OurTupelo

Ravin Lovett, an artist and art therapist, says she became fascinated with quilting at a young age, watching her “Big Mama” make magic from scraps of cloth. It was her grandmother that taught her to quilt. And it was this loving grace that eventually sent her on a journey of self-realization and self-healing.

“I was fascinated by quilting,” said Lovett. “Watching my grandmother… the technique, the patience and the beautiful results of a process created from these simple pieces of cloth was magical to me and over time, brought me a special kind of peace. It’s been a journey of peace and self-discovery.”

Lovett, 42 of Jackson, has created her quilts on a professional level since 2000. It was during harder times in her life that she went back to an unfinished quilt that she and her grandmother worked on in the mid-90s. 

This discovery awakened the artist in her.

Lovett went back to school to further her education. She has degrees in art education and English, and a Master of Art in Biblical and Theological Studies. She credits her Big Mama, God and quilting for the healing she wants to share with others. 

“I want to share my knowledge, my skills, with others. I want to teach them to quilt and help them find peace, too. Being an art therapist, a quilter, I can do that.”

Lovett’s 18 pieces are on display in an exhibit titled, “Freedom,” at the Smith Robertson Museum in Jackson until the end of November.

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In 2003, incumbent Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove flew into Tupelo to campaign in the final days before the November general election.

Among those meeting Musgrove at the Tupelo Municipal Airport was 26-year-old Brandon Presley, the mayor of nearby Nettleton.

Presley was there to host Musgrove as he campaigned in the area. At the airport, a Musgrove staffer asked a reporter traveling with the governor to report on the campaign if he would mind riding in the car with Presley because a New York Times reporter wanted some alone time with Musgrove.

The reporter, who had been traveling with Musgrove daily during the final days of the campaign, did not object to the request. On the ride from the airport to the first stop — a Nettleton furniture plant — Presley entertained the reporter and others in the car, mimicking first the high-pitched Southern drawl of Musgrove followed by the deep Southern drawl of Haley Barbour, the 2003 Republican nominee for governor.

Later, leaving the furniture plant for the next destination, a Musgrove campaign staffer said the New York Times reporter was finished with his interview and the Mississippi reporter could ride with Musgrove to the next destination.

“That’s all right. I will ride with Brandon,” the reporter replied.

Besides his comedy routine, Presley also provided political commentary that October day. He said the 2003 governor’s election would be a watershed event. If Barbour, a Yazoo City native who had made his name as a Washington lobbyist and national political operative, won the election, Presley surmised, it would usher in a period of dark days for Mississippi Democrats.

Presley predicted that if Musgrove lost that election, it would be many years before a Democrat would win a Mississippi governor’s race. Presley said Democrats could not lose the rural white vote in areas like where he lived in northeast Mississippi and still win statewide.

The 26-year-old mayor proved that day to be both a good comedian and a keen political observer.

Musgrove lost the 2003 election in what was until 2023 the most expensive in state history. That 2003 election still is a high watermark for turnout in a Mississippi’s governor’s election.

Since then, a Democrat has not resided in the Governor’s Mansion. In 2003 as Presley made his observation, so-called rural white Democrats from northeast Mississippi dominated the Legislature, but they began to slowly be replaced by Republicans taking advantage of the modern, sophisticated campaign strategy Barbour brought back from D.C. to his native Mississippi.

Today, Sen. Hob Bryan of Amory, whose district includes Presley’s hometown of Nettleton, is the only rural white Democrat left in northeast Mississippi. Bryan won reelection on Nov. 7 and remains the only Democrat in the Legislature representing a white majority district.

It would have been ironic if Brandon Presley, a four-term public service commissioner from northeast Mississippi, would have been the first Democrat to win the office of governor since he made his foretelling observation during that watershed 2003 campaign. As it turned out, Presley, like another northeast Mississippi native, former state Attorney General Jim Hood, fell short in their quest to become the first Democratic governor elected since 1999. And just like Musgrove way back in 2003, both Hood in 2019 and Presley this year lost by about 5 percentage points.

And also like Musgrove in 2003 and Hood in 2019, Presley lost northeast Mississippi, where Musgrove was campaigning on that bright, cloudless October day.

In his 1999 victory, Musgrove won northeast Mississippi — once known as home of the so-called Roosevelt Democrats who believed government had a role to play in lifting up communities economically. At one time, a Democrat could capture statewide office by winning in northeast Mississippi and in the majority-Black areas of the state.

But Democrats can no longer piece together such a winning alliance. That coalition, as it turns out, was slipping away in 2003 when Musgrove and Presley traveled through Tupelo and down state Highway 6 to Nettleton.

Don’t be surprised if Presley tries again to end that 2003 self-fulfilling prophecy.

“I am not walking off the political stage,” he said this week, not ruling out another run for governor in 2027.

But at least for the next four years, his 2003 prediction remains true for Mississippi Democrats.

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State revenue collections are continuing to slow as legislative leaders and Gov. Tate Reeves, fresh off their election victories, prepare to release budget recommendations to be considered during the 2024 legislative session.

The state collected $638 million in revenue during October — down $33.7 million from October 2022. For the year, collections are down $52.6 million or 2.09% over the same time period in the previous year, according to information recently released by the staff of the Legislative Budget Committee.

While collections are slowing, the state is still collecting more revenue than the official estimate for the fiscal year. That is important because the official estimate determines the amount of money budgeted to run state agencies. If revenue collections fall below the official estimate, mid-year budget cuts must be made by legislators and/or the governor or reserves funds must be tapped to make up for the revenue shortfall.

Legislative leaders and Reeves set the official estimate last November for the current fiscal year, which began July 1.

For the fiscal year, collections are $75.4 million or 3.1% above the official estimate. But for the month of October, collections are $10.4 million or 1.6% below the estimate.

The governor, fresh off his reelection victory earlier in the week, will meet with legislative leaders next week to adopt an official estimate for the next fiscal year. And soon after that, both Reeves and the Legislative Budget Committee will release separate budget recommendations to be considered by the full Legislature when it meets, starting in early January to adopt a budget. The budget will fund state services ranging from education to health care to law enforcement.

The biggest drag on revenue collections continues to be income tax collections. Income tax collections are down $107 million or 12.1% for the year. The Legislature passed a $525 million income tax cut in 2022 that is being phased in over four years, starting in January of this year. When passing the tax cut, the largest in state history, legislative leaders and Reeves said growth in other areas would offset any loss revenue from the income tax cut. But thus far that is not occurring.

It is too early to determine whether the slowdown in revenue from the income tax is caused by the tax cut or a combination of the tax cut and slowdown in economic growth.

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The second in command of the Mississippi Department of Corrections may be without a job after his biography disappeared from the agency’s website and was replaced with that of a new commissioner. 

Karei McDonald Jr., who began working for the department in February 2020, was the executive deputy commissioner and deputy commissioner of administration and finance. 

His biography was removed from MDOC’s executive leadership page, and by Friday morning was replaced with that of Derrick Garner as deputy commissioner of administration and finance. Garner’s biography states that he was appointed to the position Thursday. 

A spokesperson from MDOC did not respond to a request for comment Friday morning, including whether McDonald is still employed with the department. 

But a memo from Commissioner Burl Cain to employees noted McDonald was no longer employed with the department and announced Garner’s appointment, Darkhorse Press reported. 

“Please help us welcome (Garner) into his new position and give him your full support,” the memo reads. 

Through the administration and finance division, McDonald oversaw department budgeting, a fiscal comptroller, procurement, property, human resources and agricultural enterprises, according to his biography that was on MDOC’s website. 

McDonald previously worked for the state auditor’s office since 2004, and before that was chief fiscal officer for the Mississippi Department of Employment Security and a staff accountant for the Mississippi Department of Health, according to his biography. 

Garner, the new deputy commissioner for administration and finance, has worked for MDOC since July 2020 and previously served as chief fiscal officer and focused on budget operations, according to his biography. 

“This is a unique organization and I wanted to help to make a positive impact for the state,” Garner said about his decision to join the MDOC, which is included in his biography. “It was a great challenge and opportunity to be a part of this team.” 

He also worked for the state auditor’s office and before that for the Mississippi Gaming Commission, according to his biography. 

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Attorney General Lynn Fitch is asking the Supreme Court to set execution dates for two men on death row. 

The Thursday motions are for 55-year-old Willie Jerome Manning, who has been on death row for nearly 30 years, and 60-year-old Robert Simon Jr., who has been there for over 30 years. 

Fitch’s office wants the court to set execution dates within the next 30 days. 

The state’s most recent execution was last year when Thomas Loden Jr. was put to death a week and a half before Christmas. 

Willie Jerome Manning was convicted of shooting Mississippi State University students Tiffany Miller and Jon Steckler in 1994. 

Manning has maintained his innocence. After a direct appeal, federal court proceedings, a motion for post-conviction relief and an attempt to have the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case, the state asked for Manning’s execution date to be reset for May 2013. 

That execution was stayed, and Manning was able to file another post-conviction relief petition, including having DNA evidence tested and expert fingerprint analysis performed in the trial court, according to court records. 

The attorney general’s office has asked for the stay of execution to be lifted and for the court to dismiss a second successive post-conviction relief motion so that Manning’s execution date can be set. 

“Manning’s pending motion is a blatant attempt to delay his lawful execution,” the AG’s motion states. 

Manning’s second motion for post-conviction relief, filed in September, argues that the state pursued a weak case with no DNA or physical evidence to link him to the murders. 

The Office of Post-Conviction Counsel, which represents Manning, said in a Friday statement that the state hasn’t resonded to the petition or considered the evidence.

“Executions are not the place to act first and ask questions later,” the office said in a statement.

The limited evidence had deteriorated, scientific developments have undermined previous analysis and identification used in the case and key witnesses have admitted that their testimony was fabricated in exchange for favorable treatment from the state, according to the statement.

“The brutal murders of these two young people were tragic. Their families deserve justice,” the office said in its statement. “However, a death sentence based on false forensic evidence and fabricated witness testimony is not justice.”

Manning has already been exonerated in another double murder case. 

In 1993, he was accused of killing 90-year old Alberta Jordan and her 60-year-old daughter Emmoline Jimmerson in their Starkville apartment, and convicted for their murders in 1996. Manning was simultaneously fighting convictions in this case and the murders of the MSU students. 

The Mississippi Supreme Court ordered a new trial in the case, and the Oktibbeha County District Attorney dismissed the charges, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. 

Robert Simon Jr. was convicted with co-defendant Anthony Carr, who is also on death row, of murdering a Quitman County family in 1990: Parents Carl and Bobbie Jo and their children, 12-year-old Gregory and 9-year-old Charlotte. 

Simon and Carr broke into the home, shot the family and set the residence on fire. Simon was separately convicted for the murder, kidnapping and sexual battery of Charlotte. 

He had been scheduled to be executed in May 2011, but a federal appeals court ordered a stay to evaluate a claim that he was mentally incompetent due to a brain injury from a fall and resulting memory loss, according to court records. The court rejected Simon’s claim. 

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that those who are mentally disabled can’t be executed, but across the country those with an intellectual disability remain in prison or are put to death due to the action states have taken to define intellectual disability and set requirements, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. 

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Another 8,674 Mississippians lost their Medicaid coverage in the agency’s latest round of disenrollments in October. 

Since unwinding disenrollments began in June, Mississippi Medicaid has removed more than 90,000 people from its rolls. 

State Medicaid divisions started reviewing their rolls for the first time in three years this spring, when federal regulations that prevented them from disenrolling beneficiaries during the pandemic ended. Now, millions of Medicaid beneficiaries are losing their coverage in a process called “unwinding.”

In Mississippi, Medicaid dropped 29,460 people in June; 22,507 people in July; 16,659 people in August and 12,828 people in September. 

More than half of the people dropped thus far in Mississippi have been children. Since June, almost 55,000 kids have been disenrolled by Medicaid, according to the agency’s monthly enrollment reports. 

Kids are most at risk of losing benefits during unwinding, according to federal research. 

The new numbers also reflect a continuing trend: Most of those people were not dropped because they were found to be ineligible. They were dropped because of issues with their paperwork – called “procedural disenrollments.” 

Of the 8,674 people dropped in October, around 71% were procedural disenrollments. Mississippi reports an overall 76.5% procedural disenrollment rate thus far. 

According to KFF, 71% of all people disenrolled were terminated for procedural reasons across all states with available data as of Nov. 8. This is problematic, according to experts, because many of those people dropped for procedural reasons could still be eligible for Medicaid coverage. 

 The numbers of people being dropped are steadily decreasing each month because fewer people are due for review and the agency’s backlog is growing. 

Since July, the agency has been due to review a decreasing number of beneficiaries — from 75,110 to 70,069 in August, to 68,592 in September and 57,118 in October. 

But the backlog has generally increased, except for this past month — 15,574 reviews went uncompleted in July, to 18,008 in August, to 24,215 in September to 18,041 in October. 

The agency finally made a small dent this past month in its backlogs and decreased its number of uncompleted reviews by 3,058.

Mississippi Medicaid reached its highest enrollment in the agency’s history — more than 900,000 beneficiaries — the month before unwinding disenrollments began. Before the terminations began, children in low-income families made up more than half of the state’s Medicaid rolls. 

Now, after October’s disenrollments, the agency covers 823,416 Mississippians, about 49% of whom are kids. 

In the coming months, thousands more Mississippians will lose their Medicaid coverage during a statewide health care crisis. One report puts nearly half of the state’s rural hospitals at risk of closure, facing financial struggles caused in large part by uncompensated care, which is money hospitals lose providing care to people who are uninsured. 

As of Nov. 8, at least 10,135,000 Medicaid beneficiaries have been disenrolled nationally, according to KFF. The organization predicts up to 24 million people could lose coverage during unwinding. 

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College football running backs Trey Benson of Florida State and Dillon Johnson of Washington have much in common, including that they are the leading rushers for undefeated teams very much in the national championship race. 

Benson has run for 641 yards and eight touchdowns. Johnson has run for 686 yards and 10 touchdowns. Both average over six yards per carry. Both are big, strong backs with plenty of speed. Both have transferred once during their college careers.

But you haven’t read anything yet. Four years ago, both ran in the same Mississippi high school backfield. That’s right: Benson and Johnson, both redshirt juniors and two of the best college running backs in the land, shared the football for Greenville St. Joseph High School back in 2019. You probably won’t be surprised to learn that Greenville St. Joe finished 13-0 and won the MAIS 3A state championship that season.

“We were blessed, that’s for sure,” says St. Joseph coach John Baker said this week. “Both are great football players. Both are great students and people. Education comes first at this school and both were A students. Both were great with the little kids who follow our program. What they are doing right now is no surprise at all for those who saw them here.”

Consider this: The Greenville St. Joe Class of 2020 included 27 seniors. Two of those might be star players in the College Football Playoff.

“That’s what we’re hoping and praying for here in Greenville,” Baker said. “Wouldn’t it be something if two kids from such a small school who have been friends since peewee ball ended up playing against each other in the national championship?”

It would be. And it could happen.

Both play difficult games Saturday. Florida State, 9-0 and ranked No. 4 in the CFP rankings, plays Miami Saturday. Washington, ranked No. 5 in the CFP rankings, plays Utah Saturday. Both games start at 2:30 p.m. Mississippi time, which means there’s going to be a lot of channel flipping in Greenville.

Johnson, who began his college career at Mississippi State, has played his best football lately. Last week, against Southern Cal, he ran 256 yards, nearly a first down per carry and scored four touchdowns in a 52-42 Huskies victory.

Benson, who began his college career at Oregon, last week ran for 97 yards and a touchdown against Pitt. Earlier this season, he ran for 200 yards and two touchdowns against Virginia Tech. Back in September, he carried the ball just nine times against Southern Miss but scored three touchdowns.

Benson was the more lightly recruited of the two. In fact, he wasn’t recruited at all until after he attended a Nike football camp in New Orleans the summer before his senior season of high school.

Said Baker, “Trey went down there and ran several sub-4.4 40s at 215 pounds. The next week, coaches from all over the country were lined up to talk to him.”

Johnson’s recruitment was heavier and much earlier. Then-Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead recruited him much harder than all the others, Baker said, and Johnson chose State where Moorhead promised him he would have plenty chances to run the ball.

When Mike Leach took over, the running game took a backseat at State. Johnson played three seasons for the Bulldogs but never reached the 500-yard mark rushing despite averaging more than five yards per carry. He made the decision to leave last December, before Leach died.

“Dillon said the NIL and the location didn’t matter to him,” Baker said. “He just wanted to run the football.”

Both Johnson and Benson are expected to declare for the NFL Draft after the current season. Indeed, NFL scouts already have been at Greenville St. Joseph doing background checks, Baker said. How’s that for due diligence?

Those scouts got nothing but glowing reports from coaches and faculty at the Catholic school where Johnson and Benson played in the same backfield their senior season.

“We moved Dillon to quarterback that season and ran a lot of read option,” Baker said. “They didn’t know who they were gonna have to tackle.”

Often, the opponents didn’t tackle either one of them. They combined for 54 touchdowns on a team that scored 48 points per game. 

Said Baker: “I could coach for a hundred years and not have two like that at the same time.”

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