OurTupelo

Editor’s note: Descriptions of the conditions of the animals found may be disturbing to some people.

The University of Mississippi’s vice chancellor for student affairs has been placed on leave while she is facing 10 counts of animal cruelty, the same charges that are levied against her husband. 

Charlotte Fant Pegues turned herself in to the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department on Monday after a grand jury indictment against her was unsealed, according to the Oxford Eagle. She was released on a $75,000 bond. 

In early August, Fant Pegues’ husband, Terry Pegues, was arrested after deputies observed several malnourished and deceased dogs, some still attached to collars and chains, at a property the couple owns in a rural area south of Oxford. 

Pegues previously told Mississippi Today that he was asking for “a federal investigation due to false facts” but did not elaborate, adding, “just print that.” 

Fant Pegues was not arrested alongside her husband, but a grand jury ultimately decided to indict her on Aug. 23. The prosecution’s witness was a Lafayette County Sheriff’s Deputy named Joe Quarles. 

That’s according to the true bill, which lists 10 counts, each for one dog that was found on the couple’s property, including several bulldog puppies “confined in a cruel manner in a cage behind the residence,” a burned dog, a dog skeleton, and a German Shepard mix that was dead in a kennel. 

The sheriff’s department ultimately found 10 deceased dogs and rescued 20. The 10 counts appear to include dogs that were found in various states. 

In a statement, Fant Pegues’ attorney, Graham Carner, called the indictment “rushed” and added that her reputation was being unfairly called into question. Since 1993, Fant Pegues has worked at Ole Miss in various roles such as assistant provost and director of admissions. 

“Dr. Pegues is not guilty, and we will aggressively defend against these charges,” Carner wrote. “In order not to be a distraction to the University she loves and that has loved her, Dr. Pegues will be taking a period of personal leave. She asks for privacy as she works to preserve her good name.”

Carner has already filed a motion for discovery. He does not appear to be representing Pegues, according to the court docket. 

The university confirmed that Fant Pegues was on leave but had no further comment beyond the following:

“The alleged charges did not result from any actions taken at or for the university, and the university is not among the parties involved in the investigation by the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department.

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James Earl Jones, from Arkabutla, Mississippi, leaves behind a body of work in film and theater that will be remembered for decades, if not forever. He has been part of the sound track our lives, whether he was Darth Vader, Hamlet, Mussafa or Terence Mann in Field of Dreams. Of course, football is always part of the September discussion in Mississippi. Question: Are the Saints as good as they looked Sunday?

Stream all episodes here.

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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — As Hurricane Francine barreled toward the Louisiana coast, officials in Mississippi and Louisiana implored people on Tuesday to prepare in the short time left before the storm comes ashore as a hurricane.

Forecasters said Francine’s landfall was expected Wednesday afternoon or evening as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 96 to 110 mph (155 to 175 kph). Ahead of the storm, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency, he announced Tuesday afternoon.

A hurricane warning was in effect along the Louisiana coast from the border with Texas eastward to Grand Isle, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of New Orleans, and a tropical storm warning extended eastward from there to the Alabama/Florida state line, according to the National Hurricane Center. Mississippi’s coastal counties were under a tropical storm warning on Tuesday.

A storm surge warning stretched from just east of Houston to the Mississippi/Alabama state line. Such a warning means there’s a chance of life-threatening flooding.

By the middle of Tuesday afternoon, Francine was still a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center. The system was located about 380 miles (610 kilometers) southwest of Morgan City, Louisiana, and was moving northeast at 9 mph (14 kph).

The storm is moving over extremely warm Gulf waters that will serve as fuel to strengthen it. Water temperatures are about 87 degrees (31 degrees Celsius) where Francine is located, said Brian McNoldy, senior research associate at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science.

“The ocean heat content averaged over the entire Gulf is the highest it’s been on record for the date,” McNoldy wrote on his blog.

Across much of coastal Louisiana and Mississippi, residents boarded up windows, filled sandbags and made last-minute preparations ahead of Francine’s arrival. In Harrison County, Mississippi Department of Transportation officials removed draw bridge gates.

In downtown New Orleans, cars and trucks were lined up for blocks to collect sandbags from the parking lot of a local YMCA, whose CEO Erika Mann said Tuesday that 1,000 bags of sand had already been distributed by volunteers.

“I love that these are community people that came out,” Mann said. “It’s a beautiful effort to do what we do in New Orleans, we’re resilient and we come together to help in the times we need each other.”

One resident picking up sandbags was Wayne Grant, 33, who moved to New Orleans last year and was nervous for his first potential hurricane in the city. The low-lying rental apartment he shares with his partner had already flooded out in a storm the year before and he was not taking any chances this time around.

“It was like a kick in the face, we’ve been trying to stay up on the weather ever since,” Grant said. “We’re super invested in the place, even though it’s not ours.”

Francine is the sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. There’s a danger of life-threatening storm surge as well as damaging, life-threatening hurricane-force winds, said Brad Reinhart, a senior hurricane specialist at the hurricane center.

There’s also the potential for 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of rain with the possibility of 12 inches (30 centimeters) locally across much of Louisiana and Mississippi through Friday morning, Reinhart said. That heavy rainfall could also cause considerable flash and urban flooding.

Stengle reported from Dallas. Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Jack Brook in New Orleans contributed to this story.

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The University of Southern Mississippi will look at cutting under-enrolled programs even though administrators say it is not facing a financial crisis.

The budget is balanced, despite a four-year period of decreasing revenue and increasing costs, and USM has adequate cash reserves.

The move is necessary, top leaders said at last month’s convocation, so the research institution in Hattiesburg can survive the increasingly competitive future facing higher education in Mississippi by becoming a “unicorn” among its peers, offering programs students want and the state needs.

“Colleagues, this is plain and simply the reality of where we are in higher education today, and progressive institutions all across the landscape are doing the same,” President Joe Paul told faculty on Aug. 19, according to a video the university has since taken off YouTube after faculty and staff had a chance to watch it. “We can no longer simply kick the can down the road and hope things can get better. We will instead take charge of our future and crease a uniquely positioned, distinctive public research universty of which we can all be proud and feel ownership.”

Paul added that cuts are also one of the few ways the university can afford more pay raises for its faculty and staff, some of whom will receive merit raises this fall for the first time in eight years. (After protesting, minimum wage workers at USM won a pay raise two years ago.)

“My goal for us is not to go another eight years before offering raises again, that accomplishes little,” Paul said. “If we are to develop a true salary increase plan that is competitive and sustainable, we simply must continue to do two things with discipline and consistency. One, we must all continue to grow the enrollment through recruitment and retention … while also continuing to find efficiencies and decrease spending as an institution.”

USM was able to afford the raises, which total about $4.4 million, through what Paul described as two years of systematic reductions in administrative spending. The university cut 22 unfilled and six filled positions at its Hattiesburg and Gulf Park campuses.

An increase in state appropriations also helped support the raise, but USM isn’t able to say how much because “the raises come from the university’s operating budget and the amount is not broken down by revenue source,” Nicole Ruhnke, a spokesperson, wrote in an email.

The raises addressed a significant concern for faculty at USM who held a protest for fair pay earlier this year.

Low salaries are an issue across Mississippi’s higher education system, which has struggled to attract and retain talented faculty. In recent years, the governing board of Mississippi’s eight universities has repeatedly heard how Mississippi’s faculty and staff are paid well below the average salary of other Southern states.

In an effort to fix that, the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees asked the Legislature to provide $53 million in funding this year so that each university could afford a 6.4% raise.

IHL’s spokesperson John Sewell wrote in an email that the system ultimately received $27 million in unrestricted new funding, not enough for 6.4% increase.

That funding also needed to cover other inflationary costs facing the institutions, like PERS and health insurance, Sewell wrote.

Therefore, IHL left the final decision on raises up to the institutions, so Sewell could not say how much each university spent. Plus, the system’s final appropriation bill, which IHL negotiates on behalf of the eight institutions, did not include specific language regarding raises.

“IHL did not prescribe a fixed amount of new funding to be dedicated to raises as the individual institutions needed the flexibility to balance the increased costs for PERS and health insurance along with other inflationary costs before considering the amount for possible raises,” Sewell wrote.

Those costs are also driving USM administrators’ review of under-enrolled programs, which comprise a minority of USM’s programs.

Lance Nail, the provost, is leading that effort. In response to questions from Mississippi Today, Nail and Paul did not participate in an interview but provided statements.

Nail wrote that details about the program review will be worked out in the coming weeks in consultation with faculty, staff and administration.

“We will look at each under-enrolled academic program individually in collaboration with the deans, school directors and faculty, and determine what has led to low enrollment, student and market demand, as well as other contributions the program provides within the academy.” Nail noted. “These include the program’s contributions to the general education core, pre-major requirements, research and service.”

Last fall, USM deleted three degrees after IHL’s academic productivity review, which is triggered when a program is deemed to have too few graduates in a three-year period. Those degrees were a bachelors in international studies, and doctoral degrees in music education and criminal justice.

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Summer 2024 sweltered to Earth’s hottest on record, making it even more likely that this year will end up as the warmest humanity has measured, European climate service Copernicus reported Friday.

And if this sounds familiar, that’s because the records the globe shattered were set just last year as human-caused climate change, with a temporary boost from an El Nino, keeps dialing up temperatures and extreme weather, scientists said.

The northern meteorological summer — June, July and August — averaged 16.8 degrees Celsius (62.24 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Copernicus. That’s 0.03 degrees Celsius (0.05 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the old record in 2023. Copernicus records go back to 1940, but American, British and Japanese records, which start in the mid-19th century, show the last decade has been the hottest since regular measurements were taken and likely in about 120,000 years, according to some scientists.

The Augusts of both 2024 and 2023 tied for the hottest Augusts globally at 16.82 degrees Celsius (62.27 degrees Fahrenheit). July was the first time in more than a year that the world did not set a record, a tad behind 2023, but because June 2024 was so much hotter than June 2023, this summer as a whole was the hottest, Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo said.

“What those sober numbers indicate is how the climate crisis is tightening its grip on us,” said Stefan Rahmstorf, a climate scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research, who wasn’t part of the research.

It’s a sweaty grip because with the high temperatures, the dew point — one of several ways to measure the air’s humidity — probably was at or near record high this summer for much of the world, Buontempo said.

Until last month Buontempo, like some other climate scientists, was on the fence over whether 2024 would smash the hottest year record set last year, mostly because August 2023 was so enormously hotter than average. But then this August 2024 matched 2023, making Buontempo “pretty certain” that this year will end up hottest on record.

“In order for 2024 not to become the warmest on record, we need to see very significant landscape cooling for the remaining few months, which doesn’t look likely at this stage,” Buontempo said.

With a forecasted La Nina — a temporary natural cooling of parts of the central Pacific — the last four months of the year may no longer be record-setters like most of the past year and a half. But it’s not likely cool enough to keep 2024 from breaking the annual record, Buontempo said.

These aren’t just numbers in a record book, but weather that hurts people, climate scientists said.

“This all translates to more misery around the world as places like Phoenix start to feel like a barbecue locked on high for longer and longer stretches of the year,” said University of Michigan environment dean and climate scientist Jonathan Overpeck. The Arizona city has had more than 100 days of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius) weather this year. “With longer and more severe heat waves come more severe droughts in some places, and more intense rains and flooding in others. Climate change is becoming too obvious, and too costly, to ignore.”

Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center in Cape Cod, said there’s been a deluge of extreme weather of heat, floods, wildfires and high winds that are violent and dangerous.

“Like people living in a war zone with the constant thumping of bombs and clatter of guns, we are becoming deaf to what should be alarm bells and air-raid sirens,” Francis said in an email.

While a portion of last year’s record heat was driven by an El Nino — a temporary natural warming of parts of the central Pacific that alters weather worldwide — that effect is gone, and it shows the main driver is long-term human-caused climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas, Buontempo said.

“It’s really not surprising that we see this, this heat wave, that we see these temperature extremes,” Buontempo said. “We are bound to see more.”

This story was originally published by The Associated Press and is distributed through a partnership between Mississippi Today and The AP. Read more of AP’s climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment.

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Mississippi Today is pleased to announce that Richard Lake has joined the Mississippi Today team as Audience Engagement Specialist. 

In this role, Lake will work directly with journalists, editors and readers to ensure Mississippi Today’s Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism reaches every corner of the state and beyond.

“Richard has developed into a respected member of the journalism community here in Mississippi,” said managing editor Michael Guidry. “He brings such an invaluable variety of skills to our newsroom that will help us further enhance how we engage with our members and growing audience.”

Born in San Antonio, Texas, Lake graduated from Mississippi State University in 2022, earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in political science. Richard comes to Mississippi Today after over two years as WJTV Channel 12 News’ Senior Political Correspondent. A former Mississippi Today intern, Lake previously worked on the audience team. He also completed an internship with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports, working as a production assistant.

While at WJTV, Lake was named a finalist for TV Rookie of the Year at the 2023 Mississippi Association of Broadcasters Awards. Lake was also a part of WJTV’s award winning reporting on Mississippi’s 2023 gubernatorial election.

“Finding creative ways to provide our audience with the journalism they expect and deserve is more important now than ever,” said Lake. “I’m excited to apply innovative strategies and work alongside this incredible team in furthering the impact of our reporting.”

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A former tax assessor and collector in north Mississippi checked into a residential treatment center for a gambling addiction after he called the state auditor’s office and confessed to misusing more than $300,000 in public money, his attorney said Tuesday.

Shannon Wilburn, 49, resigned in April from the elected office he had held in Benton County since 2016, and he began the 12-week addiction treatment in late July, his attorney Tony Farese told The Associated Press.

“I’ve known Shannon all of his life,” Farese said. “We are shocked that he finds himself in this situation.”

Mississippi Auditor Shad White announced Tuesday that Wilburn has been charged with one count of embezzlement. The announcement came days after Wilburn was indicted. Farese said Wilburn turned himself in to the sheriff’s office Friday, then posted bond and returned to the treatment program.

Wilburn is accused of taking $327,055 paid to the Benton County Tax Collector’s office and using the money for personal expenses, Farese said. He said Wilburn confessed to the auditor’s office before hiring legal representation and has continued to cooperate with investigators.

“He apologizes for disappointing the citizens of Benton County and the state of Mississippi,” Farese said.

If convicted, Wilburn would face up to $5,000 in fines and 20 years in prison.

White said Wilburn’s employment as a Benton County elected official was covered by $200,000 in surety bonds to protect taxpayers from losses from corruption. The county also has an insurance policy that covers theft.

“The dedicated team at the State Auditor’s Office will continue to work closely with prosecutors to get record results, one case at a time,” White said in a statement.

This story was originally published by The Associated Press and is distributed through a partnership between Mississippi Today and The AP.

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BOVINA — The seven people killed in a weekend bus crash in Mississippi were all from Mexico, the Mississippi Highway Patrol said this week as it released their names and ages.

The department said those killed Saturday were Miguel Arriaga, 61; Victor A. Garcia, 32; Moises A. Garcia, 31; Kain Gutierrez, 8; Perla Gutierrez, 16; Elia Guzman, 63; and Angelica Palomino, 16. The patrol did not release their hometowns.

Kain Gutierrez and Perla Gutierrez were brother and sister, according to Warren County Coroner Doug Huskey.

Mexico’s foreign relations secretary, Alicia Bárcena, expressed condolences to the families of the dead and offered consular support.

The crash, which also injured about three dozen other people, remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, the state highway patrol and the Mississippi Commercial Transportation Enforcement Division.

The 2018 Volvo bus was operated by Autobuses Regiomontanos, which has sales offices in Mexico and Texas. It was traveling westbound on Interstate 20 from Atlanta to Dallas with 41 passengers and two drivers.

A left front tire failed early Saturday in Bovina, near Vicksburg, Mississippi. The bus veered onto an embankment and overturned onto its left side, NTSB member Todd Inman said Sunday. No other vehicles were involved in the crash.

Six people were pronounced dead at the scene and another died at a hospital, according to the highway patrol. Thirty-six people were taken by ambulance to hospitals.

Inman said investigators will look at the vehicle’s condition, including how well the tires were maintained. The investigation will also focus on road conditions, the driver’s experience, the carrier’s safety record and what protections were provided for the bus occupants, he said.

A preliminary report was expected within 30 days and the full investigation could take up to two years, the NTSB said.

The transit company says it has 20 years of experience providing cross-border trips between 100 destinations in Mexico and the U.S. Its website promotes “a modern fleet of buses that receive daily maintenance” while offering “special price” trips for workers.

This story was originally published by The Associated Press and is distributed through a partnership between Mississippi Today and The AP.

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