Burttram to represent Lowndes County at state Junior Miss

Rachel Burttram, of Columbus, the daughter of Dawn and Tim Burttram, leaves today for Meridian to participate in Mississippi’s Junior Miss scholarship program.

PAWS project educates future animal owners

MISSISSIPPI STATE — Mississippi State University veterinary students are not satisfied learning about animals themselves; they want to lay the educational foundation for future pet owners, as well.

Unrest in Honduras steers local youth to missions at home

The pounding of hammers and swish of paint brushes were punctuated with laughter as a team of youth and adult volunteers from the Columbus of Christ gave a modest home on 18th Street North a new lease on life Wednesday.

New Columbus Choral Society sets auditions

Enthusiastic organizers have been hard at work laying solid groundwork for the newly-formed Columbus Choral Society. The group dedicated to bringing more fine art choral singing to the Golden Triangle has set initial auditions for Thursday, Aug. 13, and Tuesday, Aug. 18. Interested singers, male and female, over the age of 16 are invited to audition in the First United Methodist Church Choir Room, 602 Main St., between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” invites audiences to engage imaginations

“Welcome to the tale of a delicious adventure in a wonderful land,” the narrator entreats as the curtain rises on “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” With green-haired Oompa Loompas, rivers flowing with chocolate, ballooning bubble gum and other mind-blowing mishaps, the audience is invited to suspend belief during this fantastical play that entertains even as it reminds us dreams can come true.

3,000-pound sculpture delights MC Law School audience

JACKSON — Sam Gore’s newest masterpiece attracted art patrons, legal scholars, students and scores of other admirers of his craft to the Mississippi College School of Law in Jackson.

Red Barber recordings hit one out of the park

Walter Lanier “Red� Barber was born in Columbus in 1908. He left the Friendly City decades ago, going on to become one of the most famous broadcasters in sports history. He was the play-by-play pioneer of televised Major League Baseball, the first voice of the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers, and, in 1978, the first broadcaster to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame, along with Mel Allen. With colorful phrases like “tearin’ up the patch� and “I’ll be a suck-egg mule,� he carried a bit of his Southern roots with him wherever he leaned into a microphone.

Local man prays third time is the charm for kidney transplant

For 25 of his 32 years, Johnny Grammar Jr. has lived with the reality of kidney disease. After two previous transplants, at age 15 and again at 19, the Columbus man is a walking testament to the patience and prayer he says he’s tried hard to practice. He urges others who may be in his situation to hold on to hope. Although he has long been on three separate transplant lists, Grammar had begun to feel he would see no end to dialysis, the life-sustaining treatment for those with end stage renal disease.

At 89, this senior volunteer is still going strong

You won’t hear Vergie Gee boast about it, but the fact remains the 89-year-old Columbus woman has done more for Alzheimer’s research in the past several years with her delicate and careful stitches than most people will ever know.

Don’t tell Tom Keller he’s out of his gourd — he’s heard it before

Tom Keller still remembers the day he said to his wife, Madaline, “Don’t tell our neighbors we’re gonna drive 1,000 miles to a stupid gourd show.” That was 15 years ago, not long after the one-time Chrysler-Plymouth-Dodge dealer had retired following 43 years in the auto and real estate business in West Point. The couple were heading out at the time to their first gourd show, in Ohio.

Barista! For the connoisseurs of coffee, it’s all about pulling the perfect shot

Somewhere between the plain ole cuppa joe and java of old, America’s coffee drinkers became adventurous. What began in the early 1970s with start-up for Seattle’s Best and Starbucks turned into a caffeine-laced evolution that gradually spread from one coast to the other. Our love affair with the intense Italian nectar espresso — and the delectable concoctions it inspired — was on.

One-man coffee bar

David Dunn shies away from the word “obsession.” “‘Passion’ sounds better,” he chuckles, “let’s say I have a passion for roasting my own coffee.”

As Dirty Presley, Daniel Peeples gets to go a little crazy

There’s a side to Daniel Peeples you might miss on the first pass. Quiet and unassuming, the 23-year-old comes across as a reticent teddy bear of a guy. But don’t be lulled into assumptions. Put a beat or song idea into his head, and a recording camera in his hand, and mild-mannered Daniel morphs into Dirty Presley, an out-there extrovert on a mission.

Saddle up for Dusty Trails and ‘vittles’ at RAC

Singing cowboys and gals are dusting off the songs of the old west for a unique open mic night at the Rosenzweig Arts Center Saturday, June 27. The Columbus Arts Council has invited poetic cowpokes to join in, too, with spoken word.

Public invited for rare view of U.S. Grant Collection Tuesday

The public will be offered a rare opportunity Tuesday, June 23, when a special open house at the Mississippi State University Mitchell Memorial Library unveils material related to the military career and presidency of Ulysses S. Grant, a figure historians often consider one of the most complex in America’s history.

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