Columbus church prepares to launch fine arts academy

Have you hoped to one day learn how to play woodwinds or to paint a sunset? To hone skills on the drums or improve vocal performance? For those who value the joy and exhilaration that comes from an involvement with the arts, the new Fairview Baptist Church Fine Arts Academy (FAFA) launching in January in Columbus can be a valuable resource.

Columbus educator is among inductees to Mississippi Hall of Master Teachers

Well-known teacher and musician Dawn Barham of Columbus was among four K-12 educators honored for their service Dec. 5 at the annual Mississippi Hall of Master Teachers ceremony held at Mississippi University for Women.

‘Something Sweet’: One cook can’t stay out of the kitchen — and the results are mighty sweet

Admit it, some of us dread kitchen time and everything that goes with it — the “what am I going to make?”, the shopping list, check-out lines, the spills and dirty pans. And then, there’s Fay Bell. The Columbus cook is the first to say there are days she wakes up and doesn’t want to do a single thing except cook. And for a dessert specialist, what better time than the holidays to indulge in that pastime?

A very special Christmas: Area mass choir to perform with Grammy-winning tenor (and it all began with a spot of channel surfing)

A few years ago, Doug Browning was casually flipping through channels and came across David Phelps.

“I hear this voice, and I just back up and watch. I was riveted in my living room!” said the Columbus First United Methodist Church music director.

Although no one could have foreseen it then, Browning’s discovery planted the seed that will bring the Grammy and Dove Award-winning artist to the Golden Triangle Dec. 21 at Rent Auditorium.

A gingerbread campus: MUW’s front campus has never looked so … delicious

Advanced baking students at Mississippi University for Women’s Culinary Arts Institute have recently added some new skills to their resumes — like architecture, engineering and construction. That is, if working in gingerbread counts.

Starkville Tour of Homes: Looking a lot like Christmas

When it comes to Christmas, Charlotte McNeal feels she is more child than grown-up. Which is one of the reasons she and her husband, Eddie, are looking forward to having their home among the five on tour Sunday, Dec. 8 for the Starkville Civic League’s annual Christmas Tour of Homes.

Thankful for leftovers: From chili to a Monte Cristo spin-off, readers share ideas for the day-after turkey

It turns out there are some among us who love Thanksgiving almost as much for the leftovers as for the main meal.

“I feel sorry for anyone who doesn’t have leftovers,” laughed Miranda Stewart of Starkville. “I wake up the Friday after already anticipating the chili I’ll use that turkey for.”

Loss of limb never slows down athlete-turned-mom

LeAnn Sanders Shelton firmly believes softball helped her overcome the loss of her left arm. The lawn mower accident that took it happened when she was 4. The Reform, Ala., native began playing ball at age 5. Softball gave Shelton challenges and hard knocks. But it also instilled in her discipline and dedication.

Photos: Autumn Leaves

I first heard the song “Autumn Leaves” when I was very young. My parents often played pianist Roger Williams’ 1955 chart-topping instrumental version on the turntable in the den. Williams’ incredible runs down the keyboard perfectly evoke visions of leaves, red and gold, drifting to earth.

Pioneer families remembered with Bible donation to Columbus library

Lowndes County produced Revolutionary War patriots. The Bernard Romans Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution would like to know more about who they were, what they did and where they rest in peace.

Tradition and treats: Thanksgiving heralds the 53rd annual Country Store Bake Sale

Peek at the calendars of many a Thanksgiving hostess in Columbus and surrounds, and there’s a good chance you’ll see next Tuesday flagged in red. That’s when the doors of the Stephen D. Lee Home open for two of the most anticipated hours of the year — the Country Store Bake Sale.

Teamwork: A Columbus woman and her ‘perfect match’ tackle graduate school together

The phrase “a perfect match” is usually reserved for cheesy dating sites and the greeting card industry, but for Sandra Bullins, it came with four sturdy legs and gleaming black fur. That was in June 2012, when she was partnered with the male Labrador guide dog that would expand all her horizons.

It’s ‘onward and upward’ for the Mother Goose Endowment fund

Edwina Williams sat down at the piano in the antebellum home Errolton the evening of April 1 to entertain, she thought, for a surprise birthday party. The surprise, as it turns out, was on her.

Local volunteer launches social media drive for ambulance in Uganda

While many were sunning on beaches this past summer, Stephanie Holcombe of Columbus was living in a mud hut and delivering babies by candlelight in

Heavy duty Burpee challenge to raise funds for Palmer Home

The burpee is a physically demanding squat thrust followed by a vertical jump that puts the full body to work. Now, imagine doing 400 of them consecutively. That’s the goal four trainers — Chance Wiygul, Eric Birtley, Jonathan Fortt and Luke Strohl — hope to hit in a 30-minute Burpee Challenge at Iron Heart Gym at 454 Wilkins-Wise Road in Columbus Saturday.

Gluten-free goodies: Health coach shares survival tips for gluten-free holidays

As Thanksgiving and Christmas march ever closer, many of us are thinking ahead to desserts for holiday dinners and parties. Alyssa Davis is, too. But the Starkville cook’s shopping list probably looks different than yours or mine. Davis has been gluten-free for several years now — not because she thought it was trendy, but because she believes it improves her life and keeps her medication- and symptom-free after years of battling Crohn’s Disease.

Eliza’s letters: A voice from Columbus’ past helps define a ‘New Southern Woman’

On a clear winter’s night in December 1860, Eliza Lucy Irion Neilson of Columbus sat down with a notebook and began writing her life story. One hundred and fifty-three years later, those who have come after her have a firsthand account of the ordinary and extraordinary world of the American South during and after the American Civil War.

Hand-pieced quilt with a story finds a new home

A hand-pieced quilt has effectively stitched together the lives of one area woman and quilters aged 9 to 90 in rural Nebraska and South Dakota.

When a vacationing Donna Egger Grant happened to purchase a few raffle tickets in June for a quilt displayed at the Niobrara Lodge in Valentine, Neb., she “never dreamed” she would actually win it.

Muslim Journeys continues with Islamic artistry, women’s roles

Intricate miniature paintings and works in the Persian art of Illumination, or Tazhib, are part of an exhibit by Sheida Riahi, who is the featured speaker at the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.

Choral concert celebrates life-giving waters

When Columbus Choral Society conductor Alisa Toy began thinking about a theme for this fall’s Nov. 15 concert, Columbus’ distinction as a river town came