“Cry aloud and spare not”
It is coming up on my second anniversary as managing editor of The South Reporter. I have met many people at meetings, sporting events, city board meetings, schools, and churches that I would have never met without this job.
I can say that the opportunities have been limitless in my life, and they all were balanced based on chance. Sometimes, I took the chance, and it turned out for the better; sometimes, it did not, and sometimes, the opportunity was lost completely. Many may believe that a good opportunity is just pure luck, and others may think it was given to them by a higher being. Nonetheless, I’ve always looked at every opportunity in my life as a very positive thing.
Since I have been editor, I would say that every day has been exciting and challenging, and, in some areas, it has given me a chance to grow as an individual.
A story that began when I arrived has continued for the past two years: the power outages in Marshall and surrounding counties. The story of unreliable power, billing problems, and the upkeep of the right-of-ways has been in the headlines since April 2022.
I attended a press conference on Thursday, April 21, in Benton County. The Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley called the press conference about ten days after a horrific thunderstorm hit the area and caused significant damage. Many people were without power for over a week or more. Presley said many people had contacted his office and they did not not how much longer the outage would last. The Mayor of Holly Springs, Sharon Gipson, said 200 Holly Springs Utility Department customers were still without power the day of the press conference.
It has taken some time to resolve some of the issues that ratepayers have dealth with, and some people still have the same problems they had two years ago.
Monday Governor Tate Reeves signed Senate Bill No. 2453, which would authorize the Public Service Commission to cancel the certificate to provide service outside a one-mail radius of a municipality’s corporate boundaries upon finding that the municipality did not provide reasonable adequate service. The PSC already has authority over most electric cooperatives and municipally owned electric companies. This bill brought all electric distributors that serve a onemile radius outside the city limit under one roof with all the other electric distributors.
As I said, this story has been reported for the past two years, and I hope the issues will be resolved and everyone paying for reliable power will receive the best service.
In the past two years that I have been editor, I will have to reflect on what my greatgrandfather published a phrase each week on the editorial page, “Cry Aloud and Spare Not.” The phrase is from the Bible in the book of Isaiah chapter 58, verse one. It inspires people not to be afraid to speak the truth and to not hold back in the chance of opportunity.