A federal grand jury entered a new indictment in the case of Nancy and Zach New on Tuesday, doubling the amount that the mother-son owners of a Mississippi private school district are accused of stealing from federal education funds.
The indictment, released on Thursday, replaces an earlier one from March.
The new indictment included four new counts of aggravated identity theft and increased the amount of “fraudulently obtained” funds to $4 million from $2 million in the previous indictment. If convicted of all charges, the News could each face up to 218 years in prison and $5 million in fines.
The News are accused of filing fraudulent claims with the Mississippi Department of Education for special education scholarships and reimbursements on behalf of students who no longer or had never attended their schools, teachers who no longer worked at their schools, or claiming that teachers had higher certifications than they did.
The new indictment also specifically names North New Summit in Greenwood and South New Summit in Hattiesburg as facilities that the News were submitting fraudulent reimbursement claims on behalf of. It also alleges that claims were submitted for three years falsely showing that Nancy New was working full-time as a teacher at New Summit School, resulting in a salary reimbursement of $67,000 for each of those years.
All of the original charges were also included in this new indictment. Those charges were conspiracy to commit wire fraud, eight counts of wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy, money transactions with unlawfully acquired funds, and five additional counts of aggravated identity theft.
The Mississippi Department of Education was contacted for comment but had not responded at the time of publication.
The New Learning Resources School District focused on providing specialized services for students with behavioral or learning disabilities. As a private school group with public accreditation from the Mississippi Department of Education, schools in the district are funded through a combination of tuition payments and Education Scholarship Accounts, a voucher that allows public school dollars to follow special needs students to private schools.
Both teachers and parents interviewed by Mississippi Today say that New Summit School has been an invaluable resource to the students with learning disabilities enrolled there. The federal and state charges have created uncertainty and anxiety for the parents of current students, leading to a group of parents working to have New Summit School transferred into a custodianship so that it could remain operational. At this time, it is unclear if they will succeed in keeping the school open.
Nancy and Zach New have not been arraigned for these new charges, but they both pleaded not guilty to the previous indictment in March.
When the history of the COVID-19 pandemic is written, one of the darkest chapters (outside of the 600,000+ deaths) will be the politicization of public health efforts. The results of that have led to public health officials, usually underpaid and overworked, to received threats and social media scorn. Mississippi’s public health officer, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, hasn’t allowed any of that scorn to slow him down. Uniquely qualified to be in charge during a coronavirus-driven pandemic, he just continues to continue to put out scientifically based information to inform the public. Like a meteorologist who interrupts a ballgame with a tornado warning, he just continues to keep us informed — critics be darned.
As infections continue to increase and in some cases hospitalize children, Mississippi schools are grappling with what COVID-19 restrictions, if any, should be made for the upcoming school year.
State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs recently expressed his concerns about a “surge of cases in kids” as a result of the spread of the Delta variant. This week seven minors were hospitalized after becoming infected with the variant, and the state on Wednesday saw its highest single-day caseload since March.
Gov. Tate Reeves has signaled he will not be issuing any mandates around masks or other COVID-19 protocols in schools, so Mississippi districts are left to grapple with what restrictions to put in place in a state where only 31% of the population is vaccinated. Of that, just 6% of children ages 12-15 and 12% of kids ages 16-17 are fully vaccinated, according to the Mississippi Department of Health.
At the same time, the Mississippi State Board of Education on Thursday passed a policy stating schools must return to in-person learning as the primary mode of learning in the 2021-2022 school year. The board also approved policies outlining how the district can offer school- or district-wide virtual instruction during a COVID-19 outbreak, weather event or other situation, and outlined requirements for students who are learning virtually due to a medical condition or other reason.
This is a stark difference from last summer, when there was speculation about whether the governor would delay the start of the school year to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. In August 2020, days before the school year was slated to start in many public school districts, Reeves issued an executive order that mandated masks be worn in schools and allowed most to reopen as planned except in eight counties deemed COVID hot spots.
The Mississippi Department of Health required districts to report COVID infection data to the state on a weekly basis during the school year, and though not every district complied each week, the last report showed at least 6,083 students, teachers and staff contracted the virus in 2021. In any given week during the school year, thousands of students and teachers were forced to quarantine because of exposure to the virus.
This year there are no delayed start dates or mask mandate, and recent guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control urge schools to fully reopen. The CDC also recommends that unvaccinated individuals and children under 12 should continue wearing masks. Schools should also try to make sure people stay at least three feet apart when possible, the guidelines say.
Jim Keith, a school board attorney for more than 20 Mississippi school districts, said he is hearing from most superintendents that they will not be requiring masks for students and teachers but instead recommending them for unvaccinated individuals. He said he is also hearing debate about requiring students who participate in extracurricular activities to be vaccinated.
Keith said schools are feeling the pressure from parents.
“We’ve already got parents coming to board meetings on one end saying ‘You better not require masks,’ and others saying, ‘If you don’t require masks and you’ve got an unvaccinated employee that exposes my child, I’m going to be really upset,’” said Keith.
Erica Jones, the president of the Mississippi Association of Educators, said while teachers are excited to be returning to school buildings in the fall, some are still apprehensive about the lack of a mask mandate given recent news.
“Educators and students deserve to teach and learn in a safe setting without fearing for their health or the health of their families,” Jones said in a statement. “It is our hope that district and state leaders will take these fears into account, heed the warnings of medical professionals about the more dangerous and easily transmissible Delta variant, and prioritize the safety of students and educators.”
In the Gulfport School District, masks are currently “encouraged but not required.” Superintendent Glen East emphasized that it is an evolving situation and they continue to work with medical professionals in the district on masks and vaccines. The district is also offering vaccines to students at an event this Friday.
“You have to be concerned (about the Delta variant),” East said. “But my bigger fear is that there seems to be a wave of indifference across the country, where folks are waiting longer to make decisions than March a year ago. That little bit of indifference seems to be slowing us down.”
However, East elaborated, “We’re making decisions slower than when all this started, but maybe with a little more wisdom as well.”
Some schools, like those in the capital city, will require masks, according to the Jackson Public School District’s “Return to Learn” plan. It also highlights other measures like providing opportunities for faculty and staff to be vaccinated, increased hand washing and isolation rooms for sick children waiting to leave school.
JPS Superintendent Errick Greene also wrote a letter to the district in June stating administrators have created a dashboard to track COVID-19 cases in the schools.
In Laurel School District, Superintendent Toy Watts said she is “leaning toward” a mask requirement for the fall.
Watts said it’s “very clear” masks work in preventing the spread of COVID-19. A recent study by ABC Science Collaborative, in conjunction with Duke University, showed mask-wearing reduced the transmission of COVID-19 in North Carolina Schools.
“We know how important it is to keep kids in front of their teachers,” she said. “We’re going to make sure we take measures to keep children and teachers in the building.”
Clinton, Madison and DeSoto County School Districts have all issued guidelines making masks optional.
“The superintendent may require masks for all faculty, staff and students if local health data dictates a need to do so,” Clinton’s guidelines state.
State epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said last week the Department of Health will be issuing “Mississippi-specific” components of the new CDC guidance for schools, but it is unclear when.
Byers made a presentation to superintendents at their annual conference on the Gulf Coast this week about how to handle masks, testing and all things COVID-19 in the 2021-22 school year.
Byers highlighted important practices for districts to use in the fall to keep schools safe: mask wearing for unvaccinated people; screening testing when someone has been exposed to COVID-19; proper ventilation; hand washing and respiratory etiquette; staying home while sick and getting tested; contact tracing in combination with quarantine and isolation; and finally, cleaning and disinfection.
He also told school officials that fully vaccinated students and staff are not required to quarantine or be tested after coming in contact with an infected person.
But for those who are unvaccinated and are exposed to a positive individual, the unvaccinated person can stay in school if he or she submits to testing every two days for a seven-day period and does not develop any symptoms.
He also said schools should encourage students, faculty and staff to get vaccinated, as “vaccination is currently the leading public health prevention strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic” and is “one of the most critical strategies to help schools safely reopen full operations,” his presentation stated.
Mississippi casinos posted their highest ever combined gross gaming revenue for June, as they continue to consistently beat their pre-pandemic records.
The state’s casinos reported about $2.47 million in gross gaming revenue in June, just ahead of last month’s total, according to the state Gaming Commission.
The casinos have reported a 23% increase in gross revenue so far this year compared to the same period in 2019.
Mississippi casinos reported $1.8 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2020, which included the roughly two months they were forced to shut down. In 2019, when the casinos operated as normal, that figure was $2.2 billion.
Mississippi casinos, with the Gulf Coast leading the surge, are on pace to have the highest gross gaming revenue this year since they began operating in the 1990s.
Gross gaming revenue — the amount of money players wager minus what they win — is similar to traditional businesses’ sales figures. The gaming revenue numbers do not account for the cost of doing business, which have also been rising.
Casinos and resorts have been struggling to attract workers, with some raising wages to fill jobs from housekeepers to table game dealers. At the same time, the costs of some food and beverage items have increased due to the pandemic’s supply chain disruptions.
Local tourism leaders and casino operators have attributed the growth in gross gaming revenue to an increase in visitors to the Gulf Coast. Casino also reopened and advertised their COVID-19 safety measures sooner than movie theaters and other entertainment venues.
Aimee Nezhukumatathil is an official panelist in this year’s Mississippi Book Festival on Aug. 21. Credit: Cheyenne Alford
When Aimee Nezhukumatathil moved to Mississippi from New York in 2016, she expected to be in the state for only nine months as the 2016-2017 Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi. Within a month of being in Oxford, she said, she fell in love with the town and has lived there ever since.
Currently an English professor at the University of Mississippi, acclaimed poet and essayist Nezhukumatathil draws inspiration from nature and the outdoors in her writing, as seen in her most recent book, World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, & Other Astonishments. She is also an official panelist in this year’s Mississippi Book Festival on Aug. 21.
Mississippi Today recently spoke with Nezhukumatathil about her work and what inspires her to wonder.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Mississippi Today: Can you tell me a little bit about your background story, how you got into writing?
Aimee Nezhukumatathil: Well, I always loved the outdoors, and the way I kind of made sense of it was through metaphors. So, being a poet came first and pretty easy to me because that’s kind of how I made sense of the world in the first place is through metaphors. I studied poetry first. Then, I came to love creative nonfiction in college. And so, what I love about having those two genres under my belt is sometimes I don’t want to deal with something in a brief amount of space, so I have an essay for that. Sometimes, I just want to be compressed in my language, and so I turn to poetry for that.
MT: Can you tell me a little bit about your writing background because I’m, of course, most familiar with your recent essay collection, (World of Wonders), but what has your trajectory been in terms of writing as a poet and in creative nonfiction?
AN: Well, actually it’s funny. I did not know there were any living poets until my junior year in college. (Laughs.) So, I thought, you know, I just wanted to follow in the footsteps of my mom. She’s a doctor. She’s retired now. So, I was pre-med. I was a chemistry major, and it wasn’t until I came across the work of some living writers that I just was so blown away by. I didn’t know, honestly, you could be a poet and be alive. I didn’t know. (Laughs.) It sounds so silly to me, but once I discovered that, once I took my first creative writing classes, I switched to English pretty late in my junior year and kind of made my parents very nervous. But, ultimately they said, you know, we just want you to be curious. We want you to feel like a student no matter what you choose. So, I’ve been so grateful that they are now my biggest fans, even though they were absolutely worried and pretty upset with me because, you have to imagine, since I was four years old, I had been telling them I want to be a doctor just really because I always wanted to be like my mom. But I didn’t know you could be a writer. I just really didn’t know. I was not exposed to living writers as a kid. I was definitely not exposed to any writers of color, so I just didn’t really understand it as a possibility for me.
MT: So when you changed your major from the pre-med track to English, what did you find yourself most attracted to when you were writing? And how did you make sense of that for yourself as a writer?
AN: Honestly, it was something that I was just so much more curious about. I was kind of going through the motions as a pre-med student and doing the assignments, but I couldn’t wait to do my English homework. I couldn’t wait to get to writing. For me, there was so much more discovery and wordplay and investigations of what you can do with a well-placed line or sentence. That excited me and still excites me to this day.
MT: Can you tell me more about how you incorporate nature into your writing and why that’s really a cornerstone of how you write?
AN: That is such a good question. I’d just have to say as a kid I loved the outdoors and I loved reading about the outdoors, but I never saw anybody who looked like me who wrote about the outdoors. And I wanted these essays (in World of Wonders) to reflect that everybody can be outside. Everybody has a place to be outside. And you can be in awe of the outdoors and also like pop music and makeup. You can have more than one interest, do you know what I mean? I guess what I’m trying to say is these essays stem from the questions of who gets to be outside and who gets to tell about it and why. Who feels safe outdoors and who doesn’t, and why? And I am wildly and ecstatically in love with the outdoors, but I’ve come across so many people who’ve told me that they don’t feel safe outside. Or they don’t feel welcomed. So, my book is, hopefully, a place for them to remember to conjure up memories that they had as kids and to say it’s not too late to learn about a new bird or to learn about the names of trees that are just in your neighborhood. You don’t need to fly out of the country. You can do a lot learning about the outdoors just right here in Mississippi.
MT: And speaking of Mississippi, how has being in Mississippi impacted your writing about the outdoors?
AN: I moved here from Buffalo, New York, so the quick and short answer is I can just simply be outside a lot more here. I can teach my classes outside a lot more here than I could in Buffalo where we’re dealing with winter conditions so much of the year. But what I would also say is that being in Mississippi, I’ve had to learn a whole new ecosystem here. I’ve had to learn birds in the Delta and plants in the Delta that I was not familiar with, and that just conjures up being a student again for me. So, it makes me feel like there’s so many things to learn about this beautiful state, about the flora and the fauna that’s here. And there’s a richness of noticing how much beauty is in the outdoors here that I think a lot of people kind of skip over. One of my greatest thrills is getting my Mississippi students to realize, ‘oh, that big tree I played under when I was little, that’s called a catalpa. There’s a name for it.’ Many of my students don’t have names for the plants and animals that they encounter. And my hope is that once you get to know the names of plants and animals, you have more of a tenderness for them. You feel like you want to protect them more. And in turn, I hope that conjures up a feeling of wanting to keep us tender with ourselves. I think there’s a lot of pain and worry and fear about being outside, especially in the last year or so. And again, there’s issues of safety, but my hope is that if people just start small with getting to know the names of plants and animals around them, their hearts softens a little bit towards each other as well.
BB: So, you mentioned how, growing up, you didn’t really see any writers that looked like you, let alone any poets or essayists that looked like you and writing about nature. And now you’re one of those people. So, what do you hope for your legacy to be, in terms of the books and the writings that you’re leaving behind?
AN: I hope World of Wonders helps people picture a wider variety of people outdoors. Of all backgrounds. Of all different abilities. I think when people talk about birdwatchers or hikers, I think they picture, frankly, like a white male. And I hope this book opens up the idea that there are people of all different backgrounds who love the outdoors. And I hope for people’s imaginations to grow wider and a little bit more curious about the planet after getting to know these plants and animals a little bit better. We’ve just come out of a time where a lot of our government makes you want to be scared of other cultures, or they want to encourage fear and distrust. And my hope is that this book helps us be tender with each other. My hope is that if you get to care about Indigo Warblers and catalpa trees, that kind of care is also extended to our fellow humans, frankly.
MT: Before we wrap up, do you have anything else that you’d like to talk about that I have not asked you yet?
AN: The best thing about wonder is that it’s free, and it’s also contagious. Even when the world tells you not to be curious and the world tells you to be jaded, if you can allow yourself to be vulnerable and be curious about something other than yourself, I think you will see that reflected in yourself and in your relationships with other people. When you become curious and it becomes a habit, then you feel less alone, honestly. So many of us have been alone through the pandemic, and I get that maybe people are still not feeling safe to be outside, but if you just even have a window, you can try to figure out and teach yourself the names and different shapes of clouds. You can teach yourself the names of wildflowers in your area. That kind of thing. When wonder becomes a habit, you feel less alone, and I think, more than ever, that’s a good lesson to have.
Will Hall, at 41, is the new head football coach at Southern Miss and will lean heavily on the school’s storied tradition, which he loves to talk about. Hall, who addresses the Mississippi Association of Coaches this week in Jackson, talks about his recruiting successes, his love of Mississippi football tradition and his belief that better things are ahead for Golden Eagle football.
Meet Jackson’s newest crimefighter. But you can guarantee he won’t wear a mask.
Jokes aside, the only people who like crime are criminals. The citizens of Jackson deserve better and I hope the state’s resources help. Maybe having with the state’s law enforcement officers patrolling the area around the Capitol, JPD can move resources around to other areas. Of course, I doubt the Governor would be happy if the Federal Government went in resources to fix the state’s problems, but I digress.
I am thankful Jackson is getting help. Politically, it is a win for for the Governor and will play well to his base. I really don’t care about all that — I just hope it helps the citizens of Jackson. With the water crisis earlier in the year, they’ve suffered enough.
P.S. My favorite moment of the press conference was when the Governor said he and Jackson City Councilman Kenneth Stokes agree. I am surprised the Earth didn’t stop spinning, causing us to all fly into space.
Gov. Tate Reeves and state Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell said beginning Thursday state troopers, the Capitol Police and state narcotics officers will start an initiative “aimed at upholding public safety in the capital city.”
“We’re seeing it every night on Jackson’s local news, a never ending cycle of violent crime,” Reeves said at a press conference on Wednesday. “… People of Jackson are not asking for much. They’re asking for the ability to walk down the street and not fear for their lives. I stand with the residents of the city of Jackson.”
As violent crime in many large cities across the country continues to increase during the pandemic, Mississippi’s capital city is no exception. Jackson saw a record number of homicides last year — 130 — and is on pace to surpass that with killings approaching 80 so far this year. The crime wave prompted one Jackson city councilman last week to publicly propose calling out the National Guard to patrol city streets.
Lawmakers this year approved major increases in power, authority and spending for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. This included a new law that would allow Highway Patrol troopers to patrol and run radar on highways or interstates within larger cities, and another putting DPS in charge of the Capitol Police force, which previously served as more of a security force for state-owned property downtown.
Capitol Police will have an expanded presence and serve more of a law enforcement role in the Capitol Complex Improvement District, which stretches roughly from Jackson State University to Interstate 55, and up to Fondren just past the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
Tindell said residents will see a greater police presence, with a “saturation” of all available Capitol Police patrol officers and vehicles downtown, troopers on Interstates 55, 20 and 220, and that the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics will increase “clandestine” drug operations with local and federal agencies inside Jackson. Tindell would not give specific numbers or shifts of patrols, but said Capitol Police has 81 officers, a number he hopes to increase to 150 soon.
No city of Jackson or Jackson Police Department officials were invited to Wednesday’s press conference, Reeves said, but he and Tindell said the new state-led effort is aimed at assisting JPD, not supplanting it. They said the state help in the Capitol Complex should allow JPD to focus officers elsewhere. Both also said repeatedly they don’t expect the sate efforts to solve the city’s crime problem.
“The goal here is to have a safer capital city,” Tindell said. “The citizens of Mississippi should be able to visit their capital city, their capital hospital and state museums without fear of being raped or murdered while visiting their capital city.”
In a statement released late Wednesday, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said the city welcomes the state’s efforts, but “….The problem of crime is not going to be solved through policing alone.
“The state’s efforts to better streamline its law enforcement agencies and bolster communication in and around the Capitol City Complex and state highways is within its jurisdiction. The city and Jackson Police Department welcome the commitment to greater collaboration and support. However, we must also apply the same effort toward authoring solutions that address the root of the problem. The state has failed to provide adequate funding in this regard. In order to realize true impact, it is necessary to also stand up and bolster the social supports and community programs that lift up our communities by addressing issues of poverty, joblessness, mental health, gaps in education and opportunity and more.”
Rep. Chris Bell, D-Jackson, said he encourages the governor and state leaders in the future to meet with local leaders, including the Hinds County legislative delegation, to discuss possible solutions.
“Crime is up in the city of Jackson, and there needs to be a solution,” he said.
Bell said the initiative unveiled Wednesday by the governor and Tindell would help by providing a “show of force.” But he said efforts need to be made on the local and state levels to look for “grants that are available to provide raises for officers. That will help increase the size of the force.”
Reeves urged the city of Jackson and Hinds County to use a portion of about $95 million the local governments are receiving in federal American Rescue Plan funds to beef up law enforcement in Jackson.
Bell said most of the crime issues are located within neighborhoods, many outside of the Capitol Improvement District.
“The real issue is to have officers patrolling in neighborhoods, not on the highways,” he said.
Bell also stressed that it is important while providing that show of force not to have law enforcement harassing people for no reason.
“I am not saying it is happening,” he said, but added that should be kept in mind.
“While we are very appreciative of the efforts of Commissioner Tindell, we need dialog to continue going forward,” Bell said.
Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, said, “Like many other parts of the country, crime in Jackson has grown considerably during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a lot of lawlessness regarding driving behaviors and certainly violent death have risen exponentially.
“Concern about the rise in violent deaths is about the only thing that supersedes concerns about our crumbling infrastructure,” Horhn continued. “That’s why the Legislature took the actions it took, and I’m glad the governor is moving swiftly to implement these changes.”
The new law allowing MHP to patrol and run radar on interstates within large cities was authored by Jackson’s state Senate delegation. It was in response to an incident early this year where people shut down part of Interstate 55 for about an hour holding an impromptu drag racing and burnout session, and reports of similar recent incidents. The new law also requires cities to notify state troopers whenever a federal roadway is blocked. Previously, highway patrol officers were prohibited from setting up radar or patrols inside cities of 15,000 or more.
Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, said the measure was also supported by representatives of other large cities across the state.
“The future success of Jackson depends on a cooperative relationship between the state government and city government,” said Blount, the primary author of the bill giving troopers the authority to operate radar on state highways in cities above 15,000. He said the Jackson delegation supported both the bill placing the Capitol police under the Department of Public Safety and the radar bill.
“We think the bills will be positive steps for the city of Jackson,” Blount said.
While DPS is not officially a state police force overseeing all state law enforcement like in some other states, the agency is seeing major expansion in its duties and authority. The agency already oversees the Highway Patrol, Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, state office of Homeland Security and the crime lab and medical examiners. But the attorney general, state auditor and other agencies still retain their own state-level law enforcement.
Besides taking over Capitol Police and the expansion of Highway Patrol’s authority inside large cities, DPS is now taking over commercial traffic enforcement duties from the Mississippi Department of Transportation, and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations was designated the lead agency for officer-involved shootings statewide.
Lawmakers also approved allowing other state agencies to contract with DPS for law enforcement work, such as for state Child Protection Services and the Board of Medical Licensure and other agencies that frequently need law enforcement or investigative authority and officers.
Lawmakers also appropriated $24 million to DPS this year to complete a new headquarters for the agency in Rankin County. Groundbreaking on the headquarters, with a total cost of $60 million to $80 million, is expected in early 2022, and will allow the agency to bring all its enforcement divisions under one roof.
Lawmakers did not approve DPS’ request for a 6% raise for officers, although some officers should see raises from an across-the-board state employee discretionary merit pay raise.
In the inaugural episode of Crooked Letter Sports, hosts Rick and Tyler Cleveland caught up with former Mississippi State Bulldog, reigning SEC hits king and the pride of the Binghampton Rumble Ponies, Jake Mangum, about his transition to AA ball and his take on what makes Mississippi baseball so much fun.
Stream all episodes here, and read the transcript below.
Tyler: [00:00:00] Hello, and welcome to the Crooked Letter Sports podcast, a show about Mississippi sports and the folks who play them. I’m Tyler Cleveland with Scorebook Live Mississippi. I’m here with the person I’ve always wanted to co-host a podcast with, my dad, Mississippi Today columnist Rick Cleveland.
Rick: [00:00:24] Yeah, Tyler, this is gonna be a lot of fun.
I’ve always wanted to do a project, some journalism project with you, and this promises to be a fun one.
Tyler: [00:00:33] Yeah, I hope so. We’re going to, you know, we’re going to talk to guests. We’re gonna banter back and forth. I’m really looking forward to it, but we want to cover everything. We want to cover from high school sports on up to the, you know, the pro level.
And I think, you know, there’s definitely no shortage of things in Mississippi for us to talk about.
Rick: [00:00:52] Yeah, and we’re going to talk a lot about Mississippi sports history, something that’s near and dear to me. And speaking of Mississippi sports history, we’re going to begin the podcast today with Jake Mangum, who’s possibly one of the most popular, not possibly. He is one of the most popular college baseball players in Mississippi history.
Tyler: [00:01:13] Yeah. And loved to play. Obviously, just from watching him, you can tell right off the bat that he loves the game, respects the game. And I think that kind of connected with fans.
Rick: [00:01:22] Yeah, and as popular as he was with Mississippi State fans, fans of the other schools, they had different feelings about it.
Tyler: [00:01:30] They might’ve had different opinions, but I think he always had their respect, you know. Maybe, maybe not enough. It’s at a couple of times, different times when they could have pitched around him. But you know, when a guy who gave back, you know, you remember at the College World Series, his, you know, his final parting press conference was about college baseball and how important it was, and you know, I’ve always respected him.
Rick: [00:01:52] Yes, sir. So without any further ado, let’s get into our interview with Jake Mangum. He’s coming to us from Binghamton, New York, where he’s playing AA baseball now in the New York Mets organization. Jake, welcome to the pod. We are so happy to have you, and thank you for being with us from Binghamton.
Jake: [00:02:13] Binghamton, New York! That’s right.
Rick: [00:02:15] Yeah. Last time, the three of us, Tyler and you and I, were together was—
Jake: [00:02:21] Good, good place to be. Hopefully, the dogs can get back there.
Rick: [00:02:24] Yeah. Tyler had a… tell him.
Tyler: [00:02:27] Oh, yeah. I was just… We were talking about it this morning, and I remember. We were sitting outside one of those bars in the market district, and I was having a drink with a couple of TV reporters and—
Jake: [00:02:38] Y’all were at the German place, right?
Tyler: [00:02:39] Yeah. Yeah. And we… I remember one of the TV reporters was talking about your perfect jawline when you walked up behind us, I think with your girlfriend in tow. And I don’t know if you heard her or not, but man, she turned blood red, and we had a laugh about that for the rest of the day.
I mean, it was probably the highlight of my Omaha adventure that year. I know it wasn’t for you. But it was a, it was a blast for me.
Jake: [00:03:05] That’s pretty fun. It’s a good city to be, man. It’s a lot more districts, a lot of fun. It’s a lot of stuff to do, a lot of good places to eat. Yeah. It’s fun, man. I miss Omaha.
Rick: [00:03:16] Yeah, well, we’re recording this on June the ninth, and I’m hoping I’ll be in Omaha next week. For I’d love for it to be both State and Ole Miss.
Jake: [00:03:27] I know. I was about to say if you’re there it’s 50/50 if my team made it or not, but you know, I’m, I’m pulling for both. It’d be cool to see Ole Miss and Mississippi State in Omaha.
Rick: [00:03:36] Well, let’s talk about your career right now. You’ve already been promoted once this season, and you are now playing for the AA Binghamton Rumble Ponies in the Mets organization. What exactly is a rumble pony?
Jake: [00:03:53] Binghamton, it’s known for a few things, but one thing it’s known for, well, first off, IBM started here. Fun fact. IBM started here, but number two: Binghamton is known for, like, a bunch of merry-go-rounds, like, carousels.
So they were, whenever they changed the name from the Binghamton Mets, they, it was the Rumble Ponies to the Stud Muffins. So Rumble Ponies won because I guess the city, you know, has some ties with ponies. I’m driving home last night. I see a little, just a little, you know, one pole sticking out around the front yard and it’s one of those merry-go-round ponies. So there’s something going on with Binghamton and merry-go-round ponies. Not sure what it is. I guess it’s been around for a year for a while now. Just excited to be a Rumble Pony. Couldn’t be more excited.
Rick: [00:04:41] That’s great. What’s better, though, is the fact that you’re hitting, you’re hitting a lot of… You’re hitting better at AA than you hit at single-A, average-wise, at least. And the other thing is you’re hitting for more power.
Jake: [00:04:55] Yeah. Just, I spent a lot of work in 2020, trying to change some things in my game that I felt I needed to change for pro ball. Pro ball is a different beast, man. This is, you know, high school to college. It was a jump in, regardless of the arms I faced.
Don’t get me wrong. I saw great arms in college. I’m seeing great arms now, but the difference is the defense is a lot crisper, man. The ground balls don’t find as many holes. You’re not always playing on fields that are allowing the ball to just skip through, and no one values that. And that’s the big thing.
And no one values, just a ground ball base hit, really, in pro ball. And all. So I spent the entire 2020 year just trying to backspin a baseball and just try to hit it harder. And I’ve done that now, but there’s a lot of things I still need to progress with. The fact that I’m in AA is a blessing, first off.
I’d like you guys to know that, everybody back in Mississippi, that the fact that I’m in AA is nothing short of just a… it’s a blessing from God. Not many guys out of the 2019 draft class are in AA already. And somehow I’m here. I wasn’t putting up great numbers in high A, but they, they took a chance on me.
And since then, I’ve, I’ve kind of taken off a little bit, but you know, it, it happens quick. I tell a lot of guys that in baseball, it happens quick. It goes up or down real quick. So you better stay even keel about it. Never too high. Never too low. Because one game can, can change everything. So it’s you know, we’re right back at it tonight. I had a tough night last night.
0-4 at the plate, but you know, right back at it tonight.
Tyler: [00:06:24] Yeah. I was going to ask you, Jake. You hear a lot of people say that, you know, the weekend pitching in the SEC is kind of, you know, what you would see in high A or AA, what’s your impression? And does that hold true?
Jake: [00:06:36] Last night, I haven’t told you, we faced the number one pitching prospect in minor league baseball, and his fastball is something I’ve seen plenty of times by now. His curveball is something I’ve seen plenty of times by now. I’ll give him credit. Change up was really, really good. A different type change-up I’ve ever seen. It’s all the same stuff, man.
It really is. Like, from high A to AA, it’s the same exact type stuff you’re seeing Friday, Saturday, and the SEC, same exact stuff we saw. The only difference is, you know that every, every now and again, you’d face dude on Tuesday night and the midweek in college, that was good. But majority of the time you were facing mid-eighties with, you know, lacking secondary stuff.
But now. It’s just, it’s everyday man. It’s every day. There’s something that everyone that steps on the mound does well. There’s some, there’s one pitch that they can rely on to get you out, or at least they think, to get you out. And that’s, that’s the difference. You don’t really run into arms anymore that just don’t have anything to get you out.
Everybody has at least one pitch, and it’s similar. It’s a Friday night, Saturday night arm type deal from college, you know, the elite bullpen arms. It’s like that. It’s an adjustment. The big thing for me is I have to understand the strike zone’s smaller. That’s a big thing in college that, you know, to be successful, you have to protect six inches off, four inches in, six inches up, six inches down.
The zone is just bigger. And that’s not, that’s not saying the umpires are bad. It’s just kind of where the set strike zone is. Like, “Hey, we’ll give you a little off in college.” In pro ball, man, like, you know, now that I’m in AA, the strike zone has gotten smaller. Now I have to adjust to that. My entire life I’ve been a protective hitter. That’s been slap and run, but to do damage, I’ve gotta be more selective. So, that’s the process I’m in right now. It’s going to take time. It’s going to take patience, but I’m going to get to it. I know I’ll figure it out. God willing, stay healthy along the process.
Rick: [00:08:28] You know, Jake, 50-something years of covering college baseball, I’ve never seen any player enjoy playing the game more than it always looked like you did. And I’m just wondering, is going from Mississippi State into professional baseball, is it as much fun?
Jake: [00:08:51] Look, is it more fun to play in Binghamton than a super-regional with 15,000 people?
Obviously, I’d be lying if I told you that, you know, a minor league, regular-season game’s more fun than playing at Dudy Noble post-season. But I truly believe God put me on this earth to play baseball like this. Like that’s my calling. That’s what I’m pursuing my life in. That’s what I spend every waking minute of the day focused on and practice like to be the best I can be to help my team/organization win.
Like that’s what I feel like God finds joy in me doing and what he put me on the earth to do. I miss Mississippi State a lot, but you know, this is where I need to be right now. I’m making major strides in my game day by day, here in Binghamton. I’m continuing to get better. And, you know, someone told me, someone in the Mississippi State alumni circle told me this.
He said, “everything that’s bad about the minor leagues is all worth it once you make it,” he said. And I’m sure… he won’t… I think he said it on the air, but you know, it, it was, it was Brantley. He told me that. You know, the, the thing is, I think he’s right. You know, like, there’s a lot of stuff that is tough about the minor leagues, the travel, you know, sometimes the food. It’s gotten better.
The food’s gotten better. There’s a lot of things that if you could script it, like you would change in the minor leagues. There’s no doubt about that. But I kinda love that part of it, you know, like that’s what makes it a little harder. Cause if it, if it was easy, everybody would do it, and I’d probably be out a job, but just a difficulty level helps a lot.
You know, it kind of keeps you grounded. It keeps you humble. I just love playing ball, man. I’ll play ball anywhere I can, but once I make it, I think it’ll all be worth it. If I make it. We’ll see.
Tyler: [00:10:31] Yeah, Jake, we want to… one of the things we wanted to ask you about as we were talking about this last night as we were watching the Braves, we were trying to think of athletes in Mississippi, who, while they were in college would have benefited from a name, image and likeness, you know, law so that they could, a college athlete could benefit a little bit.
And I think the consensus was that you definitely could have. I mean, we hear your commercials on the radio now. I just wanted to kind of get your take on that. And you know, whether or not you think that it would have benefited you while you were still in school?
Jake: [00:11:03] Yeah, sure. It, I could have had some opportunities that would have been, you know, that would have been there if it would have been legal, I guess, while I was in college, but you know, here’s, here’s the thing, man.
It’s such a gray area. There’s so many opportunities for that to be leading into cheating, leading into jealousy, leading into, you know like John Cohen said it very, very well. “Well, if you pay the quarterback, well, what about the offensive lineman? If you pay the pitcher, then what about the catcher? If you pay the four-hole hitter, what about the three-hole hitter?
There’s just a lot. There’s a lot of gray area with this, man. And I think the NCA needs to tread carefully because the game’s so pure right now, man. I tell everybody in pro ball that makes fun of me, “Well, why do you watch so much college baseball?” Because it’s so pure, man. It’s just a pure game.
Like you’re seeing dudes that just are competing for the universities. They’ve been through a whole entire fall program together. They’ve been through a whole entire regular season. Now it’s go time, back against the wall, fight or flight. It’s just a pure game, man. And that’s why a lot of people love college baseball so much, just because it’s just such a pure game.
So if, once we start getting dollar signs involved in it, that doesn’t change the fact that we need to grow the game in regards to the [unintelligible] assistant coach and the scholarship ordeal, the game does need to grow, but name, image, and likeness is just a sketchy, sketchy area, man. And the more you think about it, the more you look around, like the more you get dollar signs involved with such a pure game, it’s going to get… it’s going to open up a lot of opportunities for things that aren’t good for the game.
Rick: [00:12:40] That brings up another thing I wanted to talk to you about. In some ways, there’s dollar signs already because college coaches have to figure out how to divide up 11.7 scholarships, you know, among a 35 man roster.
Jake: [00:12:58] You’re exactly right. 35 man roster, 11.7 scholarships.
Rick: [00:13:03] Yeah. So what’s your take on that?
I mean, it’s, it seems to me that it’s crazy that a third-string, long snapper can be on full scholarship and a high level, SEC pitcher might have a 50%.
Jake: [00:13:19] Yeah, man. I’ve, I’ve played with a lot of dudes that helped win us a lot of baseball games that had student loans. It’s crazy, but it is, it is a part of it. So I just think that they need to add scholarships.
It’s crazy that there’s only 11.7 scholarships in baseball.
Rick: [00:13:38] Don’t you think college baseball’s reached the point that maybe anybody who’s on, maybe not the whole 35 man roster, but the 25 man, the travel roster, shouldn’t they be on scholarship?
Jake: [00:13:50] They absolutely should be on scholarship.
Without question. At least, add some scholarships at first, like we don’t have to go 11.7 to 27 off the bat. Let’s periodically start raising this bar a little bit. And if that means that not everyone wants to support the, you know, raising scholarships, then that’s fine. Then your program, your university shows that they’re not going to take a lot of pride in baseball.
That’s fine. We’ve got like 400 Division I baseball teams, way too many. Like, football — they do it pretty right. There’s a Division I…D1-1A, D1-2A. Split it up. Like, you know what I mean? Like this is a great opportunity for… Now, I know that that means that there’s not going to be any more Cinderella 4-seed regionals teams. Sucks, but in order for the game to grow, you have to add more scholarships. You have to, you know, invest more money in the game.
And this is just an opportunity for the 400 Division I baseball teams to decide, do we value baseball? Do we value this sport on our university campus? And, you know, man, over the last year and a half we’ve already seen a lot of programs, a lot of university presidents kind of whack baseball program.
So, I’m not trying to break the hearts of the small, like, really small D1 schools, you know, their College World Series hopes. It’s just the reality of it is: the game’s growing rapidly. Some universities aren’t going to invest money into baseball, and that’s fine if that’s the route they take.
But the last thing I want is this kid that loves baseball that goes to this small D1 school, and they whack the program his junior year. That is like the last thing you want. Like, I don’t want that to happen, but it’s really starting to get to the point. If we add scholarships, you’re going to see real quickly what universities value baseball and what universities really care about having them on campus.
Tyler: [00:15:47] You talked about growing the game. Can you talk about somewhere where the game is not growling? Because it’s fully growed, and that appears to be Mississippi. You know, we were talking earlier about Southern Miss fighting Ole Miss in that regional.
You know, Ole Miss, Mississippi state, you know, both advancing in the playoffs. I mean, and it, you just go level to level. I mean, Jackson State went undefeated in the SWAC this year, and Delta State is always in contention. I don’t have to tell you, but the high school scene in Mississippi is unreal right now.
Your Alma mater won another championship. Shout out to the Patriots.
Jake: [00:16:22] Patriots, best in the country, baby. We rolling.
Tyler: [00:16:25] And, you know, like Madison Central was just unbelievably good… When people ask you why you watch college baseball or anything, like, I mean, do you just kinda have to explain to them what it’s like here?
Jake: [00:16:35] Yeah. I don’t think people realize what magnitude it is. Like you know, when I talk to all my pro ball friends, like they get it. They don’t understand, if that makes sense. You know, in the locker room, I have the regional playing on my laptop, and everybody just kinda, you know, just walks by, checks it out like, “Oh, that’s pretty cool, man.” And, like, everybody walks off, and then the guys will actually break it down with me. Like, like I just try to explain like “Man, it’s different. Like it’s just different.” It’s not 14,000 people at a baseball game. It’s 14,000 people invested into every pitch, like genuinely invested into each pitch that’s thrown. Not each batter, not each inning. It’s like each pitch they’re invested in, and it’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. It’s Major League Playoff atmosphere for nine innings, and it’s pretty cool.
Rick: [00:17:26] Jake, why do you think that Mississippi is so different in that regard? I’ll give you Arkansas.
Arkansas has maybe that kind of atmosphere for one school, but in Mississippi, I mean, it’s, it’s life or death here. People really, really care about… Why?
Jake: [00:17:45] Because we don’t have a Major League or professional football team. That’s it. Mississippi has to choose to rally what university, and Mississippi has this great dynamic of, you know, majority of families are pulling from Mississippi State, Ole Miss or Southern Miss, like that’s the majority of families.
And, you know, you have your pockets of Jackson State, you have pockets of Delta State, a lot of great programs. I keep going on about the programs. And the other thing is man, like Mississippi is known, like, man, we produce athletes. Like we produce really, really good athletes. You look across the board like arguably the best player from every sport ever has come from Mississippi.
It’s pretty insane, what type of talent Mississippi has. So people rally behind sports, man, and we’re an SEC country, all the SEC states love them some SEC football. So in the fall, you know, we got football and the other great thing is man, in the state of Mississippi, yeah, we don’t have a professional team, but year-round we can rally behind our university.
Like as soon as baseball ends, it’s football season. As soon as football season ends, we’re halfway through basketball season. Basketball and baseball overlap, and it’s a nonstop circle. It just keeps rolling. And then you can rally behind that all year. And that’s what people enjoy to do.
Rick: [00:18:59] Speaking of Mississippi sports history, you’re the third generation of Mangums that I’ve watched play and actually cover. Your granddaddy, Big John… big star.
I mean, he was a tremendous defensive lineman for Southern Miss. And of course, your dad was a high school Player of the Year in Mississippi. And then you know, 10-year pro was it? With the Chicago Bears and starred Alabama. And now you. You got to take a lot of pride in that.
Jake: [00:19:31] It’s pretty cool, man. I quit football after ninth grade.
My dad was cool with it, but I remember quitting, and I was like, “Dang, I’m gonna be the first person in a while that hasn’t played college football, but yeah football wasn’t for me, man. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Like I said, I think God put me on the Earth to hit a baseball. So I’m going to keep doing that for as long as he’ll allow me to do it.
Tyler: [00:19:53] What position did you play?
Jake: [00:19:55] Defensive back.
Rick: [00:19:56] Yeah, but your dad who, although his background was in football, and he was a great football player, he was integral in your becoming the baseball player you are.
Jake: [00:20:07] ‘Course, man. If it wasn’t for my dad, I wouldn’t have made it out of high school. And my dad’s… he’s instilled a lot of things in me that I’ve gotten from him, just like my mom.
My mom and dad both have given me a lot of traits that I’m very thankful for. And yeah, man, the amount of hours my dad spent with me hitting is…it’s crazy how much he sacrificed for, to allow me to, you know, fall in love with the game that I would have naturally fallen in love with, but he helped me do it… a better way to do it, I guess you could say. Yeah, I mean, after if it wasn’t for my dad, I wouldn’t be here. No, there’s no if, ands or buts about it.
Rick: [00:20:38] Best advice he ever gave you.
Jake: [00:20:40] He’s given me all of my advice, if you really want to get into it, man. Like that dude, that dude don’t mess. He don’t mess. And he’ll piss me off sometimes, you know, but he’s the best, man.
The best advice he ever gave me. It’s back to this: never get too high, never get too low. You know, I’d have out of a four-for-five game in college. He’d want to talk about the out. He just wants the best for me. And he’s always challenging me. He’s always, you know, wanting me to be the best I can be.
And I’m really thankful for that, man. I’m very, very thankful for my dad. And I never got a chance to meet my grandfather. He passed away before I was born, but Big John was… I heard he was a hit, man. A lot of people liked him. He was a big ole dude, and I wish I could have met him.
Rick: [00:21:18] He was a big ole, strong dude. He was country strong. That’s before they lifted weights or anything. Big John didn’t need weights.
Jake: [00:21:27] He didn’t need weights I bet he was working in McGee, man. And, and my uncle, Chris, he’s the same thing, man. The crazy thing is my dad’s 5’10”. Uncle Chris is like 6’5″.
It’s crazy. I was hoping I would get Chris’s height, but I didn’t quite get that. I got my dad though, by a little bit.
Rick: [00:21:41] That’s right. Listen, Jake, we have really enjoyed having you, and we look forward to watching you play for the New York Mets.
Jake: [00:21:49] Long way to go, Rick. Long way to go.
Rick: [00:21:52] Long way to go. But, and you know, Jake, I thought you were an underdog coming in because of your age and everything.
Jake: [00:21:58] You best believe that. I’m an underdog. I’m clawing my way up there. We’ll see how it goes.
Rick: [00:22:03] Well, good luck to you. And we appreciate you being here with us.
Jake: [00:22:07] Thanks so much, guys. It’s great to see y’all
Rick: [00:22:10] Yeah, it was good to see you.
Tyler: [00:22:12] Thanks to all of you for listening in to the Crooked Letter Sports podcast. That was a lot of fun talking with Jake.
We really appreciate him being on the show, being our first guest. You know, when we were talking about putting the show together, we thought maybe he would be one of the guys that would be most willing and easy to talk to. And it turned out that way. We hope Jake the best. And Pop, what do you think? Do you think he’s got a shot?
Rick: [00:22:36] Well, he’s an underdog. I mean, he’s, he’s a late starter in professional baseball. I mean, he’s, he’s at AA and he’s 25 years old. And there, there are, you know, younger players in that at AA and, two, the game is shifting so much to where it’s a power game, which is, you know, not Jake’s game. But the thing about Jake is I’ll just never bet against him because he, he just has a way of coming out on top.
Tyler: [00:23:08] He does seem to be driven. And I think that he’s, you know, it’s not like he wasn’t, you know, a top prospect coming out of high school and he wasn’t a valued commodity coming out of college. I mean, obviously, there’s a whole lot of talent there. I think what you’re talking about is the intangible of just being the guy and, you know, the leader, the Mayor of Starkville, you know?
Rick: [00:23:35] Yeah. He’s a unique individual and, I really do wish him the best. He has always been forthcoming and always been… He was always the go-to guy in the State locker room. He was the guy you went to if you really wanted to know what was going on. And, and I’m sure that will translate well on the Major League level, if he ever, if he makes it, and I’m not betting against him.
Tyler: [00:24:02] Well with that, we’re going to wrap up our first episode. Thanks again for listening in to the Crooked Letter Sports podcast. I’m Tyler Cleveland with Scorebook Live Mississippi. He’s Rick Cleveland with Mississippi Today. Remember to follow us online, on social media, @TylerCleveland, @rick_cleveland.
And thanks to the folks at Blue Sky Studios in Jackson for producing this podcast. Have a good one, everybody.
In this week’s episode of Mississippi Stories, Mississippi Today Editor-At-Large Marshall Ramsey sits down with Mississippi Public Broadcasting Executive Director Ronnie Agnew.
Agnew, a native of Saltillo and graduate of Ole Miss, joined Mississippi Public Broadcasting in August 2011 as the agency’s executive director after a career in the newspaper industry spanning nearly three decades. At MPB, a state licensee, Agnew has oversight of radio and television programming and the agency’s legislative, education and digital initiatives.
During his time at MPB, Agnew has successfully overseen the launch of new shows that further the agency’s mission of delivering strong content across all platforms, focusing on issues affecting Mississippi, with an emphasis on early-childhood education, job skills training, healthcare and Mississippi politics. Before joining MPB, Agnew served as executive editor of the Clarion-Ledger, the state’s largest newspaper. Under his leadership, the Clarion-Ledger won dozens of awards for investigative reporting and was among the Gannett Co., Inc.’s most decorated newspapers nationally for coverage of civil rights issues. During his long newspaper career, Agnew worked in the Delta, in Hattiesburg, the Gulf Coast, in Dothan, Ala., and Cincinnati, Ohio. He has served on numerous boards and judged the Pulitzer Prize four times.
Ramsey and Agnew talk about mentorship, resilience and surviving in a changing world.
