By: Kelley Williams, Chair Bigger Pie Forum Cliff Notes began as short plot summaries of classic novels and stories. Now they are cribs about complex topics and spin. Corps Speak is the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) clever spin that evades responsibility for higher and longer Mississippi River floods (a complex topic). This story began when Congress put the Corps in charge of flood control (1928 Flood Control Act) to prevent another 1927 flood disaster. The Corps develop

Recently, the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) presented results of the 2025-26 Educator Shortage Survey and the 2024-25 Teacher Recruitment and Retention Survey to the State Board of Education. Educator Shortage Survey The Educator Shortage Survey was conducted from Aug. 13 to Nov. 1, 2025, with 100% of Mississippi's traditional public school districts completing the survey. Results show there were 6,907 vacancies among teachers, administrators and school support st

By Bob Garver   Poster credit IMDB   Since this weekend’s highest-grossing as-yet-unreviewed theatrical film, 205-minute Indian actioner “Dhurandhar,” is playing on only 377 screens in the entire country, I thought I’d take this opportunity to review something a little more accessible. “Wake Up Dead Man” is the third installment of Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” mystery franchise. Like its predecessor “Glass Onion,” “Wake Up Dead Man” is treating fans to a brief theatrical run t

Send responses to: andybowman839@gmail.com People are just people, everywhere you go. Everyone has their favorite hobbies and if given the chance, they would spend hours doing just that. And most of us also have heavy responsibilities that we avoid like the plague for as long as possible. As long as possible without wrecking our finances, or letting the house fall down around our ears. But only doing the great stuff? A truly adult life doesn’t work like that. Not unless you w

By: Kelley Williams, Chair Bigger Pie Forum   Hans Einstein   Not Albert, his son Hans. As far as we know, Albert was right about his General Theory of Relativity and other natural laws. Hans was not as famous as his father. But he was the world expert on river sediments. He advised the Corps of Engineers (Corps) on the design of the Old River Control Complex (ORCC) in the 1950s. He thought the Corps would take his advice. He was wrong. The Corps built the ORCC to keep the Mi

By Misty Strieff Prine “May I never forget on my best day that I still need God as desperately as I did on my worst day.” – May ALL of us have this mindset!!                  This is something that I pray not one single one of us ever loses sight of. We need God JUST as much on our good days as we do on our bad ones. Why? Because we are nor will we EVER be exempt from our need for grace. No matter what good place or bad place we are in our lives, we need God every second of e

By Bob Garver   Poster credit IMDB               From its ridiculous opening scene, there is little denying that “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” is one of the stupidest movies of 2025. Its only real competition comes from Disney’s live-action “Snow White” remake thinking that its Dwarfs were fit for human eyesight. And it’s not even the fun kind of stupid horror movie. It was never really on the table for this to be a “good” horror movie like “Sinners,” but it could have at least

Send responses to:  andybowman839@gmail.com    Simply kick and scream and pout until God makes everything good for you again. Maybe that way of dealing with your problems seems like a good idea to you. After all, you have been told repeatedly all your life that He is a good and loving God, who always wants the best for you. So, it must stand to reason that if you let Him know in clear unmistakable terms that you are unhappy, He will have to fix what’s wrong. Right? You can’t

By Alistair Begg, Magnolia Tribune Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. – Psalm 36:5 If you do a little digging, you’ll find plenty of articles that ask the question, “Is anyone faithful anymore?” Usually, they refer to marriage, but the question is applicable to almost any sphere of life. When I talk to members of my congregation who work in business, for example, they often tell me of workers who appear to be very committed t

By: Dr. Andrew Dale     December can be decision season for Mississippi families. As students receive semester grades and begin planning for life after graduation, one question rises to the top: How do we afford college without a lifetime of student debt? The answer is clear. Mississippi's community colleges offer the lowest tuition in the state, with an open-access mission that welcomes every learner, and an academic environment designed for student success. For thousands of

By: Bob Garver   Poster credit IMDB               2016 was a great year for animation. Disney gave the world a new musical masterwork in “Moana.” Pixar had its biggest hit up to that point in “Finding Dory.” Even underdog Laika came out with cult classic “Kubo and the Two Strings.” But the winner of the Best Animated Feature Oscar that year wasn’t any of those films (“Finding Dory” wasn’t even nominated), it was another Disney movie, “Zootopia.” It wasn’t a terribly controver

By: Bob Garver Poster credit: IMDB Previously, in “Wicked” Aspiring witches, green-skinned outcast Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and pink-and-popular Glinda (Ariana Grande), started off as enemies at school, but then became friends. They decided to go their separate ways after discovering a plan by the nefarious Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) to blame and punish animals for problems in the Land of Oz. The Wizard and henchwoman Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) tried to have Elphaba captured

Send responses to: andybowman839@gmail.com Grandma Gertie is more than ready for Thanksgiving Day to arrive. For the first time in seventeen years, she is going to have her entire family home for Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone has painstakingly arranged their holiday schedules to be able be together at Grandma’s house. Excited-beyond-measure cannot even begin to describe her emotions. For the last two months she has planned for her big day. The lists of things to do and to buy

A stage photo of a large group of women and girls dressed in colorful traditional attire, posing together in front of a backdrop that reads “Jackson Rajat Jayanti Mahotsav.” This image shows cultural richness, youth involvement, and unity. The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Jackson, Mississippi, celebrated its 25th anniversary with a three-day Rajat Jayanti Mahotsav filled with devotion, culture, and community spirit. The milestone marked a quarter century of spiritual guid

Mr. Bill Bobbs Mississippi State Hospital (MSH) has named Mr. Bill Bobbs of Madison, Mississippi as Grand Marshal of the 2025 MSH Christmas Parade, to be held Friday, Dec. 5, at 10:00 a.m. The parade theme, “Santa’s Workshop,” will feature floats decorated with classic games and toys that capture the spirit of the season. Mr. Bobbs was announced as the winner of the 2025 James C. Stubbs Volunteer Service Award at the MH/IDD Joint Conference held November 12-14 in Biloxi, Miss

by Tyler Teresa, Regional Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration     Small Business Saturday was founded by American Express in 2010 and has been officially cosponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) since 2011. It is an important part of the busiest shopping season for small businesses.  Last Small Business Saturday in 2024, the reported projected spending in the United States from those who shopped small on Small Business Saturday was around  $22

By: Kelley Williams, Chair Bigger Pie Forum   Backwater flooding happens when the Mississippi River is higher (about 43’ at Vicksburg) than the Yazoo River and blocks its discharge.  It takes less rain to raise and keep the Mississippi above 43’ than it used to. ( See More Flood for Less Rain .) So backwater flooding and batture flooding inside the levees are more frequent and longer — over three times longer since 2015.  Why? What happened to cause a step change in flooding

By Bob Garver Poster credit IMDB It was all the way back in 2013 that audiences were first introduced to the Four Horsemen of Magic – J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), and Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher). The quartet blurred the line between “magic tricks” and “heists,” in that they would make the money and valuables of rich evildoers disappear and then reappear in the hands of their audiences. The film spawned a 201

At last check, there have been 60 fire deaths statewide in 2025. Cooking or the misuse of cooking equipment led to four of those deaths. “Many people have family and friends over for the holiday. Don’t let distractions put you and your guests in danger. Make your home safer by installing multiple smoke alarms. If you have to leave the kitchen for even a short amount of time, turn off the stove,” said State Fire Marshal and Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney. Use these safety

Blake Weir, Director of Athletic Communications, MS College Mississippi College fed off a standing-room-only home crowd inside A.E. Wood Coliseum on Tuesday night, storming back from a 12-point deficit to defeat Tougaloo 75–74 in a dramatic finish that marked the first home victory of the Josh Brooks era. The atmosphere was postseason-level from the opening minutes. Students packed the bleachers well before tipoff, and the noise never stopped, even as MC fell behind by double