T.O. Richardson and T&T Logging, a 3rd generation business in Hinds County
T.O. Richarson, 36, rolls up after transporting a log load to Hermanville. Dust devils swirl in his wake, dancing behind the log hauler he calls… his baby.
The weather is perfect. High, blue skies on a hot day made tolerable by a slight breeze refreshing enough to cool hard-working men like T&T Logging owner T.O. Richardson and his crew, masters in their elements, who prefer the outdoors, working with their hands and expertly operating humongous machinery clearing land of timber.
In this case, a 110-acre tract of land in Jackson.
Logging consists of cutting down trees and bunching them together with a feller buncher. Next, a skidder is used to haul the cut timber from the forest to a loading deck, where the trees are processed by a loader and placed on a log hauler for transport to a mill.
“It’s a business not built for everyone,” said Richardson. “Every job is different. Different and loud. Some jobs are just a clear-cut, clear everything and trees are replanted, starting from scratch. Some we just go in and thin out timber. On some, we clear out the bigger trees to give the smaller ones a chance to grow.”
“Not only can my logging company cut your timber, we can also gravel the road to your house or deer camp. We cruise timber too,” said Richardson, a process used to evaluate the amount of trees in an area and the value of the land it is on.
Richardson was “Lil Man,” back in the day, a 3-year-old, he says, “soaking up the game” from his dad, Thomas J. Richardson, who worked the fields and the family farm as a 9-year-old, when his father gave him a cultivator and mule.
The game, Richarson speaks of, is logging. He carries on as the third generation of a business with over 40 years of experience. The seeds were planted in Richardson early and he knew he wanted to be just like his father. “Work boots and a cap, instead of a suit and tie,” said Richardson, remembering, adding with emphasis, “not a gangsta in the streets, a baller or an entertainer. A working man. I knew early I wanted to work for myself. Have my own business. And that comes from my daddy. He taught us hard work. He instilled that in us.”
“At 10 years old, I started my own business. Asked my mom to buy me lollipops. Oh, she looked at me funny, but she bought them. Thirty-four suckers, I was making 17 dollars a day while my friends and other kids were out playing somewhere.”
“Out of high school, I even went to college to become an accountant. I moved to Atlanta. I was thinking maybe I’d find my way doing something in the electrical field, too. But logging… it was in my heart, in my blood.”
“I remember telling my dad,” Richardson says, smiling at the memory. “He had this magnificent smile on his face. I knew I was on the right path.”
“Now look, it wasn’t easy. But those trials and tribulations made us into what we are now. We’re self-made and pressure-tested approved. It’s a load that might be too heavy for some people, too overwhelming, but that load for us is just right.”
Contact T&T Logging company, located in Edwards.
(601)339-1652
Open 24 hours, 7 days a week.
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‘Hopelessly deadlocked’: Judge declares mistrial in Tim Herrington trial
After nearly 10 hours of jury deliberation, a Lafayette County circuit judge declared a mistrial on Wednesday in the capital murder case trial of Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., a Grenada native accused of killing a fellow University of Mississippi graduate to preserve their secret sexual relationship.
Judge Kelly Luther’s ruling came around 8:25 p.m. after the jury informed him a second time that they were unable to reach an agreement. Both times, the jurors were gridlocked 11-1, and it is not known in which direction they were leaning as the judge told them to not say if they had more votes for a guilty verdict or acquittal.
“All right, I thank you for your effort,” Luther said. “You’ve been out nine and a half hours. I’m gonna declare a mistrial.”
The prosecution had built a circumstantial case against Herrington, arguing he was the last person to see Jimmie “Jay” Lee alive before the avid social media user stopped responding to texts and calls from family and friends on July 8, 2022. His body was never found. In October, a judge declared Lee legally dead at the request of his parents.
The first time the jury informed Luther they were gridlocked, around 3 p.m., they asked what would happen if they couldn’t reach a verdict. Luther ordered them back for further deliberations.
The second time, the judge asked for a show of hands if any jurors believed they could reach a verdict.
“I don’t want you tilting the windmills,” Luther said.
Luther then informed the defense and prosecution that he would entertain a motion for a new trial in the next few weeks and that he assumed, if the case returned to court, the two parties would once again seek a new venue from which to select a jury for the case.
“Just my mind reading the jury, I think we were hopelessly deadlocked,” Luther said.
Herrington will remain on bond.
READ MORE: Jury deliberations begin in trial of Ole Miss grad accused of killing Jimmie ‘Jay’ Lee
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Podcast: Jeremy McClain talks Huff Hire
So much to cover on this week’s podcast but Southern Miss’s surprising hire of Marshall coach Charles Huff tops the list, and USM athletic director Jeremy McClain joins the podcast to discuss. Also, a recap of the high school state championships, more college football and, in case no one has noticed, we have two Top 25 basketball teams in Mississippi.
Stream all episodes here.
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Mississippi’s oldest ad agency closes, new firm opens with its former executives
The decades-old, Jackson-based advertising agency GodwinGroup has closed its doors, and some of its principal team leaders are now part of a new firm.
Ridgeland-based Ad5 was formed when a group of Jackson-area advertising executives partnered with Princeton Partners, a 60-year-old national agency based in Princeton, New Jersey.
Philip Shirley, who was a senior partner, chairman and CEO of GodwinGroup, is a senior partner in the new marketing and advertising agency.
“Our goal was to combine the experience and expertise of a group of senior-level ad professionals primarily from the Jackson area and nearby states with the brand marketing and digital marketing expertise of Princeton Partners,” Shirley said in a news release announcing Ad5. “We have known and worked closely with the owners and management of Princeton Partners for over 25 years, so we knew it was smart to join forces.”
Tom Sullivan, president of Princeton Partners, is chairman and a senior partner of the new firm.
The new company will focus on offering marketing services in banking, healthcare, education, nonprofits, workforce development, tourism, government agencies and consumer marketing, according to the news release.
Ad5 local management includes Jeff Russell, who was a senior partner and president at Godwin, as president and partner, and Lauren Mozingo, digital marketing specialist at Godwin, as managing director and partner. They have local day-to-day management responsibilities for the new entity, according to the release, and will work with Kevin Kuchinski, managing partner of Ad5 and Princeton Partners. Ad5 serves clients operating from Texas to Florida and up to Kentucky, according to the release.
GodwinGroup was the state’s oldest advertising group. It shuttered its doors Friday.
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AG Lynn Fitch says Auditor Shad White overstepped authority paying consultant $2 million
At the request of a top lawmaker, Attorney General Lynn Fitch opined that state Auditor Shad White lacked the authority to hire a consultant for $2 million to look for waste and fat in state government.
Fitch’s opinion said White has the authority to conduct “financial audits only,” but does not have authority to conduct “managerial studies” without a written request from the governor or the Legislature.
A spokesman for the auditor said on Wednesday that the office did have legal authority to commission the study — and added Fitch’s legal opinion is likely the result of the consultant finding that Fitch and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who oversees the state Senate, took the state plane on a trip to an out-of-state college baseball game.
This trip was not mentioned in the consultant’s report White released to the media and public in October, although White recommended getting rid of the state airplane. White previously denied a records request from Mississippi Today for any documents other than the 59-page report he made public. The auditor’s spokesman did not specify on Wednesday what baseball game he was referencing.
In a statement, Hosemann said ““The state attorney general issued an opinion yesterday which clearly states the state auditor was unauthorized to spend $2 million of taxpayer funds. The state laws on expenditures of taxpayer funds apply equally to the state auditor, and the funds should be returned to the taxpayers.”
Fitch Chief of Staff Michelle Williams sent a statement in response to White’s office.
“Supporting Mississippi student-athletes representing Mississippi in the College World Series is what public officials representing Mississippians should do,” Williams said. “Spending $2 million on a report without lawful authority to spend is not.”
Lawmakers have been questioning whether White’s study on waste was, itself, wasteful spending. Some have noted the result was mostly a rehash, amalgam of long-discussed, never enacted ideas to cut government spending that could have been cobbled together after spending a day or two on Google, going through Mississippi press clippings and perusing old legislative watchdog reports and bills.
READ MORE: Cutting fat in state government: Everything old is new again
Lawmakers and Mississippi politicos have questioned whether White’s report, released with fanfare at a press conference and subsequent media circuit, was more a campaign effort for his stated 2027 gubernatorial aspirations.
White, who has compared his efficiency study to President-elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s DOGE efforts at cutting federal waste, has written off any questions of his consultant study as deep state pushback.
State Sen. John Polk, R-Hattiesburg, chair of the appropriations subcommittee that oversees the budget for White’s office, requested the attorney general opinion on White’s study. Polk noted the $2 million White spent never came up when setting his budget for the year, which is “quite unusual.” He said White has some autonomy on “escalating” his budget, but he questions whether this large increase met legal criteria.
“I’m concerned he has broken the law, and that is not a good thing for a state auditor,” Polk told Mississippi Today on Wednesday.
Polk noted the AG’s opinion doesn’t carry the weight of law, and the opinion itself notes such opinions “are prospective determinations on matters of state law only and can neither sanction nor invalidate past actions.”
“What I want to focus on is how going forward we control things like this, prevent them from happening,” Polk said. He said he wants lawmakers to look further into White’s consultant contract, how the auditor chose the Boston firm and other issues.
Polk said he and other lawmakers have noted the study produced “nothing new … the same old, same old” in suggestions for government efficiency.
“It’s things we’ve tried, or talked about, or in some cases are already doing,” Polk said. “… The (consultants’) contract says they would talk with agency heads as part of the study. I haven’t found an agency head yet that says they talked with them. That bothers me.”
Jacob Walters, a spokesman for White, said Hosemann “probably” had Polk request the attorney general’s opinion.
Walters speculated Hosemann was upset that White’s study “uncovered” that he and AG Fitch “took a taxpayer-funded trip” on the state airplane to travel to an out-of-state college baseball game.
“This is why Auditor White called to eliminate the state airplane in Project Momentum,” said Walters, alluding to the name White gave the Boston consulting group study.
He said many Mississippi politicians, like those in Washington, “dislike Auditor White’s willingness to upset the applecart on behalf of taxpayers.”
“Your days of wasting our money are over,” Walters said.
Whether or not White commissioned the study to raise his profile for a potential run for governor, the issue is firmly mired in 2027 politics. White and Fitch are considered likely candidates for the office, as is Hosemann, who oversees the Senate and for whom Polk is a top lieutenant. Any battle over White’s budget or spending the $2 million in the upcoming legislative session is likely to be politically charged.
White has been politically sparring with Hosemann and Fitch, and the internecine fight among Republicans with gubernatorial aspirations is heating up as the Jan. 7 start of the 2025 legislative session draws near.
Other politicians, including the current chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party, have accused White of grandstanding for political gain, and questioned his writing a book about the ongoing Mississippi welfare fraud scandal he helped investigate.
White’s scrutinized report said Mississippi could sell the state’s airplane, make officials use commercial or charter flights, and save more than $1 million a year. The existence of the state airplane and intense scrutiny of travel on it by governors and others have been debated off and on for decades. Former Gov. Phil Bryant, who appointed White to the auditor’s office, pitched selling one of the state’s planes when it had two a major political platform and vowed to take commercial flights for state-related travel.
White’s consultant report includes recommendations such as reducing government officials’ travel spending. This was a hot topic for several years after a 2013 investigation by the Clarion-Ledger showed that even during lean budget years, government officials still spent tens of millions of dollars on travel, domestic and abroad, and had a massive fleet of government vehicles with dubious need for them. The Legislature clamped down on travel and agencies enacted fleet rules and promoted mileage reimbursement for personal vehicles. But according to White’s report, travel spending has been growing and again needs a major haircut.
The report also found that, compared to other states, Mississippi government is spending too much on office space and insurance for state buildings and leased property, and on advertising and public relations for state agencies — again, issues that have been pointed out multiple times over the last couple of decades by lawmakers, journalists and government watchdog reports.
White’s report recommends the state consolidate and reform its purchasing and look for better deals when it buys goods and services. That should sound familiar: Two lawmakers in particular, Sen. Polk and Rep. Jerry Turner, led a serious crusade on purchasing reform for several years and managed to push through some meaningful changes. But many of those have been undone or are now ignored.
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Jury deliberations begin in trial of Ole Miss grad accused of killing Jimmie ‘Jay’ Lee
In the final hours of Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr.’s capital murder trial Wednesday, his defense attorney argued that too many open questions exist for a jury to convict him of killing a fellow University of Mississippi graduate who was prominent in the local LGBTQ+ community.
Kevin Horan’s closing arguments garnered objections from the prosecution, who earlier in the day argued that Herrington was the last person to see Jimmie “Jay” Lee alive before the avid social media user stopped responding to texts and calls from family and friends on July 8, 2022.
The case is now in the hands of the jury.
That Lee’s silence has continued ever since is proof enough, the prosecution argued, that he is dead. In October, a judge declared Lee legally dead at the request of his parents.
But Lee’s body has not been found and without that, the prosecution’s case rests almost entirely on circumstantial evidence, opening the door for Herrington’s defense to raise a host of doubts. During his closing arguments, Horan, who is also a state representative from Herrington’s hometown of Grenada, kept gesturing to a yellow legal notepad that he told the jury contained a list of questions the prosecution had yet to answer.
Most significantly, Horan told the jury the prosecution could not establish that Lee was dead when Herrington left his apartment in the early morning hours of July 8 to buy duct tape at Walmart.
“There’s no evidence whatsoever that Lee was not alive at that time,” Horan said. “Think about why that’s important.”
In a rebuttal, Gwen Agho, a special prosecutor from Hinds County who assisted Lafayette County District Attorney Ben Creekmore, told the jury that open questions are not the same as reasonable doubt. Anything can happen, she said, including elephants falling from the sky.
“Opposing counsel wants to talk about possibilities, but we are not here about possibilities,” Agho said. “We’re here about reasonable doubt.”
Agho tied Lee’s moment of death to that of his cellphone’s — 7:28 a.m., not long after the last time Lee’s phone ever pinged at a cell tower and right before Herrington allegedly parked Lee’s car at Molly Barr Trails, an apartment complex where neither Herrington nor Lee lived. Lee’s car was eventually towed from Molly Barr.
Lee “never let anyone borrow his car,” Agho said. “We also know when the car is found, all his things are in it, the things he would need to move on to live a life.”
Much of the prosecutions’ closing argument focused on Herrington’s alleged lies about his sexuality and relationship to Lee. Oxford Police Department detectives testified earlier in the trial that Herrington provided them conflicting information about the hours leading up to Lee’s disappearance, according to the Associated Press.
“Not only did he lie to his family and his friends about his sexuality, being on the down low … he lied to the church … then he lied to the police about everything,” Creekmore said.
Creekmore alleged that Herrington killed Lee to hide their secret relationship.
“Tim Herrington ended Jay Lee’s life to protect his own,” Creekmore said.
Herrington was arrested on July 22, 2022, two weeks after Lee went missing. Members of Herrington’s family, many of whom are involved in a prominent church in Grenada, have maintained his innocence.
Lee’s body has not been found since, and it’s unclear the extent of OPD’s efforts to find it.
After the prosecution wrapped its rebuttal, Judge Kelly Luther told the courtroom their guess is as good as his as to when, or if, the jury will reach a verdict.
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