Articles by Zack Plair
Disagreement abounds on police chief action plan specifics
Mayor Robert Smith offered a few more specifics Thursday on an action plan meant to save Police Chief Oscar Lewis’ job, but most of what the plan outlines remains under wraps, apparently even from the city council.
Juvenile arrested for firing gun in air near MUW
Columbus police have a suspect in custody following a shots-fired call Sunday night at the 1400 block of Fourth Avenue South.
Debate on Starkville alcohol ordinance moves forward
Starkville leaders took the next necessary step Tuesday toward loosening the city’s ordinance restrictions on alcohol sales.
Home Base: Truth and myths about American exceptionalism
Every time you flip on a light switch, you are literally unleashing evidence the idea of American exceptionalism, at least in its traditionally accepted form, is false.
Home Base: Nature versus nurture
Where do “isms” come from?
You know, the nasty ones: racism, sexism, ageism, etc.
MSMS reserve fund reaching critical point
Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science could be only a year away from drastically shrinking its operations, according to the school’s executive director Germain McConnell.
Home Base: Using the Lord’s name in vain
There’s nothing wrong with being a Christian. In fact, I highly recommend it.
There’s also nothing wrong with people allowing their faith to inform their decision-making, in any sphere.
Home Base: An alternative to wasting money on ‘stuff’
A long unused Kindle Fire lay gathering dust on an end table in our living room. Across the room, a gaming system sat similarly idle – its once enthusiasm-fueled glow lost to homework, youth sports, piano lessons and other fixtures of our family’s weekly grind.
Gaming the system: Absentee votes often pivotal in local elections
Sara Deloach. Patricia Brooks. Judy Lewis.
Candidates who have run for office in Columbus and Lowndes County over the past 40-plus years likely know at least one, if not all, of these women and might have even used their services.
Hood calls on better funding priorities in state
Attorney General Jim Hood forgot to take his blood pressure medicine Monday before taking to the podium to speak at Starkville Country Club.
Councilman invokes race in campaign letter
A Columbus councilman is standing by his decision to mail out campaign material that openly invokes race as an issue for this year’s municipal elections.
Son cleared in Robert Smith Jr.’s shooting death
Davius Smith feared for his life the day he shot his father to death in the family’s home.
Home Base: Two strangers in a hospital waiting room
Fresh off a CT scan at the hospital in Starkville on Wednesday, the radiology technician escorted me back to the x-ray waiting area.
Testing time: Lowndes schools aim for an A rating
Caledonia Elementary Principal Roger Hill saw his school lose something during the 2015-16 school year. Next week, his students have a chance to earn it back — a fact he hasn’t let them forget.
Testing time: Starkville-Oktibbeha looks to strengthen rating
Lining the halls of Starkville High School, names emblazon yellow-and-black-painted cinder blocks above the classroom doors.
Call him the bus driver: Oktoc dairy farmer fully integrated with MSU athletics through second job
Only one man has taken Mississippi State teams to two Final Fours, eight College World Series appearances and every bowl game the Bulldogs have played since 1983.
Miracle workers: State fans stunned, elated after historic victory
On the concourse of the American Airlines Center just before midnight Friday, hundreds of Mississippi State fans leaving from their team’s Final Four match-up were loudly chanting “Maroon!” A near equal number of others quickly chanted back “White!”
Home Base: A team and its fans
This wasn’t last time.
It took less than a minute for everyone, most notably the Connecticut Huskies, to figure that out.