Garthia Elena Burnett: Back to the drawing board on health department site selection
Ever notice how too many choices sometimes can turn into paralysis? It’s a problem the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors seems to have run into with building a new health department.
Birney Imes: Bill and Virginia’s whirlwind romance
They say you can hear all sorts of things in a beauty salon. Here’s a story I heard while getting my hair cut Wednesday.
Steve Rogers: Starkville candidates have abdicated responsibility, voters shouldn’t
In one narcissistic moment, Parker Wiseman may have given away a promising chance to be mayor of Starkville.
Steve Rogers: Health department may divide traditional factions
Doubts about whether the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors is two factions or five individual members may be dispelled soon.
Earlier this week, the Columbus Planning Commission approved the Tommy Lott family’s request to rezone two acres on the northwest corner of Lehmberg and Warpath roads from residential to professional offices. The site is an alternative for a new Lowndes County Health Department.
Steve Mullen: In defense of the Vicksburg Four
Much ado has been made of the behavior of the four Columbus police officers accused of Spring break-style behavior in Vicksburg National Military Park, while in that city for a training seminar.
Birney Imes: Working the polls
Bet you don’t know the memory span of a goldfish. How about what a baby gold fish is called?
Garthia Elena Burnett: One more something for parents to be concerned about
It was almost 10 o’clock last Wednesday night. I had sent my 5-year-old daughter to bed, with instructions to pick out a bedtime story.
Robbie Coblentz: The debate that didn’t happen
Starting mid-morning May 6, the movement began to organize a televised debate between Parker Wiseman and Matt Cox before the Democratic run-off. The idea was to hold a debate with a moderator and format that would produce unscripted answers. A candidate would be asked a question, get two minutes to answer, and then his opponent would get two minutes to answer.
Steve Mullen: Mother’s Day, Market Street and more
Many folks stick close to their families all their lives, so occasions such as Mother’s Day are somewhat routine. I used to feel that way.
Birney Imes: Paul Thorn’s sermons
Friday evening around 6:30 Paul Thorn and his band were relaxing and eating sandwiches in the mayor’s conference room at City Hall. Thorn is an intense and muscular ball of energy who at 44 looks as though he could go a few rounds with a middleweight boxer.
Steve Mullen: Where’s all the ammo?
Praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition. I always liked that phrase. Yes, the Lord should be praised. And ammunition is good too, especially if you have a gun.
Claudia Limbert: A thoughtful, deliberate naming process
As many of you know, MUW is in the process of finding a new name. The process has been thoughtful and transparent, and all the documents relating to it are on our Web site.
Birney Imes: Honeybees and politicians
It was an urban sound, a distant clanging coming from the direction of the port. But standing in the backyard on a recent morning, tea in hand watching the bees begin their day, the noise caused me to flash back to a morning seven or eight years ago in Manhattan’s Flower District.
Garthia Elena Burnett: When the naming fracas gets personal
What’s in a name?
For Mississippi University for Women, the more appropriate question is, ‘What’s not in a name?’: Reality.
Steve Mullen: Rays of sunshine in the Gloom Belt
It seems a team of scientists has been cataloging the nation’s bad-hair days. As it turns out, Kentucky is gloomy, but so is Mississippi. In fact, you could call Mississippi the buckle of the “Gloom Belt.”
Steve Mullen: News in another new form
As I write this column, I’m switching back and forth to a program called TweetDeck. Its dark, businesslike interface fills my entire laptop screen with several columns of updates, each one chiming as new information comes in.
Birney Imes: Tupelo honey at the Silver Spur
Last summer at the farmers’ market I asked George Dyson if tupelo trees grow this far north. George, one of the market regulars, is the grizzled fellow usually on the north end of the market with a beard and the tattered “I (heart) Bikinis” baseball cap. He sells bowls and cooking utensils he crafts from native woods such as bois d’arc, oak and sassafras.
Steve Mullen: The girls arrive; the party begins
We’ve covered some ground.
Lee and the two girls, ages 7 and 9, are here for Spring Break, their first time in Columbus, in advance of moving here from California after the school year ends.
I’ve received lots of suggestions on how to keep them occupied; we’ll never cover it all but we’re off to a good start.
Birney Imes: Uncovering another local hero
Glenn Lautzenhiser and Rufus Ward are at it again. The two local cultural preservationists have, in the past year or so, organized memorial events for native sons who have been titans in their field, sports broadcaster Red Barber and boxer Henry Armstrong.
Steve Mullen: Two days and counting
It’s D-Day minus two. My wife, Lee, and our two kids are coming in for a visit Friday night, and preparations have begun.
