PHILADELPHIA — Neshoba Central Middle School Principal Cody Killen walked down the school’s quiet halls Wednesday morning before entering into Kristian Swearingen’s English class during the first day of school. Although he was wearing a mask, it was obvious that he was excited.
“First of all, I’ve missed you all,” Killen said. “When we let out for spring break, never did I think that we would see you all at the end of the year, or starting the school year off like this. It is not because we want to, but it’s because we want to work hard to do everything that we can do to continue to have school on campus. That means so much to me.”
The Neshoba County School District was one of many schools to open their doors for a new school year this week.
“This won’t last forever,” Killen said. “I’ll be honest, It’s going to last for a while, but we will get through this.”
Earlier this week, Gov Tate Reeves issued an executive order to delay school start dates for grades 7-12 in some COVID hotspots. Districts in Bolivar, Coahoma, Forrest, George, Hinds, Panola, Sunflower and Washington counties cannot open for those grades until Aug. 17.
According to the Stephanie Peebles, the middle school’s nurse, the school has been strictly following the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines to protect the students and staff.
“Of course we have a lot of parents and students who are nervous, but we want to show the parents that we are here to protect their children, do the best we can, and we are going to love them up and welcome them back,” Peebles said.
As of August 6, the CDC has reported 63,444 confirmed cases and 1,804 deaths in Mississippi. Neshoba County alone has 1,278 confirmed cases and 91 deaths. The county has the second highest number of deaths behind Hinds County, which has 116.
Here are images from Neshoba Central Middle School’s first day of in-person class.
Neshoba County School District students get board school buses after the district’s first day of school on Wednesday, August 5, 2020.
The State Board of Education voted on Thursday to give an optional 10-day waiver to school districts that have either chosen or were ordered to delay their start dates.
Under state law, districts must complete 180 days of school by June 30 each year, which is why school usually begins in August in Mississippi. This waiver will allow affected school districts to only have to complete 170 days.
On Tuesday, Gov. Tate Reeves issued a mandate ordering school districts in eight counties considered hot spots for the coronavirus: Bolivar, Coahoma, Forrest, George, Hinds, Panola, Sunflower and Washington, to push the start of school back until August 17 for students in 7th-12th grades. The order affects 21 school districts, or about seven percent of students.
“This is not requiring 170 days. They [school districts] can do 190 days if they want. But if they need 10 days to work with because of the delay, that’s what I want to bring up,” said Jason Dean, Chair of the State Board of Education.
Dean said that this option is only available to school districts that either affected by the governor’s executive order, or who had to delay their published start dates. Schools that started this week or that plan on starting the next week are not eligible for the waiver.
“Today one-third of our districts are starting and by Monday [August 10] two-thirds of our districts are starting. If that was your established date, this does not apply to you. If you’re one of the districts in the governor’s eight counties that was included in the executive order or you independently chose to move your start date, this applies to you,” Dean said.
He also said that he foresees this waiver affecting teacher pay, administrator pay and hourly employees, but that will be addressed at the board’s August 27 meeting.
Most school districts are opening this month — two opened in July and 10 plan to open in September.
Though many districts opened this week or plan to later this month, several groups, including the Mississippi Association of Educators, Mississippi State Medical Association and the Mississippi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics have each advocated for a delayed start until at least Sept. 1.
Good Friday morning everyone! Temperatures are in the upper 60s, under clear skies this morning. It is perfect weather to enjoy that morning cup of coffee on the porch. We will see plenty of sunshine today, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming north northeast around 5 mph. Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low around 70. North northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
SATURDAY: Sunny and hot, with a high near 97. Calm wind becoming west northwest around 5 mph. Saturday night will be mostly clear, with a low around 73. Calm wind.
SUNDAY: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Otherwise, it will be sunny and hot, with a high near 98! Calm wind becoming west southwest around 5 mph. Sunday night will be partly cloudy, with a low around 74.
I normally don’t do this. I like to write the stories myself, but when I talked to Heather Palmer at Sanctuary Hospice, her answers were perfect. This interview is being pasted in her words. Sorry it is so long but I couldn’t leave anything out.
“I answered these from my job/perspective as Sanctuary’s Director of Outreach/Fundraising. I’ve been here 10 years and one part of my job is helping to be the voice so I hope this helps! It’s been a great, rewarding experience.
Sanctuary Hospice House, LLC first opened its’ doors to the public on November 28th, 2005. We were established by many founders from all over North MS.
Why did you move here? A few of our early founders went on a medical mission trip to Mexico City in August of 2000. While on the trip, one of their stops took them to an end of life centered facility and there began the conversations and vision to create an establishment with the same focus back home. Dr. Joe Bailey, Dr. John Elliott, Dr. Jack Foster, Louise Harris (nurse) and former Senator Nancy Collins (nurse) who were on the trip were all too aware of that type of need from their work with end of life patients. There were 14 home hospice agencies at the time that served the area but home services did not fulfill the need for those facing end of life who could no longer be cared for at home or who did not have appropriate caregivers. In December 2000, a group of medical physicians, nurses and strong community leaders and volunteers came together with the community and began the fundraising efforts that led to the eventual opening of Sanctuary.
What do you love about Tupelo? This community joined hands with our founders and literally made their dream into a reality. To this day, North MS continues to amaze me. Each year, we must raise $1.5 Million dollars to offset operational deficits of care that goes above/beyond traditional reimbursements. Our community continues comes through and support the Sanctuary dream. One of our early founders, Louise Harris once said that “There were so many people here who wanted to give. This is that kind of community. There’s a synergy here that you don’t find in many places but it’s present and alive here. There were so many people who gave so much (time and money), that you couldn’t mention them all. You’d have to have a list as long as my leg. ” I think that statement really sums up Sanctuary’s inception and continued reality.
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs? We compiled a video 5 years ago that gathered some of our early founders together to share the story of Sanctuary’s beginnings. In that video, our former director, Linda Gholston interviewed Dr. Bailey, Dr. Elliott and his wife Carol, Nancy Collins, Lisa Hawkins, Lauren Patterson, Louise Harris and Joyce Riley. I feel comfortable in speaking for all of them by saying that great faith, prayer, determination, vision and a strong group of allies are very important elements to the beginnings but also to the continual spirit of a nonprofit. They began a culture that still resides in the hearts and souls of employees like myself who are privileged to be a part of the continued Sanctuary story. We want our roots to always be centered around their strong foundation.
What do you love about your job? I think I can speak for all of our employees when I say the “work” we do is both a blessing and a privilege. We have now cared for over 6500 patients and their family members. There are many who help to make the Sanctuary experience whole – Physicians, NPs, RNs, CNAs, Social Workers, Chaplains, Dietary, Volunteers, Board Members and Administration/Support. To know that we all come together to make the last days on earth more peaceful for all we serve, regardless of race, religion, background, etc… is very humbling and very rewarding.
What have you learned from this job or venture? I personally have learned the power of many hands joining together for powerful purpose. There is nothing we do here that you cannot see fingerprints of from a large group of workers and supporters. One person (Sanctuary worker) may very well be the last face that a person sees before they leave this earth for their eternal home but it takes the efforts of many others to get to that point. Each time a person is served, I hope the community who supports us so freely feels the depth of their significant role in that.
What would you like people to know about your business? When hospice is needed or even considered, call us. We are here to help and answer questions and possibly solutions even if hospice is not the answer at the time. We offer services in the home as well as at the hospice house. We never want anyone intimidated to use our services due to inability to pay. That is why the community’s continued financial support is so vital. Verbal support is great as well. Each time a person shares the message of the love they received from Sanctuary whether it be at our hospice house or in the homes of the patients we are privileged to serve, they are helping to share the message of the Sanctuary story.”
Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today, Report For America
GOP gubernatorial candidate Tate Reeves speaks to media after voting at Liberty Baptist Church during the GOP runoff elections.
House Speaker Philip Gunn and Pro Tem Jason White filed a lawsuit in Hinds County Chancery Court Wednesday afternoon challenging the constitutionality of partial vetoes issued by Gov. Tate Reeves of two bills lawmakers passed earlier this year.
The lawsuit filed by Gunn and White — the two most powerful leaders in the House — regarded bills they championed and passed earlier this year that funded the state’s public education operations and provided federal coronavirus relief money to health care providers.
Reeves blasted the lawsuit on social media on Wednesday and addressed it at a press conference. In a Facebook post, he said he had vetoed “payoffs for friends of favored House members.” He called the lawsuit a “power grab by some members of the House” and said much of his vetoing was to protect taxpayers from “pet projects stuck in a bill by a legislator” and “earmarks.”
Reeves accused the Republican-led House of letting “liberal Republicans” and Democrats run the show. He said he’s already heard from some Republican lawmakers opposed to the leadership’s lawsuit.
Gunn, White and other lawmakers declined comment on the lawsuit on Wednesday.
The state Constitution gives the governor the authority to issue partial vetoes of appropriations or budget bills, but multiple rulings by the Mississippi Supreme Court have placed strict limits on that authority.
The courts have generally said that the governor could not partially veto conditions or individual projects placed in appropriations bills. A partial veto has not been upheld by the judiciary in recent history.
For more than 100 years, the courts have ruled “the governor is not authorized to pick and choose various portions of bills to veto as Gov. Reeves has done here,” the lawsuit claimed.
Less than 10 years after the Constitution was ratified, the state Supreme Court ruled that there were strict limits on the partial veto authority, according to the lawsuit. The suit maintained that the courts have ruled the partial veto authority could be used if the Legislature adopted an “omnibus” appropriations bill and then only to veto sections of the bill, but not individual line items.
The fight over the partial vetoes is the latest in a long line of disagreements this year — the first of a new four-year term — between Reeves and fellow Republican members of the legislative leadership. They have fought over who had spending authority of $1.25 billion in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds and on various other issues.
On July 8, Reeves vetoed most of the funding going to local school districts because he said the Legislature did not fund a program providing bonuses to the faculty of top performing and improving schools — a program critics say is racially and socioeconomically inequitable. Before the veto, legislative leaders said not funding the program was a mistake and that it could be corrected by the Legislature without the need for a veto.
The school districts recently received their first state funding installment of the new fiscal year based on a letter Reeves sent to the state fiscal officer authorizing the release of the funds. He said he had the authority to release the funds based on an official opinion issued by former Attorney General Jim Hood saying the schools must be funded regardless of whether there is a legislative appropriation because the Constitution mandates a public education system.
At a Wednesday afternoon news conference, he defended his vetoes but did not address the merits of the lawsuit. Reeves said one item he vetoed — $2 million awarded to a shuttered hospital — was a “pet project for an individual legislator.” The hospital is in the district of House Ways and Means Chair Rep. Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia.
“With the CARES Act money … there were several projects that quite frankly were earmarks, one of which was an earmark for a hospital in Tate County — a hospital that hasn’t been open in two years,” Reeves said. “Not only have they not treated any COVID patients, they haven’t treated any patients at all during the life of this pandemic.”
The bill stated the hospital would receive the funds — like other Mississippi hospitals will — if it reopened this year and began to treat coronavirus patients. The Tate County Board of Supervisors has been in negotiations to reopen the hospital.
Reeves said another item he vetoed for $6 million to Federally Qualified Health Centers also appeared to be earmarked “for a hand selected few FQHCs to do a disparity study” while leaving other centers out.
Beyond the lawsuit, legislative leaders are also considering calling themselves back into session to consider overriding some of his vetoes.
Reeves noted that lawmakers’ ability to call themselves back into session is very limited per the Legislature’s own resolution.
“I think if you actually read the order that passed the House and Senate, it’s very clear they can bring themselves back for any COVID-19 related issues, for a total of six days between now and the end of October,” Reeves said.
Otherwise, Reeves has sole authority to call lawmakers back in special session and he said he is reluctant to do so now for lawmakers’ own health and wellbeing because of an outbreak of COVID-19 at the Capitol that infected about 50 lawmakers and staff in July.
“I am not willing to play political games at the expense of the public health and the safety of the men and women who go into that (Capitol) building across the street,” Reeves said. “A lot of them are friends of mine and a lot of them are really good people.”
Reeves said he knows of at least one lawmaker — whom he did not name — that tested positive very recently.
“We certainly want them to come back for a special session and we have to bring them back in a special session,” Reeves said. “… But obviously this lawsuit complicates things a little bit … they chose to sue us rather than work this out, which I don’t think is a very wise decision.”
Reeves didn’t directly answer media questions as to why it would be safe for schools to reopen, and for bars and other businesses statewide to be open as the number of new cases soars, but not for the Legislature to return in session. He noted that many schools have detailed reopening plans and safety protocols and that young children appear less likely to transmit COVID-19 or to die from it if infected.
“We’ve dealt with everything in 2020 from tornadoes, to a prison crisis, to a state agency head from the previous administration being indicted, to the third-largest tornado in American history,” Reeves said. “… We’ve dealt with just about everything you can imagine, so dealing with yet another power grab by some members of the House is not all that surprising to me. But I never would have guessed it a year or so ago.”
The House leaders are being represented by Madison County attorney Andy Taggart, who was chief of staff for Gov. Kirk Fordice in the 1990s when his efforts at partial vetoes was found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. At the time, Taggart advocated for the governor having much broader partial veto authority.
The lawsuit is seeking a quick resolution of the issue since the CARES Act mandates the funds be spent this calendar year.
Reeves said: “There’s a small group in the House that only wants to pick fights with me—some liberal Republicans who’ve joined forces with liberal House Dems. They run the show these days: Democrats and some left-leaning GOP politicians. (Republican) Trey Lamar and (Democratic caucus leader) Robert Johnson lead that crew around.”
“They don’t have the votes to override the vetoes, so this is their Hail Mary,” Reeves continued. “I wish they wouldn’t waste your money and pull us away from all the crises we’re managing to deal with their nonsense, but it’s their favorite game.”
Mississippi’s private schools, such as Madison Ridgeland Academy and Presbyterian Christian, shown here from a 2019 game, plan to start the 2020 season on time in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mississippi currently has the highest COVID-19 positivity rate in the U.S., but the state’s private high schools plan to play organized football on August 13, a week from Thursday.
The Mid-South Association of Independent Schools (MAIS), the governing body of Mississippi private schools, will open its regular season on Thursday, August 20, but several private school teams around the state are scheduled to be involved in football jamborees with multiple teams August 13 and 14.
Said Shane Blanton, MAIS executive director in a phone conversation Wednesday morning: “We’re excited to get started. We think we have a very good plan. We’re trying our best to do what’s right for our children.”
Mississippi’s public high schools have delayed the start of the football season until Sept. 4. The Southeastern Conference has delayed its start until Sept. 26. The Southwestern Athletic Conference has postponed football season until the spring.
Rick Cleveland
Across the nation, changes to existing football plans are announced nearly daily. The University of Connecticut (UConn), which had been scheduled to play Ole Miss before the SEC went to a conference games-only schedule, announced the cancellation of its 2020 football season early Wednesday.
Louisiana’s public high schools Wednesday delayed the start of the 2020 season until October.
In Mississippi, Greenwood-Leflore County Schools have joined Greenville High School in canceling fall sports. Greenville’s school board made the unanimous decision last week. Greenwood-Leflore’s school board voted 3-2 Tuesday. Greenwood-Leflore high schools include Greenwood, Leflore County and Amanda Elzy high schools. That list could grow. Several other school systems around the state are known to be weighing options.
Gov. Tate Reeves has made no executive order concerning the playing of football, but said in his scheduled press conference Tuesday, “Nobody likes high school sports as much as I do, but I am going to focus on the education of our students first and foremost. There are several sports at the high school level that can be safely played. I know this for sure: I do not envision any scenario in which there can be a large crowd in the stands to watch those games.”
At the same press conference, State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said his chief fear would be for the fans in the stands, rather than the players on the field.
“There is a risk for the players,” Dobbs said. “That said, there aren’t a lot of 65-year-olds taking the field out there. But there would be in stands, and that could promulgate community spread in areas. So, if we’re going to play football in the next couple of weeks, the stands would need to be nearly empty.”
Following the press conference, asked directly about the wisdom of playing football, given Mississippi’s COVID-19 numbers presently, Dobbs responded, “I just wouldn’t do it. Not now.”
Shane Blanton
MAIS chief Blanton said his organization has a plan for football attendance.
“For at least the first weekend, we are looking at 25 percent of capacity,” Blanton said. “We hope we can raise that to 50 percent and perhaps beyond that as the state’s numbers improve. In Alabama, they are going 100 percent from the beginning.”
As for how the crowd size limitations will be enforced Blanton said, “That will be left up to the individual schools.”
Traditional rivalry games such as those that involved Jackson Prep, Jackson Academy and Madison-Ridgeland Academy routinely pack the stadiums. MRA is scheduled to play at Jackson Academy on Sept. 4. A reasonable question: How will it be decided who can attend and who can’t? Better yet, who is going to tell grandmothers and grandfathers, aunts and uncles: No, you can’t come in?
Mississippi’s current statewide restrictions limit gatherings to 10 people indoors and 20 people outdoors and call for social distancing of six feet of separation between persons who do not live in the same household. Any football game will exceed those “gathering” limits on the playing field alone, not to mention the sidelines or the stands. As for the six feet of separation, you can’t block or tackle from six feet away.
Mississippi House speaker Philip Gunn, center, and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, right, talk after Gov. Tate Reeves press conference at the State of Mississippi Woolfolk Building in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, May 7, 2020.
Members of the Mississippi House are expected to file a lawsuit, as early as Wednesday, challenging Gov. Tate Reeves’ partial veto of a bill spending federal COVID-19 relief funds.
Legislative sources said lawmakers also are considering reconvening in Jackson as early as next week to consider overriding some of Reeves’ five vetoes he issued in early July, including his partial veto of the K-12 education budget.
The looming lawsuit and return to Jackson sets up yet another clash between Republican legislative leaders and the Republican governor.
Earlier this year, Reeves sparred with House Speaker Philip Gunn and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who presides over the Senate, over who should get spending authority of $1.2 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds. The Legislature prevailed. Lawmakers also bucked the will of Reeves when they voted to remove the state flag in June.
Reeves’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Legislators have been waiting for Reeves to call them back in special session to deal at least with Reeves’ partial veto of the education budget and to pass a budget bill for the Department of Marine Resources. DMR was not funded before the Legislature left July 1 because of a disagreement between the House and Senate over Reeves’ authority to spend millions in Gulf restoration funds.
The Constitution gives the governor sole authority to call a special session. But this year legislators passed a resolution giving Gunn and Hosemann the authority to reconvene the Legislature to take up COVID-19 issues. Once in session, if approved by two-thirds of the members, legislators could take up essentially any issue. A two-thirds vote also would be required for any veto override.
There has been speculation about whether Reeves’ partial veto of a bill appropriating federal funds to hospitals and other healthcare providers is constitutional.
The state Constitution gives a governor some line-item veto power, but the parameters of that power have been debated for years and the subject of legal challenges in past administrations. The state Supreme Court has ruled that those line-item veto powers are limited.
“I would want to more thoroughly research it … but when I read the bill with that in mind, it seemed the veto was unconstitutional based on the latest precedent in the Leflore County private prisons case,” said Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory. Bryan was referring to an early 2000s case when the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional a partial by then-Gov. Ronnie Musgrove of money going to private prisons.
Bryan, chair of the Senate Public Health Committee, was one of the key architects in the final days of June as legislators finished their work and adjourned after passing the bill to spend $130 million in funds to help health care providers, such as hospitals, and other entities, such as food pantries, with their work fighting the coronavirus. The money was part of $1.25 billion the state received in the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.
Reeves vetoed $2 million lawmakers directed to the shuttered North Oak Regional Medical Center in Senatobia and $6 million earmarked to the MAGnet Community Health Center to study and try to combat health disparities, such as combating the high impact COVID-19 has inflicted on the African American community. The spending was part of a $130 million bill directing CARES Act money to Mississippi health care and hospitals.
Reeves argued the hospital should not receive the money because it was closed and thus not dealing with coronavirus patients. He also said he was not familiar with the group receiving the funds to try to curb health disparities.
The money for the Senatobia hospital would only be available if reopened before the end of the year. The hospital is located in the district of Republican House Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar, who over the years has been at odds with Reeves over numerous issues, dating back to Reeves’ terms as lieutenant governor.
In the early 2000s, Musgrove vetoed a portion of the appropriations bill for the Department of Corrections that provided money to operate a private prison in Leflore County.
The court, in a 5-2 ruling, said the governor could not veto restrictions on how those funds were spent. In a complex legal opinion, the Court ruled that Musgrove would have had to vetoed the entire section of the bill providing funds for the Greenville prison.
Bryan was a plaintiff in the 1990s when the Supreme Court ruled then-Gov. Kirk Foridice unconstitutionally vetoed portions of both appropriations and bond bills issuing long-term debt for the state.
Good Thursday morning everyone! Temperatures are in the upper 60s this morning, under clear skies. It will be perfect weather today across North Mississippi with sunshine and below normal temperatures near 88. North wind around 5 mph. Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low around 67. Enjoy the low humidity because temperatures in the mid to upper 90s returns the weekend.
This afternoon, I went to R and B Specialty Printing to speak with Shirley Hendrix. Her family moved to Tupelo in 1993 because they felt that it was inviting and welcoming. They wanted somewhere nice to raise their children.
Shirley says that she has always been an entrepreneur. One of her first businesses here was Shirley’s Place restaurant. She always loved to cook and her church family would come to her on Sundays, so she started a restaurant on the hill. That’s how it was known.
When her restaurant businesses closed, she went to work at Acon Graphics. She was always printing up “little happies” and giving things away. She then opened a booth at the flea market for her printed creations and business blew up. As she continued to grow in business, she opened a booth at the VF Warehouse and finally opened her store on Main Street downtown.
She created R and B Printing as a family business and something for her kids to inherit in time. Both of her kids have a great work ethic and have helped her throughout the years. Her oldest now runs his own business. Shirley has really enjoyed getting to know her clients. She is a customer-oriented person and loves to start conversations and really get to understand what they are asking for. She loves that her customers trust her enough to create her own visions sometimes. She gets their story and then gets to work with her creative side.
R and B Printing can do anything that deals with printing. Nothing is off the table. Flyers, Posters, Shirts, Window Decals. If you have a vision then they can make it happen.
Shirley advises business owners to always listen to your client. Listening is key and it will really show that you care. She always advises getting involved in your community. You should always be willing to give back to your community. She has enjoyed working with groups like United Way and Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
