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Ole Miss and Mississippi State will play football for the 118th time Thursday in Starkville. The weather forecast calls for partly cloudy skies, a slight chance of rain and a football-friendly 50 degrees at kickoff.

And here’s what you should know about that: 116 years ago, on a miserable Thanksgiving Day, Ole Miss and Mississippi State players could only have dreamed of such balmy weather.

Every State and Ole Miss fan has a favorite Egg Bowl. Mine has to be the 1907 rendition played at the State Fairgrounds, just down the hill from the Old Capitol. Despite what many believe, I am too young to remember much of it. Thankfully, the Clarion-Ledger dispatched a reporter to cover the event for the next day’s newspaper and for future generations. The reporter didn’t get a byline, but he got one hell of a story, as we shall see.

The biggest headline read: “UNIVERSITY WENT DOWN BEFORE THE FARMER BOYS.”

The subhead read: “A Great Game of Football Was Played in Mud and Water, But Great Crowd of Wet Spectators Enjoyed the Fun.”

The reporter’s lead paragraph was short and to the point: “A&M 16, University 0.” That’s it. The writer not only got the score in the first paragraph, the score WAS the first paragraph.

But one hundred and sixteen years later, I am here to tell you: The writer buried the lede. You will see.

The unnamed reporter did do a splendid job of setting the scene: “Rain began to fall Wednesday evening, continued in a drizzling kind of way till midnight, when the upper regions were thrown wide open and the rain came down in torrents until late on the day of the big game. The grounds are naturally low, with no drainage whatever, but in dry weather are well-suited for the business of playing football. During the past three days, the Fair management has been busy, filling up low places, leveling off and improving the grounds as much as possible, but all to no avail as far as the conditions were concerned yesterday afternoon.”

The conditions were apparently no better for the estimated 2,500 fans who braved the elements, as our intrepid reporter wrote: “The road and walks from State Street to the ball grounds were about as bad and disagreeable as it is possible for roads to be, and those so fortunate to have conveyances, public or private, were just about able to get along and that is all. The foot passengers waded through mud and water over their shoe tops, and were a bedraggled sight when they reached the grandstand or the wire netting that surrounds the ball grounds.”

Just as the reader is considering the term “foot passengers,” the reporter gets to the game: “The players lined up for the first half at about 2:30, all eager apparently for the fray, and both sides confident of victory. The betting, if any was indulged in, was at odds, the A&M boys being very decided favorites with those who had little cash to risk on the battle that was played under such difficulties.”

Now then, here’s one of my favorite parts: “But the spectators seemed more interested in the conditions of the grounds and the brand of weather provided by an unkind clerk than were the sturdy youngsters who were to provide the brawn and muscle and take all the risks of broken bones and black eyes and death by strangulation in the pools of unknown and uncertain depths that were scattered over the gridiron.”

We just don’t get sports writing like that any more, or like this that followed:

“The first half lasted 35 minutes (no TV timeouts) and was fast and furious from start to finish. It was apparent that the A&M eleven was the better trained of the two, that it was heavier and speedier and stood the best chance of winning, but they were no fuller of grit than their University opponents, who fought across and beyond, back and forth over every yard of the field…”

Such flowery prose continues until we learn the halftime score was 0-0, and then, “The contestants had been soused in water up to their ears time and again and were wet and fighting muddy. They threw discretion to the winds in the second half and took their cold baths as if it made them feel better.”

We can presume those cold baths did feel better for A&M, as the “Farmer Boys” scored all 16 points “earned only after the hardest and roughest kind of scrambles and close attention to the business of the game.”

And then there was this: “The feature of the afternoon was the 70-yard run and goal made by Dent (no first name), though Grant made two or three runs that would have done credit to any ball player in the land and proved him worthy to wear the honors he earned last week at Memphis when he was declared the most phenomenal 130 pounds of football material ever seen in that city.”

Apparently, the post-game trek back up the hill to the business district was every bit as harrowing as the game itself. Wagons bogged down in the mud. “Conveyances were abandoned,” as the writer put it. “A great float filled with college boys headed to town, but the team gave out, the harness broke, and the occupants were forced to disembark in the muddiest, wettest section of the road.”

Nobody died, but somebody did get fired. Ole Miss finished the season 0-6 and was outscored 195 to 6.

Here’s the last paragraph and where the reporter buried his lede: “There was no rowdyism at any stage of the game or afterwards, but some of the players and backers of the University team were sore over the defeat, and very much inclined to lay the blame on their coach, a Harvard man. On the other hand, the coach was ‘beefing’ about the team, declaring it ‘the hardest set’ he had ever tackled.” Asked if the team was going to leave town that night, the coach said, “Yes, the team is going North at 11 o’clock; I’m going another direction and hope I will never see them again.”

That coach, Frank Mason, probably never did see his players again. It later came to light that he had tried to keep his players warm that wet, chilly day with an urn of hot coffee on the team’s bench. To make sure they were good and warm, Mason spiked the coffee with whiskey. From his post-game comments, I am guessing he partook.

Not surprisingly, Mason was subsequently dismissed, by no means the last coach ever fired after an Egg Bowl defeat. And, as likely as not, Mason never did see his team again.

The post When the ‘Farmer Boys’ of Mississippi A&M splashed to victory over University appeared first on Mississippi Today.

After losing reelection by a narrow margin, Central District Public Service Commissioner Brent Bailey has sent notice to Commissioner De’Keither Stamps that he will be inspecting “ballot boxes, election materials, poll records and any and all other related items” from the Nov. 7 election.

By law, Bailey has the right to conduct such an examination, and a deadline of Monday, Nov. 27, to file a challenge of results. Bailey said at this point, he’s simply exercising his rights to examine things.

Stamps on Monday called the examination and possible challenge sour grapes on Bailey’s part. The race, particularly in the homestretch and during the long wait for finality, saw much mudslinging and bitter feelings between candidates.

The central PSC race was neck-and-neck, and Stamps wasn’t declared the winner for a week after Election Day as absentee and affidavit ballots were counted. The final result was a margin of 2,134 votes for Stamps, who won the race with 50.4% of the vote to Bailey’s 49.6% — the same percentage margin by which Bailey defeated Stamps in 2019 for the seat.

READ MORE: Stamps declared winner of Central District PSC seat

Stamps said Bailey’s challenge will hinder a smooth transition for the office — one of three commissioners who regulate public utilities and the rates they can charge customers — and ruin the Thanksgiving holiday for those involved in the review.

“Basically this spoils everybody’s Thanksgiving,” Stamps said. “If he goes through with this, there are 22 courthouses where we’ll have to have people standing by and watching, and 22 circuit clerks will have to have people working. We’ll have to have lawyers, and people to watch … I want to spend time with my family over the Thanksgiving holidays, and the people at the courthouse want to spend time with their families.

“I’m disappointed in Mr. Bailey,” Stamps said. “We conceded four years ago … He conceded to Cecil Brown eight years ago. What’s different? It’s just one of those things. We will work through it, though.”

Bailey said he has not yet made a decision on the scope of his inspection for the 22-county PSC district. He said Hinds County, which saw major problems on Election Day with precincts running out of ballots or not having proper ballots, will be “a focus” of his inspection.

“We want to ensure the process was carried forth properly, and that voters were provided their right to vote,” Bailey said. ” … We are doing our due diligence, taking steps afforded to us in state law.”

Stamps on Monday sent a letter to Bailey in response to his notice, saying Bailey must properly notify him of times and locations he arranges with clerks to examine election materials.

“It is my understanding that you lost the election by 2,134 votes, a significant margin that I do not believe you will be able to overcome with recounts,” Stamps wrote. “… I truly wish you would reconsider this expensive and burdensome multi-county undertaking.”

The post Public service commissioner says he’s inspecting election materials after close loss appeared first on Mississippi Today.

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‘Tis the season to be grateful. However, many are struggling to have enough to be thankful now. Stewpot Executive Director, The Reverend Jill Barnes Buckley joins Mississippi Today’s Marshall Ramsey to talk about what Stewpot is doing to help those in need this holiday season.

The post Mississippi Stories: Rev. Jill Barnes Buckley appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The post Marshall Ramsey: The Transition appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The third-party manager of Jackson’s water system introduced a proposed new tiered billing system on Friday that would raise rates for most in the city and reduce bills for low-income residents.

The change comes after months of Ted Henifin, the head of JXN Water and the federally-appointed manager of the system, saying that the future of the city’s infrastructure largely relies on creating a steady funding stream from Jackson’s ratepayers.

“We’re all in this together, that’s really the message,” he said at a press conference. “There will be some people who see their bills go up, there will be some people who see their bills go down. At the end of the day, we need to pay for water. It’s valuable.”

The city has struggled for years to bill its residents for water, an issue that dates back to a failed contract with Siemens that Jackson entered into in 2010. The collection rate for the city’s water bills hovers around 60%.

The new system, which would begin at the start of 2024, would increase the water and sewer bills for all customers, except for the 12,875 of those who are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Most customers, according to a breakdown JXN Water provided, would see a monthly increase of about $10, or 13%, on their combined water and sewer bill. Most SNAP recipients would see their bills drop about $20, or 31%.

Henifin said the new tier separating SNAP recipients would be the first of its kind in the country for a water bill structure. About one in four of the city’s water customers fall into that category.

JXN Water said the plan will go before the Jackson’s City Council this month for approval. But, with the authority granted by a federal court last year, JXN Water can implement the plan even if the council votes against it. Henifin said he has yet to show the plan to city officials, but did meet with Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann to avoid another push back from the Legislature.

Henifin’s first choice, which he proposed earlier in the year, was a property value-based rate structure. Henifin argued that moving away from water meters would help earn the trust of residents, who have had to deal with faulty and inconsistent billing for the last decade. But state lawmakers quickly fought the idea, passing a statute last session that requires consumption-based billing.

In hopes of getting customers current on their bills, JXN Water sent out a notice in September reminding them to pay their balances or reach out for assistance. Henifin, who warned that JXN Water would soon shut off connections to homes not paying their bills, said they’ll wait until after the holidays before disconnecting any residents. He added that there may be as many as 5,000 properties getting water without an account, and that JXN Water will be less lenient with them.

Click here to read the full breakdown of JXN Water’s billing proposal on its website.

The post JXN Water’s new rate structure raises costs for most, reduces them for low-income customers appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The same day the governing board of Mississippi’s public universities appointed one of its own to lead Jackson State University, a lawsuit filed in federal court by a former female vice president alleges she was discriminated against when Thomas Hudson was elevated to the position in 2020. 

When the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees picked Hudson to lead the state’s largest historically Black university, the lawsuit alleges it discriminated against Debra Mays-Jackson, who at the time had been the school’s vice president and chief of staff since 2017. The lawsuit claims she had supervised Hudson, a special assistant to the president. 

IHL appointed Hudson interim president in early 2020 when William Bynum Jr., the university’s 11th president, resigned after he was arrested for procuring the services of a prostitute. Then IHL cut the search short that November to hire Hudson permanently despite promising, the lawsuit says, it would look for national candidates. 

Had IHL conducted a full search and vetted Hudson, the lawsuit alleges, the board would have known at the time that he had sent “unwelcomed and uninvited photographs of his genitalia” to a JSU student and employee and that he had “demoted another JSU employee who complained about Hudson’s unlawful conduct.” 

“Upon information and belief, before naming Hudson President of JSU, Rankins and other IHL officials knew or should have known Hudson had engaged in conduct unbecoming a college president,” the complaint states.

Three years later, Hudson became Jackson State’s third permanent president in a row to resign after he was placed on administrative leave by IHL for reasons that still have not been made public. 

IHL did not respond to questions from Mississippi Today, and Hudson did not return a call by press time. A Jackson State spokesperson wrote the university had no comment on the litigation.

The lawsuit names 11 current and former IHL board members, and the commissioner, Alfred Rankins. It asks a jury to award damages and make Mays-Jackson the new president of Jackson State. 

On Thursday, IHL named Marcus Thompson, a deputy commissioner, the new president. He is slated to start Nov. 27. Thompson did not return a call from Mississippi Today by press time.

Thompson’s appointment was applauded by many on social media, including Hudson. 

“Extending a very personal and sincere Congratulations to Marcus Thompson on being named 13th President of @JacksonStateU,” Hudson wrote. “As a proud alumnus I am proud to stand in support as you work for the betterment of my Dear Old College Home.” 

After Hudson resigned, IHL allegedly planned to make Thompson the president earlier this year until, the lawsuit states, Elayne Hayes-Anthony “garnered more support … during the executive session to discuss the matter.” She became the temporary acting president.

Before Hudson was a special assistant to the president, he had been the university’s chief operating/diversity officer and Title IX coordinator, according to an IHL press release about his appointment. The lawsuit alleges he did not supervise any employees in his capacity as diversity officer. 

As vice president, Mays-Jackson oversaw several key areas at the university, including enrollment management, student affairs and governmental relations, according to a post about her on Jackson State’s website. She had also served as vice president of Hinds Community College’s Utica and Vicksburg campuses. 

It is unclear if Mays-Jackson ever got a chance to apply for the job. 

On Feb. 10, 2020, the day Hudson was appointed interim president, the lawsuit alleges that he approached Mays-Jackson and told her “he was not qualified or prepared to serve as interim president” and gave her a $25,000 bonus so she would stay on board. 

Three days later, Rankins met with Jackson State employees and told them that Hudson would not be permitted to apply for the position, the lawsuit states, claiming a national search would be conducted.

That was cut short after multiple speakers said they wanted Hudson to become permanent president after IHL conducted a virtual listening session in late October 2020. The lawsuit alleges that was the product of a campaign by Hudson for the job. 

According to the lawsuit, IHL also already knew that Hudson, as diversity officer, and other Jackson State officials had “concealed complaints of sex discrimination and sexual harassment that female employees suffered at the hands of a male dean.” The female employees filed an anonymous complaint with IHL after Hudson allegedly failed to investigate the allegations. 

After IHL apparently launched its own investigation, the lawsuit states the dean retired. 

Mays-Jackson left Jackson State in August 2021, according to her LinkedIn.

The post IHL discriminated against JSU administrator in hiring Thomas Hudson in 2020, lawsuit alleges appeared first on Mississippi Today.

U.S. Rep. Michael Guest, a Republican who represents Mississippi’s 3rd Congressional District, introduced a resolution Friday morning to expel New York Congressman George Santos from Congress, thrusting the Mississippi lawmaker into the national spotlight.  

Guest is the chairman of the bipartisan House Ethics Committee, which investigates misconduct among House members. The committee released a damning report on Thursday concluding Santos, a Republican, likely violated federal campaign finance law.

Guest said in a statement that the committee decided to finish the Santos investigation without going through a lengthy process that would be used to make a recommendation to the House on the appropriate form of punishment for the New York congressman.

“The evidence uncovered in the Ethics Committee’s Investigative Subcommittee investigation is more than sufficient to warrant punishment and the most appropriate punishment, is expulsion,” Guest said. “So, separate from the Committee process and my role as chairman, I have filed an expulsion resolution.”

Expulsion from the House requires a two-thirds vote, an extremely high bar. The form of punishment has occurred just five times in the history of the House chamber — three times during the Civil War for disloyalty to the union and twice after convictions on federal charges, most recently in 2002, according to the Associated Press. 

Santos survived two prior attempts to expel him from the chamber, but the Ethics Committee’s recent report appears to have given Guest’s expulsion motion an added boost that could materilize into a successful push to oust the New York congressman. 

If the House votes to expel Santos, then Guest, serving his second term, would be the main contribuor of a historic congressional action. 

Santos, a freshman lawmaker, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the committee’s report was biased and was an attempt to smear him and his legal team. 

“It is a disgusting politicized smear that shows the depths of how low our federal government has sunk,” Santos wrote. “Everyone who participated in this grave miscarriage of justice should all be ashamed of themselves.”

The committee also voted unanimously to refer its findings to the Department of Justice, saying that Santos’s conduct “warrants public condemnation, is beneath the dignity of the office, and has brought severe discredit upon the House.”

House members are expected to address the resolution after they return from the Thanksgiving holiday.

Santos is facing a slew of federal charges, including wire fraud, falsifying records, aggravated identity theft, money laundering and theft of public fundst. 

The post U.S. Rep. Michael Guest introduces measure to expel New York Congressman Santos from House appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees named Marcus Thompson, a deputy commissioner, the 13th president of Jackson State University. He will start on Nov. 27.  

Thompson, who has worked at IHL since 2009, has no experience leading a university, and his appointment is reminiscent of IHL’s decision to hire Glenn Boyce to head the University of Mississippi, even though Boyce lead IHL’s search for that university. Both decisions eschewed search candidates in favor of an internal hire. 

Thompson would not say if he had applied for the job, but he did complete an interview. 

“That’s a hiring issue for the board,” Thompson told Mississippi Today. “I don’t really feel comfortable talking about the internal process.” 

There’s much at stake with this hire: Thompson will be watched closely by a university community that doesn’t want this presidency to end in resignation like the last three. The decision comes about a month after IHL was scheduled to make this hire and was made during executive session at the board’s regular meeting Thursday. 

“I don’t even think of this in terms of the title of ‘president,’” Thompson said. “In my heart, it’s about being a servant leader for all of our stakeholders.” 

Trustee Steven Cunningham, the only Jackson State alumnus on the board and the chair of the presidential search, did not attend the meeting in person to take questions from the media. He did not answer a call from Mississippi Today. 

“The Board selected a leader who knows the unique historic importance of the university who will articulate a bold vision for the future and will be indefatigable in the pursuit of excellence for Jackson State University,” Cunningham said in IHL’s press release. 

The leadership turnover at Jackson State, the largest historically Black university in Mississippi, has also affected progress on key issues that have hurt enrollment, like campus security, housing shortages and an aging water system. Other ambitious goals, like a new football stadium, have fallen to the wayside. 

“One of the things I’ve gained over the years is a lot of knowledge of all the working areas of the university,” he said. “Because of my work, I know about the institutions. I’ve worked with a lot of state officials, legislators. There were already a lot of good relationships there.” 

That means Thomspon will have to hit the ground running for the legislative session. 

“Marcus Thompson has a deep understanding of the vital role HBCUs play in higher education,” Sen. Sollie Norwood said in IHL’s press release. “His proven leadership will serve him well in taking Jackson State University to new heights.”

Thompson will also need to work to increase trust between IHL, administration and stakeholders like faculty and staff who supported Temporary Acting President Elayne Hayes-Anthony and criticized the presidential search process as lacking transparency. 

READ MORE: Only JSU alum on IHL board votes against allowing acting president to apply for permanent role

“Obviously, I’ll spend a lot of time listening to all of the stakeholders on campus,” Thompson said. 

Though Jackson State’s financial position has largely recovered from Carolyn Meyers’ tenure, Thompson is also facing concerns that have been raised this year about possible misspending of restricted dollars by the cash-strapped Jackson State Development Foundation. 

At listening sessions earlier this year, the community asked the board to bring someone new to the university — a point that multiple trustees took note of.

“Stop hiring your friends,” said Carrine Bishop, a faculty member whose family has deep roots at JSU. “ We need to vet every individual.” 

Thompson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and Spanish and a Master’s degree in Education from Mississippi College. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Jackson State University in urban higher education.

IHL made the decision during the executive session at Thursday’s board meeting, the last meeting of the year. Trustees were increasingly under pressure to choose a president to lead the historically Black college in Mississippi’s capital city. 

“We definitely need to make a decision,” the current board president, gastroenterologist Alfred McNair, said before executive session. “That’s the biggest thing we need to do.” 

McNair added that the board was aware of the community’s feeling that Jackson State could have avoided the past three resignations if IHL had done a better job of looking into candidates’ backgrounds. 

“We’re doing our best job to get all the information we can as far as background checks,” McNair said, shaking his head. “We’re doing the best job we can to make sure we choose the right person. We’ve taken a long time – longer than usual – because we’re really trying to make sure we cover all areas A to Z.” 

Jason Johnson, the Jackson State student body president, said his biggest question is what will the university’s next permanent president do to address campus security in the wake of an unsolved shooting that killed one student leader in an on-campus apartment complex. 

If he had the chance, Johnson said he would have asked candidates “what are your intentions as far as student public safety?” 

Johnson added it was important to him that Jackson State’s new president have experience in higher education. 

After the meeting, most trustees refused to take questions. Alfred Rankins, the IHL commissioner, escorted trustee Jeanne Luckey in her wheelchair through a gaggle of TV reporters, repeatedly saying “no comment” before going into a sideroom. 

McNair also said “no comment.”

The post IHL board picks internal choice to head JSU appeared first on Mississippi Today.

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