Men’s college basketball
Exhibition, Georgetown, Ky., at Mississippi State (2 p.m., Starkville)
Wesley at Xavier (3 p.m., New Orleans)
Pensacola Christian at Belhaven (7:30 p.m., Jackson) Women’s college basketball
Wesley at Talladega (4 p.m., Talladega, Ala.) College football
Mississippi College at Sul Ross State (1 p.m., Alpine, Texas)
Texas Southern at Mississippi Valley State (1 p.m., Itta Bena)
Campbellsville at Belhaven (1:30 p.m., Newell Field, Jackson)
Alabama State at Jackson State (4 p.m., Memorial Stadium, Jackson, 1300 AM)
West Georgia at Delta State (4 p.m., Cleveland, 930 AM)
Northern Arizona at Ole Miss (6:30 p.m., Oxford, CSS, 97.3 FM) Men’s college soccer
Colorado College at Millsaps (7 p.m., Jackson)
FJ:Good morning and good grief, this is Fearless Jackson and you are listening to your favorite morning radio show in the entire neighborhood. How is the morning pizza? Short broadcast today since the mailman keeps forgetting to collect the mail around here. Know what that means? The bills aren't getting delivered. Oh, who am I kidding? I am only saying this in the off chance someone at the bank listens to my show. What are the odds of that?
Impossible is the mission? They said I treated Fridays like Mondays and Mondays like Fridays but to me, that just sounds like an antimetabole. That or I've been reading too much Dr. Seuss, the original rapper, you heard it hear first. Or last.
To me, My So-Called Life really jumped the shark after the first season.
Behavioral scientist Kathleen Wermke has been studying crying babies for the past two decades. What a Dirty Job. That is 20 years of listening to emo music without the instrumentals. For this, she deserves some sort of prize, such as a diamond ring. Maybe earplugs. Wermke also compares cries from separate backgrounds, such as Chinese and Japanese.
On the homefront, perhaps Wermke should attempt to distinguish between a Democrat and a Republican crying. I'm sure they all sound the same, whether it be a Republican senator having his Craigslist account deleted, or a Democrat senator losing her largest campaign donor to prison time.
The morning air rushes into the studio this morning. It's 15 after the hour. It's not because of our unique architectural design which allows the autumn gusts to pervade my tiny hall of solace. It's simply because we have a hole in the roof. I would pay the carpenter what I owe him if only the mailman would drop by here once in a while. The check is in the mailbox, honest.
Semicolons this week expressed outrage on Capitol Hill over what they call, "egregious discriminatory practices" conducted in part by many computer-users across the nation and world. One activist spoke to me late last night.
;: Due to only being half-colon, we are perceived to be inferior to colons. This is not true and should no longer be perpetuated by the status quo. Our usage is entirely specific to the grammatical task at hand. If the establishment continues to discriminate against using us because of our appearance, then we shall continue to march in protest until we are given proper civil rights.
FJ: I spoke to one White House official who refused to believe semicolons were being improperly discriminated against.
White House Official: If you look at the state of editing in this day and age, punctuation marks are misused each and every day. Newspaper staffs across the country are being reduced in size. The newly formed staffs now focus more on inserting their own agenda into their stories rather than checking on the proper justification for using a colon or a semicolon.
FJ: I then spoke to a college student preparing a 10-page term paper on the subject of man-made hazards in Greece.
College Student: I mean, if I can help it, I won't use either. Periods, question marks, exclamation marks; pieces of cake.
Wait, did I use the semicolon correctly in that last sentence? I don't want to ruin the transcript. Honestly, I probably should have typed a colon after "exclamation marks", but I don't want semicolons picketing outside of my studio. Plus, I don't mind breaking the 4th wall.
College Student: But when it comes to semicolons or colons-forget it. I'm still figuring out how to stray from typing commas.
FJ: In other news, gold is at an all-time high. Take the L out of Gold and you have what gold really is at this moment in time. I'd love to come home to a Claire Danes-type of girl wearing god around her neck, watching reruns of Happy Days. Then maybe I'd finally understand the meaning of that Weezer video.
The new version of Happy Days would be called Happy Hours and would consist of the saddest teens in the world drooling over their McEwan's at Al's Diner, waiting for the next episode of Happy Days to come on.
This has been fun. This has been wild. My phone is rocking off the hook. Caller I.D. says it's someone calling from the bank. Over and out.
Members of the Southeastern Christian Association, Operation Help Civil Rights Group, and Mothers of Inmates protested outside Mississippi Department of Corrections headquarters on President Street in Jackson today, lobbying for fair treatment of sons and husbands who are inmates in MDOC correctional facilities.
"A lot of inmates are being mistreated and their civil rights are being violated at Parchman," said Wyndol Lee, president of Operation Help Civil Rights Group. "They're going to bed hungry. A lot of inmates are complaining that they're being raped by other inmates, or beaten by security workers even though they're not violating any rules. They've come to us for help, and we're going to make their problems known."
Protestors stood before the MDOC building, shouting for Commissioner Christopher Epps to come down and face questions about inmate mistreatment at the facilities. Gillam claimed Epps told him he would come down and speak, though Epps did not appear this morning. In response to Jackson Free Press inquiries, Epps' office sent a statement via e-mail claiming he had earlier attempted to make contact with protest organizers.
"Since I heard (Gillam) would return to Jackson, I have made contact with Dr. Gillam on several occasions. At no time during these contacts did he request an appointment with me. It is regrettable that the complaints of these citizens are not being brought to the agency in a productive manner that allows specific complaints to be addressed," Epps wrote. "I have never refused to meet with anyone and am always ready to address concerns of inmate family members in a productive manner."
Epps added that he looked forward to "meeting with Dr. Gillam again," and was "hopeful" that Gillam would provide more specific accounts of abuse at MDOC facilities.
Mothers of Inmates President Jean Smith said she had plenty of specifics to offer Epps. "I have mothers with children who are being harassed not just by the gang activity, but by correction officers who are not processed correctly by human resources there, and who treat inmates brutally," said Smith, a West Point, Miss., resident, whose son John Anderson is incarcerated at Parchman. "When their time is almost up, the officers provoke them into bad behavior to make them serve more time. We're not paying our taxes to pay a correctional officer to harass, provoke and beat our children. Someone in this state government will be held liable for our children if nothing is done."
"Epps and Haley Barbour both know this," Smith added. "We've been here in the past, and we're not going away."
Other mothers claim their children are begging them to ask facility authorities to keep them in solitary confinement to protect them from more violent fellow inmates.
Lisa Williams complains that her son, Sam McCarter, is told to work in the fields at Parchman: "They're making him pull hay all day and putting him to bed hungry. If he doesn't want to work in a field all day he shouldn't have to," Williams said. "The days of slavery are supposed to be over."
Other protesters had more personal complaints. Sardis resident Cordelia Ward said handlers moved her brother Ricky Ward from Parchman to a holding facility in Rankin County with no initial explanation or warning of the transfer. She also complains that guards at Parchman shamed her with repeated invasive searches when she came to visit.
"They made me pull off all my clothes and went inside of my vagina looking for things. They made some women take off their wigs, and it's really embarrassing for older women visiting their relatives and grandchildren," Ward said.
Gillam said he had compiled a list of officers accused of beating one inmate, and would be taking the list to the FBI in hopes of sparking an investigation into allegations of abuse in MDOC facilities. "We have the names of specific officers who have been beating inmates. Three weeks ago they beat an inmate until he was so wobbly he couldn't stand up, and we're taking this information to the federal government because they're treating people worse than animals here in this state," Gillam said.
In his statement, Epps said "no allegation of mistreatment I receive goes idle. Each and every one is looked into, and action is taken if any level of our inmate care is falling below standards."
Epps insisted Gillam speak with him personally regarding the beating allegations, adding: "To do otherwise would be uncooperative and counterproductive."
Gillam said protesters would hold their next rally in January.
JFP People of the Day: Barbara Taylor and Jerry Mosley
Courtesy Mississippi State Hospital
by Ward Schaefer
November 6, 2009
Barbara Taylor and Jerry Mosley are walking together this weekend. Tomorrow, Taylor will lead a team from the Community Services Department of the Mississippi State Hospital in NAMIWalks, a benefit for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Taylor, 54, has worked for the Mississippi State Hospital for six years as an administrative assistant. The Community Services Department runs transitional programs for people moving out of mental health institutions, helping them build life skills in a group home.
As captain of her walk team, Taylor is leading the group's donation drive. NAMIWalks raises money for NAMI's advocacy and education efforts by soliciting sponsors for every walker. Last year, the event had 97,000 participants across the county, and organizers are aiming for 117,000 this year. NAMI's Mississippi chapter hopes to raise $50,000 this year.
Walking with Taylor will be Jerry Mosley. Mosley, 48, was once a recipient of state mental health services. Now, he helps others like him, as a peer-to-peer counselor. NAMI sponsors a monthly group meeting for people in the Community Services Department's transitional program. For the last year, Mosley has been facilitating the monthly support group, helping participants work through problems.
"When I first became mentally ill, I had no idea about mental illness; I faced a lot of stigmas," Mosley said. "With me facilitating, keeping the group under control, it also helps me share my experience."
Taylor knows the importance of mental health issues, even if mental illness has not affected her immediate family.
"Mental health affects individuals from all walks of life, economically as well as race," Taylor said. "It has no barriers."
NAMIWalk kicks off at 10 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 7 at Lefluer's Bluff. Call 601-899-9058 for more information.
Do you know a Jacksonian or Mississippian who should be the JFP Person of the Day? Briefly tell us his or her story, sending it to . Include contact information and a picture, if possible.
Two words for this weekend: Mistletoe Marketplace. If you haven't even begun to think about the upcoming holidays, this annual event presented by the Jackson Junior League will get you so psyched for everything Christmas that you just might sit on Santa's lap this year. It's happening at the Mississippi Trademart and closes at 7 p.m. Saturday. For more information, see the JFP Best Bets page.
To guarantee that a late Friday night slowly blurs into an early Saturday morning, listen and dance as DJ I.E. and DJ Unpredictable spin at Schimmel's for First Friday, or join Juvenile as he graces the stage at Touch Nightclub. For more music to get your weekend off to a great start, see the JFP Music Listings.
Do something good for your body—and maybe something good for the community—Saturday on one of the walks happening around the city, from Millsap's Chi Omega "Walk for a Wish" to benefit the Make a Wish Foundation at 7:30 a.m. to the Jackson Audubon Society's Family Bird Walk at LeFleur's Bluff at 8 a.m. If you would rather people watch, check out the Miss Mississippi Preliminaries 7 p.m., Madison Square Center for the Arts, and find out just how well voice lessons pay off. Get all the juicy details on the JFP Events Calendar.
Looking for live, local music Saturday night? Head back to the JFP Music Listings to find your favorite bands and DJs. Or take a flyer on finding a new favorite. There are plenty to choose from, from The Electric Co. at McB's to Sherman Lee Dillon at F. Jones Corner, and T-Bird and the Breaks at Ole Tavern. If the play's your thing, don't forget the Millsap's players and "Aria da Capo," 7:30 p.m. at the Millsaps Christian Center Auditorium.
For city dining and beyond check out JFP Restaurant Listings and the online Menu Guide for ideas on the perfect dinner or Sunday brunch. If you want to catch a movie afterward check out JFP Movie Finder.
Getting it once a week is something that should be shared. Head over to JFP Swag Store and get your JFP tee today. And while you're on the site, don't forget to vote for the 2010 Best of Jackson.
Is something missing? To make sure your event is listed on the JFP calendars, send the information to or , or add your event yourself. It's easy!
Suniora Page bounced back from bad luck to a new career. After being laid off from her job as a manager at the Nissan plant in Canton in October 2008, Page took a job as a cashier at Miller's Grocery in the City Centre building downtown. When she heard that the owners were looking to sell the location, she decided to make the leap to ownership and purchased the restaurant.
"I just thought it was the luck of the draw," Page told the Jackson Free Press. "You're in the right place at the right time."
She opened Suniora's Sidewalk Cafe in the old Miller's Grocery location the first week of October.
Page, 29, says she contributes her "people skills" to the business, but her mother Penny is responsible for the restaurant's recipes. In addition to the southern buffet, sandwiches and pizza that Miller's served, Suniora's also offers more home-style Southern dishes like turkey necks, rutabagas and squash. Page hopes to expand to short-order offerings like burgers in the future, but for now she's just learning the basics of the restaurant business.
"Certain people are very particular about what they want," Page said she has learned. "You just have to learn the people and know what they like. Me, I'm a people-pleaser, so I try to accommodate each individual.
"I've had to learn, the majority will overrule the individual," Page added with a laugh.
Page has been pleasantly surprised with the pace of business downtown.
"I did not realize downtown had so much to offer," Page said. "The people downtown are so nice. I like the atmosphere."
Suniora's Sidewalk Cafe is located at 200 S. Lamar St., and is open from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Call 601-355-1955. Fans of Miller's can visit the Miller's Grill Downtown at 224 E. Capitol St., 601-354-4044.
In an effort to have Mississippi residents understand the resources available to them through his office, Attorney General Jim Hood announced a statewide educational initiative yesterday.
"We think people understand that we're an agency of lawyers, that we prosecute various crimes, and that we bring lawsuits in the public interest," Hood said in a release. "But we also want Mississippians to understand that we are so much more than that. For example, did you know that this office awarded more than $3 million in financial assistance to eligible victims of violent crimes last year? Most importantly, we have some great resources available to our residents."
The release went on to list several resources that residents may not be aware of:
• The Victim Compensation Division provides financial assistance and support services to eligible victims of violent crimes.
• The Consumer Protection Division can provide assistance to you if you have a dispute with a business through its mediation process. Also, if you have been the victim of identity theft, home repair fraud or other consumer fraud the division can provide assistance to you on how to respond and combat these issues.
• The Cyber Crime Unit protects and in many cases rescues children through the investigation of computer crimes such as child pornography.
• The Administrative Division manages the Law Enforcement Officers and Fire Fighters Disability Trust Fund, which provide financial benefits to eligible law enforcement officers and fire fighters injured in the line of duty.
• The Domestic Violence Division can provide materials on coping with domestic abuse, including information on domestic abuse protective orders and the address confidentiality program.
• The Child Desertion Unit criminally prosecutes deadbeat parents throughout the state for desertion, abandonment and the failure to pay court ordered child support.
• The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Vulnerable Adults Unit enforce the laws which prohibit abuse, neglect, and exploitation of vulnerable adults, such as those having mental or physical disabilities.
Employees from the attorney general's office will be mailing or delivering packets of information to churches, community and medical centers, and non-profits. The visits begin with Riverwood Nursing & Rehab in Greenwood, Thursday, Nov. 12.
"No money will be spent on media campaigns, and most of the materials being provided were printed in-house," Hood said. "Primarily, we plan to visit smaller, more rural communities and talk to our fellow Mississippians, but particularly the poor and busy working people. We want to get some of our publications into the communities so that Mississippians can know where to turn for specific types of assistance."
NAMI Mississippi
411 Briarwood Dr, Ste 401
Jackson, MS 39206
Please be sure to indicate that the donation is for The Church Triumphant NAMIWalks team.
If you want to come to the walk tomorrow, it will be at Mayes Lake off Lakeland Drive. Go down Lakeland and turn on Layfair Drive, which is next to the Shell station and across the street from the fire station. The check-in time starts at 9:00, and the walk starts at 10:00. Just fill out a form and be prepared for a little exercise! There will also be a picnic and entertainment after the walk this year, so come on down!
The Chi Omegas of Millsaps College hold their annual "Walk for a Wish 5k" at 7:30 a.m., benefitting the Make-a-Wish Foundation. $20, $15 in advance; call 601-421-2916. … The annual NAMIWalks, hosted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, begins at 10 a.m. at Mayes Lake. Free, donations encouraged; call 601-899-9058. … Drivers of motorcycles, hot rods and cars gather at Got Gear Motorsports in Ridgeland at 11 a.m. to form the 2009 Poker Run for Shared Roads, advocating for motorcyclists in the state. $25, $20 in advance; call 601-383-8817. … The Brain Injury Association of Mississippi's 2009 gala, "Wounded: A Salute to Our Mississippi Heroes," begins at 6 p.m. at the Country Club of Jackson. $100; call 601-981-1021. … Quills and ¡Los Buddies! rock Martin's at 10 p.m. … Holly Williams and Jewel play at the Ameristar in Vicksburg at 7:30 p.m.
After a days-long stand off, U.S. Senate Republicans agreed to unanimously support extending unemployment and homebuyers' credits yesterday.
The GOP initially proposed nine revisions to the $24 billion Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009, including one that tightened requirements for immigration verification. Another amendment sought to adjust funding going to the Troubled Asset Relief Program, approved in 2008, by requiring Congress to finance the unemployment insurance extension using unspent TARP money, rather than through unemployment tax paid by employers.
The Democratic majority blocked most GOP amendments to the compensation act, and none of them received any floor votes. Democrats adopted two GOP-supported provisions, however, including an extension of a first-time homebuyers' tax credit and a tax break for businesses that qualify for a net operating loss carryover.
Sen. Thad Cochran said he wholeheartedly supported the extension of unemployment benefits. "High rates of unemployment in Mississippi and around the nation remain a very real problem. It is my hope that extending these benefits will well serve those still looking for work and help move the nation toward economic recovery," Cochran stated on his Web site.
The bill would provide every American near the end of their unemployment insurance benefits this year with an extra 14 weeks of unemployment insurance. States with jobless rates at 8.5 percent or greater, including Mississippi, would get an additional six weeks for a total of an extra 20 weeks of unemployment benefits.
The bill also extends an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers for seven additional months, and expands the program to offer a new credit of up to $6,500 for homebuyers who have lived in their current residences for five consecutive years.
Brenda Scott, president of the Mississippi Alliance of State Employees said she was surprised the Cochran and other Republicans joined with Democrats for a 98-to-0 vote in favor of the extensions, after days of intense stalling in the Senate.
"I'm surprised that Cochran went along with it, but people do things that are politically correct sometimes," Scott said. "We've had some problems with the Republican Party not looking out for the middle-class, but he did the right thing this time and we commend him. Unemployment is still very serous around Jackson, and those people who are drawing unemployment need that little boost until we can get some jobs going. It's very critical not only in Mississippi, but across the country."
Police Search for Suspect in Rash of Auto Burglaries
File Photo
by Ward Schaefer
November 5, 2009
Jackson police are looking for a suspect who may be responsible for at least 12 auto burglaries over the last week. At a Jackson Police Department meeting this morning, Precinct 4 Commander Kenneth Goodrum told JPD command staff that his officers are searching for Patrick Johnson of Jackson in conjunction with a spate of auto burglaries in his precinct, which covers the city north of Fortification Street and east of the Illinois-Central Railroad tracks. The thefts raised auto burglaries in the precinct by 52 percent over the previous week, to a total of 60 incidents.
Eyewitnesses report seeing Johnson, a black male, along with a black female accomplice, driving a Green Chevrolet Lumina and breaking into Ford F-150 and GMC trucks. Goodrum said that the burglars appear to be using a screwdriver or some other sharp object to open the trucks' doors and disable any security systems. The burglaries clustered around Ridgewood Road and Ridgewood Court Drive, Goodrum said.
Johnson is also wanted in Ridgeland for several auto burglaries, Goodrum said. JPD Assistant Chief Lee Vance told reporters that the department will release video footage of Johnson soon.
Citywide, auto burglaries for the week ending Nov. 1 decreased 5.6 percent from the previous week, while property crimes overall were up 0.5 percent. For the year to date, property crime is up 1.3 percent over 2008.
Violent crime in the city is down 11 percent over the same time last year. Homicides for the year to date are down from 55 in 2008 to 37 this year.
Bill Chandler, executive director and founder of Jackson-based Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, does not let being 68 stop him from doing good. He is an advocate for immigrant rights throughout the state of Mississippi. For this work, he was named a 2009 Purpose Prize Fellow, an award for entrepreneurs over 60 who use their experience to tackle society's biggest challenges in second careers started in the second half of life.
Civic Ventures, a non-profit organization that focuses on engaging baby boomers for meaningful work in the social arena, awards the Purpose Prize and fellowships through its networking Web site, Encore.org.
Chandler started MIRA in 2000 after noticing abuse of Latino and Asian immigrants through his work as a union organizer in Mississippi and throughout the South. He particularly noticed abuses against farm, hospitality and construction workers, especially after Katrina. Some construction workers were, and continue to be, ripped off by wage theft, where contractors hire immigrants and disappear after the job is done without paying the workers. MIRA has regained over $1 million for immigrants in wage theft cases after tracking down these contractors.
The Purpose Prize Fellow award will "raise MIRA's image in the nation," Chandler told the Jackson Free Press. "We are well-known across the country and in many other countries because of the work we have been doing, and this will provide more visibility for MIRA."
Racist laws in the U.S. have targeted immigrants throughout history, Chandler says, beginning with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which suspended immigration from China for a decade. He added that all the restrictive immigration laws that have been passed have focused on immigrants of color. Until 1965, it was almost impossible for immigrants of color to obtain visas to come to the U.S.
He also says that implementing the North American Free Trade Agreement has had a devastating effect on the agricultural economy in Mexico. Many farmers became destitute and began coming to the U.S. to support their families, settling in the Deep South. As a result, they need protection. "Once these people are here, they have basic human needs, like you and me. And once they are here, we try to protect and expand the rights they have," he says.
Chandler remains busy at work, despite his age. He stresses that working for MIRA can include a seven-day workweek because some immigrants are only available to talk on Saturdays or Sundays. MIRA representatives, therefore, make themselves available on weekends. Chandler oversees all of MIRA's daily activities, which can include time in the field, phone conversations and meetings.
MIRA also works in the Legislature to pass bills to protect immigrants' rights and block bills that hinder these rights. Since opening, the organization has overseen passage of six bills and blocked over 200 from being passed.
Chandler is a prime example of why retirement from one job does not mean the end of a career. "I retired from one organization one day, and the next day I was at work organizing MIRA," he said in a release.
The City of Jackson and the U.S. Marine Corps has announced its annual child signup for the coming holiday season. Registration will be held at the Jackson Medical Mall near the Subway Sandwich Shop (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Drive) on Saturday, Nov. 7 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 8 from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m.
Organizers will require the following documentation, no exceptions:
• Drivers license or government issued ID for parent or guardian
• Social Security card for parent or guardian
• Proof of income and proof of residence (utility bill, etc.)
• Birth certificate and Social Security card for each child (ages 0 to 12 years)
Children registered with the Salvation Army are not eligible for the Toys for Tots program.
Operating since 1947, the primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver, through a new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to less fortunate youngsters that will assist them in becoming responsible, productive and patriotic citizens, and allow children to experience the joy of the season.
These are heady times for the Mississippi State and Ole Miss men's basketball teams.
The Bulldogs and Rebels are picked to finish 1-2 in the SEC West. Both teams have players on the preseason All-SEC first team: MSU senior forward Jarvis Varnado and Ole Miss sophomore guard Terrico White. Both were unanimous choices.
Varnado leads an experienced band of Bulldogs (for once) who won the 2009 SEC Tournament and lost in the first round of the NCAAs. Dee Bost, Barry Stewart, Kodi Augustus and Romaro Osby are among the key returnees.
"It is the most experience I have had in a long time, and we only have two seniors coming back," MSU coach Rick Stansbury said at SEC Media Days. "We have been unfortunate with some guys transferring and some losses to the NBA draft. There is no question we are better off at this point in the year than we were at this point last year."
Two newcomers have created much buzz. Freshman Renardo Sidney, who's from Jackson but played high school ball in Los Angeles, is one of the nation's top prospects at power forward. But the NCAA is still investigating his amateur status. Many doubt Sidney will ever play for the Bulldogs.
John Riek, a 7-foot-1-inch center from Sudan, was a much-heralded player before suffering a severe knee injury. He appears to be on his way to a full recovery, but the NCAA has suspended him for the first nine games, anyway. The NCAA insists on continuing the amateur charade in Division I athletics. And I'm sure if either of these men were at Kentucky, they would already be cleared to play.
Varnado is the main reason the Bulldogs are ranked in the top 25 in two preseason polls. He blocked 170 shots last season and should break the NCAA career record for blocks this season.
"(Varnado) has a chance to do something no one else has done," Stansbury said. "You think about the Bill Russells, Wilt Chamberlins and Shaquille O'Neals, all the great shot blockers that have played this game, and he has the potential to be the best ever. He deserves all the credit he gets."
Meanwhile, Ole Miss is hoping to avoid the (alleged) drunken brawls and injuries that ruined last season.
"We are healthy, happy, focused and excited about getting our guys back." Rebels coach Andy Kennedy said at SEC Media Days. "… When you have what we went through last year with season-ending injuries, it changed our guys' focus, and it really made them focus right where they needed to, so I am excited about the season."
Things were a bit too exciting last season. Kennedy was arrested on misdemeanor assault charges outside a bar in Cincinnati last December. He later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct.
Even worse, guards Chris Warner, Eniel Polynice and Trevor Gaskins suffered season-ending knee injuries. That led to the emergence of White, who averaged 18 points a game and was named SEC freshman of the year. White did so well that he briefly considered jumping to the NBA.
"That was the silver lining if you are looking for the positive in what we went through last year," Kennedy said of White. "We asked him to transform into a point guard and lead his SEC team and he took on the challenge."
What We Learned
Mississippi State 31, Kentucky 24:
Anthony Dixon can play, can't he? If Dan Mullen had given Dixon the ball one more time against LSU, the Bulldogs might have beaten the Tigers.
Auburn 33, Ole Miss 20:
It's a good thing the Rebels are playing another FCS team, Northern Arizona, this week. If Ole Miss can't qualify for a bowl game, maybe UM can earn a spot in the FCS playoffs.
Houston 50, Southern Miss 43:
The Golden Eagles keep scoring too early at the end of games. USM tied the game against Houston with 58 seconds remaining. That's an eternity for a team like the Cougars.
Jackson State, idle:
Dedric McDonald will start at quarterback Saturday for the Tigers. JSU's constant shuffling of QBs is a symptom of a larger problem.
Millsaps 61, Sewanee 7:
The Majors have earned at least a share of their fourth consecutive SCAC title. Millsaps doesn't rebuild, it reloads.
Howard Payne 38, Mississippi College 24:
The Choctaws can't afford another stumble if they want to win the ASC title.
Lambuth 54, Belhaven 16:
The Blazers just aren't as good away from the cozy confines of Newell Field.
This Week's Winners
The teams that will celebrate victories this week are: Ole Miss, Jackson State, Mississippi College, Belhaven College and Delta State.
Thursday, Nov. 5
Men's college basketball, Millsaps at Jackson State (7:30 p.m., Jackson): The Majors tangle with the Tigers in an exhibition contest.
Friday, Nov. 6
High school football, Provine at Ridgeland (7 p.m., Ridgeland): The Rams probably have to win this game to get into the playoffs. … MRA at Jackson Prep (7 p.m., Flowood, 103.9 FM, 970 AM): It's the Patriots vs. the Patriots in the first round of MAIS playoffs. Doctor S is boldly predicting a Patriots' victory.
Saturday, Nov. 7
College football, Alabama State at Jackson State (4 p.m., Memorial Stadium, Jackson, 1300 AM): The Tigers and the Hornets are both still in the running for the SWAC East title. Why? … Northern Arizona at Ole Miss (6:30 p.m., Oxford, CSS, 97.3 FM): The Rebels play another FCS (I-AA) team. The only reason this game is in the Slate is because it's on TV.
Sunday, Nov. 8
NFL football, Carolina at New Orleans (noon, Ch. 40, 620 AM): The Doctor goofed and has the Saints playing the wrong team in the print version of the Slate. No matter, the Saints will whip the Panthers, too. … New England at Indianapolis (7:20 p.m., Ch. 3): Peyton Manning and the Colts face their nemesis. Goodbye, winning streak?
Monday, Nov. 9
NFL football, Baltimore at Cleveland (7:30 p.m., ESPN, 930 AM): The Ravens will inflict cruel and unusual punishment on the hapless Browns.
Tuesday, Nov. 10
College basketball, Wesley at Belhaven (women, 5:30 p.m., and men, 7:30 p.m., Jackson): It's the Methodists vs. the Presbyterians in this interdenominational hoops doubleheader.
Wednesday, Nov. 11
NBA baskeball, Cleveland at Orlando (7 p.m., ESPN): The Cavaliers and the Magic meet in a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference finals.
The Slate is compiled by Doctor S, who can't believe the Philadelphia Phillies are so stupid.
On his county-provided laptop, Phil Fisher has replaced the standard mouse icon with a sword. A former Marine and a current brigadier general in the Mississippi Army National Guard, Fisher has a bit of the warrior in him, and his stint on the Hinds County Board of Supervisors has been marked by vocal opposition to many of the board's actions.
Fisher, 55, lives in Clinton and represents District 4 of Hinds County, which covers much of Terry, Byram and Clinton. He served as a Clinton alderman from 1993 to 2008 before taking the county supervisor post in January 2008. An avowed fiscal conservative, he distributes monthly memos to constituents and newspapers on the county's financial situation. Not surprisingly, perhaps, the news is usually bad. During board meetings, he types notes in red into his copy of the meeting agenda.
Fisher recently spoke to the Jackson Free Press about his time on the board.
I want to start by going back to the $6.5 million loan to cover payroll that the majority of the board wanted to take out at the Oct. 19 board meeting. It sounded like you were pretty surprised to have it come up at the meeting.
I guess with my military background, I'm not keen on being presented one option up or down, because there are other options. But that's what they presented, and I'm not going to borrow money to bail the county out of this problem.
Where did you get this fiscal conservatism bug? You grew up in Jackson like most of the supervisors, and some of them seem less concerned with this.
I am a Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan conservative. I really believe that our government, at all levels, is too big. And I really believe that it interferes with the private sector and that the private sector should drive the economy forward. The real essence of America is choice. I don't like the idea of a large body pushing down on people forcing them to pay into a system that they either derive little benefit from or see no value in.
The county is considering a memorandum of understanding with the Mississippi Youth Justice Project that would establish some expected reforms at the county's youth detention center. How do you feel about the idea?
If you involve a group that is unanswerable to the people—they're not elected, they're not appointed—they will have authority to require the county to expend funds. And I don't agree with that.
How exactly could they require the county to expend funds?
Through threat of a lawsuit.
Can't they already do that?
I guess they could. I think there's a mechanism in place that the county has used, and I think we should continue on with the same mechanism that we had. We have some management issues to address, of course, and some other things that we need to work on and do. But my biggest concern is once the (Youth Justice) Project gets in the door, they're just going to expand and expand and expand. It's one more person in the room to have to try to go through the issues with.
I remember in the spring seeing a sign you hung in front of your desk.
"Words Do Not Equal Action."
Where did that come from?
I made it up. What it means is everybody in these positions talks a good story. Let me give you an example: We're going to have a hiring freeze in the county. … Board votes unanimously for it. This is going to hold us to the fire on these reductions we've had. When you reduce 74 jobs, there's a lot of emotion, there's a lot of pain in that. Nobody does that with happiness in their heart, but if you're going to do that, in my mind you have to hold firm in order to be fair to those who were let go.
So in the first 18 days of October, this board of supervisors has re-hired or established 18 positions. It's a farce. This gets back into having the courage to say (to department heads), "We voted for a hiring freeze." Words mean things, or you have to justify to Department A why Department B got to bring somebody on and you had to let somebody go.
Those 18 positions: Does that includes the most recent eight they approved to hire at the youth detention center?
There's eight. There's (another) five through a COPS grant. There's four who were saved by the county administrator on Oct. 1, and there was one at the District Attorney's office.
The COPS grant: Does it use county money?
It will in four years. There's no problem with the COPS grant. It's not a bad idea to bring on more law enforcement officers. The grant pays for three years. The problem is that after three years, you've got to have the money. If you want to do this, then you need to set a mechanism in place that pays for it. … This was just, "get my name in the paper, let me be a great guy, let the next guys worry about it." That's how we got here—previous boards passing along expenses to the next board, with no way to pay for them, and without concern for how to pay for them. That's how we got to the point, now, that we've got a $7,000 surplus. Seven thousand dollars.
That won't pay for much more than groceries.
Most households in Hinds County can't get through a month with that. Certainly two months. I'm trying to put this thing in realistic perspective. It's a $54 million budget, and we have a $7,000 surplus. And, oh, we just hired 18 new people. And, oh, we just borrowed $6.5 million, and let's not forget about the previous $1.5 million (borrowed in September to balance last year's budget). And let's not also forget that we took $2.5 million out of (Emergency Operations Center Director) Larry Fisher's EOC fund so that we can make payroll this month. And we hired 18 new people? Where is the sanity here? There's a big picture here, and if people keep piece-mealing away at it, it's a joke.
Mayor Harvey Jr. Johnson rode back into the mayor's office on a platform of openness to the media and the voting public, but he recently left himself vulnerable to criticism on this very issue.
Ward 1 Councilman Jeff Weill sent a letter to Johnson in early October asking to "have an offline discussion with" the nominees for the police and fire chief positions. He wrote that he would be "inclined to support" both nominees after a "private and thorough discussion" on their positions, and added that without such a discussion he would be disinclined to confirm them.
Johnson took offense, and considered the letter a kind of ultimatum. The letter could be interpreted as such—but Johnson came off as abnormally cold in his reaction to Weill's demands. Yes, Weill is watching Johnson like a hawk. He's overly cautious on Johnson's handling of the budget, and he's excessively nervous about how Johnson's administration is funding both the police department and street paving, as well as a flurry of other niggling concerns that come across more political than anything. Weill is clearly desperate to catch somebody's hand in a cookie jar.
Absurdly, Weill wrote in a letter to The Clarion-Ledger last Sunday that former Mayor Frank Melton—who was no paragon of openness—went out of his way to introduce his nominees to the council. Heck, he had to. We imagine that he had fire chief nominee Todd Chandler, who didn't have a prayer of confirmation, personally bring coffee and donuts to council members' doorsteps in an attempt to be chummy. Meanwhile, Melton was probably hiding in a room shredding public documents that he refused to provide to the council or the public.
Still, Johnson's administration never responded to Weill's requests regarding nominees Raymond McNulty and Rebecca Coleman. According to Weill, city staff never followed through with making appointments. Weill's request may have gone against protocol, or perhaps Johnson feared Weill would chip away at the two over coffee until he unearthed a couple of critical flaws to carry to the press—or minor flaws that Weill would try to blow up into something much of the media would jump on without question.
Maybe Johnson had other reasons to shield his nominees from Weill's questioning, but simply ignoring his request with gave Weill what he needed, and now Johnson must work harder not to look aloof or like he's backsliding on his vow of transparency.
Yes, some critics have their ulterior motives. Weill may well fall into that category, but there's no sense in helping your enemies by giving them yet another weapon with which to beat you, especially if the issue can be remedied with a simple cup of coffee or a polite explanation.
Miss Doodle Mae: "It was one of those dreary and rainy evenings. The staff and I had just finished our store-closing duties. Jojo suggested that we wait until the heavy rain lighten up before going home. We agreed with the suggestion and headed to the combination break room/broom closet to watch something on our new flat-screen television. We settled on the Ghetto Science and History Channel broadcasting a Martin Luther King television special. The video and sounds of the Drum Major for Justice mesmerized us.
"We shouted 'Amen' when Dr. King said: 'The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around. That's a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.'
"Then we cheered after he said: 'If something isn't done, and in a hurry, to bring the colored peoples of the world out of their long years of poverty, their long years of hurt and neglect, the whole world is doomed.'
"And we identified with this statement: "Now, I'm just happy that God has allowed me to live in this period, to see what is unfolding.'
"Jojo got happy and shouted 'Hallelujah' three times!
"The heavy rain ended, and the evening moonlight beamed through the Jojo's Discount Store window. And we saw the stars!
"That special moment inspired Jojo's Discount Dollar Store to have the 'Only When It's Dark Enough Can You See the Stars Post-Halloween and Pre-Thanksgiving Holiday Sale.'"
I have to shamefully admit that it's been over a decade since my last trip to a doctor's office. That's any doctor's office, anywhere, for any kind of checkup. Sure, I've been to the emergency room several times. Even took a couple of trips to MEA. But those were only instances where the discomfort had become too much to bear. Either I was in pain or had a broken bone or some ailment that required immediate attention. I wasn't thinking about "being healthy."
I was like many other black males who avoided regular checkups. I figured as long as I played the part, there would be no need. I work out regularly, I stay away from fried foods, I don't eat pork or red meat, and I voluntarily cut down on my salt intake. Rappers don't live the healthiest lifestyles. So the years of drinking, fast food, stress and little sleep urged me to change many of my bad habits without doctor's orders. So I trimmed off some weight and lived a little cleaner. Still, I never saw a need to see a doctor.
But a few things changed for me this year. First, I lost my mother, a traditionally healthy woman who succumbed to diabetes and congestive heart failure. Stubborn as she was, she rarely listened to her physicians. The fact that I've had three uncles on my father's side die suddenly from heart attacks dictates the need to be more proactive.
Second, I married a wonderful woman, and we're expecting a beautiful baby girl. I want to stick around and grow old with them and our other three youngsters.
Third, for the first time since I worked at the Associated Press, I've got health benefits. That's right. See, as of today, rappers don't have health-care plans. We don't have 401K plans, either. The most successful are paying out of their pockets for care. And the full-time independent artist (which I am) who's not making millions still pays out of pocket, too, even though we've got some of the same expenses, and we work just as hard as someone sitting in a cubicle.
Luckily, our Farish Street Investment Team has insurance and after taking a deep breath, I called and made my first appointment in a long time. Unfortunately, a lot of folks in America can't. Even if they want to.
Men, if you have anyone that loves you, respect the fact that they want you to stick around. Regardless of color or creed, the most responsible thing you can do is go get yourself checked out. Even if you "feel" OK, take all the tests: blood pressure, cholesterol, prostate exam—the works. You'll thank yourself later.
On the evening of Oct. 27, the mayor of McComb, Miss., was in the city's board room, arguing with his city attorney about fractions. The mayor, Zach Patterson, wanted to block a vote to fire the city's accountant. The accountant had filed a grievance against a handful of city officials Oct. 13, and Patterson said that firing her without warning, in a public meeting, would look like retaliation. The city attorney, Wayne Dowdy, told him that he could not intervene in a motion approved by the majority of the board.
"Mr. Dowdy, first and foremost, you're incorrect," Patterson said. "If you read the charter and ordinances of the city of McComb, Mississippi, it says it requires a two-thirds vote (to fire), not a majority."
"And here, two-thirds of six is four," Dowdy replied.
"Two-thirds of seven is five," Patterson shot back. "And this is the Board of Mayor and Selectmen, if you want mathematics. So two-thirds of seven is five."
"Mr. Mayor, you do not have the right to vote," Dowdy insisted.
"And sir, as a former mayor and a former congressman, those days are over," Patterson said. "You're sitting here as the attorney of the city of McComb, so they say. And I say that it gets back to our mathematics quiz. Two-thirds of seven is five."
"Two-thirds of six, if it's committed to vote, is four," Dowdy said, his impatience audible. "I learned that in the first grade."
"What first grade did you attend? This is the Board of Mayor and Selectmen—that's seven members, sir. And the mayor votes in case of a tie."
"Only in case of a tie."
Patterson, the first black mayor in McComb's history, was wearing a slim charcoal suit with faint pinstripes and a red tie. Every meeting of the McComb board of mayor and selectman is videotaped, and Patterson seemed aware of his place at the center of the frame as he sparred with Dowdy. Dowdy, a former U.S. congressman, state representative and chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party, was also mayor of McComb from 1978 to 1981, and he seemed determined to correct the mayor.
When Patterson declared that he would not preside over an open session on a personnel issue, Dowdy offered that state law did not require an executive session on personnel matters and only allowed for one.
"Mr. Dowdy are you done quoting the law?" Patterson said. "Once you quote the law to me, sir, then you wait, and I'll pull your chain later."
Many of the mayor's statements were echoed with murmurs of assent and laughter by the roughly 15 black supporters in the audience.
By most accounts, the Oct. 27 meeting was relatively calm. It was, however, the latest skirmish in a nearly three-year power struggle in McComb. On one side are the mayor and his supporters, who believe they're watching a dynamic black politician tied down by opposition that is rooted in historic racial inequality and racism. On the other side are a majority of the city board and a host of former city employees of both races who dismiss the charges of racism and see the conflict as a simple matter of executive overreach.
A Weak Mayor?
Zach Patterson drives a gray Mercury Marquis marked with his city title. He is the first mayor of McComb to drive a city vehicle, he proudly told me when I visited him in early October. Previous mayors treated the $18,000-a-year job as a part-time position and used their own transportation, he explained.
The mayor's opponents would say that the job used to be part-time for a reason. Unlike many other municipalities in the state, McComb operates under a special charter, which dates back to 1872. The city's founding document provides for a Board of Mayor and Selectman. Unlike under a mayor-council arrangement, however, McComb's system gives most powers to the six selectmen.
McComb's mayor can break a tie vote, recommend names to the board for department heads and preside over meetings. City employees serve at the will and pleasure of the board, not the mayor. Much of the day-to-day business of the city, such as administering contracts, hiring and firing city employees other than department heads, and preparing the budget, falls to the city administrator, a position appointed by the board.
Local attorney Norman Gillis, who is white, supported the mayor before his selection, but he now thinks the mayor has overstepped the bounds of his authority.
"They didn't want a strong mayor," Gillis said of the city's founders. "They wanted the power vested in elected officials who were representing the entire city."
Patterson has claimed that the charter is not clear on the mayor's weakness, however.
As justification, he points to a section in the city's book of ordinances that gives the mayor the power to "supervise all the officers of the city," "see that all law, ordinances and resolutions are enforced" and "suspend all delinquent officers or agents of city government."
Gillis maintains that section is a vestige of a brief period, from 1931 to 1947, when the city adopted a "mayor-commission" form of government. The city repealed the more extensive reading of the mayor's power in 1947 and again in 1969, Gillis says, when it adopted a new, modified form of the 1872 charter.
"Nonetheless, several old provisions reciting the mayor's supervisory authority under the 1931 mayor-commission charter can be found in today's outmoded ordinance record book," Gillis wrote in a Nov. 20, 2008, letter to the editor of the McComb Enterprise-Journal. "The failure to exclude these repealed ordinances from the printed code of ordinances is the source of the mayor's erroneous claim to full supervisory power."
As Gillis sees it, the mayor's mistaken "claim to full supervisory power" is behind the dizzying series of personnel shake-ups that has marked Patterson's term.
First to leave were a handful of city employees that Patterson inherited from his predecessor, Tommy Walman. Five city officials resigned during the first ten months of Patterson's term: Walman's city administrator, city clerk, fire chief, assistant police chief and visitors bureau director all left, citing various reasons. In September 2008, the city's longtime city attorney John "Bubber" White and Police Chief Billie Hughes retired.
Staff shake-ups often accompany a change in administration, but the turnover continued with Patterson's own appointments. The mayor's pick for fire chief lasted ten months before resigning in August 2008 amid questions about her qualifications. White's replacement for city attorney, Rachel Michel, lasted two months before Patterson replaced her. Michel returned in February 2009, when a four-member majority of the board rehired her. She resigned one month later, however, saying she could not work for the mayor. Patterson had made unreasonable demands, Michel said, such as insisting that she not communicate with board members outside of meetings and that she get his prior approval for any instructions she gave city employees.
The city board approved Patterson's recommended city administrator, Jim Storer, unanimously in March 2008, but in September of that year, a four-member majority voted to oust him for failing to communicate with them. Patterson refused to acknowledge Storer's firing and kept him in the position for two more months, until a letter from the state attorney general's office upheld the board's decision.
Hughes' replacement for police chief, Greg Martin, has had his own tumultuous relationship with the mayor. Three days after taking the job on an interim basis, Martin filed a grievance against Patterson with the Mississippi attorney general's office. Martin's grievances included six separate incidents in which he alleged that the mayor demanded police officers acknowledge him in public, tried to intervene in cases or asked for access to inmates. Patterson suspended Martin, but the board rehired him in February 2009 along with city attorney Michel. Martin's grievances against the mayor are still pending review from the attorney general, and Martin declined to comment on the issue.
On June 9, 2009, the board of selectmen voted 4-to-2 to make their weak mayor even weaker, by changing several city ordinances to strip Patterson of his supervisory authority over city employees and department heads. Since that move, the board has filled city posts—including the city attorney and city administrator's positions—without his approval or recommendation.
Patterson maintains that the board would have to amend the city charter to legally strip him of those powers, rather than simply pass a few ordinances.
"The changes in the ordinances, in the charter that they enacted—I consider them to be unlawful," Patterson said. "And I conduct myself accordingly. I do not acknowledge any appointments or anything that they've made since they changed the charter."
On July 24, he filed a lawsuit against the four-member board majority, hoping to prevent the ordinances from taking effect after a 30-day notice period had expired. Patterson alleged violations of the Voting Rights Act and of his civil rights, along with many other charges, including harassment, libel, slander, conspiracy, fraud and abuse of power.
In August, a federal district court judge denied Patterson's request to stop the ordinances from taking effect, and Patterson's suit now awaits a hearing in November.
A New Day In McComb
Patterson says he spends most of his working days driving the streets of McComb. When I visited him, we spoke only briefly in his city hall office before he offered to show us around the city.
As we pulled out of the city parking lot in his car, Patterson received a call. He spoke for several minutes to the unidentified caller before hanging up, saying that he had guests. The call was a complaint that someone in the city was trying to get a traffic ticket fixed, he said.
Patterson's civil-rights rhetoric is not typical of a man with his resume. He spent 26 years in the U.S. military, graduated from the Army War College and worked for the American Cancer Society in Atlanta as its chief information officer. He credits his background with increasing his appeal to white residents.
"I've gone through all those predominantly white institutions," Patterson told me. "I understand the game, but I don't play it."
Patterson won the mayor's office in 2007 with 56 percent of the total vote. African Americans make up roughly 60 percent of McComb's population.
The first stop on our tour was the city's wastewater treatment facility, which is currently under construction. Patterson counts the project as one of the crowning achievements of his term. For years, the city has paid fines because its existing lagoon system for treating sewage fails environmental monitoring tests. The new facility is being built with a $34.5 million loan from the state Department of Environmental Quality, which Patterson hopes to pay off by securing wastewater treatment contracts with neighboring municipalities.
Patterson faced criticism over the project's cost, which ballooned from an original estimate of $20 million. He found himself on the opposite side of another public works project, a proposed $13 million fiber-optic network for the city. In June 2007, selectmen unanimously approved a contract with a Florida company that would have established a city-run network providing Internet, cable and television. The mayor refused to sign the contract, however, and the board eventually reversed its vote.
"I saved this city from its own peril and doom," Patterson told me. "It would've been a $13 million fiasco."
Computer penetration in the city is low, Patterson explained, and the city would risk losing out to private telecommunications companies.
"Why should we as the City of McComb get in a business that BellSouth is in, Cable One is in?" Patterson said. "I don't want to compete with my strategic partners."
From the wastewater treatment plant, Patterson drove to the traditionally black neighborhood of Beartown. Patterson diplomatically refers to this area and other historically black areas like Algiers and Burglund as "previously underserved," and they look the part. Some houses look well-maintained, their lawns groomed and front porches decorated. Others slump off their foundations. Abandoned homes dot the streets.
If you were black, Patterson said, "This is the side of town you were relegated to, even after the '60s."
Patterson has pushed for street repairs in these areas, but he sees places like Beartown as suffering from a lack of attention as much as resources.
"In Beartown, sometimes people bring trailers into the middle of neighborhoods, because there was no zoning enforced," Patterson said. "Once they're in, you have to grandfather them in, because they have such a financial investment, you can't get stuff out of there and begin building the community up. You create enemies when you say, 'This must go. you must improve this.'"
Still, Patterson believes he has won far more enemies for his attempts to improve racial parity. At the Oct. 27 board meeting, the city administrator delivered a report on another of Patterson's pet issues: long-term leases of city buildings that he calls "sweetheart deals." The city leases a handful of buildings at low rates, sometimes as low as $1 per year, to private organizations. Those organizations, which include the American Legion and the McComb Garden Club, are historically white, and some have had 50- or 90-year agreements with the city since the 1930s. After listening to the city administrator's report, Patterson spoke for 10 minutes about the leases, arguing that several attorney general opinions advise against leases longer than the term of a city's elected officials.
"It's an issue of equity and fair play," Patterson said. "We have to look back and see where the city was at that particular time, and make sure that all citizens had an opportunity to participate in such deals. I'll tell you, in 1934, all citizens of McComb, Mississippi, did not have the opportunity to participate. Not to go back and try and correct something from the past, but going forward we should be fair."
Patterson has a point.
McComb was a hotbed of civil-rights activism in the 1960s. In 1961, Bob Moses of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee led a voter registration effort in the city, which met with violent reactions from local Klansmen and law enforcement. When they were threatened with expulsion for participating, students led a walkout of the local high school.
A spate of church bombings in 1964, including more than a dozen in a two-month period, attracted national attention and briefly earned McComb the title of "bombing capital of the world."
In November 1964, the McComb Enterprise-Journal published a letter, signed by 600 white citizens, denouncing "extremists" and calling for peace and a "responsible" approach to the city's racial problems. The letter appealed to pragmatic business owners concerned for their livelihood, but it also earned the city praise from national press. Attorney Norman Gillis was one of the 600 white citizens who signed the letter.
'J.R. Ewing of McComb'
"Patterson's got more potential than anybody I ever saw, and he's really screwed it up," Norman Gillis told me. "I thought he'd make a hell of a senator when he first ran for office, but he proved he's actually on the verge of dangerous."
Gillis' opinion can weigh heavily in McComb. Selectman E.C. Nobles, the one black selectman to side against the mayor, called him "the J.R. Ewing of McComb," referring to the rapacious oil baron from TV's "Dallas." An attorney, Gillis' office spans most of a block on 21st Street. In addition to his law practice, Gillis owns a shopping center and was an original board member of the Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center, a primary employer and economic engine for the city.
"I supported the mayor; I worked my butt off," Gillis said. "I persuaded a lot of people: 'Look this guy's got a lot. He's good-looking, he's articulate, he's well-educated, he comes from McComb, he's been a military guy. He will bring us peace and harmony because of his ability as a speaker and as a personality.'"
The attorney still has a "Vote Zach Patterson" button. But Gillis said that his opinion of the mayor turned negative when it became clear to him that Patterson was trying to shoulder more authority than was legally his.
"McComb has always been a happy, prosperous, good, fine place to live," Gillis said. "It was only when we had a conflict between the aspirations or assumptions of a 'strong mayor' and the constitutional basis for government" that things turned bad."
The mayor's supporters believe Gillis has more to do with the mayor/board feud than he lets on. Chief Financial Officer Mary Adams, a Patterson loyalist, compares Gillis to the Wizard of Oz.
Since losing confidence in the mayor, Gillis has taken positions that put him on the other side. When Patterson questioned the residency of a white selectman, Danny Esch, Gillis represented Esch. In his November 2008 letter to the Enterprise Journal, Gillis called on the board to request "an injunction to restrain the mayor's continuing breach of his oath of office." And this June, when the board majority approved the ordinance amendments that stripped Patterson's power to supervise city employees, Gillis notarized the legal notice that accompanied the ordinance changes.
To Patterson, these stances confirm Gillis' place in the white "good old boys network." Patterson says that Gillis soured on him when he refused to take advice from the attorney outside public meetings. Since then, Patterson believes, Gillis has tried to shape city policy by orchestrating the opposition efforts by the white selectmen.
"He's the lead guy," Patterson told me. "They are puppets of him."
Gillis scoffs at the mayor's accusations and says that opposition to Patterson has nothing to do with race.
"McComb went through hell in the '60s, but we came out of that with about as good a community feeling as you could possibly want between the races, to the extent that that's at all possible," Gillis said. "Every municipality in Pike County is black, and there's a certain amount of resentment in some places, but I think it's more on the black side than the white side."
"And now the mayor's chief opponent is a black guy, E.C. Nobles," he added.
'High-Tech Lynching'?
To hear Patterson's supporters tell it, Ernest "E.C." Nobles has betrayed McComb's black citizens. Nobles frequently votes with the white selectmen and in June cast the critical fourth vote in favor of the charter-amending ordinances.
It's an especially loaded charge considering Nobles' background. His family's business, Nobles Bros. Cleaners, served as an unofficial headquarters of black resistance during the 1960s.
E.C.'s father, also named Ernest, once hid Bob Moses—director of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee's Mississippi project—in a pile of clothes when armed whites were looking for him. In 1965, the business was firebombed, and E.C. proudly points out the charred rafters that his family has chosen not to replace.
Nobles won a seat on the board of selectmen in May 2008, after a lengthy and ultimately successful campaign, led by Norman Gillis, to unseat his predecessor, state Rep. David Myers. In March 2008, the U.S. Justice Department agreed with Gillis that Myers could not hold his state and local offices simultaneously.
Four days after Nobles' win, the board held its first meeting, and Nobles found himself thrust in the middle of the growing feud between the mayor and board.
The three white selectmen—Danny Esch, Bob Maddox and Wade Lamb—called for a hearing on Patterson's residency in McComb. They had some cause for concern: Patterson did not file for homestead exemption in McComb until January 2007, despite having moved back from Atlanta back in 2005.
Nobles decided that he did not know enough about the residency spat and abstained from voting on Patterson's hearing. The measure passed 3-to-2, with Nobles' abstention giving the white selectmen an edge. Patterson later referred to the vote as a "high-tech lynching."
The mayor's supporters were furious.
"Everybody immediately thought that I had gotten in bed with the other selectmen," Nobles told me.
On the Friday after the meeting, he received a visit.
"There was a contingency of men come here and tell me I need to vote in a bloc with the black men," Nobles said.
"And they want to tell me I need to vote with the rest of the (black) selectmen because it's a black thing. I'm not going to vote for nothing that I don't feel I need to vote for. I'm my own man."
The following Sunday, a group of roughly 10 protesters congregated outside Nobles Bros. Cleaners, carrying signs that read, "EC 4 SALE HERE" and "WHO OWNS U."
"These people were saying they were paid to do this," Nobles said. "They said they were being paid $10 an hour to hold these signs. And these are not people that were your run-of-the-mill people. Some of these people were down-on-their-luck type people. They may have been just out of jail or transients. They couldn't tell you why they were holding those signs."
Since the protest, Nobles has only grown firmer in his opposition to the mayor. He objects to Patterson's firing of 10 city employees. He worries that Patterson interferes too much with police operations. And he scoffs at the argument that Patterson is simply encountering resistance because he is black. Most of the city officials that the board has placed over Patterson's objections have been black, he notes. That includes the city administrator, fire chief, police chief and personnel director.
"All of these people have lived in Pike County all of our lives," Nobles said. "The only time any of them left was for educational purposes. And the mayor has been gone for 35 years, then decides to come back and talk about how we need more black representation. Well, heck man, before you got here, we had a black fire chief, black personnel director, black deputy director of public works. All of this was here before you got here. I can't see where you can say that this is racist."
The Mayor's Allies
On the other side of Summit Street, Bullock's Washeteria hosted a community meeting in response to Nobles' abstention on the residency issue. Sherry Robinson, whose father owns Bullock's, said that she believes the selectman is bending to influence from the white selectmen.
"My impression of him is he's a young guy who's being told what to do," Robinson said. "He's voting as he's told. He's not voting for the people who elected him."
Eddie Smith has another theory. He admits to being one of the three men who approached Nobles about the residency issue but says that they were seeking an explanation, not a commitment.
"Myself and two other guys went to talk to Mr. Nobles about his vote because we didn't think it was fair; it was against the dictates of the black community," Smith said. "He says 'Hold it, that man has devastated my family, and I'm going to overturn everything he's done.'"
Nobles disputes Smith's account, though.
"Why would you go with three people to ask someone about how they voted unless you were going to strong-arm them?" Nobles asked.
Police Chief Greg Martin and former Assistant Police Chief Perry Ashley are both relatives of Nobles, but the selectmen denies feeling any enmity toward Patterson for their troubled relationships with the mayor.
Smith, a native of Bogalusa, La., moved to McComb from Milwaukee, Wis., in 1995. At city meetings he speaks in Patterson's support when the board invites public comment and raises his hand, as if in a classroom, for permission to interject, when it does not. For Smith, Patterson represented a change of attitude as much as a change in the city's racial dynamics.
"I was so happy when I saw him come," Smith said. "Not only because he was a black mayor, but because at his inauguration speech he said: 'I want you to get off the wagon and pull. We're going to make McComb an ideal city for everybody to live in.' It was so uplifting to hear him say that, that it was going to be different. And this is how it turned out. He had a good program, some good people working for him, and they just destroyed it, all the unity."
For 15 years, Smith has lobbied the city to pave a street in the Beartown neighborhood. Patterson has joined Smith's effort, twice calling on board members to find the money to pave the street. But Smith now sees Patterson as having his hands tied.
"I'm not very optimistic," Smith said. "Any time you can find some articles to strip the mayor of his power, the power that we voted for, then it seems to me you can do anything. Everything has to be done at the will of these four selectmen. So I'm not really optimistic. I know if the mayor had an opportunity to change things, he would."
The Price of Loyalty
Chief Financial Officer Mary Adams is a small white woman with a big complaint. On Oct. 13, she filed a list of grievances with the city, alleging harassment from the majority of selectmen, city administrator and city attorney. When I asked to speak with her outside City Hall, she led me into her office and closed the door, as if to avoid eavesdroppers. Wearing a denim jacket and matching blue jeans, she explained in a hushed voice why she thinks Patterson has run into such fervent opposition.
"Race," she says matter of factly, drawling the word out into two syllables. "Because Mayor Patterson is a black man and a forceful, dynamic personality."
Adams' own quarrel with the board began after the four-member majority voted in June to revoke Patterson's powers of supervision. On July 1, she clashed with Selectmen Nobles, Maddox and Lamb, when she instructed the city clerk not to sign documents coming from the four-member bloc without her permission.
Since that time, Adams claims, the four selectmen, along with city attorney Dowdy and the current city administrator, Quordiniah Lockley, have tried to make her job harder and force her resignation. Lockley denied her the authority to correct the city's books, Adams says, and in response she has refused to sign off on the city's expenditures and other documents.
Lockley was laid off from the McComb Public Works Department by the man he later replaced, former city administrator Jim Storer. This gave Lockley a grudge against the mayor that the four-member board majority exploited, Adams believes.
He filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city after being laid off but had the complaint dismissed after his July 28 appointment as city administrator, she points out.
"You could see him on their side," Adams said.
Charles Ashley owns Ashley's Body Shop on Presley Boulevard. He has a penchant for richly colored dress shirts, with the top button unbuttoned, and he wears his hair in shoulder-length braids.
Ashley is one of the mayor's most vocal supporters and a fixture at board meetings.
"There's not a reality TV show better than this," he said of McComb's board meetings when I spoke to him at his shop.
Ashley peppers his comments on the city with phrases that Patterson also uses, accusing the white selectmen of holding "meetings before the meeting." An ex-convict who served eight years in prison, Ashley largely ignored politics until Patterson's candidacy and voted for the first time in 2007.
"I'm one of those people who didn't understand some of this stuff until he got into office," Ashley said.
Ashley co-publishes the Mississippi Tribune, a weekly newspaper directed at McComb's African American community.
The newspaper arose out of widespread frustration with the Enterprise-Journal, the local newspaper. Ashley, like many of the mayor's supporters, believes the white-owned and predominantly white-staffed paper is biased against the mayor, ignoring his accomplishments and attempting to sway public opinion against him.
Patterson himself has made the same accusation. When the Enterprise-Journal sued the city for an open-meetings violation in 2007, he accused the newspaper of trying to influence him.
Ashley also serves on the board of PEERS (Preventive Entry and Ex-Offender Re-entry Services), the mayor's initiative to help ex-convicts find jobs and re-enter society. The private initiative pays for transitional housing and tries to change ex-convicts' behavior by connecting them with church groups.
All the program's costs come out of the leaders' pockets, Ashley said.
"The board could vote to take care of PEERS, but because the mayor started it, we already know it's going to lose 4-2," Ashley said.
Ashley drove me to the warehouse where he stores old Mississippi Tribune copies. He handed me issue after issue, all blaring positive news about the mayor's efforts: "Current mayor accomplishing more than previous mayors," "Mayor solves water problem and moves city forward," "Selectmen appear to be violating several laws."
Then we drove back to his shop, with the sky threatening rain.
"Malcolm X and Martin Luther King—they had people standing arm in arm with them," Ashley told me as he parked.
"When he walks down the street, he's alone," he said of Patterson.
If you are a fan of Johnny Cash, or are curious about the nature of the iconic "Man in Black," you owe it to yourself to make time to read "Johnny Cash: I See A Darkness" (Abrams Publishing, 2009, $17.95). Written and illustrated by Reinhard Kleist, this graphic novel takes you from Cash's humble beginnings in Tennessee to the famous concert at Folsom Prison in 1968 at the pinnacle of his career, with the ups-and-downs from point A to point B included.
The book opens with a blast of imagery, illustrating a line from "Folsom Prison Blues": "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die." No lyrics from the song are evident, but there is no mistaking Kleist's intention. He repeats this trick throughout the novel, casting Cash as the characters in his songs, punctuating the singer's outsider stance in the music business and polemical relationship with the world at large.
The narrative of the book is framed by Folsom prisoner Glen Sherley's anticipation upon hearing the news that Johnny Cash will be performing at the prison. Sherley is a musician himself who idolizes Cash for his understanding of the plight of the common and downtrodden individual. Sherley records a demo that he intends to get to Cash, entrusting the prison's chaplain to help him. Sherley's anxiety is palpable, and it drives the story as much as the main character.
Although Sherley's story is fictionalized, it's based on truth. You can actually hear Johnny Cash call him by name on the album "Live At Folsom Prison." Like the visual interpretations of the songs, the prisoner's anxious wait for the day of the concert is woven into the heart of the story.
We meet the Cash family in 1935, as they move to Arkansas as part of Roosevelt's New Deal to farm cotton. It's in these early days that young Johnny, then known as J.R., develops an affinity for music and aspires to something bigger than cotton farming. In his youth Cash idolized his older brother Jack, who died an untimely death at the age of 14. After this event, the family held together with Johnny filling his brother's absence with music. But it wasn't long before his dreams took him to the boredom of a Detroit automotive production line, and then to the lure of military service and a chance to see the world.
Upon his return from service, Cash and his new wife, Vivian, settled in Memphis. He worked as a door-to-door salesman while pursuing his musical career on the side. Grabbing the attention of the legendary Sam Phillips, who discovered Elvis Presley, Cash's life takes an upswing as he embarks on a life of constant touring, partying and indulgence. As his career takes off, his personal relationships crumble until he realizes he has sunk as far as he can. With the help of family and music partner June Carter, who saw the best and worst of Cash, he begins to put his life back together.
The climactic account of the concert at Folsom Prison delivers all the resolution a reader could want. I recommend you hear the record to get the full impact of a concert played in what was the worst prison in America at the time. You will have a better understanding of the book's imagery for it. This was tension and release for both the musicians, but much more so for the inmates. This is particularly true for prisoner Sherley, who meets his hero in a larger-than-life moment and finds the redemption he craves.
The book ends with an epilogue of an elder Johnny Cash, reflective and wiser, recording some of his last material with producer Rick Rubin. Here you'll learn Sherley's eventual fate and get a glimpse of a part of American legend shortly before his passing. Bittersweet, indeed.
Kleist's graphic novel does more than just hit the highlights of an infamous man with an illustrious career. Peppering the story with his take on some instantly recognizable images of the singer, the work is loose and consistently moves you through the pages, panel to panel, with a fluidity that only the best comics achieve. As a bonus, he has included a gallery of more traditionally styled portraits of his subject. Kleist has received several comic-related awards in his native Germany for "Johnny Cash: I See A Darkness," and I look forward to more of his work in the future.
What's On My Nightstand?
"23 Hours," David Wellington (Three Rivers Press, 2009, $13.99) A vampire showdown behind bars from an author who thankfully doesn't find bloodsuckers romantic at all.
"The Rise of the Fourth Reich," Jim Marrs (Harper Collins, 2009, $14.99) Is it a conspiracy theory, or is it the truth? Either way, this book is an interesting assertion that the Nazis never really went away. They just learned to hide behind corporate respectability all over the globe.
"Evil: The Shadow Side of Reality," John A. Sanford (Crossroads Publishing, 1982, $9.95) A philosophical look at the problems and causes of evil in human society. "Smonk," Tom Franklin (Harper Perennial, 2007, $13.95) This book is billed as a "Southern" as opposed to a "Western." It is full of bizarre characters, crazed rabies victims and the oddest, least sympathetic antagonist in recent memory.
"The Invisible Man," H.G. Wells (Aerie Publishing, 1992, $4.99) Who wants to be invisible for a while? Everyone. Who would want it to be permanent? Not so many.
"Martian Time Slip," Phillip K. Dick (Vintage Publishing, 1995, $13.95) Phillip K. Dick can be a hard read at times, but not here. Years ahead of "The Matrix," Dick offered this rumination on the nature of reality, and one's place in the grand scheme of things. It is one of his more accessible works.
With Casablanca as a backdrop for this tangled web of shady ladies, traffic violations and contract killings, "What a Wonderful World" tells the story of Souad the prostitute, Kenza the traffic cop and Kamel the hit man. Kenza and Souad are friends, and it's through this friendship that Kenza meets Kamel, with whom she falls in love. Their attraction is obviously wrought with problems due to Kenza being a police officer, albeit with the tame assignment of directing traffic, and Kamel being an assassin getting his assignments through the Internet. When a hacker discovers Kamel's identity, the difficulty of their relationship reaches a breaking point.
Moroccan actor/director Faouzi Bensaïdi provides a number of sometimes-stunning shots, such as a scene when Kenza, the traffic cop, appears to be going through the motions of day-to-day life, directing traffic at an intersection, with buses, trucks, and pedestrians performing seemingly choreographed movements and then returning to normal. This scene especially caught my eye, looking as if it were shot with a tilt-shift lens, making everyone seem like they were miniature models and not real-life objects or people.
With some scenes making me think Quentin Tarantino had a hand in this film, Bensaïdi kept my interest for a few moments, but those moments were few and far between in this hour-and-a-half-long movie. The sparse dialogue made it difficult to understand the complex story line. What I appreciated in this movie was a different style of film and storytelling, and for that, it is worth checking out.
Gritty distortion lingers in the speakers as James Louis Carter "T-Model" Ford politely nods at his cheering fans and briefly puts his guitar in his lap. He produces a flask from his jacket pocket and unscrews the lid.
"What time is it, T?" asks someone in the audience.
The 89-year-old takes a swig and bares his teeth.
"It's Jack Daniels time!"
The audience laughs and cheers even louder.
Describing the octogenarian bluesman as a colorful character would be equivalent to describing the Gulf of Mexico as damp. He's living proof that anyone can learn a musical instrument, no matter what age or condition.
"I can't read, I can't write, I can't spell my real name," T-Model says. "I didn't put my hand on a guitar until I was 58 years old."
T-Model's music is excellent in its rawness and simplicity. He won't be remembered for his guitar abilities, although his playing is passionate and soulful. He won't be remembered for his singing prowess, although his lyrics embody the spirit of a world-weary bluesman. Like Bob Dylan, T-Model Ford will be remembered for his attitude, heart and gift for storytelling.
T-Model said his biggest influences have always been Delta blues greats Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, whom he has been listening to since his teenage years. T-Model still remembers the first song he ever played.
The song was "How many more years baby you gonna dog me around" by Howlin' Wolf. "And that's what I come out playin' when I picked up a guitar and caught myself tryin' to play," Ford says.
Bassist Eric Deaton has known T-Model for several years. While they don't turn on the radio much on long road trips, he said T-Model will always listen to old Delta blues recordings.
"Anytime we get on the road, T always asks me to put in a Muddy Waters CD," Deaton says.
Before his days as a blues guitarist, the Forest native lived a life that would make DMX blush. He was once sentenced to 10 years on a chain gang for murder, although he only ended up serving two.
"I was the devil when I was a younger man," T-Model says. "I was the type of man who'd walk up to you, laugh at you and knock the hell outta you."
T-Model said his roughest days were more than 30 years ago, when he first started playing out. He recalled a story from playing a club in Greenville.
"I slapped a man—he was 6 foot tall, workin' for the city. He snatched a cigarette outta my mouth," T-Model says. "I took my strap off, set my guitar down. He pulled a pistol out. When he pulled that pistol, I slapped him. Blood went everywhere. He bawled. I looked down, kicked him all upside the head. He didn't get up. I heard he had a stroke after that. I don't think he ever came back to Greenville. I didn't feel sorry for him."
T-Model Ford describes his reputation as a "sure enough dangerous man."
"I didn't let nobody whoop me. I didn't argue with you. Like I tell you, me and you get in an argument, I'll done hit you before you know it. I didn't care how big you were, ain't nobody ever whooped me before. Even in the shape I'm in, I don't think anybody could whoop me now," he says.
Today, T-Model is a devout Christian. He says he turned his life around after he was nearly crushed inside his car eight years ago.
"A tree fell on me, and the good Lord is takin' care of me, cause that tree laid on me 30 minutes before they got it off of me," Ford says. "It broke my arm, broke my hands. I believe it broke my legs, but the doctor said it didn't."
"The good Lord kept me livin. So now, I ain't got no dirt in me. I like the white peoples now."
Ford says even in his late 80s, he feels just as spry as he did when he was 20. He attributes that to his life as a traveling bluesman.
"I feel just as good as I ever felt in my life right now," he says. "I don't be sick, neither. Anytime anybody calls me to go, I'm ready. I don't turn down nothin'."
I am generally pretty understanding of bands who decide to dust off their instruments and go back on tour, but there are a certain few groups who should not be permitted to reunite under any circumstances. Two of these offending groups, The Backstreet Boys and Creed, have recently released new records and are in the midst of world tours. The detrimental impact they inflicted on their genres make them the musical equivalents of the school kid who does something so terrible that he is sent straight to the office without warning or timeout.
The Backstreet Boys were a fun, albeit disposable little group when they came onto the scene in 1993. Everyone acknowledged that they were talentless, but we indulged them and their besotted teenage fans because we all knew that this was a fad. Surely, the Backstreet Boys and their boy band spawn would soon quietly withdraw into oblivion.
Except the Backstreet Boys' sound turned out not to be just be a passing trend. Sure, they faded away into obscurity and rehab after their four-year run at the top, but the malign influence they brought to pop music has grown only stronger in the 10 years since. Listen to any top-40 radio station and tell me that the combination of overdone synthesizer effects, digitized voices and bland, soulless lyrics aren't direct byproducts of the Backstreet Boys.
Creed's influence on modern rock is no less cancerous than the Backstreet Boys' is on pop. If you are looking to pinpoint a band that bridged grunge to the generic, overproduced drivel that is currently padding the wallets of bands like Nickelback and Daughtry, then Creed is your culprit.
This is a band that took all the wrong lessons from Pearl Jam, deriving their grandiosity and cheeseball sentimentality, while eschewing their attitude and cocksureness. Nearly all of the successive chart-topping rock bands have relied on a similar formula, essentially castrating a large bloc of radio rock 'n' roll for the past several years.
This is the point where one may start addressing these reunion tours and accuse these bands of selling out. However, selling out implies that you had some artistic integrity to begin with.
If anything, I am a sucker for a reunion tour. I loved seeing Stone Temple Pilots run through their hits last year. If The Replacements were to get back together, I would shell out an exorbitant amount of money to see them, despite the fact I'm not going to get the type of rowdy, lawless show the band was famous for.
But these are more than typical reunion tours. They are potential referendums on popular music. Few acts played bigger roles in degenerating their respective genres over the past ten years than these two. We need to ask ourselves: Are we going to welcome them back because of some dubious sense of nostalgia? Or are we going to condemn them for the execrable influence they have had over music? I am not optimistic.
It's no secret that I love bacon. Granted, I hardly ever eat or even buy pork bacon anymore. Instead, I stock the refrigerator with turkey bacon. I know it's not the same, and hardcore bacon lovers dole out the appropriate "tsk, tsk" when I profess my love for bacon impersonators. However, I have never denied bacon's deliciousness nor its endless uses. And nearly every "reformed" vegetarian has related the story of falling off the wagon. It always comes down to the delectably salty, smoky siren call of bacon.
As I've preached before from the pulpit of bacon, it is not just a side item for breakfast or merely a companion for your lettuce and tomato sandwiches. In April, I wrote about bacon chocolate bars from Vosges and how you can stretch them into cookies. Why should we stop there? Companies have been capitalizing on America's love for bacon by producing bacon-infused vodkas and even bacon-flavored ice cream.
Recently on Bravo's "Top Chef," Kevin Gillespie of Atlanta's Woodfire Grill alerted couch chefs to use bacon jam even though this condiment has existed for years. He paired it with escargot and won the challenge, beating the other chefs who didn't think to pair something so odd with snails.
The reality is that most of us aren't going to even begin thinking about cooking snails. However, the bacon jam Kevin made is easy to make at home.
Homemade jams and preserves used to scare the mess out of me. I couldn't get over all the steps to take just to have blueberry goodness in the winter, or make good use of the figs that squirrels and birds don't manage to steal or ruin. I finally bit the bullet and made apple butter while living in Oregon, where sweet apples of every variety were readily available.
After getting a tutorial from my Mamaw via a long-distance phone call, I plunged in, figuring out how to combine flavors and cook the ingredients down just enough to make a fine spread, but not so much that the flavors disappeared. At the end of the day, I had a dozen jars of apple butter ranging in flavors from cinnamon spiced apples to caramel apple. Since then I daydream about all the things I want to make into spreads. Bacon jam gives me a new challenge.
When you make this recipe, consider how you'll use it. Will you spread it on toast or a bagel for breakfast, use it for your beloved BLT or dollop the jam on your next cheeseburger? Think about what flavors you want to evoke and buy your bacon accordingly. There are a couple of places around Jackson to get fresh bacon, but if you want the best for this endeavor, make the drive to Crystal Springs and visit Wilson's Meathouse (23086 U.S. Highway 51, 601-892-2951) for a slab. Wilson's bacon carries a delicate balance of smoke and salt. The right onions are important, too. My advice is to go sweeter and get Vidalia. Also, do your taste buds a favor and use dark brown sugar for a heavier cast on the jam. Maybe after your first batch, you'll want to throw in some dark chocolate and a little fire of chipotle peppers or go in another direction with ancho-chile peppers for a completely different dance on your taste buds.
Stock up on small jars or save your old jam jars for small batches. I don't recommend trying to make bacon jam in large batches. Bacon jam is to be savored.
Chocolate Bourbon Bacon Jam
2 pounds smoked pork bacon
1/2 cup finely chopped Vidalia onions
1/2 cup red peppers, sliced
3 minced garlic cloves
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 cup molasses
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon sriracha
1/4 cup bourbon
2 ounces Ghirardelli dark chocolate
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook bacon in skillet until crisp. While bacon is cooking, lightly oil peppers and roast in open foil pouch in oven for five minutes; remove from oven. Add bacon to Dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot. After all bacon is cooked, cook onions and garlic in bacon fat. When onions have started to brown, add skillet contents to pot and break up bacon. Add syrup, molasses, roasted peppers, salt, heavy pepper, nutmeg, sriracha, chocolate and bourbon to pot; stir and cover. Place in oven for 10 minutes and then uncover and stir, making sure mixture does not burn on the bottom. Repeat three more times until the mixture takes on a dark brown-red color for a total cook time of 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from pot and place into blender or food processor. Puree and pour into bowl or jar to reserve.
Leona Bishop, 37, will be the first to tell you: Where she started is nowhere near where she is today. However, where she is today is exactly where she needs to be.
Growing up in Cleveland, Miss., as the baby sister to 10 siblings, Bishop was starstruck early in life and dreamed of being on stage; her favorite classes in school revolved around acting and drama. Following her educational path to Tougaloo College brought her to Jackson, and a loving husband and family keep her here.
Today, you can find Bishop at Poindexter Elementary School as a professional school counselor for pre-kindergarten to fifth grade. Bishop teaches classes to students, with topics ranging from self-esteem building to stress management.
When not teaching, Bishop counsels adolescents and some adults at her Jackson private practice, Count It All Joy Counseling Services, focusing on anger management and conflict resolution. By challenging students to think about the consequences of their actions, she hopes to deter students who are at risk for dropping out of school.
"We all have options. You have to realize the consequences for your actions, and try to work on alternatives. Let's work on the possible scenarios: how are you going to provide for yourself?" she tells at-risk students.
Receiving the honor of winning the 2009 Outstanding Educator Award by the Jackson Parents for Public Schools and the Community Foundation on Sept. 2, Bishop says that two necessary qualities for her position are flexibility and excellent interpersonal skills. Her interest and positive effect on her students helped her win the recognition. She jokingly refuses to name her own favorite teacher for fear of retribution from the teaching staff at Cleveland High, but she will say that she appreciates everyone's contribution there.
Her one piece of advice to today's educators? "Let them know you really care." An ideal school for her would be a place where children want to go to learn, and a place where teachers want to be. Bishop feels the educational standards in America would vastly improve if the basic needs of children were met. She drives this notion home by saying, with an unwavering stare: "If they are worrying about where their next meal is coming from, they can't hear you."
Even after retiring from teaching, which is many years away, Bishop plans to continue helping children by traveling as a keynote speaker and making educational videos. She always has a plan, stating that her strong faith and sense of spirituality drives everything she does in life.
"You can't go through life saying 'woe is me'; you have to take what you're given and make the best of it. Count it all joy," she says.
The city of Jackson announced new funds for the development of the Bon Air Subdivision on West Capitol Street last week—a project with a long trail of controversy behind it.
"We are working with the West Jackson Community Development Center to finalize a contract to build three more houses before the end of the year," said city spokesman Chris Mims, adding that the city has received the go-ahead for $500,000 in federal money for various projects. "Eventually, we will have about 30 houses that will be built in that subdivision, but the next phase is three houses, for which we've been provided $358,000 in HUD funds."
Bon Air is a problematic subdivision, the construction of which could not be completed under two different administrations. Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. announced the city's desire to revamp the neighborhood during his last administration, prior to the election of Mayor Frank Melton. The city gave the property to West Jackson CDC to oversee the renovation. That was more than six years ago.
Johnson held a ground-breaking at the neighborhood's Capitol Street entrance during his second term, announcing the city's endeavor to rebuild the infrastructure of the area in preparation for about 30 new middle-income homes.
The homes themselves remained a difficult project to accomplish, however, and the empty lots persevered into the Melton administration. Only nine homes sit complete in the subdivision today.
Melton ran on a platform of training the city's troubled youth in blue-collar construction trades, and promised to work with local unions to educate youth for the task. Bon Air factored heavily in that endeavor. Melton's administration signed a deal with Laborers' Union Business Manager James Anderson to train the youth at a union facility in Louisiana, specifically to instruct pupils on how to build Bon Air homes up to code.
The project failed miserably, Anderson said recently.
"We trained about 80 students, mostly troubled kids, most out of high school, trying to help the neighborhood kids to get them in a working environment. Frank had a good feel for kids in the community—but it was all a waste of time and union money. The contract fell completely apart. The contractor didn't even try to work them."
West Jackson CDC enlisted the help of developer H.A. Crosby in 2006, but Crosby could not gather the funding to complete the work, both Anderson and the CDC said.
"Tony (Crosby) was trying to get some money in order to develop the thing, but I don't think he was able to borrow to the money. So he partnered with a contractor out of Alabama in a joint venture," Anderson told the Jackson Free Press.
But as time went by, he added, Alabama contractor Clear Water Construction took the project over from Crosby—only Crosby had signed the union agreement that Anderson took to the city, not Clear Water. "When Clear Water came to me and told me to sign the project with them, it threw up red flags with me," Anderson said.
Anderson said he contacted then-City Attorney Sarah O'Reilly-Evans about the unexpected change-over. The attorney professed no knowledge of the usurpation, he said.
The union then met with Clear Water on at least three occasions, even going so far as to insert language in the contract with Crosby to include Clear Water as the primary developer, although it never signed the agreement.
Anderson said the two contractors began bickering over the details amid the meetings.
"They had a fight among themselves and they tried to bring me into it. Tony (Crosby) never got the money and didn't get started," Anderson said. "It was a mess."
The contact number for Clear Water Construction Consultants in Pelham, Ala., is no longer in service.
West Jackson CDC head Linda Evans said the CDC had no knowledge of the bickering, but also had nothing to do with the city's union agreement with Crosby.
"We did not sign an agreement with them. The CDC didn't have any connection or participation with the part of the project at all," Carter said. "We had a contract with the developer, but unfortunately that didn't work out, so we had to terminate the contract."
Sources inside the union questioned what happened to the entirety of the federal grant money slated for the Bon Air project in 2006, wondering if the grant money had been illegally steered to city employees.
Carter denied any suspicions of illegal transfers, saying the CDC spent the money on a host of other projects.
"The city did have some funds back in 2006 under Melton," Carter said. "That grant was $358,000, along with another for $461,000, which were spent on Bon Air and the Chamber subdivision, over on Robinson Street, by Greater Mount Cavalry Church."
West Jackson CDC also used some of the money to build three new houses in the Washington Addition area under the Melton administration.
Johnson has announced no plans to work with unions on any training ventures concerning the development. The mayor had no comment on the union agreement with the last administration.
Prentiss Street resident Brenda Cheeks, who lives near the Bon Air community, said she welcomed the new construction. "Those old houses that were over there were worse than an eyesore really. A lot of those houses were dilapidated and a mess. It was already good just to get rid of them," Cheeks said. "The new homes will hopefully instill a sense of pride and be a good enough price to have owners who care about them and care about the community."
Everyone who reads me regularly knows that I despise the question "Why does she stay?" when asked about domestic-abuse victims. I've written and stated many times that I resent the fact that so many people, of both genders often respond to an incident of family violence by asking why the woman stays (and, yes, in the vast majority of instances, the victim is a woman. And often her children.) Many of them even mean well.
I believe that question, asked first, is an abdication of responsibility. It is a way to blame the victim while, too often, doing way too little about the man who is trying to kill her, and may be more likely to finish the job when she actually tries to leave.
Still.
I also know that we do need to ponder—in public and within ourselves—why women so often are attracted to and stay in violent situations, and keep their children there with them. Even if it isn't the first question we ask—please—it should be a close second, especially if asked in an honest, probing, let's-do-something-to-help-women-have-the-courage-to-save-themselves kind of way.
Put another way, even as we work hard as individuals and a community to make it harder for men to get away with abusing, and even try to stop him from escalating violence (like with the Duluth Model the JFP helped bring to Jackson), we also must look squarely at ourselves as women and at our friends and family, and consider what we can do to not become victims in the first place.
Doing both in no way "blames" the victim. It is a way to take responsibility for saving ourselves, and become strong women who will not accept even the early forms of abuse that starts verbal and goes from there.
We can learn self-respect and command respect from others. And truly we must; I've got enough Zen philosophy packed inside me at this point that I know it all starts within and that we control our environments and destinies. I also know that I can believe that to the core even as I do what I can to get the criminal-justice system to take domestic abuse seriously and stop shifting blame to victims.
Last Thursday night at the Pearl Street AME Church, I was honored to moderate a different kind of domestic-violence event, presented by Dress for Success of Metro Jackson. This one was, well, a bit more glamorous than usual, and the focus was different than many talks about domestic violence that focus more on the abuser than the abused. This one was directed squarely at what women could do to escape the victim mentality.
The speaker was Sil Lai Abrams, a gorgeous ex-fashion model who now writes the relationships column for Men's Health magazine and travels around the country promoting self-esteem to women (and when they're lucky enough to be there, men). She has written a book called "No More Drama: Nine Simple Steps to Transforming a Breakdown Into a Breakthrough," in which she pushes what she calls "SEPIA"—essentially her nine steps to recovery from living in a constant state of drama.
Her book describes her personal drama journey from being a boozin' floozy in the big city who measured her self-worth by the latest disaster of a man she hooked for a while. She was raped after putting herself into a very dangerous situation, and she was abused by a number of men who, well, she should have known better than to be with.
As I lay in bed reading her book, I first recoiled from the detailed stories she told, for a minute thinking the book about her clubbing life in the big city was unrealistic for most women. Then it hit me: In many ways, I had lived the same life, starting as a teenager in Mississippi and then boozin' and floozin' in the big city. And, yes, some of the same awful things happened to me. And yes again, I often blamed others for my fate as I did everything I could to live a life of stupid drama.
Today, I promote the path of least drama—at home and in the workplace—and I try to avoid the kinds of people who live off constant drama because I know they drag me and my business and my team down. But I didn't always: I used to live in a constant state of self-inflicted drama, and I surrounded myself with like souls. As a result, I got very little work of substance done in my 20s, I was terrible at taking criticism, thinking I already knew everything and, when it came to relationships, well, let's just say that Sil Lai and I have a remarkable amount in common.
After a whole lot of soul-searching, meditative thought and conscious effort to avoid negativity (and, yes, a touch of therapy), I know now, of course, that I was raised in a state of high drama—a "generational curse," Sil Lai calls it. My poor, dear mother did the best she could with what she had, but due to her lack of education, her choices were very limited. She was drawn to flawed, alcoholic men, thinking she could fix them. She was surrounded by people so bored by their circumstances that they would get pregnant to fill up their time (wrong reason) and then harangue and direct their kids into the same mega-drama existence.
She was loving and compassionate, and she often put those wonderful qualities to the wrong use. As a result, she was beaten and belittled and relegated to a lifetime of poverty. Her cycle started back when she was the only girl in a family of boys and, thus, kept home by her own abusive father to cook and work the fields instead of attending school.
I won't lie; it has taken me many years to break the curse, and I backslide. But there was a point—in my 30s—that I consciously decided to reshuffle the deck I was dealt. I started to embrace the ideas that no one else can make a person happy, that we enable others to mistreat us, that we have choices, that life is not about constantly trying to change some man into a better person. That's up to him to do, and not while he's hurting me. Like Sil Lai, when I internalized the wisdom that I would not find meaning through a relationship, I started to find my voice as a writer, a speaker, a teacher, a journalist, a woman.
The irony, of course, is that is exactly when you start to attract a different kind of person into your life. The right kind.
Folks, as Sil Lai says, be more than a sum of your past: Find your truth and accept it; eliminate shame and blame; and take committed action to find and share your gifts. Find a mentor, and surround yourself with positive people who avoid petty squabbles and seek the light. And for God's sake, leave the drama in your past where it belongs.
A grade school principal with strong features looks angrily at the girl before him who dared to speak her mind. He then throws a book across the room, barely missing her. The young girl, Edna St. Vincent Millay, silently retrieves the book and marches to the principal's desk. Blam! She drops the book on his desk. The sound echoes throughout the auditorium as the audience watches her next move in awe.
The play, "Aria da Capo," described as a clever social commentary, runs Nov. 5 through 8 at Millsaps College. "Wild Swan," a piece written by the students, will accompany "Aria da Capo." The plays explore Millay's life and works through a variety of perspectives. Born in 1892 in Rockland, Maine, Millay was a poet, dramatist, essayist and an extraordinary woman with the gift for speaking her mind.
"We compiled our research," Maddie Manefee, a freshman from Shreveport, La., said while scanning her script a few moments before rehearsal. Dr. Jeannie- Marie Brown, director and assistant professor in the Millsaps theater department, says students compiled information from scholarly works, biographies, published letters, plays and Millay's poetry to create the script.
The Millsaps Players will focus on the female voice during their 2009/2010 season. Their first production this season, "Aria da Capo," has been a unique experience with a profound effect on all involved.
Each actor takes the stage in an array of choreographed movements, interacting with each other, engaging the audience and leading them on a captivating journey into the life of Edna St. Vincent Millay.
Cast and crew members will lead a discussion about the production after each performance.
"Aria da Capo" runs Nov. 5 through Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m., and Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. at Millsaps College Christian Center Auditorium. Tickets are $10 for general admission; $5 seniors and students. Tickets are available at box office one hour prior to each show. For more information, call 601-974-1422.
The November 2009 edition of The Clarion-Ledger's now-shrunken VIP Jackson Magazine is a study in how (not) to publish an extremely white publication in a majority-black metro—by a company that supposedly prides itself on media diversity. We counted faces for the real skinny:
Population of Jackson per 2000 Census: 184,256
Of that number, how many residents are black: 130,151
Number of VIPs Clarion-Ledger says it prints a month: 20,000
Number of pages in the November 2009 edition: 100
Page on which the 100th white face appears: 20
Page on which the 200th white face appears: 47
Page on which the 300th white face appears: 74
Page on which the 400th white face appears: 81
Page on which the 500th white face appears: 92
Page on which the 1st black face appears: 44
Page on which the 2nd black face appears: 60
Page on which the 3rd black face appears: 70
Page on which the 28th/last black face appears: 93
First page with more than one black face on it: 72
Total number of black faces in November 2009 VIP ads: 1
Total number of white faces in November 2009 VIP ads: 126
Total number of white faces in November 2009 edition: 561
Total number of black faces in November 2009 VIP: 28
Percentage of Jackson population that is black: 70.6
Percentage of VIP Jackson faces that are black: 4.7
Laborers' International Union Local 145 President James Anderson said at yesterday's graduation ceremony that he trained his students well before sending them out into the workforce. "We had 14 students. It was a three-week class. They actually built a little house out back, and put in the doors, windows and walls, and weatherized it all," Anderson told the Jackson Free Press.
The union joined forces with South Central Community Action Agency to train un-employed workers—dumped by the rotten economy—for new jobs earning them up to $15 an hour, thanks to the federal stimulus package
"All of these were adults. They were young males and females who had kids. Many of them were mothers, young folks who didn't know anything about building or weatherization, but we trained them so that now they can build a house and weatherize a house—and they went to work this morning," Anderson said, adding that every graduate has a two-year work contract.
After the two years are up, the employee's growing experience would likely facilitate continued employment in the growing green industry.
The money comes via a weatherization stimulus program enacted through the administration of President Barack Obama, which devised the program to weatherize houses and cut down on utility costs. The federal plan is part of a larger effort by the Obama administration to make the country more energy-efficient and create green jobs, which could ultimately lead to an expansion in the use of renewable energy, like wind and solar power, and the development of a nationwide "smart grid." Obama devoted nearly $60 billion of his federal economic stimulus package to building a new green-based economy rich in renewable energy and strategies to cut carbon. The month of July had yet to report the creation of a single green job, according to Newsweek. November brought a change to that. The federal program has arranged for similar training sessions in every state.
The federal government filtered the funding through the South Central Community Action Agency, which recruited the 14 students, and will recruit at least 30 more throughout the course of two more union-trained classes. Participating counties include Hinds, Rankin, Simpson and Madison.
"We actually had some college graduates in the program," Anderson said. "I guess their degree didn't do nothing for them, so they needed to adapt."
The Mississippi Board of Education announced its unanimous selection for Superintendent of Schools yesterday: Dr. Tom Burnham, 56, who held the position from 1992 to 1997. Burnham replaces Interim Superintendent Dr. John Jordan, who took on the job when former-Superintendent Dr. Hank Bounds took the position of Commissioner for Higher Education in July.
"We are very pleased that Dr. Burnham has accepted the position of State Superintendent of Education," Mississippi Board of Education Chairman Bill Jones told WLOX Tuesday. "He is well liked by everyone and has served as State Superintendent in the 1990s. We expect him to come in and not miss a beat in implementing the programs to help the Board reach its goals."
Burham is currently the dean of the School of Education at the University of Mississippi, and will assume his new position by the end of the year.
Healthcare “forum” being held this Sunday in Brandon
Given the area demographics and out-of-the-way venue (Nov. 8th, 4:30 pm at the Rankin Co. Multipurpose Pavilion) this one doesn't seem to be so very open for 'open debate'.
Only two board members appeared at this evening’s meeting of the Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees, not enough for a three-member quorum. Board members H. Ann Jones and Jonathan Larkin were present and listened to public comments, many of them from parents protesting the board's Oct. 20 decision to discontinue a music education program. Both Jones and Larkin favored renewing the Strings in the Schools program, which brings Mississippi Symphony Orchestra musicians into schools to perform and teach.
Absent are board members Delmer Stamps and Ivory Phillips and President Sollie Norwood. Norwood also missed the board’s Oct. 20 meeting, at which a tie vote between the remaining four members failed to renew the district's 43-year-old, $300,000 music education contract with the MSO.
Phillips and Stamps voted against renewing the contract; Larkin and Jones voted in favor of renewal. Board secretary Vicki Mumford told the Jackson Free Press around 3 p.m. today that Phillips would be unable to attend the meeting due to a family emergency.
Reached by phone at 6 p.m. today, Stamps said that he had notified Superintendent Lonnie Edwards that he would be unable to attend. He did not provide a reason for his absence, however.
Many parents of children participating in the Strings in the Schools planned to speak in support of the program at the meeting. Romaine Walker, president of the Mississippi Youth Symphony Orchestra, told the Jackson Free Press earlier today that she expected an “overflow crowd” of the program’s supporters for the public comment segment of the meeting.
The music program was not listed on the meeting agenda, but, with a quorum present, a majority of the board could have added the issue to the agenda and reconsidered the contract.
Anthony Caravella walked away from a Florida prison last month. He served 26 years for a rape and murder that DNA testing has shown he didn't commit. Caravella was 15 at the time he was arrested and has an IQ of 67. A confession that his attorneys say was beaten out of him by police interrogators played a part in his conviction. Caravella's prosecutor, Robert Carney, has put at least two other people in prison for murder who were later cleared of the crimes. Carney is now a judge in Broward County, though he recently announced he's retiring at the end of this year.
The injustice in Caravella's case could have been worse. Carney originally sought the death penalty, but the jury voted 11-1 for life in prison, instead.
In 1985, Carney prosecuted another mentally challenged man, John Purvis, for killing his Fort Lauderdale neighbor, reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Months later, Carney received a tip that the victim's ex-husband had hired a hit man to kill her. Carney refused to reopen the case, leaving Purvis' attorneys to hear about the murder-for-hire through other means. Purvis did nine years in prison before officials arrested and prosecuted the woman's ex-husband and the hit man.
Carney convicted another man in 1981, Christopher Clugston, for murder based on testimony from an informant who later recanted. In 1994, Clugston was cleared and released from prison by Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles, but on the condition he never return to the state. Clugston also left prison with AIDS, the result of a gang rape while he was incarcerated.
Howard Finkelstein, the public defender in Broward County, Fla., said of Carney to the the Sun-Sentinel newspaper: "I cannot think of another prosecutor anywhere in the U.S. that has put away three innocent people in separate cases."
Actually, it could be four. Carney also participated in the prosecution of Frank Lee Smith, convicted in 1986 of a rape and murder based on the testimony of a single eyewitness. Smith died of cancer on death row in 2000. Ten months after his death, DNA testing cleared Smith of the crime. In all, seven men have been wrongly convicted of murder by the state's attorney's office of Broward County.
As DNA exonerations continue to accumulate across the country, we're left with some tough questions about accountability for the public officials who put innocent people in prison. Certainly in some cases honest mistakes can be forgiven. But what about cases, like that of John Purvis, where a prosecutor illegally withholds evidence of a suspect's innocence? What about prosecutors who participated in multiple wrongful convictions? Is it fair to hold them accountable years or decades later? What of those who went on to become judges and now preside over murder cases?
There are other Robert Carneys. A couple of months ago, I wrote about Daniel Ford, a former prosecutor, now a Massachusetts Superior Court Judge, who may have withheld evidence and committed other misconduct in his prosecution of Bernard Baran for child molestation. The courts released Baran and cleared the charges against him earlier this year, after he served 26 years in prison. Ford has never been investigated, much less disciplined, for his role in putting Baran in prison.
As an assistant district attorney, Mississippi Judge Bobby DeLaughter helped hide exculpatory evidence in the case of Cedric Willis, wrongly convicted of a rape and two murders. Willis served 12 years for a crime he didn't commit, despite DNA evidence pointing to his innocence. While Willis sat in Parchman Penitentiary, much of his time in solitary confinement, DeLaughter was elected a judge. Last summer, DeLaughter pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators looking into a corruption scandal. But he was never punished for the misconduct that sent an innocent man to jail.
Then there's Forrest Allgood, the Mississippi district attorney with a record that puts him in company with Carney. Allgood prosecuted both Kennedy Brewer and Levon Brooks, each convicted of raping and killing young girls in Mississippi in the early 1990s. Allgood relied on the testimony of disgraced bite mark specialist Michael West to secure those convictions. Even after DNA testing cleared Brewer in 2000, Allgood pointed to West's match of bite marks on the victim's body to Brewer as evidence that Brewer must have participated in the crime, even if he didn't actually commit the rape. Brewer remained in prison an additional seven years. Brewer and Brooks were finally released in 2008 after a check of the state's DNA database (which Allgood tried to prevent) showed another man committed the rapes and murders for which the two men spent a combined 34 years behind bars.
Two other people Allgood has convicted of murder were later given new trials and acquitted. He convicted Tyler Edmonds, who was 15 at the time he was charged, based on a confession Edmonds says was coerced, and by implausible forensic testimony from disgraced Mississippi medical examiner Steven Hayne. Allgood also convicted 18-year-old Sabrina Butler, who is mentally challenged, of killing her infant son. Butler received a death sentence. The Mississippi Supreme Court tossed out her conviction as well, which also relied in part on bad forensic evidence.
Allgood hasn't (yet) been elected to the bench, but he continues to be reelected as Noxubee County's district attorney.
Something is wrong here. It may well be true that the prosecutors noted above represent a tiny minority of those who serve or have served in the position. But whatever the number of "bad apples," our criminal justice and political systems seem unconcerned about weeding them out. Instead, they're often rewarded and promoted, despite long records of incompetence and misconduct. In fact, in the sense that misconduct can help win convictions, such prosecutors are often rewarded because of it. The Innocence Project estimates that prosecutorial misconduct factored into about a fourth of the wrongful convictions handled by the organization. Yet in none of those cases did a prosecutor face any serious sanction.
Be it through state bar association actions, judicial investigations and discipline, or legislation creating some other means of oversight, bad and incompetent prosecutors need to be held to account. When a prosecutor perpetrates misconduct or demonstrates incompetence that sends an innocent person to jail, it's a regrettable but understandable product of the fact that that any large system is going to have bad actors. But when that prosecutor remains free to go on prosecuting other cases, with no repercussions, the very legitimacy of the criminal justice system is called into question.
Radley Balko is senior editor of Reason magazine where this column originally appeared. The JFP Daily features his column every Tuesday.
Parents Prepare to Defend Music Program at JPS Meeting
Ellen Collins
by Ward Schaefer
November 3, 2009
Parents of children in a Jackson Public Schools music program are gearing up to defend it at a school board meeting today, but as of this writing the issue was not on the meeting agenda. The JPS Board of Trustees failed to the renew the program Oct. 20, voting 2-to-2 on the district's $300,000 contract with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, which the district had maintained for 43 years. The board meets today at 5:30 p.m.
Parent Romaine Walker told the Jackson Free Press that she expects an "overflow crowd" of parents to speak in support of the program during the meeting's public comment section.
Walker is president of the Mississippi Youth Symphony Orchestra, which draws many members from the Strings in the Schools program. Her son participated in the program and is now studying at Interlochen Arts
