Thursday, April 21, 2011
Community | Obits | Editorial & Columnists | Society | Sports | Education | Classified Ads | Calendar of Events | Features | Newsbriefs | Legals | Archives | Subscriptions | Photo Gallery
|
|
||
|
Thursday, April 21, 2011 |
||
|
Community | Obits | Editorial & Columnists | Society | Sports | Education | Classified Ads | Calendar of Events | Features | Newsbriefs | Legals | Archives | Subscriptions | Photo Gallery |
 |
OpinionFielder’s Choice Regular storm alerts My first e-mail from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency came through at 1:24 p.m. Friday. It reported extensive storm damage in the city of Clinton in Hinds County, causing I-20 to be shut down in both lanes. Close to Nowhere At long last, I have a donkey! My brother Dennis, who is definitely a city boy, was at the house Sunday. We have a new family member, whom I’d neglected to tell Dennis about, but I took care of the introductions as soon as I remembered! Recovering from the oil spill U.S. Senator One year ago this week, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig led to a terrible disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Tragically, eleven men lost their lives in the explosion and many others were injured. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the families of those who suffered. Letters To The Editor Thanks for support My family was recently notified by letter that Bart Mease was denied parole the fifth time for killing Marshall County Sheriff Osborne Bell. He will not be back before the Mississippi Parole Board again until January 2015. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all Marshall County citizens for the letters, phone calls and faxes sent to the Mississippi Parole Board requesting no parole for Bart Mease. A clear message of No Parole was sent to the Mississippi Parole Board and would not have been heard without your help and assistance. The Bell family does appreciate your love and dedication to the late Sheriff Osborne Bell’s legacy and to our family. Monet Bell Autry Prom season Each prom season, teens eagerly anticipate late-night celebrations with their friends, filled with dinners and dancing. A&B Distributing Company and Anheuser-Busch are committed to preventing underage drinking year-round, but prom season offers a timely reminder to our communities about the roles we all play in helping to keep our children safe. We’re parents, too, so we’re aware of the challenges that come with talking to teenagers about alcohol. But we also know parents have the greatest influence on the decisions teens make about drinking. According to the 2009 GfK Roper Youth Report, 67 percent of youth, ages 13 to 17, cite their parents as the No. 1 influence on their decisions about whether they drink alcohol or not. That’s why we created materials to assist parents in talking with their teens about drinking, available at www.facebook.com/AnheuserBuschFamilyTalkAboutDrinking. We also work closely with retailers, providing tools to grocery and convenience stores to remind adults to “Prevent. Don’t Provide” alcohol to teens. Through our We I.D. program, we host trainings and distribute driver’s license booklets to help retailers serve and sell alcohol responsibly, and post stickers and signage to alert customers they will be asked to show a valid I.D. when they purchase alcohol. Progress is being made, thanks to the involvement of parents, educators, retailers and law enforcement. In fact, the 2010 Monitoring the Future study reports record-low levels for past-month drinking among eighth, 10th and 12th graders. In addition, the U.S. Department of Transportation reports that teen drunk-driving fatalities have declined 74 percent since tracking began in 1982, to a record-low level. Thank you for doing your part to help our teens make smart decisions when it comes to alcohol. These are our families and our children …and it’s our responsibility to help keep them safe. Sincerely, Response to letter In response to the letter by Wayne C. Jones, he is partially right, but not because I wanted to ignore the participation of African Americans. I think that should be a work in itself. I became interested when I first saw the oldest map of the area which is now in the Marshall County Historical Museum. Anyone who knew the late Marvin Love and Purvis Love might not know that their ancestors were here before the land was bought from the Indians. The place on the map is labeled “Love’s Farm.” How they got here is an interesting story but too long to go into here. I have met several others with the same history. Some might not know that the first church in Holly Springs was built at the request of a black fellow who was, in fact, the foreman of a farm that was here when it was still Indian Territory. In the 1700’s Scotland sent missionaries to Africa to convert the natives to Christianity, specifically Presbyterian. The fellow asked the “owner” to contact them and, in response, they sent the group down that formed the first church in Holly Springs, as well as Martin’s Mission. Another interesting case occurred when one of the wealthy lawyers wanted a “butler.” He picked out a young black fellow named “Jed” and sent him to London for training. When he returned, he was dressed in a very formal way and was often stopped on the streets by local white people to ask how to properly word an invitation or how to properly set a table. He became the town’s “Mr. Manners.” I have talked to the president of Rust College about taking this as a study but neither of us have had the time this would require. It is, however, still “on the stove”... Tom Stewart |
       
|
Report
News: (662) 252-4261 or south@dixie-net.com
Questions, comments, corrections: south@dixie-net.com
©2004,
The South Reporter, All Rights Reserved.
No part of this site may be reproduced in any way without permission.
The South Reporter is a member of the Mississippi Press Association.
Web
Site managed and maintained by
South Reporter webmasters Linda Jones, Kristian Jones
Web Site Design - The South Reporter