Slimantics: Just enough to share

My parents were born more than 100 years ago and grew up in an era when survival depended on hard work.

Both had only a high school education.

Area school districts still feed students during closure

Since Monday, school districts in Columbus and Starkville, along with a Starkville grocer, have provided more than 3,500 meals to home-bound kids.

Slimantics: Which kind of fear will it be?

On Monday, the Mississippi State Department of Health confirmed a case of COVID-19 in Monroe County, a sure sign that the dreaded virus is very near to us all. As of Monday there are 12 confirmed cases in Mississippi. Nationally, the number of cases is a 3,487, including 68 deaths.

Local restaurants feel impact of COVID-19 as dine-in customers dwindle

It was a question Shannon McPherson couldn’t answer, at least not with numbers.

McPherson, the marketing director for Eat With Us Group — which owns restaurants in Columbus and Starkville, such as Harvey’s, Sweet Peppers and The Grill — was asked about the impact of the COVID-19 virus on the company’s businesses.

GTR spreading the word about new ID requirements for air travel

Starting in October, airline passengers must have a special designation on their driver’s licenses in order to go through airport security checkpoints and board planes for travel.

Coronavirus pandemic: Baptist Hospital official explains symptoms, screening, quarantines

With the arrival of the COVID-19 coronavirus, there are more questions than answers.

Among them, “What happens when I go to the doctor’s office or hospital with possible coronavirus symptoms?”

Coronavirus changing church-going experience

On Sunday mornings, millions of Americans regularly engage in behavior health officials urge people to avoid as the leading edge of the COVID-19 coronavirus arrives in the U.S.

Complete Count chairman covers what will, won’t be asked on Census

When Giles Ward was chosen as Mississippi’s Complete Count chairman for the 2020 U.S. Census last year, former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour gave him a call.

Officials expect low turnout in Lowndes, higher in Oktibbeha

Low or pretty good?

While voters continue to go to the poll today to cast ballots in the Democratic and Republican primaries, the expected turnout varies.

State, local officials prepare for 10-year census

When his work as chairman of the Complete Count committee for the city of Columbus was over in 2010, David Armstrong consoled himself with a pleasant thought.

“I remember saying to myself, ‘I won’t have to do that again,'” said Armstrong, the city’s chief operating officer. “But here we are.”

Rural hospitals look at affiliations, diversifying services to avoid closure

When Pickens County Medical Center in Carrollton, Alabama, announced Feb. 28 it would close by week’s end, the impact was not confined to the west Alabama community. It was a grim reminder of the fight for survival for rural hospitals across the country, where 120 hospitals have closed in the past 10 years.

Slimantics: Consideration of ‘sanctuary’ gun law a waste of time

Monday, county resident Scott Ivy approached the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors to ask them to pass a resolution to make the county a “Second Amendment Sanctuary.”

New Northern District highway commissioner promotes raising fuel tax

When a person moves into a new position, the first couple of months on the job are sometimes called a “baptism in fire.”

But for Mississippi Northern District Highway Commissioner John Caldwell, the baptism has been with water — lots and lots of water.

City, county rush to repair potholes after rainy February

Hot or cold? Now or later?

The first choice dictates the second as Columbus and Lowndes workers seek to repair city streets and county roads during February’s heavy rainfall.

The rain has meant an explosion in potholes.

As Coronavirus spreads to US, Golden Triangle residents stock up on supplies

Earlier this week, a CNN poll about the COVID-19 Coronavirus showed that 38 percent of the Americans polled said they would not purchase Corona beer — although the beverage has no link whatsoever to the virus.

4-County moving forward with considering rural broadband

With a cautious eye on the price tag, 4-County Electric Power Association is moving forward with its consideration of providing broadband internet services for its 49,000 customers, including those in the Golden Triangle.

Slimantics: State Republicans are pumping up the cost of education

Mississippi Republicans love to talk about how they’ve cut taxes since obtaining veto-proof control of state government in 2011. It’s good politics. Who isn’t in favor of lower taxes?

Work resumes at amphitheater after flooding subsides

Work has resumed on the Sen. Terry Brown Amphitheater, a pretty good indicator the effects of the second major flood of the facility were not as severe as the first flood, which filled the grounds with silt and damaged some of its electrical components.

CVB stands by trademark despite cease-and-desist letter from Preservation Society of Columbus

The Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau will continue to use “Columbus MS Spring Pilgrimage” as the name of next month’s annual event in defiance of a cease-and-desist letter from the Preservation Society of Columbus, which registered the name “Columbus Spring Pilgrimage” in September.

Monday Profile: McComic finds ways to aid veterans, disabled in his community

Today from 2-5 p.m., at American Legion Post 38 in West Point, veterans and first responders will be treated to a barbecue lunch with all the trimmings.