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Friday | March 19, 2021

NEW HOPE MURDER

Victim’s son says defendant was with him at time of shooting

Defense witnesses dispute previous testimony on third day of Martinez trial
BY SLIM SMITH
ssmith@cdispatch.com
The defendant was upstairs
in her bedroom at the time of
the shooting, the defendant
treated her daughter with sub-
missive deference and the man
the prosecution portrayed as
the victim’s Rasputin was a
long-time friend who had no in-
terest in changing the victim’s
family dynamic, a key part of
this week — Christian’s testi-
mony was often heart-wrench-
the motive in the Attorney Arthur Calderón, awaiting sentencing. ing.
murder, prosecu- of Cleveland, began presenting Calderón called three wit- The emotions ran highest
tors say. the defense’s case Thursday af- nesses Wednesday — Christian when he spoke of the night of
The defense ternoon and is expected to call Vasquez, 19, the victim’s young- June 23, 2015, hours before the
argued those two more witnesses, including est child, and Paul and Deborah prosecution believes the mur-
points Thursday, Christina Martinez, Vasquez’s Vega, a couple that befriended der occurred.
the third day of wife and Lydia’s daughter. the family upon their arrival to “That was the last time I saw
Lydia Martinez’s Both Lydia and Christina Mar- New Hope from San Antonio in my dad,” Christian Vasquez
Martinez
trial for the 2015 tinez are accused of shooting 2014. said.
murder of her Vasquez and burning his body As it was with his older sib- Christian said on that night,
son-in-law, Manuel Vasquez, in to cover up the murder. Christi- lings — Alexia Vasquez, 24, and his father had asked him to
the New Hope home the family na pleaded guilty to second-de- Alec Vasquez, 22 — who testi- watch TV with him in the fam-
shared. gree murder in 2019 and is fied for the prosecution earlier See MARTINEZ, 6A

GOING DOWN Starkville-

based education
platform company
receives $100K to
expand marketing
Company started by
MSU students in 2017
has grown throughout
pandemic as demand
for virtual learning
increases
BY TYLER B. JONES
tjones@cdispatch.com

Four years after

Starkville-based edu-
cation platform Cam-
pusKnot launched,
the company formed
by three Mississippi
State students has
received a $100,000
grant to expand its Gopal
online marketing.
CampusKnot grants online in-
teraction between teachers and
students, and the company has
been steadily growing throughout
See CAMPUSKNOT, 6A

Deanna Robinson/Dispatch Staff

Izaiah Lowery, 3, sends his truck down the slide at the Lowndes County Soccer Complex Thursday afternoon. “It’s a blue
truck,” Izaiah said. He is the son of Onterrio and Liz Lowery.
New COVID cases
continue to decline
CVB touts marketing, lobby efforts that kept in Golden Triangle
Only 44 new cases
Mississippi open ‘safely’ during pandemic reported in Lowndes,
Tennessee Williams birthday, Catfish in the Alley both Mississippi Magazine,
Nashville Magazine and
Oktibbeha, Clay and
to be held in Columbus in coming weeks Garden and Gun to keep
visitors coming to Colum-
Noxubee since March 6
BY ISABELLE ALTMAN during their weekly luncheon at Lion bus and tell them how to BY TYLER B. JONES
ialtman@cdispatch.com Hills Thursday. visit “responsibly.” tjones@cdispatch.com
Carpenter said members of destina- “We wanted to make
COLUMBUS — The tourism indus- our potential travelers Even though the COVID-19
tion marketing organizations formed a
try in Mississippi, including Colum- aware that Columbus is a Carpenter pandemic is still ongoing, cases
bus Convention and Visitors Bureau, nonprofit to lobby the state Legislature
safe destination and that you can visit are steadily declining across Mis-
received millions of dollars in federal for funding, receiving a total of about through safe social distancing and cre- sissippi and the Golden Triangle
money to ensure the state could safe- $14 million in Cares (Coronavirus Aid, ative ways,” she said. area. This week alone, only 44 cas-
ly stay open for visitors during the Relief and Economic Security) Act The funding and marketing have es were reported in Clay, Lowndes,
COVID-19 pandemic, CVB Executive funding altogether to increase market- helped keep tourism afloat during the Oktibbeha and Noxubee counties.
Director Nancy Carpenter told mem- ing. She said CVB took out full-page pandemic, she said. Lowndes County still has the
bers of the Columbus Exchange Club advertisements in publications like See CARPENTER, 3A See COVID, 6A

INSIDE FIVE QUESTIONS CALENDAR LOCAL FOLKS PUBLIC

Classifieds 6B 1 Borat comes from Uzbekistan.
Thursday, March 25 MEETINGS
Comics 3B True or false? April 5: Oktibbeha
Crossword 5A 2 Who wrote “The Interpretation ■ Candidate forum: Hear Columbus mu-
County Board of
Dear Abby 3B of Dreams” and “The Ego and nicipal candidates at the 2021 Candidate
Supervisors, 9
Obituaries 4,5B the Id”? Forum at the Lyceum at Lee (former Lee
Opinions 4A 3 What comical character a.m., Chancery
High School). The event is co-sponsored
Religion 5A appears in Shakespeare’s plays Courthouse
by The Dispatch and WCBI and will follow
“Henry IV” parts 1 and 2 and April 6: Starkville
a Q&A format with a moderator. COVID
“The Merry Wives of Windsor”? Board of Aldermen,
4 On what planet would you find precautions will be taken for a limited live
WEATHER Olympus Mons, the tallest moun- audience and the event will be lives-
5 p.m., City Hall
April 13:
tain in the solar system? treamed online by WCBI. Reserve free
High 53 Low 44
Cloudy and cool
5 In what sport can you jig, troll
or bottom bounce?
tickets online at cdispatch.com/forum
Starkville-Oktibbe-
ha Consolidated
School District
Full forecast on Answers, 6B Friday, March 26 Board of Trustees,
page 3A. ■ Tennessee Williams 110th birthday 6 p.m., Greensboro
celebration: Visit the Tennessee Williams Center
Home and Welcome Center, 300 Main St., April 19: Oktibbe-
Columbus, at 10 a.m. for birthday cake, ha County Board
photos with “Tennessee” and his “moth- Elliot Lake spends his time of Supervisors,
er,” Edwina Dakin Williams, and register to playing video games and 9 a.m., Chancery
win dinner at Galatoire’s in New Orleans. watching Netflix. Courthouse

DISPATCH CUSTOMER SERVICE 328-2424 | NEWSROOM 328-2471

2A FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Biden says US to hit 100

million virus goal on Friday
U.S. on pace to have enough vaccines to cover the week, as the U.S. is on pace to have
enough of the three currently au-
entire adult population just 10 weeks from now thorized vaccines to cover the en-
tire adult population just 10 weeks
BY ZEKE MILLER Thursday revealed the outlines of a from now.
The Associated Press plan to “loan” a limited number of Ahead of Biden’s remarks, the
vaccines to Canada and Mexico as White House said it was finaliz-
WASHINGTON — With the U.S.
the president announced the U.S. is ing plans to send a combined 4
closing in on President Joe Biden’s
goal of injecting 100 million coro- on the cusp of meeting his 100-day million doses of the AstraZeneca
navirus vaccinations weeks ahead injection goal “way ahead of sched- COVID-19 vaccine to Mexico and
of his target date, the White House ule.” Canada in its first export of shots.
said the nation is now in position to “I’m proud to announce that to- Press secretary Jen Psaki said the
help supply neighbors Canada and morrow, 58 days into our adminis- details of the “loan” were still being
Mexico with millions of lifesaving tration, we will have met our goal,” worked out, but 2.5 million doses
shots. Biden said. He promised to un- would go to Mexico and 1.5 million
The Biden administration on veil a new vaccination target next would be sent to Canada.

Atlanta police on shooting probe: ‘Nothing is off the table’

BY K ATE BRUMBACK
The Associated Press
ATLANTA — Police
said Thursday that “noth-
ing is off the table” in
the investigation of the
deadly shootings at two
Atlanta massage par-
lors, including whether
the slayings were a hate
crime.
Those attacks and a
third one near the subur-
ban town of Woodstock
killed eight people and
prompted President Joe
Biden and Vice President
Kamala Harris to change
their plans for a previous-
ly scheduled trip to Atlan-
ta. The pair postponed
a political event in favor
of meeting Friday with
Asian American commu-
nity leaders.
A 21-year-old white
man, Robert Aaron Long,
is charged with murder in
Tuesday’s slayings. Six of
those killed were women last year passed a hate
of Asian descent. crimes law that allows
“Our investigation is additional penalties to be
looking at everything, so imposed for certain of-
nothing is off the table,” fenses when motivated by
Deputy Atlanta Police a victim’s race, color, reli-
Chief Charles Hampton gion, national origin, sex,
Jr. said at a news confer- sexual orientation, gen-
ence. der or disability. A hate
The Cherokee Coun- crime is not a standalone
ty Sheriff’s Office said crime under the law, but it
it also was investigating can be used to add time to
whether the killings were a sentence once someone
hate crimes. is convicted of another
Georgia lawmakers crime.

Jury nearly complete for Chauvin trial; major rulings loom

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS through Thursday are
evenly split by race, with
MINNEAPOLIS — six white jurors, four
Just two more jurors were Black and two multiracial,
needed for the trial of a according to the court.
former Minneapolis police
The last two jurors chosen
officer charged in George
Floyd’s death, as the judge will be alternates.
prepared to rule Friday on Opening statements
two major motions — in- are March 29 if the jury
cluding whether to allow is complete. That process
evidence from Floyd’s ear- was on track to finish near-
lier 2019 arrest. ly a week early despite
The 12 jurors seated news that the city would
pay a $27 million settle- video, set off weeks of
ment to Floyd’s family. sometimes-violent pro-
Former officer Derek tests across the country
Chauvin is charged with and led to a national reck-
murder and manslaugh- oning on racial justice.
ter in the May 25 death of Hennepin County
Floyd, a Black man who Judge Peter Cahill was to
was declared dead after rule Friday on Chauvin
Chauvin, who is white, attorney Eric Nelson’s mo-
pressed his knee against tion to halt or move the tri-
his neck for about nine al due to concerns that the
minutes. Floyd’s death, settlement had tainted the
captured on bystander jury pool.
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021 3A

Medicaid incentive so far not enough to sway holdout states

Advocates say up to 300,000 people could
become eligible for health coverage if
Mississippi adopted the expansion
BY GEOFF MULVIHILL
AND JEFFREY COLLINS
The Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Demo-
crats’ nearly $2 trillion coronavi-
rus relief package includes a big
financial incentive for the states
that have opted against expand-
ing Medicaid to provide health
coverage for more low-income
Americans. It’s proving to be a
tough sell.
The Associated Press sur-
veyed top Republican elected
officials in the dozen states that
have resisted expanding cover-
age under a key provision of for-
mer President Barack Obama’s
heath care law. Some have soft-
ened their opposition, but the
key gatekeepers— governors or
legislative leaders — indicated
they have no plans to change
course.
South Carolina Gov. Henry
McMaster remains firmly op-
posed to the Medicaid expan-
sion.
“Gov. McMaster isn’t for sale,
regardless of whatever ill-con-
ceived ‘incentives’ congressional
Democrats may come up with,”
spokesman Brian Symmes said
in a statement. “What the feder-
al spending plan does is attempt
to offer a short term solution for
a long term problem.”
The federal government al-
ready pays 90 percent of the
costs of expanding Medicaid
coverage to more low-income
adults. Thirty-six states have
signed on to the expansion. Two
more — Missouri and Oklaho-
ma — are scheduled to begin
their expansions in July.
Under the enticement includ-
ed in the coronavirus relief bill
adopted by Congress and signed
by President Joe Biden, the fed-
eral government would boost
its share of costs in the regular
Medicaid program, which of-
fers coverage for the poorest
Americans. The bump in federal
funding would last two years for
the states that join the Medicaid
expansion.
An analysis by the Kaiser
Family Foundation found the
additional federal money would
cover 150 percent to 400 percent
of the cost for the holdout states
to expand Medicaid, which is
jointly funded with federal and
state dollars.
In Texas, the incentives
would send the state about $5
billion over two years, and the
state’s share of expanding cover-
age would be about $3.1 billion.
More than 1.4 million people in
the state could become eligible
for coverage. For Georgia, the
estimate says it would add a net
$710 million to state coffers and
in Tennessee, $900 million.
“It’s the literal offer you can’t
refuse, but let’s see if anyone re-
fuses it, anyway,” said Katherine
Hempstead, a senior policy ad-
viser at the nonpartisan Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation.
Through interviews and pub-
lic statements, AP found little
change in the 12 states that have
held out against the Medicaid
expansion: Alabama, Florida,
Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi,
North Carolina, South Carolina,
South Dakota, Tennessee, Tex-
as, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
In Mississippi, one of the
nation’s poorest states, advo-
cates say up to 300,000 people
— about one-tenth of the state’s
population — could become el-
igible for health coverage if the
state adopted the expansion.
Gov. Tate Reeves, a Repub-
lican, said he’s not going for it,
noting that his stance was a ma-
jor issue in his 2019 campaign.
His GOP primary opponents
supported a plan to expand,
with the state’s share being paid
for by hospitals and a fee of up
to $20 a month for people who
signed up. He opposed it, even
as the Mississippi Hospital As-
sociation said it could bring up
to 19,000 jobs to the state.
“My position has not
changed,” he said last week.
“I am opposed to expanding
Medicaid in Mississippi. I am
opposed to Obamacare expan-
sion.”

Mother and son in Mississippi indicted on fraud charges Mississippi teacher

Pair accused of improperly obtaining
pay raise plan
New Summit School, but former employees of New
some of the people were Summit School.
millions of dollars from the state no longer teachers at the The federal indict-

BY EMILY
WAGSTER PET TUS
The Associated Press
JACKSON — A federal
grand jury in has indicted
a mother and son on wire
fraud and other charges
that accuse them of im-
properly obtaining mil-
lions of dollars from the
state of Mississippi.
Nancy New 68, and
Zachary New, 38, ap-
peared in court Thursday
in Jackson, hours after
the indictments were un-
sealed. Each pleaded not
guilty to all charges.
U.S. Magistrate Judge
Keith Ball set a May 3 tri-
al date, with U.S. District
Judge Carlton Reeves set
to preside. Ball also set a
$10,000 unsecured bond,
meaning Nancy New and
Zachary New did not have
to post money before be-
ing released.
One of Zachary New’s
attorneys, Tom Fortner,
said outside the court-
room: “I’m not even sure
there’s a crime here.”
Nancy New’s attorney,
Cynthia Speetjens, said
her client is looking for-
ward to the trial.
“I have seen nothing
that would give any indi-
cation that Nancy New or
her son are criminals —
not even close,” Speetjens
said after the brief hear-
ing Thursday.
Nancy New was pres-
ident and Zachary New
was vice president of a
for-profit company called
New Learning Resources
Inc. The company was
also doing business as
New Learning Resourc-
es School District, which
has operated the private
New Summit School in
Jackson since 1997.
The indictments ac-
cuse both of the Nancy
New and Zachary New
of conspiracy to commit
wire fraud by saying they
created and submitted
documents to the Missis-
sippi Department of Ed-
ucation to receive state
money to pay teachers at
school or had never been
teachers there. The in-
dictment says the compa-
ny fraudulently obtained
more than $2 million from
the state from 2017 to
2020.
Mississippi law allows
some public education
money to be paid to pri-
vate schools for students
with special academ-
ic needs. New Summit
School has offered ser-
vices for students with
dyslexia and autism.
Nancy New and Zacha-
ry New were also indicted
on charges of wire fraud,
aggravated identity theft,
money laundering and en-
gaging in monetary trans-
actions with proceeds of
specified unlawful activ-
ity. Conviction on all the
charges would carry up to
210 years in prison.
Nancy New and Zacha-
ry New said little in court
as they answered ques-
tions from Ball. He in-
structed them to have no
contact with anyone who
might be a witness in the
case, including current or
headed to governor
ments were issued more
than a year after state
Auditor Shad White an-
nounced that Nancy New,
Zachary New, former
Mississippi Department
House Bill 852 would give most
of Human Services exec-
utive director John Davis
teachers and teachers’ assistants
and three other people a $1,000 pay raise and newer
had been indicted on state
criminal charges in what teachers would get $1,100
White called a “sprawl-
ing conspiracy” related BY EMILY WAGSTER PET TUS
The Associated Press
to misspending of money
in the Department of Hu- JACKSON — Mississippi legislators have
man Services. White said agreed on a teacher pay raise plan, and it will
in February 2020 that head to Gov. Tate Reeves.
investigators believe at The Republican governor said earlier this year
least $4 million in federal that he would sign any teacher pay raise bill that
welfare money was stolen. lands on his desk.
In a statement after House Bill 852 would give most teachers and
the federal indictments teachers’ assistants a $1,000 pay raise. Newer
were unsealed Thursday, teachers would get $1,100.
White said: “I am proud The House passed the final version of the bill
of the joint work we have Thursday, agreeing to changes made by the Sen-
done with federal inves- ate.
tigators that led to this “Advancing the teacher pay raise bill to the
indictment. We are con- Governor’s desk was the right thing to do,” Re-
tinuing to work shoul- publican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann wrote
der-to-shoulder with our Thursday on Twitter. “Our teachers deserve a
federal partners to ad- salary increase, particularly after their efforts on
vance this case, and today behalf of kids during the pandemic.”
is another step toward jus- House Speaker Philip Gunn, a Republican,
tice for the taxpayers.” praised the House for passing the bill — and he
leveled criticism at the Senate.
“The Senate sent back an amended version of
our original bill, which provides less money for
certain teachers,” Gunn wrote on Twitter.

Carpenter Mississippi has long had some of the lowest

Continued from Page 1A
Moreover more events
— all outdoor or at least
requiring masks and so-
cial distancing — are
coming up for both visi-
tors and residents in the
coming weeks, she said.
Next week, Colum-
bus will host “Happy
Birthday, Tennessee Wil-
liams!” a celebration of
the 210th anniversary of
the Columbus-born play-
wright’s birth. Carpenter
said the two-day event
will open with a birth-
day party on the lawn of
the Tennessee Williams
House downtown on
March 26, from 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m. The event will
include food and bever-
ages, door prizes, the
opportunity to have pic-
tures made with figures
dressed as Williams and
his mother, Edwina Wil-
liams, and a porch skit
from one of Williams’
plays.
Celebrations will con-
tinue that night with a
reading of “Mr. Williams
and Miss Wood” by
Broadway star Joel Vig
and Cherri Golden at the
Rosenzweig Arts Center
downtown at 6:30 p.m.,
and a book signing with
Augustin Correro’s “Ten-
nessee Williams 101”
at Friendly City Books
teacher salaries in the nation. According to the
Southern Regional Education Board, the average
teacher salary in the U.S. for 2018-19 was $62,304.
months have presented For Mississippi, the average was $45,105.
unprecedented challeng- The current pay raise proposal is similar to
es for the hospitality one that stalled last year after the coronavirus
industry, but we are en- pandemic created uncertainty about state spend-
couraged by the progress ing.
in Columbus,” Carpenter Legislators are in the final weeks of their
said. “We made a com- three-month session, and they are preparing to
mitment to find solutions set budgets for state agencies for the year that be-
and to do our part, not gins July 1. They had to agree on a teacher pay
just locally, but through- plan as part of the decision-making process for
out the state.” education spending.
visitcolumbusms.org
Multiple upcoming events, including “Happy Birthday,
Tennessee Williams!” and the annual Catfish in the
Alley festival will be held at the Tennessee Williams
Home in downtown Columbus in the coming weeks.
Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive
Director Nancy Carpenter said she and other tourism
industry employees around the state are working to
promote Mississippi as a destination travelers an visit
safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
downtown on March 27 dy Band.
from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Additionally, Carpen-
Carpenter said CVB ter said, CVB will spend
will also host the annual the spring hosting major
Catfish in the Alley down- outdoor events that are
town April 1-3. The fes- safe for visitors, such as
tival features three days soccer tournaments and
of live music, vendors five fishing tournaments.
and food and includes Carpenter said she
performances by bands looks forward to “safely
like Just a Few Cats — reopening” Columbus
which opens the event at — especially given the
the Tennessee Williams challenges of the last year
Home on April 1 at 5 p.m. and her anticipation that
— Big Joe Shelton and as the pandemic winds
the Black Prairie Blues down, more people will
Ambassadors and Keith be excited to travel. SOLUNAR TABLE
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peak-feeding times for fish and game.
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Opinion
4A FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 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

THE NATION VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

He was having a bad day Appreciates care at Baptist Every time I experienced great care being
I’m not sure what all the bickering is about Bap- administered at Baptist. From the cancer therapy
tist hospital in Columbus. Dad has pneumonia and room to all the nurses, everyone has been happy

H
has been checked in for a couple days. He is fine, and wanting to help. Emergency rooms are first
e was having a bad day.
just got sick all of a sudden. Mom was at Baptist class in my view. I can call the nurses and doctors.
So said Cherokee
during her terminal cancer/emphysema battle last They may be slow at times, who isn’t these days,
County Sheriff’s spokes-
man Jay Baker by way of explain- year. I recall her Mom being put at Baptist way and maybe there aren’t many specialists in town,
ing last week’s mass shootings back when even and I would come visit her. but what is there now is pretty darn good I think.
at three Atlanta-area massage I would visit Dad at the Mayo Clinic in Jackson- And the supporting medical doctors (Dr.
parlors. The suspect, a 21-year- ville when he had some surgery years ago. That’s Rosenblatt and Dr. Overstreet) and pharmacist’s at
old white man whose name won’t supposed to be the gold standard. I would visit Robert’s Apothecary in town are great too. Every-
be used here, is said to have told Mom at Birmingham’s hospital, which is where one is approachable and returns calls. That’s been
police he suffers a sex addiction many people from Columbus go for serious medi- my experience.
at odds with his Christian faith. cal care and Mom went too. But she needed care Andrew Orr
They say he shot up the massage in town and Baptist took great care of her. St. Petersburg, Florida, and Columbus
parlors as a way of removing Leonard Pitts
sexual temptation.
Apparently, the idea of
counseling never occurred to this guy. He couldn’t keep
FROM THE LEFT
his pants zipped, so women had to die. And, in the current
climate, it is hardly irrelevant that six of the eight people,
he allegedly killed — one person survived — were Asian
women.
“Yesterday was a really bad day for him,” said Bak-
er, “and this is what he did.” It was an odd, sympa-
thy-for-the-devil kind of statement that rang blithely
oblivious to the fresh trauma of a gun-scarred nation and,
in particular, its Asian citizens. Hearing it, was anyone truly
surprised by reports that Baker once took to Facebook
promoting T-shirts describing COVID-19 as an “Imported
virus from Chy-Na”? No.
And in so doing, this putative public servant became part
of the problem for 22 million Americans of Asian heritage.
For them, this tragedy was the all-too-predictable capstone
of a year of elders assaulted on the streets, of a woman spat
upon, of a boy sent to the emergency room, a pandemic
year in which malice toward Asians — “China virus!” “kung
flu!” “Wuhan flu!” — was cheered on from the White House
itself.
We may reasonably presume, however, that none of
those 22 million people will respond by murdering ran-
dom strangers. In America that has always been a form of
problem-solving reserved almost exclusively for white men.
And if some Asian person did go to that horrific extreme,
it’s unlikely he or she would afterward enjoy the solicitude
of some sympathetic cop.
No, you have to be white to get that, i.e., to benefit from
the national myopia that causes many of us to conflate
whiteness with innocence. One is reminded of reporters
who treated the Oklahoma City bombing as if it were Amer-
FROM THE RIGHT
ica’s first act of homegrown terror, like maybe Sixteenth
Street Baptist Church was destroyed by a gas leak. Then
there are the people in North Carolina who turned Olym-
pic Park bomber Eric Rudolph into some sort of folk hero.
“Bless his heart,” one woman said.
More recently, there was the initial failure to take seri-
ously rioters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6. And even
now, weeks after they shattered windows, injured dozens of
police officers and even killed one, you have Wisconsin Sen.
Ron Johnson describing the murderous white mob as people
“that love this country, that truly respect law enforcement.”
And so it goes.
Nine years ago, when it was argued in this space that
America faced a wave of terror from right-wing white men,
the idea was considered preposterous by some. Now it is the
official stance of the Department of Homeland Security.
So this myopia, this lazy conflation of whiteness with
innocence, cannot continue. It is a luxury America can ill
afford. Certainly, every marginalized and put-upon commu-
nity already knows this, has paid for the wisdom in a curren-
cy of tears and blood. But Baker’s misplaced empathy is a
red-flag reminder that some of us still don’t understand.
The suspect was having a bad day, he says? Poor baby.
Imagine how his victims felt.
Leonard Pitts Jr., winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for
commentary, is a columnist for the Miami Herald. Email him
at lpitts@miamiherald.com.

THE WORLD
Do we not have enough enemies?
A
sked bluntly by ABC’s
George Stephanopou-
los if he believes
Russian President Vladimir
Putin is “a killer,” Joe Biden
answered, “Uh, I do.”
Biden added that he once
told Putin to his face that he
had “no soul.”
Biden also indicated that
new sanctions would be
imposed on Russia for the
poisoning of dissident Alexei Patrick Buchanan
Navalny and for meddling in
the 2020 U.S. election to allegedly help
Donald Trump. Russia also faces U.S.
sanctions for building the Nord Stream
2 pipeline under the Baltic to deliver
natural gas to Germany.
With its president being called a
“killer” by the U.S. president, Russia
called Ambassador Anatoly Antonov
home “for consultations.” In other
times, such an exchange would bring
the two nations to the brink of war.
What is Biden doing? Do we not have clock is also running on the Tehran
enough enemies? Does he not have
enough problems on his plate?
The May 1 deadline for full with-
drawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, he would, or walk away?
negotiated a year ago with the Taliban,
is just six weeks off. Do we stay and
soldier on or depart? No decision has
been announced.
If we stay, our forces in Afghanistan
could, again, come under fire. If we
leave, the Kabul regime could be shak-
en to its foundation and fall.
Leaving would be an admission that
the U.S. failed, and the war
is lost.
After the recent U.S.-
South Korea military exer-
cises, North Korean dictator
Kim Jong Un’s sister issued
this threat to the Biden
administration:
“We take this opportu-
nity to warn the new U.S.
administration trying hard
to give off powdered smell in
our land (that) if it wants to
sleep in peace for the com-
ing four years, it had better refrain from
causing a stink at its first step.”
There is talk of new North Korean
tests of missiles and nuclear weapons.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken
said in Tokyo this week that the U.S.
goal remains “the complete denuclear-
ization of North Korea” But Presidents
Bush II, Obama and Trump all failed to
achieve that goal.
With national elections in June, the
regime that negotiated the 2015 nuclear
deal. Does Biden intend to sign on
again, as he indicated in the campaign
Biden also faces a new crisis of his
own making. His “compassionate”
policy on illegal immigration has been
rewarded with scores of thousands of
children, teenagers and families cross-
ing our Southern border to be granted
temporary residence while their cases
await hearings.
With the border disintegrating, one
would think the Biden administration
would not be looking around for other
crises.
Yet, in Tokyo, on the eve of his
meeting with the Chinese in Anchor-
age, Blinken was playing the hawk:
“China uses coercion and aggression
to systematically erode autonomy in
Hong Kong, undercut democracy in
Taiwan, abuse human rights in Xinjiang
and Tibet, and assert maritime claims
in the South China Sea that violate
international law. ... We will push back if
necessary when China uses coercion or
aggression to get its way.”
China has enacted a new law that
authorizes its coast guard to use force
to defend Chinese sovereignty. And
among China’s claims to sovereign
control are the Senkaku Islands in the
East China Sea, claimed and controlled
by Japan.
Blinken has warned the U.S. will
fight to keep the Senkakus Japanese.
While in Tokyo, Blinken also de-
nounced the generals’ coup in Myan-
mar, accusing Myanmar’s army of
“attempting to overturn the results of
a democratic election and ... brutally
repressing peaceful protesters.”
Former national security adviser to
President Trump John Bolton has listed
other areas where China is engaged in
“unacceptable behavior.”
“A by-no-means-comprehensive
list of Beijing’s transgressions that
require U.S. attention would include:
meddling, blatant and subtle, with
U.S. public opinion; building military
bases in the disputed South China Sea;
menacing Taiwan, Vietnam and India;
increasing strategic nuclear forces and
egregious global cyberwarfare; empow-
ering North Korea’s nuclear weapons
program; concealing the origins of
covid-19; stealing intellectual property
and forcing technology transfers; and
genocide against Uyghurs and the
repression of Hong Kong.”
Perhaps the Anchorage talks can be
extended to get all the items on Bolton’s
agenda fully addressed.
Again, does not America have
enough on her plate already?
Our national debt is now larger than
our national economy. COVID-19 has
killed half a million of us and is killing
1,000 a day more. We have a broken
and bleeding Southern border being
overrun with no end in sight.
Politically, our nation is divided as
deeply as it was on the eve of the Civil
War. We are caught up in a culture war,
at the root of which is an irreconcilable
conflict over whether America is a
good and great country, perhaps the
greatest — or a nation of whose history
and founding we ought to be eternally
ashamed.
If time is on America’s side in our
cold wars with Russia, China, North
Korea and Iran, is not the wiser policy
to maneuver to avoid any new hot wars?
Patrick J. Buchanan, a nationally
syndicated columnist, was a senior advi-
sor to presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald
Ford and Ronald Reagan. His website is
http://buchanan.org/blog.

Vatican cardinals defend gay
union blessing ban amid dissent
‘We will ... not reject any loving couple in the future
who asks to celebrate God’s blessing, which they
experience every day, also in a worship service’
Statement from the Pastors’ Initiative, a group of Austrian priests
BY NICOLE WINFIELD
The Associated Press
ROME — Three cardinals close
to Pope Francis defended a recent
Holy See pronouncement that priests
cannot bless same-sex unions as the
Vatican faced outright dissent from
some Catholic clergy and questions
about the pontiff’s approval of the
document.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, head of
the Vatican’s laity office, concurred
Thursday with the pronouncement
that a “blessing” is a sacramental ac-
tion related to the sacrament of mar-
riage, which the Catholic Church
teaches can only be celebrated be-
tween a man and woman.
Farrell said civil unions are not
“marriages” as the Catholic Church
understands the term, but he
Faith leaders get COVID-19 shot to curb vaccine reluctance
MANUEL BALCE CENETA
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — nities of color, with the
More than two dozen cler-
gy members from the cap-
ital region rolled up their
sleeves inside the Wash-
ington National Cathedral
and got vaccinated against
the coronavirus Tuesday
in a camera-friendly event
designed to encourage
others to get their own
COVID-19 shots.
The interfaith “vaccine
Forgive and Live
Pat Douglas invites the
public (limit 10) to Forgive and
Live: A Christian Study In the
Word of God from 5:30-6:30
p.m. March 26 at YMCA’s
Board Room downtown Colum-
bus, 602 2nd Ave. North. For
more info contact 662-251-
5899.
Mississippi State
School Ministry
Mississippi State School
of Ministry will be taking ap-
plications for enrollment into
their online degree granting
program. Earn your Certifica-
tion, Associates, Bachelor,
Master and Doctoral Degree in
Religious Studies. We are an
accreditation School of Minis-
try authorized through State
of Mississippi and Federal
Government. Our degrees are
for ecclesiastical purposes
only. We accept transcripts
and your life experience also
can also be used for degree
granting purposes. For further
information feel free to call
662-425-8443
Fellowship Dinner,
Youth Service
Pleasant Ridge Faith Cen-
ter, 923 Ridge Road, hosts a
fellowship dinner and youth
service every third Sunday.
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021 5A
Their comments came amid con-
tinuing criticism of the document
released Monday by the Vatican’s
Congregation for the Doctrine of
the Faith, which said the Catho-
lic Church cannot bless same-sex
unions because God “cannot bless
stressed: “I do want to insist that no- sin.”
body, nobody must ever be excluded In Austria, a group of dissident
from the pastoral care and love and Catholic priests known as the Pfar-
concern of the church.” rer-Initiative, or, the Pastors’ Ini-
tiative, said they were “deeply ap-
He was speaking at a news con-
ference launching a yearlong cele-
palled” by the new decree and would
not follow it.
Sudoku YESTERDAY’S ANSWER
bration of Francis’ view of family life,
articulated in a 2016 document titled
“This is a return to times we
had hoped with Pope Francis to get
Sudoku
Sudoku is a number-
placing puzzle based on
Yesterday’s answer
“The Joy of Love.” past,” the priests in Austria said in Sudoku
a 9x9 gridis witha several
num- 8 5 7 6 1 2 4 3 9
Later Thursday, Boston Cardinal a statement. “We will, in solidarity ber-placing
given numbers.puzzleThe object 9 1 2 7 4 3 5 8 6
2021 Conceptis Puzzles, Dist. by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
Sean O’Malley and Cardinal Peter with so many, not reject any loving based onthe
is to place a 9x9
numbers 4 6 3 9 5 8 2 1 7
Turkson, head of the Vatican’s de- couple in the future who asks to cele- grid
1 to 9with
in theseveral
empty spaces 2 8 5 3 7 6 9 4 1
velopment office, pointed to Francis’ brate God’s blessing, which they ex- given
so that numbers.
each row, eachThe 1 7 9 4 2 5 8 6 3
pastoral outreach to gay men and perience every day, also in a worship object
column and each 3x3 the
is to place box
numbers 6 3 4 8 9 1 7 5 2
lesbians but repeated the church’s service.” contains the1same to 9 number
in
3 4 8 2 6 9 1 7 5
position. The group, which was founded the empty spaces so
only once. The difficulty 5 9 6 1 8 7 3 2 4
“The church has a very clear in 2006 by nine priests and today that each row, each
level increases from
teaching about marriage that needs claims 350 members “from the offi- column and each 7 2 1 5 3 4 6 9 8
Monday
3x3 boxtocontains
Sunday.
to be proclaimed,” O’Malley said
Difficulty Level 3/18
cial Roman Catholic Church,” said
during an online panel discussion or- the decree “discredits Jesus’ liberat- the same number only once. The difficulty level
ganized by Georgetown University. ing message.” increases from Monday to Sunday.
confidence” event target- cific Islanders,” said Dr. jobs that do not allow the
ed in particular Black, Eliseo Pérez-Stable, di- privilege of teleworking.
Latino and other commu- rector of the National In- They cannot self-isolate
stitute on Minority Health at home.”
aim of overcoming reluc- and Health Disparities. Following a moment
tance among populations “Now, much has been of prayer for COVID-19
disproportionately hit by said about, ‘Well, the risk victims, the socially dis-
a pandemic that has killed is greater because there’s tanced attendees applaud-
more than a half-million more disease, more dia- ed when the Rev. Patricia
people in the country. betes, more obesity, more Hailes Fears from Fel-
“Over 50 percent of all heart disease,’” Pérez-Sta- lowship Baptist Church
cases and almost half of ble said. “But the reality pulled back the upper
all deaths are in persons of is that the infections are arm of her Roman collar
African American, Latino more likely because peo- shirt and became the first
or Hispanic background, ple live in more crowded one present to be inocu-
American Indian and Pa- conditions. They work in lated.
RELIGIOUS BRIEFS
New Hope Road (near Dollar
Gospel Book Club General) hosts Recovery Prayer Ministry
Friendship M.B. Church, Room, at 6:30 p.m. each Sun- New Beginning Everlast-
1102 12th Ave. S., invites the day. Find help, healing, and ing Outreach Ministry invites
public to join its Community support for any hurt, habit, or the public to call in with their
Gospel Book Club from 6-7 prayer requests at 662-327-
hang-up using our Christ-cen-
p.m., on the fourth Friday of 9843.
tered 12 steps.
each month, to study and
share views of the Holy Bible.
Open to all ages and ethnic- Prayer for Youth Prayer Service
Every second and third Church of the Eternal Word,
ities. For more information,
Saturday, Pleasant Ridge Faith 106 22nd St. S., Columbus,
call Barbara Mattison or Lillian
Center hosts a prayer for the holds prayer service Thurs-
Murray, 662-570-5595.
youth from 2-3 p.m. day nights 5-6 p.m. Contact
Grief Support Group Marie Nabors, 662-549-4322.
ACROSS
The Oil of Joy for Grief Prayer, Free Coffee Church service times: Sunday
school 10 a.m.; Sunday wor- 1 Moral flaw
Mount Zion Missionary
and Mourning offers a grief ship 11:15 a.m.; Tuesday Bible 5 Enjoys Aspen
support group at 6 p.m. every Baptist Church, 2221 14th
study 7 p.m. For information, 9 Director Malle
second Thursday of the month Ave. N., hosts free coffee and
a prayer community outreach call Pastor District Elder Lou 11 Some change
at United Christian Baptist
service from 8-9 a.m. every Nabors, 662-329-1234. 13 Quartet
Church, 232 Yorkville Road doubled
East. “Making your grieving fifth Saturday. For information,
contact Jesse Slater, 662- Fitness Transformations 14 Man with a
journey easier.” For more in-
328-4979. The Transformational moral
formation, call 662-327-0604
or e-mail unitedchristian@ Church, 2301 Jess Lyons 15 Heating
cableone.net. Radio Program Road, hosts boxing lessons choice
Apostles Patrick Perkins Mondays and Wednesday from 16 Mark for
cancellation
Celebrate Recovery invites the public to tune in to
WTWG, radio 1050 AM for Per-
5-7 p.m., weight-loss boot
camp Tuesdays and Thursdays 18 Comfy shoes
Celebrate Recovery, the
fecting the Saints Broadcast, 5-7 p.m. and both on Satur- 20 Private room
nation’s largest Christian re-
covery program, meets Tues- Wednesdays 8:30 a.m. days 9-11 a.m. 21 Utopias
days at 6:00 p.m. at Mead- 22 Sunset
owview Church, 300 Linden Women Prayer, Youth Fellowship direction 40 Addition choice
23 Major lang. column 24 Winding
Circle in Starkville. Millions
have found help, healing, and
Worship Service The Transformational
24 Nap site 41 A long time dances
Church of the Eternal Church, 2301 Jess Lyons
support for hurts, habits, and Word, 106 22nd St. S., holds Road, hosts Youth Fellowship 25 Almanac bit DOWN 25 Extreme diets
hang-ups using our popular a prayer and worship service from 7-8:30 p.m. every Tues- 27 Secures, as
a boat
1 Online journals 26 Invite on a
Biblical 12 step program. every Thursday from 5-6 p.m. day. Games, prayer, service, 2 Spot date
Call Marie Nabors, 662-549- food, and more. Transportation 29 Bat material 3 Long shot 27 Supply with
Recovery Room 4322 or 662-329-1234, for available. For information, call 30 Sterling K. 4 Men’s store staff
New Life Assembly, 4474 prayer requests. Iris Roberson, 662-295-7456. Brown’s “This Is buy 28 Oozy sedi-
Us” role 5 A bunch ment
32 Rink fun 6 Boat bottom 30 Gets up
34 Quartet 7 Illegal investing 31 Places last
halved 8 Go pieces 33 Small seabird
35 Musical 10 Herculean 37 Spy grp.
sounds 12 Depleted
36 Lab liquids 17 Print units
38 Bolivian city 19 Cooped (up)
39 Scorch 22 Golfer’s
6A FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021
COVID
Continued from Page 1A
highest COVID-19 num-
bers in the four-coun-
ty area with 6,197 total
reported cases and 143
deaths since the start of
the pandemic in March
2020, according to the
most recent data from
the Mississippi State De-
partment of Health. There
were 22 new cases and
only one death reported
in the county since March
6. The MSDH website
shows the test positivity
rate for Lowndes County
has declined from 7.7 per-
cent on Feb. 27 to 5.9 per-
cent on March 6.
There have been 17,453
first and second doses of
the COVID-19 vaccination
CampusKnot
Continued from Page 1A
the COVID-19 pandemic
as the demand for online
education increases. The
grant comes from Inno-
vate Mississippi, a non-
profit organization geared
toward cultivating innova-
tive technology and entre-
preneurship.
Co-founder and CEO of
CampusKnot Rahul Gopal
said the company has not
invested in online market-
ing since the company be-
gan. This $100,000 Seed
Fund grant from Innovate
Mississippi, the second
such grant CampusKnot
has received, he said,
will give the company the
means to carry out its new
marketing plan, including
paid advertisements and
social media promotions.
Along with the fund,
the company acquired in-
vestors over the past year
to match the money re-
ceived from Innovate Mis-
sissippi to equal $200,000
for marketing campaigns.
“There are a lot of pro-
fessors, especially in this
unprecedented time, who
our platform could sup-
port,” Gopal said. “There
are a lot of professors
looking for new ways to
teach, but if they search
for it, and it doesn’t show
up, we don’t get anywhere.
Martinez
Continued from Page 1A
ily living room.
“I told him I was tired
and didn’t want to watch
TV,’’ he said.
Christian said he in-
stead took a shower and
was going to his bed-
room, which was locat-
ed next to his parents’
bedroom downstairs,
when his mother, Chris-
tina Martinez, told him
to sleep upstairs in his
grandmother’s bedroom.
Christian said he often
slept on a mattress on the
floor of his grandmother’s
upstairs bedroom.
“I didn’t think any-
thing about it,” he said.
Christian said at some
point after he had fall-
en asleep in his grand-
mother’s bedroom, he
heard a loud noise.
“When I got up to see
what had happened, I saw
my grandmother and she
told me she would check it
out and for me to go back
to sleep,” he said.
Asked if the defendant
was in her bedroom at the
time, Christian said she
was standing by her bed
when he was awakened.
On cross examination,
Assistant District Attor-
ney Ben Lang pounced
on that part of Christian
Vasquez’s testimony.
“Why didn’t you tell
anyone you saw Lydia
(that night)?” Lang asked.
“I did,” Christian re-
sponded.
Lang referred to inter-
views Christian had with
law enforcement on July
21 and July 24, 2015, not-
ing that Christian never
mentioned that Lydia was
upstairs at the time Chris-
tian heard the noise that
awakened him.
“That’s not in there be-
cause you didn’t tell them
If you don’t read The Dispatch, how are you gonna know?
administered to Lowndes
County residents as of 8
a.m. Thursday, according
to the MSDH website.
In Oktibbeha County,
there have been a total
of 4,484 COVID-19 cases
and 97 deaths reported
with only 14 cases and
no deaths since March 6,
according to the MSDH
website. Oktibbeha Coun-
ty’s test positivity rate
has drastically decreased
from 9.2 percent on Feb
27. to 3.5 percent on
March 6.
There have been 15,238
doses of the vaccine ad-
ministered to residents of
Oktibbeha County as of
Thursday morning.
This funding will help us
create a marketing plan
and put it in place.”
Gopal, along with
classmates Hiten Patel
and Perceus Mody, all
from India, created the
idea for this social-media
teaching outlet in 2012
at MSU’s Center for En-
trepreneurship and Inno-
vation in the College of
Business. It now operates
out of its parent office in
downtown Starkville and
subsidiary office in India.
CampusKnot functions
through a website and
mobile app, Gopal said,
and clients have access
to course materials and
communication features.
“We realized that there
was a need for a platform
like this,” Gopal said. “We
wanted to play a role in
terms of whatever we can
do to help out schools and
institutions and profes-
sors and students to ease
the amount of pressure
and stress they are in.”
Dozens of colleges and
universities, including
Mississippi University for
Women and University of
Southern Mississippi, as
well as middle and high
schools utilize the social
platform’s teaching tools.
The company has also
that,” Lang said.
“I believe I did.”
Lang gave transcripts
of the interviews to Chris-
tian for him to read, chal-
lenging him to find where
he had said Lydia was
upstairs in her bedroom
at the time he heard the
banging noise.
After several minutes,
Lang resumed his ques-
tioning.
“You don’t see it, do
you?” he asked.
“No sir,” Christian re-
sponded.
“You didn’t say it, did
you?” Lang asked.
“I guess not,” Chris-
tian responded.
Lang asked a series of
rapid-fire questions: “You
don’t know what your
mom and Lydia talked
about, do you? You don’t
know what they planned?
You don’t know what they
did together?”
Christian answered no
to each question.
On redirect, however,
Christian again insisted
his grandmother was with
him in her bedroom at the
time the loud noise awak-
ened him.
‘The (confession)
is a lie’
Paul Vega’s testimony
disputed previous testi-
mony by the two older
Vasquez children and a
recorded interview with
the defendant where she
said Vega had told Man-
uel he should forbid his
daughter from wearing
makeup, cutting her hair
or attending the prom,
and that sports was a bad
influence on his sons.
“What I read in the
paper didn’t happen,”
Paul Vega said. “I never
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
Noxubee County has
had a total of 1,240 cases
reported and 31 deaths
since the beginning of
the pandemic with only
five new cases and no new
deaths over the past two
weeks. The test positivity
rate has remained con-
stant at 2.0 percent for the
past month.
Noxubee County res-
idents have received
11,231 doses of the vac-
cine.
Clay County saw the
lowest number of new cas-
es over the past few weeks
with only three cases and
one death, bringing the
county’s total to 1,808 cas-
es and 54 deaths. Howev-
spread to schools in coun-
tries across the world in-
cluding Italy, India and
Ghana to name a few.
“We originally started
off as a platform for two
students to connect with
each other academically
without having that so-
cial barrier, so they could
help each other out in the
classroom,” Gopal said.
“We started out as just
three people with an idea
from scratch, and now we
are a cross-continental
operation.”
Before COVID-19,
Gopal said CampusK-
not focused its teaching
toward in-person class-
room settings. After ed-
ucation became virtual,
the company added new
online features, including
communication enhance-
ments and integrating
applications such as Cisco
WebEx and Zoom to the
platform.
Innovate Mississip-
pi Investment Manager
Lindsey Benefield said
she and her organization
have enjoyed watching
CampusKnot grow ever
since their partnership
began in 2017. She ex-
pressed that Campus-
Knot is an outstanding
representation of how the
once talked about make-
up or wearing dresses or
(Alexia) not going to the
prom … . Our relationship
wasn’t like that.”
But when Calderón be-
gan asking him to recall
what Manuel confided to
him, the prosecution ob-
jected on the grounds of
hearsay.
After sending the jury
out of the courtroom,
Judge Lee Coleman
and the attorneys had a
lengthy discussion over
which conversations Vega
could testify to. The judge
allowed Calderón to con-
tinue questioning Vega
outside the presence of
the jury.
Vega alleged that
Manuel had told him that
Christina Martinez and
Mary Sanchez, the vic-
tim’s mother, had been
“embezzling thousands of
dollars from (Manuel’s)
business and were using
witchcraft to turn Manu-
el back to the way he was
before.”
Coleman ruled that
the hearsay evidence
to establish the victim’s
mental state could not be
heard by the jury.
When the jury re-
turned, Calderón asked
Vega to describe Manuel’s
mental state in the days
leading up to June 24,
2015, without mention of
what the victim told him
in their conversations.
“He was very con-
cerned,” Vega said. “He
was afraid.”
On cross examination,
Lang questioned how well
Vega actually knew the
defendant.
“I think I do,” Vega
said. “I know her charac-
ter.”
Lang then pointed out
er, the test positivity rate
for Clay County increased
slightly from 1.1 percent
on Feb. 27 to 2.2 percent
on March 6.
There have been 5,205
doses of vaccines admin-
istered to Clay County
residents.
There were 322 new
cases reported through-
out the state on Wednes-
day, bringing Mississip-
pi’s case total to 301,924
and 6,938 deaths. There
have been 933,810 total
vaccinations adminis-
tered to Mississippi resi-
dents, with 339,675 fully
vaccinated.
technology
ecosystem
has cultivat-
ed in Mis-
sissippi.
“I love
working
with Cam-
p u s K n o t Benefield
and watching the busi-
ness develop into what it
is today,” Benefield said.
“It’s a multinational com-
pany, and it takes a lot of
work to launch a startup.
They’ve worked real-
ly hard, and I can’t wait
to see them continue to
grow.”
Gopal said the compa-
ny sees at least 1,000 ac-
tive customers a day, but
with the new marketing
strategy, he anticipates
4,000 to 5,000 daily cus-
tomers and 15,000 to
20,000 paid subscribers
every four months. He
said CampusKnot will im-
plement this marketing
plan within the next four
to five months.
“We built a strong,
solid foundation, and we
are ready to take it to the
next level,” Gopal said.
“Now, with the Seed Fund
and our investors, we can
grow and scale the com-
pany to what its true po-
tential is.”
that Lydia Martinez had
repeatedly accused Vega
of assisting her in the
murder of her son-in-law,
both in a letter charac-
terized as a suicide note/
confession and in an in-
terview with law enforce-
ment.
“That letter is a lie,”
Vega said. “When I saw
it, I said, ‘This sounds like
Christina, not Lydia.’”
In her testimony, Debo-
rah Vega said the relation-
ship between Christina
and Lydia was dominated
by the daughter.
“I could tell it was a
strained relationship,”
Deborah said, noting that
she didn’t see the kind of
warmth normally found in
a healthy mother-daugh-
ter relationship.
“Lydia was always do-
ing what Christina want-
ed her to do,” Deborah
said. “Lydia was always so
compliant.”
District Attorney Scott
Colom attacked that de-
scription during cross
examination, noting the
defendant’s children had
testified that Christina
and Lydia had a close re-
lationship.
“You would agree that
the children know their
mother and grandmother
better than you, wouldn’t
you?” Colom asked.
“(Alexia) said her mom
was close to her grand-
mother and there was no
strain in the relationship.
Wouldn’t what she said be
more reliable?”
“If she was telling the
truth, yes,” Deborah said.
“But I don’t know if she
was under duress to say
that.”
The defense is expect-
ed to finish its case today.
Sports
MISSISSIPPI STATE FOOTBALL
SPORTS LINE
662-241-5000
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021
B
SECTION

Leach updates QB battle as Dawgs open spring practice

BY BEN PORTNOY
bportnoy@cdispatch.com
STARKVILLE — Mis-
sissippi State has a quar-
terback competition on
its hands.
Speaking with report-
ers Thursday after the
Bulldogs opened spring
practices, head coach
Mike Leach noticeably
mentioned that incum-
bent starter Will Rogers
will have to “earn” his
job over a plethora of
signal-callers, including
Southern Miss transfer
Jack Abraham.
“He’s one of those
guys that’s a self-starter
when he works and you
trip over him in the film
room all the time,” Leach
said of Rogers. “So I
mean, that’s a good quali-
ty. He’s got to win his job,
too. That’s what spring is
all about. All the jobs are
open, and then they find
it out.”
While no frontrunner
has been named, it’s pre-
sumed Rogers heads into
camp with the edge given
the final two months of
the 2020 season he had.
After spelling an ineffec-
tive K.J. Costello, Rogers
completed at least 63 per-
cent of his passes in four
of his final six games.
He also became the first
passer in school history
with three consecutive
30-completion games
and sits tied for sixth in
300-yard passing games.
Thursday, Leach made
specific mention of Rog-
ers as a player who’s be-
come increasingly vocal
since last fall, something
that’s come with an add-
ed maturity and simply a
full offseason within the
program. With the depar-
tures of linebacker Erroll
Thompson and defensive
end Kobe Jones, MSU is
in need of a new set of vo-
cal leaders, and Rogers
seems poised to embrace
that role.
But for as good as Rog-
ers was down the stretch
and for what he’s shown Matt Bush/USA TODAY Sports
early, including guiding Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers (2) throws a pass against Vanderbilt on
See FOOTBALL, 2B Nov. 7 at Davis Wade Stadium.

MSU softball MISSISSIPPI STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL

welcomes
Florida for
first home
Bulldogs preparing for NIT opener against SLU
SEC series
BY THEO DEROSA
tderosa@cdispatch.com

Standing on her rivals’

field after Monday’s loss
at Ole Miss, Mississip-
pi State softball coach
Samantha Ricketts ad-
mitted something wasn’t
right.
The Bulldogs were un-
derstandably excited to
play their first Southeast-
ern Conference series
in 22 months when they
traveled to Oxford for a
three-game set from Sat-
urday through Monday.
Action photos cropped
up all over players’ Insta-
gram pages, and the Bull-
dogs yelled loudly from
the first-base visitors’
dugout.
But after Mississippi
State scored just one run
all weekend in a sweep at
the hands of its in-state
rival, Ricketts said she
could tell not everything
was back to normal.
“It just seems differ-
See SOFTBALL, 2B
Cooks, Morris
will transfer
from MSU
women’s hoops
BY BEN PORTNOY
bportnoy@cdispatch.com
STARK VILLE —
Mississippi State will
lose two more members
of the 2020 -21 women’s
basketball team.
Former Michigan
State import Sidney
Cooks announced
Thursday morning that
she intends to trans-
fer from Mississippi
State with one year of
eligibility left, while
center Yemiyah Morris
disclosed her plans to
leave later in the day.
Cooks intends to trans-
fer as she pursues law
school, which MSU
doesn’t have.
“I want to thank you
for your support and en-
couragement these last
two years,” she wrote
in an announcement
posted to her Twitter
account. “From my time
on the court to the emo-
tional support shown
during the events of
this past summer, you
all have been there for
me.”
Cooks arrived at
MSU with considerable
hype as a former five-
See TRANSFERS, 2B
Mississippi State coach Ben Howland was glad to accept a berth to the NIT after several schools opted out. After the Bulldogs missed
out on the SEC tournament last season because of the pandemic, Howland said any postseason experience would be good for MSU.
BY GARRICK HODGE
ghodge@cdispatch.com
STARKVILLE — Following
Mississippi State’s Southeast-
ern Conference tournament
loss to Alabama, Ben Howland
thought his team only had an
“outside shot” of getting into
the NIT.
Then came a flurry of opt-
outs from teams that had no
interest in going to college
basketball’s consolation tour-
nament. Pair that with the fact
officials from the NIT reached
out to MSU to gauge its interest
in the tournament before the
SEC tournament started, and
the sixth-year coach knew the
chances of continuing the Bull-
dogs’ season were growing by
the hour Sunday.
Filled with a roster of mostly
underclassmen and players in a
starting role for the first time,
Howland jumped at the chance
to continue playing postseason
basketball when presented with
an invite. The Bulldogs start
NIT play as a No. 4 seed with
a matchup against No. 1 Saint
Louis at 4 p.m. Saturday in Fris-
co, Texas. If victorious, MSU
will play Richmond, who defeat-
ed Toledo 76-66 Wednesday, on
March 25.
“I was excited, honestly,”
Howland said of learning MSU
would be in the 16-team field.
“... We are a young team. Any
time you can get some postsea-
son experience, I think it helps
kids. There’s only the 68 plus 16
teams that are playing (in the
postseason), everybody else is
done … We went through a year
last year where we didn’t get to
play in the SEC tournament. We
had a double bye. So, to have
a chance to still be playing, to
Alabama’s Herb Jones (1) blocks Mississippi State’s Cameron
Matthews (4) during March 12’s SEC tournament quarterfinal in
Nashville, Tenn. The Crimson Tide beat the Bulldogs 85-48.
be hooping, to be playing ball,
what’s better than this?”
Howland said he expects
his full roster will be available
against Saint Louis and doesn’t
expect any players to opt out
of the NIT. It will be the 10th
overall NIT appearance for the
Bulldogs and the first since
the 2017-2018 season when a
Pool photo
Quinndary Weatherspoon-led
MSU team reached the NIT
semifinals. One year later, the
Bulldogs were in the NCAA
tournament for the first time in
a decade.
“I think a lot of times with
a young team that plays in the
NIT, you’re trying to use this
as a springboard into next sea-
Pool photo
son, especially when it comes
to postseason play,” Howland
said. “We hope that’s the case.
I’ve seen it happen many times.
It definitely helped us that year
going into 2019. It was a good
experience.”
MSU has won four of its last
five NIT openers, but this time
it will be going against a Saint
Louis team that was the third
team out of the NCAA tourna-
ment. Saturday will mark the
first time the Bulldogs have
seen SLU since the 2014-2015
season, when MSU earned a 75-
50 victory.
Saint Louis has feasted on
home cooking this season,
going 12-1 in its own building
compared to a 2-5 record when
it plays elsewhere. For context,
MSU went 5-4 on the road this
season.
Offensively, Saint Louis is
heavily reliant on two players
considering it only has two dou-
ble-digit scorers on the roster:
6-foot-6 forward Javonte Perkins
(17 points per game) and guard
Jordan Goodwin (14.5 ppg).
“They’re a very good team,
and they’re very well coached,”
Howland said. “(SLU coach
Travis Ford) does an outstand-
ing job. They shoot it. They’re
good around the basket. They’ll
change defenses. They’re pri-
marily man-to-man, but they will
also play three different zones.
They’ll play a 1-3-1, they’ll play a
3-2, and they’ll even play a little
bit of a 2-3. They’re tough.”
Looking ahead in a sin-
gle-game elimination may be
a fool’s errand, but if the Bull-
dogs can pick up two victories, a
matchup with either Ole Miss or
Western Kentucky, coached by
former MSU coach Rick Stans-
bury, remains a possibility.
2B FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021
CALENDAR
Today
College Softball
Florida at Mississippi State, 6 p.m.
College Baseball
Mississippi State at LSU, 6 p.m.
Saturday
College Softball
Florida at Mississippi State, 2 p.m.
College Baseball
Mississippi State at LSU, 6:30 p.m.
Sunday
College Softball
Florida at Mississippi State, 11 a.m.
College Baseball
Mississippi State at LSU, 2 p.m.
ON THE AIR
Today
COLLEGE BASEBALL
6 p.m. — Mississippi State at LSU,
SECN
COLLEGE BASKETBALL (MEN’S)
11 a.m. — NCAA Tournament: Virginia
Tech vs. Florida, First Round, Indianap-
olis, CBS
11:30 a.m. — NCAA Tournament:
Colgate vs. Arkansas, First Round,
Indianapolis, TRUTV
Noon — NCAA Tournament: Drexel vs.
Illinois, First Round, Indianapolis, TBS
12:30 p.m. — NCAA Tournament: Utah
St. vs. Texas Tech, First Round, Bloom-
ington, Ind., TNT
2 p.m. — NCAA Tournament: Oral
Roberts vs. Ohio St., First Round, West
Lafayette, Ind., CBS
2:20 p.m. — NCAA Tournament: Hart-
ford vs. Baylor, First Round, Indianapo-
lis, TRUTV
2:50 p.m. — NCAA Tournament: Geor-
gia Tech vs. Loyola of Chicago, First
Round, Indianapolis, TBS
3:20 p.m. — NCAA Tournament: Oregon
St. vs. Tennessee, First Round, India-
napolis, TNT
5:15 p.m. — NCAA Tournament: Liberty
vs. Oklahoma St., First Round, India-
napolis, TBS
6 p.m. — NCAA Tournament: Wisconsin
vs. North Carolina, First Round, West
Lafayette, Ind., CBS
6 p.m. — NIT: Buffalo vs. Colorado St.,
First Round, Denton, Texas, ESPN2
6 p.m. — NCAA Tournament: Cleveland
St. vs. Houston, First Round, Blooming-
ton, Ind., TRUTV
6:15 p.m. — NCAA Tournament: North
Texas vs. Purdue, First Round, Indianap-
olis, TNT
8 p.m. — NIT: Louisiana Tech vs. Ole
Miss, First Round, Frisco, Texas, ESPN2
8:10 p.m. — NCAA Tournament:
Rutgers vs. Clemson, First Round,
Indianapolis, TBS
8:40 p.m. — NCAA Tournament: Syr-
acuse vs. San Diego St., First Round,
Indianapolis, CBS
8:45 p.m. — NCAA Tournament: More-
head St. vs. West Virginia, First Round,
Indianapolis, TRUTV
8:50 p.m. — NCAA Tournament:
Winthrop vs. Villanova, First Round,
Indianapolis, TNT
NBA BASKETBALL
9 p.m. — Dallas at Portland, NBATV
NHL HOCKEY
6 p.m. — NY Rangers at Washington,
NHLN
Saturday
COLLEGE BASKETBALL (MEN’S)
11 a.m. — NCAA Tournament:
Georgetown vs. Colorado, First Round,
Indianapolis, CBS
11 a.m. — NIT: Dayton vs. Memphis,
First Round, Denton, Texas, ESPN
11:30 a.m. — NCAA Tournament: UNC
Greensboro vs. Arkansas, First Round,
Indianapolis, TRUTV
Noon — NCAA Tournament: Eastern
Washington vs. Kansas, First Round,
Indianapolis, TBS
12:30 p.m. — NCAA Tournament: St.
Bonaventure vs. LSU, First Round,
Bloomington, Ind., TNT
2 p.m. — NCAA Tournament: Texas
Southern vs. Michigan., First Round,
West Lafayette, Ind., CBS
2:20 p.m. — NCAA Tournament: Creigh-
ton vs. UC Santa Barbara, First Round,
Indianapolis, TRUTV
2:50 p.m. — NCAA Tournament: Iona
vs. Alabama, First Round, Indianapolis,
TBS
3:20 p.m. — NCAA Tournament: Drake
vs. USC, First Round, Indianapolis, TNT
4 p.m. — NIT: Mississippi State vs.
Saint Louis, First Round, Frisco, Texas,
ESPN
5:15 p.m. — NCAA Tournament: Grand
Canyon vs. Iowa, First Round, Indianap-
olis, TBS
6 p.m. — NCAA Tournament: Maryland
vs. Connecticut, First Round, West
Lafayette, Ind., CBS
6 p.m. — NCAA Tournament: Ohio vs.
Virginia, First Round, Bloomington, Ind.,
TRUTV
6:15 p.m. — NCAA Tournament:
Missouri vs. Oklahoma, First Round,
Indianapolis, TNT
8:10 p.m. — NCAA Tournament:
Norfolk State vs. Gonzaga, First Round,
Indianapolis, TBS
8:40 p.m. — NCAA Tournament: UCLA
vs. BYU, First Round, Indianapolis, CBS
8:45 p.m. — NCAA Tournament:
Abilene Christian vs. Texas, First
Round, Indianapolis, TRUTV
8:50 p.m. — NCAA Tournament: VCU
vs. Oregon, First Round, Indianapolis,
TNT
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
PREP ROUNDUP
Heritage Academy baseball splits with Biloxi, Gautier
BY THEO DEROSA
tderosa@cdispatch.com
BILOXI — The Heritage
Academy baseball team went
1-1 against two strong oppo-
nents Thursday on the Missis-
sippi Gulf Coast.
The Patriots (14-4) fell 5-3
to host Biloxi High School in
six innings in the Battle of
the Beach tournament before
beating Gautier 12-1 in four in-
nings later Thursday.
Aaron Downs had three
hits for Heritage Academy in
the win over the Gators as the
Patriots put up a seven-run
third inning. Harris Gunter,
Baker Imes, Caleb Hall and
Cole Ketchum all had multiple
RBIs.
Rhett Ketchum struck out
eight while pitching all four in-
nings for Heritage Academy.
In the Pats’ loss to the In-
dians, Carson Hollis led Heri-
tage Academy with two RBIs.
Football
Continued from Page 1B
MSU to a win over No. 24 Tul-
sa in the Armed Forces Bowl,
he figures to have stiff com-
petition from Abraham.
A near dinosaur by college
football standards, the former
Southern Miss quarterback
has played at three schools
in five years since graduating
from Oxford High School in
the class of 2016. Abraham
passed for more than 7,000
yards in 27 career games in
Hattiesburg and is one of just
three players in program his-
tory to throw for more than
3,000 yards in a single sea-
son.
His most prolific year at
Southern Miss came as a
redshirt sophomore when he
finished third in the country
with a 79.3 adjusted comple-
tion percentage according to
Transfers
Continued from Page 1B
star recruit and McDonald’s
All-American. In her two
years at Michigan State,
she averaged 9.5 points and
4.5 rebounds per game but
failed to reach those marks
in Starkville. After sitting
out a year due to NCA A
transfer rules, Cooks av-
eraged 6.1 points, 3.9 re-
bounds and 1.3 assists per
game this season. She also
saw her 3-point percentage
dip from 40.3 percent during
the 2018-19 season at Mich-
igan State to 35.3 percent
this season at MSU.
Cooks’ most prolific out-
ing as a Bulldog came in a
Dec. 14 win over Troy where
she scored a career-high
26 points on 6 -of-11 from
3-point range.
“It’s good to be back,” she
said at the time. “It’s good
Softball
Continued from Page 1B
ent,” she said. “I think that’s
something we’re going to have
to work on.”
If the Bulldogs hope to cor-
rect whatever issues derailed
their first conference series
of the year, they won’t have
much room for error. Missis-
sippi State (15-8, 0-3 SEC)
welcomes No. 5 Florida (17-2,
2-1) to Nusz Park for a three-
game weekend set. Friday’s
game begins at 6 p.m., Satur-
day’s contest begins at 2 p.m.,
and first pitch Sunday will be
at 2 p.m.
The Gators are one of the
10 ranked teams in Tuesday’s
NFCA/USA TODAY coaches
poll, meaning the SEC con-
tains 40 percent of the top 25
softball programs in the coun-
try. Besides Mississippi State,
only Texas A&M and Ole Miss
are unranked.
That means six of the Bull-
dogs’ remaining conference
opponents are ranked foes,
beginning with Florida. It was
the Gators whom the Bulldogs
faced in their final SEC series
of 2019, in which Mississip-
pi State took two of three in
Gainesville, Florida. Because
of the COVID-19 pandemic,
the Dawgs’ 2020 season was
cut short just one day before
they were scheduled to host
Kentucky for a three-game set
to open the conference slate.
In the lengthy interlude
Cole Ketchum had two hits at
the plate and struck out four in
four innings on the mound.
Heritage Academy will face
Theodore (Ala.) at 7:30 p.m.
Friday at Ocean Springs High
School.
Other scores
Prep Softball
Pickens Academy (Ala.) 18,
Heritage Christian Academy
(Ala.) 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —
The Pickens Academy (Al-
abama) softball team beat
Heritage Christian Academy
(Alabama) 18-1 in Thursday’s
road game.
Senior Baylee Jaynes went
4 for 4 and drove in four runs
for the Pirates. Eighth-grader
Lily Lowery was 3 for 3 and
came a home run short of the
cycle. She stole four bases and
also had four RBIs.
Senior Courtney Dud-
Pro Football Focus when he
was under the guidance of air
raid disciple Shannon Daw-
son — now the offensive co-
ordinator and quarterbacks
coach under Dana Holgorsen
at Houston.
“We’re right in the thick of
it now as far as seeing who can
do what, because they’re new
faces,” Leach said of the com-
petition. “I haven’t coached a
number of them, and so we’ll
see that. We got some good
film today. I was encouraged
by how they threw the ball.”
With just one practice in
the books, there’s no real
timeline in terms of naming a
starting quarterback accord-
ing to Leach. Five players, he
said, repped at quarterback
during the first full day of
spring ball. But for whoev-
to know that just because
my journey was a little bit
different, that I could make
it happen here, I’m just re-
ally blessed to be here and
have this opportunity to be
healthy and playing. I’m just
grateful for that right now.”
Cooks was also instru-
mental in organizing a stu-
dent-athlete Black Lives
Matter march in September
and has been a vocal advo-
cate for racial injustice re-
form since the summer. A
native of Kenosha, Wiscon-
sin, the shooting of Jacob
Blake, who is Black, by po-
lice officers occurred just a
few blocks from her home.
“It really hurt me,” Cooks
said in September. “And
then to see later in the night,
how the people in the city
reacted — I just knew they
Mississippi State pitcher Aspen Wesley is part of a Bulldogs
staff that currently owns the worst ERA in the SEC. The Bull-
dogs will be tasked with fixing that against fifth-ranked Florida.
between the shortened 2020
campaign and the start of
2021, Ricketts said her team
talked plenty about the “atti-
tude of gratitude” necessary
for its eventual return.
“We needed to really be ap-
preciative of the opportunity,
and you appreciate the oppor-
tunity by giving it your best
effort,” she said.
But after a 15-5 start to the
season, that effort was con-
spicuously absent over the
weekend against the Rebels.
The Bulldogs left runners on
base time and time again, let
errors turn into runs and were
swept right out of the Ole Miss
Softball Complex.
“I don’t think we played to
ley was 2 for 3 with a double
and triple, driving in two.
Eighth-grader Morgan Shires
went 3 for 3.
Pickens will host Resto-
ration Academy (Alabama) for
a doubleheader beginning at 4
p.m. March 26.
Prep Baseball
Starkville Academy 10, Res-
urrection Catholic 4, six in-
nings
BILOXI — Starkville Acad-
emy beat Resurrection Cath-
olic 10-4 in six innings at the
Battle of the Beach at Biloxi
High School.
Cooper McNeel had one
of three triples for the Volun-
teers and drove in four runs.
Porter Skelton and Harris
McReynolds also hit triples,
and Skelton pitched a com-
plete game on the mound.
Will McReynolds and Ran-
dall Futral each had an RBI
as every Starkville Academy
er comes out of the spring,
there’s still the expectation
that the competition will per-
sist into the fall.
Leach said Thursday he’d
ideally head into the summer
with his quarterback compe-
tition whittled down to two
passers, though things figure
to change again in the fall
when four-star passer Sawyer
Robertson arrives on cam-
pus.
Robertson comes to MSU
as the highest-rated quarter-
back prospect to sign with
the school in the 247Sports
composite rankings era. As
a sophomore, he completed
313 of 483 throws for 3,564
yards and 43 touchdowns
to just seven interceptions,
while he tossed another 3,914
yards and 44 touchdowns the
were hurt, too. We wouldn’t
expect little Kenosha, Wis-
consin, to have this much
stuff going on.”
Morris came to MSU
after a standout career at
Cochise College (Arizona).
Generally reserved for mop
up duty, she averaged just
3.3 points and 2.6 rebounds
over her two-year stint with
the Bulldogs.
“I’d like to thank the fans
and community for your love
and support of me and my
teammates the last two years
in Starkville,” she wrote on
Twitter. “To my teammates,
I’ve loved the two years I’ve
gotten to grow with you all,
and I wish you guys all the
best.”
Cooks and Morris be-
come the third and fourth
Mississippi State player to
Austin Perryman/Mississippi State Athletics
our potential,” Ricketts said
after Monday’s game. “We’ve
got to hit a little better, pitch
better, defense — just kind of
everything that you need to be
working.”
It’s still early in the SEC
slate, and Mississippi State
certainly has a chance to
make amends in its first home
SEC series since April 26-28
against Missouri. That won’t
be easy against a Gators team
that just took two of three
games to win a home series
with No. 9 Kentucky.
Here are four things to
know about Florida:
— The Gators’ collective
1.20 ERA ranks third in the
SEC, while Mississippi State’s
player in the lineup reached
base.
Starkville Academy will
host Leake Academy for a dou-
bleheader beginning at 4 p.m.
Tuesday.
Pickens Academy (Ala.) 12,
Heritage Christian Academy
(Ala.) 1, five innings
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —
Pickens Academy (Alabama)
beat Heritage Christian Acad-
emy (Alabama) 12-1 in five
innings Thursday in Birming-
ham.
Bodhi Parham went 2 for
3 with three runs scored and
three RBIs for the Pirates.
Will Noland was 2 for 2 with
two RBIs, and Lane Lowery
had a hit and two RBIs.
Lowery pitched all five in-
nings and struck out seven.
Pickens will host Resto-
ration Academy (Alabama) for
a doubleheader beginning at 4
p.m. March 26.
following fall.
The Bulldogs also have
three-star freshman quarter-
back Daniel Greek already
on campus. Greek, the son
of a coach who’s spent years
running a variation of Leach’s
air raid, was the less herald-
ed of MSU’s 2021 quarter-
back signees but possesses
enough experience in the
scheme to carve a niche this
spring.
“When we get to (fall)
camp, we’re gonna do the
same thing again,” Leach ex-
plained. “So you want to give
everybody as many resources
as you can to compete, but
regardless who we feel like is
ahead in spring, we’re going
to do it again the first week of
camp.”
leave the program since
the Bulldogs’ season ended
Monday night when they
weren’t selected for the
NCA A Tournament, though
their departures were ex-
pected. Sophomore JaMya
Mingo-Young announced
her intention to transfer on
Tuesday, while junior Xaria
Wiggins did so last week.
MSU finished its first
season under Nikki Mc-
Cray-Penson 10 -9 (5-7 SEC)
but missed the NCA A tour-
nament for the first time
since the 2013-14 season. A
source with knowledge of
the situation confirmed to
The Dispatch this week that
the Bulldogs also declined
an invitation to the WNIT in
recent days.
mark of 3.32 is dead last.
Florida’s top two pitchers are
Elizabeth Hightower, who has
posted an 0.90 ERA in 54.1 in-
nings, and Natalie Lugo, who
has a 1.62 mark in 39 innings.
Katie Chronister has thrown
26.2 innings of 1.31 ERA ball
for Florida.
— The Bulldogs have out-
hit the Gators in 2021, but not
by much: Mississippi State
has an eight-point edge in bat-
ting average, a six-point ad-
vantage in on-base percentage
and a 37-point lead in slugging
percentage. Junior third base-
man Charla Echols and senior
infielder Hannah Adams are
Florida’s two leading hitters
in 2021 as both boast an av-
erage over .400 and an OPS
above 1.200.
— Florida has faced just
one ranked opponent in its
nonconference schedule to
date, playing a home-and-
home series with No. 13 Flor-
ida State. The Gators took the
first game in Gainesville and
lost the second in Tallahassee.
Florida also won both games
of a home series against Lou-
isville.
— Mississippi State is 21-
38 all time against Florida.
Before the Bulldogs’ series
win in 2019, the Gators swept
the prior two three-game sets
between the two schools in
2016 and 2018.
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021 3B

UCLA beats Michigan State in overtime in First Four game

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WEST LAFAYET TE, Ind.
— UCLA showed plenty of fight
in its overtime win over Michi-
gan State in a First Four game
in the NCA A tournament.
The Spartans showed some
fight, too — among themselves.
After coach Tom Izzo and
forward Gabe Brown carried a
shouting match into halftime,
the Spartans proceeded to
blow an 11-point lead over the
next 20 minutes. UCLA forced
overtime on Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s
three-point play with 3.3 sec-
onds to go, then pulled away
in the extra session for an 86-
80 victory at Mackey Arena on
Thursday night.
The Bruins scored the first
four points in overtime and led
83-80 when Cody Riley hit a
foul shot with 26 seconds left.
The Spartans’ Josh Langford
missed at the other end, and
Jaylen Clark hit two more free
throws to send the Bruins into
a first-round game against No.
6 seed BYU on Saturday night
at Hinkle Fieldhouse in India-
napolis.
Jaquez finished with a ca-
reer-high 27 points, Johnny
Juzang added 23, and Riley and
Jules Bernard scored 11 apiece
for the Bruins (20-7), who had
lost to the Spartans (15-13)
each of the past two seasons.
Aaron Henry led Michi-
gan State with 18 points, five
rebounds and seven assists.
Langford added 12 points and
seven rebounds, though he
missed a free throw in over-
time and another shot in the
final seconds.
Drake 53, Wichita State 52
Joseph Yesufu scored 21
points and Drake held on to
beat Wichita State 53-52 in a
tense First Four matchup be-
tween former Missouri Valley
Conference rivals.
Drake’s last tournament
victory had been 50 years ago
to the day — March 18, 1971,
against Notre Dame.
Wichita State’s Dexter Den-
nis made a 3-pointer with 8 sec-
onds remaining to trim Drake’s
lead to a point. The Bulldogs
got the ball in to Yesufu, who
was fouled. He missed the front
end of a 1-and-1 to give the
Shockers a chance, but Wichita
State’s Alterique Gilbert set-
tled for a long 3-pointer that hit
the front rim as time expired.
Tremell Murphy added 11
points for 11th-seeded Drake
(26-4), which advanced to play
sixth-seeded Southern Califor-
nia in the West Region on Sat-
urday.
Norfolk State 54,
Appalachian State 53
Devante Carter made two
free throws with 8.6 seconds
remaining and Norfolk State
held on to beat Appalachian
State 54-53 on Thursday night
in the First Four after blowing
an 18-point second-half lead.
The Mid-Eastern Athletic
Conference champion Spartans
completed a sweep by histori-
cally Black colleges and univer-
sities on the first day of NCA A
tournament play, joining South-
western Athletic Conference
champion Texas Southern,
which beat Mount St. Mary’s.
Norfolk State advanced to face
top overall seed Gonzaga on
Saturday.
Jalen Hawkins scored 20
of his career-high 24 points
off the bench before halftime
for the Spartans (17-7), who
earned their first tournament
win since upsetting No. 2 seed
Missouri in 2012.
Texas Southern 60, Mount
St. Mary’s 52
After scoring a season-high
19 points, grabbing a ca-
reer-high tying nine rebounds
and leading Texas Southern
back from a 10-point halftime
deficit to beat Mount St. Mary’s
60-52 in the first tourney game
in nearly two years, John Walk-
er III let loose.
The Tigers (17-8) have
won 10 straight overall and
improved to 2-0 in First Four
games. Their win over North
Carolina Central in 2018 was
the program’s first in the NCAA
Tournament. Next up for the
No. 16 seed in the East Region
is top-seeded Michigan (20-4)
on Saturday.

Comics & Puzzles

DILBERT
Dear Abby
D
EAR ABBY:
For more
than four
decades, my
stepmother,
“Vera,” and I
never got along.
We tolerated
each other for the
sake of my father,
who has now
passed away.
ZITS I’m a 60-year-old
male reader and
unsure how to
respond to some
recent state- Dear Abby
ments she has
been making.
For the record, I and many
others always found Vera to be
extremely self-absorbed and
lacking in empathy. She often
treated my father unkindly,
bordering on abusive before
and during his slow decline
GARFIELD with dementia, even though
she never had to provide any
hands-on care. Yes, I know
it’s hard to always be patient
in these cases, but Dad was
never “difficult” or violent —
just forgetful.
I call and visit Vera (who is
now 87) occasionally, out of
a sense of duty. A few times
she has mentioned the unkind
things she said or did to my
father, not expressing remorse
but possibly feeling some guilt.
Thus far, I have ignored
CANDORVILLE
Horoscopes
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (March
19). A guiding realization: Other
people’s definition of success
is great for them but would be
a hollow win for you. You have
your own version and will em-
body it. You commit to what’s
important, and life shifts to
support those priorities. You’ll
have excellent luck attracting
the right resources and rela-
tionships. Gemini and Scorpio
BABY BLUES adore you. Your lucky numbers
are: 1, 30, 22, 27 and 16.
ARIES (March 21-April 19).
A person with a good attitude
sees a mixed-bag opportunity
and thinks of making the most
of it. But you don’t have a good
attitude. Your attitude is stellar.
You absolutely know you’ll crush
BEETLE BAILEY
MALLARD FILLMORE
FAMILY CIRCUS
these remarks,
though I want to
let her know I felt
sad and angry
about how she
acted and could
never live with
myself if I’d treat-
ed my seriously
ill spouse that
way. Should I
keep letting it go
or express how
I really feel? —
GRIEVING SON
IN THE WEST
DEAR SON:
The next time
Vera mentions
the unkind things she said or
did to your dad, feel free to
speak up and let her know that
not only did you notice but also
how you feel about it. Frankly,
it is admirable that you check
in on the woman at all consid-
ering how you felt about each
other all those years. I don’t
think most people would do as
much as you have done under
similar circumstances.
DEAR ABBY: I have two
wonderful grandparents I love
very much. They are the most
important people in my life,
and I always think about them
when planning anything in my
life because I want to make
them happy.
The problem is I want to
go to college out of state and
the coal into a diamond.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20).
Looking past people’s limita-
tions, searching for their beauty,
seeing it, pointing it out... these
are some of the ways you make
others happy. So much of that
happiness will splash back onto
you.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21).
The work of love isn’t a doing/
acting/fixing job today. The work
of love is a listening gig, an “en-
tering in the spirit of another”
practice, a task that encom-
passes receiving and relaxing.
CANCER (June 22-July
22). What you’re hearing will
mentally trigger a story about
the time it happened to you,
but you won’t tell that story.
pursue a career that isn’t pos-
sible in the city or state they
live in. They want me to live
with them in a city I can’t be
happy in because of this.
How do I tell them I can’t
see myself staying there for
the rest of my life? I know they
won’t be happy hearing it, but I
don’t want to disappoint them
or make them think I don’t
love them anymore by leaving.
Please help. I don’t know what
to do or what path in life to
take. — AT A CROSSROADS IN
TEXAS
DEAR AT A CROSSROADS:
You ARE at a crossroads.
You’re standing in the inter-
section of adolescence and
adulthood. You deserve the
chance to fulfill your dreams,
so it’s time for an adult conver-
sation with your grandparents.
Explain that you love them and
don’t want to disappoint them,
and outline what your plans
are regarding your education
and your career. While they
may be disappointed, if they
love you as much as you love
them, they won’t stand in your
way.
Dear Abby is written by
Abigail Van Buren, also known
as Jeanne Phillips, and was
founded by her mother, Pauline
Phillips. Contact Dear Abby
at www.DearAbby.com or P.O.
Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA
90069.
Instead, you’ll give your support
generously without flipping
focus your way.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You
like to know what others are
doing, but even more interesting
to you is why they are doing
it. You’re not content with the
first reasons that surface. Your
fascination kicks in with the
deeper ones.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22).
You would like it if people would
understand what’s important
to you, but when they don’t,
you simply show them again,
no fuss. People often need
multiple examples to internalize
knowledge.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23).
As the second air sign of the
zodiac, you have intimate knowl-
edge of the kind of wonders that
can arrive on the wind. Psychic
breezes will kick up today,
not so hard as to blow you off
course but just strong enough
to gently rock you.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21).
Setting things straight works
wonderfully in a linear situation,
like a library shelf. As for the
biological and emotional world,
circles and wiggliness are the
norm. There’s no sillier futility
than trying to set wiggly things
straight!
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec.
21). The silence between two
people is as unique as the
sound of their shared language.
As you listen to a quiet punctu-
ated by words, you’ll hear clearly
the heart’s intention.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan.
19). What do you want? You’ve
been choosing for the good of
others, but if you’re not happy
too, no one will be happy. Make
yourself smile first, and then
watch the other faces alight.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.
18). Integrity is power. Loyalty,
honor, stoicism, duty — all the
qualities that could fit into the
themes of heroic drama will
also apply to your role and the
current scene of which you are
definitely the hero.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March
20). Even great beauty isn’t
recognized by all. Some see it.
Many miss. You have the sort of
thoughtful, intelligent eye that
can and will see many different
kinds of beauty, even when it’s
enshrouded in ordinariness.

A pig in a poke
SOLUTION:
4B FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

US schools prepare summer of learning to help kids catch up

COVID relief package allocates $122B in aid to K-12
public schools, including $30B specifically for summer
school, after-school and other enrichment programs
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MISSION, Kan. — Af-
ter a dreary year spent
largely at home in front of
the computer, many U.S.
children could be looking
at summer school — and
that’s just what many par-
ents want.
Although the last place
most kids want to spend
summer is in a classroom,
experts say that after a
year of interrupted study,
it’s crucial to do at least
some sort of learning over
the break, even if it’s not in
school and is incorporated
into traditional camp offer-
ings.
Several governors,
including in California,
Kansas and Virginia, are
pushing for more summer
learning. And some states
are considering extending
their 2021-22 academic
year or starting the fall se-
mester early. Many cities,
meanwhile, are talking
about beefing up their
summer school programs,
including Los Angeles,
Hartford, Connecticut
and Atlanta — the latter
of which considered mak-
ing summer school com-
pulsory before settling for
strongly recommending
that kids who are strug-
gling take part.
“People are exhausted
right now, but they know
that it is really important
for our kids,” said Randi
Weingarten, the head of
American Federation of
Teachers, who has been
calling for what she de-
scribed as a voluntary
“second second semester”
and for districts to start re-
cruiting for it.
The new $1.9 trillion
coronavirus relief package
should help, as it allocates
$122 billion in aid to K-12
public schools, including
$30 billion specifically
for summer school, af-
ter-school and other en-
richment programs.
The influx of money and
increase in summer offer-
ings has come as a relief to
parents of kids who strug-
gled with remote learning
during the coronavirus
pandemic. Among them
is Ashley Freeman, of St.
Paul, Minnesota, who quit
her nursing assistant job
when the pandemic began
so that she could help her
kids learn from home and
because a frightening past
bout with the H1N1 flu that
landed her on a ventilator.
Freeman, 32, is eager to
get back to work after hav-
ing to rely on food stamps
and other benefits to get
through the pandemic.
She feels her kids have
fallen behind academically
and is hoping they’ll catch
up over the break — her
district recently extended
its summer program by
two weeks.
“I need something
where they keep their
education going because
they have lacked this en-
tire last year,” she said
late last month about an
hour after her 11-year-old
daughter and 6-year-old
son returned to in-person
classes for the first time
in nearly a year. “I feel like
the kids have struggled
tremendously.”
has traditionally been one
of the most inequitable
Keri Rodrigues, a
co-founder of the educa-
times in education, with
kids from upper and mid-
tion advocacy group the dle income households
National Parents Union, getting to attend camps or
said her kids have floun- take part in other enrich-
dered with remote learn- ment activities that often
ing even though she
aren’t an option for poorer
transformed the family’s
ones, said Aaron Dworkin,
suburban Boston living
the CEO of the National
room into a classroom
and hired them a tutor. Summer Learning Associ-
She said her family isn’t ation, a nonprofit focused
unique. on increasing investment
“We don’t have any time in summer learning.
to waste here,” she said.
“We need to access where
our kids are, determine
what they need, and then
get to work right away and
not just put it off for three
months for no apparent
reason while our families
continue to deteriorate
and our kids continue to
suffer.”
Engaging poor chil-
dren should be a priority,
educators say. Summer

COMMERCIAL DISPATCH
OBITUARY POLICY
Obituaries with basic informa-
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
homes unless the deceased’s
body has been donated to
science. If the deceased’s
body was donated to science,
the family must provide official
proof of death. Please submit
all obituaries on the form pro-
vided by The Commercial Dis-
patch. Free notices must be
submitted to the newspaper
no later than 3 p.m. the day
prior for publication Tuesday
through Friday; no later than 4
p.m. Saturday for the Sunday
edition; and no later than 7:30
a.m. for the Monday edition.
Incomplete notices must be re-
ceived no later than 7:30 a.m.
for the Monday through Friday
Mr. Harris was
born Feb. 27, 1942, in
Columbus, to the late
Henderson Harris and
Ethel Harris. He was a
veteran of the United
States Army and was
a member of Mt. Zion
M.B. Church.
In addition to his
parents, he was pre-
ceded in death by his
siblings, Henderson
Harris Jr., Marshall
Harris Jr., James E.
Harris, Roosevelt Col-
lins and Louiseanner
Hughes.
He is survived by
his wife, Annie Harris;
children, Daphne Kidd
of Augusta, Georgia,
Sophia Barideaux of
Aurora, Colorado,
Trina Smith of Lithoni,
Georgia, Angela Harris
of Morrow, Georgia;
AREA OBITUARIES
of Macon is in charge
of arrangements.
Mrs. Bush was born
Feb. 7, 1940, in Noxu-
bee County, to the late
T.C. Boyd and Amelia
Heaven. She was a
member of Christian
Hill MBC.
In addition to her
parents, she was pre-
ceded in death by her
husband, Nathaniel
Bush.
She is survived by
her daughter, Chimeka
Bush of Brooksville;
sister, Margaret Robin-
son of Columbus; and
three grandchildren.
Josephine Robinson
NOXUBEE COUN-
TY — Josephine M.
Robinson,
59, died
March 8,
Linda Burns
Visitation:
Saturday, March 20 • 11 AM-1 PM
College St. Location
Services:
Saturday, March 20 • 1 PM
Lamar Mosely. Home of Starkville is College St. Location
Burial
In addition to her in charge of arrange- Mt. Zion Baptist Church Cemetery
mother, she is survived ments. College St. Location
by her children, Ri- He is survived by his
cardo Mosley of San parents, Robert Vaughn
Antonio, Texas, Erica Sr. and Linda Vaughn;
Mosley and Romo- son, Jalontae Vaughn;
nia Mosley both of and siblings, Ange-
Shuqualak; siblings, Jo lia Watt, Roshanda
memorialgunterpeel.com
Ann Scott, Johnny C. Vaughn Gregory and
Mosley, O.C. Mosley, Robert Vaughn Jr.
all of Shuqualak and See OBITUARIES, 5B
Albert Mosley of Mem-
phis, Tennessee; and
five grandchildren.
Anderson Jackson
WEST POINT —
Anderson Jackson, 94,
died March 11, 2021,
at North Mississippi
Medical Center of West
Point.
Graveside services
will be at 11 a.m. Satur-
day, at Sykes Cemetery
in Monroe County,

editions. Paid notices must be
finalized by 3 p.m. for inclusion
the next day Monday through
Thursday; and on Friday by 3
p.m. for Sunday and Monday
publication. For more informa-
tion, call 662-328-2471.
Jessie Harris
COLUMBUS —
Jessie Harris, 79, died
March
12, 2021,
at Baptist
Memorial
Hospi-
tal-Golden
Triangle.
Grave-
side ser-
Harris
vices will
be at 11 a.m. Saturday,
at Memorial Gardens
Cemetery, with the Rev.
Therman Cunningham
officiating. Visitation is
from 2-6 p.m. today, at
Mt. Zion M.B. Church.
Carter’s Funeral
Services of Columbus
is in charge of arrange-
ments.
siblings, Rosie Ann
Turner, Karen Harris,
Margaret Weston, Ollie
J. Harris, McArthur
Harris, Woodrow Har-
ris and Arthur Harris
all of Columbus; five
grandchildren; and six
great-grandchildren.
Odessa Bush
NOXUBEE COUN-
TY — Odessa Boyd
Bush,
81, died
March 5,
2021, at
NMMC in
Tupelo.
Grave-
side
services
Bush
will be at
11 a.m. Saturday, at
Christian Hill MBC
Cemetery, with Ber-
nard Bowen officiating.
Visitation is from 2-5
p.m. today, at Carter’s
Funeral Services. Car-
ter’s Funeral Services
2021, at
Louisville
Nursing
Home.
Funeral
Robinson
services
will be
at 2 p.m. Saturday, at
Carter’s Funeral Home,
with Johnny Simpson
and Bernard Simpson
officiating. Visitation
is from 2-5 p.m. today,
at the funeral home.
Carter’s Funeral Home
of Macon is in charge
of arrangements.
Mrs. Robinson was
born April 2, 1961, in
Noxubee County, to
Fannie Mosley and the
late Eulee Mosley. She
was a member of Calva-
ry MBC.
In addition to her
father, she was pre-
ceded in death by her
husband, James Robin-
son; daughter, Megan
Hill; and siblings, Joe
Nathan Mosely and
with the Rev. Randy L.
Conley Jr. officiating.
Visitation will be from
10:30-11 a.m. prior to
services at the ceme-
tery. Carter’s Mortuary
Services of West Point
is in charge of arrange-
ments.
Mr. Jackson was
born Dec. 16, 1926, in
Monroe County, to the
late Willie Jackson and
Emma Lue Blanchard.
He was formerly
employed as a factory
worker with Bryan
Foods.
Justin Vaughn
STARKVILLE —
Justin R. Vaughn, 32,
died March 3, 2021.
Graveside services
will be at 11 a.m. Sat-
urday, at New Prairie
Grove Cemetery.
Visitation is from 1-6
p.m. today, at West Me-
morial Funeral Home.
West Memorial Funeral
Ernest Jones
Ernest Jones, age 79, of
Foley, AL passed away March
18, 2021, at his residence.
Funeral services will be 11:00
AM Saturday, March 20, 2021,
at Mineral Springs Baptist
Church, 117 T.B. Woodard, Jr.
Rd, Reform, AL 35481, with Rev.
Melvin Mordecai officiating.
Burial will follow in the church
cemetery with Skelton Funeral Home of Reform
directing. Visitation will be one hour prior to the
service at the church.
He was preceded in death by his loving
wife, Shirley Grace Keasler Jones; his parents;
brothers, Hubert Jones and James Jones and
sister, Virginia Jones Noland.
Survivors include his daughters, Sherry Jones,
Selena Jones and Sandy Jones, all of Foley, AL;
sister, Revedoil Jones Davidson of Carrollton,
AL; two grandchildren, Lacey McCollum (Clark)
of Orange Beach, AL and Mitch Elkin (Erica) of
Columbus, MS; and three great-grandchildren,
Bryce, Sawyer and Amos McCollum.
Ernest was born June 13, 1941, in Carrollton,
Alabama, to the late Willie L. and Sadie Smith
Jones. He was country raised and a jack of all
trades whose life’s work was dedicated to caring
for his family, his nation and making America
Great Again. A loving father and friend to all,

I got the COVID-19 vaccine.
What can I safely do?
BY TERRY TANG
The Associated Press
I got the COVID-19 vac-
cine. What can I safely do?
You can enjoy small
gatherings again, but
should continue wearing
a mask and social distanc-
ing in public.
The U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Pre-
vention says fully vacci-
nated people can gather
maskless with other vac-
cinated people indoors.
It also says you can meet
with unvaccinated people
from one household at a
time, if those people are
considered at low risk of
severe COVID-19.
In public, the CDC rec-
ommends that vaccinated
people continue wearing
masks, avoid large gath-
erings and stay apart from
others.
A person is consid-
ered fully vaccinated two
weeks after receiving the
last required dose of vac-
cine.
Guidance on other
activities for vaccinated
people remains cautious.
The CDC still discourag-
es unnecessary travel, for
example, and hasn’t yet
made a recommendation
about going to restaurants
or other places..
The CDC expects to
update the guidance to
allow more activities as
infections decline and vac-
cinations increase.
One reason to keep
your guard up after get-
ting one dose of a two-
dose vaccine: infection
while having partial pro-
tection sets up the poten-
tial for the virus to mutate,
said Dr. Joshua LaBaer,
director of the Arizona
State University’s Biode-
sign Institute.
Teresa Barksdale
Teresa Mathis Barksdale, 60, of Columbus,
MS passed away Tuesday, March 16, 2021, at her
residence.
Visitation will be Sunday, March 21, 2021,
from 1:00-2:00 PM at Lowndes Funeral Home. A
service will follow at 2:00 PM. Interment will be
in Friendship Cemetery with Lowndes Funeral
Home, Columbus, MS directing.
Mrs. Barksdale was born on November 29,
1960, to the late Thomas Nathaniel Mathis and
Betty Sue Harrell Mathis. She worked for the
United States Postal Service as a Mail carrier
for years. Mrs. Barksdale enjoyed going to the
casino with her friends. She loved to cook and
spend time with her family.
In addition to her parents, Mrs. Barksdale is
preceded in death by her brothers, Thomas N
Mathis, Jr. and Kevin Mathis.
Mrs. Barksdale is survived by her daughter,
Kayleigh Woodard; sons, James (Tasha)
Barksdale and Brett (Doris) Barksdale; five
grandchildren; sister, Dona Nowland; and
brothers, Stanley Mathis and Jeffery Alan
Mathis.
Pallbearers will be James Barksdale, Brett
Barksdale, Jeff Mathis, Stan Mathis and Terry
Sutton.
Memorials may be made to the donor’s choice.
Compliments of
Lowndes Funeral Home
www.lowndesfuneralhome.net
Earnest was a devout Christian who loved Jesus
and enjoyed humor, gardening, painting, fishing
and spending time with his grandbabies who
were raised as his own. A veteran of Vietnam,
he served his nation in the Army for many years
moving his family with him all over the world
from Germany to Kansas. After 22 years of
service, Ernest retired as a E-8 Master Sergeant
after denying a promotion to E-9 in Alaska
because he wanted to return his wife and three
girls to their southern roots. After leaving the
Army, Ernest worked as a lock operator for the
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers for 20 years
before retiring. Ernest was also a corn and cotton
farmer and he spent his entire life devoted to his
family, his grandchildren, his friends and his
four-legged friends.
Pallbearers will be Mitch Elkin, Clark
McCollum, Gary Davidson, Danny Hartley, Bill
Keasler and Holden Miles.
Honorary Pallbearers are Fresnius Kidney
Care, American Legion Post 99 in Foley, AL,
Dept. of the U. S. Army, Tom Bevill Lock and
Dam Corps of Engineers, Make America Great
Again, Curtis and Cindy Hill, Barney and Linda
Borders, Sonny and Patsy Cole, Celeste Glenn
Donoho and family.
In lieu of flowers the family requests memorials
to Disabled American Veterans, 448 65th Street,
Tuscaloosa, AL 35405 or the American Cancer
Society, Mid-South Division, 1100 Ireland Way,
Suite 300, Birmingham, AL 35205.
Paid Obituary - Skelton Funeral Home
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021 5B

US jobless claims rise to 770,000 with layoffs still high

18.2 million Americans were receiving some
form of jobless aid in the week of Feb. 27
BY PAUL WISEMAN
AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON — The
number of Americans seeking
unemployment benefits rose
last week to 770,000, a sign
that layoffs remain high even
as much of the U.S. economy
is steadily recovering from the
coronavirus recession.
Thursday’s report from the
Labor Department showed
that jobless claims climbed
from 725,000 the week before.
The numbers have dropped
sharply since the depths of the
recession last spring but still
show that employers in some
industries continue to lay off
workers. Before the pandemic
struck, applications for unem-
ployment aid had never topped
700,000 in any one week.
The four-week average of
claims, which smooths out
weekly variations, dropped to
746,000, the lowest since late
November.
A total of 4.1 million people
are continuing to collect tra-
ditional state unemployment
benefits, down 18,000 from the
previous week. Including sepa-
rate federal programs that are
intended to help workers dis-
placed by the health crisis, 18.2
million Americans were receiv-
ing some form of jobless aid in
the week of Feb. 27, down by 1.9
million from the week before.
The continuing layoffs are
occurring even as the over-
all job market has shown sol-
id improvement. Last month,
U.S. employers added a robust
379,000 jobs, the most since
October and a sign that the
economy is strengthening as
consumers spend more and
states and cities ease business
restrictions.
No single factor fully ex-
plains the still-high level of
weekly applications for state
unemployment aid. The figures
have been clouded by backlogs
in processing and by evidence
of fraud at the state level. In ad-
dition, the expansion of supple-
mental federal unemployment
benefits has likely encouraged
more jobless Americans to ap-
ply for aid.
In addition, last month’s se-
vere winter weather elevated
jobless claims in Texas. And
California has reported an up-
tick in applications because
of layoffs at bars, restaurants,
retailers and other services
businesses — all of which have
been hard hit by the pandemic.

Obituaries
Continued from Page 4B

Jimmy Hutcherson In addition to his Kennedy City Cem- March 22, 1929, to the parents, he was preced- and Brooks Wilson;
COLUMBUS — Jim- mother, he is survived etery. Visitation will late Harris and Burlie ed in death by his wife, six grandchildren; and
my Hutcherson, 74, by his children, Ma- be one hour prior to Wilson. He was a veter- Nell Spencer Wilson. three great-grandchil-
died March 18, 2021, at ceo Perkins and Chaz services at the funeral an of the United States He is survived by dren.
his residence. Perkins; and siblings, home. Dowdle Funer- Army and was formerly his children, Debo- Pallbearers will be
Arrangements are Brittany Perkins, al Home of Millport, employed as a sergeant rah S. Wilson, Cheryl Josh Wilson, Eric Booz-
incomplete and will be Hailey Kennedy, Zoe Alabama is in charge of with the Tuscaloosa Wilson Boozer and er, Joe Montalbano,
announced by Lown- Perkins, Chris Perkins arrangements. Police Department. Johnny Mack Wilson; Jason Cole and Terry
des Funeral Home of and Abdural Lee Jr. all Mr. Wilson was born In addition to his siblings, Lynn, Woodie Wilson.
Columbus. of Starkville.

Shelia Johnson Linda Burns

COLUMBUS — She- COLUMBUS — Lin-
lia Ann Johnson, 60, da Jean Burns, 73, died
died March 18, 2021, at March 18, at Baptist
her residence. Memorial Hospi-
Arrangements are tal-Golden Triangle.
incomplete and will be Funeral services will
announced by Lown- be at 1 p.m. Saturday,
des Funeral Home of at Memorial Gunter
Columbus. Peel Funeral Home and
Crematory. Burial will
follow at Mt. Zion Bap-
Bland Carr tist Church Cemetery.
STARKVILLE — Visitation will be two
Bland Carr, 59, died hours prior to services.
March 17, 2021. Memorial Gunter Peel
Arrangements are Funeral Home and Cre-
incomplete and will be matory, College Street
announced by Hairston location is in charge of
and Hairston Funeral arrangements.
Home of Starkville. Mrs. Burns was born
Oct. 5, 1947, in Paden,
Diann Grayer to the late Grover C.
STARKVILLE — Sappington and Mae
Diann Grayer, 57, died Hawkins Sappington.
March 13, 2021. She was formerly em-
Funeral services ployed with Seminole
will be at 12:30 p.m. Manufacturing Compa-
Saturday, at Hairston ny and was a member
and Hairston Funeral of Eastview Baptist
Home. Visitation is Church.
from 1-5 p.m. today, In addition to her
at the funeral home. parents, she was pre-
Hairston and Hair- ceded in death by her
ston Funeral Home of husband, James Doug-
Starkville is in charge las “Buddy” Burns.
of arrangements. She is survived by
Mrs. Grayer was her children, Tabatha
born Oct. 21, 1963, in Edwards, Karon Rob-
Starkville, to the late ison, Carolyn Cosby,
George Culpepper Rodney Cosby, Randy
and Betty Robertson. Burns and Danny
She was a graduate of Burns; siblings, Vir-
Starkville High School ginia Weathers, Netris
and Mississippi Univer- Tietz and Opal Criddle;
sity for Women. 21 grandchildren; and
In addition to her 22 great-grandchildren.
parents, she was pre- Pallbearers will be
ceded in death by her Danny Burns, Rodney
sister, Loretta Grayer. Cosby, Randy Cosby,
She is survived by Joseph Cosby, James
her son, Darron Gray- Cosby and Andy
er; siblings, Grenda Kinard.
Robertson, Melinda
Hill, Curtis Grayer all Neva Little Jr.
of Starkville, Meshell TUSCALOOSA, Ala.
Holliday of Atlanta, — Neva “Punkin” Little
Georgia and Marvin Jr., 43, died March 16,
Grayer of Madison. 2021, at DCH Regional
Medical Center of Tus-
Ernest Perkins Jr. caloosa, Alabama.
STARKVILLE — Graveside services
Ernest D. Perkins Jr., will be at noon Friday,
32, died March 4, 2021, March 26, at Bigbee
in Jackson. Baptist Church Ceme-
Funeral services will tery of Aliceville, with
be at 2:30 p.m. Satur- the Rev. Larry Lanier
day, at Sandy Creek officiating. Visitation
Missionary Church. will be from 3-6 p.m.
Visitation is from 1-5 Thursday, at Laven-
p.m. today, at Hairston der’s Funeral Services.
and Hairston Funeral Lavender’s Funeral
Home. Hairston and Services of Aliceville
Hairston Funeral is in charge of arrange-
Home of Starkville is ments.
in charge of arrange-
ments. Mack Wilson
Mr. Perkins was KENNEDY, Ala. —
born April 22, 1988, in Mack Wilson, 91, died
Starkville, to Louella March 17, 2021, at his
Perkins and the late residence.
Ernest Perkins Sr. He Funeral services will
was formerly employed be at noon Monday, at
as a painter and a dog Dowdle Funeral Home.
breeder. Burial will follow at

cdispatch.com
Classifieds
LEGALS
Call us: 662-328-2424
Legal Notices
IN THE CHANCERY COURT OF
LOWNDES COUNTY, MISSIS-
SIPPI
IN THE MATTER OF THE ES-
TATE OF BETTIE BROOKS
YOUNG, DECEASED
CAUSE NO.: 2021-0010-PDE
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
COUNTY OF LOWNDES
Letters Testamentary have
been granted and issued to the
undersigned upon the Estate of
Bettie Brooks Young, de-
ceased, by the Chancery Court
of Lowndes County, Missis-
sippi, on the 11th day of Febru-
ary 2021. This is to give no-
tice to all persons having
claims against said estate to
Probate and Register same
with the Chancery Clerk of
Lowndes County, Mississippi,
within ninety (90) days from the
first publication date of this No-
tice to Creditors. A failure to so
Probate and Register said
claim will forever bar the same.
This the 11th day of February
2021.
/s/ Sarah B. White, Co-Execut-
or
/s/ Bobby Young, Co-Executor
PUBLISH: 3/12, 3/19 &
3/26/2021
IN THE CHANCERY COURT OF
LOWNDES COUNTY, MISSIS-
SIPPI
IN RE: VALIDATION OF TOWN
OF CALEDONIA, MISSISSIPPI
(THE "MUNICIPALITY") GENER- inquiry
AL OBLIGATION RESTRUCTUR-
ING BONDS, SERIES 2021
(TAXABLE), IN THE MAXIMUM
AGGREGATE PRINCIPAL
AMOUNT OF $555,000, IN ONE HARGROVE, Plaintiff, seeking
OR MORE TAXABLE SERIES
(THE "BONDS")
NO: 2021-0157-JNS
NOTICE TO TAXPAYERS
TO: THE TAXPAYERS OF THE
TOWN OF CALEDONIA, MISSIS- Columbus, MS, 39705.
SIPPI
You are hereby notified that the or delivered not later than thirty A.D., 2021. This is to give no-
matter of the validation of the
above-described obligation
will be heard on the 30th day
of March, 2021, at 9 o'clock
a.m., in the Chancery Court of
Lowndes County, Mississippi,
at the Lowndes County Court-
house in the City of Columbus, lief demanded in the petition.
Mississippi, at or before which
time and date written objec-
tions to the validation of the is- of your Response with the
suance of said obligation, if
any, must be filed.
By order of the Chancellor, this Issued under my hand and seal MICHAEL D. MCCRORY
the 17th day of March, 2021.
CINDY EGGER GOODE
CHANCERY CLERK
LOWNDES COUNTY, MISSIS-
SIPPI
(SEAL)
BY: /s/ Shantrell W. Grander-
son, D.C.
PUBLISH: 3/19/2021
IN THE CHANCERY COURT OF
LOWNDES COUNTY, MISSIS-
SIPPI
IN RE: MATTER OF THE ES-
TATE AND THE LAST WILL AND WHEREAS, the following ten-
TESTAMENT OF ESTELLE BUR- ants entered into leases with J Assembly and Public Demon-
GESS GORE, DECEASED
JAMES T. GORE, EXECUTOR
CAUSE NO. 2021-0024-S
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Letters Testamentary were is-
sued to me as Executor of the
Last Will and Testament of Es- any other charges owed to it by
telle Burgess Gore, deceased, the following tenants.
by the Chancery Court of
Lowndes County, Mississippi
on the 5th day of March, 2021. hereby given that J & J Mini
Notice is hereby given to all
persons having claims against all personal property in stor-
the Estate of Estelle Burgess
Gore to have the same pro-
bated and registered by the
Chancery Clerk of Lowndes
County, Mississippi within
ninety (90) days after the date Unit A15
of the first publication of this
Notice, or they will be forever
barred.
WITNESS MY SIGNATURE, this
the 8th day of March, 2021.
s/JAMES T. GORE
JAMES T. GORE,
EXECUTOR
Publish: 3/12/2021,
3/19/2021 and 3/26/2021
IN THE CHANCERY COURT OF
LOWNDES COUNTY, MISSIS-
SIPPI
IN THE MATTER OF THE ES-
TATE OF JOY M. LANDRUM, DE-
CEASED
CAUSE NO. 2019-0229
SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
COUNTY OF LOWNDES
TO: HEIRS AT LAW OF JOY M.
LANDRUM, DECEASED
You are summoned to appear
and defend a Petition to De-
termine Heirs at Law of Joy M.
Landrum, deceased, before the
Chancery Court of Lowndes
County, Mississippi, on the
25th day of May, 2021, at
9:00 a.m. at the Lowndes
County Courthouse in the City
of Columbus, Mississippi, to
show cause, if any you can, in
Cause No. 2019-0229,
wherein you are a Respondent,
why Steve Landrum and Lisa
Landrum should not be de-
All notices
clared must
the sole heirs at lawbe
of
Joy M. Landrum, deceased,
pursuantemailed to
to Section 91-1-27 of
the Mississippi Code, and why
classifieds@
such other relief as prayed for
cdispatch.com.
should not be granted. In case
of your failure to appear and
defend, a Decree will be
entered against you finding the
above-named persons to be
the sole heirs-at-law of Joy M.
Landrum, deceased.
IN THE MATTER OF THE ES-
TATE OF JOY M. LANDRUM, DE-
CEASED
CAUSE NO. 2019-0229
SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
COUNTY OF LOWNDES
TO: HEIRS AT LAW OF JOY M.
LANDRUM, DECEASED
You are summoned to appear
and defend a Petition to De-
termine Heirs at Law of Joy M.
Landrum, deceased, before the
Chancery Court of Lowndes
County, Mississippi, on the
Legal Notices
25th day of May, 2021, at
9:00 a.m. at the Lowndes
County Courthouse in the City
of Columbus, Mississippi, to
show cause, if any you can, in
Cause No. 2019-0229,
wherein you are a Respondent,
why Steve Landrum and Lisa
Landrum should not be de-
clared the sole heirs at law of
Joy M. Landrum, deceased,
pursuant to Section 91-1-27 of
the Mississippi Code, and why
such other relief as prayed for
should not be granted. In case
of your failure to appear and
defend, a Decree will be
entered against you finding the
above-named persons to be
the sole heirs-at-law of Joy M.
Landrum, deceased.
You are not required to file an
answer or other pleading, but
you may do so if you desire.
ISSUED under my hand and the Lowndes County, Mississippi,
seal of this Court, this the 17th on the 25th day of May, 2021,
day of March, 2021.
LOWNDES COUNTY CHAN-
CERY CLERK
(SEAL)
BY: Tina Fisher
PUBLISH: 3/19, 3/26 &
4/2/2020
IN THE CHANCERY COURT OF
LOWNDES COUNTY, MISSIS-
SIPPI
MALCOME JAMES HARGROVE
PLAINTIFF
VS.
VICKI LASHON HARGROVE DE-
FENDANT
CAUSE NO. 2020-0481-RPF
SUMMONS
(By Publication)
THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
TO: VICKI LASHON HARGROVE
Whose whereabouts are un-
known after diligent search and
You have been made a Defend-
ant in the suit filed in this
Court by MALCOME JAMES
divorce.
You are required to mail or
hand deliver a written re-
sponse to the Complaint filed
in this action to Lisa L. Meggs, been granted and issued to the
Attorney for Plaintiff, whose ad- undersigned upon the estate of
dress is 92 Windsong Cove,
Your response must be mailed sippi, on the 1st day of March,
days after the 12th day of
March, 2021, which is the date claims against said estate to
of the first publication of this
summons. If your response is
not so mailed or delivered,
judgment by default will be
entered against you for the re-
You must also file the original
Clerk of this Court within a
reasonable time afterward.
of said Court, this 28th day of
December, 2020.
Lowndes County Chancery
Clerk
(SEAL)
BY: Tina Fisher, D.C.
PUBLISH: 3/12, 3/19 &
3/26/2021
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
COUNTY OF LOWNDES
NOTICE OF SALE
& J Mini Storage for storage
space in which to store person- definitions and providing for en-
al property and
WHEREAS, default has been
made in the payment of rent
and J & J Mini Storage pursu-
ant to said Leases is author-
ized to sell the personal prop-
erty to satisfy the past due and This Ordinance is effective 30
NOW THEREFORE, notice is
Storage will confiscate after Ju- Caledonia during regular busi-
ly 31st , 2020 & sell for cash
age units leased by the follow- MAYOR MITCH WIGGINS
ing tenants at J & J Mini Stor-
age:
Whitney McCarter
Matt Aufiero
Unit B4
Olivia Johnson
Unit B19
Angela Canida
Unit C27
WITNESS MY SIGNATURE on
this the 12th day of March,
2021.
J & J Mini Storage
By: A.D.
PUBLISH: 3/19/2021 &
3/212021
Medical / Dental
Legal Notices
IN THE CHANCERY COURT OF
LOWNDES COUNTY, MISSIS-
SIPPI
IN THE MATTER OF THE ES-
TATE OF MICHAEL J.
LANDRUM, DECEASED
CAUSE NO. 2019-0241
SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
COUNTY OF LOWNDES
TO: HEIRS AT LAW OF MI-
CHAEL J. LANDRUM, DE-
CEASED
You are summoned to appear
and defend a Petition to De-
termine Heirs at Law of Mi-
chael J. Landrum, deceased,
before the Chancery Court of
at 9:00 a.m. at the Lowndes
County Courthouse in the City
of Columbus, Mississippi, to
show cause, if any you can, in
Cause No. 2019-0241,
wherein you are a Respondent,
why Steve Landrum and Lisa
Landrum should not be de-
clared the sole heirs at law of
Michael J. Landrum, deceased,
pursuant to Section 91-1-27 of
the Mississippi Code, and why
such other relief as prayed for
should not be granted. In case
of your failure to appear and
defend, a Decree will be
entered against you finding the
above-named persons to be
the sole heirs-at-law of Mi-
chael J. Landrum, deceased.
You are not required to file an
answer or other pleading, but
you may do so if you desire.
ISSUED under my hand and the
seal of this Court, this the 17th
day of March, 2021.
LOWNDES COUNTY CHAN-
CERY CLERK
(SEAL)
BY: Tina Fisher
PUBLISH: 3/19, 3/26 &
4/2/2021
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
CAUSE NO.: 2021-0038
THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
LOWNDES COUNTY
Letters Testamentary have
NELLIE G. MCCRORY, de-
ceased, by the Chancery Court
of Lowndes County, Missis-
tice to all persons having
Probate and Register same
with the Chancery Clerk of
Lowndes County, Mississippi,
within ninety (90) days from
this date. A failure to so Pro-
bate and Register said claim
will forever bar the same.
This the 3rd day of March,
2021.
/s/ Michael D. McCrory
PUBLISH: 3/5, 3/12 &
3/19/2021
NOTICE OF ADOPTION OF OR-
DINANCE REGARDING
PARADES, PUBLIC ASSEMBLY
AND PUBLIC DEMONSTRA-
TIONS; ADOPTING A PERMIT-
TING PROCEDURE; PROVIDING
FOR DEFINITIONS; AND
PROVIDING FOR ENFORCE-
MENT
Notice is hereby given that on
March 2, 2021, the Town of
Caledonia adopted an Ordin-
ance regarding Parades, Public
strations, adopting a permit-
ting procedure, providing for
forcement within the municipal
boundaries of the Town of Cale-
donia. Enforcement of this Or-
dinance shall be by the Town of
Caledonia Marshal’s Depart-
ment and such other law en-
forcement as is appropriate.
days after final passage mak-
ing its effective date April 2,
2021. A full copy of the Ordin-
ance as adopted is available
from the Clerk of the Town of
ness hours.
TOWN OF CALEDONIA
PUBLISH: 3/19/2021
Employment
Call us: 662-328-2424
General Help Wanted
PERSONAL CARE: Full or
part-time position available
at small personal care
home in Columbus, MS.
Must pass background
check & health screening.
Call Collegeview Personal
Care 662-327-9463.
Ads appear in The Commercial Dispatch,
The Starkville Dispatch and Online
General Help Wanted
FULL TIME CARPENTER
needed for local company.
Please contact (662) 570-
5570 for more info.
THE COMMERCIAL
DISPATCH
is seeking a part time
employee for approxim-
ately 2-3 hours of work per
day. Driving required.
Must have reliable trans-
portation, valid driver's
license & auto insurance.
$9 per hour plus mileage.
Apply at our office at 516
Main Street in Columbus
or via email to Mike Floyd
at mfloyd@cdispatch.com
ROSES DAY SPA
Licensed Nail Tech needed
for pedicures, manicures &
shellacs. Good pay. 662-
327-7718, ask for Logan.
THE COMMERCIAL
DISPATCH
seeks a motivated,
contracted carrier for the
Caledonia area. Excellent
opportunity to earn money
for college. Must have
good transportation, valid
driver's license & insur-
ance. Delivers on Sunday
morning and Mon-Fri after-
noons. Apply at The Com-
mercial Dispatch, 516
Main Street in Columbus.
No phone calls please.
Rentals
Ads starting at $25
Apts For Rent: North
3BR/1BA GATED FACILITY
Central Heat & Air
Appliances
$600/mo. plus sec. dep.,
No pets. No HUD.
662−327−0587
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1 & 2 BR near hospital.
$595−$645 monthly.
Military discount, pet area,
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corporate apts.
24−HOUR PROFESSIONAL
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24−HOUR CAMERA
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Apts For Rent: West
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Apartments & Houses
1 Bedrooms
2 Bedroooms
3 Bedrooms
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1, 2, & 3 Baths
Lease, Deposit
& Credit Check
viceinvestments.com
327-8555
Apts For Rent: Other
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Building & Remodeling
HOME REPAIRS &
MAINTENANCE
Work wanted. Carpentry,
concrete, electrical &
plumbing, shingle & metal
roofing, fascia & soffit
repairs, pressure washing
& mobile home repairs.
No Job Too Small.
662−549−7031.
General Services
A & T TREE SERVICES
Bucket truck & stump
removal. Free est.
Serving Columbus
since 1987. Senior
citizen disc. Call Alvin @
242−0324/241−4447
"We’ll go out on a limb
for you!"
ads.cdispatch.com
To place ads starting at only $12,
call 662-328-2424 or visit ads.cdispatch.com
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021 n 6B
Apts For Rent: Other Sporting Goods
Garage Sales
COLEMAN
ED SANDERS GUNSMITH
Open for season!
RENTALS Tue−Fri: 9−5 & Sat: 9−12
TOWNHOUSES & APARTMENTS
Two free signs Over 50 years experience!
Repairs, cleaning, refin−
1 BEDROOM Estate Sales ishing, scopes mounted &
zeroed, handmade knives.
2 BEDROOMS Located: Hwy 45 Alt, North
Lacy Estate Sale
3 BEDROOMS 2604 Boyd Rd. of West Point, turn right on
Yokahama Blvd, 8mi & turn
Columbus, MS 39705
LEASE, left on Darracott Rd, will
© The Dispatch
Fri. March 19, 9am−4pm
see sign, 2.5mi ahead
DEPOSIT Sat. March 20, 9am−5pm
Sun. March 21, 1pm−5pm shop on left.
AND Selling partial estate with 662−494−6218.
CREDIT CHECK some nice items. Turn off
Wanted To Buy
Hwy. 45 onto Holly Hills
662-329-2323
Rd., Boyd Rd. is the 3rd
TREADMILL
road to the right, watch for
our estate sale signs. King Looking to buy a working
2411 HWY 45 N bedroom suite, chest, treadmill. Good condition.
desk, 3 sewing machines, Call 662−251−6621.
COLUMBUS, MS washer, dryer, older fridge,
blue willow, sofa, chairs,
Vehicles
Houses For Rent: North Peter’s pottery bowl,
McCarty Bird, pearl handle
knife sets, stoneware,
COLONIAL TOWNHOUSES.
foreign money, sm. bench,
2 & 3 bedroom w/ 2−3
bath townhouses. $650 to Wedgwood, quilts, stamp Ads starting at $12
$750. 662−549−9555. collection, wicker set,
musical instruments, Reed Autos For Sale
Ask for Glenn or text.
& Barton and Oneida
stainless, baskets, Tools,
Houses For Rent: South 2015 GMC Canyon Pickup
paintings, art, mid−century,
iron yard items, tools,
white, 4 door, 4 cylinder,
2 BR 1 BA CH&A. Newly extra clean, 137,000
curio, kitchen items,
remodeled home. New books, & we are still
miles. $13,000.
Call 662−312−6617.
appliances. All electric. No unboxing their items.
smoking. No pets. No HUD. See photos @
Motorcycles & ATVs
Credit application required. www.estatesales.net
Available April 1st. Stewart’s Estate Sales
Call 662−352−3205. Benny Shelton ’05 HONDA REBEL 250
Columbus, MS Black, red & grey. Actual
miles, 1,432. $1200.
Mobile Homes for Rent 662−251−1515
662−364−0120.
RENT A CAMPER! Garage Sales: Other
CHEAPER THAN A MOTEL!
Utilities & cable included, 423 Sanders Mill Rd.
from $150/wk − $555/mo 6am−12pm, Fri March 19th
Columbus & County School & Sat March 20th. Some
Community
antiques & hh items.
locations. 662−242−3803
or 601−940−1397.
Ads starting at $12
Merchandise
Travel & Entertainment
CALL & GET YOUR NAME
ON THE LIST for Constance
Ads starting at $12 lovely talk show. Greatest
talent show in town!
Burial Plots Singers/comedians/group
dancers. 310−993−9884
2 BURIAL PLOTS or email kandeyessence
Located in Veteran location @yahoo.com.
@ Memorial Gardens of
Take down that “for Columbus, MS. Must have
cash, $7500. A savings of
rent” sign and get $1500. Plots include burial
fast results with an
vaults and can be
exchanged for any spot
Sell idle items
easy classified ad.
other than a veteran. with a quick action
Call 662−386−4080 or
662−386−4081. classified ad.
Place your General Merchandise
ad today at CAMPER FOR SALE, $150.
ads.cdispatch.com
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Brown sofa w/ matching
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love seat & reversible
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1 False
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Queen Mattress w/
railings, $75.
Real Estate
Call 662−549−5332.
2 Sigmund
Ads starting at $25 Freud
Farms & Timberland
3 Falstaff
203 ACRES
PRIME TIMBERLAND
$270,000
4 Mars
Exc deer, turkey hunting
Good Investment You’ll find the best deals
(615)719−8329 when you advertise
and shop here!
5 Fishing
LAMAR COUNTY, AL: 63 ads.cdispatch.com
ACRES on County Road 34.
Exc hunting, some timber,
power & county water. Travel & Entertainment
$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.
Looking for a new home?
Let us help, shop here.
General Services General Services Painting & Papering
DUMP TRUCK HAULING. WORK WANTED: SULLIVAN’S PAINT
Slag − $400 Licensed & Bonded. SERVICE
Clay Gravel − $250 TILL SMALL GARDENS. Special Prices.
Millie for Driveways − $375 Carpentry, minor electrical, Interior & Exterior Painting.
Available for hauling any minor plumbing, insulation, 662−435−6528
materials. Filling in painting, demolition,
swimming pools. gutters cleaned, pressure
Are you a
Columbus. Call Walter, washing, landscaping, &
662−251−8664. cleanup work.
painter?
662−242−3608.
BANKRUPTCY Lawn Care / Landscaping
CHAPTER 7 JESSE & BEVERLY’S
BANKRUPTCY LAWN SERVICE
$545 plus Filing Fee Spring Cleanup, Tree
Cutting, Landscaping,
CHAPTER 13 Sodding & Bush Hogging
BANKRUPTCY 662−356−6525
All Attorney Fees Through The Plan
Painting & Papering
Jim Arnold, Attorney
662-324-1666 QUALITY PAINTING Advertise
104 South Lafayette Street, Starkville Ext/Int Painting
Please visit our website: Sheet Rock Hang, Finish & here to
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Free Estimates. Ask for grow your
Saturday morning appointments
available for Starkville Office.
specials! Larry Webber,
662−242−4932.
business.