to keep Radio. Email gardening
America’s most renowned questions to rushing-
feast true to its humble felder@yahoo.com.
beginnings, we have
embellished a bit. Here
in the South, in our
“make-do” spirit, we now
traditionally include five
highly-revered local crops
that come into season
about now: Native pecans
and persimmons, sweet
potatoes, ham, and either
sorghum or sugar cane
molasses. Nope, not
gonna mention squirrels
or ’possums.
By the way, do you

Thanksgiving
Continued from Page 9A
■■■
“Growing up, Thanksgivings at the
Walker household were bursting with
family and friends. We put
all the leaves in the formal
dining room table and all
the leaves in the breakfast
room table. We had to
set up card tables in the
formal living room, and
there were even special
small tables in the foyer for Walker
the children. The food was
set up buffet-style in the breezeway that
ran most of the length of the back of the
house, groaning with the dishes made
with recipes passed down from genera-
tion to generation.
Talk around the table was catching
up with loved ones and spirited ribbing
about the Egg Bowl that afternoon. Most
of the family would attend, so depending
on whether it was in Oxford or Starkville,
we would start eating earlier on the
Oxford years so we could hit the road
— some bringing cowbells and some
singing Hotty Toddy on the way!
The biggest difference this year is that
for the first time in all of our lives, my
102- year-old grandmother, Dixie Walker,
won’t be able to attend because of COVID
restrictions. We will go see her at the
Claiborne on Thanksgiving Day, but it
just won’t be the same without her at the
head of the table as the turkey is carved.
We will have to laugh and tease extended
family over FaceTime instead in the den
over football, but we are grateful for each
other and hopeful for the future.”
Loraine Walker, Starkville
■■■
“Thanksgiving is always a favorite
holiday of mine. The way my family cel-
ebrates usually begins on
the day of Thanksgiving,
ending all family activities
and games on the follow-
ing Sunday evening. Yes,
there’s food and games the
entire weekend.
One of my favorite
memories is a memory Phillips
from last year. We had
a family reunion for all
the offspring of my grandmother, Eola
Bolden. The family game of the day was
musical chairs. To see our family from
different generations moving around the
limited number of chairs was hilarious!
You had those who moved too slow and
fell to those who pushed others competi-
tively, racing to get to the last seat. It was
so much fun. Unfortunately, things will
be different this year due to COVID-19.
Social distancing from those you love
can be heartbreaking. I will cherish the
memories of the past in hope for new hap-
py memories in the future.”
Stephen Phillips, Crawford

Country Store
Continued from Page 9A
316 Seventh St. N., listed on the National
Register of Historic Places. They include
roofing, installation of handicap access
ramps and a kitchen remodel in the ven-
ue available for community events.
“We are asking people to, instead of
buying one of the beautiful bake sale
items we always have, make a donation
to the Lee Home,” Douglass said. “A new
air conditioning unit had to be installed
in the upstairs this past summer. Some
ceiling repairs and painting in the up-
stairs area also had to be done. Dona-
tions we receive will go to offset these
expenses.”
Donations may be mailed to Charlotte
Stripling, 1803 Pine Knoll Drive, Colum-
bus, MS 39705. Checks should be made
out to the S.D. Lee Home or the Associ-
ation for the Preservation of Antiquities.
“We promise,” said Douglass, “to have
our 60th celebration next year.”
Sports
COMMENTARY
Hodge: Mississippi State won’t go down without a whimper
In a season where Mississippi State has
already won two games, it’s odd to think
coach Mike Leach called Saturday’s 31-24
loss to No. 13 Georgia the best game his
team has played,
and by a signifi-
cant margin at
that.
But, well,
Leach is right.
“This team
played as hard
as any team, with
what we have, that
I’ve ever had,”
Leach said post-
Garrick Hodge
game. “... Now
you don’t just
illustrate it, you can actually feel it. If you
come away with the win it’s even bigger.
I’ve had a lot of great teams, but this team
may have performed to that level higher
than any team that I’ve ever coached.”
Bulldog Bullets:
Shorthanded
MSU can’t pull
off upset but
gives effort
BY GARRICK HODGE
ghodge@cdispatch.com
What else is there to
say? As shorthanded as
Mississippi State was
Saturday against No. 13
Georgia on the road, the
maroon Bulldogs went
into Athens and had a
chance to tie or take the
lead with just more than
a minute left. Of course,
they felt short in the end,
dropping a 31-24 contest.
In total, 49 scholarship
players suited up for the
maroon Bulldogs. We are
all learning together the
53 available scholarship
players the Southeast-
ern Conference listed as
protocol to play a game is
more of a suggestion than
it is a mandate. What’s
more important, appar-
ently, is positional depth,
and MSU had enough of
it where the league al-
lowed the game against
Georgia to be played.
MSU fell below the
53-man threshold af-
ter more players either
See BULLETS, 7B
How MSU
learned to
out-punch
its weight in
loss to No.
13 Georgia
BY BEN PORTNOY
bportnoy@cdispatch.com
Mississippi State coach
Mike Leach never minces
words.
From his time at Texas
Tech, to an eight-year run
at Washington State and
all the varying stops be-
fore, the quirky 19th-year
head coach is often long
on thoughts and short on
a filter.
But after Saturday’s
31-24 loss to No. 13 Geor-
gia, Leach was short, to
the point and, for the first
time in months, pleased
with the effort of a team
that’s looked like it’s been
outside the stadium, let
alone in the ring in hav-
ing a puncher’s chance
against the Southeastern
Conference’s elite.
“I think they’ve been
pretty committed to im-
proving,” he said. “I think
the guys that it’s whittled
down to now are pretty nit-
ty-gritty guys that make
you excited and proud to
work with every day.”
See MSU, 7B
SPORTS LINE
662-241-5000
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020
B
SECTION
Suiting up just 49 scholarship play-
ers due to a mix of opt-outs, positive
tests and contact tracing protocols, MSU
astoundingly took Georgia to the brink,
having a chance to tie or take the lead
on its final possession. Forget for just
a second the number of available MSU
players and remember how anemic the
play of the offense had been for the last
five games. Especially during the four-
game losing streak, where MSU scored a
combined 30 points, nine of them coming
on defense. Then add only 49 scholarship
players available on top of those woes.
Raise your hand if you saw this out-
come coming before the game. Now put
it down, you liar.
When it was revealed Friday just how
shorthanded MSU was, playing against
Georgia seemed impossible logistical-
ly if you had monitored Southeastern Tony Walsh/Georgia Athletics
Conference standards all season. Well, Georgia wide receiver Jermaine Burton (7) catches a touchdown against Mississippi
See HODGE, 7B State’s Shawn Preston Jr. (12) during Saturday’s game in Athens, Georgia.
NO. 13 GEORGIA 31, MISSISSIPPI STATE 24
Near miss: MSU falls just short in Athens
despite inspired offensive performance
Dale Zanine/USA TODAY Sports
Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers (2) passes against Georgia during the first quarter Saturday at Sanford Stadium in Athens,
Georgia. Rogers led a capable Bulldogs offense — a rare sight — but it wasn’t enough in a 31-24 loss.
Bulldogs look their best since winning season opener at LSU
BY BEN PORTNOY
bportnoy@cdispatch.com
es past, Rogers was poised and
prompt in his delivery through-
tating uppercut, Rogers per-
sistently pulled MSU off the
progressed from last week or
the weeks before on both sides
Will Rogers picked himself
out the opening 30 minutes. He
collected completions on nine of
mat in Saturday’s slugfest. After
Georgia opened the second half
of the ball,” senior linebacker
Erroll Thompson said. “But still
off the turf and exhaled a deep, a lot of work to do.”
his first 11 passes, guiding the with an eight-play, 78-yard drive
painful breath. For weeks the Bulldogs have
Bulldogs to scoring drives of 71 capped off by a 48-yard passing
Having been sacked on
and 75 yards to pull MSU ahead touchdown from JT Daniels to looked anemic to the nth de-
fourth-and-5 with 1:23 remain-
10-7 with 5:24 remaining in the Jermaine Burton, MSU’s ba- gree. But in a game oddsmakers
ing, the freshman quarterback
second quarter. by-faced gunslinger connected projected them to lose by more
wallowed in Mississippi State’s
Finding a streaking Jaden on seven of his next eight passes than three touchdowns, Leach’s
inspired 31-24 loss to No. 13
Walley on the right side of the before freshman running back squad seemingly turned a cor-
Georgia in Athens that exor-
formation, Rogers connected Dillon Johnson plunged into the ner.
cised demons of a month-plus
with his classmate for one of end zone for his second rushing Gone were the persistent mis-
worth of offensive ineptitude.
“This is by a significant mar- their seven hook-ups on the score of the night. fires, overthrows, interceptions
gin the best game we’ve played night four plays after a 41-yard But as the visiting Bulldogs and downright ugliness. Instead
this year,” head coach Mike Jack Podelsny field goal drew continued landing punches — it was replaced with crisp offen-
Leach said postgame. sive possessions, averaging 5.3
In four outings this fall, the
‘This is the team we were supposed to be all year, yards per play on first down to
remain on schedule, while the
Brandon native had earned
two of the three worst passing
and it’s just now popping out. You’re seeing it now.’ defense added another case
Freshman wide receiver Jaden Walley study for defensive coordinator
grades of the year between
him and Stanford transfer K.J. things even at 10-10. Darting most notably limiting the usu- Zach Arnett’s résumé, which is
Costello — who was unavailable past a gaggle of Georgia defend- ally dynamic Georgia rushing sure to be widely sought after in
for the third straight week for ers and up the sideline, Walley attack to just eight yards total the offseason.
an undisclosed injury — accord- hit pay dirt for a 51-yard score — Daniels found the knockout Now sitting at 2-5 with an
ing to Pro Football Focus. that notched the Bulldogs’ lon- blow minutes into the fourth in-state date with Lane Kiffin
Further muddying his ear- gest completion since the third quarter. After delivering dimes and Ole Miss a week away, Sat-
ly returns, Rogers’ 226 yards quarter of an Oct. 17 loss to No. to Kearis Jackson and George urday offered a glimpse at a re-
against a Vanderbilt team that 5 Texas A&M. Pickens in the end zone that vived MSU team that weeks ago
participated in their Nov. 7 “At first I just recognized man were subsequently dropped, the looked left for dead. It wasn’t a
meeting with just 58 scholar- coverage,” Walley explained. former USC signal caller con- win, but it was a start.
ship players marked just the “I waited on Austin (Williams), nected with Jackson on third- “I feel like this is our team,”
fifth time since 2013 a Leach- and I cut off him, and the ball and-20 for a 40-yard go-ahead Walley said when queried as
coached quarterback threw for was there. So I just caught it and score. to whether the Bulldogs have
less than 250 yards in a game. just used what God gave me to “There’s never any moral vic- turned a corner. “This is the
get into the end zone.” tories, but I feel like everybody team we were supposed to be all
But rather than the short
throws and inability to get down- Like a prize fighter rising can hang their head in knowing year, and it’s just now popping
field that had marred appearanc- once more following a devas- that we fought to the end and out. You’re seeing it now.”
2B SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Starkville’s Locke signs to play softball at Northeast CC

BY THEO DEROSA
tderosa@cdispatch.com
STARKVILLE — Greg
Owen was impressed by
Brianne Locke before he
ever knew her name.
When Owen, Starkville
High School’s new ath-
letic director, made it out
to a softball practice, he
watched the team practice
relays and turns from the
outfield.
One middle infielder,
Owen noticed, stood out.
Her glove action and abili-
ty to field short hops was a
cut above.
“Man, there’s some-
thing about her that’s a
little different,” Owen
thought to himself.
Owen checked with Yel-
low Jackets coach Ronald
Campbell and found out
that the standout player
was Locke, a star shortstop
and pitcher. It was his first
introduction to the senior’s
talent.
On Friday, the athletic
director told the story of
his first look at Locke in
front of those assembled —
the senior’s family, friends,
teammates and coaches,
who had come to watch
Locke sign her national let-
ter of intent to continue her
softball career at North-
east Mississippi Communi-
ty College.
“There’s no misunder-
standing of why we’re here
today: to celebrate your
accomplishments and the
things that you’ve done,”
Owen told Locke just be-
fore she affirmed her com-
mitment to the Tigers.
In her five years play-
ing for Starkville’s slow-
pitch and fast-pitch softball
teams, Locke has done
plenty. She’s a strong
shortstop who pitches
effectively and has often
been asked to play outfield
when needed, Campbell
said — whatever the Jack-
ets require.
“She works hard,” the
coach said. “She’s dedicat-
Starkville senior Brianne Locke signed her letter of
intent to play softball at Northeast CC on Friday.
ed to the sport. She does
a great job. I’m probably
more excited than she is
because I’m kind of antici-
pating what it is that she’s
going to do when she gets
there.”
Locke said she had two
other offers and planned to
commit elsewhere when
she scheduled a visit to
Booneville to see the cam-
pus. She loved the Tigers’
new facility, and her mind
was changed.
During a soccer prac-
Theo DeRosa/Dispatch Staff
tice in mid-January, Locke
— who plays the sport
during the winter before
softball in the spring —
informed assistant coach
Abby Phillips she was ex-
pecting a call from North-
east assistant coach Kevin
Connell. She stepped to
the side to tell Connell her
decision.
“‘I’m grateful for this
opportunity,’” she told an
equally grateful Connell.
“‘I would like to commit
today.’
She walked back to the
soccer field to congratula-
tory cheers from her team-
mates.
“It was just a good time,”
Locke said.
Locke will focus on mid-
dle infield at Northeast,
Campbell said, and she
hopes to take the time to
perfect the craft before
heading to Booneville next
year.
And after being able to
play just two games her
junior season because of
COVID-19, Locke has a
second hope for 2021.
“Lord willing we get to
play,” she said.
If the Jackets do get to
take the field, Campbell
said he expects further im-
provement from Locke —
something the sixth-year
coach has seen season af-
ter season.
The coach recalled
when he was first told
about a talented pitcher
playing in the Starkville
rec softball league. It was
Locke, headed into sev-
enth grade, and Campbell
confirmed her skill. Even
then, he could see what
was to come.
“I kind of figured that
we would be here where
we are,” he said.
Ever since then, Locke
has continued to develop
— her power has already
progressed to the point
where she’s hitting three
to five home runs each
batting practice — and has
grown into a leader on the
team.
Campbell said he ex-
pects her development to
continue into her collegiate
career.
“I know she’s going to
do well,” Campbell said. “I
know she’s going to play
hard. I know she’s going to
hustle. All that, in turn, is
going to lead to some great
things happening for her.
I’m excited for her.
“Congratulations, Bri-
anne,” he added, turning to
Locke. “You deserve this.”

NBA

VanVleet staying with Raptors; Hayward to Hornets

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Fred VanVleet bet on
himself. It paid off.
Gordon Hayward,
meanwhile, is heading to
a new home.
VanVleet agreed Sat-
urday to a four-year, $85
million contract to remain
with the Toronto Rap-
tors, a person with direct
knowledge of the discus-
sions told The Associated
Press on condition of an-
onymity because the con-
tract remains unsigned.
The fourth year of the
contract is at VanVleet’s
option.
The Charlotte Hornets
have wanted Hayward
for years. On Saturday,
they finally landed him,
according to Priority
Sports, the agency that
represents the veteran
forward. A person with
knowledge of the terms,
speaking on condition of
anonymity because the
deal hadn’t been signed,
told the AP that Hayward
will sign a four-year con-
tract worth $120 million.
ESPN first reported the
agreement between Hay-
ward and the Hornets.
VanVleet, the undraft-
ed guard from Wichita
State, has played a huge
role in the Raptors’ re-
cent successes, most im-
portantly their run to the
2019 NBA championship.
He has set career bests in
scoring by wide margins
in each of the last three
seasons, that number
rising to 17.6 points per
game this past season.
Keeping VanVleet was
of major importance to
the Raptors, who have
won at least 50 games in
each of the last five sea-
sons — by far the lon-
gest current streak in the
NBA. Milwaukee has a
two-year such streak, and
the reigning NBA cham-
pion Los Angeles Lakers
reached the 50-win mark
last season.
It also fulfilled a VanV-
leet prophecy: He famous-
ly went undrafted four
years ago, then passed
on some low-money deals
that he figured wouldn’t
pan into much.
“I turned those down.
I bet on myself,” VanVleet
told friends and family
on what would have been
his draft night, a festive
occasion that turned
disappointing when the
call from the NBA never
came.
On Saturday, he tweet-
ed his reaction: a retweet
of himself saying “Bet on
yourself” in 2016.
The Raptors brought
him in on a sum-
mer-league deal, then a
minimum deal, then gave
him a two-year contract
for $18 million two years
later — and now gave him
the full reward.
Free agency opened
in the NBA on Friday
evening and VanVleet
was one of the top avail-
able names. The Lakers’
Anthony Davis remains
unsigned though is ex-
pected to remain with
the defending champions,
and Hayward’s future was
another of the top ques-
tions remaining in the
league as Day 2 of free
agency began Saturday.
It was not a question
for long.

West Point exacts revenge on Grenada to reach north state title game
BY THEO DEROSA
tderosa@cdispatch.com
GRENADA — Bunched
up in a power formation, a
few inches away from the
goal line, West Point need-
ed no reminders.
The Green Wave knew
what happened last time
they faced a similar sit-
uation at Grenada High
School on Oct. 16: The
Chargers stuffed them on
fourth and goal to win in
overtime, 28-21.
On the very same field
for Friday’s MHSAA sec-
ond-round playoff game,
West Point wouldn’t let
that happen again.
With the Green Wave
up a touchdown with four
minutes to go, Cameron
Young finally punched in
the decisive score with
less than four minutes
to go after West Point
was stopped twice at the
1-yard line. This time,
there would be no heart-
break for the road team.
“We weren’t going to
be denied,” coach Chris
Chambless said.
It was the theme of
the night as the Green
Wave handled the Char-
gers 28-14 to punch its
ticket to next week’s MH-
SAA Class 5A north state
championship at Ridge-
land. The Green Wave
have won five straight
since losing back-to-back
games against Lake Cor-
morant and Grenada.
“It feels good,” Young
said. “We’re one step clos-
er to our main goal.”
That goal, of course, is
the fifth straight state ti-
tle and a public school-re-
cord 12th crown for West
Point. After two straight
losses, the “refuse to lose”
attitude Chambless and
his coaching staff have
instilled in their players
since seventh grade has
shined through every Fri-
day.
“We prepared really
well all week,” Chambless
said. “We were mentally
prepared for this game,
and it showed. You’re nev-
er going to play a perfect
game. I felt like we got
stopped a couple times
when we could have kept
going. But we won, and
I’m 100 percent happy
with it.”
Once again, Young and
the Green Wave’s running
game deserve a large por-
tion of the credit. After five
touchdowns last week, the
junior had three Friday,
including his clinching
1-yard score. With his first
name, the No. 2 jersey he
dons and the powerful
stretch he made to inch
the ball across the plane,
Young looked more than a
little like Cam Newton on
the play.
Actually, though, he’d
probably scored three
plays prior. West Point’s
Hudl Sideline instant
replay system showed
Young had in fact broken
the plane on a run for a
first down from the 4-yard
line, but he was marked
down at the 1. Chamb-
less said the Green Wave
pulled up film of the next
two plays — both ruled
short — and saw that West
Point should have been
credited with touchdowns
on both.
Instead, it fell to Young
on third down, and he
made good on the play —
thanks to superlative ef-
fort and the goal-line drills
the Green Wave practice
every week.
“When it comes to that
nit-and-grit time, we’ve
got to be able to score,”
Chambless said.
Though its run-heavy
offense was occasionally
curtailed by the Chargers,
West Point seemed to be
able to score whenever it
really needed to Friday
night.
Take the first posses-
sion of the second half af-
ter Grenada quarterback
Joshua Phillips ran for a
25-yard score to put the
Chargers up 14-13.
Chris Ivy carried for a
big gain on West Point’s
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
West Point defensive backs Joqwan Young (10) and
Frederick McMillian (26) celebrate after McMillian’s
interception in the fourth quarter of Friday’s game at
Grenada. The Green Wave won 28-14 and will face
Ridgeland on the road next Friday in the MHSAA Class
5A semifinal round.
first play, and Young then
broke away for a 55-yard
touchdown run to put the
Green Wave on top for
good.
“It was huge,” Young
said. “We knew we needed
it to win the game.”
All year, West Point
has given possession of
a wrestling-style champi-
onship belt to the player
dubbed most deserving,
and Young slung it over
his shoulder after the final
horn.
“Cam had a real big
night for us like he always
does,” said Chambless,
who also credited Ivy, Ja-
Kobe Pate and Keshawn
Henley. “Our backs do re-
ally well.”
But it wasn’t just West
Point’s running backs
who made the difference
Friday night — the Green
Wave’s secondary had a
similar impact.
No player exemplifies
that fight better than Fred-
erick McMillian, a junior
cornerback who missed
all of last season with a
torn ACL.
On the Grenada
drive following Young’s
short-yardage score, Mc-
Millian made an intercep-
tion look so effortless he
seemed to be playing wide
receiver rather than defen-
sive back.
“‘All that rehab and
everything ... it makes ev-
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020
closer to a MHSAA Class
3A title with a 39-14 road
win at North Panola in Fri-
day’s quarterfinal game.
The Tigers (9-1) out-
scored the Cougars 26-0
in the second half to get
the win.
Noxubee County quar-
terback Chrishaad Rupert
had rushing touchdowns
of 10 and 11 yards.
Anthony Little had an
Theo DeRosa/Dispatch Staff 85-yard touchdown for the
Tigers, and Jordan White
had a 52-yard score.
Shunterrion Sherrod had
a 47-yard touchdown, and
Bobby Shanklin had a
3-yard score.
erything worthwhile after Noxubee County will
making a play like that for return to Macon to host
us,’” Chambless told Mc- the Class 3A north state
Millian on the sidelines af- championship game Fri-
ter the pick. “Fred’s been day against Winona.
steady for us all year.”
With 3:19 to go, all Mars Hill Bible (Ala.)
West Point had to do was 55, Aliceville (Ala.) 14,
run out the clock, and AHSAA Class 2A quarter-
Young credited McMillian final
for the big play. ALICEVILLE, Ala. —
“We knew our defense Aliceville (Alabama) High
was going to get a stop for School was eliminated
us,” Young said. “That was from the AHSAA Class
just huge.” 2A tournament with a 55-
It gave West Point re- 14 home loss to Mars Hill
venge over the Chargers Bible School (Alabama)
and a date with the Titans on Friday in Aliceville, Al-
in next week’s north state abama.
championship in Ridge- The Panthers opened
land as the Green Wave up a 35-0 halftime lead to
moved closer to the goal end the Yellowjackets’ sea-
they have yet to give up. son with an 8-5 record.
“We know when we’re Tyjarian Williams had a
59-yard touchdown pass to
able to practice over
Thanksgiving break, Jermaine Brewer to open
the scoring for Aliceville
we’re doing something
right,” Chambless said. in the third quarter, and
Brewer ran for a 36-yard
score in the fourth.
West Point 28, Grenada 14
WP 7 6 8 7 — 28 Williams was 11 of 21
G 7 0 7 0 — 14
First quarter passing for 162 yards.
G — Joe Moss 5 pass from Joshua Phillips (Jacob
Chavis kick), clock 6:10 Brewer finished with 12
WP — Keshawn Henley 33 run (Alex Harper kick),
carries for 85 yards and
clock 3:53
Second quarter was the Jackets’ leading
WP — Cameron Young 9 run (kick failed), clock 2:01
Third quarter receiver with three catch-
G — Phillips 25 run (Chavis kick), clock 8:09
WP — C. Young 55 run (Jaquavis Young pass from es for 98 yards.
Chris Ivy), clock 7:27
Fourth quarter Landon Ball caught
WP — C. Young 1 run (Harper kick), clock 3:59
three passes for 36 yards,
and TyQuan Simon had
Other scores five grabs for 28 yards.
Noxubee County 39,
North Panola 14, MHSAA Prep Girls Basket-
Class 3A quarterfinal ball
SARDIS — Noxubee Noxubee County 66,
County moved one win West Lowndes 55
3B
Na’Kaiyla Lockett
scored 39 points as the
Noxubee County girls
beat West Lowndes 66-55
on Saturday.
Jakeia Walker added
eight points. Kirsten Bar-
nett scored six, and Aali-
yah Brandy had four.
For West Lowndes,
Quankeria Halbert had 16
points, and Averi Sanders
and Tydajasha Hood each
had 13.
Noxubee County’s next
game is Dec. 4 against
Starkville in Macon.
Prep Boys Basket-
ball
Noxubee County 56,
West Lowndes 49
Rapheal Harris had
20 points as the Noxubee
County boys also beat
West Lowndes on Satur-
day, 56-49.
Montreal Chandler
added 14 for the Tigers.
Jordan Jones and Awstyn
McCloud each had six.
Decamby Willis had
17 points and 14 rebounds
for West Lowndes, and
Darrell Brooks scored 17
points and grabbed six
boards.
Fredrick Rice Jr. had
four points and 12 re-
bounds, Jatarius Brown
had four points and three
rebounds, and Jaylyn
Sherrod had four points
and three steals.
West Lowndes’ next
game is Dec. 1 against
West Point in Columbus.
Prep Boys Soccer
Starkville Academy 4,
Bayou Academy 2, Friday
CLEVELAND — The
Starkville Academy boys
soccer team beat Bayou
Academy 4-2 in Friday’s
road match.
Senior Brody Pierce
had two goals for the Vol-
unteers (2-0). Junior Grant
Smith scored on a penalty
kick, and seventh-grader
Nathan Miller also had a
goal.
Starkville Academy’s
next match is at Strayhorn
on Dec. 1.
Classifieds
Employment
Call us: 662-328-2424
Education
NOXUBEE COUNTY School
District seeks special edu-
cation teachers for employ-
ment in Macon, MS area.
Teach elem special ed stu-
dents. Some positions req
Bachelors+5 yrs exp, oth-
ers a Masters. All posi-
tions req eligibility for MS
teaching license w/en-
dorsement in mild/mod
disabilities. Please mail re-
sume to HR, NCSD PO Box
540 Macon, MS 39341 &
reference job#MREP20.
The Mississippi School for
Mathematics and Science
is accepting applications
for the following positions:
Coordinator for Admis-
sions and Director for Aca-
demic Affairs. Bachelor's or
Master's degree in related
area is required. Applica-
tion can be made by sub-
mitting a resume and cov-
er letter to
amoore@themsms.org.
All applicants will be ac-
knowledged but only selec-
ted candidates will be in-
vited for an interview. For
more details, visit https://
themsms.org/about/
employment-opportunities/
General Help Wanted
PERSONAL CARE: Full and
part-time employees
needed at small personal
care home in Columbus,
MS. Must pass back-
ground check. Call
Collegeview Personal Care
662-327-9463.
MAINTENANCE AIDE
The Columbus Housing
Authority is recruiting for
the employment position of
Maintenance Aide. Individu-
als who are interested may
come by the main office at
914 4th St. So. to apply
and request a copy of the
job description. Any ques-
tions, please call 662-328-
4236 and speak to Mrs.
Taylor or Mr. Jones.
We are an equal
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PART TIME mature person
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perience a plus, computer
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Service Directory
Promote your small business starting at only $25
Building & Remodeling
SUGGS CONSTRUCTION
CO. Building, roofing,
remodeling, & home repair.
Licensed & Bonded.
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Carpet & Flooring
**HOLIDAY SPECIAL**
4 ROOMS − $100
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Carpet−Rugs−Tile−Cars
DAVID’S CARPET &
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A & T TREE SERVICES
Bucket truck & stump
removal. Free est.
Serving Columbus
since 1987. Senior
citizen disc. Call Alvin @
242−0324/241−4447
"We’ll go out on a limb for
you!"
DUMP TRUCK HAULING.
Slag − $400
Clay Gravel − $250
Available for hauling any
materials. Filling in
swimming pools.
Columbus. Call Walter,
662−251−8664.
WORK WANTED: Licensed
& Bonded. Carpentry, minor
electrical, minor plumbing,
insulation, painting, demo−
lition, gutters cleaned,
pressure washing, land−
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662−242−3608.
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Apts For Rent: Other Houses For Rent: North Rooms For Rent Medical / Dental
COLONIAL TOWNHOUSES.
2 & 3 bedroom w/ 2−3
ROOM FOR RENT, FULLY
FURNISHED, WEST POINT.
bath townhouses. $650 to Includes appls, furn & util.
$750. 662−549−9555. $400 per month.
Ask for Glenn or text. No deposit.
662−295−4701.
Mobile Homes for Rent
Did you
3BR/2BA MH in New Hope.
?
$650 dep + $650/mo. No
know
pets, quiet area. Leave full
name & message,
205−712−6697.
In 2014, The
Dispatch started
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Imagination
Library, a non-
Take down that “for
COLEMAN rent” sign and get profit that
RENTALS promotes early
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General Help Wanted
General Services Lawn Care / Landscaping
TERRA CARE
LANDSCAPING L.L.C.
Phone: 662−549−1878
Landscaping, Property
Clean Up, Plant Care,
Bush Hogging,
Herbicide Spraying
Painting & Papering
QUALITY PAINTING.
Ext/Int Painting.
Sheet Rock Hang, Finish &
Repair. Pressure Washing.
Free Estimates. Ask for
specials! Larry Webber,
662−242−4932.
SULLIVAN’S PAINT
Lawn Care / Landscaping SERVICE
Special Prices.
JESSE & BEVERLY’S Interior & Exterior Painting.
LAWN SERVICE 662−435−6528
Mowing, cleanup, tree
cutting, landscaping,
sodding & bush hogging.
662−356−6525 Are you a painter?
Advertise here!
662-328-2424
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020 5B

Too much
Real Estate Merchandise
Ads starting at $25 STUFF? Ads starting at $12
ON THE WEB
Visit www.cdispatch.com
Lots & Acreage Bargain Column for a printable copy of
Place an ad safely 1.75 ACRE LOTS Good/
Bad Credit Options. Good
Infant/toddler rocker chair
Infant to toddler rocker
these puzzles.

from home with

credit as low as 20% down, chair 662−798−9811
$499/mo. Eaton Land,
662−361−7711.
Jumperoo Infant/toddler

the Classifieds.
jumperoo 662−798−9811
LAMAR CO., AL−80 ACRES
hunting land, north of Rocking horse Rocking
Millport. $585 per acre. horse 662−798−9811
Call for more info,
205−695−2248 or Building Materials
205−799−9846. Start your
de-cluttering by 5 FT. Chain Link Fence.
Top rails, caps, band, etc.
placing a garage Reasonably priced.
Call or text
sale ad today! 662−549−7167

ads.cdispatch.com
Houses For Sale: Other
Firewood / Fuel
Looking for a new home? Ads starting at... FIREWOOD FOR SALE.
Let us help, shop here.
1 day $10
Various lengths.
662−295−2274.
3 day $18 Musical Instruments

6 day $34 Sudoku

ALLEN DIGITAL ORGAN
for sale. $550. YESTERDAY’S ANSWER
Good for church.

Sudoku
Sudoku is a number- Yesterday’s answer
Price includes 4 lines of text;
Call 662−425−6505.
$1/line after base cost. placing puzzle based on
Sporting Goods
Sudoku
a 9x9 gridis witha several
num- 5 7 8 1 4 6 3 2 9
Crawford Army Surplus ber-placing
given numbers.puzzleThe object 2 9 3 7 8 5 4 1 6

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

based onthe a 9x9
Garage Sales
on Main in Crawford. is to place numbers 6 1 4 9 2 3 7 5 8
Now for sale: Metal Ammo
cans 30&50 cal, $10;
grid
1 to 9with
in theseveral
empty spaces 8 3 9 2 7 1 6 4 5
.155mm Howitzer treated given
so thatnumbers.
each row, eachThe 4 5 1 6 3 9 8 7 2
Two free signs wood ammo boxes, object
column and each 3x3 the
is to place box
numbers 7 6 2 8 5 4 1 9 3
contains the1same to 9 number
in
$5&10; Army steel
Estate Sales bunkbeds, $125; Field the empty spaces so 3 4 7 5 9 8 2 6 1
Artillery camo nets with only once. The difficulty 1 8 5 4 6 2 9 3 7
spreader poles, $225; that each row, each
level increases from
Estate Sale Unissued camo (BDU/ column and each 9 2 6 3 1 7 5 8 4
East Columbus ACU/ABU) military 6− Monday
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Sunday. Difficulty Level 11/20

513 Catalpa St. pocket fatigues, $35 & M−

Columbus, MS
Fri. Nov. 20, 9am−4pm
Sat. Nov. 21, 9−4
Sun. Nov. 22, 1−4
Mon. Nov. 23, 9−1
Contents of house,
bedroom suites,
dining suite,
curios, coca cola items,
pocketknives,
porch rockers, washer,
dryer, freezer,
bookcases, kitchen
items, linens,
La−Z−Boy recliners,
hundreds of items.
photos @
www.estatesales.net
Stewart’s Antiques &
Estate Sales
Benny Shelton
Columbus, MS
662−251−1515
65 field coats & fire− the same number only once. The difficulty level
retardant coveralls, $50; increases from Monday to Sunday.
polypro col weather under
garment, $18;
OCP T−shirts, $5.
Call 662.769.1889
ED SANDERS GUNSMITH
Open for season!
Tue−Fri: 9−5 & Sat: 9−12
Over 50 years experience!
Repairs, cleaning, refin−
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zeroed, handmade knives.
Located: Hwy 45 Alt, North
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left on Darracott Rd, will
see sign, 2.5mi ahead
shop on left.
662−494−6218.

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6B SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Smith, No. 1 Alabama rout short-handed Kentucky

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.
— Alabama didn’t quite
look like itself at first after
an extended period on the
sidelines, but it scarcely
made a difference on the
scoreboard.
DeVonta Smith caught
nine passes for 144 yards
and set the Southeastern
Conference career record
with two more touch-
downs in the top-ranked
Crimson Tide’s 63-3 victo-
ry over short-handed Ken-
tucky on Saturday.
“I think we played bet-
ter and better and better
as the game went on,”
coach Nick Saban said.
And the score got big-
ger and bigger and big-
ger.
Mac Jones passed for
230 yards and two touch-
downs and Najee Harris
ran for a pair of scores for
the Tide (7-0 SEC), both
in less than three quar-
ters. A slow start turned
into a breezy return from
a three-week layoff after
LSU was forced to call
off last week’s sched-
uled game because of
COVID-19 troubles.
The outmanned Wild-
cats (3-5) were missing a
number of key players be-
cause of injuries or coro-
navirus protocol. They
were competitive early on
the stat sheet, but it didn’t
hold up particularly long
on the scoreboard after
they gave up three sec-
ond-quarter touchdowns.
“I know you’re going to
look at the score and say,
‘Man, there’s not a lot of
Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith (6) caught nine passes for 144 yards and set the Southeastern Confer-
ence career record with two more touchdowns Saturday as the Crimson Tide beat Kentucky 63-3.
good things.’ But there
was,” Kentucky coach
Mark Stoops said. “Ear-
ly in the game, I thought
our guys were playing ex-
tremely hard, extremely
physical.”
Smith broke Amari
Cooper’s SEC and Al-
abama record with his
32nd touchdown catch, a
10-yarder from Jones in
the second quarter. He
added an 18-yarder from
freshman backup Bryce
Young.
“It’s certainly a bless-
ing to have my name with
all the greats that came to
the SEC and this school,”
bined 104-3. Didn’t have
anything close to a flaw-
less first half on either
side of the ball, but still
took a 28-3 lead into the
locker room. Had the ball
for just 9:20 in the half.
“The last time I
checked, you get nothing
for time of possession,”
Saban said.
Quotable
“This is not acceptable
for us. We know that as
players, as a whole foot-
ball team, as a whole or-
ganization. As leaders, we
are going to put it on the
young guys, so the young
guys know that this isn’t
acceptable, this is not who
we are, this won’t happen
again.” — Kentucky de-
fensive end Josh Paschal.
Freshman showcase
Alabama got back-
Crimson Tide Photo ups such as Young and
freshman tailback Jase
McClellan significant
Smith said. The Wildcats gained 121 wins list with his 206th. playing time. McClellan
Jones completed 16 of yards in the first quarter Bear Bryant tops the list ran for 99 yards and a late
24 passes but also was and 60 the rest of the way. with 292. touchdown, moving up
intercepted at the goal Kentucky played with- the depth chart after Trey
Sanders was injured in a
line in a rare mistake. out leading rusher Chris The takeaway car accident.
Harris had a career-long Rodriguez, guard Luke Kentucky: Despite
42-yard touchdown run Fortner, tight ends Justin missing all those play- “It’s just good to see
and gained 83 yards on 13 Rigg and Brenden Bates, ers, the Wildcats kept it the young guys get in
carries. and linebackers Jamin close for a while. They there and get a feeling
Kentucky quarterback Davis and D’Eryk Jack- controlled the ball much for how it’s going to be,”
Terry Wilson passed for son. The school didn’t of the first half, but set- Smith said. “You never
just 120 yards and was disclose reasons for each tled for three field goal know when they’re going
benched after throwing player’s absence. tries and converted only to be needed.”
an interception that Jor- one, with a miss and a bad
dan Battle returned 45 Saban milestone snap. Kentucky couldn’t Up next
yards for a touchdown in Saban matched former muster much offense af- Kentucky visits No. 6
the third quarter. Florida and South Caroli- ter that. Florida next Saturday.
Joey Gatewood and na coach Steve Spurrier Alabama: Has out- Alabama hosts No. 23
Beau Allen couldn’t get for second on the SEC’s scored Mississippi State Auburn in the Iron Bowl
anything going, either. career regular-season and Kentucky by a com- next Saturday.

UTSA 23,
SOUTHERN MISS 20 No. 3 Ohio State beats back comeback bid by No. 9 Indiana
McCormick THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLUMBUS, Ohio — After

reer-high 169 yards and two
touchdowns, and Justin Fields
accounted for three scores as
to a 49-11 win at Michigan last
weekend.
Mertz, a redshirt freshman,
Hayden Rucci.
After Joseph’s second in-
terception, Northwestern put
scores twice, climbing to its highest AP Top
25 poll ranking in more than a
half century, No. 9 Indiana got a
the Buckeyes amassed 607
yards of offense.
Fields was 18 for 30 for 300
lost a fumble and threw the first
three interceptions of his career
against Northwestern. Senior
together a seven-play, 72-yard
drive to go ahead to stay. Ram-

leads UTSA chance find out how it measured

over So. Miss
Roadrunners RB
runs for 173 yards
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HAT TIESBURG — the second half only to be out-
Sincere McCormick
ran for 173 yards and
two touchdowns to lead
UTSA to a 23-20 victory
over Southern Miss on
Saturday.
It was the first win for
the Roadrunners (6-4,
4-2 Conference USA) at
Southern Miss (2-7, 1-4).
Tate Whatley threw
a 51-yard touchdown
pass to Frank Gore Jr.
for Southern Miss that
capped the scoring with
10 minutes to play. The
Golden Eagles had one
more possession, but
couldn’t cross midfield
after 11 plays and four
minutes remaining.
Trailing 10-9 after
halftime, McCormick
broke loose on a 69-
yard touchdown run and
scored from the 1 that
gave the Roadrunners a
23-10 lead with 6:30 left
in the third quarter.
McCormick entered
second in the nation in
yards rushing and set the
program’s single-season
rushing record at 1,044
yards with a game re-
maining. He surpassed
Jarveon Williams’ 1,042
mark set in 2015-16. It
was McCormick’s eighth
career 100-yard rushing
game, matching Wil-
liams’ record.
UTSA’s Zakhari
Franklin caught a 6-yard
touchdown pass from
Frank Harris in the sec-
ond quarter. Franklin, a
sophomore, finished with
22 yards receiving and
has over 1,000 yards for
the season.
Whatley was 22 of 39
passing for 220 yards
with two touchdowns.
Gore finished with 70
yards rushing to go along
with his scoring catch.
up with Big Ten behemoth
Ohio State, a team the Hoosiers
hadn’t beaten in 32 years.
They came up short but sure
made it interesting — and a lot
closer than the No. 3 Buckeyes
would have liked.
Behind quarterback Michael
Penix Jr., Indiana (4-1) rallied
from a four-touchdown deficit in
lasted by the Buckeyes 42-35 on
a rainy Saturday in an all-but-
empty Ohio Stadium.
“You know, people didn’t
think we belonged on the field
with Ohio State, but I think we
showed that today,” Indiana
coach Tom Allen said. “I think
we’re a good football team, a re-
ally good football team.”
The Buckeyes (4-0) were
happy to get out of there with
a win after leading 35-7 early
in the second half and allowing
Indiana to climb back to within
one score. Two weeks ago, Ohio
State led 35-3 at halftime and
were outscored 24-14 in the sec-
ond half in a win over Rutgers.
“We’ve got to figure out a way
to close out games,” Ohio State
coach Ryan Day said. “This is
kind of the second week now
we let a team hang around a lit-
tle bit, and we’ve got to get that
fixed. But (there were) so many
great things in this game. Indi-
ana is a good team, they’re a top-
10 team so this was not easy.”
The Buckeyes defense in the
second half struggled to slow
down Penix, who had the best
statistical day of his career —
27 for 51 for a career-high 491
yards and five touchdowns.
Penix passed for four touch-
downs in the second half but
also made a critical error, toss-
ing an interception that Ohio
State’s Shaun Wade returned for
a touchdown at the end of the
third quarter. The game might
have been different if it wasn’t
for that.
The running game helped
Ohio State maintain control
when things were dicey. The
Buckeyes had two late drives
after the Hoosiers got within in
a touchdown that didn’t result in
points, but burned clock and In-
diana’s timeouts.
The Hoosiers last possession
started deep in their own ter-
ritory with 38 seconds left and
ended with a desperation lateral
play that never crossed midfield.
Master Teague ran for a ca-
yards and two touchdown pass-
es, but he also threw his first
three interceptions of the sea-
son and was sacked five times.
He ran for 78 yards and a touch-
down.
“Of course I made bad deci-
sions,” Fields said. “I ended up
with three picks but we got the
W today. That’s all that matters.
We got the W, and we’re 4-0.”
Garrett Wilson had seven
catches for 169 yards — his
fourth straight game of 100-plus
yards — and two scores for the
Buckeyes.
No. 19 Northwestern 17, No.
10 Wisconsin 7
EVANSTON, Ill. — Every
clutch play by Peyton Ramsey.
Every big hit by Northwestern’s
defense. It was all designed to
send a message.
The Wildcats had something
they wanted to say.
“We woke up the country
now, and we need our damn re-
spect,” cornerback Greg New-
some II said.
Ramsey threw two touch-
down passes and No. 19 North-
western shut down Graham
Mertz and No. 10 Wisconsin for
a 17-7 victory on Saturday that
put the undefeated Wildcats in
control of the Big Ten West.
Northwestern forced five
turnovers — four in the first
half — and sacked Mertz three
times in its first win over a top-
10 team since a 28-25 victory
over No. 9 Nebraska on Nov. 5,
2011. Ramsey, a graduate trans-
fer from Indiana, was 23 for
44 for 203 yards, and Ramaud
Chiaokhiao-Bowman had four
receptions for a career-high 95
yards.
Rising from the ashes of an
ugly 3-9 season, the Wildcats
improved to 5-0 for the first time
since 2015. They also moved to
5-0 in the Big Ten for the first
time since 1996.
“Very resilient by our guys,”
coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “Just
staying in the fight. It wasn’t
pretty. Old-school game, but
they grinded it out all the way
through to the finish.”
Wisconsin (2-1, 2-1) had
committed just one turnover
this year, a fumble during a 45-7
victory over Illinois on Oct. 23.
The Badgers then had back-to-
back games canceled because
of a COVID-19 outbreak with-
in the program before rolling
running back Garrett Groshek
also lost a fumble in his return
after he missed the victory
against the Wolverines.
“Obviously when you turn
the ball over the number of
times we did, it makes it hard,”
Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst
said.
Mertz was 23 of 41 for 230
yards. Jalen Berger had 15 car-
ries for a career-best 93 yards
for the Badgers.
Wisconsin managed to stay
in the game thanks to stout de-
fense. But Charlie Kuhbander
kicked a 32-yard field goal with
11:35 left, and Northwestern
finished off another second-half
shutout. The Wildcats have al-
lowed just 10 points in the final
two quarters this season.
“Northwestern’s a great,
veteran defense,” Mertz said.
“They knew what was coming
with our progressions. Obvious-
ly it was something I’d love to
get back, but now it’s just taking
it as a learning experience and
growing from it.”
Northwestern got off to a fast
start. After Wisconsin went no-
where on its first possession,
Ramsey tossed a 2-yard TD
pass to Charlie Mangieri with
10:50 left in the first quarter.
John Raine set up the score by
drawing a pair of pass interfer-
ence penalties in the end zone.
Groshek then fumbled the
ball away for the Badgers, and
Chiaokhiao-Bowman’s 36-yard
reception on a pass by fellow
receiver Riley Lees moved
the Wildcats to the Badgers 1.
The play was originally ruled a
touchdown, but a replay review
showed Chiaokhiao-Bowman
stepped out of bounds.
The overturned call took on
added significance when Isaiah
Bowser fumbled on the next
snap, and Spencer Lytle recov-
ered for Wisconsin in the end
zone. The Badgers then put to-
gether a six-play, 80-yard drive,
tying it at 7 on Mertz’s 49-yard
pass to Chimere Dike for the
freshman’s first career touch-
down with 5:14 left in the open-
ing quarter.
Wisconsin had a couple
chances to move in front in the
first half, but Mertz fumbled
on a sack by Blake Gallagher
and threw two interceptions
to Brandon Joseph. The first
pick was deflected by lineback-
er Paddy Fisher before it went
through the arms of tight end
sey made a terrific throw to
Chiaokhiao-Bowman for a tie-
breaking 25-yard touchdown on
an over-the-shoulder grab with
56 seconds left in the half.
“I remember seeing the ball
up in the air on the touchdown
ball and just thought ‘Wow, 12 is
great. He just put this in a per-
fect spot,’” a grinning Chiaokh-
iao-Bowman said.
No. 18 Oklahoma 41, No. 14
Oklahoma State 13
NORMAN, Okla. — Spencer
Rattler passed for 301 yards and
four touchdowns and ran for an-
other score to help No. 18 Okla-
homa beat No. 14 Oklahoma
State 41-13 on Saturday night
and boost its hopes of winning
a sixth straight Big 12 champi-
onship.
Rhamondre Stevenson ran
for a career-high 141 yards, and
Theo Wease caught two touch-
down passes for the Sooners
in their fifth straight victory.
Oklahoma (6-2, 5-2) won its
sixth straight in the series and
extended its November winning
streak to 23 dating to 2014.
Oklahoma State running
back Chuba Hubbard was held
to 44 yards on eight carries, and
the Cowboys (5-2, 4-2) gained
just 246 total yards.
Iowa State leads the Big 12
with just one conference loss,
and Oklahoma State joined
Oklahoma and Texas with two
league losses in the race to qual-
ify for the Big 12 Championship
Game.
Oklahoma raced to a 21-0
lead in the first nine minutes
on the strength of three touch-
downs by Rattler — two passing
and one rushing. The Sooners
led 21-7 at the end of the first
quarter. It was the most points
Oklahoma has scored in a first
quarter against Oklahoma State
in Norman.
Oklahoma State quarterback
Spencer Sanders left the game in
the first quarter after Oklahoma
defensive end Ronnie Perkins
slammed him to the ground.
Shane Illingworth replaced him
and threw a touchdown pass
to help cut Oklahoma’s lead to
27-13 at halftime, but he strug-
gled from there before being re-
placed by Sanders in the fourth
quarter.
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020 7B

MSU
Continued from Page 1B
Saturday proved, if any-
thing, Leach has found
something in his squad. A
spark, a trigger, whatever
you feel inclined to name
it. In Athens, Leach’s
featherweight team bat-
tled a heavyweight and,
for three and a half quar-
ters, looked as though it
belonged despite play-
ing with 49 scholarship
players due to a mix of
COVID-19 positive tests
and contact tracing.
Amid the flurry of
punches the Bulldogs
threw Saturday, it was
freshman Will Rogers
who landed the most ear-
ly and often. Following
meager performances
in mop-up duty against
Kentucky, Alabama and
Texas A&M, coupled with
a middling outing against
a Vanderbilt squad that
was down to just 58 schol-
arship players at the time,
the signs of progress were
few, far between and, real-
ly, nonexistent.
But Saturday was dif-
ferent. Rogers was crisp,
concise and steady in
his decision-making. He
completed 41 of 52 pass-
es, including 12 straight
between the second and
third quarters as MSU
battled to stay even with
Georgia.
“He played in our (of-
fense) in high school,”
air raid architect and
Mike Leach mentor Hal
Mumme told The Dis-
patch in a text message
during the game. “He was
always going to eventual-
ly be the guy. He’s gotten
his chance, and he’s see-
ing everything. He will
keep getting better.”
Beyond Rogers there
were other young focal
points for a team that,
in its infancy, seemingly
moved past prepubes-
cent mistakes and into
one with youthful but de-
served confidence.
Take receiver Jaden
Walley. Last time the
D’Iberville product was in
the spotlight, he muffed
a punt against Arkansas
that would’ve given MSU
possession and a chance
to tie the game down one
score late.
In the weeks since the
muff, he’s furthered the
relationship he and Rog-
ers began at the Missis-
sippi/Alabama All-Star
Game last year, grabbing
lunch and hanging out off
the field.
Saturday, Walley and
Rogers’ chemistry shone
as bright as any floodlight
perched above Sanford
Stadium. The pair con-
nected seven times on
10 targets. Walley’s 115
yards were the most by
any MSU receiver in a
game since the Bulldogs
upset then-No. 6 LSU
on Sept. 26. His 51-yard
touchdown reception also
marked the longest play
by any maroon and white
clad player since Malik
Heath went for a 32-yard
score against No. 5 Texas
A&M a month ago.
“I guess he gained a
little trust in me then,”
Walley said. “And it’s just
working out for us right
now.”
Defensively, the Bull-
dogs continued to punch
above their weight, hold-
ing a Georgia offense that
has averaged at least 185
rush yards per game ev-
ery season since 2015 to
a mere eight yards on 23
carries — its lowest out-
put since mustering just
46 yards during a 37-17
loss at Auburn in Novem-
ber 2017.
JT Daniels had his
chances, and as his re-
cruiting profile would
indicate, he connected
against a shorthanded
secondary for 401 yards
and four touchdowns in
his Georgia debut. But
the Bulldogs didn’t make
it easy. MSU brought per-
sistent pressure to the
tune of three sacks and 11
tackles for a loss.
Sophomore linebacker
Aaron Brule was a force
in the pass rush and be-
tween the tackles. Step-
ping into the slot vacated
by second-round NFL
draft pick and Starkville
native Willie Gay Jr., Brule
proved for the umpteenth
time this season he’s been
up to the challenge as he
notched 0.5 sacks, 1.5
tackles for a loss and two
pass breakups as he flew
around the middle of the
MSU defense.
“He’s kind of an athlet-
ic guy that can get out on
the edge and pass rush a
little bit,” Thompson said
of Brule. “I feel like I’m
more of the thumper, old
school type of guy; he’s
more the new school type
of guy.”
In a career that has
spanned five decades,
nine schools and count-
less contests, Leach has
long earned a reputation
for garnering more out of
his team than most think
capable. Throughout Sat-
urday’s loss, Leach’s MSU
squad responded to each
ensuing Georgia haymak-
er as they took the na-
tion’s No. 13-ranked team
to the brink of defeat.
And while the Bull-
dogs still have work left to
do in salvaging a season
that looked lost and head-
ed toward complete de-
sertion given the recent
slews of opt-outs and way-
ward box scores, the trip
to Athens for a team that
wasn’t even required to
play under current confer-
ence COVID-19 protocols
offered a glimpse at a new
gear — one in which the
Bulldogs have seeming-
ly embraced the fighting
spirit of their eccentric
head coach.
“I mean 49 guys, 11
guys, 22 guys, it doesn’t
matter,” Thompson said
postgame. “We’re going
to scrap to the end. For
the rest of the year, we’ve
got nothing to lose. We’ve
got to come in each week
and prepare, but it’s going
to be a scrappy team from
here on out, I can promise
you that.”

Hodge
Continued from Page 1B
we are all learning together the 53 avail-
able scholarship player minimum the
SEC listed as protocol to play a game is
more of a suggestion than it is a man-
date. What’s more important, apparently,
is positional depth, and MSU had enough
of it where the league allowed the game
against Georgia to go on as scheduled.
It sure looked damn well like that
game mattered to the maroon Bulldogs
available, though.
MSU went blow for blow with the
school that shares its nickname. The
offensive line had by far its best perfor-
mance of the season. True freshman
quarterback Will Rogers shredded a
Georgia defense that has been heralded
for much of the season and finally deliv-
ered a performance that offers prom-
ise of upside for what the signal caller
could develop into years down the line.
The defense stymied Georgia’s rushing
attack, even if it was no match for its
vertical passing game.
Moral victories don’t typically exist
in major college football, and MSU play-
ers stopped short of claiming one after-
wards. But it was difficult to detect any-
thing other than optimism following a
performance that can only be described
as gutsy.
Freshman wideout Jaden Walley said
he felt the energy on the sideline was
greater than it had been all year. And
despite a 2-5 record, he believes the
Bulldogs are close to where they want
to be.
“I feel like this is our team,” said
Walley, who had a career-high 104
receiving yards. “This is the team we
were supposed to be all year. And it’s just
now popping out. You’re seeing it now.”
If Leach ends up succeeding in his
coaching tenure in Starkville, it just
might be possible this game will be
remembered as the turning point.
Then again, the Egg Bowl is next
week, so we all know how quickly this
good will could go out the door.
Speaking of the Egg Bowl, is MSU
going to get more players back to get
over the (apparently optional) threshold?
Will the Bulldogs have to play under the
limit again? Will the game even be played
at all?
All those questions will be answered
in time. But the Bulldogs already gave a
definitive statement Saturday for the rest
of the season: If they go down, it likely
won’t be with a whimper.
“You find out a lot about yourself
when adversity strikes,” senior lineback-
er Erroll Thompson said. “We fought
hard tonight.”

Bullets
Continued from Page 1B
opted out of this season or entered the
transfer portal, then eight more players
either tested positive or were in contact
tracing protocols, according to the SEC
Network.
Even if they wouldn’t tell you out loud,
it’s likely a good chunk of the fan base
wondered if the game was even worth
playing after the available number of
players was announced. The 49 MSU
players taking the field proved other-
wise. Will Rogers and other young MSU
players had career games, and if Mike
Leach ends up succeeding in his coach-
ing tenure in Starkville, it just might be
possible this game will be remembered
as the turning point.
Then again, the Egg Bowl is next
week, so we all know how quickly this
good will could go out the door.
As always, for those that are new to
Bulldog Bullets, The Commercial Dis-
patch will bring you an instant reaction
blog of Mississippi State football games
posted immediately after the final gun
filled with short observations and com-
mentary.
To the Bulldog Bullets:
n Kudos to MSU for this effort. Even
in a loss, I think most fans will be satis-
fied with how this game went.
n MSU scored 17 points in the first
half against Georgia. The Bulldogs
scored 13 combined in their previous
two games in Athens.
n In his Georgia debut, redshirt soph-
omore quarterback JT Daniels threw for
more than 400 yards and four touch-
downs, making him the first red Bulldog
player to hit at least three passing touch-
downs in a single game all year.
n Jermaine Burton gave the Maroon
Bulldogs’ secondary all they could han-
dle and more. The Georgia wideout
caught eight passes for 197 yards and
two touchdowns. He almost had a sin-
gle-game school receiving record (205
yards).
n What a performance by Rogers. At
halftime, he was 24 of 29 passing for 219
yards with completions to 10 different
receivers. He finished with more than
300 yards passing and showed plenty of
promise for the first time since taking
over as the starter.
n Mississippi State used more than
half of the first quarter of its opening
drive that resulted in points, just like ev-
eryone expected, right?
n It’s amazing what happens when
MSU doesn’t have third-and-a mile ev-
ery possession.
n Aaron Brule continues to fly around
defensively game in and game out.
n Smart of Georgia to utilize the hur-
ry-up offense in the first quarter. Consid-
ering MSU was shorthanded, might as
well try to get them gassed as quickly as
possible, right?
n As much maligned as the unit has
been (and deservedly so) for much of
this season, that has to have been by far
the offensive line’s best performance
this year. Rogers wasn’t sacked until
midway through the fourth quarter.
n What a great effort by both Rog-
ers and JaVonta Payton to set up MSU’s
second scoring drive: The throw on the
run from Rogers and the sliding sideline
catch from Payton.
n MSU’s first two scoring drives in
the first half took 8 minutes and 6 sec-
onds and 7:04. That’s how you hang
around in games, folks.
n Also how you hang around in
games: limiting Georgia to six rushing
yards through three quarters and con-
verting 6 of 8 third downs in the first
half.
n Jaden Walley had himself a darn
first half with six catches for 104 yards
and one touchdown. The talented fresh-
man was invisible in the second half,
though.
n Mississippi State passes the ball
more than 80 percent of the time. MSU
rushing touchdowns Saturday: two.
Rushing touchdowns Georgia allowed
prior to Saturday: two. 2020, man.
n What a terrible penalty by Georgia
after the play was over on MSU’s final
drive of the game. Instead of third-and-
long, the maroon Bulldogs were gifted a
fresh set of downs. Georgia eventually
made a stop anyway, but nevertheless!
n It’s fair to wonder what’s going to
happen with the Egg Bowl next week. Is
Mississippi State going to get more play-
ers back? Will the Bulldogs have to play
under the limit again? Will the game
even be played at all?
n It’s pretty hard to imagine last
year’s game could possibly be topped
from a pure insanity standpoint. Then
again ... it is 2020.

Dear Abby

D
EAR ABBY: My husband’s
sister passed away in 2013.
Her husband, “Roger,”
joined her in heaven three months
ago.
There are pictures in their
house of my husband’s family
(parents, grandparents) that he
would like to have and that are of
no interest to Roger’s family since
they never knew those relatives.
Not knowing the etiquette for
asking for items after a person’s
passing, I asked several people
who had lost close family mem-
bers when a respectful time to
ask would be. They all said that Dear Abby
two weeks should be fine.
I contacted Roger’s grand-
daughter asking about the pictures and told
her we are not interested in anything but the
pictures. The granddaughter got angry and said
that “everybody is already wanting
all Roger’s things.” Then she
blocked me, and now I have no
way to contact anyone. I’m worried
that the pictures will be discarded.
I feel terrible that I offended
the granddaughter. It wasn’t
intentional. I don’t even have a
way to apologize. Was I wrong?
What is usually the etiquette in
such matters? — MISSING FAMILY
PHOTOS
DEAR MISSING: You did noth-
ing wrong. You didn’t jump the gun
because others have also been
inquiring about the disposition
of property. Emotions can run
high when there is a death in the
family, and frankly, the granddaughter may have
overreacted.
You stated that you “contacted” her. Was it
online? I ask because sensitive questions like
this are best dealt with directly — in person or
by phone. You may be able to contact surviving
relatives by reaching out to the mortuary that
handled the funeral, or to the church Roger and
his wife may have belonged to. It couldn’t hurt
to inquire again in a month or two, if that’s pos-
sible. I agree it would be a shame if the family
photos were tossed.
DEAR ABBY: My grandchildren work as
restaurant servers. When I took them to lunch
the other day, they said if I was going to pay by
credit card, I should leave the tip for the server
in cash. (They offered to pay the kid, but it was
my treat, so I said I would leave it.)
They then explained that when a tip is left
on the card, the server doesn’t get it imme-
diately because the restaurant waits until it
clears and then they get paid. Generally, the
business gets around to doing it only once or
twice a month. Also, on the receipt, you check
off 15%, 18% or 20% of the bill. There’s no way
for the server to keep track of the amount of
each individual check. They don’t know if they
are getting all of what’s coming to them or if the
owner is pocketing some of the money.
Servers are only just now getting back to
work, so I tip a little more generously than I
used to. I want to make sure they get their
money now. — CASH IS BETTER
DEAR CASH: I agree that cash on the barrel
is probably the best way to ensure the server
gets every bit of what’s intended from the
client. That an employer would help themself to
money intended for an employee is shameful —
and yet I have heard that it happens to parking
attendants, too.
My late husband worked as a parking atten-
dant in his youth, and he told me his employer
actually had the pockets of their uniforms sewn
shut and confiscated their tips. It’s why he
always asked parking attendants if they were
allowed to keep the tips. A word to the wise.

Horoscopes
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Nov.
22). You will be rich in emotional
commodities such as enthusiasm,
hope and love. You’ll get excellent
at reading people, which will help
you assemble productive teams and
seek relationships bound for ease
and success. What you accomplish
in January will attract an audience.
Build on it and bank the dividends in
April. Libra and Leo adore you. Your
lucky numbers are: 9, 40, 11, 13
and 17
ARIES (March 21-April 19). You’ll
be a genius at picking topics of dis-
cussion, even with people you don’t
know well. You aim to uplift. You’ll
shut down conversations aimed to
tear others down.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). It’s
true that you sometimes have to talk
yourself into doing the very things
that were your idea from the start.
To be effective in this, just remind
yourself of the many reasons why you
want what you want.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21).
People make time for people they
want to make time for. “Too busy” is
a way of saying “different priorities,”
and that’s OK, too! Stay aware of the
expectation others have of you and
how you play into it.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). You
trust yourself, but that doesn’t mean
you think everything you do is right.
A healthy amount of the right kind of
doubt shows more confidence than
unchecked conviction.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You won’t
have to seek helping opportunities,
because they will be all around you.
Some people are helped by little
more than a warm smile. Moments
of complete attention and kind words
provide more uplift than you know.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). The
most attractive stance is one of calm
collectedness. From that place, you
can see and act on opportunities.
Rushed people create problems.
Believe in the timing of life instead of
imposed and superficial urgency.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). The
sensation that you’re lost can creep
along the edges of your psyche, even
when you think you know where you
are. Breathe. Knowing exactly where
to go and what to do next is unneces-
sary right now.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21).
Watch your energy levels and perfor-
mance while doing ordinary things.
Keeping track of this in daily life (not
just in demanding situations) is an
act of noticing that supports your
health and well-being.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21).
Today comes with a very convenient
cosmic gift. People will make obvious
efforts to let you know their inten-
tions, wants, needs and feelings. If
it’s not obvious, it may not be so.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19).
What’s wrong will also be ugly. Gos-
sip definitely fits the category. Many
around you will trauma-band over
shared disdain. It’s not a good look.
You’ll stay out and stay attractive.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18).
People say “just kidding” when
they’re maybe only mostly kidding.
People say “I don’t know” when they
actually totally do. You’re sensitive
and aware. You’ll get more of the
story because you’re willing to wait
for it.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20).
You don’t take the connections
between people for granted, because
you know how much effort can
be involved. You’ve built bridges,
crossed them and burned them, too.
Today, take a boat. It’s temporary but
drama-free.
8B SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Religion
Giving thanks to God for everything
W
e have so selves complaining no matter what happens in hinder us from giving God ever.” (Psalm 30:12) KJV
much to about what we’re our lives. “Give thanks in all the praises He deserves. “By So be encouraged today and
thank the going through. Nev- circumstances; for this is God’s him therefore let us offer the always remember: We should
Lord for. He has ertheless, when we will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 sacrifice of praise to God con- give thanks to God for every
been so good to all start looking back Thessalonians 5:18) NIV tinually, that is, the fruit of our thing He does for us. “Giving
of us. Regardless over our lives and Every morning the Lord lips giving thanks to his name.” thanks always for all things
of how many times see all the things wakes us up, we should make (Hebrew 13:15) KJV unto God and the Father in
we tell Him thank God has brought us it a habit of giving thanks When it comes to giving the name of our Lord Jesus
you, it will never through, we can’t and praises to Him for let- thanks to God, I just can’t be
be enough because Christ.” (Ephesians 5:20) KJV
help but give Him ting us see another day. “It is quiet. God has saved me, filled
His blessings never Happy Thanksgiving!
thanks. “I will give a good thing to give thanks me with His Holy Spirit, healed
stop. He continually Sherry Ivy thanks to you, Lord, unto the LORD, and to sing me so many times, delivered
Minister Sherry Ivy is a
blesses us over and with all my heart; praises unto thy name, O most me and made a way for me Minister of The New Providence
over again all day, every day I will tell of all your wonderful High.” (Psalm 92:1) KJV when I couldn’t see a way out. I M. B. Church (Healing & Yoke
and for this we should give deeds.” (Psalm 9:1) NIV The fruit of our lips should will testify about His goodness Destroying Ministry) in Macon
Him thanks. “Oh give thanks to Even in our circumstances, continue to give God thanks and give Him thanks as long as Mississippi, under the lead-
the Lord, for he is good: for his we can always find a reason and offer Him a sacrifice of I live. “To the end that my glo- ership of her husband, Pastor
mercy endureth for ever.” (Psalm to give thanks to God. This is praise, whether we feel like ry may sing praise to thee, and Willie J. Ivy Sr. You can contact
107:1) KJV the will of God for us to have it or not. We shouldn’t let any not be silent. O Lord my God, her via email at minsivy@
Sometimes we find our- thankful hearts toward Him, thing get in our way that will I will give thanks unto thee for yahoo.com

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Residential • Commercial • Industrial Home GEORGE F. YOUNG
Since 1956 3189 Hwy 45 N. • 328-5421 Commercial Office-662.570.1688
www.brislininc.com Final Expense Cell-662.251.3563
1702 6th St. N. • 328-5361 gfyoung08@gmail.com
4051 Military Road • 662-328-5814 1205 Gardner Blvd.,Columbus, MS

APAC-MISSISSIPPI, INC.
Michael Bogue & Employees
Lake Norris Rd. 328-6555

INDUSTRIAL SERVICES, INC The McBryde Family

www.hydrovaconline.com 1120 Gardner Blvd. • 328-5776

Jarrett’s Towing This ad space can be yours

Wrecker Service for only $10 per week.
5209 N. Hwy 182 E. • Columbus, MS 39702
329-2447 We unlock Telephone: 662-327-1467 Call today 328-2424
If no answer 251-2448 cars P.O. Box 1278 • 1616 7th Ave. S., Columbus, MS 39703 to schedule your ad.

If you need to change your church’s online listing or would like to add
your church information, call 328-2424 or email changes to tinap@cdispatch.com
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020 9B

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10B SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

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