Good morning Tupelo! Today is Friday, January 17, 2020. It is the 17th day of the year. There are 349 days left in the year and 61 days left of winter! Valentine’s Day is in 28 days, and Spring starts in 62 days.
If you’d like to become a sponsor of our daily Rundown, please contact joshua.ballard@ourtupelo.com or call 662-260-1498
HAPPENING TODAY
Today in Tupelo, here are the things going on around town:
If you have little ones, don’t miss Storytime at Reed’s Gumtree Bookstore at 10:30 a.m.
MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT
In Tupelo:
Steele’s Dive will have Proximity Rule at 9 p.m.
Blue Canoe will have Winston Ramble at 9:30 p.m.
Old Venice will have Chad Haughton, Jamie Houk, and Ronnie Mckeown
Romie’s Grocery will have Full Tilt at 7 p.m.
The Shade Tree Lounge will have Big Daddy Karaoke at 8 p.m.
The Stables will have Robbie Ross at 9 p.m.
Legends in Fulton will have Karaoke with Shona at 7:30 p.m.
Louie’s in Columbus will have Blacktop Ridge at 8 p.m.
Proud Larry’s in Oxford will have Neighbor Lady at 9 p.m.
FOOD TRUCKS
Tupelo’s Food Trucks can be found today at the following locations:
Jo’s Cafe will be set up at Midtown Pointe from 11:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.
If we missed a listing you know of, please let us know!
Want us to know about something coming up? Just tag our Facebook page, or you can even mark us co-host on an event you are having on your Facebook event listing. You can also send us a message on our Facebook page, or shoot us an email at submit@ourtupelo.com and we will help you share it.
Be sure to check out our extended calendar of events as well, for upcoming happenings in the area!
Have a great day and get out there and enjoy Our Tupelo!
* We update all listings periodically as new information becomes available.
Good morning Tupelo! Today is Thursday, January 16, 2020. It is the 16th day of the year. There are 350 days left in the year and 62 days left of winter! Valentine’s Day is in 29 days, and Spring starts in 63 days.
If you’d like to become a sponsor of our daily Rundown, please contact joshua.ballard@ourtupelo.com or call 662-260-1498
HAPPENING TODAY
Today in Tupelo, here are the things going on around town:
Storyplay at the Lee County Library in Tupelo is today at 9:30am. Storyplay is a storytime program featuring songs, rhymes, activities, and books more suitable for the baby to toddler set. Play will be highlighted and embraced during this program and modifications will be presented to accommodate different abilities and age groups.
Tupelo High School is having their 2nd semester Open House this evening. Teachers will be available to meet with parents in their classrooms from 4-6pm.
MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT
In Tupelo:
Steele’s Dive will have Jason Childers at 7 p.m.
Blue Canoe will have Robert Cline Jr at 7:30 p.m.
Old Venice will have Karaoke with DJ Dayton at 7 p.m.
Woody’s will have DJ E Karaoke at 8 p.m.
Miranda Lambert will be at the Bancorpsouth Arena tonight at 7 p.m.
Misbehavin’ will be at Tallahatchie Gourmet in New Albany tonight from 7 – 9 p.m.
FOOD TRUCKS
Tupelo’s Food Trucks can be found today at the following locations:
Local Mobile will be at TBA from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Jo’s Cafe will be at Longtown Medical Plaza from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.
If we missed a listing you know of, please let us know!
Want us to know about something coming up? Just tag our Facebook page, or you can even mark us co-host on an event you are having on your Facebook event listing. You can also send us a message on our Facebook page, or shoot us an email at submit@ourtupelo.com and we will help you share it.
Be sure to check out our extended calendar of events as well, for upcoming happenings in the area!
Have a great day and get out there and enjoy Our Tupelo!
* We update all listings periodically as new information becomes available.
Address: Although she doesn’t have a storefront, Amanda had a custom kitchen built on her property for her new bakery, catering to others while remaining close to family. You may call in orders at (662) 255-7763.
Deep South Delicacies in Mooreville is a Local Bakery offering a variety of pies including old fashioned fried pies made completely from scratch. Also, cakes, cookies, cupcakes, and more made-to-order southern delicacies!
Deep South Delicacies in Mooreville is the fruition of a dream for Amanda Sanderford decades in the making, learning to prepare traditional comfort foods at her mother’s side growing up.
Amanda says “Food has always been a big part of my families’ lives and always seems to bring folks together. It brings comfort for the grieving, celebration for the new mom and dad, and is overall an expression of love.”
After having a career as an RN for over 25 years, she was laid off due to unforeseen changes in the workplace. This however, gave Amanda the push she needed to turn her life long passion into her new career, catering to others through her love of cooking.
Amanda says her specialties are old fashioned fried pies made completely from scratch and original cookies including Mandy Cakes (Oatmeal Creme Pies), The Elvis (two banana oatmeal cookies sandwiched with peanut butter creme filling), and Pansy Ramseys (named after her grandmother, this cookie consist of two old fashioned tea cakes with chocolate frosting in between).
Some of Amanda’s other most requested baked goods are homemade layer cakes including strawberry, fresh carrot, Italian creme, German Chocolate, tradition chocolate, peanut butter and jelly, peanut butter with chocolate drizzle, yellow cake with raspberry or lemon filling iced with cream cheese, lemon icebox pies, pecan pies, chocolate and coconut pies, as well as fun treats for special occasions!
Deep South Delicacies will have expanded offerings soon, to include casseroles, meats, veggies, and more!
What I ordered: A little bit of everything!
For a sample menu, I was offered dumplings with roasted chicken, southern green beans, cornbread, and sweet tea. You can bet this country boy took that offer in a heartbeat! The green beans were loaded with pieces of meat for the perfect pairing. The dumplings was prepared with the chicken baked separately and added last for added spice and flavor. So good!!!
Amanda says that her type of cooking is traditional southern. “Food that taste like your best memories”
While visiting, I sampled several baked goods…you know, for research. From cupcakes and cookies, to made from scratch fried pies. After my tasting tour of several of her specialties, I found that Deep South Delicacies was the perfect name for Amanda’s bakery! Her fried pies alone, with tender flaky crust and fresh filling, will melt in your mouth!
Just a few menu items and pricing:
Fried pies ($4.00 each) apple and peach The Elvis ($2.00 each) two banana oatmeal cookies with peanut butter filling Pansy Ramsey’s ($2.00) two old fashioned tea cakes with chocolate frosting Mandy Cakes ($2.00) homemade oatmeal cream pies Select cupcakes ($1.25) Three layer cakes ($40.00)
To learn more or to place an order, visit Deep South Delicacies on Facebook and instagram or call (662) 255-7763.
Good morning Tupelo! Today is Wednesday, January 15, 2020. It is the 15th day of the year. There are 351 days left in the year and 63 days left of winter! Valentine’s Day is in 30 days, and Spring starts in 64 days.
If you’d like to become a sponsor of our daily Rundown, please contact joshua.ballard@ourtupelo.com or call 662-260-1498
HAPPENING TODAY
Today in Tupelo, here are the things going on around town:
WTVA/WLOV will be hosting the Northeast Mississippi Job Fair for community members who are looking for a job — or for a better career. The job fair will be from 9AM until 2PM at the BancorpSouth Conference Center, where you can meet over 50 employers looking for hardworking candidates just like you. For more information and a complete list of employers who will be on site, visit www.wtva.com/features/job-fair/
Chik-Fil-A in Tupelo hosts Breakfast and BINGO every Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m.. This event is free and open to the public, and kids are also welcomed guests. All first time bingo guests may receive a free coffee!
MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT
In Tupelo:
Steele’s Dive will have Karly Clayton at 7 p.m.
Blue Canoe will have The Wallens at 7:30 p.m.
Old Venice will have Misbehavin’ at 7 p.m.
The Shade Tree Lounge will have Big Daddy Karaoke at 8 p.m.
FOOD TRUCKS
Tupelo’s Food Trucks can be found today at the following locations:
Gypsy Roadside Mobile will be at Longtown Medical Plaza, by the Women’s Hospital, today, from 11 until 2 p.m..
Local Mobile will be downtown by the banks at Spring and Troy Street from 11 until 1:30 p.m..
Jo’s Cafe will be at Ballard Park from 11 until 1:30 p.m..
If we missed a listing you know of, please let us know!
Want us to know about something coming up? Just tag our Facebook page, or you can even mark us co-host on an event you are having on your Facebook event listing. You can also send us a message on our Facebook page, or shoot us an email at submit@ourtupelo.com and we will help you share it.
Be sure to check out our extended calendar of events as well, for upcoming happenings in the area!
Have a great day and get out there and enjoy Our Tupelo!
* We update all listings periodically as new information becomes available.
The prison system puts them to work and takes their paycheck, but inmates say something doesn’t add up.
Our investigation revealed that the state fails to keep accurate records on who is in the program at any given time, how many people judges send there each year or how long inmates stay.
The Mississippi Department of Corrections runs the modern-day debtors prisons it calls restitution centers. But not very well.
The agency doesn’t keep close track of how much people sentenced to the program earn and owe, according to dozens of current and former inmates interviewed by Mississippi Today. That makes it hard for them to figure out how long they need to work at mostly low-wage jobs to make enough money to earn their freedom.
On her paystubs, Sonic Drive-In employee Gaylia Mills wrote her own math equations, trying to figure out when she’d earn enough to be released from the jail where she lived.
Mississippi prohibits the workers from handling their own earnings and gives them little documentation of their debts. Where their money goes and whether it reaches the victims of their crimes remains a mystery to most inmates we talked to.
The state doesn’t even keep accurate records on who is in the program at any given time, how many people judges send there each year or how long they stay, according to data analyzed by Mississippi Today and The Marshall Project.
Oversight is so lax that a guard at one restitution center was able to steal more than $1,000 of inmates’ paychecks over four months, according to an indictment filed in February in Rankin County, east of Jackson. The guard pleaded guilty to embezzlement in November and a judge put her on probation for five years. Through her lawyer she declined to comment.
Corrections officials declined to discuss the restitution program. But in a statement in response to our findings, the department said it follows judges’ orders.
The agency “provides program participants with documentation of their debt balance by providing a receipt of payment and also a monthly balance sheet,” the statement said.
Robert Johnson, who used to run the corrections department, said he didn’t realize people are held in the centers until they earn a certain amount of money, rather than being sentenced to serve a period of time.
“I’m stunned by that,” said Johnson, who served as commissioner from 2000 to 2002 and now runs a probation-services company.
Photos by Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today, Report For AmericaTiarra Deal sifts through receipts she received from correctional officers at a restitution center in exchange for her paychecks. At her job at a Sonic Drive-In in Brandon, Deal made $8.25 an hour. The receipts were often inaccurate, she said, leading her to believe she never received some of her earnings.
Mississippi, like a growing number of states, has tried to end the practice of jailing people for being poor. In 2018, the Legislature passed a law requiring that judges find individuals have willfully failed to pay fines, fees or restitution before sending them to jail.
Under the new law, judges are supposed to include time limits on some sentences to restitution centers — but that’s rarely happening, our analysis shows. Only 15 of the 214 inmates in the centers as of January 2019 were given time limits as well as amounts of money they needed to earn, according to our review of their court records.
The only time in recent history the restitution centers came under the microscope, in a 2014 report by Mississippi’s legislative watchdog agency, the primary focus was how slowly victims got paid. At that time, local courts doled out payments to victims last, but since 2017 court rules require that the money inmates earn goes to victims before it covers criminal fines (though the court still takes its cut in fees first).
Between 2016 and 2018, the state allocated about $6.8 million to the corrections department to operate the restitution centers. The inmates earned about $6.4 million in that time. Data from Harrison County on the Gulf Coast shows that years after people entered the restitution centers, they still owed more than a third of their total debts to the court.
Inmates, lawyers and even some court staff say the state’s bad recordkeeping has kept people locked up even after they had earned enough money to leave.
Photos by Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today, Report For AmericaJulia Gonzales spent several months at the Flowood Restitution Center in 2015, working to pay off debts from an old drug possession case. She holds a calendar she sketched out there to estimate when she would earn enough money to be released. Gonzales relapsed while living at the center and, after being sent back to prison, eventually received court-ordered addiction treatment at Mississippi State Hospital. She now runs a construction business in Caledonia with her husband, works as a life coach and sits on the board of the local jail ministry Columbus Carpenters for Christ.
Justin Wetzel, the court clerk in Harrison County, said he gets calls about once a week from family members of inmates, asking why they haven’t been released after earning enough to cover their debts.
“Something seems fishy,” said Wetzel, who said he can’t get answers from the corrections department.
Frank Fairley, who pleaded guilty in 2012 to aiding in the robbery of a hotel clerk at the Hilton Garden Inn in Gulfport, said that’s what happened to him. The state released him from prison after he served about half of his five-year sentence, but he fell behind on his court-ordered payments. In 2018, a judge sentenced him to the Hinds County Restitution Center in Jackson to work off $2,237.50 in debt.
Unlike most restitution center inmates, Fairley got a job with pretty good pay — almost $14 an hour — driving a truck at a chicken processing plant. Within weeks, he figured he had earned enough to secure his freedom. But he said corrections officials wouldn’t let him go.
He finally walked off the job, turned himself in for leaving the program and spent a month in jail. A judge eventually confirmed he had paid all he owed. He was a free man.
In fact, Fairley said he overpaid his debt: “I should have like a $300 check.” But he is so happy to be out, he added, “If they don’t send it, I’m fine with that too.”
This story is part of an investigation published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for The Marshall Project’s newsletter, or follow them on Facebook or Twitter.
Good morning Tupelo! Today is Tuesday, January 14, 2020. It is the 14th day of the year. There are 352 days left in the year and 64 days left of winter! Valentine’s Day is in 31 days, and Spring starts in 65 days.
If you’d like to become a sponsor of our daily Rundown, please contact joshua.ballard@ourtupelo.com or call 662-260-1498
HAPPENING TODAY
Today in Tupelo, here are the things going on around town:
The Refuge Foster Care Closet, Northstar-Tupelo Campus, is having their first drop off night of the year this evening 5-7 p.m.. They need lots of volunteers to help sort all donations, so feel free to bring your Sunday school class, school club, or work friends!
The Link Centre is hosting an Indivisible meeting from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. for local progressive voters to promote equality, inclusion, and justice, as they plan, strategize, and implement a vision for 2020 and beyond.
In Fulton, check out STEM Story Time at the Itawamba County Pratt Memorial Library in Fulton, every Tuesday at 4:00 p.m..
Also in Fulton, The American Legion Auxiliary Unit 51 will have their monthly meeting for the American Legion, Auxiliary, and Jr Auxiliary. Fellowship and the meal starts at 6:30 and the business meeting will follow. Jr Auxiliary members will meet at their usual time. Auxiliary ladies please bring a dessert.
Local Mobile will be set up at TRI at Madison & Main St across from 1hr Martinizing from 11 until 1:30 p.m.
Jo’s Cafe will be at Ballard Park on West Main Street from 11 until 1:30 p.m.
If we missed a listing you know of, please let us know!
Want us to know about something coming up? Just tag our Facebook page, or you can even mark us co-host on an event you are having on your Facebook event listing. You can also send us a message on our Facebook page, or shoot us an email at submit@ourtupelo.com and we will help you share it.
Be sure to check out our extended calendar of events as well, for upcoming happenings in the area!
Have a great day and get out there and enjoy Our Tupelo!
* We update all listings periodically as new information becomes available.
Good morning Tupelo! Today is Monday, January 13, 2020. It is the 13th day of the year. There are 353 days left in the year and 65 days left of winter! Valentine’s Day is in 32 days, and Spring starts in 66 days.
If you’d like to become a sponsor of our daily Rundown, please contact joshua.ballard@ourtupelo.com or call 662-260-1498
HAPPENING TODAY
Today in Tupelo, here are the things going on around town:
Tupelo-Lee Humane Society invites you to Kitten Yoga! Kitten Yoga is held every Monday evening from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.. Classes are $10 per person and will be taught by professional yoga instructors in an environment filled with kitten happiness!
The Harlem Globetrotters will be at the Bancorpsouth Arena tonight at 7 p.m.
North Mississippi Medical Center will host a free smoking cessation class for individuals who are trying to stop smoking or using other tobacco products. The classes will meet at 5:30 p.m. Mondays, in Room 21 of NMMC’s East Tower, 830 S. Gloster St.
FOOD TRUCKS
Tupelo’s Food Trucks can be found today at the following locations:
Local Mobile will be at Ballard Park on West Main Street from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
If we missed a listing you know of, please let us know!
Want us to know about something coming up? Just tag our Facebook page, or you can even mark us co-host on an event you are having on your Facebook event listing. You can also send us a message on our Facebook page, or shoot us an email at submit@ourtupelo.com and we will help you share it.
Be sure to check out our extended calendar of events as well, for upcoming happenings in the area!
Have a great day and get out there and enjoy Our Tupelo!
* We update all listings periodically as new information becomes available.
Give yourself permission to heal. Let me say it again, “Give yourself permission to heal.” The statement sounds really simple in its purest form. Yet, it has depth beyond surface level reasoning.
Let me explain.
As we step into a new year, a new season, we hear a lot about new beginnings and starting again. I like to call this time of year “goal setting season,” but the world calls it “New Year’s Resolutions.” As a society, we collectively give ourselves and each other permission to set new goals and think positively about the coming year.
I know you may be thinking, “No one has to give me permission to set a goal for myself,” which is ultimately true. However, what I am referring to in this context is what society deems as normal or common. And it is common to set goals during this time of year.
Common New Year’s Resolutions include eating healthier, losing weight, going to school, finishing a project, etc. All of these goals have a theme. They are all centered around something tangible or something you can “see”. And lets be honest here, sometimes these goals last only a couple of weeks (although this may not be true for everyone). The reasons behind the follow through of the goal or lack thereof, may be different for everyone. But the deciding factors for the follow through, will be identifying the motivating force behind the goals.
And that brings me to this: What if the New Year’s Resolutions went beyond the tangible? What if the motivating forces were more meaningful than what meets the eye? What if the motivating forces came from within instead of the traditional common threads?
When speaking of motivating forces from within, what comes to mind for you? Is it sadness, happiness, joy, depression, laughter? In my lifetime, I have spoken to a lot of people and there has been an exchange of information that has enhanced personal and professional growth. One concept that I have paid close attention to during these exchanges is the need for healing that surpasses the surface layer.
Healing is a deeper yearning for peace that comes from within an individual. Inner peace helps a person see things more clearly, feel things more clearly, have a more balanced perception, and enhance the thought process.
Ok, I hear you, “What does healing have to do with goal setting?” For me, I can visualize the connection very clearly. In order for a goal to increase its chances of reaching completion, the motivating force behind the goal will need to be identified. [Of course I am referring to positive motivating forces]. The motivating forces within an individual can be hindered if motivation is blocked due to hurt and pain. To help cover up these hurts or to stop an individual from reaching deeper within themselves, the defense mechanisms will attempt to keep an individual at the surface level to avoid any negative emotional charges from rising to the top. Therefore, repeating the cycles of identifying the same goals, with the same outcomes, year after year. [And yes, the healing process can be like an emotional roller-coaster. Being supported and working alongside a profession can be beneficial].
But this is a new year and a new beginning! I want to encourage everyone to look deeper, reach deeper within yourselves and identify those areas that need healing. Those areas that only you know about. Give yourself permission to move forward and move past the surface layer. Give yourself permission to heal.
Friends, sometimes you just can’t win for losing. Some famous person said that, but ain’t it the truth?
Yesterday, Pam and I went to Walmart for an another extension cord. (Yes, I’ve already got 25, but I can’t find em. I put em up in a safe place! I know y’all ain’t ever done that before.)
Well, we found the cord and got two more items. We went to the checkout — and the card reader broke! We watched four different people punch buttons, trade keys, and click stuff! Then when none of that worked, they had to UN-scan each item and send us to another line!
In the other line, we waited and then were checked out and made it to the Wheel of Fortune! That’s what I call that wheel where they put your stuff in them little tee-shirt-looking bags! And if you buy much it cost a fortune!
Finally, we got out and headed to the pickup. For some reason, I had the bags and the receipt — a big ole long slip of paper for just three items! I guess all that scanning and UN-scanning adds up!
Well, as luck would have it, the wind was blowing, and blew the receipt out of my hand!
Pam said, “We need that!”
But, Folks, I don’t save em. I’ve already paid one time, I’m not gonna clutter up the house with all them old papers! But Pam likes to save each and every one! Might want to return stuff, I guess!
I told her let it go, but she was already trying to run it down! She is still pretty fast! She was running and weaving back and forth, looked like a football player!
She almost had it a time or two, but people blowing their horns I guess sorta broke her concentration! Anyway, it wound up under a car! And this guy was sitting in it!
She jumped down and belly crawled under there, then the wind blew it away!
I finally caught up with her and said, “Get in the truck, Woman, somebody’s gonna run over you!”
She was out of breath, but she said, “We might need that receipt!”
After we got home, I got out the bags — and sure enough, one item was missing!
She called the store, and do you know what the first thing they asked her was?
“Do you have your receipt?”
She gave me the Stink Eye!
Now. Did anybody find a Walmart receipt, white, and about yea long, yesterday?
TUPELO – For the first time since its opening in 2008, Barnes and Noble at the Mall at Barnes Crossing has recognized a gnat as its Employee of the Month.
The gnat lives in the upholstered armchairs placed throughout the store. The armchairs also double as comfortable places for customers to sit and peruse potential purchases.
Other employees at the book store were asked their opinions on this historical achievement.
“It’s not that big a deal,” responded one anonymous employee. “The rest of us have already been Employee of the Month. Some of us more than once. It’s a gnat; they live for like 2 weeks. It’ll be dead before the Super Bowl.”
The armchair gnat is very proud of the award.
“Representation is so important, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be given this recognition,” says the armchair gnat. “It’s not work when you do what you love. And I love biting people.”
Not everyone is as thrilled with the book store’s decision.
“I come here to go over notes with my study group,” says nursing student Emily Kowalcyzk. “We always leave with a greater understanding of nursing AND bites on our ankles.”
The armchair gnat claims that it is simply trying to keep students on the path of diligence.
“I want them to succeed. When I see them getting distracted from their studies, I swoop in to give them a little accountability nibble.”
The gnat claims that keeping a low profile while assuring the customers that it is always nearby is the key to good customer service.
“The customers don’t always see me; I don’t want the them to feel like there’s an employee constantly hovering over them. So I just give them little kisses on their legs without them knowing. But I can tell they really enjoy seeing me, because when I do come out they all wave at me and show me what they’re reading!”
“Correction,” says one frequent patron. “We’re not waving or showing it anything. We’re swatting at it and trying to kill it with our books.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Before the article could be published, the armchair gnat died of natural causes. It’s was 12 days old.
