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7 s 25 CENTS

Support slowly MSU to host COULD SCHOOL

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health care bill in NIT Saturday SCHOOL BUDGETS?
Nation, Page 8A Sports, Page 1B Nation, Page 6A

THE COMMERCIAL DISPATCH FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010

Ready to Sweep?
BY JASON BROWNE
jbrowne@cdispatch.com
Columbus will get some early
spring cleaning done this week-
end.
Link’d Young Professionals is
teaming with Columbus and
Lowndes County officials to
organize Saturday’s Clean
Sweep, a litter pick-up, trash dis-
posal, paint touch-up, volunteer
event.
Volunteers are asked to meet
at the Hitching Lot Farmers’
Market at 9 a.m. Saturday to
divide into teams which will be
dispatched to their respective
wards.
The Link’s Shasta Nance
says more than 400 volunteers
turned out for last year’s event,
which focused largely on the
downtown area just prior to the
VOLUNTEERING: Clean Sweep
Columbus in need of volunteers
for citywide event Saturday
Columbus Pilgrimage. But the
Sweep has been extended city-
wide this year and Nance isn’t
sure if a similar turnout will
cover the extra area.
“I sure hope so. I hope to see
them Saturday,” she says.
Groups of volunteers will hit
every ward to pick up trash,
paint fire hydrants and signs,
dispose of large abandoned
items like refrigerators or tires,
and spread mulch.
City Council members will all
be involved in their respective
See SWEEP, 10A

Spring is here Colleges eye

room-and-board
increases
EDUCATION:
Presidents
present rate
increase request;
Board asks for
long-term plan
BY MARIA BURNHAM
Associated Press Writer

JACKSON — The lead-

ers of Mississippi’s eight
public universities pre-
sented the state College
Board with requests to Rogelio V. Solis/AP
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch Staff raise room and board Commissioner of Higher
Japanese magnolias bloom along College Street near the WCBI building in downtown Columbus. Area tempera- rates Thursday, but were Education Hank Bounds
tures are expected to reach the low 70s today and Saturday, the official first day of spring. Weather, 2A told to come back next discuss funding issues
month with proposals for with Board members
the long-term upkeep of Thursday in Jackson.
dorms, not just the bare $18.5 million for fiscal year
Nunnelee: I would have said no months ago minimum needed to
scrape by.
“I think the universities
2011, or 2 percent over the
current year, to reduce
debt, replace dilapidated
ELECTION: Hopeful for congressional seat criticizes Childers would vote against the have been very conserva- dormitories and maintain
health care plan. tive. I have some concerns existing housing.
BY ALLEN BASWELL announced Republican said in com- Nunnelee is running about how conservative However, the proposed
abaswell@cdispatch.com his deci- ments at a Thursday meet- against Childers, a they are,” Commissioner rate increases would give
sion. ing of the Columbus Tea Democrat, for the congres- of Higher Education Hank
If Alan Nunnelee were the universities only $2.8
“I would Party. sional seat on the Bounds said as he pre-
in Washington now serv- million for each of the next
h a v e The meeting was held Republican ticket. Other sented the numbers to the two fiscal years.
ing as Mississippi’s First announced Republican challengers
at the Holiday Inn. board. “We have made the To keep the immediate
District congressman, and
months ago Nunnelee, a Republican See NUNNELEE, 10A smallest increases possi- impact to students as low
was facing a decision
whether to vote yes or no Nunnelee I would state senator from Tupelo, ble.” as possible, public univer-
INSIDE
n HEALTH CARE: Leaders
on President Barack vote no, was referring to U.S. Rep. In their proposal, uni- sities in Mississippi have
Obama’s health care plan, and not wait until the 11th Travis Childers, who ready for Sunday vote. versity officials showed an been forced to repair and
he would have already hour,” the Tupelo announced Thursday he Page 8A increased need of about See COLLEGES, 10A

Pastor cleared in Aberdeen scandal claims he was ‘set up’

INVESTIGATION: Minister says he was arrested
after looking into alleged corruption
BY JASON BROWNE
jbrowne@cdispatch.com
ABERDEEN — Ricky
Bowen says he could have
gone after the City of Aberdeen
for arresting and trying him on
misdemeanor charges of
receiving stolen property and
obstruction of justice, but that
would only cause more damage
to his home town. Instead, he
says it’s time to let the healing
begin.
Bowen, pastor of Aberdeen
First Pentecostal Church,
where his father was pastor for
42 years, had charges against
him dismissed by the city
Wednesday under the condition
he and his attorney, Jim Waide
of Tupelo, agree not to sue the
city. Bowen says he could have
easily beat the charges on
appeal in Circuit Court and his
subsequent lawsuit would have
accused the city of false arrest
and defamation of character.
“I had to make a decision to
either let it drop and start the
city in a positive direction or
continue this fight and continue
slinging mud,” said Bowen.
“Jim Waide told me, ‘Pastor, it’s
up to you. We can win this thing
with no sweat.’
“The city already has two or
three major lawsuits against
them and others waiting in the
wings. That won’t help the city.
When you sue the city, you hurt
yourself as a landowner.”
Ward 2 Alderman and Vice
Mayor Cloyd Garth says he
knows of two suits pending
See ABERDEEN, 10A

TODAY’S Inside Five Questions Weather Calendar

DISPATCH 1 What psychologist and TV
personality won on “The
Mallory
Ward,
Today-Saturday
n Sorta Love Songs is a
Market. Volunteers are need-
ed to make a clean sweep of
$64,000 Question” because of pre- cabaret-style show present- Columbus. Contact your
Quotable her knowledge of boxing? kinder- ed by the Starkville local councilman to find out
Only in dictionaries does 2 What 1979 song did Elton garten, Community Theatre, MSU what is being done in your
success come before work. John re-release as a hit in Heritage Department of area. To volunteer, call 662-
2003? 328-8369.
n “The Private Eye,” is a
Communication and Theatre
3 What war is the setting for
Index Buster Keaton’s classic “The
MSU at McComas Hall on
the MSU campus at 7:30 presentation by the Friends
Abby 8B General?” of Noxubee Refuge at the
p.m. Admission is a $15 min-
Classifieds 9-10B Organ du jour 4 What U.S. state is home to Refuge Visitor Center from
the Mountain Bike Hall of Tonight: Clear, low 45 imum donation at the door to
Comics 8B 10 a.m.- noon. Discover the
“Repo Men” grafts moral Fame? the Lora J. DeFore
Homes 7A Tomorrow: Times of clouds drama and wonder of looking
ambiguity onto the action 5 What 1991 novel about a Scholarship Fund. Info: 662-
Obituaries 6A and sun, high 72 closely at the natural world,
thriller. Page 12A Wall Street psychopath also 325-3320. thinking by analogy. For
Opinions/Letters 4-5A
Weather 2A included music reviews of Phil more info: 662-323-5548.
Collins and Whitney Houston? More weather, 2A
Saturday
n Clean Sweep Columbus, Have your event listed
Answers, 10B a Great American Cleanup here. Visit The Dispatch's
eCalendar at www.cdis-
event, will kick off at 9 a.m. patch.com/community, and
at the Hitching Lot Farmers’ add your event.

HOME DELIVERY 328-2433, TOLL-FREE 877-328-2430 n ADVERTISING 328-2427 n CLASSIFIED 328-8484 n NEWS TIPS 328-2471
2A FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010 THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com

SAY WHAT?

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
Roman Polanski’s attorneys
filed an appeal Thursday ask-
ing that a special counsel be
appointed to investigate
alleged judicial and prosecutor-
ial misconduct in the fugitive
director’s 32-year-old sex case.
They cited new evidence pro-
vided by the original prosecu-
tor in the case who testified in
a recent series of secret ses-
sions that he tried to disqualify
the original judge in 1977 on
grounds of misconduct but was
ordered by his superiors not to
do so. The lawyers also
accused the current prosecu-
tors of giving false information
to Swiss authorities to support
Polanski’s extradition to the
United States when they knew
his potential sentence did not
fall within Swiss requirements
to order his return.
Sandra Bullock reached the
pinnacle of her profession on
Friday
“When you sue the city, you hurt yourself as a
landowner.”
The Rev. Ricky Bowen of Aberdeen, who had misde-
meanor charges dismissed against him; Page 1A
Bullock James
March 7, when she won an
A Thousand Words
Academy Award. Her husband,
Jesse James, was by her side.
He even teared up when she
went on stage to accept the
Oscar. Little more than a week
later, amid allegations of
James’ infidelity, Bullock can-
celed a planned appearance at
the London premiere of the
movie that won her the prize,
citing “unforeseen personal
reasons.” But the brand-new
Oscar winner isn’t likely to
experience any professional
consequences from this public
exposure of her personal pain.

CONTACTING THE DISPATCH

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The Commercial Dispatch (USPS 142-320)
Published daily except Saturday. Entered at the post office at Columbus, Mississippi. Alberto Saiz/AP
Periodicals postage paid at Columbus, MS Figures representing France's President Nicolas Sarkozy being kissed by his wife, Carla Bruni, are seen during
POSTMASTER, Send address changes to:
The Commercial Dispatch, P.O. Box 511, Columbus, MS 39703
the traditional Fallas festival in Valencia, Spain, Thursday. Every year the city of Valencia celebrates the ancient
Published by Commercial Dispatch Publishing Company Inc., "Las Fallas" fiesta, a noisy week that is full of fireworks and processions in honor of Saint Joseph that ends in
516 Main St., Columbus, MS 39703 at midnight today, burning large paper mache figures displayed around the streets of the city.

WEATHER REPORT
FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE AND SURROUNDING AREA
TONIGHT SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY
Times of A morning Mostly cloudy
Partial Mostly sunny
Mainly clear clouds and thunderstorm; and
sunshine and warmer
sun cooler comfortable

Low: 45° 72° 47° 54° 38° 52° 37° 64° 40° 71° 49°
ALMANAC DATA MISSISSIPPI WEATHER TOMORROW LOCAL WEATHER WORLD CITIES
Columbus yesterday Shown is Sat. Sun. Sat. Sun.
Temperature tomorrow’s City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W
weather. Corinth Baghdad 73/45/s 74/46/s Moscow 37/32/sn 41/34/r
High/low ............................ 68°/42° 55
Temperatures are 43/70 Beijing 50/32/pc 52/42/pc Paris 62/55/sh 58/39/c
Tunica
Normal high/low ................ 68°/44° tonight’s lows and Berlin 55/48/sh 57/39/r Rome 62/50/pc 64/50/c
tomorrow’s highs.
48/69 Oxford Tupelo Fulton
Precipitation 46/71 42/71 Cairo 71/45/s 74/49/s Seoul 42/26/sh 41/29/s
44/70 Hong Kong 83/73/s 79/72/s Sydney 88/64/s 89/66/s
Yesterday .............................. 0.00" Tupelo
Month to date ........................ 2.38" Jerusalem 59/37/s 63/42/s Tel Aviv 64/44/s 67/52/s
Normal month to date ............ 3.06" London 55/45/r 59/43/pc Tokyo 68/54/s 56/41/pc
Houston
Year to date ........................ 11.25"
Normal year to date ............ 14.25"
Grenada 43/71 NATIONAL CITIES
Greenville 43/71 Aberdeen Sat. Sun. Sat. Sun.
COLUMBUS
48/68 43/71 Vernon City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W
WEATHER HISTORY 41/71 Atlanta 72/53/pc 63/38/t Los Angeles 83/54/pc 80/54/pc
A heavy, wet snowstorm began in the West Point Atlantic City 66/47/s 68/48/s Memphis 69/45/c 50/36/r
ARKANSAS

mid-Atlantic region on March 19, 1958. 44/71 Baltimore 72/46/s 70/52/s Miami 77/66/s 80/68/pc
By the time it ended, over 18 inches of 55 Carthage Boston 68/45/s 54/44/pc Minneapolis 38/28/c 51/32/s
snow had accumulated from northern 43/70 Chicago 40/30/sn 41/31/sn Nashville 66/49/c 62/36/c
Virginia to Massachusetts. Dallas 47/34/r 54/39/pc New York City 67/55/s 63/52/s
Starkville COLUMBUS Denver 34/20/sf 55/32/s Oklahoma City 36/32/sn 42/32/pc
Meridian 46/71 Des Moines 36/24/c 44/30/s Orlando 78/59/s 80/59/t
41/74
45/72
Detroit 47/36/sh 45/34/r Philadelphia 72/47/s 70/52/s
SUN AND MOON 59
Aliceville Fairbanks 30/4/s 26/-4/pc Phoenix 75/53/s 80/57/s
Sunrise today .................. 6:59 a.m. Jackson 20
43/72 Honolulu 81/68/pc 81/67/pc Raleigh 77/50/s 71/56/t
Sunset today .................. 7:04 p.m. 46/72 Houston 66/38/t 60/38/s Salt Lake City 49/29/s 58/37/s
Moonrise today .............. 8:41 a.m. Jacksonville 76/54/s 77/50/t Seattle 64/48/pc 56/42/r
Moonset today .............. 11:06 p.m. Macon Kansas City 36/25/sn 38/28/pc Tucson 70/43/s 75/48/s
Natchez
Sunrise tomorrow ............ 6:58 a.m. 46/70
44/71 Las Vegas 72/47/s 77/54/s Wash., D.C. 72/53/s 70/54/s
55 Brookhaven
Sunset tomorrow ............ 7:05 p.m. 43/70 59 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms,
ALABAMA

Moonrise tomorrow ........ 9:22 a.m. r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
Hattiesburg
Moonset tomorrow ................ none 45/72
RIVER STAGES
Sunrise Sunday .............. 6:57 a.m. Yesterday Flood 7 a.m. 24-hr. NATIONAL WEATHER TOMORROW
Sunset Sunday ................ 7:06 p.m. River stage yest. change -10s -0s 0s 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s 110s
Moonrise Sunday .......... 10:10 a.m. Tombigbee
Seattle
Amory 20' 11.72' -0.33'
Moonset Sunday .......... 12:08 a.m. LOUISIANA Biloxi Bigbee 14' 5.59' -1.12'
64/48

Forecasts and graphics provided Fulton 20' 10.89' -0.59'

MOON PHASES by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2010 49/68
Tupelo 21' 1.10' +0.10' Billings
50/34
Detroit
First Full Last New REGIONAL CITIES 10 Gulfport Black Warrior Minneapolis
38/28
47/36

Sat. Sun. 49/68 Bankhead Dam Chicago

New York
San Francisco 67/55
City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W Upper 255' 254.49' +0.26' 67/45
40/30
Washington
™ Lower 189' 186.39' -0.20'
Mar. 23 Mar. 29 Apr. 6 Apr. 14
Baton Rouge 74/41/pc 57/37/s WEATHER TRIVIA Holt Dam
Denver
34/20 Kansas City
72/53

Biloxi 68/50/pc 59/40/pc 36/25

Upper 187' 186.42' -0.30'
SOLUNAR TABLES
The solunar period schedule allows
Birmingham
Greenville
Gulfport
74/48/pc
68/38/c
68/53/pc
60/37/t
47/38/c
61/41/pc
Q: When do the days grow
longer in the U.S.?
A:
Lower
Luxapalila
140' 125.89' N.A.
Los Angeles
83/54

El Paso
Atlanta
72/53

Jackson 72/40/pc 51/38/c

until the first day of summer. Columbus 15' 7.90' -0.58' 54/29
planning days so you will be fishing From the first day of winter Fronts Houston
Meridian 74/45/pc 52/35/c
in good territory or hunting in good
cover during those times. Mobile 72/53/pc 62/38/c LAKE LEVELS Cold 66/38

Day a.m. p.m. Monroe 68/36/t 49/38/c UV INDEX TOMORROW Yesterday 7 a.m. 24-Hr. Warm Miami
77/66
Montgomery 74/56/pc 65/41/t Lake Capacity yest. change Stationary
Major Minor Major Minor Natchez 70/36/pc 50/34/pc 3 6 6 3 Aberdeen Dam 188' 163.11' -0.61'
Sat. 4:01 10:14 4:27 10:41 New Orleans 72/49/pc 56/44/s 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. Stennis Dam 166' 138.17' -0.61' Showers T-storms Rain Flurries Snow Ice
Sun. 4:59 11:13 5:27 11:41 Shreveport 66/33/t 50/36/c 0-2: Low, 3-5: Moderate, 6-7: High, 8-10: Bevill Dam 136' 136.59' +0.31' Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs
Mon. 5:59 12:14 6:28 ---- Tupelo 71/48/pc 54/36/c Very high, 11+: Extreme Elevation in feet above sea level. for the day.

What you want. When you want it.

www.
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 FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010 3A

ONLINE CRIME NEWS DISPATCH E-EDITION

See a gallery of local mug shots, crime trends and Get a full, printable electronic version of The Dispatch
other law and order news at cdispatch.com/crime. every day. Go to cdispatch.com/eedition.

AROUND
THE STATE
PURVIS
A jury has found 29-year-old
Jennifer Wardle not guilty
in the 2002 shooting death
of a University of Southern
Mississippi student. Wardle
had been charged with
killing James Neal May on
May 1, 2002. During her
testimony Thursday,
Wardle said she loved May
and did not kill him. She
said she was locked out-
side his trailer when he
shot and killed himself.
Wardle was indicted more
than five years after May’s
death following a probe by
the Mississippi Bureau of
Investigation.
GREENWOOD
Youth Court Judge Kevin
Adams says he believes
Leflore County could
become a model for the
entire country in how it
treats troubled children.
But as long as the public
thinks fixing potholes and
locking up adults is more
important than rehabilitat-
ing youth, Adams said in
an interview with
Greenwood
Commonwealth that “we’re
doomed.” The newest ini-
tiative in youth court is
juvenile drug court, which
began in mid-February.
Seven children between 14
and 16 are participating.
Thompson wants trailer release blocked
BY SHELIA BYRD
Associated Press Writer
JACKSON — U.S. Attorney
General Eric Holder was asked
Thursday to block the distribution
of tens of thousands of FEMA trail-
ers sold through government auc-
tions.
U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-
Miss., chairman of the House
Homeland Security Committee,
said in a letter to Holder on
Thursday that flooding the market
with more than 100,000 units pro-
duced for the Federal Emergency
Management Agency in the wake
of the deadly 2005 hurricane sea-
son could cripple the market. He
wants the Justice Department to
re-evaluate its decision to allow the
trailers to be sold.
Thompson said there’s also a
safety issue. Many of the trailers,
already contaminated with
formaldehyde, now have mold and
mildew after being exposed to
weather conditions for nearly five
years, he said.
The Justice Department
approved the sales after determin-
ing they didn’t violate antitrust
laws, according to the letter. But
Shrinkdown winners
Thompson said the federal
agency’s method was flawed.
“An analysis that examines
each individual sale does not con-
sider the ’big picture’ and thus can-
not purport to scrutinize the effect
on the market,” Thompson wrote.
Justice Department spokesman
Charles Miller said Holder’s office
“An analysis that examines each individual sale
does not consider the ’big picture’ and thus cannot
purport to scrutinize the effect on the market.”
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.,
would respond to the letter.
Not all of the sold trailers have
reached the buyers yet.
FEMA bought 145,699 travel
trailers and mobile homes at a cost
of about $2.7 billion to provide
shelter to survivors of hurricanes
Katrina and Rita. More than
130,000 had been offered for auc-
tion, said FEMA spokesman Brad
Carroll.
The U.S. General Services
Administration auctioned large
lots of trailers that had been staged
in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana
and Arkansas earlier this year.
Thompson said those sales totaled Carroll said in an e-mail that
103,000 units. FEMA works closely with the GSA
He said he’s concerned to ensure that potential buyers are
because the industry estimated a made aware of the air quality test-
total of 159,500 travel trailers wereing conducted on the units. Carroll
sold in 2009, and 203,500 are said buyers of travel trailers must
expected to be sold this year. agree not to use the unit as hous-
Thompson said “dumping” ing.
more than 100,000 more used Some dealers say they’re feel-
ing the effect of smaller lot sales
held last year by GSA.
Jimmy Bankston, owner of
Reliable RV Center in Biloxi, said
that before Katrina he was averag-
chairman of the House Homeland ing about 40 sales a month. Now,
Security Committee he’s selling less than half that.
Bankston said people are buying
units in the stream of commerce the auctioned units because they
would create a “substantial and get a better deal.
negative effect on the price and Units sold at auction average
supply of trailers.” about $1,300, said J.D. Harper,
Bill Gapow, executive director executive director of Arkansas
of Recreational Park Trailer Manufactured
Housing
Industry Association Inc., said he’s Association. He said the cheap
more concerned about unsuspect- prices have led to upstart opera-
ing buyers.
tions.
“There’s concern that they
“Just outside of Little Rock, an
could end up in the general mar- abandoned manufactured home
ketplace. They could be traded in
lot that’s been vacant for several
on a brand-new unit. The dealer
years now has a temporary office
may or may not realize that the
and has an inventory of travel trail-
unit was a FEMA trailer,” Gapow
ers that are showing up for sale,”
said.
Harper said.

BILOXI
A 68-year-old Biloxi woman
who died after a crash on
Wednesday has been iden-
tified as Helga Sinicropi.
Harrison County Coroner
Gary Hargrove said
Sinicropi was wearing a
seat belt and her air bag
deployed when the car she
was driving veered off the Provided photo
road and struck a tree. LaKezia Ham won $250 donated by John Acker State Farm Insurance and a six-
Hargrove said an autopsy month YMCA membership due to her participation in the Lowndes County
is pending. Shrinkdown program. She attended the Lunch and Learn programs, exercised and
weighed in each week in order to qualify to as a winner in the eight-week program.
Pictured, from left, are Alayna Chism, Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle;
JACKSON John Acker; Lakezia Ham; Barbara Bigelow, YMCA; and Andy Boyd, YMCA.
A former Vicksburg police
officer convicted of taking
bribes to protect what he
thought were shipments of

EVANGEL
cocaine into the city has
asked a federal judge to

CHURCH
throw out his sentence. In
a motion filed this week in
federal court in Jackson,
Kevin Dewayne Williams
contends he relied on erro-
neous advice from his
attorney to plead guilty to 1 Great Church
an extortion charge in 2 Great Service Times
October 2007 in U.S.
District Court in Natchez. 9am & 11am
He was sentenced to 188 Provided photo
months in prison. The 5th Blinda Lively won $250 donated by Jason Spears of Malachi Financial and a six- Contemporary Worship • Relevant Messages
U.S. Circuit Court of month YMCA membership for the largest percentage of weight loss during the
Appeals last year upheld Lowndes County Shrinkdown program. Pictured, from left, are Alayna Chism,
Williams’ conviction. Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle; Jason Spears; Blinda Lively; Barbara Dynamic Children’s Ministry for all ages
Bigelow, YMCA; and Andy Boyd, YMCA. This year's Lowndes County Shrinkdown
was presented through a partnership between the Lowndes County YMCAs and Casual Atmosphere
NATCHEZ Baptist Memorial Hospital–Golden Triangle.
The Natchez-Adams County
Economic Development
Warm and Loving People
Authority has chipped in
$2,000 toward a $22,500
feasibility study on a 70-
Columbus Fire and Rescue urges Enjoy our Free Coffee Café
opens at 8:15 am
mile bike trail from
Vicksburg to Natchez.
EDA Board Chairman
residents to practice home fire safety 500 Holly Hills Road
Woody Allen tells The SPECIAL TO THE DISPATCH that can burn, or staying in escape plan that the entire Columbus, MS - 662.329.2279
Natchez Democrat that the the kitchen when you are family can follow.
trail is meant to comple- When is the last time using the stovetop, there For information about

Log on. Plug in.

ment the Mississippi River you checked your smoke are easy things you can do fire safety, contact

Trail.
JACKSON
The state Personnel Board
on Thursday has approved
furloughs up to six days
for employees of the
Department of Public
Safety. Lynn Fitch, the
board’s executive director,
tells The Clarion-Ledger
that the Mississippi State
Tax Commission and
Department of Agriculture
and Commerce were each
approved for personnel
furloughs of four to 12
days. The Department of
Human Services was origi-
nally cleared for furlough
in February but went back
to the Personnel Board on
Thursday and received
approval for as many as
eight furlough days. The
approval doesn’t mean fur-
loughs will be ordered by
those agencies.
From Wire Reports
alarm? If you don’t know
or can’t remember, then it
probably doesn’t work.
If it doesn’t work, it is
useless in a fire. A pot hold-
er too close to a lit burner
or a space heater left on
overnight could be all it
takes to start a home fire.
In fact, cooking and heat-
ing are among the leading
causes of home fires in the
United States, according to
National Fire Protection
Association.
NFPA said more than
2,500 people die in home
fires and over 12,500 are
injured each year in the
United States.
“Many home fires are
easily preventable when
residents take simple steps
to increase their safety
from fires,” said Columbus
Fire Chief Kenneth Moore.
“Whether it’s smoking out-
side the home, keeping
space heaters at least three
feet away from anything
cdispatch.com
to keep your home and Columbus Fire and
family safe from fire.” Rescue, 662-329-5121.
Columbus Fire and
Rescue urges you to
review the following infor-
mation.
• Cooking: Stay in the
kitchen when you are fry-
ing, grilling, or broiling
food. If you leave the
kitchen for even a short
period time, turn off the
stove.
• Heating: Keep all
things that can burn, such
as paper, bedding or furni-
ture, at least 3 feet away
from heating equipment.
• Electrical: Replace
cracked and damaged elec-
trical cords; use extension
cords for temporary wiring
only.
• Smoking: If you
smoke, smoke outside;
wherever you smoke, use
deep, sturdy ashtrays.
• Have a working
smoke alarm outside each
sleeping area and have an
4A FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010
Opinion
OTHER EDITORS
Mississippi
making
progress
on welfare
reform
It’s not often that Mississippi is
held up as a national model. Although
it’s gratifying to receive accolades
about how well the state is moving
people from welfare to work, what’s
most gratifying is the hope that this
success is slowly — family by family
— breaking the cycle of welfare
dependency.
When Bill Clinton was president
during the 1990s, one of the
Democrat’s most impressive initiatives
was welfare reform. The cause firmly
established him at the political center
and helped pave the way for his elec-
tion to a second term.
The legislation was designed to
cure the unintended consequences of
the first 60 years of the welfare sys-
tem, which in its well-meaning effort
to help the poor had hooked them on
a life of taxpayer-funded handouts.
Welfare reform, first enacted in
1996, imposed a five-year lifetime limit
on benefits, required able-bodied
recipients to go to work within two
years and gave states incentives to
create jobs for people on welfare.
Mississippi has done better than
most states in carrying out what the
reform effort envisioned. In 2008, the
latest year for which statistics are
available, 63 percent of the state’s wel-
fare recipients were participating
either in work or job-training pro-
grams designed to move them toward
work — more than double the national
average.
The state Department of Human
Services administers the program.
Officials in that agency say its case
workers have taken seriously the man-
date of the federal law to wean welfare
recipients from government depend-
ency. The program helps make that
transition possible by providing assis-
tance not only with job training but
with subsidies for child care and trans-
portation — two of the greatest handi-
caps faced by the chronically under-
employed or unemployed. Plus, there
are financial incentives for establish-
ing a stable work record — a one-time
$3,000 bonus for holding a job for at
least a year.
Although there may be some on
welfare who would prefer to stay
home indefinitely and draw a check,
that’s not the majority’s sentiment.
Most of the poor want to be able to
provide for their own children. They
crave the pride that bringing home a
hard-earned paycheck instills.
Sometimes, though, they don’t have
the background, the family support or
the confidence to try to become self-
reliant.
Mississippi obviously believes more
than most states that these obstacles
can be overcome. It’s proving it by its
numbers.
On the Net: http://www.enterprise-
journal.com
Enterprise-Journal, McComb
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Birney Imes
LOCAL VOICES
The double-wide gospel
Roger Miller sings about
trailers, be they for sale or
rent. Kid Rock reminds us
that unlike Ice Cube, he
ain't outta Compton but
straight outta trailer. And
Jimmy Buffet, the son of a
son of a sailor, is just glad
he doesn't live in a trailer.
There certainly is a neg-
ative connotation given to
trailers, and the folk who
live in them. Some of my
favorite childhood memo-
ries, however, are of visit-
Bert Montgomery
Years later, as a
ing cousins in rural
Mississippi: the sounds of married man
Skynyrd emerging from with kids living
Jeff's open window in his
trailer bedroom; Jennifer, in a mid-town
Jenene and my sister and
me jumping on the trampo- Memphis
line out back. duplex, I
Years later, as a married
preached many
man with kids living in a
mid-town Memphis duplex,
I preached many weekends
weekends at a
at a rural church in Clay rural church in
County. We'd drive down
on Saturday afternoons Clay County.
and enjoy the space and
freedom offered by the church's par-
sonage: a double-wide parked next to
the church. Wide open rooms inside (a
big difference from a crowded duplex), (and necessary) denunciation of TV
and wide open spaces outside.
There's a very nostalgic side of me
that, despite the stereotypes and the
condescending social attitudes, has
always longed to clear some land in
the Mississippi woods and set up
house in a trailer.
READER COMMENT
Voice of the people
Three ways to improve health care
The health care reform debate has
gripped the public's attention. Some
people like the reform, others dislike it
because it either does too much or not
enough. In my opinion, this reform is
way too broad and sweeping to really
do what people expect or want it to do.
Instead of a massive bill, I have a sim-
ple, three step plan to correct health
care in the United States.
#1--Tax incentives for people to
get into shape. We all know that
health care costs are too high, and we
argue over the reasons for this cost.
However, I think we really miss the big
reason too often—AMERICANS ARE
OUT OF SHAPE. Much of our health
care costs are related to issues that
would be greatly reduced if our obesity
epidemic would disappear. We are able
to give everyone incentives for energy
From our Web site
The messages below are excerpts from
reader comments posted at the end of on-
line reports at www.cdispatch.com.
DUIs on the rise in Starkville,
Columbus - 3/18/2010
progress: It is all about revenue
raising. Get them drunk, collect all of
that extra tax money from the sales,
then pull them over and write tickets.
Do you not understand how the gov'm-
nt works? It is cut-and- dried and all in
the name of progress.
RB: Being a parent, I like the idea of
the police department getting these
drunks off the road. So many innocent
people are killed and injured by drunk
drivers. As far as the DUI fine is con-
cerned, most of these people don't pay
them or their parents pay for them.
Columbus teen dies in early morn-
ing house fire - 3/18/2010
The HipHop Junkie: Looks like we
the people need to get together with
the local fire departments and do some
sort of fund raising to make sure that
everyone has fire alarms that WORK.
NO: Fundraising for smoke alarms? only fair way is to cut everything
Really? As tragic as this is, there is no
need for fundraising. Smoke detectors are more important to the operations
are five bucks at K-Mart. People
should take responsibility for their
own safety, not "we the people." My
THE
DISPATCH
Karen Spears Zacharias
isn't from rural Mississippi,
but she is from the Georgia
countryside, grew up along
the Chattahoochee River,
was bitten by the deadly
(well, not in her case)
water moccasin, and,
according to her website
bio, “had her first kiss in a
trailer, smoked her first
and last cigarette in a trail-
er, asked Jesus into her
heart on bended knee in a
trailer, fell madly in love in
a trailer … and gave birth
to her firstborn child in a
trailer.”
Oh, and her brand-
spankin' new book is called
Will Jesus Buy Me a
Double-Wide ('Cause I
Need More Room for my
Plasma TV).
Karen, once a newspa-
per journalist, turns her
reporting skills loose
against evangelists who
collect offerings to feed
their own lavish lifestyles,
and also against those who
preach a God of health, wealth, and big
happy smiles.
But what could have been an easy
evangelists and purveyors of the so-
called “prosperity gospel” is instead a
collection of real stories of real people
living real lives in the real world where
God also lives. The bulk of the book
focuses on lives of faith from people
living in the streets to folks living in
efficiency, buying a house, or more
fuel-efficient cars. Why not an incen-
tive for becoming healthy? Estimates
at a recent CDC panel said around 10%
of all health care costs are obesity
related, and the percentage will rise. A
healthier America would stop this from
happening.
#2--Change the Farm Bill. We
subsidize unhealthy food. The food we
subsidize is playing a role our obesity
epidemic. Many Americans cannot
shell out the money to eat healthy
foods, but they can afford unhealthy
processed foods because the farm bill
makes items like corn syrup very
affordable.
If we want a healthier population,
subsidize fruits and vegetables. If
healthy food was the cheaper option,
people would put down the Ho-Hos
and Twinkies. Check out a box of
prayers go out to the family.
Barbour trims another $41 million
from budget; cuts total $499.5 mil-
lion - 3/17/2010
ma: Bet he didn't cut his paycheck
any. Our children are in danger of
being the most undereducated chil-
dren in the United States....they are
our future.
ken: This has been brought on by
the waste in the state. Too many
school districts, overpaid district
school superintendents and too many
administrative positions. Most of the
money is already gone by the time it
gets down to the teachers.
Throwing more money at education
is not the answer. That has not worked
in the last 20 years. With the proper
management of the education system,
they would find they have more than
enough money.
Jan: Way to go Gov. Barbour! Our
over spending must stop. All govern-
ment agencies should only spend the
money that our taxes generate. The
across the board, but since some areas
of the state than others, common
sense for what the state needs most
should play a part. As for our educa-
BIRNEY IMES SR. Editor/Publisher 1922-1947
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PETER IMES Operations Manager
STEVE MULLEN Managing Editor
TERRI COLLUMS Business Manager
BETH PROFFITT Ad Director
JEFF LIPSEY Production Manager
JERRY HAYES Pressroom Superintendent
suburbs to families living in – you
guessed it – trailers.
Karen's stories will make you howl
with laughter, cry in empathy, and
occasionally seethe in righteous indig-
nation. Through it all, the truth of
God's loving presence and grace is
revealed not in feel-good, get-nice-stuff
promises, but in the pain, loss, love
and hope of all God's children.
Whereas so much of our “Christian”
culture reflects our materialist
American culture, Karen's book will
certainly appear out-of-place on many
Christian bookstore shelves; but that's
exactly where it needs to be. Karen
proudly aligns herself and her faith not
in stained-glass cathedrals and suc-
cessful executive suites, but on the
streets and the trailer parks.
Karen's book and her theology have
earned their place on my bookshelf
right alongside my Will Campbell col-
lection; Will Campbell … another
prophetic voice who walked away from
the ministerial big leagues and high
salaries to live among the rural poor
and oft-demeaned “white trash” from
which he came.
While some may be praying for God
to give them a mansion and a
Mercedes-Benz, Karen just hopes to
retire one day with her husband and
live in God's blessed presence in their
Alabama double-wide. Something tells
me that when I visit, I might hear the
sounds of Skynyrd rocking through
their screen door.
Bert Montgomery is an author, MSU
religion/sociology instructor, and pastor
and lives in Starkville. His e-mail
address is misfitmusings@gmail.com.
Twinkies sometime. Four of the first
five items are subsidized products.
#3--Bring competition into
health care. Competition is the best
way to bring about lower prices and
better products. However, health care
companies do not have to play by these
rules. Many times, there may only be
one or two providers in a state. This is
very unfair to the consumer. Open up
the market so that everyone can shop
from any provider they so choose.
Would America be better off by
bringing in a new system that changes
everything, or would America be bet-
ter off by living better and driving
down the costs without a major over-
haul? Congressman Childers, I am
asking you to vote "NO" on the cur-
rent bill.
Justin Sutton
Columbus
tion in Mississippi each district should
stop their waste and stop thinking that
new buildings improve education.
Perhaps, Mississippi should model
their funding after some other areas in
the United States where each school's
funding is based on their enrollment.
Parents are allowed to send their child
to any school so the competition
among the schools are based on hav-
ing all teachers care about teaching
with students learning how to apply
their education in the real world and
not just a test score.
If Mississippi's education system
would forget about just test scores and
go back to the old tried-and-true
method of teaching, test scores would
skyrocket. Our children which would
later mean our state would be a lot bet-
ter off. Involvement and caring from
parents and other citizens is free.
Giving back: Local football great
shares success - 3/18/2010
Celeste: It's always great to see pos-
itive things going on in Columbus. The
city has changed so much since 1994.
Our youth definitely need guidance
and hopefully more of our hometown
celebrities will come back and try to
make a positive impact on their lives.
Thanks a lot Leslie for taking the time
out to place your positive footprint on
Columbus.
 THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010 5A

Obama’s happiness deficit

BY FRED HIATT
Here’s a theory about why
President Obama is having a
tough political time right now:
He doesn’t seem all that happy
being president.
I know, it’s the world’s hard-
est job, and between war and
the world economy collapsing,
he didn’t have the first year he
might have wished for. And,
yes, he’s damned either way:
With thousands of Americans
risking their lives overseas and
millions losing their jobs at
home, we’d slam him if he
acted carefree.
Still, I think Americans want
a president who seems, despite
everything, to relish the chal-
lenge. They don’t want to have
to feel grateful to him for taking
on the burden.
I started thinking about this
a few weeks ago when Obama
confidant David Axelrod, noting
that the president always
makes time for his daughters’
recitals and soccer games, told
The New York Times, “I think
that’s part of how he sustains
himself through all this.”
Really? Is the presidency
something to sustain yourself
through?
He did ask for this job; we
didn’t make him take it. And so
it seems fair to ask: What part
of it does he enjoy?
Formulating rational solutions
to complex problems, for sure.
But schmoozing with foreign
leaders, like President George
H.W. Bush? In a column last
week, Jackson Diehl pointed
out that Obama’s relations with
just about every counterpart
are prickly.
How about horse-trading or
arm-twisting, like President
Lyndon Johnson? George Will
last week cited a recent Obama
statement on the health-care
bill (“Unfortunately, what we
end up having to do is to do a
lot of negotiations with a lot of
different people”) to point out
that Obama views such politics
with a certain disdain.
Putting his feet up on his
desk after a long day and chew-
ing over events with aides, like
Bill Clinton? If insider accounts
are to be believed, Obama
would rather preside briskly
If insider accounts are
to be believed, Obama
would rather preside
briskly over the
meeting and then go up
to the family quarters
or out for some
basketball.
over the meeting and then go
up to the family quarters or out
for some basketball.
Does he recharge by head-
ing back to the campaign trail,
rolling up his sleeves and wad-
ing into the crowd? Obama will
do that if he has to, to save his
health-care bill. But he can’t
persuade us he gets much of a
kick out of it.
And here’s what makes this
so complicated: The fact that
Obama doesn’t get a kick out of
adoring throngs is one of the
qualities that made him so
appealing in the first place.
Unlike with Clinton, we never
felt as though he needed us;
he’s a secure, self-confident
adult.
That’s a good thing. Yes,
Obama would rather have din-
ner with his wife than with, say,
John Boehner. Wouldn’t you?
(With your own spouse, I
mean; you don’t get to choose
dinner with Michelle.) I’m glad
to have a president for whom
family values isn’t just a slogan
— and a president who cares
about policy.
We understand that, even
without war and recession, it
wouldn’t be easy. His predeces-
sor partied and stuck him with
the tab. The Republicans are
reliably obstructionist; his
Democrats reliably unreliable.
The media are carping, superfi-
cial and relentless. He is a pris-
oner of the Secret Service.
And yet. It’s hard to remem-
ber so far back, but the admin-
istration didn’t come to town
with the sense of weariness and
duty that it now projects.
Unlike the Bush crowd, which
never stopped kvetching about
having to leave Texas, the
Obamas and their circle spoke
about the honor of service and
the excitement of being in the
nation’s capital.
A year later, here’s how they
came across to People
Magazine:
“It was their first interview
of the New Year on Jan. 8 in the
rose-colored library on the
ground floor of the White
House. President Obama spoke
in such a hush about the loneli-
ness of his decisions on war
and terrorism that one could
hear between his words the
tick of an old lighthouse clock
across the room.”
Do Americans really want to
hear the tick of the old light-
house clock? Or would they
prefer the good cheer that we
associate with FDR or JFK, the
jauntiness with which they took
over the White House and
made it theirs?
Less lugubriousness would-
n’t necessarily buy him a
health-care bill. But in the long
run, Americans might find it
easier to root for or with
Obama if he’d show us, despite
everything, that he’s happy we
hired him.
Hiatt is The Washington
Post’s editorial page editor.

March
Madness:
What’s the
academic
effect?
BY VALERIE STRAUSS

WASHINGTON — With the recent

hysteria about kids missing school
because of snow, it seems appropriate
to look at the effect March Madness
has on academics at the 65 colleges
invited to the basketball tournament
and others where students are equally
obsessed.
A nationwide independent poll fund-
ed and conducted by me strongly sug-
gests that during the three-week
NCAA championship tournament,
many classes will be canceled, the
minds of many students will wander
and very little in the way of school-
work will get done on numerous cam-
puses over the next few weeks.
You don’t have to take my word for
it. Here’s part of an article in The
Observer, an independent newspaper
serving Notre Dame and St. Mary’s,
written by Andy Ziccarelli:
“Since we are in college, I think that
it is pretty safe to say that St. Patrick’s

Sneak and sprint Day is one of the best days, if not the
best day, of the year. What if, however,
I could tell you that it gets even better?
WASHINGTON -- As Pelosi is considering new the past year’s by-hook-or-by-crook God has granted us the perfect two-
Democrats consider ways to allow House legislative approach. day follow up to the best party day of
shoving health care members to pass the Even recent attention to “sweet- the year, and it comes in the form of
reform through the Senate bill without actual- heart deals” has failed to improve even more energy, adrenaline and
House with a process ly voting for it so that vul- the product. President Obama initial- excitement than St. Patty’s Day. This
known as “deem and nerable Democrats can ly said he wanted state-specific deals event will cause people to skip class
pass,” it is helpful to deny responsibility for a removed, but now the White House for the rest of the week, and for the
return to square one and bill they don’t like and has backed off, saying that if more dedicated students who will actually
ask: What, again, is the don’t support. Is this than one state theoretically could attend class, their attention will be like-
rush? sane? benefit from a deal, then the pro- ly be consumed by it. (As a warning to
A year ago, when More to the point, is it gram is OK. any professors: if anyone has their lap-
reform work got under constitutional? Theoretically, that could cover tops open in class on Thursday and
way, Democrats were Kathleen Parker Some experts say yes; Friday, they aren’t taking notes. They
just about anything -- and every-
hell-bent on passing leg- others say no. A thor- thing. Certainly, such an approach aren’t even paying attention to you at
islation before year’s This time the ough vetting would con- helps justify sweeteners such as the all). Many, including myself, would say
end. Because? There sume this space, but so-called “Frontier States” amend- that these next two days are the best
was no way, Democrats thinking goes: If basically, the “deem and ment that raises Medicare reim- of the entire year. Yes, March
believed, that they could Congress does- pass” maneuver accom- bursements for some rural states at Madness has finally arrived.”
accomplish such sweep- plishes the same thing as a cost of $2 billion over 10 years. Then there is Scott Minto, program
ing reform in an election n’t get a bill to if the House approved The deal was added to the Senate director for San Diego State
year. the Senate bill with University’s Sports Business MBA pro-
The Senate bill,
the president tweaks through the rec-
bill between its exit from the
gram. He’s already canceled classes
Finance Committee and the
which still doesn’t have before politi- onciliation process.
Christmas Eve vote. Coincidentally, for the first day of the tournament, in
enough votes in the Rather than voting on which SDSU is seeded 11th in the
cians head it just happens to benefit two power-
House to pass, barely the Senate bill, the Midwest Region.
ful Democratic committee chairmen
met the do-or-die dead- House passes a package He knows nobody wants to show
line, squeaking through
home, there will of changes to the bill.
-- North Dakota’s Kent Conrad
up, he said, and he thinks that’s just
(budget) and Montana’s Max
on Christmas Eve. be no health Thus the bill is “deemed”
Baucus (finance). Other states fine, because he doesn’t want to teach,
Now the new dead- to have passed. Got that? either.
line for a final package is care reform for The benefit is that deemed worthy of special treatment
A first-round win, he said, would
Easter break. This time House members who according to what is essentially an
the thinking goes: If
10 more years. don't want to vote for the artificial creation -- half of each
boost morale at the school—part of
the California university system that
Congress doesn’t get a bill are granted plausible state’s counties must have six or
has been battered by state budget
bill to the president before politi- deniability. Come election time, they fewer persons per square mile (and
cuts—as well as provide a financial
cians head home, there will be no can say, “Hey, don’t look at me, I did- bite their fingernails?) -- are
boost.
health care reform for 10 more n’t vote for it.” And voters, whom Wyoming, South Dakota and Utah.
It’s well known that the three-week
years. Come April, their energies are lawmakers apparently deem mental- Just 51 hospitals will receive the NCAA tournament is big business,
needed on other pressing concerns, ly challenged, will give legislators a entire $2 billion, according to providing revenue to the NCAA, which
such as re-election. pass. This is called implausible opti- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid in turn shares it with the schools
Meanwhile, the zoo in the living mism. Services data. involved. In fact, the NCAA has a $6
room demands attention. If the bill is Deem and pass -- or sneak and A sweetheart deal is a sweetheart billion deal over 11 years with CBS to
so unpopular that it must be passed sprint -- may be legal, but is it right? deal by any other name. broadcast the games, which provide
long before Election Day, could It’s right only if your goal is to Given the procedural complica- free publicity for all of the colleges and
there be a problem with the legisla- beat a deadline and pass something - tions, the clear lack of House sup- universities.
tion? - anything -- regardless of how port, and a raft of dubious deal-mak- Those event effects have been stud-
If health care reform as proposed imperfect the result. Even the major- ing, slowing down wouldn't be the ied extensively. But nobody (besides
were so good for the nation, why ity of Americans who oppose the bill worst thing to happen to health care me) has researched how much aca-
wouldn’t legislators prefer to run on don’t know the half of it, because reform. demic work does or doesn’t get done
rather than away from that record? almost no one does. There’s no dishonor in admitting during the tournament, Minto said.
If you can’t run on the strength of What they do know is that health that one was in too big a hurry. But What does that say to you about the
the laws you pass, then either you care reform reeks of maneuvering rushing to do the wrong thing is, in importance of athletics in higher edu-
shouldn’t be running or you should- and the kind of compromises that a word, idiotic. cation?
n’t be passing. involve sacks of cash. The latest pro- Kathleen Parker's e-mail address is Strauss writes the “Answer Sheet”
Yet, now House Speaker Nancy posed strategy merely underscores kathleenparker(at)washpost.com. blog at washingtonpost.com, from which
this is adapted.
6A FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010 THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com

Could school bus ads save school budgets?

BY DONNA GORDON BLANKINSHIP
Associated Press Writer
SEATTLE — School districts have
imposed all sorts of drastic cuts to
save money during the down econo-
my, canceling field trips and making
parents pay for everything from tis-
sues to sports transportation.
And some have now resorted to
placing advertisements on school
buses.
School districts say it’s practically
free money, and advertisers love the
captive audience that school buses
provide.
That’s the problem, say oppo-
nents: Children are being forced to
travel to school on moving media
kiosks, and the tactic isn’t much dif-
ferent than dressing teachers in spon-
sor-emblazoned uniforms.
“Parents who are concerned about
commercial messages will have no
choice,” said Josh Golin, associate
director of Campaign for a
Commercial Free Childhood.
“Parents won’t be given the option to
send their kids on the ad-free bus.”
Washington lawmakers consid-
ered the idea of school bus advertis-
ing this year, and the concept is also
being tossed around in Ohio, New
Jersey and Utah. About half a dozen
states already allow bus advertising
— including Colorado, Arizona,
Florida, Minnesota, Tennessee and
Texas.
The idea can be traced back about
15 years, but budget woes have led to
a recent resurgence.
“This issue comes up on a regular
basis when funding gets tight and
people are looking for alternative
Ed Andrieski/AP
ways to fund school transportation,” Marc Horner, fleet manager for Jeffco Public Schools,
said John Green, supervisor for stands next to a school bus with a bank advertisement
school transportation at the on its side at the school's bus maintenance facility in
California Department of Education. Lakewood, Colo.

AREA OBITUARIES
OBITUARY POLICY: Obituaries received no later than 7:30 Home of Columbus. Pennie Bailey, Evelena Resse and grandson, Teena Wallace
with basic information includ- a.m. for the Monday through Mrs. Guyton was a Martin, all of West Brandon Humber.
ing relatives, visitation and Friday editions. Paid notices CALEDONIA —
service times, are provided must be received by 3 p.m. for
member of the Eastern Point, Annie Grady, of She is survived by Teena White Wallace,
free of charge. Extended obitu- inclusion the next day; and on Star, Lulah Chapter No. Columbus; and 16 her sons, Thomas 52, died March 18,
aries with a photograph, Friday for Sunday or Monday 52. grandchildren. Humber, of Winfield, 2010, at her home. She
detailed biographical informa- publication. For more informa- She was preceded in Ala., and Roger A. was a former resident
tion and other details families
may wish to include, are avail-
tion, call 328-2471. death by her son, Charlie Tutton Humber, of Columbus; of West Point.
Jimmy Gardner, and STARKVILLE — brother, Clarence Arrangements are
able for a fee. Obituaries must
be submitted through funeral
Stephen Harvey four siblings. Charlie J. Tutton, 60, Atkinson, of Winfield; incomplete and will be
homes. Free notices must be BROOKHAVEN — She is survived by died March 17, 2010, at two grandchildren and announced by Calvert
submitted to the newspaper Stephen Barry Harvey, her husband, Junior Starkville Manor five great-grandchil- Funeral Home of West
no later than 3 p.m. the day 55, died March 17, Guyton; children, Roy Nursing Home. dren. Point.
prior for publication Tuesday 2010, at Country Brook Gardner, Earl Mae Services are Sunday
through Friday; no later than 4
p.m. Saturday for the Sunday
Living Center. Guyton, Arthur Guyton, at 2 p.m. at New Zion Irene Brackett Halbert Peat
Graveside services Marie Washington, United Methodist COLUMBUS — CRAWFORD —
edition; and no later than 7:30 Daphny Washington
are Saturday at 11 a.m., Church with the Rev. Irene Deloach Brackett, Halbert Peat, 58, died
a.m. for the Monday edition.
Incomplete notices must be at Oddfellows Rest and Anetta Harley; Tyrone Stallings offici- 48, died March 16, March 17, 2010, at
Cemetery with the Rev. three siblings; 18 ating. Burial will follow 2010, at Baptist Baptist Memorial
SERVING YOU Sue McGrew officiat- grandchildren and 13 in New Prospect Memorial Hospital–Golden
SINCE 1893 ing. Visitation is today great-grandchildren. Cemetery. Hospital–Golden Triangle in Columbus.
from 5-7 p.m. at Tisdale- Visitation is Saturday Triangle. Services will be
Edna E. Neal Lann Memorial Funeral Bobby Rice from noon-6 p.m. at Services March 27, 2010, at
Services: Home in Aberdeen. WEST POINT — West Memorial Funeral are Charity Mission Full
Sun. Mr. Harvey was born Bobby Anderson Rice, Home. Saturday at Gospel Baptist Church
Mar. 21, 2010 July 9, 1954, to the late 51, died March 15, Mr. Tutton was born 1 p.m. at
2:00 pm
in Crawford.
Gerald Lewis Harvey 2010, at North in 1950 in Oktibbeha West Arrangements are
Memorial Funeral Chapel
Visitation: and Ruth Henley Mississippi Medical County. He was of Lowndes incomplete and will be
Sat. Harvey in Meridian. Center in Tupelo. Methodist faith. Middle announced later by
March 20, 2010 He lived in Aberdeen Services are West Memorial School Carter’s Funeral
6-8pm most of his life before Brackett
Saturday at 1 p.m. at Funeral Home is in with the Services of Columbus.
Memorial Funeral Home moving to Brookhaven.
Burial: U.F.C.W. Local No. 1991 charge of arrange- Rev. Ricky Pratt officiat-
Memorial Gardens
He attended Meridian Bryan Union Hall with ments. ing. Burial will follow in Lela Beatrice
memorialfuneral.net High School and The the Rev. Gene King Sr. St. John Church COLUMBUS — Lela
McDonald Training officiating. Burial will Margie Humber Cemetery. Beatrice, 85, died
Bob Myers Center in Tampa, Fla. follow in Poole’s GUIN, Ala. — Visitation is today March 18, 2010, at her
Services: He is survived by his Memorial Gardens from 3-8 p.m. at
Sat. Margie Belle Atkinson home.
sister, Debra Harvey, of Cemetery. Humber, 85, died Carter’s Funeral Arrangements are
Mar. 20, 2010
3:00 p.m. Aberdeen; brother, Mr. Rice was born March 17, 2010, at Services of Columbus. incomplete and will be
Pleasant Hill Baptist Michael Harvey, of Feb. 7, 1959, in West Sunset Manor Nursing Mrs. Brackett was announced by Lowndes
Church, Aberdeen. Point to Lillie Home. born Oct. 31, 1961, in Funeral Home.
Burial: Washington-Rice and Columbus, to the late
Springhill Cemetery. Services are today at
Visitation: Annie Guyton the late Carl Rice Sr. He 1 p.m. at Miles Funeral Amzie Deloach and Rube Ferguson
Sat. Mar 20, 2010 MILLPORT, Ala. — was retired. Home Chapel with Claudine Williams ETHELSVILLE, Ala.
2:00-3:00 pm Annie Weas Guyton, 79, In addition to his Minister Paul Gray offi- Deloach. She was a — Rube Ferguson, 72,
at the church. died March 12, 2010, at father, he was preceded ciating. Burial will fol- member of St. John MB died March 14, 2010, at
~~~~~~~~~
memorialfuneral.net her resi- in death by his broth- low in West Alabama Church. his home.
Our Dedicated, Caring, dence. ers, Roosevelt Rice, Memorial Gardens. In addition to her Services are
Professional Staff & Services Michael Rice and Visitation is today parents, she was pre- Saturday at 11 a.m. at
Affordable Funeral Services are Thomas N. Rice; sis- from noon-1 p.m. at the ceded in death by her Lavender’s Funeral
Continue To Make Us Saturday at ters, Brenda Rice and funeral home. sisters, Pauline Rice, Home chapel with the
Your Leading 2 p.m. at Sylvia Carthon. Mrs. Humber was Augusta Miller and Rev. Tommy Prude offi-
Funeral Service Providers Tabernacle In addition to his born Sept. 11, 1924, to Mamie Deloach; broth- ciating. Burial will fol-

Memorial
M
Memoriall
CME mother, he is survived the late Bascum Poole ers, James Deloach and low at Mount Olive
Church Guyton by his son, Reginald V. W.T. Deloach.

Gunter &Peel
and Donnie Edwards Cemetery in
with the Rev. Robert Dyson, of Columbus; Atkinson. She was a She is survived by Ethelsville. The body
Moore officiating. daughters, Nikki member of Zion MB her daughters, Tonya will lie in state Saturday
Funeral Homes Burial will follow in Cooperwood and Church. She worked as and Tomekia Deloach, from 8-11 a.m.
“Someone to Count on Providence MB Church Tekeylia Rice, both of an inspector for Pepsi both of Columbus; sis-
When Caring Counts” Cemetery. Visitation is Columbus; brothers, ters, Josephine Baker,
today from noon-5 p.m. the Rev. Danny L. Rice
Cola Bottling Company
Idella Bankhead, Mary
Damien D. Harris
memorialfuneralhome.net • 662-328-4432 for several years and COLUMBUS —
gunterandpeel.com • 662-328-2354 at Lee-Sykes Funeral and Willie J. Rice, both had worked in garment Deloach and Lucille Damien D. Harris, 18,
of West Point, Leroy manufacturing plants. Gordon, all of died March 18, 2010, at
Rice, of Macon, Ga., In addition to her Columbus, Ruth Heart, his home.
Julius Rice, of parents, she was pre- of St. Louis; brothers, Arrangements are
Edna E. Neal Columbus, and Carl
Rice III, of Las Vegas;
ceded in death by her Leonard Deloach, Larry
Deloach, Johnnie
incomplete and will be
Edna E. Upton Neal, age 82, died husband, Thomas Elton announced by Century
sisters, the Rev. Linda Humber; brothers, B.P, Deloach, all of Hairston Funeral
Saturday, March 13, 2010 at Providence Dixson, of Hattiesburg, Columbus, and Robert
and Sam Atkinson; half- Home.
Benedictine Nursing Center in Mount Angel, Mary Summerall, Deloach, of Artesia; and
brother, Jantis
OR. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted Carlene Brownlee, Atkinson; sister, Nellie three grandchildren.
to Memorial Funeral Home. Services will be Pallbearers are
Theodore Dismukes
held Sunday, March 21, 2010 at 2:00 PM in WEST POINT —
Raymond Scott, Cedric
the chapel of Memorial Funeral Home with Stevenson, Curly Theodore “Sweet”
Rev. Jimmy Ray officiating. Internment will
When Caring Counts... We Welcome Stevenson, Robert Dismukes, 79, died
Johnson, Antonio Miller March 18, 2010, at
follow at Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be
held at Memorial Funeral Home Saturday,
Existing Burial and Demond Hairston. North Mississippi
Medical Center in West
March 20, 2010 from 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM. and Pre-Arranged Bob Myers Point.
Mrs. Neal was born on Thursday, March Arrangements are
FUNERAL HOME
08, 1928 in Columbus, MS to the late Charlie
& CREMATORY Funeral Plans COLUMBUS —
incomplete and will be
M. and Millie Lollar Upton. She was a mem- Julius Robert “Bob”
announced by Lee-
ber of East End Baptist Church and was 1131 Lehmberg Rd. Columbus from other Myers, 71, died March
Sykes Funeral Home of
employed at Ruth's for many years in alter- 662-328-1808 18, 2010, at his resi-
ations. After Ruth's closed, she went to work www.lowndesfuneralhome.net Funeral Homes dence in Columbus.
Columbus.

at McRae's and became a familiar face rotating Services will be held

between the alterations and ladies' perfumes Saturday at 3 p.m. at Ruth Clay
Pleasant Hill Baptist COLUMBUS —
departments.
In addition to her parents, she was prede-
Armon Daniel Loe Church. Burial will fol- Ruth Clay, 80, died
March 19, 2010, at
Armon Loe went home to be with the low at Springhill
ceased by her husband, Clarence Randolph Cemetery. Visitation will Rush Memorial
Neal, Sr., who died in 2002. Lord on March 17, 2010. He was a retired be held one hour prior Hospital in Meridian.
Mrs. Neal is survived by her two sons GMAC representative and a Veteran. A to service at the church. Arrangements are
Tommy Neal (Debbie), Columbus, MS and Arrangements are incomplete and will be
Randy Neal(Nikki), Salem, OR and one broth- memorial service will be held on Saturday,
incomplete and will be announced by Carter’s
er Charlie Upton (Katrina), Columbus, MS. March 20, at 4:00p.m. at the First Baptist announced later by Funeral Services of
She is also survived by five grandchildren Church of Fayette, Alabama. He was pre- Memorial Funeral Columbus.
Chris Neal, Haley Addkison, Leigha Hall, A.J. ceded in death by his wife, Ann Honeycutt Home.
Neal and Genna Neal and two great grandchil-
Loe, and is survived by his children,
dren Sydnee Addkison and Kyly Hall.
The Pallbearers will be Bob Gray, Bobby Danny (Cheryll) Loe of Memphis, Terry Lordy, Lordy
Brewer, Billy Price, Brad Addkison, Gary (Robin) Loe of Acworth, GA and Kim Look who’s 40.
Moore, and Billy Perkins .
Memorials may be made in Mrs. Neal's
memory to East End Baptist Church, P.O. Box
(Dan) Travis of Sevierville, TN, seven
grandchildren, and three great-grandchil- Happy
8480, Columbus, MS 39705 .
Expressions of Sympathy May
dren. In lieu of flowers, the family requests
that donations be made to the Wounded
Birthday
Be Left At
Warriors Family Support Fund
(www.woundedwarriorhospitalfund.org).
“Cee Cee”
www.memorialfuneral.net Paid Obituary
Is that you Nikki?
 THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010 7A

ON CDISPATCH.COM

Homes Real estate and

home improvement
n Search real estate listings,
and post your own classified ad,
at cdispatch.com/classifieds.

Tax gains drive profits for builders LOCAL

ACTION
City Building Permits
ECONOMY: Small n David B. Floyd; 915
March 8-15

companies believe the Deena Drive; repairs; Phil

n fifty’s Properties, LLC;

Lowe
tax refunds are giving
425 Tuscaloosa Road;
the giant companies
n Bell Properties; 1513
repairs; BMW, LLC
the edge
n First United Methodist
22nd St. N.; repairs; same
BY ALEX VEIGA Church; 602 Main St.;
AP Real Estate Writer remodeling; Conn

n Bell Properties; 1421

Construction
LOS ANGELES — It’s tax sea-
son, and the IRS is being particu- Third Ave. N., Apt.A; repairs;
larly generous to some of the
n Bell Properties; 1421
same
nation’s largest homebuilders.
Several publicly traded compa- Third Ave. N., Apt B; repairs;

n Sandra Rhinehart; 626

nies, including Lennar Corp., same
Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. and
Pulte Homes Inc., expect to rake in Chestnut St.; ADA Repairs;

n Bob Oaks; 605 Military

roughly $2.5 billion in federal tax McCrary West
refunds combined, according to
n Ronnie Herrington; 610
Road; new roof; same
company filings.
Lawmakers amended the tax Ninth St. S.; reroof; Bob
code last fall to help struggling
n James and Beatrice
Oaks
companies stay in business by
essentially giving them a greater Thompson; 720 10th Ave.S.;

n Bob Oaks; 1409 Eighth

opportunity to recoup previously repairs; same
paid taxes. The move has helped
some of the biggest builders turn a Ave. N.; remodeling; same
profit for the first time in years.
But some small builders say the County Building Permits

n No permits were listed.

souped-up tax break is primarily
giving their large rivals yet another
competitive edge. That’s because
the latest windfall looks less like a
lifeline and more like a war chest.
Several large builders are now sit-
ting on more than $1 billion in cash
and are snapping up tracts of land
to be ready for the next building
boom.
“These public (builders) sold
hundreds of millions of dollars
worth of land and took huge losses
and wound up with hundreds of
millions of dollars of checks from
the government sitting on their
balance books,” said Ken
Endelson, CEO of Kenco
Communities in Boca Raton, Fla.
“It was a real bailout. No different
than the banks.”
What’s involved
In November, Congress passed
a law that lets companies of all
sizes that are losing money reach
back five years and get a refund for
taxes paid when they were making
money. Previously, large compa-
nies were limited to recouping
taxes paid up to two years earlier.
That extension was a boon to
builders because the economy and
the housing market were flying
high five years ago and they could-
n’t put up new houses fast enough.
“They were earning bubble
profits back then,” said Credit
Suisse analyst Nishu Sood.
In recent weeks, builders have
reported quarterly results that
include the gains they expect to
receive from tax refunds.
Among those to post a profit
were KB Home, Lennar,
Hovnanian, D.R. Horton Inc.,
Beazer Homes USA Inc., Ryland
Group Inc. and Meritage Homes
Corp.
Pulte, the nation’s largest
builder, lost money in its fourth
quarter despite an $800 million tax
benefit.
Hovnanian, which is based in
Red Bank, N.J., earned $236 mil-
lion for its fiscal first quarter — its
first profit since 2006. But without
a $291 million tax benefit, the com-
pany lost about $55 million, or 69
cents a share.
Workers construct new Pulte homes in Mesa, Ariz. Several publicly traded companies, including Pulte
Homes Inc., Lennar Corp., and Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., expect to rake in roughly $2.5 billion in federal
tax refunds combined, according to company filings.
The money’s here
Several companies already have
received all or part of their federal
tax refunds, and some also expect
to reap state tax benefits.
Without the tax gains, it’s
unlikely most of the builders would
have turned a profit because new
home sales are still near record
lows.
Government efforts to prop up
the housing market, such as two
tax credits for homebuyers, helped
drum up orders last year. But most
builders have said sales remain
weak, so they’re bringing in less in
revenue.
To stay afloat, builders laid off
thousands of employees, halted
developments and generated cash
by selling land at sharp discounts.
That led to losses they are using to
collect tax benefits now.
It’s not clear how much the
expanded tax break is affecting
small builders that aren’t publicly
traded. Data on the size of tax
returns collected by private firms
the last couple of years isn’t avail-
able yet.
The National Association of
Home Builders, which lobbied
for the change in the tax code last
year, said the tax break is aiding
all builders.
“It’s helped a lot of balance
sheets, whether you’re big or
small,” said Joe Robson, the trade
association’s immediate past chair-
man. But he noted large builders
have always had an advantage over
smaller companies.
Sood, the Credit Suisse analyst,
estimates that a dozen of the pub-
licly traded builders paid about
$8.5 billion in taxes between the
booming years of 2004 and 2007.
As of November, the builders had
recouped $3.7 billion in refunds.
At the current pace, the large
builders combined are on track to
recover at least $6 billion in
refunds.
Refunds save some
Analysts say the tax refunds
have allayed bankruptcy concerns
for Beazer and Hovnanian. For oth-
ers, such as Pulte, Lennar and D.R.
Horton, each with more than $1
billion in cash reserves, it’s given
them more financial elbow room.
That worries smaller builders
like Michael Sivage, CEO of Sivage
Homes, which builds homes in
Albuquerque, N.M., and San
Antonio, Texas.
“They have access to cash,
Matt York/AP
some of which is from (tax
refunds),” he said. “They’re taking
commanding market share.”
Many large builders have been
buying up developed home sites,
often from banks that have repos-
sessed the land from other
builders unable to make loan pay-
ments.
It’s a smart move because the
land is cheaper now and homes
built on it can be sold eventually at
a higher profit. The bigger compa-
nies also can afford to wait out the
market better than smaller
builders.
In addition to soft sales, local
builders continue to grapple with
tight-fisted banks and loan pay-
ments on land worth less than they
paid for it. And those loans prevent
the companies from selling the
property at a loss to qualify for the
tax benefits.
“We don’t have the ability to buy
a bunch of property right now at a
discounted price like (large
builders) do,” said Mick Galatio,
owner of Desert Wind Homes in
Las Vegas. “They’re really getting a
jumpstart on the small, private
builder and we’re going to have to
work very hard to try to compete
with that.”
March 8-15
Ex-exec testifies in KB
Home fraud trial in LA
BY JACOB ADELMAN
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES — A
former executive of KB
Home testified Tuesday
against former chairman
and Chief Executive
Bruce E. Karatz, who is
accused of bilking share-
holders out of millions of
dollars by backdating
stock options.
Prosecutors contend
that Karatz, 64, illegally
backdated stock-options.
A stock option allows an
employee to purchase
the company’s stock at a
preset price at a future
date. If the shares are
trading above that price,
the employee can then
sell the shares and pock-
et the profit. The perk is
designed to encourage
employee performance
that contributes to the
company’s financial suc-
cess.
Backdating involves
issuing stock options
retroactively to coincide
with low points in the
share price, thus boost-
ing payouts. It can be
illegal if it is not properly
accounted for and dis-
closed to investors.
Gary Ray, the former
head of human
resources for KB Home,
testified that Karatz was
complicit in a 1999 shift
in the company’s policy
for awarding stock
options that its compen-
sation committee did not
know about. Under the
new policy, Karatz
picked favorable dates in
the weeks surrounding
the committee’s vote.

February housing starts decline

BY SHOBHANA CHANDRA
Bloomberg News
WASHINGTON — Housing starts
fell in February as record snowfall in
parts of the country hampered con-
struction, while fewer building per-
mits signaled demand is stagnating.
Builders broke ground on 575,000
homes at an annual rate last month,
down 5.9 percent from January’s
revised 611,000 pace that was higher
than initially estimated, Commerce
Department figures showed Tuesday
in Washington. Building permits, a
sign of future construction,
decreased for a second month.
Mounting foreclosures are mak-
ing it harder to clear inventories,
keeping pressure on prices and dis-
couraging new construction. The
economy has yet to create the sus-
the snowstorms,” said Zach Pandl, an
economist at Nomura Securities
International in New York. “Beyond
the weather, housing starts are basi-
cally plateauing. The recovery is
going to be slow, with activity at very
low levels.”
Starts on dwellings were projected
to fall to a 570,000 annual pace, after a
previously reported 591,000 in
January, according to the median
forecast of 71 economists surveyed
by Bloomberg News. Estimates
ranged from 510,000 to 610,000.
New-home construction rose 0.2
percent in February from the same
month last year.
Building permits declined 1.6 per-
cent to a 612,000 annual rate after a
4.7 percent drop in January. Permits
were forecast to decrease to a 601,000
annual pace, according to the survey
Work on multifamily homes, such
as townhouses and apartment build-
ings, slumped 30 percent to an annu-
al rate of 76,000, the lowest in four
months.
The decrease in starts was led by
a 16 percent decline in the South and
a 9.6 percent drop in the Northeast.
Starts rose 11 percent in the Midwest
and 7.9 percent in the West.
The number of homes under con-
struction in February declined 2.2
AUCTION!
Proceeds Support Youth Activities
percent to a record-low 492,000,
Items & Gift Cards Donated
Tuesday’s report showed. by Columbus Businesses.
A report Monday showed builder
confidence unexpectedly declined in
March as prospective-buyer traffic
Saturday, March 20
fell to a one-year low. The National
Association of Home Builders/Wells
6:30 p.m.
Fargo’s index of builder confidence
dropped for the third time in four Columbus Seventh-Day
months. Adventist Church
© The Dispatch

tained job growth that could invigor- median. President Barack Obama in
ate housing demand. Construction of single-family November extended a tax credit of as Fellowship Hall
“February was really a weather houses dropped 0.6 percent to a much as $8,000 for first-time home-
story as construction was hard-hit by 499,000 rate in February. buyers. 301 Brooks Dr., Columbus, MS
8A FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010 THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com

Democrats push toward Sunday vote on health care

BY ERICA WERNER version of the legislation
Associated Press Writer last year. Markey cited
improved deficit cuts.
WASHINGTON — Gordon said his backing
Slowly but steadily, support was unrelated to a new pro-
is building behind President vision sending higher
Barack Obama’s health care Medicaid payments to
legislation in the House, the Tennessee hospitals that
result of intense lobbying treat large numbers of unin-
and political- sured.
ly targeted
As rumors flew around
changes
the House chamber of more
aimed at
possible opponents-turned-
reassuring
supporters — and also of
waverers and
winning over previous “yes” voters who
critics. might withdraw their sup-
Obama Obama port — Pelosi worked her
himself was members, seeking out law-
to talk up the makers individually or in
sweeping small groups on the House
overhaul in a floor to try to win them over.
m i d d a y With Republicans unani-
speech today mously opposed after a year
billion legislation.
in Virginia, of corrosive debate, the vote
“Every vote around here
his fourth set for Sunday was expected
is a heavy lift,” House
Pelosi outside-the- to be a cliffhanger, and
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-
Beltway
event in two weeks as he
scrambles to rally the public
Calif., said. “We don’t have a
rubber-stamp Congress or a
rubber-stamp (Democratic)
Democratic leaders don’t
yet command the 216 com-
mitments they need.
Health care bill extends
ahead of a climactic vote
this weekend. On Capitol
Hill, congressional leaders
caucus. So, we have our full
airing of issues.”
The White House and
Obama postponed until
June a planned Asia trip that
was set to begin Sunday,
wage tax to investments
were focusing on those Democratic leaders trum- allowing him to stay in town BY STEPHEN OHLEMACHER is higher than the 2.9 percent tax pro-
rank-and-file Democrats, for the House vote and Associated Press Writer posed by President Barack Obama.
peted two new converts to
including moderates and their cause, as retiring Rep. action next week in the House Democratic leaders increased it
opponents of abortion, who Senate. Thursday after- WASHINGTON — High-income so they could reduce the impact of a
Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., and families would be hit with a tax
remained undecided after noon, Obama played host to new tax on high-cost health insurance
first-term Rep. Betsy increase on wages and a new levy on
the release Thursday of a individual lawmakers seek- plans strongly opposed by labor
Markey, D-Colo., investments under President Barack
final package of changes to ing favors or reassurance. unions.
announced their support Obama’s health care overhaul bill.
the massive 10-year, $940 House Democrats were The 40 percent tax on health bene-
after opposing an earlier For the first time, the Medicare pay-
hoping to get a letter of sup- fits would be delayed until 2018 and
roll tax would be applied to investment
port Friday signed by would apply only to premiums exceed-
income, beginning in 2013. A new 3.8
enough Senate Democrats ing $10,200 a year for individuals and

Gold Card Days

percent tax would be imposed on inter-
to guarantee passage of the est, dividends, capital gains and other $27,500 for families.
package of changes in that investment income for individuals mak- The search for revenue to pay for
chamber, something lead- ing more than $200,000 a year and cou- health care has been made more diffi-

The Entire Month of March

ers hope will reassure rank- ples making more than $250,000. cult by Obama’s campaign pledge not
and-file House members The bill also would increase the to raise taxes on the middle class. The

"GNC's Longest Franchise!"

that they won’t be left hang- Medicare payroll tax by 0.9 percentage result is a bill that would raise a total of
ing out to dry. point to 2.35 percent on wages above $438 billion in new taxes over the next
COLUMBUS STARKVILLE-SMOOTHIE But a climate of uncer- $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 decade, mainly from high-income tax-
Leigh Mall Jo Ann M. Walk-Ferguson 911 Hwy 12 W. • Ste 206 B
Franchisee/Owner
tainty still the dominant for married couples filing jointly. payers and fees on the health care
328-4450 323-4919
Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Howard Ferguson Mon.-Sat. 9:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. dynamic as the climactic The new tax on investment income industry.
Sun. 1 p.m.-6 p.m. Sun. 1p.m.-6 p.m.
Owner
vote drew near.

AROUND
THE NATION
COLUMBIA, S.C.
South Carolina Gov. Mark
Sanford has closed two
chapters of his life, agree-
ing to pay $74,000 in fines
to resolve ethics charges
brought against him after
last summer’s revelation
of an extramarital affair,
and receiving word that a
judge had formally ended
his 20-year marriage to his
wife, Jenny. The term-lim-
ited Republican agreed
Thursday to pay the fines
to resolve dozens of ethics
charges, including a tax-
payer-funded rendezvous
with his Argentine mis-
tress, marking the end to
a months-long saga.
Within minutes, the gover-
nor’s marriage had been
dissolved by a family
court judge in Charleston
County, 100 miles from
the state capital of
Columbia.
CHICAGO
An American who admitted
slipping quietly into the
Indian city of Mumbai on
scouting missions that led
to the November 2008
attack that left 166 people
dead already has started
spilling terrorists’ secrets
to U.S. authorities, accord-
ing to his attorney and
federal prosecutors.
David Coleman Headley
pleaded guilty Thursday in
U.S. District Court in
Chicago to laying the
groundwork for the mas-
sacre in Mumbai and per-
forming similar surveil-
lance in anticipation of an
attack on a Danish news-
paper whose cartoons
depicting the Prophet
Muhammad were offen-
sive to Muslims. Federal
officials say the 49-year-
old Headley, who was
arrested in Chicago in
October, has become a
valuable asset to the war
on terrorism, furnishing
information about terrorist
networks in exchange for
a promise that he won’t be
executed.
SALEM, MASS.
A Massachusetts judge
has denied a motion to dis-
miss charges against a
woman accused of failing
to fill prescriptions to treat
her autistic son’s cancer.
The Salem News reports
that Salem Superior Court
Judge John Lu released
the decision Thursday.
Lu says the evidence
against 37-year-old Kristen
LaBrie is sufficient to
establish probable cause
that she committed crimes
including attempted mur-
der and assault and bat-
tery on a disabled person.
LaBrie’s lawyer had
argued that there is no
evidence of her intent.
LaBrie’s son, Jeremy
Fraser, was diagnosed
with lymphoma in 2006.
With treatment, the can-
cer went into remission,
but returned as leukemia
in 2008. He died a year
ago at age 9.
WASHINGTON
A federal grand jury has
issued subpoenas to a
Republican campaign com-
mittee and companies in
Nevada in a probe of Sen.
John Ensign, who has
been under scrutiny for
his efforts to find lobbying
work for the husband of
his former mistress.
One subpoena went to the
National Republican
Senatorial Committee,
which was formerly
chaired by Ensign, a
Nevada Republican, com-
mittee spokesman Brian
Walsh said Thursday.
Sean Cairncross, general
counsel for the group that
is the campaign commit-
tee for Republican Senate
candidates, said the com-
mittee has responded
appropriately to questions
concerning matters relat-
ed to the time frame of the
2008 election campaign.
On Thursday, a Las Vegas
television station reported
that grand jury subpoenas
in the Ensign probe went
to six Las Vegas business-
es that it did not name.
From Wire Reports
Fargo floods turn farm fields into sprawling lakes
BY JOHN FLESHER
Associated Press Writer
KRAGNES, Minn. —
For farmer Brian Thomas,
getting to town for
errands is no simple mat-
ter these days as floodwa-
ters cover fields and sec-
tions of country roads in
the rural areas near
Fargo, N.D.
He wades through
shallow rapids cascading
across his driveway, then
drives a mud-spattered
pickup on a narrow dirt
road until so much water
blocks his path that he
must hop into a motorboat
and putt-putt over a corn-
field resembling a sprawl-
ing lake. Finally, about
four miles from home, he
gets into his waiting car
and drives to the nearest
town.
“It’s kind of a hassle,”
Thomas, 52, said
Thursday as he jerked the
rope to restart the boat
motor.
As the cities of
Moorhead, Minn., and
next-door Fargo nervous-
ly wait for the Red River’s
expected crest on Sunday
at 20 feet above the flood
Oregon lawsuit claims Boy
Scouts sex abuse coverup
BY WILLIAM MCCALL
Associated Press Writer
PORTLAND, Ore. —
The Boy Scouts of
America has long kept an
extensive archive of
secret documents that
chronicle the sexual
abuse of young boys by
Scout leaders over the
years.
The “perversion files,”
a nickname the Boy
Scouts are said to have
used for the documents,
have rarely been seen by
“The Boy Scouts
of America
ignored clear
warning signs that
Boy Scouts were
being abused.”
Kelly Clark, attorney
the public, but that could
all change in the coming
weeks in an Oregon
courtroom.
The lawyer for a man
who was molested in the
1980s by a Scout leader
has obtained about 1,000
Boy Scouts sex files and
is expected to release
some of them at a trial
that began Wednesday.
The lawyer says the files
show how the Boy Scouts
have covered up abuse
for decades.
The trial is significant
because the files could
offer a rare window into
how the Boy Scouts have
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com
Mark Houglum works on a 40-foot flood wall used to
protect his Moorhead, Minn., residence from the
swollen Red River on Thursday.
stage, some of the
region’s farmland is
already under water after
smaller rivers, swollen
with melting snow, over-
flowed. Even fields that
aren’t buried in water are
so saturated that they
look like vast expanses of
squishy black mud.
At this point it’s mostly
an inconvenience, grow-
ers say. Spring planting is
a month or more away for
crops such as corn, soy-
beans and sugar beets. If
responded to sex abuse
by Scout leaders. The
only other time the docu-
ments are believed to
have been presented at a
trial was in the 1980s in
Virginia.
At the start of the
Oregon trial, attorney
Kelly Clark recited the
Boy Scout oath and the
promise to obey Scout
law to be “trustworthy.”
Then he presented six
boxes of documents that
he said will show “how
the Boy Scouts of
America broke that oath.”
He held up file folder
after file folder he said
contained reports of
abuse from around the
country, telling the jury
the efforts to keep them
secret may have actually
set back efforts to pre-
vent child abuse national-
ly.
“The Boy Scouts of
America ignored clear
warning signs that Boy
Scouts were
abused,” Clark said.
being
Charles Smith, attor-
ney for the national Boy
Scouts, said in his own
opening statement the
files were kept under
wraps because they “were
replete with confidential
information.”
Smith told the jury the
files helped national
scouting leaders weed
out sex offenders, espe-
cially repeat offenders
who may have changed
names or moved in order
to join another local
scouting organization.
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010 9A
Jay Pickthorn/AP
stock producers during 500,000 acres in Cass
the rain holds off and the crucial calving season. County — which includes
unusually warm tempera- “It’s definitely not Fargo — are planted in
tures don’t melt the going to help us any to soybeans, more than in
remaining snowpack too have this flood, but I can’t any other county in the
rapidly over the next few say definitely that it’s nation.
weeks, the waters could going to hurt us either, Farmers prefer to get
recede, enabling a decent because it depends on the their corn and sugar beets
or even good growing sea- weather from here on in the ground by late April
son. out,” said Andrew but can hold off until early
But a worst-case sce- Swenson, an extension May, when soybeans usu-
nario — heavy spring farm management special- ally are planted, Swenson
rains and prolonged flood- ist at North Dakota State said.
ing well into April — University. Flooding in 2009 ren-
could spell trouble for this The region’s fertile dered almost 1.9 million
year’s crops, while also soils yield an abundance acres unsuitable for plant-
causing problems for live- of grain and beets. About ing in North Dakota.
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10A FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010 THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com

Nunnelee
Continued from Page 1A
include former Fox News
commentator Angela
McGlowan of Oxford and
former Eupora Mayor
Henry Ross.
Childers said there are
many in Congress who plan
to vote in opposition to the
bill, but they were the same
ones who voted in Nancy
Pelosi as speaker of the
House of Representatives.
Nunnelee said a health
care plan should not be
Jason Browne/Dispatch Staff
placed in the hands of the
Members of Link’d Young Professionals meet Thursday with the Columbus City government, but instead
Council to discuss details of Saturday’s Clean Sweep. should be put in the hands
of Americans.
“It should be for the
Sweep patients, not the govern-
ment,” he said.
Continued from Page 1A
Nunnelee also said it
wards’ cleanup. oughfares of Ward 5. should be up to private
Ward 1 Councilman Gene Taylor is Ward 6 Councilman Bill Gavin wants investments and compa-
hoping to eliminate discarded tires, and to clean up Highway 45 North, Bluecutt nies, not the government, to
debris from his entire ward. Road and paint as many fire hydrants create jobs for people.
Ward 4 Councilman Fred Stewart and signs as possible. He referred to
hopes to clean up around the former “My hat’s off to the Link’d Young Mississippi’s sales tax holi-
Hughes Elementary School building, Professionals for coming up with this day last year, in which peo-
20th Street, 26th Street, 6th Avenue and idea and getting elected officials ple could buy up to $100 in
14th Avenue. involved in it,” said Mayor Robert Smith. clothing without having to
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch Staff
Ward 5 Councilman Kabir Karriem Anyone wishing to volunteer for the pay sales tax. State Sen. Alan Nunnelee speaks at a Columbus Tea
wants to focus on Military Road, the Clean Sweep need only show up at the “We can create our own Party event Thursday at the Holiday Inn.
Eveningside complex and the main thor- Farmers’ Market at 9 a.m. Saturday. stimulus program without
the government’s help. If Roger Wicker. He repre- budget and control their
we let working men and sents Lee and Pontotoc spending.
Aberdeen women keep their own
money, we can have our
Counties.
As a member of the
“In this recession we are
in, there are some in
Continued from Page 1A Senate Appropriations Washington who do not
own stimulus and we don’t
against the city: one ing their electric bill. mentation that I had, but need one from the govern- Committee, Nunnelee said want to cut spending. In
regarding the utility That’s been proven no one ever asked me. I ment,” he said. if elected, he would want to Mississippi, the Legislature
department’s cutoff poli- beyond a shadow of a gave them to the attorney Nunnelee has served in work to see that the United is working on the budget
cy and another alleging doubt. People were get- general, but I had one the Mississippi Senate for States follows the example right now. Our challenge is
race discrimination. ting special favors from additional copy of it given 15 years, winning the seat of the American working to fit our spending with the
Aberdeen City officials. We’ve proven to me by the mayor,” said held by current U.S. Sen. family to balance their available revenue,” he said.
Attorney Robert Faulks, that. And we’re not talk- Bowen. “I was led by the
who prosecuted Bowen, ing about small amounts. mayor the whole time
declined comment on We’re talking $300,000 that I couldn’t trust the
Bowen’s case. plus.” police depar tment. He
Bowen said he began a He was charged by the (Ballard) is the one who
personal investigation Aberdeen Police set me up. No doubt
into alleged corruption at Department with receipt about it.”
the city’s utility depart- of stolen property based Ballard did not return
ment after his nephew, on his knowledge of the calls seeking comment
Brandon Scott, was location of a water meter, Thursday.
arrested along with a which Bowen says Mayor Bowen says he could
number of citizens, Jim Ballard also knew push for a criminal inves-
including Electric about. The obstruction tigation into Ballard’s
Department Manager charge stemmed from involvement in the elec-
Adrian Garth, in a scandal files Bowen obtained tric department scandal,
involving electricity theft. which he says proved the but would rather see him
“My nephew got set illegal activities taking voted out of office.
up. I thought ‘There can’t place at the utility depart- To make that a reality,
be that much corruption.’ ment. Bowen is joining a group
So I started digging and, “The obstruction of concerned citizens
sure enough, there was,” charge was bogus known as Aberdeen
said Bowen. “We found because (the police) Deser ves Better, which
people that weren’t pay- claim they asked for docu-
is focusing its efforts on
voting new officials into Rogelio V. Solis/AP

Springtime at office. The group held a

silent protest on the
steps of city hall during
Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum, left, and Commissioner of
Higher Education Hank Bounds discuss funding issues as University of Mississippi
Chancellor Dr. Daniel Jones, second from left, and Delta State University President

the Greenhouse! Tuesday’s meeting of

the Board of Aldermen.
“That’s the only way
John Hilpert, second from right, listen from the background, Thursday in Jackson.

Colleges
Great Selection of Fruit Trees we’re going to get out of
this,” said Bowen. “We
Continued from Page 1A
know the only way to replace dormitories by bor- board member Alan Perry were clearly surprised by
change it is at the polls.” rowing money on the front said, comparing it to an indi- the board’s remarks.
Despite the Aberdeen end and paying it back with vidual making a large pur- University of Mississippi
Police Depar tment’s interest over an extended chase on a credit card and Chancellor Daniel W. Jones
continuing investigation period of time — as then paying the minimum said the universities’ leaders
It’s a Time into the electric scandal, opposed to building up amount due each month. had tried to put together
Great 604 18th Ave. N. • Columbus, MS to apply
Bowen says he doesn’t reserves to pay for future The board asked the uni- budgets that would get the
pre-
Time Fax: 662-329-9311 Cell 662-251-2142 expect any more arrests construction. versity leadership to take board’s approval; budgets
emergent
to Plant! Ph: 662-327-6664 herbicide to follow. University housing must their proposals back and that were “politically palat-
be self-sufficient and does reevaluate them before pre- able.”
not receive any additional senting them again next
However, he quickly
money other than what stu- month.
added, “We would love to
dents pay in rent. “If I gave the impression
bring a more aggressive
Though financial officers that I just want the bare min-
from each of the universi- imum to get by, I want to plan before the board.”
ties were prepared to give retract that,” said board Board President Scott
detailed presentations member Amy Whitten. Ross cautioned his col-
explaining their increase The new proposals need leagues to remember who
requests, trustees stopped to reflect the amount the would be paying for these
the process just after Alcorn universities require to main- increases.

50th ANNUAL MEETING University began the first

presentation.
“This doesn’t seem to be
tain the buildings at a stan-
dard students want to live
in, Whitten said.
“We’re talking about
money coming out of some
kid’s, or kid’s parent’s pock-
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2010 a system that’s sustainable,” The university leaders et,” he said.

Location:
Columbus Club (Columbus Air Force Base)
Juco to ask attorney general
Meeting Time: 5:00 p.m.
Agenda:
if Alabama college move OK
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS occupy the building rent-free. The build-
Board Member Elections ing has been a satellite campus of the
GAUTIER — A south Mississippi jun- University of Southern Mississippi, which
Reports from Credit Union Officials ior college will ask the attorney’s general is moving out this fall.
office for a formal opinion on whether an Lott said Thursday that USA won’t pay
Door Prize Alabama college can move a branch to its rent its first year, but will pay to renovate
Gautier campus. classroom space.
The University of South Alabama and “Actually, this first year they are going
Credit Union Members without access to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community
College announced a partnership earlier
to invest over $100,000 in the building so
they can have classes,” he said. “It is not a
this week that would allow USA to offer
Columbus Air Force Base who want to attend classes on campus.
Since then, questions have been raised
year’s free rent. They are actually invest-
ing more than what the rent is going to
cost.”
this meeting must register with the credit by some state officials — including Lt.
Gov. Phil Bryant and State Auditor Stacey In the second and third years, USA
Pickering — about whether the move is would pay about $66,000 a year in rent,
union no later than Thursday, March 25 appropriate and whether MGCCC is pro-
viding something free to USA.
which, he said, is the same deal USM had
with the two-year school.
MGCCC President Willis Lott said USA’s board of trustees approved the
1101 HWY. 182 EAST, STARKVILLE • 662/338-9131 Thursday that Attorney General Jim three-year deal on March 12, and the
2330 HWY. 45 NORTH, COLUMBUS • 662/327-9450 Hood will be asked the same questions community college’s board gave its
© The Dispatch

BUILDING 160, COLUMBUS AFB • 662/434-6052 about the proposed USA satellite campus. approval Wednesday. The agreement still
Pickering had questioned an initial must be approved by the Mississippi
announcement reported that USA would Commission on College Accreditation.
 THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010 11A

Diplomats urge resumption of Mideast talks

BY ROBERT BURNS
AP National Security Writer

MOSCOW — Top inter-

national diplomats today
called on Israel and the
Palestinians to return to
peace negotiations with a
goal of reaching a final set-
tlement that would create
David Guttenfelder/AP an independent Palestinian
A fish dealer cuts tuna at his stall inside Tsukiji state within 24 months.
Wholesale Market in Tokyo, Japan, today. Japanese fish They reiterated their con-
dealers welcomed the rejection of a proposed trade ban demnation of Israel’s latest
on Atlantic bluefin tuna while urging that existing quo- move to add Jewish hous-
tas be more strictly enforced to protect the species ing in disputed east
from overfishing. Dealers at the market handle tuna Jerusalem but did not esca-
and other fish from across the world including Atlantic late criticism of the Jewish
bluefin tuna.
state.
The so-called Quartet
peacemakers met in the Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP

Japanese fish Russian capital and issued a

formal statement read by
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks with U.S. special envoy for
Mideast peace, George Mitchell during talks in Moscow, Russia, today. Clinton is
participating in a meeting of the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators — the

dealers welcome U.N. Secretary General

tuna ban rejection
BY MALCOLM FOSTER
Associated Press Writer
TOKYO — Japanese
fish dealers today wel-
comed the rejection of a
proposed trade ban on
Atlantic bluefin tuna — a
prized ingredient of sushi
— while urging that exist-
ing quotas be more strictly
enforced to protect the
species from overfishing.
Thursday’s vote at a
U.N. meeting in Doha,
Qatar, rejecting the ban was
front-page news in all major
Japanese newspapers
Friday morning.
Japan consumes about
80 percent of the world’s
Atlantic bluefin tuna, and
the possibility of a ban had
consumers and fish whole-
salers worried that prices
for the pink and red meat of
the fish — called “hon-
Ban Ki-moon.
Joining the U.N. chief at
U.S., Russia, the EU and the United Nations.
Lavrov told a joint news Jerusalem. A spokesman for
conference that the Israelis Clinton said she expects Netanyahu had no com-
the Moscow meeting were
U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton,
and Palestinians should
move first to indirect talks,
to see Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin
ment on the statement.
George Mitchell, the
maguro” here — would Russian Foreign Minister followed by face-to-face Netanyahu in Washington U.S. Mideast peace envoy,
soar or that it might even Sergey Lavrov, EU foreign negotiations. Those indi- next week. is to meet in coming days
vanish from some menus. policy chief Catherine rect talks were to have “We are all committed to with Israeli and Palestinian
Stocks of the fish have Ashton, and the Quartet’s started last week but were the launching of proximity leaders in hopes of getting
fallen by 60 percent from special representative, for- stalled by reaction to talks between the Israelis the process restarted.
1997 to 2007, and environ- mer British Prime Minister Israel’s announcement of and Palestinians,” Clinton Mitchell attended today’s
mentalists argue that a trad- Tony Blair. new housing in east told reporters. talks.
ing ban imposed by the 175-
nation Convention on
International Trade in
Endangered Species, or
CITES, would protect the
fish.
But the Japanese gov-
ernment and fishing indus-
try say an outright trading
ban is too drastic a step, and
that catch quotas set by
another body, the
International Commission
for the Conservation of
Atlantic Tunas, should be
more strictly enforced to
protect the species. In
November, ICCAT cut the
annual global quota by 40
percent to 13,500 tons.

Pakistan arrests halt

U.N. contacts with Taliban
BY DEB RIECHMANN
Associated Press Writer
KABUL — The arrests of
top Taliban figures in
Pakistan abruptly halted
secret U.N. contacts with
the insurgency at a time
when the efforts were gath-
ering momentum, the U.N.’s
former envoy to Afghanistan
said today.
Kai Eide, a Norwegian
diplomat who just stepped
down from the U.N. post
here in the Afghan capital,
said the discussions that he
and others from the U.N.
had with senior Taliban
members began in the
spring of 2009 and included
face-to-face conversations in
Dubai and elsewhere.
He criticized Pakistan for
arresting the Taliban’s No. 2
and other members of the
insurgency, saying the
Pakistanis surely knew the
roles these figures had in
efforts to find a political res-
olution to the 8-year-old war.
Pakistan denies the arrests
were linked to reconciliation
talks.
“There was an increase
in intensity of contacts, but
this process came to a halt
following the arrests that
took place in Pakistan,” Eide
told The Associated Press in
a telephone interview from
his home outside Oslo.
Last month’s detention of
Mullah Abdul Ghani
Baradar — second in the
Taliban only to Mullah
Mohammed Omar — infuri-
ated Afghan President
Hamid Karzai, one of
Karzai’s advisers told the AP.
Besides the ongoing talks,
the adviser, who spoke on
condition of anonymity to
discuss the sensitive topic,
said Baradar had “given a
green light” to participating
in a three-day peace “jirga”
or conference that Karzai is
hosting next month.
However, Gen. Athar
Abbas, a spokesman for the
Pakistani military, said
Friday that Baradar’s arrest,
which he said was a joint
operation with the U.S., was
not connected to any peace
talks. “Reconciliation or
talks have nothing to do with
the arrest of Baradar,” he
said. “It has nothing to do
with the talks. Serious
arrests are being made con-
tinuously.”

Healthy In A Hurry!

Cooking Demonstration
by Mrs. Nancy Skiwski, RN
Monday, March 22,
Tuesday, March 23 &
Thursday, March 24
6:30-8:00 p.m.
$10 Donation covers cost of food.
For more information, call
Sharrion Connell at 242-8998

Columbus Seventh-Day
© The Dispatch

Adventist Church
Fellowship Hall • 301 Brooks Dr.
12A FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010
MOVIE REVIEW
‘Repo Men’: Organ du jour — spleen
BY JOHN ANDERSON
Special to The Washington Post
F
or all the soulless-
ness of studio pic-
tures, where else
can today’s moviegoer
find moral outrage, politi-
cal pluck or a sense of
insurrection? That’s
right: mid- to massive-
budgeted sci-
fi/horror/fantasy.
There’s “Avatar’s” anti-
corporatism; “District
9’s” apartheid allegory;
“The Crazies’ ” eco-mili-
tancy; and, now, the
health-care-gone-haywire
nightmare of “Repo
Men.” Could a world
actually exist in which
artificial organs bought
on credit could be repos-
sessed from their delin-
quent containers by
Taser-wielding corporate
ninjas? That we can even
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REPO MEN
n A Universal Pictures release
is rated R for vulgarity, gore,
violence, sexuality and nudity.
n Running time: 111 minutes.
ask the question makes
for a thriller with requi-
site plausibility and the
proper quotient of para-
noia.
Directed by Miguel
Sapochnik, who may
have watched “Blade
Runner” a few too many
times, “Repo Men” grafts
moral ambiguity onto the
action thriller, and the
result is a weird but lik-
ably misshapen beast.
The plot may take more
unpleasant turns than a
small intestine, but isn’t
that what we want out of
our suspense films?
Throw in Jude Law,
whom I, for one, will
watch anytime, in any-
Burke’s Outlet,
JCPenney,
Sears
and over 30
specialty stores
ù™ ˆ‹š}— ÷Œ
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com
Kerr y Hayes/Universal Pictures/AP
In this publicity image released by Universal Pictures, Alice Braga, left, and Jude Law are shown in a scene from
“Repo Men.”
thing, as anyone — even R&B he listens to on his to remain the same, organs on time from
a guy who leaves his earphones as he though he shouldn’t ruthless, cutthroat
“clients” liverless and removes a bit of this or worry: Remy is so obvi- “providers” was one of
lifeless — and one can piece of that — indicates ously not a management those concepts that was
forgive the movie’s how good he is, and how guy that his chances of waiting to be hatched,
defects, and its indeci- insulated. moving up are slim. and hatched again.
sion about being tragedy When we meet him, When Remy has a heart In keeping with the
or comedy. trouble’s brewing: His attack, he gets a trans- trend toward multina-
Law plays Remy, the
top repo man for the
wife, Carol (an oddly
sour Carice Van
plant he can’t pay for,
and the hunter becomes
tional casting, “Repo
Men” has a bit of every-
Union, a monolithic Houten), wants him to the hunted. where about it: Besides
multinational-cum-gov-
ernment that urges
move into sales.
Compartmentalizing like
Sapochnik’s bloody
mess has much in com-
the Dutch van Houten,
the English Law, and the
transplants onto ailing a madwoman, she thinks mon with “Repo! The Americans Whitaker and
customers and then it better for him to sell Genetic Opera,” Darren
Liev Schreiber (as a per-
tracks them down when the cursed organs than Lynn Bousman’s 2008
they don’t make their reclaim them. His Army fect corporate viper),
adaptation of the Darren there’s Brazil’s tiny
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