When the music stopped … And the hope it is making its return
One year ago, vocalist Jennifer Davis was eager about the upcoming Starkville-MSU Symphony Association concert, a highlight of the Orchestra and Community Chorus spring season. Rehearsals were all but done. Finishing touches were falling into place. Friends had it on their calendars. Then, the music stopped, when COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic in March 2020.
Majority of CMSD students lag behind grade level
Sixty-four percent of Columbus Middle School students are two or more grade levels behind in reading and 53 percent of those students are two or more grade levels behind in math, according to the district’s mid-year assessment presented Thursday to the school board.
Those grim numbers were presented during a marathon board meeting as one by one, school principals gave status reports of their schools, painting a portrait of an already-struggling school district badly affected by COVID-19 limitations on in-person instruction.
School clubs adapt to pandemic limitations
On Wednesday, 18 fourth-grade students throughout Starkville sat at their computers in anticipation of what some parents say has become the highlight of the kids’ week this year — science club.
The club is a long-standing organization for fourth-grade students at Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary School. This year, it looks a bit different compared to previous years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that has not stopped club adviser and fourth-grade teacher Brooke Crosland from developing the students’ interest in STEM education through hands-on learning.
Pandemic puts 1 in 3 nonprofits in financial jeopardy
More than one-third of U.S. nonprofits are in jeopardy of closing within two years because of the financial harm inflicted by the viral pandemic, according to a study being released Wednesday by the philanthropy research group Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.
Our View: Gardening, a perfect pandemic therapy
It’s been almost a year since COVID-19 arrived in our community. It’s been a tough year for all of us, and even with the arrival
Pilgrimage canceled for second straight year
The 2021 Columbus Spring Pilgrimage has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Preservation Society of Columbus announced in a press release Monday.
Starkville-based United Way chapter faces financial uncertainty fueled by pandemic
Randy Davis was running out of options. The 41-year-old Starkville resident lost his job at an area manufacturing plant in February 2020 and was surviving off his 401K as he fruitlessly looked for work during the opening months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A safe, socially-distanced Valentine’s rush
Just like the week of Valentine’s Day every year, the line ran outside the door Wednesday afternoon at The Flower Company on Lampkin Street in Starkville.
Flowers have always been a prominent part of Valentine’s Day, and this year is no different aside from everyone wearing a mask in line and only 10 people being allowed into the store at a time.
Animal shelters trying to bounce back from ‘crazy’ 2020
It’s been almost a year since COVID-19 arrived in the Golden Triangle, a year Lowndes County Humane Society Director Karen Johnwick described as a journey from “crazy” to “normal” during her appearance Thursday’s Columbus Exchange Club luncheon at Lion Hills Center.
Making the best of it: Activity planning goes into overdrive during pandemic
Adaptability has been a keyword of the COVID-19 pandemic; that is as true of senior living facilities as it is of every household, workplace, school or church around the globe. When the novel coronavirus abruptly curtailed most in-person family and community interaction last March, staff at such places as Garden Hill Assisted Living in Lowndes County were challenged to help provide reassurance, guard health and enrich daily life during an unprecedented period of isolation.
Coalition of businesses set rigorous precautions to promote travel
Golden Triangle Regional Airport and a handful of area businesses have formed a coalition aimed at reassuring travelers to the Golden Triangle area that the airport, rental cars, hotels and restaurants they’re using are taking rigorous safety precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
SOCSD preparing for hundreds of students to return to in-person learning
Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District is preparing for what Superintendent Eddie Peasant estimated to be roughly 250 students returning to their school campuses when the spring semester begins Tuesday, after spending the first semester learning virtually.
Coroners, funeral directors report climbing death rate in 2020
In 2019, Lowndes County Coroner Greg Merchant and his deputies responded to 705 calls — a fairly typical year, he said.
Golden Triangle cities see minimal blows to tax revenue during pandemic
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses to close or restrict their services in March and April 2020, all three cities in the Golden Triangle braced for a potentially crippling financial blow.
Food pantries, nonprofits see mixed-bag of donation levels
Of the many people who sought aid from Beth-el Missionary Baptist Church in Starkville over the last few months, two of them stuck out particularly to Ricky Howard, who helps run the church’s food pantry: a husband and wife, both of whom had been laid off from their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic and had three children at home they had to take care of.
Health and safety a priority for W spring semester
Mississippi University for Women will continue to prioritize health, safety and well-being for the spring 2021 semester. Classes will begin Monday, Jan. 11 and end
W sees freshman bump during pandemic
First-year admission to four-year colleges all over the country is down this year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, but in the Golden Triangle, Mississippi University for Women is an exception to the trend.
Lowndes sees more than 500 new COVID cases in a week
Lowndes County continues to see the largest area increases in positive COVID-19 cases by the week, Mississippi Department of Health data shows, with more than 500 new cases between Dec. 9 and Wednesday.
Homeless Coalition’s funds diminished during pandemic; need has not
When the subject of poverty and homelessness comes up, a popular saying is never far from the lips: “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
For all its merits, the old Chinese proverb diminishes the urgency of the immediate need. A hungry person needs food now.
Mississippi State’s Mike Leach unloads on uncertainties and struggles of 2020 season in lengthy rant
STARKVILLE — The 2020 college football season is wearing on Mississippi State’s lead man.