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Monday | March 15, 2021

UNDER THE CAPITOL DOME

Analysis: MONDAY PROFILE

Caledonia substitute teacher starts

Mississippi community pantry ‘just to help’
grappling
with tax-and-
spend ideas
BY EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
The Associated Press

JACKSON — Mis-
sissippi legislators
are moving into the
final weeks of their
three-month session,
and they still need to
make significant deci-
sions about taxes and
Dobbs
spending for the year
that begins July 1.
A year into the coronavirus
pandemic, state health officer Dr.
Thomas Dobbs said last week that
one of his most important budget
requests is for an increase in state
money to hire public health nurses.
Legislators eliminated about half of
those positions in recent years.
“Federal funding’s been pretty
good for COVID. We just need mon-
ey to keep the nurses in the clinics
out in the field,” Dobbs said. “It’s the
local folks who are suffering from us Theo DeRosa/Dispatch Staff
not getting enough funding to keep Suzette Bishop stands outside her daughter Elizabeth’s former playhouse behind the family’s house on Wood
them operational.” Road in Caledonia. Bishop plans to tow the eight-by-eight-foot, “Pepto-Bismol pink” building into town and stock it
Dobbs said that for the coming with food, toiletries and other essential items.
year, the state Health Department
would like to receive the amount of
state money it received during the Fellow teachers, aldermen, town residents all Out behind her home, a “Pep-
to-Bismol pink” behemoth is hard
year that ended June 30, 2020. That
would be more than the department pitch in to grow Bishop’s outreach project to miss. The eight-by-eight-foot
playhouse that once belonged to
was allocated for current fiscal year. BY THEO DEROSA Bishop’s 14-year-old daughter Eliz-
Lately, Bishop has been able
Dobbs said he understands leg- tderosa@cdispatch.com abeth is currently being used for
to give back by helping others in
islators like to keep budgets tight, storage, but it might soon serve a

but the Health Department needs
stability.
“We need not only strong cen-
tralized public health, but we need
strong local public health to track
down TB cases, to track down peo-
ple who have syphilis, to make sure
that women have access to ... pap
smears and mammograms if they
don’t have health insurance,” Dobbs
said. “These nurses who track TB
can track COVID. They can give
shots.”
Legislators of course will con-
sider spending requests for a wide
array of state services. They are
considering a teacher pay raise, and
the most likely prospect is a plan
that would give a $1,000 boost to
most teachers and $1,100 to those
See ANALYSIS, 6A
S
uzette Bishop knows that at
some point, everybody needs
help.
Bishop has been that person.
When schools closed last spring
because of the COVID-19 pandem-
ic, the longtime Caledonia High
School substitute was out of work.
Once, years and years ago, she
and her husband Jeff had a home
destroyed in a fire, prompting the
community to rally around them.
“We were very prideful then,”
Bishop said, “but I had some people
standing behind me who were like,
‘Just shut up and take it because
people want to help you. You accept
because people want to help.’”
a time of need. This winter, in re-
sponse to the COVID-19 pandemic,
she started the Caledonia Commu-
nity Pantry, which donates food,
toiletries and other essential items
to anyone who might need them.
“That’s all I’m looking for: just to
help,” Bishop said.
A community effort
Working out of her home on
Wood Road in Caledonia, Bishop
currently stores what she has in a
wooden entertainment center do-
nated by a neighbor. Paper towels,
canned goods, cereal, condiments
and more fill the shelves.
But she has bigger plans.
different purpose as Bishop hopes
to set up her pantry in town in the
coming weeks.
“Mama, why don’t you just take
my playhouse up there?” Elizabeth
once recommended. “It would be
perfect to start you a little some-
thing.’”
Champions Towing has agreed
to lug the playhouse to its next des-
tination, which could help Bishop
clear a cluttered home. A self-de-
scribed avid canner, her freezer is
always full of jars — okra, squash,
tomatoes and more.
“You name it,” Bishop said. “I’ve
canned it.”
See BISHOP, 6A

South emerges as flashpoint of brewing redistricting battle

Experts: New redistricting maps in the South alone could knock
Democrats out of power in the House of Representatives next year
BY NICHOLAS RICCARDI
The Associated Press
The partisan showdown
over redistricting has hardly
begun, but already both sides
agree on one thing: It largely
comes down to the South.
The states from North Car-
olina to Texas are set to be
premier battlegrounds for the
once-a-decade fight over re-
drawing political boundaries.
That’s thanks to a population
boom, mostly one-party rule
and a new legal landscape that
removes federal oversight and
delays civil rights challenges.
It’s a collision of factors like-
ly to tilt the scales in the GOP’s
favor with dramatic impact:
Experts note the new maps in
the South alone could knock
Democrats out of power in the
U.S. House next year — and
perhaps well beyond.
“The South is really going to
stand out,” said Ryan Weichelt,
a geography professor at the
University of Wisconsin-Eau
Claire who tracks redistricting.
Of the 10 new congressional
seats expected this year, six are
likely to be in Southern states,
with one new one expected in
North Carolina, two in Florida
and three in Texas.
Republicans control the leg-
islatures in those states, leav-
ing them with near total say
over what those new districts
will look like — a sharp con-
trast to other parts of the coun-
try where state governments
are either divided or where
nonpartisan commissions are
tasked with redrawing con-
gressional and state legislative
lines.
Finally, this will be the first
time in more than 50 years the
Justice Department will not au-
tomatically review new legisla-
tive maps in nine mostly South-
ern states to ensure they do not
discriminate.
“It is a very different land-
scape from the one that it’s
been for 50-plus years,” said
Deuel Ross, senior counsel
at the NA ACP Legal Defense
Fund.
Republicans are under add-
ed pressure to bolster their po-
litical standing in the region as
its population has grown, large-
ly due to an influx of Democrat-
ic-leaning newcomers. That’s
weakened the GOP’s grip,
highlighted most dramatically
in Georgia, where Democrats
just won a presidential race and
two Senate races.
See REDISTRICTING, 3A

INSIDE FIVE QUESTIONS CALENDAR LOCAL FOLKS PUBLIC

Classifieds 6B 1 Four of a kind is worth more
Tuesday MEETINGS
Comics 4B than a full house in poker. True March 16:
Crossword 3B or false? ■ 100+ Women Who Care: Members of
Starkville Board
Dear Abby 4B 2 What shape is a baseball field 100+ Women Who Care Columbus will receive
Obituaries 5A — rectangle, circle or diamond? of Aldermen,
an invitation March 16 to watch a video pre-
Opinions 4A 3 What city is known as “the Big 5:30 p.m., City
sentation by three randomly-drawn Lowndes
Apple”? Hall
County nonprofits. Members will then vote
4 Who is the oldest sibling of April 13:
their choice for the combined donation Impact
Kim Kardashian — Kourtney, Starkville-Oktib-
Khloe or Kylie? Award. Visit 100wwccolumbusms.org for
WEATHER 5 In Norse mythology, what details.
beha Consoli-
dated School
connected the Earth to heaven
78 Low 61
District Board of
High
— a rainbow bridge, lightning or
a Viking longship? Thursday, March 25 Trustees, 6 p.m.,
Cloudy with rain ■ Candidate forum: Hear Columbus Greensboro
Full forecast on Answers, 6B municipal candidates at the 2021 Candidate Center
page 3A. Forum at the Lyceum at Lee (former Lee High
School). The event is co-sponsored by The Dis-
patch and WCBI and will follow a Q&A format
with a moderator. COVID precautions will be
taken for a limited live audience and the event Barbara Kidd, of Columbus,
will be livestreamed online by WCBI. Reserve enjoys church and spending time
free tickets online at cdispatch.com/forum with family.

DISPATCH CUSTOMER SERVICE 328-2424 | NEWSROOM 328-2471

2A MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2021 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Fauci: Trump should urge his

followers to get vaccinated
Government’s infectious
disease expert lamented
polling showing that Trump
supporters are more likely
to refuse to get vaccinated
BY MICHELLE LIU
The Associated Press
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday he
wishes former President Donald Trump
would use his popularity among Republi-
cans to persuade more of his followers to
get the COVID-19 vaccine.
In a round of interviews on the morn-
ing news shows, the government’s top
infectious disease expert lamented poll-
ing showing that Trump supporters are
more likely to refuse to get vaccinated,
saying politics needs to be separated
from “commonsense, no-brainer” public
health measures.
Fauci said it would be a “game chang-
er” for the country’s vaccine efforts if the
former president used his “incredible in-
fluence” among Republicans.
“If he came out and said, ‘Go and get
vaccinated. It’s really important for your
health, the health of your family and the
health of the country,’ it seems absolutely
inevitable that the vast majority of people
who are his close followers would listen
to him,” Fauci told “Fox News Sunday.”
There was no immediate comment
from the former president’s office Sun-
day.
Trump has urged people to get vac-
cinated, doing so again two weeks ago
at a conservative political gathering in
Florida.
But he hasn’t been among former
presidents and other public officials
who have been vaccinated on camera to
encourage others to get the shot. It was
revealed only recently that he was vacci-
nated in private at the White House be-
fore leaving office in January.
Trump did not appear in a new pub-
lic service campaign for the COVID-19
vaccine that included former Presidents
Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W.
Bush and Barack Obama.
Polls have shown Republicans joining
Black people and other groups in ex-
pressing greater skepticism than others
about the safety of the vaccine.
Fauci said he doesn’t understand the
resistance.
“What is the problem here? This is a
vaccine that is going to be lifesaving for
millions of people,” he said on NBC’s
“Meet the Press.” He added: “I mean, I
just can’t comprehend what the reason
for that is when you have a vaccine that’s
94-95 percent effective and it is very safe.
I just don’t get it.”
The number of vaccine doses distrib-
uted and administered each day in the
U.S. is rising, with more than 2.5 million
daily shots in arms on average in the last
week.
About 1 in 5 Americans have received
at least one dose, with about 1 in 9 fully
vaccinated, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.

Pelosi pledges swift work on infrastructure package

GOP disagrees with Biden’s focus on it with a Democratic pres-
ident, as they did under
the environment and the possibility President Obama, and we
had to shrink the pack-
of financing any program with debt age,” said Pelosi, D-Calif.
“But, nonetheless,
BY HOPE YEN administration’s plans. hopefully, we will have bi-
The Associated Press Road- and bridge-build- partisanship,” she said.
ing legislation has a long Pelosi has directed key
WASHINGTON — history of support from Democratic lawmakers to
House Speaker Nancy both parties as lawmakers begin working with Re-
Pelosi on Sunday pledged aim to deliver on projects publicans on a “big, bold
swift work by Congress back home. But Republi- and transformational in-
on a job and infrastructure cans disagree with Biden’s frastructure package.”
package that will be “fis- focus on the environment During the presidential
cally sound,” but said she and the possibility of fi- campaign, Biden laid the
isn’t sure whether the next nancing any program with groundwork by proposing
major item on President debt after the government $2 trillion in “accelerated”
Joe Biden’s agenda will at- borrowed heavily to ad- investments to shift to
tract Republican backing. dress the economic fallout cleaner energy, build half
Fresh off a major leg- from the coronavirus pan- a million charging sta-
islative victory on the demic. tions for electric vehicles,
$1.9 trillion virus relief “Building roads and support public transit and
package that passed on bridges and water supply repair roads and bridges.
near-party lines, Demo- systems and the rest has The plan emphasizes the
crats face long and tough always been bipartisan, importance of creating
battles ahead in winning always been bipartisan, unionized jobs and ad-
GOP endorsement of the except when they oppose dressing climate change.

Biden, Harris and others to promote relief plan’s benefits

BY DARLENE SUPERVILLE
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Let
the sales push begin.
President Joe Biden,
Vice President Kamala
Harris and their spous-
es are opening an ambi-
tious, cross-country tour
this week to highlight the
benefits of his $1.9 trillion
plan to defeat the corona-
virus and boost the econ-
omy.
The road show —
dubbed the “Help is
Here” tour by the White
House — begins Monday
with Harris heading to
a COVID-19 vaccination
site and a culinary acade-
my in Las Vegas and first
lady Jill Biden touring a
New Jersey elementary
school.
The president will have
more to say about the
plan Monday at the White
House, and he plans to
visit a small business in
Delaware County, Penn-
sylvania, on Tuesday. He
and Harris are slated to
appear together in Atlanta
on Friday.
Harris will meet with
small-business owners
in Denver on Tuesday.
Wednesday sees Jill
Biden in Concord, New
Hampshire, and Harris’
husband, Doug Emhoff,
in Albuquerque, New
Mexico.
The stops at vaccina-
tion sites, businesses,
schools and more are
meant to educate the pub-
lic about different aspects
of the giant American
Rescue Plan and how it
will help people get to the
other side of the coronavi-
rus pandemic.
Biden has said Pres-
ident Barack Obama’s
administration, in which
Biden was vice president,
failed to adequately edu-
cate the public about the
benefits of its economic
recovery plan. He said he
wants to do a better sales
job this time around on
the details of his first big
legislative victory.

7 picked, 7 to go for jury in ex-cop’s trial in Floyd death

BY STEVE K ARNOWSKI they get to a total of 14.
AND AMY FORLITI Twelve will deliberate and
The Associated Press two will be alternates.
Floyd, a Black man,
MINNEAPOLIS — was declared dead on May
Jury selection continues 25 after Chauvin, who is
Monday for a former white, pressed his knee
Minneapolis police offi- against his neck for about
cer charged in George nine minutes. Floyd’s
Floyd’s death, with the death sparked some-
process halfway complete times violent protests in
after the first week. Minneapolis and beyond
Seven people have and led to a national reck-
been picked to hear evi- oning on racial justice.
dence in the trial against Chauvin is charged with
Derek Chauvin, who is second-degree murder,
charged with murder and third-degree murder and
manslaughter. Attorneys manslaughter and at least
will continue questioning three weeks have been set
jurors one by one until aside for jury selection.
In the midst of jury
selection, Minneapolis
last week agreed to pay
$27 million to settle a
civil rights lawsuit from
Floyd’s family over his
death. Floyd family attor-
ney Ben Crump, called it
the largest pretrial settle-
ment ever for a civil rights
claim. The settlement
includes $500,000 for the
south Minneapolis neigh-
borhood that includes
the 38th and Chicago in-
tersection that has been
blocked by barricades
since Floyd’s death, with
a massive metal sculpture
and murals in his honor.
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2021 3A

Labor movement targets Amazon as a foothold in the South

Thousands of Amazon workers in Alabama
are currently voting whether to form a union
BY BILL BARROW
The Associated Press
BESSEMER, Ala. — The
South has never been hospitable
to organized labor. But that may
be changing, with an important
test in Alabama, where thou-
sands of workers at an Amazon
campus are deciding whether to
form a union.
Labor organizers and advo-
cates see the David-and-Goliath
fight as a potential turning point
in the region with a long histo-
ry of undervalued labor and en-
trenched hostility to collective
bargaining rights. A win could
have economic and political rip-
ples for the labor movement and
its Democratic Party allies who
want a stronger foothold in the
South amid decades of dwin-
dling union power nationally.
“This election transcends
this one workplace. It even tran-
scends this one powerful com-
pany,” said Stuart Appelbaum,
national president of the Retail,
Wholesale and Department
Store Union. “If workers at Am-
azon in Alabama, in the middle
of the pandemic, can organize
then that means that workers
anywhere can organize.”
The mere presence of a na-
tional union figure like Appel-
baum in Alabama underscores
the stakes.
The Amazon vote comes as
Democrats and Republicans
are battling fiercely for work-
ing-class voters. Over decades,
many white workers have drift-
ed toward Republicans, attract-
ed in part by cultural identity
and an anti-establishment pos-
ture. That’s left Democrats
looking to refine their economic
pitch, arguing their party is the
one fighting for higher wages,
better working conditions and
more affordable health care.
A win in Bessemer, where the
vast majority of the workforce is
Black, would have additional sig-
nificance as a launchpad for new
political organizing in the South,
where Democrats want to build
on recent successes.
That could prove decisive in
newfound battlegrounds like
Georgia, which Biden pulled
into the party’s presidential col-
umn for the first time since 1992
and where Democrats won two
Senate races. It could be a build-
ing block in GOP-dominated
states like Alabama and Missis-
sippi. And any domino effect na-
tionally could boost Democrats
in old industrial Rust Belt states
like Pennsylvania and Ohio,
where Republicans have gained
ground.
Biden drew plaudits from la-
bor leaders with a recent video
address pushing the right to
organize through “free and fair
elections,” although he did not
directly mention the Amazon
campaign.
The ongoing mail vote by al-
most 6,000 workers is the larg-
est union push ever at Amazon,
one of the world’s wealthiest
companies. The election, which
runs through March, also ranks
among the largest single orga-
nizing efforts in Southern his-
tory.

Mississippi Supreme Court orders third trial in car crash case

Wrongful death case was filed against Hyundai Motor
America and Hyundai Motor Company by the families of
three people who were killed in a Hyundai Excel in 1995
BY EMILY
WAGSTER PET TUS
The Associated Press
JACKSON — The Mis-
sissippi Supreme Court
is ordering a third trial
in a wrongful death case,
years after a jury told
Hyundai Motor Company
to pay millions of dollars
to families of three people
killed in a 1995 car crash.
In a ruling released
Thursday, Chief Justice
Michael Randolph wrote
that a new trial is warrant-
ed because an attorney
for the families had paid a
self-described consultant
who boasted about hold-
ing revivals and social
events to try to gain favor
with potential jurors, and
that the attorney, Dennis
Sweet, had later tried to
conceal his connection
to the man when Hyund-
ai sought to overturn the
judgment from the sec-
ond trial.
“The total record be-
fore this Court evinces
that a fair and impartial
trial was not had,” Ran-
dolph wrote. “We find
overwhelming evidence
of actual impropriety,
which destroys any confi-
dence in the jury verdict.
The facts developed in
this record threaten the
public’s confidence in our
system of justice.”
Justice Jim Kitchens
issued a strongly word-
ed dissent in which he
quoted Sweet saying that
depictions of the man
he paid as a consultant,
Carey Sparks, relied on
“nonsensical” stereotypes
about Black people. Both
Sweet and Sparks are
Black, and the wrongful
death trials took place in
Coahoma County, which
is majority-Black.
“It is far-fetched to
imagine that any attorney
would expect to influence
potential jurors by hiring
a preacher to hold revival
meetings in advance of a
trial, hoping that some of
those summoned for jury
duty would have attend-
ed the revival, that some
of those attendees would
end up on the jury, and
that they would recog-
nize the preacher sitting
behind the plaintiffs and
then decide to violate
their oaths and award
money to the plaintiffs,”
Kitchens wrote.
The wrongful death
case was filed against
Hyundai Motor Ameri-
ca and Hyundai Motor
Company by the fami-
lies of three people who
were killed in a Hyundai
Excel in 1995 when they
were returning home to
Clarksdale after working
the night shift at a Tuni-
ca casino. Court records
say the Excel was south-
bound on U.S. Highway
61 in the Mississippi Del-
ta when it crossed into the
wrong lane and was hit
by a northbound Lincoln
Continental. The Hyundai
split apart.
In a 2008 trial, a jury
awarded $1.5 million to
each of the three families,
for a total of $4.5 million.
Hyundai appealed, and
the Mississippi Supreme
Court in 2011 ordered a
new trial.
In the 2014 trial, an-
other jury awarded $3.5
million to each of the
three families, for a total
of $10.5 million.
Randolph wrote Thurs-
day that multiple people
had heard Sparks boast of
trying to influence poten-
tial jurors. An attorney not
connected to the wrong-
ful death case against
Hyundai testified that
Sparks had told her the
verdict in that case should
have been $21 million in-
stead of $10.5 million but
there were “uneducated”
people on the jury, includ-
ing a woman who did not
know how to count.
Kitchens noted that
Mississippi courts are
required to ensure peo-
ple chosen as jurors can
read and write. He also
wrote: “Sparks bragged
and boasted about being
a great jury manipulator,
but no one took him seri-
ously.”

AREA ARRESTS
The following arrests
were made by Lowndes
County Sheriff’s Office:
n Christopher Hud-
gens, 52, was charged with
possession of metham-
phetamine.
n Jonathan Williams,
Hudgens Jo. Williams Taylor Kieser Jones Clemons
24, was charged with stat-
utory rape.
n Victor Taylor, 42, was
charged with violation of
parole and sex offender
registration failure.
n Brady Kieser, 25, was
charged with possession of
a weapon by a felon.
Riley Hailey Ja. Williams Kemp Davis Moore
The following arrests charged with receiving sto- n Justin Davis, 25, was
were made by the Oktibbe- len property and burglary charged with credit card
ha County Sheriff’s Office: of a residence. fraud and no insurance.
n Carlos Jones, 35, was n Jordan Hailey, 28, n Dennis Moore, 56,
charged with felony mali- was charged with a bench was charged with DUI 3rd.
cious mischief, two counts, warrant. n Peruzo Duck, 43, was
disorderly conduct, public n Janeko Williams, 28, charged with possession
drunk, simple assault and was charged with posses- of a controlled substance,
Duck Petty
public profanity. sion of marijuana more tampering with evidence,
n LC Clemons, 21, was than 30 grams. improper equipment, care-
charged with possession n Lasang Kemp, 36, less driving and speeding.
of marijuana more than 30 was charged with two n Brestiege Petty, 27,
grams. counts possession of a was charged with burglary
n Donnell Riley, 36, was weapon by a felon. of a residence.

Redistricting
Continued from Page 1A
The party is already eyeing targets.
In Georgia, they can choose whether to
target Democratic Reps. Lucy McBath
or Carolyn Boudreaux or both by add-
ing more conservative voters from far
north of Atlanta to the two lawmakers’
districts.
In Florida, they could try to swamp
Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy’s
district with new GOP voters as they
carve out a new seat in the Orlando area,
one of the two the state is expected to
add.
And in Texas, which is expected to
gain a whopping three congressional
seats, the most of any state, the GOP
may try to carve out more seats in the
center of their state’s boom — Demo-
cratic-leaning Houston — that could still
elect Republicans.
Currently, a gain of five seats would
so many “safe” districts. And, because
these states are seeing explosive
growth, efforts to perfectly divvy up ma-
jor cities like Houston and Atlanta may
collapse over time as tens of thousands
of new residents continue to move in.
“You’ve got all these countervail-
ing things,” said Steve Schale, a Flori-
da-based Democratic strategist. “Dem-
ocrats doing better in suburban areas,
states getting more diverse, coupled
with Republicans being in control of all
the levers of government.”
Control in the South has a history
of leading to rigging the democratic
process — from voting rules to district
maps — to disempower Black voters. In SOLUNAR TABLE
The solunar period indicates
Georgia, the state’s GOP-controlled leg- peak-feeding times for fish and game.
Mon. Tues.
islature is responding to Democrats’ re- Major 2:41a 3:20a
Minor 9:09a 9:36a
cent surge and former President Donald Major 3:01p 3:42p
Trump’s false claim of voter fraud with a Minor 9:04p 9:59p
Courtesy of Mississippi Department

hand control the House to the GOP. That raft of proposals that would make it hard- of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks

number may rise or fall before Novem-
ber 2020 depending on the outcome of
special elections for several vacant seats.
To be sure, there will be limits —
both legal and practical — on how much
power Republicans can win with a new
map. While they control the process, the
demographic trends in Southern states
are working against them. Many of the
new residents are college-educated, ra-
cially diverse and young — all groups
Republicans have struggled to win over.
That means the party can only draw
er to vote — including one to end Sun-
day early voting, popular among Black
churchgoers.
Such restrictions wouldn’t have been
possible eight years ago, when the Jus-
tice Department was required to approve
any changes ahead of time in states with
a history of voting rights violations. But,
in 2013, the conservative majority on the
Supreme Court struck down federal re-
quirements that Georgia and eight other
states “preclear” voting and redistricting
changes.
The Dispatch
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Published daily except Saturday. Answers to common questions:
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Opinion
4A MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2021
PETER BIRNEY IMES Editor/Publisher
BIRNEY IMES III Editor/Publisher 1998-2018
BIRNEY IMES JR. Editor/Publisher 1947-2003

Dispatch
The
BIRNEY IMES SR. Editor/Publisher 1922-1947

ZACK PLAIR, Managing Editor

BETH PROFFITT Advertising Director
MICHAEL FLOYD Circulation/Production Manager
MARY ANN HARDY Controller

POSSUMHAW
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planting of just goodbye and make numbers. ture intro- inexpensive and grew fast and
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removes thousands spring. For many occasions Bradford few downsides are the blooms
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— “The Trees happen fast enough. people ornamental tree can grow up to 30 feet tall
in My Forest” by Grasses are green- what this tree. The while having a weak structure
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ologist and Author of freshly mowed be? Some thought to tree typically has a lifespan
wild onions is just answered a be sterile. of only 15 to 20 years. The

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s there any around the corner. wild pear, “Cultivars tree is now labeled invasive.
place in the The loropetalum or a cra- are plants Several communities caution
world where Shannon Bardwell whose branches bapple, or a that have or prohibit planting Bradford
you can have an hung heavy now plum. A few been pears because it turns out
ice encased yard, reaches for the sky. said a Brad- cultivated they can crossbreed and do so
trees with heavily laden limbs Buds on the silver maple and ford pear. I and bred profligately choking out pines,
hanging limp to the ground, the pear tree appear. Dande- discounted by humans. redbuds, dogwoods, oaks, and
and flower foliage looking lions sprinkle smiley faces the idea the Sterile cul- hickories. The Bradford pear
like, as Sam suggested, a cat across the yard much to the tree was a Bradford pear for tivars of native plants are be- was crossbred with Chinese
made its bed of it? Days later enjoyment of the rabbits. a couple of reasons. The first nign, they can’t cross-pollinate Callery pears which have large
sun shines brightly, daffodils A small disclaimer here, being the Bradford pear has a with their wild relatives, so thorns capable of damaging
emerge, roses leaf out, camel- don’t be surprised if spring has symmetrical shape. The trees I they pose no risk to wild plant tractor tires.
lias bloom, Japanese magnolias not arrived for good but has saw were definitely not sym- populations. When cultivars You’ve heard the saying
and redbuds blossom. For only made a quick appearance. metrical and seemed to grow are beneficial to ecosystems, “Pretty is as pretty does” but
those of us who reside in the Still, we can appreciate the randomly beside highways, in they are good.” what the Bradford pear does is
sunny south we must live in the preview. All around the Prairie the woods, along farmland and As beautiful as the Brad- not pretty.
greatest place in the world or and into Columbus, I’ve no- the river, and in town. They ford pear is its reputation has Columns by Shannon Bard-
the craziest. ticed the proliferation of a tree are everywhere. Secondly, the fallen on hard times since well of Columbus appear in The
Few things can lift the with bountiful white flowers. Bradford pear is a cultivar. being a landscape favorite. Dispatch weekly. Email reaches
spirits like nature as we kiss They come every spring in In 1964 the U.S. Department The tree is beautiful through her at msdeltachild@msn.com.

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

Thinks we should get rid of
Daylight Savings Time
Once again we have embarked upon the folly of
Daylight Saving Time.
This mandated ritual of springing forward has
been statistically proven to be dangerous to public
safety and health. Apparently many European and
other nations around the world are moving to or
have already abandoned this foolishness.
We need to need to get back to what I like to call
“God’s Time” and just stop messing with it.
But alas, like the brave and chivalrous Don Quix-
ote, I know I am merely tilting at windmills.
Danny Pang
Starkville

TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Monday, March 15, the 74th day of 2021.
There are 291 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On March 15, 1965, President Lyndon B. John-
son, addressing a joint session of Congress, called for
new legislation to guarantee every American’s right
to vote. The result was passage of the Voting Rights
Act of 1965.

On this date:
In 44 B.C., Roman dictator Julius Caesar was as-
sassinated by a group of nobles that included Brutus
and Cassius.
In 1493, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus
arrived back in the Spanish harbor of Palos de la
Frontera, two months after concluding his first voy-
age to the Western Hemisphere.
In 1820, Maine became the 23rd state.
In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson met with
about 100 reporters for the first formal presidential
press conference.
In 1944, during World War II, Allied bombers
again raided German-held Monte Cassino.
In 1964, actor Elizabeth Taylor married actor
Richard Burton in Montreal; it was her fifth marriage,
his second. (They divorced in 1974, remarried in
1975, then divorced again in 1976.)
In 1972, “The Godfather,” Francis Ford Coppo-
la’s epic gangster movie based on the Mario Puzo
novel and starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino,
premiered in New York.
In 1975, Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onas-
sis died near Paris at age 69.
In 1985, the first internet domain name, symbol-
ics.com, was registered by the Symbolics Computer
Corp. of Massachusetts.
In 1998, Dr. Benjamin Spock, whose child care
guidance spanned half a century, died in San Diego
at 94.
In 2005, former WorldCom chief Bernard Ebbers
was convicted in New York of engineering the largest
corporate fraud in U.S. history. (He was later sen-
tenced to 25 years in prison.)
In 2019, a gunman killed 51 people at two
mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, streaming
the massacre live on Facebook. (Brenton Tarrant, an
Australian white supremacist, was sentenced to life
in prison without parole after pleading guilty to 51
counts of murder and other charges.)
Ten years ago: The Syrian civil war had its be-
ginnings with Arab Spring protests across the region
that turned into an armed insurgency and eventually
became a full-blown conflict.
Five years ago: Democrat Hillary Clinton tri-
umphed in the Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois
and Missouri presidential primaries; Donald Trump
strengthened his hand in the Republican race, win-
ning in Florida, North Carolina, Illinois and Missouri,
but falling in Ohio to the state’s governor, John Kasich
(KAY’-sihk), while Florida Sen. Marco Rubio ended
his campaign after his home-state loss. In a major
reversal, the Obama administration barred offshore
drilling off the Atlantic Coast. Dallas Seavey won his
third straight Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in a record
time of 8 days, 11 hours, 20 minutes, 16 seconds.
SOURCE: The Associated Press
A city opts to pay racial reparations
D
ifficult tasks
often don’t get
done, because
they are, well, difficult.
It’s easier to ignore
them, delay them, hope
they’ll go away or give
up on them. But the
city council of Evan-
ston, Illinois, has the
idea that the formidable
nature of one obliga-
tion isn’t an excuse for Steve Chapman
doing nothing.
The task it has taken
up is providing a measure of com-
pensation to African Americans
for some of the costly inequities
they have endured. In 2019, the
aldermen approved a measure
committing to use revenue from
recreational cannabis taxes to
create a $10 million fund for “local
reparations.” On March 22, the
council plans to vote on a plan for
allocating the first $400,000.
The Chicago suburb, home of
Northwestern University, has a
population of 72,000 and is 16%
Black. But despite its progressive
politics (Joe Biden got 92% of the
vote in 2020), Evanston has a histo- to former slaves. But President
ry of racial exclusion and discrim-
ination. In that respect, it’s hardly
unusual. What’s unusual is its com- depriving freed men and women of
mitment to recognize that history
and address its consequences.
That effort is necessarily
modest when viewed against the
immense crimes inflicted on Afri-
can Americans over the course of
American history, including mass
enslavement, white supremacist
terrorism, Jim Crow laws and per-
sistent discrimination.
But any recognition that mod-
ern white Americans owe anything were followed in theaters and
for historic wrongs elicits a host of
objections. Such as: Why should
those who never owned slaves, or
whose ancestors immigrated after
the Civil War, be expected to pay
the victims?
How can we possibly identi-
fy who is entitled to
reparations, given
that many people have
both Black and white
ancestry, that some
Blacks were never
enslaved and that some
didn’t arrive until the
20th century? How can
we possibly determine,
much less afford, the
amount due?
Behind the objec-
tions is a conservative
belief that the entire
campaign for reparations is just
another product of liberal guilt
and Black race hustlers, cheered
on by the woke mob. In fact, it
rests on the ancient principle of
Anglo-American law that a person
who wrongly injures someone
is obligated to compensate the
victim. It also reflects the fact that
the legacies of this country, bad as
well as good, belong to all of us.
That compensation should have
begun immediately after eman-
cipation. Congress authorized
the confiscation of former slave-
holders’ land for redistribution
Andrew Johnson, a champion of
white supremacy, foiled the effort,
the means to support themselves.
It was the first of many efforts to
escape responsibility and a pre-
view of injustices to come.
Evanston doesn’t pretend to
make amends for everything
inflicted on African Americans, or
for everything that occurred with-
in its borders. The city enforced
racial separation in parks and on
beaches, and similar practices
restaurants. Elementary schools
were largely segregated until 1966.
Redressing all these wrongs
would be impossible. So the alder-
man proposed to provide compen-
sation to those residents who have
suffered some specific harms.
Like many communities, Evan-
ston took actions to keep Black
people from many neighborhoods,
forcing them into one geographic
section that was starved of re-
sources. Black areas were subject
to redlining, which made mortgag-
es hard to get.
With all that mind, the coun-
cil’s focus is on home ownership,
which has been a huge source
of wealth to white Americans —
and has largely been denied to
Black Americans. Grants of up
to $25,000 would be given out for
buying, renovating or improving
homes or paying down mortgag-
es. Recipients would be limited
to direct descendants of African
Americans who lived in Evanston
between 1919 and 1969 and suf-
fered housing discrimination.
It’s a narrow, targeted program,
which invites attacks for its modest
reach and limited access. Not all
Black residents would be eligi-
ble, and some signed a petition
requesting cash payments instead.
But the plan’s modesty won’t
exempt it from derision among
conservatives, who would rather
do anything than acknowledge our
vast unpaid debt to Black citizens.
As Richard Rothstein wrote in
his 2017 book “The Color of Law,”
“We have created a caste system in
this country, with African Ameri-
cans kept exploited and geograph-
ically separate by racially explicit
government policies. Although
most of these policies are now off
the books, they have never been
remedied and their effects en-
dure.”
The task of overcoming the
crimes of the past is one that will
never be finished. But it can at
least be started.
Steve Chapman blogs at http://
www.chicagotribune.com/news/
opinion/chapman. Follow him on
Twitter @SteveChapman13 or at
https://www.facebook.com/stevecha-
pman13.
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2021 5A

Nurses fight conspiracy theories along with coronavirus

‘You have patients that are literally dying,
and then you have patients that are denying
the disease. You try to educate and you try to
educate, but then you just hit a wall.’
Los Angeles emergency room nurse Sandra Younan
BY ALI SWENSON
AND DAVID KLEPPER
The Associated Press
Los Angeles emergency
room nurse Sandra Younan
spent the last year juggling long
hours as she watched many pa-
tients struggle with the corona-
virus and some die.
Then there were the patients
who claimed the virus was fake
or coughed in her face, ignoring
mask rules. One man stormed
out of the hospital after a posi-
tive COVID-19 test, refusing to
believe it was accurate.
“You have patients that are
literally dying, and then you
have patients that are denying
the disease,” she said. “You try
to educate and you try to edu-
cate, but then you just hit a wall.”
Bogus claims about the vi-
rus, masks and vaccines have
exploded since COVID-19 was
declared a global pandemic a
year ago. Journalists, public
health officials and tech com-
panies have tried to push back
against the falsehoods, but
much of the job of correcting
misinformation has fallen to the
world’s front-line medical work-
ers.
In Germany, a video clip
showing a nurse using an emp-
ty syringe while practicing
vaccinations traveled widely on-
line as purported evidence that
COVID-19 is fake. Doctors in
Afghanistan reported patients
telling them COVID-19 was cre-
ated by the U.S. and China to
reduce the world population. In
Bolivia, medical workers had to
care for five people who ingest-
ed a toxic bleaching agent false-
ly touted as a COVID-19 cure.
Younan, 27, says her friends
used to describe her as the
“chillest person ever,” but now
she deals with crushing anxiety.
“My life is being a nurse, so
I don’t care if you’re really sick,
you throw up on me, whatev-
er,” Younan said. “But when
you know what you’re doing is
wrong, and I’m asking you re-
peatedly to please wear your
mask to protect me, and you’re
still not doing it, it’s like you
have no regard for anybody but
yourself. And that’s why this vi-
rus is spreading. It just makes
you lose hope.”
Emily Scott, 36, who is based
at a Seattle hospital, has worked
around the world on medical
missions and helped care for the
first U.S. COVID-19 patient last
year. She was selected because
of her experience working in
Sierra Leone during the 2014-
2016 Ebola outbreak.
While many Americans were
terrified of Ebola — a disease
that isn’t nearly as contagious
as the coronavirus and poses
little threat in the U.S. — they
aren’t nearly afraid enough of
COVID-19, she said.
Scott blames a few factors:
Ebola’s frightening symptoms,
racism against Africans and the
politicization of COVID-19 by
American elected officials.
“I felt so much safer in Sier-
ra Leone during Ebola than I
did at the beginning of this out-
break in the U.S.,” Scott said,
because of how many people
failed to heed social distancing
and mask directives. “Things
that are facts, and science, have
become politicized.”
ER nurse L’Erin Ogle has
heard a litany of false claims
about the virus while working
at a hospital in the suburbs of
Kansas City, Missouri. They in-
clude: The virus isn’t any worse
than the flu. It’s caused by 5G
wireless towers. Masks won’t
help and may hurt. Or, the most
painful to her: The virus isn’t
real, and doctors and nurses
are engaged in a vast global con-
spiracy to hide the truth.
“It just feels so defeating, and
it makes you question: Why am
I doing this?” said Ogle, 40.
Nurses are often the health
care providers with the most
patient contact, and patients
frequently view nurses as more
approachable, according to
professor Maria Brann, an ex-
pert on health communication
at Indiana University-Purdue
University Indianapolis. That
means nurses are more likely
to encounter patients spreading
misinformation, which gives
them a special opportunity to
intervene.

COMMERCIAL DISPATCH
OBITUARY POLICY
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tion including visitation and
service times, are provided
free of charge. Extended obit-
uaries with a photograph, de-
tailed biographical information
and other details families may
wish to include, are available
for a fee. Obituaries must be
submitted through funeral
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body has been donated to
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body was donated to science,
the family must provide official
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publication. For more informa-
tion, call 662-328-2471.
David Runnels
COLUMBUS — Da-
vid Runnels, 68, died
March 14, 2021, at
Vineyard Court Nurs-
ing Center.
Arrangements are
incomplete and will be
announced by Lown-
des Funeral Home of
Columbus.
Myrtle Hampton
STARKVILLE —
Myrtle W. Hampton,
73, died March 9, 2021.
Funeral services will
be at 11 a.m. Tuesday,
at Sixteenth Section
M.B. Church. Burial
will follow in the church
cemetery. Visitation is
from 2-6 p.m. today, at
West Memorial Funeral
Home. West Memo-
AREA OBITUARIES
rial Funeral Home of
Starkville is in charge
of arrangements.
She is survived by
her children, Allie
Chantina Hampton
and Kenneth Byron
Hampton; and siblings,
Ella Mae Lindsey, Anna
Manning, Sheryl Till-
man, Arlene Simmons,
Rita Robinson, Lamar
Ware Sr. and Thomas
Carl Ware.
Jimmie Spruill
ALICEVILLE, Ala.
— Jimmie Earl “Jim”
Spruill, 80, died March
13, 2021, at his resi-
dence.
Graveside services
will be at noon Thurs-
day, at St. John Baptist
Church Cemetery, with
the Rev. Henry Lee
Williams officiating.
Visitation will be from
3-6 p.m. Wednesday,
at Lavender’s Funeral
Service. Lavender’s
Funeral Service of
Aliceville is in charge
of arrangements.
Peggy Patterson
MACON — Peggy
Eaves Patterson, 91,
died March 9, 2021, at
Trinity Nursing Home.
Graveside services
were at 1 p.m. Sunday,
at Ellison Ridge Ceme-
tery in Winston County,
with David Keen offici-
ating. Cockrell Funeral
Home of Macon was
in charge of arrange-
ments.
Mrs. Patterson was
born March 11, 1929, in
Winston County, to the
late Dewey Eaves and
Clarise Sullivan Eaves.
She was a graduate
of Ellison Ridge High
School and was former-
ly employed as operator
of Patterson’s Grocery.
She was a member of
First Baptist Church.
In addition to her
parents, she was pre-
ceded in death by her
husband, E.C. Patter-
son; siblings, Dewey
Eaves, Jean Gentry,
Ethel Sennett and Jerry
Eaves; and one grand-
child.
She is survived by
her children, James
Edward Patterson of
Delaware, Ohio, Mike
D. Patterson of Bir-
mingham, Alabama
and Gary W. Patterson
of Counce, Tennessee;
siblings, Joan Parrish
of Detroit, Michigan
and Johnny Eaves
of Louisville; nine
grandchildren; and 19
great-grandchildren.

In Louisville, Breonna Taylor’s

family honors her legacy
BY PIPER HUDSPETH Taylor’s family then constitutional rights were
BLACKBURN led the protesters on an violated during last year’s
The Associated Press/Report afternoon march past City botched raid, news outlets
for America
Hall. reported. Walker last year
In a tweet Saturday, filed an ongoing state law-
LOUISVILLE, Ky. —
President Joe Biden called suit against the city and
On the one-year anniver-
sary of Breonna Taylor’s Taylor’s death “a tragedy, police, saying he was the
death, the slain Black a blow to her family, her victim of assault, battery,
woman’s family continued community, and Ameri- false arrest and malicious
their call for justice as ca.” prosecution.
hundreds of demonstra- “As we continue to Taylor’s front door was
tors gathered in down- mourn her, we must press breached by Louisville
town Louisville on Satur- ahead to pass meaning- officers as part of a drug
day. ful police reform in Con- raid in the early morning
“Eyes are on Louis- gress. I remain commit- hours of March 13, 2020.
ville, Kentucky, today so ted to signing a landmark Walker fired his gun
let’s show America what reform bill into law,” he once, saying later that he
community looks like,” wrote. feared an intruder was
said Taylor’s aunt, Bian- The rally came a day entering the apartment.
ca Austin, who wore her after Kenneth Walker, One officer was struck,
niece’s emergency medi- Taylor’s boyfriend, filed a and he and two other of-
cal technician jacket. federal lawsuit against the ficers fired 32 shots into
Austin spoke from a Louisville Metro Police the apartment, striking
stage set up in Jefferson Department, alleging his Taylor five times.
Square Park, which be-
came an impromptu hub
for protesters during
months of demonstrations
last summer. Flanked by
two hand-painted murals
of Taylor, activists repeat-
ed calls to charge the po-
lice officers who killed
the Black woman during a
raid at her apartment.
The crowd shouted
Taylor’s name and “No
justice, no peace” as they
gathered near an outdoor
memorial that includes a
mural, posters, artwork
and other mementos hon-
oring Taylor’s life. Some
organizers gave away
food during the speeches.

Send in your
church event!
Email
editorialassistant@
cdispatch.com
Subject:
Religious brief
6A MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2021 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Bishop
Continued from Page 1A
That experience
helped Bishop and her
husband stay afloat
during the pandemic
while schools went
virtual and Jeff found
auto body work hard to
come by. Every Tuesday,
Bishop’s aunt helped by
bringing vegetables for
Bishop to can from a
pantry in Bigbee.
That gave Bishop an
idea.
“We need something
like this in Caledonia,”
she realized.
In January, she began
to collect the items she
knew people would need:
non-perishable goods,
box meals like macaro-
ni and cheese, snacks
for children to bring to
school and kitchen and
bathroom staples like
toothbrushes, toilet paper
and paper towels.
“I just try to give a lit-
tle bit of everything that
we’ve got,” she said.
A month later, she
provided Caledonia alder-
man Tammy McCool with
nine boxes of goods to
distribute among seniors
at Walt Willis Mobile
Home Park. Three more
boxes have since gone
out to others in need: one
man who had been hurt
at work, another who
was on medical leave and
a family whose home
burned down just as the
Bishops’ once had.
“I’m not looking to
support them forever,
but people need help,”
Bishop said. “If you can
help, then I think you’re
supposed to do that.”
She’s not the only
one helping. Alderman
Quinn Parham present-
ed Bishop’s ideas to the
board of aldermen at a
town hall meeting, and
the pantry was officially
approved with plans to
find it a space in town
still pending. McCool is
one of roughly 15 Cale-
donia residents who have
donated items for Bishop
to pack up and deliver,
and Elizabeth helps out,
too.
Caledonia High librar-
ian Angela Clark has
directed a club under her
leadership to hold a food
drive to benefit the pan-
try, and Stephanie Her-
ring’s third-grade class at
Caledonia Elementary is
doing the same.
“Just because I had an
idea doesn’t mean I put it
all together by myself,”
Bishop said. “It is defi-
nitely the community’s
effort that made it a go.”
Getting ‘bigger
and better’
In February, Bishop
created the Caledonia
Community Pantry Face-
book group to publicize
her creation. The page
includes a link to an
Amazon wish list featur-
ing a number of essential
items: everything from
mustard and soup to laun-
dry detergent and tooth-
paste. All the purchases
are shipped straight to
Bishop’s house, sparing
her the trips around town
she used to make nearly
every afternoon to pick
up donations.
And although Bishop
has “a little bit of every-
thing” crammed into the
Theo DeRosa/Dispatch Staff
A wooden entertainment center in Suzette Bishop’s
front hallway currently houses the Caledonia Communi-
ty Pantry, which Bishop created this year. Paper towels,
cereal, canned goods and other items line the shelves
and fill the drawers.
drawers of the entertain- for their various clubs
ment center in her front and organizations to help
hallway, there’s one thing out by keeping track of
she won’t take. what the pantry has in
“I don’t want to accept stock.
money,” she said. “That’s It’s one of the ways
a whole ’nother realm Bishop hopes to grow her
of responsibility that I pantry in the months to
did not want to take on. come.
I didn’t want to have to “My house is just so
answer questions to peo- big — I can only hold so
ple: ‘Well, where did my much,” she said. “But
money go?’ If you bring hopefully we will get
me items, I don’t have bigger and better as time
to worry about where goes on.”
your money went. I can She said anyone who
tell you where the boxes lives in the Caledonia
went, but I can’t tell you school district boundar-
where the money went.” ies is eligible to receive
Bishop said she once items and noted that her
kept a detailed inventory pantry would never turn
of everything she has, anyone down. There are
but with three children, no qualifications —
five grandchildren, her “if you have a need and
teaching job and her I have something, we’ll
responsibilities, “I just supply it,” Bishop said.
let that little list go on She knows well
by me.” Whenever she enough, after all, what it’s
opens her playhouse full like to be in need. Now,
of goods, she said she she can give back.
hopes to recruit Caledo- “Some need and some
nia students in need of don’t, so they give,” Bish-
community service hours op said.

Analysis
Continued from Page 1A
in the first three years in
the classroom. Republi-
can Gov. Tate Reeves has
pledged to sign any teach-
er pay raise that lands on
his desk.
Despite the initial eco-
nomic shock of the pan-
demic, Mississippi tax col-
lections for the first eight
months of the current fis-
cal year — July through
February — were almost
9.5 percent higher than
they were for the same
eight months a year earli-
er. That is an increase of
almost $339 million. It in-
cludes higher collections
from sales taxes; use taxes
for online purchases; and
taxes on tobacco, beer,
wine and hard liquor. The
figures could give budget
writers a jolt of confidence
as they prepare final de-
tails of spending plans.
Republican House
Speaker Philip Gunn and
his allies are pushing a
proposal to phase out the
state income tax, cut the
7 percent grocery tax in
half, increase the sales tax
on most items from 7 per-
cent to 9.5 percent and in-
crease many other taxes.
The bill passed the House
last month and is facing
skepticism in the Senate.
President Joe Biden on
Thursday signed a $1.9
trillion federal spending
plan that includes money
for coronavirus response,
extended unemployment
benefits and many other
programs. It was not im-
mediately clear how the
infusion of federal money
will affect the current state
budget writing process.
During a news con-
ference at the Mississip-
pi Capitol on Thursday,
Reeves said his staff is
reviewing the federal leg-
islation, which he called
“a Democrat wish list of
spending” and “a blue
state bailout.”
Mississippi is one of
the poorest states in the
nation and has long relied
on federal spending, but
Reeves did not mention
that. Instead, he knocked
the federal bill by saying
it helps states with higher
unemployment rates.
“Mississippi has more
people working today
than we had a year ago,
the day the pandemic hit.
It’s because our state has
been open to business
and our state has not shut
down,” said Reeves, who
lifted Mississippi’s mask
mandate and removed
most business restrictions
March 3. “They are re-
warding those blue states
who have shut down their
economies by sending
them more money than
they are otherwise enti-
tled to.”

Mississippi Children’s Museum-Meridian opening March 27

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MERIDIAN — The Mississippi
Children’s Museum-Meridian will
open later this month, culminating
years of planning and construction.
“I’m excited and anxious for the
community to see how all of their
hard work and commitment and
support has made this magical
space a reality,” Liz Wilson, the mu-
seum’s executive director, told The
Meridian Star.
Visitors will need to reserve a
timed ticket for opening day, March
27. General admission is $10 per per-
son.
The museum was the idea of
three mothers: Wilson, Kimber-
ly Denison and Kim Bowers, the
newspaper reported. In 2015, they
sought advice from the Mississip-
pi Children’s Museum in Jackson
about starting a children’s museum
in Meridian.
The Jackson museum challenged
the three women to raise $25,000
in seed money. They doubled that
amount in less than a month, accord-
ing to MCM-Meridian’s website.
Sports
MISSISSIPPI STATE BASEBALL
SPORTS LINE
662-241-5000 B
SECTION

THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2021

No. 3 MSU sweeps Eastern Michigan with early run barrage

BY BEN PORTNOY
bportnoy@cdispatch.com
STARK VILLE — Lo-
gan Tanner glared down
the third base line with
deep intent in his eyes.
Tanner knew what
he’d done. The cracking
of metal against leather
offered enough evidence
of such. So too did the
chorus of cheers from
the Dudy Noble Field
faithful. But an artist
ought to enjoy his work,
right?
For the second time
in three at bats, Tanner
looked on as he crushed
a hanging breaking-ball
off the second-story rigs
in left field, pacing No.
3 Mississippi State (13- Chris Lemonis said
3) to a drama-free 4-1 through a laugh. “I don’t
win and series sweep of think there’s a lack of in-
Eastern Michigan (4-5) tent, it’s just kind of the
Sunday. way the game’s played
Less than 24 hours us.”
after Tanner’s first long Prior to Tanner’s
ball of the year gifted mammoth shot into the
MSU its third walk-off Left Field Lounge, Jack-
win of the young sea- sonville transfer Scot-
son, his second homer ty Dubrule opened the
in as many days put the scoring with a roped
finishing touches on three-run double. A pair
another dynamic early of singles from Tanner
inning offensive display and Josh Hatcher start-
that the Bulldogs lacked ed the run. A misplay by
through its first three Eastern Michigan Dan-
weeks of the 2021 cam- iel Warkentin in which
paign. he failed to tap the bag
“We’re always trying on an attempted double
to get it done early, we plate turn loaded the Mississippi State athletics
just haven’t had success bases. Dubrule then Logan Tanner’s solo home run marked his second long ball in as many days as No.
doing it,” head coach See BASEBALL, 2B 3 Mississippi State secured a sweep of Eastern Michigan with Sunday’s 4-1 win.

Mississippi SEC CHAMPIONSHIP

State, Ole
Miss earn No. 6 Alabama adds another SEC title,
NIT bids
BY GARRICK HODGE
ghodge@cdispatch.com
edges LSU at tourney
Mississippi State
men’s basketball will
appear in a postseason
tournament after all.
Following a flurry of
opt-outs, the Bulldogs
(15-14) were one of the
last teams invited to the
16 -team NIT and will
face No. 1 Saint Louis
(14-6) as a No. 4 seed at
4 p.m. on Saturday. The
entire tournament will
be hosted at the Comer-
ica Center in Frisco,
Texas. Should they be
victorious, MSU would
face the winner of Rich-
mond and Toledo.
The selection is
MSU’s 10th NIT bid in
school history and the
first since the 2017-2018
season.
Of course, there is a
slight possibility MSU’s
opponent could change.
The Billikens are the
third team in the peck-
ing order to earn an
See NIT, 3B

Saints QB
Brees
announces
retirement
at 42
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW ORLEANS —
The Drew Brees era
with the New Orleans
Saints — marked by a
Super Bowl celebration,
raucous record-setting
nights in the rebuilt
Superdome and the un-
dersized quarterback’s
outsized role in a histor-
ic city’s rebirth — has
ended.
Brees, the NFL’s
leader in career comple-
tions and yards passing,
has decided to retire af-
ter 20 NFL seasons, in-
cluding his last 15 with
New Orleans.
“Til the very end I
exhausted myself to
give everything to the
Saints organization,
my team and the great
city of New Orleans,”
Brees said in social me-
dia post on Sunday, 15
years to the day after he
signed with the Saints.
“We shared some
amazing moments to-
gether, many of which
are emblazoned in our
See BREES, 3B
Alabama players celebrate their 80-79 win against LSU as they raise the championship trophy after the SEC tournament Championship
game Sunday at Bridgestone Arena.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NASHVILLE, Tenn. —
Skip calling Alabama simply a
football school anymore. The
Crimson Tide have courted a
new moniker they think fits so
much better.
Just call them a Champion-
ship School.
Herbert Jones drove for a
go-ahead layup with 19.5 sec-
onds and No. 6 Alabama won
the Southeastern Conference
Tournament for the first time
since 1991, holding off a late
flurry to edge LSU 80 -79 Sun-
day.
Coach Nate Oats and the
Crimson Tide added to their
regular-season title with a
victory that helped Alabama
match its highest seed ever in
the NCA A Tournament. The
Tide, which was No. 2 in both
1987 and 2002, is seeded sec-
ond and will play Iona on Sat-
urday.
Alabama, the reigning na-
tional champions in football,
won its seventh tournament ti-
tle overall, second in the SEC
only to Kentucky’s 31. The
Crimson Tide (24-6) hadn’t
even reached this game since
2002.
Now they’ve joined Flori-
da (2006 -07) as the only SEC
schools with both the league
football and basketball titles
in the same year. Alabama did
it by adding two more SEC
titles in basketball after Nick
Saban’s squad won both the
SEC and national champion-
ships a couple months ago.
Oats noted Alabama foot-
ball set the new name Satur-
day, referring to the Tide on
Twitter as a “ CHAMPION-
SHIP SCHOOL.”
“So we don’t have to be a
football school or a basketball
school,” Oats said. “We just
win championships. We’re a
championship school.”
The basketball team now
has its sights set on another
title.
“I have full faith that we
can take this thing, take the
NCA A tournament by storm
and win the whole thing,” Al-
abama guard and tournament
MVP Jahvon Quinerly said.
Alabama still needed its de-
fense after Jones went a long
way down the lane for his shot.
Keon Ellis blocked a shot
by LSU’s Javonte Smart and
the Tigers took a timeout with
just over seven seconds left to
set up the final attempt.
After the inbounds pass
went astray and nearly to mid-
court, Trendon Watford’s 3
was well short of the rim. Aun-
dre Hyatt’s putback hit the
back of the rim and bounced
out and LSU couldn’t get an-
other good shot off in the
scramble before the buzzer.
That set off yet another Ala-
bama celebration — this time
on the basketball court.
“I just know we had to stop
them from scoring that last
seven seconds, no matter
what we had to do, who did it,
somebody just had to get them
stop,” Alabama senior guard
John Petty Jr. said. “And we
did. And we champs.”
Hyatt, meanwhile, was on
the floor with his head in his
hands. Watford was on his
knees and slammed the court
with a hand. Smart said he
thought Hyatt’s shot went in,
calling it “crazy” it rimmed
out.
“This is a hard one to take,
losing by one with that many
opportunities to win the
game,” Smart said. “We gave
it all we got. We really wanted
this win.”
Jones, both the SEC Player
of the Year and Defensive Play-
er of the Year, finished with 13
points and 11 rebounds.
Jaden Shackelford led Ala-
bama with 21 points, and Ellis
and Quinerly each had 14.
LSU (18-9) hadn’t won this
tournament since 1980, and
this was the Tigers’ first time
USA TODAY Sports
in the final since 1993. LSU
coach Will Wade said the final
sequence wound up starting
too far out but liked that they
had the shot from 3 and two
more up close.
“We just missed, a little bit
short there at the end,” Wade
said.
Watford finished with a ca-
reer-high 30 points for LSU.
Smart added 21 and Cameron
Thomas had 18.
About 20 minutes before
tip-off, Alabama and LSU
players had to be separated
at midcourt. That was just a
preview of the taut battle to
follow.
Alabama scored the first
eight points of the game only
to see LSU answer with a 15-5
run of its own to take a 15-13
lead on Thomas’ third 3 of the
game. Alabama scored the fi-
nal seven of the half and took
a 40 -37 lead into halftime.
Neither team led by more
than four in the second half.
Alabama was up 56 -52 on a
free throw by Jones. Smart hit
back-to-back 3s with Thom-
as scoring on a layup, giving
LSU a 60 -56 lead midway
through the half.
Shackelford answered with
his own back-to-back 3s be-
fore Gary’s layup made it 64-
See ALABAMA, 3B
2B MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2021
Baylor headlines South Region bracket with first No. 1 seed
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Scott Drew has built
Baylor into a regular
NCAA Tournament team
capable of making deep
pushes into March.
This time, the Bears
will have a shot to do it
with their first-ever No. 1
seed.
Second-ranked Baylor
(22-2) headlines the South
Region and opens against
16th-seeded Hartford, the
America East Conference
champion. The Bears had
never been higher than a
No. 3 seed previously, the
last time coming in 2017.
Drew has guided the
Bears to two regional fi-
nals but never to a Final
Four in his first 17 sea-
sons.
“It means that people
think the accomplish-
ments are worthy of a No.
1 seed,” Drew said Sun-
day night. “It means peo-
ple appreciate what (play-
ers) were able to achieve
for the year. So there’s
always a lot of pride in
being able to get a No. 1
seed.
“It doesn’t necessarily
guarantee you’re going
to be successful in the
tournament, which we all
know. ... Seeding num-
bers don’t matter, it’s who
plays best in that 40 min-
utes.”
Led by the backcourt
of Jared Butler and MaCio
Teague, the Bears won
their first regular-season
conference champion-
ship since 1950, though
they were upset by Okla-
homa State in the Big 12
Tournament semifinals.
They finished atop the
Big 12 despite a three-
week pause related to
COVID-19 concerns, fol-
lowed by struggles com-
ing out of that break that
included barely beating
an Iowa State team that
finished with two wins
and its only regular-sea-
son loss against Kansas.
The Bears regrouped
with three straight wins
against NCAA Tourna-
ment teams West Virgin-
ia, Oklahoma State and
Texas Tech, and they
enter the tourney ranked
third in KenPom’s adjust-
ed offensive efficiency
(averaging 124 points per
100 possessions).
Baylor was ranked No.
2 in every AP Top 25 poll
this season except one,
when it spent a week at
No. 3.
“I never was one of
those kids that imagined
to be like the one-hit won-
der or what not,” Butler
said. “For me, I’m excited
we’re a 1-seed. I feel like
we’re in a great spot. I
don’t care if it’s a Cinder-
ella story or we’re expect-
ed to win. Winning is the
most important thing.”
Ninth-ranked Ohio
State is the No. 2 seed
in the South after losing
in overtime to Illinois in
Sunday’s Big Ten Tour-
nament final. Chris Holt-
mann’s Buckeyes (21-9)
started the year ranked
23rd but spent the last six
weeks of the season in-
side the top 10 — peaking
at No. 4 for three weeks in
February.
“I feel really good
Baseball
Continued from Page 1B
promptly smashed the
fourth pitch he saw
from Eagles starter
Luke McGuire into the
left-center field gap to
plate three.
“We haven’t been get-
ting leads right off the
bat and that’s kind of my
role as a leadoff hitter,”
Dubrule explained. “So
it was kind of nice to get
on the board early today
to take some stress off
the rest of the team and
(it) helps us play loose.”
Through 16 games
this season, MSU has
made a living out of
late-game heroics.
Luke Hancock’s walk-
about this group,” Holt-
mann said. “But we are
climbing, and we are still
climbing. And we’re try-
ing to stay in the moment
as much as possible.”
Eighth-ranked Arkan-
sas is the 3-seed, followed
by No. 20 Purdue and No.
14 Villanova to round out
the top five.
Fans wanting
high-scoring offense
should probably tune in
for the matchup between
Arkansas and 14th-seed-
ed Colgate.
The Raiders (14-1)
won the Patriot League
title and entered Selec-
tion Sunday averaging
86.3 points, led by Jordan
Burns’ 17-point average.
They trail only No. 1 over-
all seed Gonzaga (92.1)
in scoring offense while
also ranking among na-
tional leaders in shooting
percentage (49.8%) and
3-point percentage (40%),
The Razorbacks (22-6)
are averaging 82.4 points
to rank seventh nation-
ally, with Moses Moody
(17.4 points) leading the
way.
North Carolina coach
Roy Williams always has
his teams ready for an
NCAA opener.
When his eighth-seed-
ed Tar Heels (18-10) face
ninth-seeded Wiscon-
sin, Williams will look to
improve to 30-0 in first-
round NCAA Tournament
games. That includes his
15-year tenure at Kansas,
as well as his first 17 years
at his alma mater.
The Big 12, Big Ten
and Southeastern Confer-
ence combined to take six
of the top seven seeds in
the South bracket.
The Big Ten had Ohio
State and fourth-seeded
Purdue, led by Trevion
Williams (15.6 points
and 9.0 rebounds). The
Big 12 has Baylor and
sixth-seeded Texas Tech,
while the SEC has Arkan-
sas and No. 7 seed Flori-
da.
Further down, the
ACC also had two teams
with the Tar Heels and
No. 22 Virginia Tech,
which checked in as a No.
10 seed.
The bracket features
the nation’s leading scor-
er in Oral Roberts’ Max
Abmas.
The 6-foot-1,
165-pound sophomore is
averaging 24.2 points for
the Golden Eagles, who
are the 15-seed and will
open against Ohio State.
He led the program to the
Summit League title and
its first NCAA bid since
2008.
Abmas, who had 42
points against South Da-
kota State on Feb. 13 and
41 against Western Illi-
nois two weeks later, is
the only player in Division
I to have had crossed the
40-point mark twice this
year.
Illinois gets No. 1 seed
in Midwest after Big
Ten title
Illinois was still cut-
ting down the nets in In-
dianapolis after a thrill-
ing overtime victory over
Ohio State in the Big Ten
Tournament title game
off grand slam and a
ninth-inning single
from Taner Allen sank
a feisty Tulane squad
that came a handful of
pitches from stealing
that series. Saturday, it
was Tanner who turned
on the first pitch he saw
from Eastern Michigan
reliever Cameron Wag-
oner and sent it into
the bleachers for a 4-1
come-from-behind win.
But for as often as
MSU has managed late-
game, high-pressure
situations, it’s slogged
through the earliest
portions of games. Fol-
lowing a loss to Kent
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
NCAA TOURNAMENT REGION BREAKDOWNS
when the bracket was
revealed for the NCAA
Tournament.
The Illini will attempt
to cut down another set of
nets in Indy as the No. 1
seed in the Midwest Re-
gion.
Led by All-American
candidates Ayo Dosunmu
and Kofi Cockburn, the
Fighting Illini earned the
third No. 1 seed in school
history and their first
since 2005, when a team
led by Deron Williams
and Luther Head romped
through March before
they finally lost to North
Carolina in the national
championship game.
“Call me old school,” Il-
linois coach Brad Under-
wood, “but I think there’s
nothing better than hear-
ing your name and see it
come across the screen.
It’s awesome and to see
it up there” — on the Lu-
cas Oil Stadium video
boards — “after such a
hard-fought game was re-
ally special. What a great
moment what a great feel-
ing.”
The third-ranked
Fighting Illini, who will
open the tournament
against Colonial Athletic
Conference champ Drex-
el, anchor an intriguing
region filled with surpris-
ing upstarts and mid-ma-
jor monsters.
Seventh-ranked Hous-
ton earned the No. 2 seed
after romping past Cin-
cinnati on Sunday to earn
its first American Athletic
Conference Tournament
title. West Virginia was
seeded third and Big 12
rival Oklahoma State
fourth after making a run
to the Big 12 Tournament
title game, where Cade
Cunningham and the
Cowboys lost to Texas.
Fifth-seeded Tennes-
see drew a first-round
game against No. 12 seed
Oregon State, which won
the Pac-12 Tournament ti-
tle after the Beavers were
picked to finish last in the
preseason poll. March
darling Loyola Chicago
was the No. 8 seed and
will face ninth-seed-
ed Georgia Tech, who
earned an automatic bid
with a stunning Atlantic
Coast Conference Tour-
nament title.
Syracuse was consid-
ered a bubble team but
squeaked into the field as
the No. 11 seed. The Or-
ange will play sixth-seed-
ed San Diego State with
the winner facing the
Mountaineers or No. 14
seed Morehead State for a
spot in the Sweet 16.
As for the Dragons,
who get one of the hot-
test teams in the nation to
start things off?
“Every challenge is
an opportunity,” Drexel
coach Zach Spiker said.
“We’re going to play the
Big Ten champions and
they’re going to play the
Colonial champions —
and we’ll see what hap-
pens.”
Tennessee, which won
its first seven games be-
fore a mid-season swoon,
is making its third NCAA
Tournament trip under
Rick Barnes after losing
to Alabama in the SEC
Tournament semifinals
State last week in which
the Bulldogs looked list-
less, Lemonis maligned
his team’s inability to
get going until it’s back
was against the wall.
Eight days since his
spiel, Lemonis’ bunch
have found a groove.
Entering the week,
the Bulldogs had
notched 16 runs in
the first three innings
of their previous 11
games. In five games
over the past six days,
MSU turned in 11 runs
over the first three
frames, including four
Sunday.
A weekend’s worth of
on Saturday.
The Vols have a big
question mark, though.
Senior forward John Fulk-
erson’s status remains in
question after he missed
the SEC semifinal when a
pair of elbows from Flori-
da’s Omar Payne left him
with a concussion and fa-
cial fracture.
San Diego State
thought it had a nation-
al title contender, when
it went 30-2 with one of
the losses in the Moun-
tain West Tournament
title game. But a year
after the NCAA Tourna-
ment was cancelled due
to COVID-19, the Aztecs
finally get their shot after
going 23-4 and beating
Utah State for the confer-
ence tournament title.
“Everybody that plays
for us contributes,” Az-
tecs coach Brian Dutcher
said, “and it’s a different
player every night.”
Seventh-seeded Clem-
son and No. 10 seed Rut-
gers could stand for a bit
more momentum heading
to Indianapolis. The Ti-
gers were the fifth seed
in the ACC Tournament
and lost their first game
to Miami, while the Scar-
let Knights have lost four
of their last seven games
and were trounced by Illi-
nois in the Big Ten Tour-
nament.
Oklahoma State drew
a tough date with No. 14
seed Liberty, which won
its third straight Atlan-
tic Sun title. Two of the
Flames’ five losses came
by single digits to Purdue
and Missouri, two teams
that also made the NCAA
field.
Horizon League Tour-
nament champ Cleveland
State will play Houston
as the No. 15 seed. It’s
the third NCAA trip for
the Vikings, who reached
the Sweet 16 in 1986 and
won a first-round game in
2009.
Syracuse lost three
out of four games in early
January, two of them to
lowly Pittsburgh, and the
Orange spent the rest of
the season trying to play
catch-up. But they still
didn’t know where they
stood on the NCAA Tour-
nament bubble after they
beat North Carolina State
and lost to Virginia in the
ACC Tournament.
“That was the low part
of the season. There was
every reason for negativ-
ity to come out,” said Or-
ange coach Jim Boeheim,
who is taking his 35th
team to the tournament.
“Everybody thought we
weren’t going to be any-
where, maybe not even
make it to the NIT at that
stage. Where we were,
we’re happy to have the
challenge in front of us.”
Gonzaga’s bid for
perfection begins with
No. 1 overall seed
Gonzaga’s road to per-
fection will be filled with
familiar faces.
The Bulldogs were the
No. 1 overall seed in the
NCAA Tournament brack-
et announced Sunday as
they try to become the
first team in 35 years to
complete a perfect season.
strong starts, including
a pair of revenge out-
ings from ace Christian
MacLeod and Saturday
starter Eric Cerantola,
have also given the Bull-
dogs an heir of breath-
ing room.
Blessed with a bull-
pen with more capa-
ble arms than the staff
knows what to do with,
second-year freshman
Will Bednar thrust his
name back into the
weekend rotation con-
versation after injuries
slowed his start to the
spring. Striking out sev-
en of the 13 batters he
faced in four innings of
Gonzaga is the top
seed in the West Region
for the all-in-Indiana
bracket that starts this
week and the next three
seeds are teams it has
already beaten — all by
double digits.
The Zags (26-0) beat
No. 2 Kansas 102-90 to
open the season and took
down No. 2 seed Iowa 99-
88 a month later. Gonza-
ga also beat No. 4 seed
Virginia 98-75 in late De-
cember.
Gonzaga won every
game this season by dou-
ble digits except for one
— when star freshman
Jalen Suggs was injured
— and has a school-re-
cord 30-game winning
streak over two seasons.
The Zags are the first
team since Kentucky in
2015 to enter the NCA A
Tournament undefeated
and have their sights set
on the 1975-76 Indiana
Hoosiers, the last team to
finish a perfect season.
“We finally acknowl-
edged this is a big deal,”
Gonzaga coach Mark
Few said. “It puts us in
some incredible compa-
ny. It’s a heck of an ac-
complishment.”
Gonzaga opens the
tournament Saturday
against the First Four
winner between Norfolk
State and Appalachian
State. Get by that and the
Zags will play the winner
between No. 8 Creighton
and No. 9 Missouri.
Kansas and Virginia
have to be thankful the
NCA A not only pushed
back the start of the tour-
nament but put them in a
region that begins on Sat-
urday.
Both teams had to bow
out of their conference
tournaments before the
semifinals due to positive
COVID-19 tests and the
extra time should allow
them to have their full
rosters available.
No. 11 Kansas held out
David McCormack and
Tristan Enaruna before
the Big 12 Tournament
started due to positive
tests, then had another
before it was supposed to
play No. 13 Texas.
All three players re-
mained in Kansas City
after the tournament, but
McCormack and Enaru-
na are expected to rejoin
the team this week. The
third, unidentified player
will have to miss the first
weekend of the tourna-
ment.
“Since that’s the draw
we got, I might as well be
comfortable with it and
like it,” Kansas coach
Bill Self said. “I certainly
don’t dislike it.”
No. 16 Virginia, which
won the last national
championship in 2019,
had to bow out of its
Atlantic Coast Confer-
ence Tournament game
against eventual champi-
on Georgia Tech due to a
positive test.
Kansas opens against
Big Sky champion East-
ern Washington and Vir-
ginia plays Mid-Ameri-
can Conference champ
Ohio, which made the
field of 68 for the first
time since 2012.
Wichita State’s return
relief, he fooled the Ea-
gles with a dazzling mix
of a mid-90s fastball and
a dastardly slider that
whipped around the
zone.
“I felt good today,”
Bednar said postgame.
“Happy to kind of keep
building up and build-
ing up pitch count. I’m
excited for next week.”
Now just a Tuesday
contest against Sam-
ford away from open-
ing Southeastern Con-
ference play in Baton
Rouge against No. 21
L SU, MSU has strung
together a slew of ear-
ly-inning offensive
to the tournament for
the first time since 2018
couldn’t have gone down
a bumpier road.
The Shockers ap-
peared to be headed
toward a rebuild when
seven players transferred
from last year’s team and
coach Gregg Marshall
was fired just before
the season started for
allegedly verbally and
physically abusing play-
ers.
Wichita State also
had eight games post-
poned or canceled due to
COVID-19 issues.
The Shockers (16-5)
rallied behind interim
coach Isaac Brown, who
was hired fulltime late in
the season, to reach the
American Athletic Con-
ference title game. A loss
to Cincinnati led to some
tense moments on Selec-
tion Sunday, but Wichita
State made the field as a
No. 11 seed and will open
against Drake in the First
Four.
Grand Canyon has a
difficult opening game,
facing Iowa on Saturday.
The 15th-seeded Ante-
lopes will enjoy their trip
to Indianapolis no matter
what happens.
Grand Canyon lost to
New Mexico State in the
Western Athletic Con-
ference Tournament title
game for two straight
years under previous
coach Dan Majerle. The
Antelopes finally got over
the hurdle in their first
year under coach Bryce
Drew, beating the Ag-
gies 74-56 in Las Vegas to
reach the NCA A Tourna-
ment for the first time in
eight years as a Division I
program.
Drew knows a little
something about NCA A
Tournament drama, hit-
ting a game-winning
3-pointer for Valparaiso
against Mississippi 23
years ago, so you never
know.
The West Region has
two Pac-12 schools: No.
24 Southern Califor-
nia and regular-season
champion Oregon.
The sixth-seeded Tro-
jans open with the Wich-
ita State-Drake winner
and the Ducks face Vir-
ginia Commonwealth in
a battle of two tenacious
defenses.
Games between No.
5 and No. 12 seeds are
always popular upset
picks and Santa Barbara
over Creighton will likely
show up in a few brackets
across the country.
No. 5 Creighton had
a 20-win season that in-
cluded victories over
NCA A Tournament
teams Georgetown,
Villanova and two over
Connecticut. The Blue-
jays also have one of the
bracket’s best players in
Marcus Zegarowski, but
have had games where
they’ve gone cold shoot-
ing, including the Big
East title game.
The Gauchos are in
the bracket for the first
time since 2011, but have
lost once since Jan. 1 and
beat UC Irvine in the Big
West title game.
outputs that have af-
forded some comfort
over its six-game win-
ning streak. Whether
that persists against a
schedule that boasts
five teams ranked in D1
Baseball’s latest Top 25
rankings, though, re-
mains to be seen.
“We weren’t great
today offensively,
but I thought we did
enough,” Lemonis said.
“If you can show up and
play defense every day
and pitch you’ve got a
chance to win and that’s
kind of what happened.”
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2021 3B

Alabama
Continued from Page 1B
60 with 8:20 left.
Shackelford hit his fifth 3 with 6:54 to go giving
Alabama its biggest lead since the opening minutes
at 69-63. But LSU, especially Watford or Smart,
kept answering to set up the thrilling finish.
Big picture
LSU: This was the Tigers’ third loss this season
to Alabama, but easily the tightest. The Tigers took
very good care of the ball with only five turnovers
that Alabama turned into six points. But the sec-
ond-highest scoring team in the SEC couldn’t make
the shot at the end to win.
Alabama: The Tide’s starters had plenty of help,
outscoring LSU 28-0 in bench points. The Tide also
outrebounded LSU 50 -43.

NIT
Continued from Page 1B
at-large NCA A tournament bid plucked from the NIT, possible the fourth to seal the victory.
Sudoku YESTERDAY’S ANSWER

in the event several teams can-

not participate in the NCA A
replacements in order include
Belmont, Furman, Marshall and
“If we limit the freebies, it’s not
a big inning for them there,” MSU
Sudoku
Sudoku is a number-
placing puzzle based on
Sunday’s answer
Sudoku
a 9x9 gridis witha several
num- 7 3 4 2 9 1 5 6 8
tournament because of positive UAB. coach Samantha Ricketts said in
COVID-19 tests. Changes to the a news release. “The hit by pitch- ber-placing
given numbers.puzzleThe object 2 5 8 6 3 7 1 4 9

2021 Conceptis Puzzles, Dist. by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

MSU finished ninth in the SEC
bracket can be made no later than es and the walks, I think, allows based onthe
is to place a 9x9
numbers 6 1 9 5 4 8 3 2 7
and is coming off a SEC tourna-
Tuesday evening. that to happen. I thought Aspen grid
1 to 9with
in theseveral
empty spaces 4 6 2 1 7 3 8 9 5
ment where it defeated Kentucky
“I’m excited for our team and [Wesley] did a good job of mixing given
so that numbers.
each row, eachThe 9 7 5 8 2 4 6 3 1
74-73 in the opening round and object
for our program,” MSU coach Ben fell to eventual tourney champion and what we were looking for in column and each 3x3 the
is to place box 1 8 3 9 5 6 2 7 4
numbers
contains the1same to 9 number
in
Howland said in a news release. Alabama 85-48. a start out of her. Some of those 8 4 1 7 6 2 9 5 3
the empty spaces so
“This is a great opportunity for walks and hit by pitches came only once. The difficulty 3 9 6 4 1 5 7 8 2
that each row, each
us to play in the postseason, and back to get her in that inning.” level increases from
we’re looking forward to facing a
Ole Miss softball Chloe Malau’ulu, Mia David-
column and each
Monday
5 2 7 3 8 9 4 1 6
outlasts MSU 4-1 3x3 boxtocontains
Sunday. Difficulty Level 3/13

quality Saint Louis team.”
Meanwhile, No. 1 Ole Miss
will face No. 4 Louisiana Tech at
8 p.m. Friday. The Rebels are the
fourth team on the NCA A tour-
nament waiting list. If Ole Miss
beats Louisiana Tech, it will take
on the winner of Western Ken-
tucky and Saint Mary’s. This is
Ole Miss’ 13th NIT appearance in
school history.
If any of the No. 1 seeds are
For the second time in as many
days, Mississippi State softball
couldn’t overcome Ole Miss, fall-
ing 4-1 Sunday in Oxford.
After Carter Spexarth drove
in a run in the first, the Bulldogs
(15-6, 0 -2 SEC) were held score-
less the remainder of the contest.
The Rebels (17-7, 2-0) tied the
game in the bottom frame and put
up a three-spot in the bottom of
son and Paige Cook all turned in
the same number only once. The difficulty level
two-hit nights.
increases from Monday to Sunday.
“I thought they made adjust-
ments to what their plan was and
how they were getting pitched,”
Ricketts said. “We just have to be
able to string some of those to-
gether and put more runs across
on the scoreboard.”
The Rebels will go for the
sweep at 6 p.m. Monday in Ox-
ford.

Sunday’s Cryptoquote:

Brees
Continued from Page 1B
hearts and minds and stopped, chatted, threw Superdome — a story- the top 11 all time.
will forever be a part of passes to Brees children book run that didn’t end Brees also has been
us,” Brees continued. “I and hugged Brees be- until a loss in Chicago the unquestioned face of
am only retiring from fore departing. in New Orleans’ first the franchise and lead-
football. I am not retir- Still, Brees declined ever NFC championship er in the locker room
ing from New Orleans. to confirm his plans un- game. That would be throughout his time in
This is not goodbye.” til now, even throwing the first of nine seasons New Orleans. Team-
The post also includ- many for a loop when a in which Brees led the mates have often re-
ed a short video in which video of one of his re- Saints to the playoffs. marked that Brees was
his four young children cent workouts appeared “Drew is so much usually the first player
— the three boys wear- on social media. more valuable than all to arrive at the team’s
ing No. 9 Saints jerseys “Congrats my friend the records, awards training headquarters
— exclaimed, “Our dad on an incredible ca- and accolades that he and last to leave.
is finally going to retire reer,” Brady said in a amassed,” Saints own- Payton often spoke
so he can spend more social media post Sun- er Gayle Benson said. of his collaborative re-
time with us!” day. “Thank you for the “Drew came to repre- lationship with Brees in
The decision comes inspiration and dedica- sent the resolve, passion formulating the offen-
after the 42-year-old tion on and off the field! and drive that resonates sive game plan and rou-
quarterback won nine Look forward to seeing not only with Saints fans tinely letting Brees call
of 12 regular-season what’s next.” and football fans, but his own plays, particu-
starts while completing The Saints currently our entire community.” larly during hurry-up
70.5% of his passes in have one quarterback The franchise’s only drives.
2020, and then won a under contract: Taysom Super Bowl appearance “Since I’ve been here
wild-card round playoff Hill, who went 3-1 as and championship came Drew has been nothing
game before New Orle- a starter during Brees in the 2009 season, with but a good teammate, a
ans’ season ended with absence in 2020. New Brees, selected as the good guy, great leader, ACROSS
a divisional-round loss Orleans also is expected game’s MVP, memo- and I respect him so 1 Locate
to eventual Super Bowl to pursue another veter- rably celebrating with much in all facets of his 5 Cuts down
champion Tampa Bay. an QB to compete for a first child Baylen in his life,” said center Erik 9 Wish granter
Brees missed four starting job, including arms as confetti floated McCoy, a two-year pro 10 Furious
games this season with free agent Jameis Win- around them. who grew up watching 12 Second U.S.
multiple fractured ribs ston, who spent 2020 as Brees’ 32 completions Brees and wound up president
and a collapsed lung. a Saints reserve. (on 39 attempts) tied a snapping him the ball 13 Oregon’s
It marked the second Brees retirement Super Bowl record, just the past two seasons. capital
straight season Brees brings an end to a career one of numerous times “The way that he 14 Kansas’
had to miss part of a sea- that came to embody re- the 6 -foot-1 quarter- came into work every capital
son with an injury after silience and renewal on back, drafted by the San day. He was always 16 Rep.’s rival
missing just one game multiple levels. Diego Chargers out of 17 Amorous
locked in. He was always
because of injury in the His most prolific Purdue in the beginning archer
on point. He was always
previous 13. In 2019, seasons came after he of the second round of 18 In a gentle
sharp. ... I feel like that
Brees missed five games underwent major re- the 2001 draft, etched way
has kind of molded me.”
because of a thumb inju- constructive surgery in his name in NFL record 21 Melancholy
ry on his throwing hand early 2006 to repair a ca- books.
While Brees was
22 New York’s Sunday’s answer
popular in San Diego
that required surgery. reer-threatening throw- Indeed, the hall- capital 40 Uncool fellow 22 Out of the
during his first five NFL
Saints coach Sean ing shoulder injury. marks of Brees’ career 23 Spills the 41 Vended wind
seasons, he became
Payton said Brees had He joined the Saints have been his deci- beans DOWN 23 Diner sand-
synonymous with New
plenty of other injuries shortly after, at a time sion-making, timing and 24 Montana’s 1 Soft hat wich
Orleans after signing
or ailments during his when New Orleans was accuracy. capital 2 Peas’ place 24 Morphine
Saints tenure, but willed still coping with wide- Brees not only holds with the Saints. He par-
ticipated in marketing 26 Twisty fish 3 City of southern product
himself to play through spread devastation the NFL’s single-season 29 Trio doubled France 25 Thrill
them whenever possi- caused by Hurricane record for completion campaigns for the city’s
tourism industry, pro- 30 Forever — 4 Cubicle fixture 26 Require as a
ble. Katrina in August 2005. rate at 74.4% in 2018, day 5 Towel word result
“Over the years his When Brees moved to but also holds the sec- fessed his affection for
the community in count-
31 “Lord of the 6 Important time 27 Fixed copy
durability and availabili- New Orleans, he bought ond-highest mark at 74.3 Rings” creature 7 Thoreau work 28 Bowling spots
ty is quite amazing. I can and renovated a historic in 2019 and third-high- less interviews, talked
32 Texas’ capital 8 Unwavering 29 Laments
recall so many of these home in the city’s Up- est at 72% in 2017. up the city’s renowned
34 Idaho’s capital 9 Airport areas loudly
different injuries,” Pay- town neighborhood, just His 70.5% rate in 2020 restaurant scene and
37 Country 11 TV award 30 Houston
ton said. “He’s as cou- a block away from Audu- ranked ninth all time, was a celebrity rider in division
Mardi Gras parades. Be- 15 Georgia’s player
rageous and as tough a bon Park. giving Brees six of the 38 Peaceful capital 33 Purposes
player as I’ve ever been The storm had forced top nine season comple- tween his Brees Dream protest
foundation and his own
19 “Fernando” 35 Knight’s
around.” the Saints to play all of tion rates in NFL histo- 39 Great Lakes group address
Brees is the NFL’s their 2005 games out- ry. personal work, Brees tribe 20 Mates for pas 36 Cease
all-time leader in yards side New Orleans, and Payton’s offenses has donated or commit-
passing with 80,358, al- the Saints finished that were more passing ori- ted more than $35 mil-
though that mark will be season 3-13. ented in some seasons lion to charitable causes
under threat next sea- “When I was hired by than others for a variety in New Orleans and the
son by 44-year-old Tom the Saints as head coach of reasons related to per- Gulf Coast region, ac-
Brady, who has 79,204 in 2006, the very first sonnel, the types of de- cording to his market-
career yards passing. goal was to establish a fenses the Saints faced ing agent, Chris Stuart.
Brees’ 571 career touch- functional and winning and the way games “No one has ever
down passes rank sec- culture,” Payton said. “It played out. scored higher as far as
ond behind Brady’s 581. was vital to know what But when Brees had their combination of ath-
Brees had dropped we were looking for in a to throw, he piled up letic achievement and
hints about his inten- player, talent, work eth- yardage whether the involvement in a com-
tions, saying he con- ic, makeup, intelligence Saints were a playoff munity,” said political
sidered himself to be and leadership are all team or not. pundit, Louisiana native
on “borrowed time.” qualities we found in Brees eclipsed the and New Orleans resi-
After his final game, Drew Brees. We also 5,000 -yard mark in five dent James Carville, as-
he returned to the Su- found a player with a seasons, with his ca- serting that Brees is to
perdome field in street burning desire to win.” reer-best 5,476 yards New Orleans what Ted
clothes, embraced his With Payton calling coming in 2011. That Williams was to Boston
wife, Brittany, and plays and Brees exe- mark ranks second all and Michael Jordan to
played catch with his cuting them, the Saints time, one yard behind Chicago. “In more ways
children for nearly two won 10 regular-season Peyton Manning’s 5,477 than one, he’s arguably
hours. When Brady games in 2006, and then yards with Denver in the most significant
saw them on his way to won a divisional-round 2013. Brees’ five 5,000 - New Orleanian of the
the Tampa Bay bus, he playoff game in a rebuilt yard seasons all rank in 21st century.”
4B MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2021
Even with Livers injured, Michigan earns No. 1 seed in East
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michigan’s bittersweet
weekend continued Sun-
day as it earned a No. 1
seed in the East Regional
a day after announcing its
second-leading scorer has
an injury that could keep
him out of the NCAA Tour-
nament.
Isaiah Livers is out in-
definitely with a stress
injury in his right foot
that prevented him from
playing in a Big Ten Tour-
nament semifinal loss to
Ohio State. Livers said
Saturday that “I don’t want
people to write me off yet”
but spoke Sunday night
about how he could con-
tribute without playing.
“I’m just going to be
the best leader I can be,”
Livers said. “Obviously
Comics & Puzzles
DILBERT
ZITS
GARFIELD
CANDORVILLE
BABY BLUES
BEETLE BAILEY
MALLARD FILLMORE
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
the mental aspect is going (16-4), Colorado (22-8) vs.
to be challenging for me, Georgetown (13-12), Flor-
looking at my teammates ida State (16-6) vs. UNC
giving their all out there Greensboro (21-8), BYU
and I know how much (20-6) vs. Michigan State
work they put in, and I (15-12) or UCLA (17-9),
can’t be out there.” Texas (19-7) vs. Abilene
Michigan (20-4) opens Christian (23-4), UConn
its tournament run Satur- (15-7) vs. Maryland (16-
day against the winner of 13) and Alabama (24-6) vs.
Thursday’s matchup be- Iona (12-5).
tween Mount St. Mary’s Alabama’s No. 2 seed
(12-10) and Texas South- is its highest since 2002,
ern (16-8). when the Crimson Tide
“With everything we’ve also were seeded second
dealt with, our guys have but lost to Kent State in the
really competed so hard, round of 32.
they deserve to be in this Although Alabama
position right now,” Mich- hasn’t advanced beyond
igan coach Juwan Howard the first weekend of the
said. “Now the real work NCAA Tournament since
starts.” reaching a regional final
The other first-round in 2004, the Tide won
games Saturday in the the Southeastern Confer-
East Regional include LSU ence’s regular-season and
(18-9) vs. St. Bonaventure tournament titles this year.
FAMILY CIRCUS
“I have full faith that
we can take this thing,
take the NCAA Tourna-
ment by storm, win the
whole thing,” Alabama
guard Jahvon Quinerly
said after the Tide’s 80-79
victory over LSU in the
SEC Tournament final.
The regional has a
First Four matchup that
looks more like a Final
Four pairing based on
the pedigrees of the pro-
grams. UCLA forward
Cody Riley called it “kind
of like a revenge game”
because Michigan State
beat the Bruins 75-62 in
last season’s Maui Invita-
tional.
“When I saw it, I was
like, ‘Man, that’s a heck
of a play-in game,’ “ Riley
said. “It’s going to be a lot
of fun.”
Dear Abby
D
EAR ABBY:
My daugh-
ter is in her
early 20s. When
she was younger,
she was happy.
She socialized,
had friends and
had fun. She
has had several
boyfriends, but
unfortunately,
nothing that
panned out.
She feels the
only way to be
comfortable or Dear Abby
worth anything
is to have a guy
by her side. I think she goes
about it in the wrong way.
She has few friends now and
rarely goes anywhere other
than work. She experiences
periods of depression and
says she is afraid of being
rejected, which holds her back
from socializing. I try to en-
courage her to step out of her
comfort zone and experience
life, but she gets defensive
and thinks I am saying it to be
mean, when I am offering her
something of value.
Abby, I do it out of care
and love. I don’t know how
else to help her. I’m very
worried about her. I’m afraid
if she doesn’t change her
lifestyle, the situation will
become worse, and she will
Horoscopes
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (March
15). Being inside yourself,
your qualities are impossible
to fully appreciate. But if you
could dance with your own
personhood, you’d find yourself
witty, wise, graceful and strong
-- characteristics that are only
getting better this solar journey.
Someone new contributes to
your sharper vision and more
ambitious plan. Aries and
Gemini adore you. Your lucky
numbers are: 2, 29, 4, 44 and
16.
ARIES (March 21-April 19).
Everyone has a difficult job to
do. Mistakes are likely to occur
that will require your under-
standing. You’ll be appreciated
(celebrated even) for your ability
to go with the flow.
Alabama is the first
SEC team to win the
league’s football champi-
onship game and its men’s
basketball tournament in
the same year since Flor-
ida did it during the 2006-
07 school year.
Florida won the na-
tional titles in both foot-
ball and men’s basketball
that year. Alabama is al-
ready halfway there after
winning the most recent
College Football Playoff
championship.
Rick Pitino is back in
the NCAA Tournament
with his fifth different
school after leading Iona
to a Metro Atlantic Ath-
letic Conference Tourna-
ment title. Pitino coached
Kentucky and Louisville
to national titles, reached
a Final Four with Provi-
regret it. These
should be some
of the best years
of her life. Can
you offer any
suggestions to
help her through
these dark
times? — MOM
WHO’S WORRIED
IN PENNSYLVA-
NIA
DEAR MOM: I
do have one. The
most important
step a person
can take to solve
a problem is to
admit there is
one. Pointing out that some-
one seems depressed and
isolated isn’t mean; it’s what
caring parents (or friends) do
when they see someone they
care about is in trouble. When
advising your daughter, make
sure your tone is perceived
as loving and not judgmental.
Then point out that the quick-
est way for her to get her life
back on track would be to talk
to a licensed mental health
professional.
DEAR ABBY: I got married
while stationed in Korea. Over
the years, I put drugs and
alcohol and friends before my
family. I regret it to this day.
I have four children and
two of them are from the
same woman. My oldest
TAURUS (April 20-May
20). Today will point out the
difference between investing,
sacrificing and wasting. If you
don’t hope to get a return, and
you’re not taking a loss for
the betterment of someone or
something else, then it’s proba-
bly a waste.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21).
The need for glamour is legiti-
mate. Other legitimate needs
include, but are not limited to:
fun, novelty, thrills, delicious
anticipation, adventure flirta-
tion, silliness, frivolity, levity,
ridiculousness and hilarity.
CANCER (June 22-July
22). Sure, you’d like to be
traveling, taking in big events
or elaborately designed cities,
exhibits and culture. But in the
dence and made an NCAA
Tournament with Boston
University.
The only other coach-
es to take five different
schools to the NCAA
Tournament are Lon Kru-
ger (Kansas State, Flor-
ida, UNLV, Illinois and
Oklahoma) and Tubby
Smith (Tulsa, Georgia,
Kentucky, Minnesota and
Texas Tech).
Facing a second-seed-
ed Alabama team should
have Pitino feeling nostal-
gic.
His 1987 Final Four
run with Providence in-
cluded a 103-82 regional
semifinal victory over a
second-seeded Alabama
squad. Chicago Bulls
coach Billy Donovan
scored 26 points for Prov-
idence in that game.
son and I chat almost daily
through Messenger. This is
the first time since retirement
that I have been this far away
from them.
My daughter and youngest
son don’t communicate with
me in any fashion. I have sent
text messages to both of
them but received no reply. I
learned a couple of days ago
that my daughter has been
married almost three years.
I miss my family dearly and
wish to talk to both of them.
Is it hatred and unforgiveness
that I am feeling from them?
It tears me up inside. I would
feel better with any type of
reply. What else can I do? —
REACHING OUT IN ILLINOIS
DEAR REACHING OUT:
There is nothing more you can
do to get a response from
your daughter and young-
est son. You placed drugs,
alcohol and friends before
them when they were young,
and this is the predictable re-
sponse to emotional neglect.
Not knowing them, I can’t
say for certain that they
“hate” you. They do, however,
appear to be indifferent and
unforgiving, and have moved
on with their lives. You don’t
have much choice but to
accept it and move on with
your own while appreciating
the relationship you have with
your oldest son.
meantime, there are wonders
available to you right now. Look
up. The sky is a masterpiece.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). So
much of your success will be a
function of shifting the focus
from yourself to others. When in
doubt, you throw the conversa-
tional ball back, or you simply
allow for silence, which in and of
itself can be a lovely gift.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22).
You are the authority of you.
You’re not looking for anyone
else to lay down the plan or
manage you in any way. Howev-
er, you will gladly take guidance
from those whose methods
have worked. A mentorship is in
your future.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23).
Do you get the feeling you’d
better prepare for an upcoming
conversation? Do you sense
something crucial is at stake?
You’re right. There’s something
wondrous in it for you, and you’ll
be glad you were prepared.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21).
Love that is new needs to grow
roots before it will sprout. Don’t
expect to see anything on the
surface when you’re clearly still
in the “water it and hope for the
best” stage.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec.
21). Powerful humility is the
oxymoron of champions. You
show up and people feel your
presence though you don’t
declare it. You’re more likely to
take a helping role, even the
bottom rung, and lead from
below.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan.
19). Life is too unpredictable
to waste time waiting for the
ideal moment. Just go. You’ll
find out some of the trouble you
anticipated isn’t even a thing.
Problems get small once you
grow.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.
18). As far as you’re concerned,
useless things aren’t pretty.
What’s beautiful is functional,
and what’s functional is beauti-
ful. These are the guiding princi-
ples by which you’ll improve your
environs.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March
20). What you begin today won’t
be finished tomorrow, but start
it anyway. Once it’s underway, it
will have a force of its own and
momentum will be on your side.
More often than not
SOLUTION:
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2021 5B
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SURVEILLANCE. Benji &
Ashleigh, 662−386−4446.
Apts For Rent: West
VIP
Rentals
Apartments & Houses
1 Bedrooms
2 Bedroooms
3 Bedrooms
Furnished & Unfurnished
1, 2, & 3 Baths
Lease, Deposit
& Credit Check
viceinvestments.com
327-8555
Apts For Rent: Other
COLEMAN
RENTALS
TOWNHOUSES & APARTMENTS
1 BEDROOM
2 BEDROOMS
3 BEDROOMS
LEASE,
© The Dispatch
DEPOSIT
AND
CREDIT CHECK
662-329-2323
2411 HWY 45 N
COLUMBUS, MS
Houses For Rent: North
COLONIAL TOWNHOUSES.
2 & 3 bedroom w/ 2−3
bath townhouses. $650 to
$750. 662−549−9555.
Ask for Glenn or text.
Mobile Homes for Rent CALL & GET YOUR NAME
ON THE LIST for Constance
3BR/2BA MH in New Hope. lovely talk show. Greatest
talent show in town!
$650 dep + $650/mo.
Singers/comedians/group
No pets, quiet area. Leave
voicemail with full name & dancers. 310−993−9884
message, 205−712−6697. or email kandeyessence
Pets
RENT A CAMPER!
CHEAPER THAN A MOTEL!
Utilities & cable included, REGISTERED DACHSHUND
from $150/wk − $555/mo
Columbus & County School
locations. 662−242−3803
or 601−940−1397.
REAL ESTATE
ADS STARTING AT $25
Farms & Timberland
203 ACRES
PRIME TIMBERLAND
$270,000
Exc deer, turkey hunting
Good Investment
(615)719−8329
LAMAR COUNTY, AL: 63
ACRES on County Road 34.
Exc hunting, some timber,
power & county water.
$1,150 per acre. 205−712
−5606 or 205−799−9846.
Lots & Acreage
1.75 ACRE LOTS. Good/
Bad Credit Options. Good
credit as low as 20% down,
$499/mo. Eaton Land,
662−361−7711.
NEW HOPE AREA:
+/− 1 acre. Open land with
water & electricity nearby.
$17,900. Call or text,
662−435−0401.
MERCHANDISE
ADS STARTING AT $12
Bargain Column
Earthway Garden seeder,
5 different seed plates,
used lightly 2 times, works
great, all aluminum. Sells
new for $129, asking $95.
662−329−1793.
Burial Plots
2 BURIAL PLOTS
Located in Veteran location
@ Memorial Gardens of
Columbus, MS. Must have
cash, $7500. A savings of
$1500. Plots include burial
vaults and can be
exchanged for any spot
other than a veteran.
Call 662−386−4080 or
662−386−4081.
Sporting Goods
ED SANDERS GUNSMITH
Open for season!
Tue−Fri: 9−5 & Sat: 9−12
Over 50 years experience!
Repairs, cleaning, refin−
ishing, scopes mounted &
zeroed, handmade knives.
Located: Hwy 45 Alt, North
of West Point, turn right on
Yokahama Blvd, 8mi & turn
left on Darracott Rd, will
see sign, 2.5mi ahead
shop on left.
662−494−6218.
VEHICLES
ADS STARTING AT $12
Motorcycles & ATVs
’05 HONDA REBEL 250
Black, red & grey. Actual
miles, 1,432. $1200.
662−364−0120.
Want to get back to nature?
Need some R&R?
Shop here first.
COMMUNITY
ADS STARTING AT $12
Travel & Entertainment
@yahoo.com.
puppies for sale.
Ready to go now!
Call 205−596−3264.
Five questions:
1 True
2 Diamond
3 New York
City
4 Kourtney
5 Rainbow
bridge
ADS APPEAR IN THE COMMERCIAL DISPATCH,
THE STARKVILLE DISPATCH AND ONLINE
To place ads starting at only $12,
call 662-328-2424 or visit ads.cdispatch.com
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2021 n 6B
General Help Wanted
Auctions Home Improvement Services-General
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GRAM! Train ONLINE to get the skills to
Insurance
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become a Computer and Help Desk
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Scholarships available for certain pro-
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save! Call: 833-678-0500
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844-316-8630
CHURCH FURNITURE: Does your DONATE YOUR CAR TO CHARITY.
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Classified Ads!
Home Improvement Services-General
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SERVICE DIRECTORY
PROMOTE YOUR SMALL BUSINESS STARTING AT ONLY $25
Building & Remodeling General Services General Services Painting & Papering
HOME REPAIRS & DUMP TRUCK HAULING. WORK WANTED: SULLIVAN’S PAINT
MAINTENANCE Slag − $400 Licensed & Bonded. SERVICE
Work wanted. Carpentry, Clay Gravel − $250 TILL SMALL GARDENS. Special Prices.
concrete, electrical & Millie for Driveways − $375 Carpentry, minor electrical, Interior & Exterior Painting.
plumbing, shingle & metal Available for hauling any minor plumbing, insulation, 662−435−6528
roofing, fascia & soffit materials. Filling in painting, demolition,
repairs, pressure washing swimming pools. gutters cleaned, pressure
& mobile home repairs. Columbus. Call Walter, washing, landscaping, &
No Job Too Small. 662−251−8664. cleanup work.
662−549−7031. 662−242−3608.
General Services
BANKRUPTCY Lawn Care / Landscaping
CHAPTER 7 JESSE & BEVERLY’S
A & T TREE SERVICES BANKRUPTCY LAWN SERVICE
Bucket truck & stump $545 plus Filing Fee Spring Cleanup, Tree
Grow your
removal. Free est. Cutting, Landscaping,
Serving Columbus CHAPTER 13 Sodding & Bush Hogging
since 1987. Senior BANKRUPTCY
business.
662−356−6525
citizen disc. Call Alvin @ All Attorney Fees Through The Plan
242−0324/241−4447 Painting & Papering
"We’ll go out on a limb Jim Arnold, Attorney
for you!" 662-324-1666 QUALITY PAINTING If you don’t advertise
104 South Lafayette Street, Starkville Ext/Int Painting your business,
Please visit our website:
jimharnold.com
Sheet Rock Hang, Finish &
Repair. Pressure Washing. how are they
Free Estimates. Ask for gonna know?
ads.cdispatch.com Saturday morning appointments
available for Starkville Office.
specials! Larry Webber,
662−242−4932.