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S T A R K V I L L E D A I L Y N E W S . C O M I Thursday, October 15, 2015 I V o l u m e N o . 1 1 1 , I s s u e N o . 2 8 8 I 5 0 C e n t s

DAILYS t a r k v i l l e

SERVINg STARKVILLE, OKTIbbEhA COuNTY AND MISSISSIppI STATE uNIVERSITY SINCE 1903

NEWS

PreP Football

Starkville linemanpresented jerseyfor special game

SPortS >> 6

oPinion

Big deal for Cotton District may not be best deal for everyoneForum >> 4

nation

Paul Ryan weighs pros, cons of becoming next House speakerinSiDe >>5

Outside money pours into district

attorney race

By JAMES CARSKADONeduc@starkvilledailynews.com

Money from billionaire george Soros has made its way into the race for district at-torney in Mississippi’s 16th Judicial District, which covers Oktibbeha, Lowndes, Clay and Noxubee County.

Soros, who is most known for making a $1 billion profit during a 1992 currency crisis in England and is among the richest people in the world, is the sole contributor to the Mississippi Safety & Justice political Committee, an independent committee that has supported two candidates: 16th Dis-trict DA candidate Scott Colom and hinds

County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith. Soros is a frequent supporter of Democratic and liberal causes.

Colom, a Democrat, is trying to unseat multi-term District Attorney Forrest All-good, who is running as an independent.

Mississippi Safety & Justice’s Oct. 9 fi-nance report filed with the secretary of state’s office indicates Soros contributed $382,000 to the political committee since the commit-tee’s inception in July. Soros is the sole do-nor for the committee.

The Oct. 9 filing lists $204,611.80 in disbursements, $89,220 of which was listed

Colom denies involvement with Soros, affiliated committee

MSu music dept. to present homecoming choral concert

Mississippi State choir members rehearse at the university’s Band and Choral Hall. (Photo by Megan Bean, Courtesy of MSU)

By ALEX ONKENnews@starkvilledailynews.com

before the big game on Saturday, Mississippi State university’s music de-partment will be ushering in homecom-ing with its annual free choral concert at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.

“This will be a very eclectic concert,” said gary packwood, director of the State Singers, who will be performing. “We hope that there will be something for everyone.”

The concert will be held at the First baptist Church at 106 Lampkin St.

The 97-member Women of State ensemble and 60-member Men of State ensemble which are directed by gail Kopetz and peter Infanger, will per-form respectively. State Singers is a 73 member choral ensemble.

“We will have music from the four-teenth century all the way up to twenty-

first century,” packwood said. “There will be a capella performances and oth-ers with instrumental accompaniment. There will be renaissance music, gospel music, and baroque. We’ll have any-thing you can think of.”

Singers will be accompanied by pia-no, percussion instruments and horns.

pieces by Felix Mendelsohn, Mack Wilberg, gustav holst, Thomás Luis de Victoria, Edward grieg, and Alice parker will be performed. packwood said that the evening’s music will have familiar pieces but people may not rec-ognize them at first.

“For the audience, the folk song ‘Shenandoah’ but the arrangement will probably be one they’re familiar with,” packwood said. “What we’ll be per-forming are newer (arrangements) or ones not commonly performed.”

The State Singers have been rehears-ing for this project since the middle of

August, according to packwood.“We start practicing right off the

bat,” packwood said. “The State Sing-ers just came back from their tour of Mississippi with their program. The

other choirs have been busy as well with programs off campus. This is not anyone’s first show of the season.”

Fossil Extravaganza

In honor of National Fossil Day, the Dunn-Seiler Geolgy Museum at Mississippi State University offered free tours of their extensive fossil and mineral collection on Oct. 14. The event drew around 100 attendees, ranging from children to college students along with faculty members from the Geosciences department. The DSGM collection houses multiple Cretaceous-era fossils, including a crocodile skull and a replica skull of a Triceratops. The collection also has an array of fossils from throughout the southeast. (Photo by Austin Montgomery, SDN)

Construction is ongoing at the first timber piling bridge on Yellow Jacket Drive by Starkville High School. The bridge further down the same road will be replaced starting in December at a cost of $80,000. The emergency repair project will reroute SHS bus traffic and impact arrival and departure times. (Photo by Austin Montgomery, SDN)

Yellow Jacket Drive bridge overhaul project dates set By AUSTIN MONTGOMERYreporter@starkvilledailynews.com

The city of Starkville construction project to overhaul one of the bridges on Yellow Jacket Drive near Starkville high School will start this December.

The project—slated as a 30 day con-tract—will break ground on Dec. 15 and could be completed by Jan. 18, according to Lewis holloway, Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Superinten-dent.

The stretch of Yellow Jacket Drive along the main ShS building and athletic fields runs over two timber piling bridges above hollis Creek, and according to Ward 5 Alderman Scott Maynard, severe weather

weakened the bridge foundation. “usually a bridge does not get in that

bad of shape but because of the high rains in the spring, it caused more erosion that was originally anticipated,” Maynard said. “The previous board had the same issue come up six years ago on a bridge on Old West point Road because of high rain levels and erosion had compromised the strength of the bridge. It’s the situation we’ve run into here [on Yellow Jacket Drive].”

The bridge closest to the athletic fields is currently being rebuilt after dealing with similar erosion issues and is being funded by the SOCSD, while the other project will be funded for by the city.

See MONEY | Page 2

See PROJECT | Page 2

See CONCERT | Page 2

Police pursue shooting suspectsSDN Staff report

Mississippi State university went on alert Wednesday night as Starkville police chased drive-by shooting suspects near cam-pus.

A Maroon Alert went out at 8:04 p.m. saying shots were fired at haven 12 Apartments, and three suspects were reported run-ning toward Thad Cochran Re-search park.

but according to an 8:45 p.m. post on the Starkville police De-partment’s Facebook page, the incident started as a drive-by shooting at Camelot Apartments, 1040 North Montgomery St.

Officers chased a black sedan from that scene to near haven 12 Apartments, just north of the re-search park.

That’s when the campus went to emergency status. university spokesman Sid Salter said the MSu emergency response center was being partially activated.

police said the suspects fled the car on foot from haven 12, located at 960 highway 12 East. About 15 minutes later the three were reported running from the TVA office in the research park toward highway 12.

“A black female, who was driving, is in custody at this time,” police said on Facebook. “No shooting toward officers oc-curred and no one is hurt or in-jured.”

AROUND TOWN ANNOUNCEMENT

POLICIES

The Around Town calendar is a free service offered by the Starkville Daily News. The calendars runs daily

as space allows. Announcements should be submitted via e-mail to

life@starkvilledailynews.com by 2 p.m. the day prior to publication and be

no more than 50 words in length. Re-ligious events will be listed Saturdays on the Faith page. Recurring events will run on Sundays only. One-time

events will run Monday through Friday.

Today

u Home Economists in Home & Community—hEhC will meet at 9:30 a.m. at golden Triangle planning & Development District, 106 Miley Drive. The program will be presented by Tommy phillips. For more informa-tion, call helenSue parrish at 324-1683.

u Black & Orange Ball—gSDp’s annual business After hours black & Orange ball will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at buffalo Wild Wings.

Friday

u Homecoming Choral Concert—The Mississippi State university Choral Ac-tivities area will present its annual homecoming Choral Concert at 7:30 p.m. at First baptist Church. The concert will feature the Women of State, Men of State and the MSu Singers. The concert is free.

Saturday

u Canoe Day—The Nox-ubee Refuge will hold a Ca-noe Day on bluff Lake from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Canoes, kay-aks, paddles and life jackets will be available for use free of charge.

Monday

u Rotary—The Starkville Rotary Club will meet at 11 a.m. at The Mill Conference Center for the facility’s grand opening.

u Creepy Critters—The Starkville public Library will hold an Animal Tales pro-gram from 4-5 p.m. The pro-gram about creepy critters — like arachnids, insects and snakes — is open to every-one. Children age 6 and un-der must be accompanied by an adult.

Tuesday

u Starkville Newcom-ers—The Starkville Newcom-ers’ Club will meet at 10:30 a.m. in the Mississippi Room of Cadence bank. The pro-gram will be presented by William “brother” Rogers.

u Free Childbirth Class-es—Emerson Family School will have a class on Infant and Child Care, taught by Ellen Mcguffey, CpNp, Starkville pediatrics, at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 20. Free childcare and nutritious snacks are provid-ed. Call Emerson to register (662-320-4607).

The SHS Homecoming Court will be featured in the Homecoming Parade on Thursday, and the 2015 Homecoming Queen will be crowned on during halftime of Friday’s Yellow Jacket football game. Main Street offers the best view of the parade route. The Homecoming Pep Rally will be held at Greensboro Center immediately following the parade, which begins at 5:45 pm. The Starkville High School 2015 Homecoming Court members are: (front row, from left) Alexis Poe (11th), Callie Wells (12th), Nytoria Randle (12th), Haley Fye (9th), Jazlin Halbert (10th), (middle row, from left) Aubreonna Mitchell (12th), Toni Gillespie (11th), Ericka Davis (11th), Tiajha Bush (10th), Emily Cartwright (10th), Ke’Ombria Pearson (10th), (back row, from left) Kennis Kingery (11th), McKensi Johnson (9th), Leilah Taylor (9th), April Reese (12th), Terrigin Dixon (12th), and Tykea Mickens (12th). Not pictured is Chloe Bardon (11th).

Around Townpage 2 I S T A R K V I L L E D A I L Y N E W S . C O M I Thursday, October 15, 2015

Eupora man arrested in connection to hit and run MondaySDN Staff Report

A Eupora man was arrested Wednesday in connection with a hit and run that sent one person to the hospital.

Charles privett, 30, of Eupora, was charged with one count of leaving the scene of an acci-dent with injuries and booked into Oktibbeha County Jail Wednesday, Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department Lt. brett Watson said.

The alleged hit and run occurred Monday evening on bell Schoolhouse Road in north-ern Oktibbeha County. Watson said one vic-tim was transported to Norhtern Mississippi Medical Center and is in stable condition.

The investigation into the case is ongoing. Anyone with informa-tion related to the incident is asked to call the sheriff’s department at 662-323-2421.

Privett

The State Singers tour that recently wrapped was an in-state recruiting tour. This tour visited community colleges, according to packwood. The group alter-nates each year between a state wide and regional tour, which last year took the group to Louisiana, Southern Mississippi and the Florida panhandle. The group will have an international tour this summer in Austria and

the Czech Republic. “This is a very exciting time

not only for our choral area but for the music department in general,” packwood said. “We have seen a growth in the last four and five years and there will be a new building coming for us. That is reflected in the growth that we see.”

For more information on State Singers, visit www.statesings.com. For the music department, visit www.music.msstate.edu.

City Engineer Edward Kemp, estimated the emer-gency repair project would cost around $80,000 after the bridge was brought to the at-tention of the board of Alder-men at the Sept. 8 meeting by Ward 7 Alderman henry Vaughn.

“The funding for the proj-ect comes from $21,634 out of the insurance savings for the past year, $11,000 out of the chief administrative of-ficer travel line item, $28,000 from two months of the CAO budgeted salary, three months coming from the budgeted as-sistant planner salary line item

and $20,000 out of the con-tingency fund to make up the roughly estimated $80,000,” Maynard said.

The financial maneuvering was needed because the bud-get had already been proposed, forcing Maynard to find alter-native funding sources for the repair. Ward 6 Alderman Roy A. perkins commended May-nard for identifying the multiple funding sources.

“We had to come up with the money somewhere and just look at the budget and try not to affect the overall budget and we were able to find that money in those salaries that were al-ready budgeted,” Maynard said.

Maynard frankly stated the project could not be pushed

back until the summer due to the bridge’s condition. At the Oct. 6 board meeting, Maynard stressed the importance of get-ting the project done on time since the repairs would happen during the school year.

holloway said the emer-gency repair could cause delays on Yellow Jacket Drive during the final weeks of construction but hoped the project would be completed quicker than the first bridge repair.

“Traffic patterns will be stag-gered and we will be dealing with drop-offs in the morning and pick ups in the afternoon,” holloway said. “We are opti-mistic about the planning, but we will see. It is going to affect buses going down Yellow Jacket

Drive.”Mayor parker Wiseman said

bridge redevelopment projects are crucial to maintaining re-sponsible infrastructure stan-dards around Starkville.

“bridge management is a critical piece of our infrastruc-ture program,” Wiseman said. “This bridge is in poor condi-tion and any time a bridge is in poor condition, it’s a high priority infrastructure improve-ment project. We look forward to completing the repairs so that the bridge will be in satisfactory condition.”

For more information on the funding of the project and the overall city budget, visit cityofstarkville.org/index.aspx?nid=242

as independent expenditures in support of Colom. Most of the expenses in support of Colom went to berlin Rosen, LTD, a New York-based public relations firm. Other expenditures listed in the report include research and polling costs, but it is not noted which candidate that was for.

According to the filing and Colom’s finance reports, no ex-penditures were made directly to Colom for the campaign. Mississippi Safety & Justice has been sending out mailers and air-ing radio and TV commercials in support of Colom in recent weeks. All advertisements have a disclaimer that the materials were not authorized by any can-didate or candidate’s committee.

When reached by telephone Wednesday, Colom denied any affiliation with Soros or Missis-sippi Safety & Justice.

“This is not some conspir-acy,” Colom said. “If anyone thinks I know george Soros,

they’re crazy.”The contact listed on Mis-

sissippi Safety & Justice pAC’s statement of organization is Nsombi Lambright, former executive director of the Mis-sissippi ACLu. phone calls to the phone number listed on the statement of organization were not returned as of press time Wednesday.

Even without direct contribu-tions from Soros, Colom’s fun-draising has easily outpaced All-good’s. Colom’s Oct. 8 finance report indicates he has received $134,917 in year-to-date contri-butions. Allgood’s Oct. 2 finance report lists $38,722.20 in contri-butions.

The mailers sent by Missis-sippi Safety & Justice use pic-tures of Colom and his slogan, “Tough. Smart. Fair.” Colom said his own campaign sent out two mailers, but he was sur-prised when the Mississippi Safety & Justice mailers started going out.

Incumbent District Attorney Forrest Allgood has highlighted

the contributions from Soros on his official campaign web-site. When reached by telephone Wednesday, Allgood said he found it “grossly unbelievable” that Colom has no affiliation with Mississippi Safety & Jus-tice or Soros.

Colom’s only guess as to why Soros or anyone affiliated with him would contribute to a district attorney’s race in Mis-sissippi was because they “are aware of my opponent’s record of sending innocent people to death row and wasting millions of taxpayer dollars.” Colom also said Allgood is using the contri-butions as a distraction tactic.

The two candidates have run contrasting campaigns so far in the race. Colom’s promotional materials and website have pro-moted his stance that first-time, non-violent drug offenders should receive rehabilitation be-cause treating is more effective and cheaper than incarceration. Colom has also said his prior-ity would be punishing violent criminals and he would like to

start a violent crime unit in the district attorney’s office if he is elected.

Allgood’s campaign has fo-cused on his record of putting violent criminals behind bars. his radio advertisements feature testimonials from family mem-bers of murder victims about how he put the murderer in jail. his slogan is “If you were the victim.”

Colom said he has spent a substantial amount of time rais-ing money because, as a chal-lenger, he does not have the benefit of name recognition like an incumbent. he said if he had known one person wanted to donate large sums of money into the race, he would not have had to focus as much on fund-raising.

Allgood criticized Colom for having donations from outside of the 16th judicial district listed on his finance reports.

“If we were just running on what was collected in this dis-trict, the money would be a lot closer,” Allgood said.

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Thursday is target for Ronald McDonald house donations

SDN Staff report

The Mississippi Chapter of Ronald Mc-Donald house Charities wants Oct. 15 to be a big day.

It’s the annual Day of Change, during which people are specifically encouraged to drop spare change into the donation boxes at participating McDonald’s restaurants.

Donation boxes collected more than $54 million in 2014, supporting nearly 6

million children and families, according to a charity news release.

For more than 40 years Ronald Mc-Donald house Charities has provided help and a place to stay for families with children undergoing medical crises. There are 349 Ronald McDonald houses – in-cluding one in Jackson – 198 Ronald Mc-Donald Family Rooms and 50 Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles, according to the news release. A third of local charity

chapters are expanding their programs to meet increasing needs, and new chapters are forming in China and the Middle East.

The charity also operates a Community grants program to support other nonprof-its that serve children’s health and educa-tion.

McDonald’s customers who donate Thursday are asked to share photos of their support on social media using #for-RMhC.

Thursday, October 15, 2015 • Starkville Daily News • Page 3

Weekend of barrel racing at the horse park

SDN Staff report

This weekend the Mississippi horse park expects its biggest event yet, as it hosts a qualifying event for The American, a national rodeo.

The park’s permanent stalls sold out long ago, and tempo-rary stalls have been brought in for a total of 550 – and lo-cal stables are helping with the overflow, according to a news release from Dana Traywick, marketing and communications director for the horse park.

The event for RFD-TV’s The American kicks off at 4:30 p.m. Friday with free cake, followed by barrel racing at 5 p.m.

Those races will be a qualifying event for The American, which will be held in March 2016 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. This is the second consecutive year the horse park has hosted a qualifying event for The American, one of only 10 qualifying facilities in the u.S. and Canada, according to the news release.

One hundred fifty-two contestants will seek to qualify for the rodeo, but only the top 10 will advance to the semifinals. Finalists will have a shot at winning $1 million in Dallas.

but Friday’s qualifying event won’t end the weekend’s races at the horse park. More will go on through Sunday, includ-ing the better barrel Races Southeastern Regional Finale and horse poor barrel Races.

This year’s horse poor barrel Race, which began at the horse park in 2012, is expected to bring 1,600 entrants, Tray-wick said.

The Saturday and Sunday events begin at 10 a.m. each day, with Cowboy Church from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Sunday.

Admission to all events is free. The horse park is at 869 E. poor house Road.

Attorneys make new arguments in Miss. school funding lawsuit

BY EMILY W. PETTUSAssociated Press

JACKSON — Former Mississippi gov. Ronnie Musgrove made a new round of ar-guments Tuesday in his lawsuit that seeks $240 million that 21 school districts say they have been shortchanged by the state in the past few years.

The state attorney general’s office is de-fending legislators’ budget decisions.

hinds County Chancery Judge William Singletary ruled against Musgrove and the school districts in July, but he later agreed to hear new arguments.

“We’re here today arguing that you got it wrong,” Musgrove told Singletary on Tuesday.

Musgrove said Singletary should have looked at the “plain language” of a bill that legislators passed in 2006. It said the state would spend three years phasing in full funding for a school budget formula known as the Mississippi Adequate Education pro-gram. Then, starting with the fiscal year that began in July 2009, the bill said legislators would fully fund MAEp.

“We contend that is not ambiguous,” Musgrove said. “It is very clear on the face of its language.”

Assistant Attorney general harold piz-zetta repeated Tuesday what state attorneys had argued earlier — that one group of leg-islators cannot put a budget obligation on future legislators.

“I think we have heard all these argu-ments before,” pizzetta said after Musgrove spoke.

Singletary agreed with the state’s argu-ments in his first ruling. he did not say if he would issue a new ruling or let his first one stand.

“I’ll get you something as soon as I can,” Singletary told attorneys Tuesday.

he ruled in July that Mississippi legisla-tors are not obligated to fully fund MAEp every year. he based his ruling, in part, on a second law enacted in 2006, which said how state money would be split among school districts if funding fell short.

Musgrove has already said he will ap-peal Singletary’s first ruling to the state Supreme Court.

Musgrove, a Democrat, helped push MAEp into law when he was lieutenant governor in 1997; he was governor from 2000 to 2004. The formula is designed to give school districts enough money to meet midlevel academic standards, but it has been fully funded only twice. The

last time was during fiscal year 2008.Among the districts suing the state

are Jackson public Schools, the state’s second-largest district.

A separate debate over school bud-gets is taking place because two pro-posed constitutional amendments that deal with education funding will be on Mississippi’s Nov. 3 ballot.

More than 100,000 people signed petitions to put Initiative 42 up for a vote. It would require the state to “pro-vide for the establishment, maintenance and support of an adequate and efficient system of public schools,” and would al-low people to file a lawsuit in chancery court if funding falls short. Support-ers of Initiative 42 have opposed Mus-grove’s lawsuit. They have argued that the lawsuit could put millions of dollars into the former governor’s pocket rather than ensuring more money would go to schools.

Measure 42-A was put on the ballot by legislators who oppose the citizen-led proposal. It would require the Legisla-ture to “provide for the establishment, maintenance and support of an effective system of free public schools without ju-dicial enforcement.”

Opponent of school religion says teacher insults atheists

BY JEFF AMYAssociated Press

JACKSON — A group seeking to keep public schools religion-free is again decrying practices in the Rankin County school district.

The American humanist Association says a Northwest Rankin high School teacher who is also a baptist minister is illegally insult-ing atheists in class.

In a letter Tuesday to the Rankin County School District, the as-sociation cites complaints from a student and parent that world his-tory teacher Rick hammarstrom has repeatedly promoted Christi-anity and disparaged atheists in class this fall.

“For instance, on October 8, 2015, Mr. hammarstrom stood up and announced during class: ‘Atheists are throwing a fit because they don’t have their own day,’” attorney Monica Miller wrote in the letter. “he continued: ‘They do have their own day; it’s called April Fool’s Day, because you are a fool if you don’t believe in god.’”

The district and hammarstrom didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

According to search engine results, hammarstrom’s biography

on the school’s website noted that he was the pastor of Rehobeth baptist Church in pelahatchie as late as Sept. 27, but it no longer listed that affiliation Tuesday.

“According to the student, these types of remarks are becom-ing more frequent and the teacher continues to express hatred to-wards atheists and favoritism for Christians,” Miller wrote. “The parent and student are atheists and understandably feel affronted and stigmatized by the teacher’s actions. Worse, the teacher’s hurt-ful remarks make the student feel extremely unwelcome in her own classroom.”

The association and Mississippi’s third-largest school district have repeatedly tangled in the recent years over religion in schools.

A student sued in 2013, complaining of a Christian assembly at Northwest Rankin high, and the district agreed to an order by u.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves that it would not advance reli-gion during school hours. Then, in July, Reeves fined the district $7,500 for opening an honors assembly with a Christian prayer and allowing bible distribution at an elementary school, and threatened it with $10,000 fines for each future violation. This fall, the district banned the brandon high School band from playing the hymn “how great Thou Art,” citing Reeves’ order.

Civil rights groups prevent King monument at

Stone MountainBY KATHLEEN FOODYAssociated Press

A monument to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. must not be installed among the sculpted figures of Confederate leaders at georgia’s Stone Mountain, a group of civil rights leaders told the state’s governor Wednesday.

“We will never agree to any aspect of Dr. King going to Stone Mountain among the Confederacy,” Southern Chris-tian Leadership Conference president and CEO Charles Steele, Jr. said after the meeting with gov. Nathan Deal. “The Confederacy, once and for all, should be buried in a museum.”

Officials with the SCLC and two local chapters of the NAACp met with Republican governor for an hour at his office, and later said he was “receptive” to their concerns. Deal may have the influence, if not the authority, to stop the process, Steele said.

The organizations next hope to meet with the park’s gov-erning board. Officials have proposed a replica Liberty bell honoring King to “broaden the story told by the park.” The site is best known for a giant carving of three Confederate figures on horseback spanning three acres of the mountain’s face.

“They think we’re just playing, after four or five days this thing will die out,” said DeKalb County NAACp president John Evans. “We’re going to let them know that’s a big lie.”

The Stone Mountain property less than 20 miles northeast of the King historic site in Atlanta has long been a flashpoint for those who want to honor Confederate history and oth-ers who believe the carving and nearby flags glorify racism and should be removed from state land. The mountain was where the Ku Klux Klan was reborn in 1915 and was the site of KKK rallies and cross burnings for years. Members of the Venable family, which owned the property until 1956, included KKK sympathizers and at least one leader of the group.

Deal’s spokeswoman Jen Talaber didn’t return a message seeking comment following the meeting. The civil rights groups said they received no promises from Deal.

The June massacre of nine worshippers at a Charleston, South Carolina, church and the arrest of a white suspect who embraced the Confederate battle flag sparked widespread de-bate over the public display of Confederate symbols. A flag that flew outside South Carolina’s state Capitol for decades came down, and statues of Confederate leaders have been removed from places of honor on state university campuses and other government property around the South.

prominent symbols still remain, however, including Mis-sissippi’s state flag and Stone Mountain.

georgia law prohibits changing the Stone Mountain carv-ing or altering the property’s use as a memorial. Lawmakers haven’t said whether they will take up legislation to address that — however the appointed board that oversees the prop-erty believes additions are allowed under current law.

bill Stephens, chief executive officer of the Stone Moun-tain Memorial Association, said in a statement this week that the proposal to honor King and add an exhibit on black Civil War soldiers evolved from a bell-ringing ceremony atop the mountain marking the 50th anniversary of King’s “I have a Dream” speech.

After the Charleston shooting, the Atlanta NAACp called for the carving of Confederate president Jefferson Davis, general Robert E. Lee and general Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson to be sandblasted from the mountain and for nearby Confederate flags to be removed. Supporters of Confederate heritage rallied this summer at the park, carrying large Rebel flags.

Lecia brooks, outreach director at the Southern poverty Law Center, said the civil rights group is encouraged by the number of Confederate symbols removed from government property or moved to museums recently. brooks said adding more complete historic information to the displays is an alter-native to removal. The objects become a chance to educate, rather than celebrate the Confederacy, she said.

Forumpage 4 I S T A R K V I L L E D A I L Y N E W S . C O M I Thursday, October 15, 2015

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planning & Zoning commissioners gave a big new proposal for the Cot-ton District a tentative OK by agreeing to rezone the land, but we hope commissioners and staff will review final develop-ment plans with a very critical eye to ensure that new construction will fit and benefit the commu-nity as a whole.

And if the plan doesn’t meet those criteria, the p&Z board needs the for-titude to insist on substantial revision – or rejection.

Christopher Kritzman proposes packing 1,000 people, mostly MSu

students, into dorm-style bedrooms with shared living areas. That’s simi-lar to many other student housing developments that continue to spring up around Starkville – but the key word there is “around,” usually on previously open ground, rather than “smack in the middle.”

Tentative plans show the buildings as having four stories, rather than the two- and three-story buildings that now dominate the Cotton District. The whole property is less than 7.5 acres, with a clubhouse and 9,000 feet of retail crammed in.

profitable as such a huge develop-ment might be, its very size would likely change the whole character of the area. The Cotton District is what it is not only because of its location, but because new development care-fully preserved a small-scale neighbor-hood feel. That’s what makes it attrac-tive.

Former mayor Dan Camp, re-sponsible for much of the Cotton District’s current look and still owner of much property there, protested at the zoning hearing. his criticisms carry some weight.

Counterarguments that another 1,000 residents wouldn’t generate much traffic, because students will walk to class and shop on-site, sound

like so much exhaust. The residents will still have cars, and will still go in and out to many other places. For that matter, if the on-site retail is so attractive it will itself draw traffic from outside.

Kritzman said a 100-member stu-dent focus group said their desire is for a central location, not the Cotton District’s unique appeal. but the Cot-ton District’s atmosphere isn’t just to serve as an attraction to potential temporary renters. It’s an asset for the whole town, and the university community too.

goodbye to going to street festi-vals if Cotton District streets are al-ready packed. goodbye to casual din-ing and evening strolls in what could

become essentially the front plaza of a giant dorm.

The community should always welcome an investment of this mag-nitude – tentatively set at $50 million – but planting a behemoth amid the current Cotton District would not benefit many beyond the developer.

That is the eternal dilemma of de-velopment: wanting to create some-thing attractive, but not so attractive that crowding then lessens its appeal. That’ such a dilemma exists is not the fault of Camp or Kritzman, but it cannot be ignored; lest the Cotton District become the embodiment of the late great Yogi berra’s mot: “No-body goes there anymore, it’s too crowded.”

big deal for Cotton District may not be best deal for everyone

The American humanist Association’s Appignani hu-manist Legal Center has sent a letter to the Rankin County School board on behalf of a student’s parent complaining about a teacher’s behavior in class it says is a promotion of religion. The teacher, who the letter says is also a pastor of a local church, allegedly told a joke: “Atheists are throwing a fit because they don’t have their own day. They do have their own day; it’s called April Fools’ Day, because you are a fool if you don’t believe in god.”

The joke could have been better. humor works when the mind makes it funny. If you explain the joke, you kill the laugh. The joke should have ended after “April Fools’ Day.” but that’s hard-ly even a comic misdemeanor.

And it isn’t worth firing a teacher over. but that’s what the American hu-manist Association wants the school district to threaten the teacher with if the behavior continues. Wow, and folks

thought Common Core was bad.

The belief that there is a god is not a religion. Religion is how we respond to a belief in god. Saying someone is a fool for not believing in god may be offensive to that person, but it isn’t an attempt at conver-sion to Judaism or Christianity or any other religion. If it actu-ally was an attempt, it was as

poorly done as was the joke.The reality of the world is people

believe different things and people act and say and interpret facts based on their beliefs. The same is true for teachers in school. Science is full of competing theories. history class or social studies is ripe for political and ideological beliefs to impact presentation. My soccer coach in high school also taught world history. As I recollect, he was baptist and when teaching the Reformation, did not have an accurate understanding of Calvinism. he thought it was ridiculous. but that’s not a firing offense. I think certain types

of literary criticism are ridiculous, but that doesn’t necessitate the firing of a literature teacher who adheres to one of those schools of thought.

but the American humanist Asso-ciation believes the so-called joke was a violation of the Establishment Clause in the u.S. Constitution.

If only Lenny bruce were still alive, he would have a jumped at the opportu-nity to tell a joke which could be deemed by the federal government as unconstitu-tional. It is one thing to tell a joke that is offensive to listeners or legally obscene; you’ve really achieved something if the government tells you a joke is in viola-tion of the foundational law of the coun-try. At least in this country, I suspect folks in North Korea, Cuba, Iran and Russia are routinely accosted for saying unfunny things.

but Rankin County Schools has been a target of the American humanist As-sociation before and entered into a con-sent agreement over previous litigation. There were complaints that mandatory assemblies included Christian messages

and bibles were handed out on school property. Love your neighbor and help the poor is a Christian message which I wouldn’t object to at school. That only through faith in Christ can you receive grace and have eternal life with god is a Christian message best left outside public schools. If the gideons want to pass out free bibles on school property (without an evangelizing message), I’m fine with that if the school also would permit ad-herents of Islam to pass out the Koran, or for that matter candidates to pass out political push cards, or flyers in opposi-tion of or in support of initiatives.

but after the consent agreement, in August, education leaders in Rankin County have been cautious, fearing the cost of humanist attorney fees and fines sucking education funds out of the bud-get. Out of an abundance of caution, they told the brandon high School band it could not perform the music to “how great Thou Art” during the football game halftime. While the mel-ody of the music itself is an old Swed-ish folk tune, certainly in Mississippi the

tune is inseparable in thought with the hymn. Except, it was separated. Singers were not scheduled to accompany the band. The lyrics – the message of the hymn – would not be communicated at all. hearing a melody is not indoc-trination. but still, the band did not play the song, instead the parents and fans in the stands raised their voices at the game and sang the hymn. I’m sure the humanists were disappointed there were no arrests.

public schools should not be indoc-trination centers. Teachers ought not go out of their way to offend students. Students need to learn this world will offend them. And lawsuit-happy hu-manists need to learn to take a joke, lest we begin celebrating the American hu-manist Association every April 1.

brian perry is a columnist for the Madison County Journal and a part-ner with Capstone public Affairs, LLC. Reach him at reasonablyright@brian-perry.ms or @Capstoneperry on Twit-ter.

Humorless humanists

Jim GainessDn eDitor

Brian Perry

synDicateD columnist

Thursday, October 15, 2015 • Starkville Daily News • Page 5

WeatherObituariesMargaret Exyah Ellis Swain

Margaret Exyah Ellis Swain, 94, passed away on October 14, 2015 at OCh Regional Medical Center in Starkville, MS. She was a retired secretary in the Education Department at MuW in Columbus, MS. She was a licensed pilot and Sunday School teacher for 70 years. She loved to play Solitaire and she loved to travel, and a fan of Mississippi State basketball and the Atlanta braves.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Melvin Callaway Ellis and betty Ruth Thompson Ellis; her first husband, Frank Swain; daughter, Marilyn Swain; son, Larry Rock Swain; brother, Jimmy Ellis; sisters, Jackie Thornton and Nell hart-ness; and one grandchild, Wesley Swain.

Survivors include her husband buck Swain of Starkville, sons homer Swain (Mary) of Columbus, MS, paul Swain of Columbus, MS, and Mike Swain of Tuscaloosa, AL; sisters, Mollie Echols of Starkville, MS and Elsie Ray Daugherty of Fulton, MS; brother, M. C. Ellis (Frances) of Mayhew, MS; daughter-in-law, Sue Swain (wife of Rock Swain); 5 grand-children, 12 great grandchildren, and six great great grand-children.

Visitation is scheduled for Saturday, August 17, 2015 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. at Welch Funeral home in Starkville, MS, with the funeral immediately following in the funeral home chapel. Rev. Dickie bryan will conduct the service. There will be a private graveside at 4:00 p.m. at Friendship Cemetery in Columbus, MS.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Fel-lowship baptist Church in Starkville, MS.

You can go online and leave the family a condolence at: www.welchfuneralhomes.com.

Mary Alice Watson West Mrs. Mary Alice Watson West, 82, died Sunday, October

11, 2015, at her daughter’s home in Starkville, MS. Funeral services will be held at 12:00 p.M. on Thursday, October 15th, at porter Funeral home, with Rev. David Allen offi-ciating. Visitation will be Thursday from 11:00 A.M. until the service time at the funeral home. Interment will be in Memorial park Cemetery. porter Funeral home is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. West was born November 26, 1932, in Louisville, MS. She retired after 14 years as a bookkeeper for the hinds County Department of Welfare, and was a member of First baptist Church of Starkville. Mary Alice was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was pre-ceded in death by her husband, phillip West; one son, Morgan Toles; and her parents, Era Jones Watson and William harold Watson.

She is survived by her daughter, Lee Ann (gene) Merkl of Starkville, MS; three sons, hardy (Cindy) West of Ath-ens, gA, Solon (Mary) West of Davie, FL, Anthony (bonnie) Toles of Jackson, MS; two sisters, Anna Jean (Walter) Allen of Louisville, MS, and Linda (bob) Walker of Starkville, MS; and 6 grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, www.alz.org.

To sign the guest register, go to www.porterfuneralhome.net.

Today's WeatherLocal 5-Day Forecast

Thu10/15

88/57Mainlysunny. High88F. Windslight andvariable.

Sunrise:6:59 AM

Sunset:6:21 PM

Fri10/16

80/46Mainlysunny. Highsin the low80s andlows in themid 40s.

Sunrise:7:00 AM

Sunset:6:20 PM

Sat10/17

70/44A fewclouds.Highs in thelow 70s andlows in themid 40s.

Sunrise:7:00 AM

Sunset:6:19 PM

Sun10/18

72/46Mostlysunny. Highsin the low70s andlows in themid 40s.

Sunrise:7:01 AM

Sunset:6:17 PM

Mon10/19

73/47A fewclouds.Highs in thelow 70s andlows in theupper 40s.

Sunrise:7:02 AM

Sunset:6:16 PM

Jackson94/59

Meridian89/55

Tupelo86/57

Biloxi84/61

Greenville94/60 Starkville

88/56

Mississippi At A Glance

Area CitiesCity Hi Lo Cond. City Hi Lo Cond.Baton Rouge, LA 92 59 sunny Memphis, TN 89 59 sunnyBiloxi 84 61 sunny Meridian 89 55 sunnyBirmingham, AL 85 57 sunny Mobile, AL 86 59 sunnyBrookhavem 93 58 sunny Montgomery, AL 84 55 sunnyCleveland 93 59 sunny Natchez 92 58 sunnyColumbus 88 56 sunny New Albany 86 54 sunnyCorinth 83 55 sunny New Orleans, LA 86 65 sunnyGreenville 94 60 sunny Oxford 86 54 sunnyGrenada 91 58 sunny Philadelphia 90 55 sunnyGulfport 85 59 sunny Senatobia 89 56 sunnyHattiesburg 92 56 sunny Starkville 88 56 sunnyJackson 94 59 sunny Tunica 91 56 sunnyLaurel 92 55 sunny Tupelo 86 57 sunnyLittle Rock, AR 94 60 sunny Vicksburg 93 58 sunnyMc Comb 92 57 sunny Yazoo City 94 59 sunny

National CitiesCity Hi Lo Cond. City Hi Lo Cond.Atlanta 77 54 sunny Minneapolis 60 35 sunnyBoston 62 49 sunny New York 65 52 sunnyChicago 66 42 pt sunny Phoenix 97 70 pt sunnyDallas 97 63 sunny San Francisco 70 59 pt sunnyDenver 69 43 mst sunny Seattle 71 52 pt sunnyHouston 94 65 sunny St. Louis 79 48 sunnyLos Angeles 81 67 pt sunny Washington, DC 68 49 sunnyMiami 88 75 cloudy

Moon Phases

NewOct 13

FirstOct 20

FullOct 27

LastNov 3

UV IndexThu

10/156

High

Fri10/16

6High

Sat10/17

6High

Sun10/18

6High

Mon10/19

6High

The UV Index is measured on a 0 - 11 number scale,with a higher UV Index showing the need for greaterskin protection.

0 11

©2010 American Profile Hometown Content Service

Paul Ryan weighs pros, cons of becoming next House speakerBY ALAN FRAMAssociated Press

WAShINgTON — Maybe Rep. paul Ryan doesn’t feel like a character in the classic film “The godfather,” weighing an offer he can’t refuse. but with Republican party elders practi-cally begging him to become the next house speaker, the pressure on him to seek the post is im-mense.

Yet with the house tumbling through a chaotic period as hard-right conservatives make the chamber nearly unmanageable, there are plenty of compelling reasons to decline the job, too.

here are pros and cons fac-ing the Wisconsin Republican and potential future presidential hopeful:

A grateful party or a spurned one?

Facing conservative op-position, house Speaker John boehner, R-Ohio, has resigned and hopes to leave Congress by October’s end. In a second, equally startling blow, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Ca-lif., the favorite to succeed him, dropped his bid last week.

Senior Republicans quickly settled on Ryan, the party’s 2012 vice presidential candi-date, as their strongest option to unify the divided house gOp and steer it away from possible political catastrophes like a gov-ernment shutdown or federal de-fault. he’s been lobbied to take the job by 2012 gOp presiden-tial nominee Mitt Romney, Sen-ate Majority Leader Mitch Mc-Connell, R-Ky., and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince priebus, a fellow Wis-consinite.

Accept the gOp nomination to be speaker — he’d still have to be elected by the whole house — and he’d immediately earn

the gratitude of his now-tattered party. That would increase his clout in the house and give him chits he could bank should he run for president someday.

Reject the offer and many Republicans could feel he’d abandoned them at a critical moment. politicians have long memories, and whether Ryan remains in the house or seeks higher office, that could bite him later.

“people have defined him as the only possible hope,” said for-mer Rep. Vin Weber, R-Minn., a Ryan friend. “If you’re defined as an only hope and you say ‘No,’ that’s a negative thing.”

High profile jobAs speaker, Ryan would im-

mediately become the most powerful, highest profile Re-publican in Washington. he’d decide which bills the house considers and would be a lead-ing voice in the national and internal gOp debate over what a conservative vision of govern-ment looks like.

Yet Ryan already has a post that lets him display his views on taxes, health and trade, per-haps more clearly than he could as speaker. he’s chairman of the house Ways and Means Committee and can push bills through that panel spotlighting how he’d address those major issues.

Ryan as speaker would be responsible for muscling mea-sures all the way through the house. but they might crash or be changed. Even with the big-gest gOp majority in decades, boehner has seen embarrassing setbacks on education, farm and transportation bills, thanks to Democrats and rebellious gOp conservatives.

“If you do it right, I think you can write your ticket” to your next political goal, said

former Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va. “but there are no guarantees here because you can’t control all the variables.”

boehner could help Ryan by clearing some of the messiest is-sues before departing, which he’s expressed a willingness to do. That could include raising the federal debt limit, which must be done by early November, and approving spending legisla-tion to avert a partial government shutdown in mid-December.

Even so, history shows that being speaker is a rickety launch pad to the White house. Only four speakers or ex-speakers have received their parties’ presidential nominations with just one elected — former Speaker James K. polk.

That was in 1844.

Conservatives’ muscleThey’re not going anywhere.

And while some leaders like Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, seem sup-portive of Ryan, there are no guarantees conservatives wouldn’t make his life miserable down the road.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, cited “an undercurrent of con-cern among conservatives in the house” over Ryan’s views on overhauling immigration laws and other issues that would weak-en their support for Ryan.

Already, some conservative grassroots groups want to stop Ryan. They cite votes during his 17-year house career to revamp education, expand Medicare and buttress financial institutions dur-ing the great Recession.

As speaker, Ryan could find himself striking compromises with president barack Obama. Just ask boehner how that plays out.

boehner has conservative views and a pragmatist’s ap-proach to legislating. Lawmakers and outside groups who consider him insufficiently conservative

and not confrontational enough with Obama and congressional Democrats turned on him.

Lifestyle, or lack thereofRyan, 45, savors returning on

weekends to his young family in Janesville, Wisconsin. As speaker, he might have to kiss some of that goodbye.

boehner has been one of the gOp’s most prolific money rais-ers, with political aides saying he’s raised nearly $300 million since 2009. but that means frequent weekend travel and evening fun-draising events in Washington. That’s not the best schedule for Ryan to see his wife and three children, who range in age from 10 to 13 years.

In this file photo, Rep. Paul Ryan, R- Wis. arrives for a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington. Maybe Ryan doesn’t feel like a character in the classic film “The Godfather” weighing in an offer he can’t refuse. But with Republican party elders practically begging him to become the next House Speaker, the pressure on him to seek the post is immense. (AP photo)

SporTSpage 6 I S T A R K V I L L E D A I L Y N E W S . C O M I Thursday, October 15, 2015

High school Football

Jones rewardedStarkville linemanpresented jerseyfor special gameBy ROBBIE FAULKsports@starkvilledailynews.com

In the united States Marine Corps, those that sacrifice them-selves for freedom live by the term “Semper Fidelis,” which translates to “always faithful.”

The unit also uses “Ductos Exemplo” or “to lead by example” in its every day duties.

That is what the Marines are looking for out of players on the gridiron as well and Starkville high School has one that fits the bill.

Offensive and defensive lineman Kobe Jones was selected by the committee to play in the Semper Fi high School All-Ameri-can bowl and on Wednesday was presented his jersey in a special press ceremony that included those from the bowl game as well as uS Marines.

“It’s a great honor,” Jones said. “I want to thank the Marines and everyone that had a part in selecting me for this game. It really makes me feel good that I can represent my community in this way and represent my city and make them proud.”

Though there are several All-American games that will occur postseason, including the under Armour game that teammate A.J. brown will compete in, Jones chose Semper Fi.

Taking place Sunday, January 3, 2016 at the Stubhub Center in Carson, California, the Semper Fi AA bowl consist of some of the top players in high school football. The event represents play-ers excelling on and off the field that have character consistent with the Marine Corps.

Jones is excited about that opportunity, but can’t help but also be excited to see the sights in California.

Starkville High School’s Kobe Jones, right, is presented a jersey to participate in the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl on Wednesday. (Photo by Danny P. Smith, SDN)

Starkville Academy offensive lineman Carter Wood (71) looks to clear a path for running back Grant Wolfe. (Photo by David Allen Williams, for Starkville Daily News)

SA’s Wooddoesn’t mindresponsibilityBy DANNY P. SMITHsports@starkvilledailynews.com

Carter Wood is a big man on the Starkville Academy campus.It’s not just because of his 6-5, 275-pound frame.When it comes to leadership for the Volunteers, Wood has proved

to be a giant.The offensive lineman doesn’t mind accepting the challenge.“Everybody up front kind of depends on me to make sure they know

what they are doing and on top of that, I have to make sure my game is up to standards of what I like to do,” Wood said. “There are a couple of seniors, but I’m a three-year starter and there’s a lot of responsibility there.”

Starkville Academy coach Chase Nicholson likes having a veteran like Wood right in the middle of the offensive line.

“he’s a smart kid, knows a lot about football and of course a lot about the o-line position, but he’s bigger than that,” Nicholson said. “Of course, the guys all look up to him, literally and figuratively.”

vsvs

SA’s Nicholson excited aboutmatchup with pillow, McCarty

Madison Central’s petersonhas a reputation of winningBy ROBBIE FAULKsports@starkvilledailynews.com

All brad peterson knows is winning.The Louisville native has won at every

stop he’s been and he welcomes every chal-lenge along the way. peterson’s new chal-lenge is at a place with resources and tradi-tion as he was chosen the successor to bobby hall earlier this year at Madison Central.

Since taking over as the athletic direc-tor and head football coach for the Jaguars,

there’s a new sense of pride emerging in Madison County. As a coach who doesn’t know how to lose, he’s still not bent out of shape with his team’s recent slump of losing four games out of the last five.

“Anytime you change jobs, it’s a transi-tion,” peterson said. “You try to get players to take the demeanor of the coaching staff and I think we’re getting there. We started hot at 3-0, but we knew we still had some

By DANNY P. SMITHsports@starkvilledailynews.com

pillow Academy head coach Tripp McCarty is known for having an outstanding offensive mind.

That’s why several of his Mustangs are estab-lishing some pretty good numbers this season.

Starkville Academy head coach Chase Nichol-son respects McCarty and pillow Academy. The two teams meet Friday at J.E. Logan Field with the kickoff set for 7 p.m.

“he’s a great coach and people on our staff

have known him for a long time,” Nicholson said. “We’re excited about the matchup.”

When Nicholson was chosen to replace Jeff Terrill as the head coach of the Volunteers, Mc-Carty was one of the first people to make contact with him.

Nicholson has not forgotten that.“he is a super nice guy,” Nicholson said of

McCarty. “I remember when I was hired as the head coach, he was the first that I talked to over

See MADISON | Page 8 See PILLOW | Page 8

See JONES | Page 8

See WOOD | Page 8

Thursday, October 15, 2015 • Page 7

ScorecArdEMCC Jones

STArkville dAily newS

Noteworthy

26-1The record for the EMCC Li-

ons since the new Sullivan-Wind-ham Field stadium opened.

Quoteworthy“It really makes me feel good that I can represent my community in this

way and represent my city and make them proud.”

Starkville high School’s Kobe Jones said about being picked for the Semper Fidelis All-American bowl.

High School Football

Week-by-week2015 area schedule

All games start at 7 p.m.

August 21Noxubee County 26, Starkville 20Starkville Academy 45, Marshall Acad-emy 0East Webster 48, Vardaman 6Eupora 14, Water Valley 7Pelahatchie 14, Choctaw County 13French Camp 25, Winona Christian 7

August 28Starkville 20, Oxford 7Starkville Academy 28, West Lowndes 8East Webster 42, Noxapater 8Eupora 56, French Camp 0Winona 23, Choctaw County 9

Sept. 4Starkville 16, West Point 0Starkville Academy 28, Magnolia Heights 0East Webster 27, Choctaw County 7Eupora 28, Smithville 0Winona 42, French Camp 7

Sept. 11Starkville 48, KIPP Collegiate 0Lamar School 31, Starkville Academy 13East Webster 21, Houston 13Eupora 22, Choctaw County 7French Camp 26, Sebastopol 20

Sept. 18Starkville Academy 31, Washington School 21East Webster 49, Ray Brooks 6Eupora 31, J.Z. George 0Houston 40, Choctaw County 0French Camp 36, Montgomery County 14

Sept. 25Starkville 49, Callaway 7Starkville Academy 35, Heritage Acad-emy 14East Webster 42, South Pontotoc 14Houston 34, Eupora 7Choctaw County 38, Bruce 21French Camp 47, McAdams 8

Oct. 2Starkville 30, Northwest Rankin 7Starkville Academy 26, French Camp 13Calhoun City 28, East Webster 7Eupora 29, Okolona 22Kemper County 38, Choctaw County 7

Oct. 9Starkville 42, Greenville 0Starkville Academy 21, Leake Academy 14East Webster 17, Winona 0Eupora 49, Bruce 6Forest 29, Choctaw County 28Nanih Waiya 32, French Camp 21

Oct. 16Madison Central at StarkvillePillow Academy at Starkville AcademyEast Webster at OkolonaEupora at WinonaPhiladelphia at Choctaw CountyNoxapater at French Camp

Oct. 23Starkville at MurrahStarkville Academy at Winston AcademyBruce at East WebsterCalhoun City at EuporaChoctaw County at Southeast Lauder-daleFrench Camp at Durant

Oct. 30Starkville at Warren CentralEupora at East WebsterChoctaw County at Choctaw CentralEthel at French Camp

Nov. 6Clinton at StarkvilleFrench Camp at Leake CountyClass 2A, Class 3A, MAIS playoffs-TBD

RecordsStarkville (6-1, 3-0)Starkville Academy (7-1, 2-0)East Webster (7-1, 1-1)Eupora (7-1, 2-0)Choctaw County (1-7, 0-2)French Camp (4-4, 3-1)

Mississippi Prep Polls

Here are Mississippi’s top high school football teams in each class as selected by a panel of Associated Press state sports writers.

Class OverallSchool W-L Pts Prv1. South Panola (16) (7-0) 160 12. Starkville (6-1) 144 23. Brandon (7-1) 112 34. Oxford (5-2) 95 55. Oak Grove (7-1) 94 66. Wayne County (5-2) 71 87. Clinton (5-2) 49 7

8. Lafayette (7-1) 40 109. Hattiesburg (6-2) 30 410. Warren Central (6-1) 22 NROthers receiving votes: St. Martin 21, Ocean Springs 14, Bassfield 8, Simmons 4, West Point 3, Laurel 3, Madison Central 3, Gulfport 2, Pearl River Central 1, Jackson Prep 1, Collins 1, Columbus 1, Resurrection Catholic 1.

Class 6ASchool W-L Pts Prv1. South Panola (15) (7-0) 150 12. Starkville (6-1) 135 23. Brandon (7-1) 117 34. Oak Grove (7-1) 86 45. Clinton (5-2) 55 5Others receiving votes: Ocean Springs 19, St. Martin 19, Warren Central 13, Columbus 6.

Class 5ASchool W-L Pts Prv1. Oxford (12) (5-2) 138 22. Wayne County (2) (5-2) 127 33. Hattiesburg (6-2) 104 14. Laurel (4-3) 94 45. West Point (5-2) 82 5Others receiving votes: Pearl River Central (1) 22, South Jones 14, Grenada 7, Picayune 6, Lake Cormorant 6.

Class 4ASchool W-L Pts Prv1. Lafayette (15) (7-1) 150 12. Rosa Fort (6-1) 110 23. Greenwood (6-1) 100 44. Noxubee County (4-4) 74 55. Lawrence County (7-1) 48 NROthers receiving votes: St. Stanislaus 38, Louisville 27, Senatobia 22, Kos-ciusko 13, Houston 12, East Central 6.

Class 3ASchool W-L Pts Prv1. Collins (14) (7-1) 149 12. West Marion (1) (8-0) 128 33. Hazlehurst (7-0) 116 44. Tylertown (6-1) 107 25. Charleston (6-2) 61 5Others receiving votes: Kossuth 33, Forest 6.

Class 2ASchool W-L Pts Prv1. Bassfield (13) (6-2) 130 22. Eupora (7-1) 95 43. Calhoun City (5-3) 93 34. East Webster (7-1) 88 55. Puckett (7-1) 71 NROthers receiving votes: Lake 69, O’Bannon (2) 26, Bay Springs 21, Amite County 7.

Class 1ASchool W-L Pts Prv1. Resurrection C. (13) (6-0) 148 12. Simmons (2) (6-0) 137 23. Smithville (7-1) 120 34. Shaw (5-3) 88 45. Noxapater (6-2) 82 5Others receiving votes: Nanih Waiya 18, Coffeeville 7.

Class Private SchoolsSchool W-L Pts Prv1. Jackson Prep (15) (8-0) 150 12. MRA (6-2) 123 23. Lamar School (6-2) 95 44. Starkville Aca. (7-1) 75 55. Adams Christian (8-0) 59 NROthers receiving votes: Cathedral 29, Oak Forest, La. 24, Indianola Aca. 21, St. Joseph, Greenville 6, Washington School 6, Oak Hill Aca. 6, Simpson Aca. 6.

College Football

SEC Standings

Western DivisionSchool…SEC…OverallLSU…(3-0)…(5-0)Texas A&M…(2-0)…(5-0)Ole Miss…(2-1)…(5-1)Alabama…(2-1)…(5-1)Miss. State…(1-2)…(4-2)Arkansas…(1-2)…(2-4)Auburn…(0-2)…(3-2)

Eastern DivisionSchool…SEC…OverallFlorida…(4-0)…(6-0)Kentucky…(2-1)…(4-1)Georgia…(2-2)…(4-2)Missouri…(1-2)…(4-2)Tennessee…(1-2)…(3-3)Vanderbilt…(0-2)…(2-3)S. Carolina…(0-4)…(2-4)

Saturday, Oct. 10Miss. State 45, Troy 17Ole Miss 52, New Mexico State 3LSU 45, South Carolina 24Tennessee 38, Georgia 31Alabama 27, Arkansas 14Florida 21, Missouri 3

Today, Oct. 15

Auburn at Kentucky, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 17Louisiana Tech at Miss. State, 11 a.m.Ole Miss at Memphis, 11 a.m.Alabama at Texas A&M, 2:30 p.m.Vanderbilt at S. Carolina, 3 p.m.Auburn at Kentucky, 6 p.m.Florida at LSU, 6 p.m.Missouir at Georgia, 6:30 p.m.

AP Top 25

The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Oct. 10, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and pre-vious ranking:

Record Pts Pv1. Ohio St. (27) 6-0 1,411 12. Baylor (13) 5-0 1,390 33. TCU (3) 6-0 1,354 24. Utah (16) 5-0 1,350 55. Clemson (1) 5-0 1,260 66. LSU 5-0 1,231 77. Michigan St. 6-0 1,139 48. Florida 6-0 1,075 119. Texas A&M (1) 5-0 1,046 910. Alabama 5-1 1,034 811. Florida St. 5-0 937 1212. Michigan 5-1 894 1813. Mississippi 5-1 803 1414. Notre Dame 5-1 766 1515. Stanford 4-1 662 1616. Oklahoma St. 6-0 614 2117. Iowa 6-0 520 2218. UCLA 4-1 487 2019. Oklahoma 4-1 342 1020. Northwestern 5-1 317 1321. Boise St. 5-1 260 2522. Toledo 5-0 237 2423. California 5-1 204 2324. Houston 5-0 121 NR25. Duke 5-1 114 NROthers receiving votes: Temple 96, Memphis 59, Arizona St. 27, Mississippi St. 19, Georgia 16, Texas Tech 10, BYU 8, Southern Cal 5, W. Kentucky 5, Ken-tucky 4, Penn St. 4, Navy 3, North Caro-lina 1.

Amway Top 25 Poll

The Amway Top 25 football coaches poll, with first-place votes in paren-theses, records through Oct. 10, total points based on 25 points for first place through one point for 25th, and previous ranking:

Record Pts Pvs1. Ohio State (47) 6-0 1547 12. Baylor (8) 5-0 1463 43. TCU (5) 6-0 1441 24. Michigan St. (1) 6-0 1358 35. LSU (1) 5-0 1288 56. Clemson 5-0 1245 67. Utah (1) 5-0 1239 78. Florida State 5-0 1080 89. Alabama 5-1 1052 1010. Texas A&M 5-0 1028 1111. Florida 6-0 1001 1212. Mississippi 5-1 837 1313. Notre Dame 5-1 786 1514. Michigan 5-1 760 2115. Oklahoma St. 6-0 689 1916. Stanford 4-1 677 1817. Iowa 6-0 525 2318. UCLA 4-1 466 2019. Oklahoma 4-1 432 920. Boise State 5-1 321 2421. Northwestern 5-1 242 1422. Memphis 5-0 185 2523. California 5-1 174 2224. Duke 5-1 154 NR25. Toledo 5-0 149 NROthers receiving votes: Houston 75; Temple 71; Georgia 61; Arizona State 33; Mississippi State 21; Wisconsin 20; Kentucky 13; Kansas State 11; Penn State 6; Southern California 4; Texas 4; Texas Tech 4; North Carolina 3; West Vir-ginia 3; Navy 2; Washington 2; Arizona 1; Illinois 1; Tennessee 1.

Junior College Football

NJCAA Football Ranking

Oct. 13Record Pts Pvs1. Coffeyville KS (8) 7-0 196.0 12. Snow UT (1) 6-0 195.0 23. Butler KS 7-0 187.5 34. Northwest Mississippi 7-0 185.5 35. Rochester MN 7-0 179.0 56. DuPage IL 5-0 144.5 87. Mississippi Gulf Coast 6-1 141.0 78. East Mississippi 6-1 138.5 69. Central Lakes MN 6-1 121.5 1010. Louisburg NC 5-0 118.0 1211. Tyler TX 6-1 116.0 1112. North Dakota SCS 6-1 98.5 1413. Lackawanna PA 6-1 81.0 1714. Copiah-Lincoln MS 5-2 58.0 915. Trinity Valley TX 5-2 56.0 1616. Iowa Western 5-2 52.5 1917. Globe Tech NY 5-1 36.5 NR18. Blinn TX 5-2 29.0 1319. Dodge City KS 5-2 21.5 1520. East Central (MS) 5-2 19.0 NR

Major League Baseball

Postseason Glance

All Times EDTWILD CARD

Tuesday, Oct. 6: Houston 3, New York 0Wednesday, Oct. 7: Chicago 4, Pitts-burgh 0

DIVISION SERIES(Best-of-5; x-if necessary)

American League

Kansas City 3, Houston 2Thursday, Oct. 8: Houston 5, Kansas City 2Friday, Oct. 9: Kansas City 5, Houston 4Sunday, Oct. 11: Houston 4, Kansas City 2Monday, Oct. 12: Kansas City 9, Houston 6Wednesday, Oct. 14: Kansas City 7, Houston 2

Toronto 3, Texas 2Thursday, Oct. 8: Texas 5, Toronto 3Friday, Oct. 9: Texas 6, Toronto 4, 14 inningsSunday, Oct. 11: Toronto 5, Texas 1Monday, Oct. 12: Toronto 8, Texas 4Wednesday, Oct. 14: Toronto 6, Texas 3

National LeagueAll games televised by TBS

Chicago 3, St. Louis 1Friday, Oct. 9: St. Louis 4, Chicago 0Saturday, Oct. 10: Chicago 6, St. Louis 3Monday, Oct. 12: Chicago 8, St. Louis 6Tuesday, Oct. 13: Chicago 6, St. Louis 4

New York 2, Los Angeles 2Friday, Oct. 9: New York 3, Los Angeles 1Saturday, Oct. 10: Los Angeles 5, New York 2Monday, Oct. 12: New York 13, Los Angeles 7Tuesday, Oct. 13: Los Angeles 3, New York 1Today, Oct. 15: New York (deGrom 14-8) at Los Angeles (Greinke 19-3), 8:07 p.m.

wHat’s ON tv

Today

No area games scheduled

tHe area slate

Today

COLLEGE FOOTBALL6 p.m.

ESPN — Auburn at Kentucky6:30 p.m.

ESPNU — Alabama State at Arkansas Pine Bluff

9:30 p.m.ESPN — UCLA at Stanford

GOLF9 a.m.

GOLF — Portugal Masters, first-round, at Vilamoura, Portugal

4 p.m.GOLF — PGA Tour: Frys.com Open, first-round, at Napa, Calif.

10:30 p.m.

GOLF — LPGA Tour: KEB-HanaBank Championship, second-round, at Incheon, South Korea

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL7 p.m.

TBS — National League Division Se-ries Game 5, N.Y. Mets at L.A. Dodg-ers

NBA BASKETBALL9 p.m.

TNT — Preseason, Houston at Golden State

NFL FOOTBALL7:25 p.m.

CBS — Atlanta at New Orleans7:30 p.m.

NFL — Atlanta at New Orleans

Youth basketball registration openThe 2016 Starkville Area Youth basketball registration

is open.The league is open to boys and girls ages 7-15.Visit www.starkvilleregistration.com to register.For more information, call William pochop at 662-323-

2294.

Windham to speak at Qb ClubMark Windham, a professor at the university of Tennes-

see, will be the speaker at today’s meeting of the Starkville Quarterback Club.

he will be talking on the history and traditions of the Southeastern Conference and the peculiarities of member schools.

Starkville Quarterback Club president Joe baker says this should be an interesting meeting, come prepared to learn something that you did not know and be prepared to laugh.

Mississippi State defensive line coach David Turner will give the scouting report for the Louisiana Tech game, which takes place Saturday at 11 a.m.

Social hour begins at 6 p.m., while the meal of ham-burger steak and fixings takes place at 6:30 p.m. The pro-gram starts at 7 p.m. The meeting is sponsored by Renasant bank.

The Starkville Quarterback Club meets at the Starkville Country Club on South Montgomery Street.

MSu’s bruffett gets another honorAfter her outstanding play in Mississippi State’s 3-0 vic-

tory against No. 20 Kentucky, freshman Lauryn bruffett was honored by CollegeSoccer360.com as one of its weekly primetime performers.

“We are excited for Red to be recognized again for her play this season and it’s great for our program to be placed on the national stage,” MSu head coach Aaron gordon said. “Red will be the first to tell you that she would rather the team continue on this path of success that we are on than individual awards, but this is a great distinction for her.”

The accolade was the first since Leanna balder won the distinction in 2009.

bruffett netted two goals and her first-career assist against the Wildcats on Sunday, logging 88 minutes in the match. The five points bruffett earned in the game were the most for a single match by any bulldog this season.

On Monday, the Rockwall, Texas native, was chosen the SEC Offensive player of the Week.

The bulldogs (4-7-3, 2-3-2) return home on Friday night as the Florida gators (10-3-1, 4-2-1 SEC) come into town. The 7 p.m. match will be broadcasted on the SEC Network + via the WatchESpN app.

MSu men play tennis at bama With the fall season in full swing, the Mississippi State

men’s tennis team heads to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for the ITA Southern Region Indoor Championships hosted by the uni-versity of Alabama.

The five-day tournament is set to begin today with doubles action starting at 9 a.m. and singles at 10 a.m. Winners of the regional will advance to the ITA National Indoor Intercol-legiate Championships in Flushing, N.Y., on Nov. 12-15.

“We’ve always enjoyed this tournament because it gives our team a lot of tough matches to learn from,” MSu coach Matt Roberts said. “Everyone on our team is working on something new in their game, whether it be technical or mental. So we are excited to play some excellent competi-tion.”

MSu has won a singles or doubles championship the last three years of the Southern Regional. Most recently, the bulldogs claimed the doubles title in 2014, with singles championships coming in 2012 and 2013.

State sends freshmen Niclas braun, Trevor Foshey and Lucas Sanchez to Tuscaloosa, with junior Vaughn hunter rounding out the lineup.

In other MSu tennis news, junior Rishab Agarwal con-tinued his tear at the Futures event in houston, Texas, as the bulldog downed Tigre hank, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, in the main draw opening round. Agarwal had defeated three oppo-nents in the qualifying draw over the weekend to advance to Wednesday’s main draw.

“I am proud of Rishab’s performance at the houston Fu-tures,” Roberts said. “he had a good win today and it shows how much work he has put in over the offseason by the results he is producing.”

BrIeFlY

College Football

MSu evaluation continues for MullenBy JOEL COLEMANsports@starkvilledailynews.com

Mississippi State

head coach Dan Mullen is continu-ally evaluating his team.

Things are no dif-ferent at the halfway point of the season as the bulldogs get ready for their sec-ond consecutive non-conference game.

In the midst of a three-game home stand, Mullen said during Wednesday’s Southeastern Conference coaches teleconference that MSu will use Saturday’s homecoming game against Louisiana Tech to continue to gauge where his bulldogs stand.

“This is a pivotal part of the season for us,” Mullen said. “We’ll see how our guys are de-veloping and continue to take steps forward. I thought we took a step forward with how we

played last week. We played like a better football team last week than we did the week before that and we need to do the same as we move forward right now.”

Through the season’s first six games, Missis-sippi State sits at 4-2. Three of those wins came against opponents outside the SEC. After Satur-day, MSu has only conference games remaining on the schedule so Mullen understands the LA Tech contest is his team’s final opportunity to iron out any kinks.

“We need to take a step forward as a team and play better in every phase this week,” Mul-len said. “This is our last non-conference game. After this, it’s all SEC games so we want to put ourselves in position and ready to compete in those games.”

Elliot prepares for firstgame at South Carolina

Earlier this week, South Carolina’s Steve

Spurrier announced his resignation paving the way for Shawn Elliot to be chosen as the in-

terim head coach of the gamecocks.Elliot said on Wednesday that everything

still hasn’t sunk in for him yet as he readies for his first game at the helm when South Carolina hosts Vanderbilt on Saturday.

“It’s still a whirlwind right now,” Elliot said. “In time, it will (sink in). It’s got to. What I’m trying to do, to the best of my ability right now, is manage a football team and get our focus and our energy on the Vanderbilt Commodores.

“but no, it hasn’t sunk in. To go from bust-ing your tail on Monday night at practice as the offensive line coach and co-offensive coordina-tor and then wake up the next morning as the interim head coach at the university of South Carolina, it takes you back a little bit.”

Coaches praise Spurrier

The effects of Spurrier’s resignation have

been felt far outside of South Carolina.During the course of Wednesday’s telecon-

ference, several SEC head coaches took the time to honor Spurrier’s career.

“The ‘old ball coach’ was a great player and

then won at every school he coached,” LSu’s Les Miles said. “he had a big personality and was one of those guys that made college foot-ball very entertaining. he’ll be missed.”

Alabama’s Nick Saban similarly had compli-mentary things to say.

“This guy is probably one of the best col-lege football coaches over a long period of time, winning at various programs from Duke to Florida to South Carolina,” Saban said. “he wasn’t always in great situations, but always made those situations better. I think he’s been really good for college football and we’re cer-tainly going to miss him.”

Auburn’s gus Malzahn also showed his re-spect for Spurrier, mentioning how Spurrier has impacted his career from the start.

“his influence on me goes back to when I was a high school coach wearing a visor,” Mal-zahn said. “Since I’ve got to know him (and) I’ve been (coaching) in college, he’s been a mentor for me at times and I just want him to know I appreciate everything he’s done for me and it’s sad to see him go. he’s been great for our league.”

Page 8 • Starkville Daily News • Thursday, October 15, 2015

the phone. It was over scheduling, but he called me and he was the first to congrat-ulate me on it. he has texted me several times over the season on common oppo-nents and things like that.”

McCarty has association with many coaches at Starkville Academy regardless of the sport.

“(SA defensive coordinator) brad (butler) and I go way back,” McCarty said. “I actually hired (SA boys bas-ketball coach) bruce (Allsup) down in brookhaven so I’m pretty tight with guys up there.”

The Mustangs have had an up and down season under McCarty this season with an overall record of 3-4. They have lost all three of their district games.

pillow started the season with an im-pressive 39-0 victory over Kirk Academy, then were edged the next week by Indi-anola Academy 27-24.

After earning another shutout of 28-0 over Lee Academy, the Mustangs lost to powerful Jackson prep 38-0. The other pillow victory was against Manchester Academy 41-7, but the Mustangs have dropped the last two decisions of 33-0 to Washington and 42-3 to Madison-Ridge-land Academy.

“During all of that, we’ve had 90 per-

cent of our offense out with mono,” Mc-Carty said. “We have been a skeleton crew and probably will still be this Friday. We had sickness hit us hard during our bye week. Kids were sick during the Wash-ington game and we just didn’t know. They weren’t feeling great and it showed in their play. We’ve been hanging on for dear life and try to get better every week.

“We’ve still got a shot to get in the playoffs, but we’ve just got to figure out how to play better football.”

pillow is led by quarterback Cole Whitfield, who has completed 36-of-72 pass attempts for 414 yards and five touchdowns.

At running back, Will Jennings leads the Mustangs with 393 yards on 54 car-ries and five touchdowns, while John Madison brooks adds 253 yards on 47 carries and three scores.

The leading receiver for pillow is bai-ley Mangrum with 15 catches for 221 yards and four touchdowns.

The Vols and Mustangs have devel-oped a rivalry over the years and Nichol-son said it’s a game to keep on the sched-ule.

“It’s a great relationship the teams have formed in the past,” Nicholson said. “It’s right down the road almost and we consider it down the road game. That’s why we have them on our schedule be-cause it’s so close.”

hurdles to get over. I told our team we’ve lost to four teams that have a combined record of 24-3. We’ve beat some good teams but lost to some good teams.

When the Jaguars come to Starkville on Friday night, they come in seasoned. Their 4-4 overall record isn’t indicative of the type of team they are or the schedule they’ve played because it’s unrivaled in the state of Mis-sissippi.

Madison Central started its season 3-0 with wins over a rising Meridian team, and top 10 teams brandon and Oxford. The Jaguars lost to the state’s top team, South panola, one of the best teams in Louisiana (West Monroe), had a five-point loss to top-five Clinton and a 10-point loss to division ri-val Warren Central, which is off to a 6-1 start.

In his first year, peterson wel-comes that challenge of playing a tough schedule. It’s going to mold his team for the future.

“It’s good for our team be-cause ultimately your goal is to win a state championship, peter-

son said. “We’ve kind of used that through the season.

“We won the first three and I told our guys if we win the first three games in the playoffs, you go to the state championship and we played South panola in game four who will be competing for a state title. It does put pressure on you as players and coaches and is demanding.”

peterson has developed some of the top quarterbacks in the state at every stop and he’s got an-other good one in 2017 prospect Jack Walker. he has had his ups and downs in his second season as signal caller, but peterson likes what he has to work with.

“Jack has a lot of potential,” peterson said. “We’re still trying to tweak a lot of things. We’re try-ing to work hard on the mental part of the game from his reads and his progressions. he has a re-ally strong arm and runs decent. he moves well enough. he has a bright future.”

Walker and the offense is go-ing to have to be on the top of their game Friday night as they travel in to a swarm of Yellow-jacket defenders on homecoming. In peterson’s mind, he’s about

to play a team that is better than anyone they’ve played this season.

“honestly, I think they’re the best team in the state,” peterson said. “That’s not because I’m playing them this week. I really feel that way. That doesn’t mean they’re going to win the state championship, but I do think that they are the best team in the state.

“Offensively, they’re good and defensively, they’re great. Defen-sively, there are no weaknesses. All of (Ricky Woods’) players are good and they’re sound in what they do. Offensively, they’re not great yet, but they have the X fac-tor in the best receiver in Missis-sippi. (A.J. brown) is as good as I’ve ever seen.”

It’s a big Class 6A Region 2 matchup that is becoming a must-win for the Jaguars. peterson be-lieves there’s only one thing that his team has to do to win.

“play perfect,” peterson said. “Any time you’re playing a true No. 1 or No. 2 ranked team in the state, you’ve got to execute. You can’t have false starts or bad snaps or anything. You’ve got to execute and move the chains. both offense and defense has to help each other.“

PILLOWFrom page 6

MADISONFrom page 6

Nicholson said Wood is “the quarterback” of the offen-sive line and likes having the weight of that on his shoulders.

During last week’s 21-14 win against Leake Academy,

Wood wanted to make sure he made a difference.

“Each week we put a lot on him,” Nicholson said. “he looked at me several times and said run behind me and that’s the kind of stuff you want to see from a senior captain and your o-line leader.

“he’s a big, tall, scary guy and intimidating to opposing teams, but where he contrib-utes is he tries to help those younger guys. he makes their calls whether it rights or lefts and whatever call they make. he’s big in the leadership role. he’s a captain. he’s a captain

of that o-line. he and Seth (Watson) hold down that left side and have been doing it for a long time.”

Wood’s effort have been recognized and some colleges have been calling to check up on him.

he has been getting some

attention from Central Arkan-sas, South Alabama and Delta State. he is also checking into East Mississippi Community College and has a visit sched-uled for Scooba tonight.

before considering the next level too much, Wood wants SA to finish strong and believes

it can.“We still have not played

our best game or up to our po-tential,” Wood said. “There is always a possibility to get bet-ter. Our goal is to get better from the week before. We’re not even close to our possibili-ties.”

“It’s an honor that someone looks at me as someone that carries themselves with pride and is well-mannered,” Jones said. “I really want to get a taste of that Cali life for that week and it’s a game that people take great pride in. I just wanted to be a part of it.”

having several players ex-pected to play in a postseason bowl is something that head coach Ricky Woods takes pride in, Not only does it show the on-field attributes, he said, but also what they do off the field.

“These guys that get selected to these bowl games are going to have to be a great person, a great student and a great play-

er,” Woods said. “It’s a great representation for the whole program, the whole school and the whole community.

“I think it’s just an honor. It’s going to be a great experi-ence for him and it’s good for the other players on our team to see something like this. They’re all proud of Kobe, too.”

The coach is proud of his lineman as well.

playing both ways on the offensive and defensive line, Jones has already shown the sacrifices necessary for his team.

Now, it’s paying off with ac-colades.

“he’s a good player and is a high-character young man,” Woods said. “he’s going to do well in life – no doubt about it.”

WOODFrom page 6

JONESFrom page 6

Starkville High School’s lineman Kobe Jones, middle, holds up his Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl jersey, while being surrounded by his teammates on Wednesday. (Photo by Danny P. Smith, SDN)

Junior College Football

EMCC hosts Northwest CC in key gameFor Starkville Daily News

SCOObA – In one of the most anticipated junior college football games of the season, the eighth-ranked Lions of East Mississippi Community College are set to play host to No. 4 Northwest Mississippi Community College during to-day’s MACJC North Division showdown that will also give the winner an opportunity to host this year’s MACJC State Championship game. Kickoff for EMCC’s regular-season home finale at Sullivan-Wind-ham Field is slated for 7 p.m. on the Scooba campus.

As head coach buddy Ste-phens’ East Mississippi Li-ons eye their seventh MACJC North Division regular-season title in eight seasons, Today’s EMCC-NWCC winner will also secure a No. 1 seed head-ing into the Oct. 31 MACJC State Semifinals. The highest-seeded MACJC North team remaining following the first round of the upcoming state playoffs will earn the right to host the MACJC State Cham-pionship on Saturday, Nov. 7.

The two-time reigning NJ-CAA Champion EMCC Lions are 6-1 overall and 4-0 within the division this year after claiming a 44-28 road win over holmes last Thursday in good-man. playing at home this week for the first time since earning a 48-24 homecoming victory over Itawamba three weeks ago (Sept. 26), EMCC’s other division triumphs this season have come at home against Co-ahoma (69-0) and at Northeast Mississippi (56-7).

guided by second-year head football coach Jack Wright, the fourth-ranked Rangers of Northwest Mississippi are un-defeated at 7-0 overall and 4-0 in division play after blanking Mississippi Delta 40-0 this past

Saturday in Moorhead. prior to that, NWCC survived back-to-back nail-biters by knocking off hinds 38-37 in overtime and then getting by holmes 42-40 on a 35-yard field goal with time expiring in regulation.

EMCC and Northwest en-ter today’s NJCAA gridiron battle both ranked among the top offensive teams in the country. Along with rating second nationally in total of-fense (611.4 yards per game) and sixth in scoring offense (51.3 points per game), the Lions also rank third in pass-ing (379.3 yards per game), ninth in rushing (232.1 yards per game) and tied for sec-

ond in first downs per game (27.3). Individually, current MACJC Offensive player of the Week Wyatt Roberts cur-rently stands fifth among the NJCAA’s individual statisti-cal leaders with 20 passing touchdowns this year, along with ranking sixth nationally in passing yards (285.6 yards per game) and seventh in pass completion percentage (65.2 percent).

headlined by sophomore running back Justin Crawford, who is ranked second nationally with an average of 155.9 rush-ing yards an outing, and the quarterback play of freshman gardner Minshew, the North-

west Rangers are ranked 14th nationally in scoring offense (38.6 points per game), ninth in total offense (511.3 yards per game) and sixth in passing (309.3 yards per game).

Now 50-3 overall with three NJCAA championships dating back to the 2011 season when their current football facility opened, the Lions are 26-1 col-lectively at the “new” Sullivan-Windham Field. Including a pair of home wins during the team’s final season at the previ-ous field location on the Scooba campus, EMCC owns a current streak of 23 consecutive regu-lar-season home victories. The Lions’ lone home setback at

their current 5,000-seat facil-ity was a last-second 47-46 loss to Copiah-Lincoln during the 2012 MACJC State Semifinals.

Winners of six MACJC North Division regular-season football titles during Stephens’ eight seasons at the EMCC helm, the Lions own an overall record of 43-3 against division opponents spanning back to the 2008 campaign. East Mis-sissippi has won 16 straight division contests since having its prior 20-game overall win string snapped with a 24-23 defeat at Itawamba during the 2012 regular-season finale.

With an overall head coaching record of 74-11

(.871) with the Lions, includ-ing a 13-2 career mark against Top 5-ranked opponents, EMCC’s Stephens owns a 6-1 career mark versus Northwest Mississippi. Most recently in games played in Senatobia the past two years, EMCC shut out the Rangers 49-0 last season and breezed to a 79-7 victory two years ago. how-ever, the previous five head-to-head meetings were each decided by single digits. The winning team over the last seven EMCC-NWCC meet-ings has averaged 47.1 points per game with the two teams combining for 86 or more points during four of those prior encounters, including a 56-49 shootout victory by the Lions three years ago in Scooba.

Today’s EMCC-NWCC contest will be broadcast live by WFCA-FM (107.9), out of French Camp, with Jason Crowder and Charlie Winfield slated to call the play-by-play action and glen beard set to serve as the Lions’ sideline re-porter. EMCC’s 2015 football radio broadcasts will also be carried live by EMCC’s new radio station, WgTC-FM (92.7), originating from the golden Triangle campus in Mayhew.

In addition, EMCC’s week-ly live video-streamed football broadcasts are available in hD at www.EMCCathletics.com/live. Alternate audio streams of the radio broadcasts are also available at www.wf-cafm108.com. Fans are also encouraged to follow EMCC Athletics through the col-lege’s athletics website, www.EMCCathletics.com, and on Twitter, Instagram and Face-book (@EMCCathletics) via the school’s social media hub at www.EMCCathletics.com/Social-Media-hub.

East Mississippi Community College quarterback Wyatt Roberts (4) prepares to throw the football in a game earlier this season. (Photo by Lee Adams, for Starkville Daily News)

Thursday, October 15, 2015 • Starkville Daily News • Page 9

Dennis The Menace

ARIES (March 21-April 19)One-on-one relating could surprise you with some unexpected news. It is clear that others can’t gain control of a situa-tion when you are involved. Nevertheless, someone talks a good game. You need to listen to this person more often.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)You have a way about you that draws oth-ers toward you. You could be much more tired than you realize. You have tried hard to make a difference in a project, but you won’t be successful until you take some time off to recharge your batteries.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)You are likely to see a personal matter far differently because of a conversation with a trusted and loyal loved one. You can accept this person’s feedback and not feel as if you are giving up your position. You’ll see a so-lution that works for the majority.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)You tend to exude a warm understanding that helps others feel more at home. If you are single, an encounter today could be-come more. You have a style that is unique yet nonthreatening. Answers and solutions will emerge with ease.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)You might want to change direction and make new choices. You could feel as if you have pushed very hard to get a personal matter handled. If you feel like you can’t get past a hassle, just relax. Be more forth-right in your decision-making.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)Your input will be well-received, even if you are dealing with someone who is ex-traordinarily uptight. You must know when you have done enough for someone you care about. Be more in touch with a child or new friend’s sensitivities.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)You could be in a position where you must get a project completed. Others could be sassy with you, especially with regard to money. Maintain a sense of humor. You are full of energy and excitement. A loved one at a distance adores you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)You could be in a position where others respond well to you, but not as you had anticipated. Even if you’re frustrated, re-member that others are attempting to be as responsive as possible. Maintain a sense of humor.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)You could feel as if you can’t help head-ing in a certain direction. You might not understand what is motivating you, but your intuitive side appears to be running the show. Just watch for any pitfalls that you might not have anticipated.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)You could be out of sorts and wanting to do something very differently. Try to un-derstand an issue between you and a friend. You are open to discussion. Nevertheless, you still will be determined to head in a certain direction.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)Take a stand with someone who often pushes you too hard. You might not un-derstand what is happening with this per-son or why. Open up to new possibilities; be willing to state your case to a loved one who can be defiant at times.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)Investigate your alternatives, and know what you want to do. You will recognize your limits, especially in the financial realm. Discuss this issue with a trusted friend when you’re together. A meeting could be very important to you.

horoscopeby Jacqueline Bigar

Rules:1. Each row and column must contain the numbers 1 through 4 without re-peating.2. The numbers within the heavily out-lined set of squares, called cages, must combine (in any order) to produce the target number in the top corner of the cage using the mathematical opera-tion indicated.3. Cages with just one box should be filled in with the target number in the top cor-ner. A number can be repeat-ed within a cage as long as it is not in the same row or column.

The logic puzzle ThaT makes you smarTer.

BlonDie

aMazing spiDerMan

Barney google & snuffy sMiTh

hagar The horriBle

MuTTs

CrossworD

Cryptoquip

suDoku

Here’s How It Works:To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box.

comics

hi anD lois

henry

popeye

BeeTle Bailey

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