By Kara Kimbrough The City of Jackson is filled with many wonderful historic attractions, including my favorite, the beautiful Old Capitol Museum. But sometimes, the need for a little R & R that doesn't involve walking around a multi-storied museum arises. When visiting the Capitol City, I have just the place to literally get away from it all. Unbelievably, this place is near the hustle and bustle of the city, but still manages to provide a peaceful, quiet environment, along with wide open spaces. I'm referring to LeFleur's Bluff State Park, a well-kept secret located just off Lakeland Drive and Interstate 55. LeFleur's Bluff is the perfect place to decompress when driving to the far corners of the state for a quiet campground doesn't sound appealing. The park is named for Louis LeFleur, a French-Canadian explorer who established a trading post on the banks of the Pearl River in the late 1700s.      The City of Jackson was originally known as LeFleur's Bluff, but eventually changed its name. However, the park kept its name, paying homage to the explorer and serving as a refuge for residents and visitors. LeFleur’s Bluff offers hiking on one of the nature trails, fishing on beautiful Mayes Lake or playing a few rounds of golf on the 9-hole course. Opportunities for picnicking, camping and bird-watching also abound in this lush oasis in the midst of busy highways and buildings. Named to several “best of” U.S. state park lists for its above-average amenities, LeFleur’s provides a tranquil green spot to decompress away from the hustle and bustle of the city. LeFleur's Bluff State Park is actually comprised of two areas. Mayes Lake campground and day use area includes a picnic area and RV campground. The golf course and driving range are located nearby. Those interesting in camping can choose from among 28 sites available for tent and RV camping. Ten shaded primitive tent sites located near the lake and within walking distance to water and showers are available. A spacious, shaded picnic area features tables and grills overlooking a large playground.  The park also has seven picnic pavilions available for reservation. The next time a desire to get back to nature occurs, drop in to LeFleur's Bluff. And who knows...after relaxing for awhile, you may just feel up to touring my favorite spot at the end of Capitol Street. All this talk about history caused me to look up some recipes sent to me by Melba Darras, who were many years lived with her husband, Tommie, in the Governor's Mansion, serving as hostess and chef, respectively, for more than one governor. The Darras' compiled a cookbook containing some of their favorite recipes from the years they helped entertain guests from around the world. Here's one of my favorites, named appropriately enough, Mississippi Cookies. Mississippi Cookies Melba's Note: We served Mississippi Cookies to everyone including then-Today Show host Jane Pauley who received a box full presented by Gov. Allain when the show filmed in Mississippi. 1/2 cup shortening (half butter) 1 cup sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla and a dash of salt 1- 1/3 cups of flour 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1 tablespoon milk Combine shortening, butter, sugar, salt, vanilla and eggs. Add sifted dry ingredients. Chill. Roll as thin as possible. Use any cookie cutter you choose. (The customized Mississippi cookie cutter can sometimes be found at gourmet and culinary shops in the state). Bake on a sprayed cookie sheet for 7-10 minutes at 350¡. Makes 3-4 dozen. Recipe from "A Taste of History." If You Go: LeFleur’s Bluff State Park Where: 3315 Lakeland Terrace, Jackson Contact: 601-987-3923

American Legion Drane-Prine Post 79 put its junior members from the American Legion Auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion (SAL) -- kids from the seventh through eleventh grades -- on stage to lead its April meeting. The occasion was the Month of the Military Child during April when all branches of the military recognize and honor children of United State armed service members for special sacrifices in their families. For the Wesson Legion junior members, their recognition was being allowed to honor the veterans, Legionnaires and SAL and Auxiliary members with a special program. Auxiliary President Kim Whittington explained:  “They have learned so much since becoming members of the Legion family, and they wanted show their appreciation and demonstrate their patriotism.” The juniors led the Pledge of Allegiance to our Nations colors, reciting the American Legion Preamble and honoring POW/MIA’s by draping a flag over an empty chair.   They offered a brief devotion, demonstrated the proper way to fold an American flag, presented the Military Child Table Ceremony and concluded their porgram by entertaining everyone with Johnny Cash’s “Ragged Old Flag” song skit. “I am so proud of these juniors for their patriotism and hard work in producing such a great program,” said American Legion Post Commander Bobby C. Thornton.  “They are a very special part of our American Legion Family and our future.” Junior members who participated in this special program were Sons of the American Legion Junior member Walker Breazeale and American Legion Auxiliary Junior members Mary Murphy Brady, Cailley Duplantis, and Abbey Berch.

By Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney Mississippi now has funding for a hurricane mitigation program with the passage, and signing by Governor Tate Reeves, of House Bill 1705. The Comprehensive Hurricane Damage Mitigation Program was established within the Mississippi Insurance Department (MID) in 2007. However, appropriations were never made to fund the program. The bill transfers $5 million from the Mississippi Surplus Lines Association (MSLA) to the Comprehensive Hurricane Damage Mitigation Program Fund, a trust fund established for the program. These funds are not from the general fund, but are considered public funds. The law lays out other parameters for the program. It limits financial grants under the program to $10,000 per recipient. And requires that MID issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for administration of the program, or operate the program internally. I want thank the legislature and Governor Tate Reeves for supporting this legislation. One of the top complaints I receive as Commissioner of Insurance is regarding the rate increases policyholders are seeing in this difficult market. I am certainly sympathetic to this, as I have seen rate increases on my own property as well. With funding in place, we can now do something positive and offer some relief to the policyholders in the lower six counties of the State. I had asked the legislature to extend the program statewide, since over 60 % of the funding comes from outside the coast, but politics blocked the expansion.  We will continue the efforts to provide statewide benefits. Mitigation efforts can include building at a higher elevation, adding hurricane shutters, fastening your roof to the walls with hurricane straps and buying flood insurance, among other efforts. For every one dollar spent on mitigation, the average payback on the investment happens within 2.7 years. Mitigation makes communities more resilient following catastrophic events as it can lessen loss severity and allow homeowners to get back on their feet quicker. Mississippi state law requires insurance companies to give discounts for homes mitigated to the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) standards. State law does not require a specific amount for discounts; however, most insurers have filed discounts with MID ranging from 15 percent to 30 percent for those fortified homes. Research from IBHS shows that investing a few hundred extra dollars, when replacing your roof, can save you thousands in damage later. However, not everyone has a few hundred dollars lying around to spend on mitigating your home. HB 1705 now provides the money needed to help our citizens. With the passage of HB 1705, the Department has begun the initial phases of implementing this mitigation program, which includes the development of a website dedicated to containing vital consumer education information and details regarding the grant application process. Further details will be released to the public once the website is up and live.

Wesson Chamber of Commerce kicked off its Founders’ Day celebration on the evening of Friday, May 3, with its annual Color Fun Run/Walk 5K. Now in its fourth year, the race started as a memorial run for Joe Brown in 2021. The run/walk started in downtown Wesson and followed a route around the Co-Lin campus, along the railroad track to Shop N Wash and back to the downtown starting point, with color fun along the way. Overall running and walking winners, runners placing first, second and third in the under 21-year old, 21-year old to 35-year old and 36-year old to 50-year old age groups; and walkers finishing first and second in the 21-year old to 35-year old age groups were recognized: The under 21-year old winning runners were also the overall running winners: Walker Breazeale (first), Kennedi Johnson (second) and Brody Ponder (third). The overall walking winners were Roxanne Stegall (first), Constance Johnson (second) and Amber Hall (third). The 21-year old to 35-year old winning runners were Yemi Wolfe (first), Brittany Mullins (second) and Allison Nevels (third). Winning walkers in the 21-year old to 35-year old age group were Mary Beth Munn Smith (first) and Pollyanna Patterson (second). The 36-year old to 50-year old winning runners were Mandi Ponder (first), Jennifer Johnson (second) and Michael Johnson (third).

Governor Tate Reeves has declared May 19-25, 2024 as Emergency Medical Services Week in Mississippi. This year marks the 50th anniversary of National EMS Week which is a time to show our gratitude toward Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and paramedics who provide lifesaving care across the nation every day. EMS Week is also a time to educate the public about EMS and the essential service they provide to communities. Members of emergency medical services teams remain vigilant, ready to provide lifesaving care to those in need 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Their quick response and emergency care can dramatically improve the survival and recovery rate of those who experience sudden illness or injury. The EMS system is far-reaching and consists of first responders, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, emergency medical dispatchers, firefighters, police officers, educators, administrators, pre-hospital nurses, emergency nurses, emergency physicians, trained members of the public, and other out-of- hospital medical care providers. The members of EMS teams, whether career or volunteer, engage in thousands of hours of specialized training and continuing education to enhance their lifesaving skills each year. As part of the week, the Mississippi State Department of Health and the Office of Emergency Medical Services are inviting the public to celebrate its 50th Anniversary on Tuesday, May 21 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Mississippi Trade Mart in Jackson to learn all about EMS. The event will feature EMS vehicles, equipment, educational booths, vendors, and live safety demonstrations. The Trade Mart is located at 1200 Mississippi Street in Jackson on the Mississippi Fairgrounds. Get up to date news and updates at: www.msdh.ms.gov.  and on social media: facebook.com/HealthyMS, twitter.com/msdh and Instagram.com/healthy.ms

Makayla Russell, of Wesson, MS, majoring in Integrated Marketing Communications, was among the 18 students inducted into the Columns Society on April 7 at the University of Mississippi. Founded in 2008, the Columns Society is a group of students who embody character, respect and passion for UM. These juniors and seniors represent the university at various events and welcome guests to campus. The organization is founded upon the principles of humble service, leadership and integrity. "Our Columns Society members dedicate themselves to going above and beyond in their roles in order to serve the University of Mississippi, and I'm delighted to be able to recognize them," said Natasha Jeter, assistant vice chancellor for wellness and student success. The University of Mississippi, affectionately known as Ole Miss, is the state's flagship university. Included in the elite group of R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest Research Activity by the Carnegie Classification, it has a long history of producing leaders in public service, academics and business. Its 16 academic divisions include a major medical school, nationally recognized schools of accountancy, law and pharmacy, and an Honors College acclaimed for a blend of academic rigor, experiential learning and opportunities for community action. Recognized among the nation's most beautiful, Ole Miss' main campus is in Oxford, which is routinely acknowledged as one of the country's best college towns.

By Bob Garver In this era of constant reboots and re-imaginings and the like, “Planet of the Apes” has had a pretty successful run. 2011’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” was such a big hit both commercially and critically that pundits were talking about an unprecedented motion-capture-based Oscar nomination for Andy Serkis as lead ape Caesar (it didn’t happen, but it was fun to speculate). Two follow-up films in 2014 and 2017 weren’t shabby either, and it looked like the series was going to stop at a taut little trilogy. But now we’re back with “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” which takes place in the same continuity as Caesar without overextending the neatly-wrapped arc. Set 300 years after Caesar’s passing, apes have taken over the world landscape, while humanity is all but wiped out. The apes have formed tribes and communities, and even taken to domesticating animals like horses. Our new hero Noa (Owen Teague) is part of a tribe that trains eagles, even bonding with them like family members. He and his friends Soona (Lydia Peckham) and Anaya (Travis Jeffrey) make risky climbs to pick out the best eggs for a ceremony to impress leaders Dar (Sara Wiseman) and Koro (Neil Sandilands), Noa’s mother and father, respectively. Noa has a rare encounter with a human, followed by an even worse encounter with a malevolent ape army that ransacks his village and takes surviving tribe members hostage. Left for dead, Noa soon sets out on a mission to rescue what little remains of his home and family. He meets wizened old ape Raka (Peter Macon), who becomes his mentor. He also re-encounters human Mae (Freya Allan) and the two form an unlikely bond, even though the two species have been feuding for generations. They’re eventually captured by head pillager Sylva (Eka Darville) and taken to the titular Kingdom. The good news is that Noa is reunited with the rest of his tribe, the bad news is that they’re all enslaved by mad king Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand). Surprisingly, Proximus doesn’t hate humans as much as the other apes in these movies. He likes their culture and even keeps one (William H. Macy) as a sort of pet. Unfortunately, his love of humans has led to him picking up some of their worst tendencies, like greed and manipulation and a thirst for power. He’s convinced that if he can get into a locked human vault, he can use the human “knowledge” (mostly weapons) inside to take over the world. Noa and Mae agree that they can’t let that happen, but they have different, and perhaps conflicting motivations. To be honest, until it reaches the Kingdom, this movie drags. The destruction of the peaceful village is just so expected from this kind of movie, as is the journey filled with unlikely friendships. Fortunately things pick up toward the end, with the psychology of shifting loyalties and some memorable action. Let’s just say that this movie adds another chapter to this franchise’s complex history with gun violence. The exciting conclusion is admittedly quite successful in making the audience (including myself, since I’m recommending it) forget what a slog the movie was beforehand. “Kingdom” is going to do well enough that we’ll probably see another “Planet of the Apes” in the near future, and sure, I’m interested enough to stay with this continuity for a while. No character in this movie is as memorable as Serkis’ Caesar, of course, but I’d like to see how some relationships and journeys develop. It won’t happen for this movie, but who knows, maybe a future installment can finally score one of the apes that elusive Oscar nomination. Grade: B- “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence/action. Its running time is 145 minutes. Contact Bob Garver at rrg251@nyu.edu.

Brookhaven resident Angie Love Delaughter joins Our Hometown Paper news team, a trust media source spanning across the state in 10 newspapers, including online news coverage. Delaugter believes newspapers and newspaper websites are the most trusted sources of information. "I want to help businesses grow. That is basically why I got into advertising. I love people...I love to talk with them...I want to be part of seeing their business become successful," said Delaughter. According to a 2023 local newspaper study conducted by Coda Ventures, 74% of Americans believe that having a newspaper in their community is important for providing much-needed news and information. "...and I think that percentage is even greater in small towns like Wesson. There is a big sense of community here. Everyone reads the newspaper in Wesson. Everyone looks forward to the day it's "hot off the press!" That's another reason I am excited to be working in advertising for Wesson News," said Delaughter. Delaughter sells advertising for the other hometown papers as well such as Clinton Courier, Pelahatchie News, Florence News, Pearl News, Long Beach Breeze, Pass Post, Bolton News, Canton News, Richland News, and the media company's newest venture, the quarterly statewide magazine called Mississippi Monitor. In the same study, results showed that more than 147 million Americans (56%) report that local advertising helps them decide what brands, products and local services to buy. "I love that Wesson News is free to everyone," said Delaughter, comparing other newspapers and their paid subscriptions. Wesson News distributes 5,000 newspapers with an estimated 10,000 total readership per month. "As the paper has grown, the needs have naturally grown, too," said Delaughter. Mansell hired Delaughter in March. "Statistics don't lie. The majority of people still want their news from accurate and reliable sources, and that means original news reporting in small towns," said Delaughter. Since local newspapers continue to inform local audiences about its government, events, activities, accolades, local sports, and more, each issue is a handcrafted, one-of-a-kind labor of love for the community. "Why wouldn't you want to be part of something that profound?" said Delaughter. Contact Angie Delaughter for your advertising needs at angie@ourhometownpaper.com.

The Co-Lin Lady Wolves are going back to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Softball National Tournament after defeating the LSU-Eunice Lady Bengals 9-1 and also securing their spot in the Region 23 Championship. The Lady Bengals, ranked number 2 in the nation, got on the board first after Sara Roussel hit a leadoff double and later scored in the inning on an RBI groundout to take an early 1-0 lead. The Lady Wolves wasted no time with their response scoring two runs in the bottom of the first as Madison Moak (Brookhaven) needed just four pitches to tie the game with a leadoff solo home run in the bottom of the first making the score, 1-1. Abby Grace Richardson (Brookhaven) then drew a walk to put one runner on with no outs. Later in the inning, Richardson advanced to second on a single by Emeri Warren (Sebastopol) and then scored on a two-out, RBI single by Kinley Ainsworth (Brandon) giving the Lady Wolves a 2-1 lead. After a scoreless second and top of the third innings, the Lady Wolves added a single run in the bottom of the third as Warren hit a leadoff single to get the offense started. Later in the inning, Warren advanced to second as Carson Hughey (Brookhaven) drew a walk and then scored on a two-out, RBI single by Bailee Goodson (Brookhaven) increasing the lead to 3-1. The Lady Wolves then doubled their run total with three runs in the bottom of the fourth as Richardson crushed the first pitch of the inning off a light pole in left field for a leadoff solo home run making the score, 4-1. Taylor Efferson (Holden, LA) then followed with a single to put one runner on with no outs while Emma Kate Fimiano (Petal) was brought on as a pinch runner. Later in the inning, Fimiano was forced out as Warren reached on a fielder's choice. Warren then scored on a two-out, RBI double by Ainsworth who then scored on an RBI single by Olivia Banes (Pelahatchie) making the score, 6-1. The Lady Wolves scored their final three runs in the bottom of the fifth as Moak and Richardson hit back-to-back singles with one out to get the offense going. Efferson was then hit-by-pitch to load the bases for the Lady Wolves. Laney Waguespack (Bayou Gauche, LA) was then brought in as a pinch hitter and drew a walk scoring Moak. Warren then ended the game with a walk-off, two-RBI single scoring Richardson and Efferson sealing the 9-1 Lady Wolves victory. The Lady Wolves totaled 13 hits as a team with Emeri Warren leading the way going 3-for-4 while Madison Moak, AG Richardson, and Kinley Ainsworth had two hits apiece with Taylor Efferson, Olivia Banes, Carson Hughey, and Bailee Goodson had one hit each. Warren and Ainsworth led the Lady Wolves in RBIs with two apiece while Moak, Richardson, Banes, Goodson, and Laney Waguespack had one RBI each. Cara Biswell improved to 19-3 with the complete game win allowing one run on three hits with one strikeout. Co-Lin improves to 42-4 overall and will face off against the Bobcats of Jones for the Region 23 Championship on Saturday, May 11 at 3 p.m., at Lady Wolves Field in Wesson. With the win against the Lady Bengals, the Lady Wolves also have qualified for the NJCAA Division II Softball National Tournament in Spartanburg, South Carolina from May 20-25.

You are one talented and gifted person – no doubt. When He tucked you into your mom’s womb, your Creator handed you some abilities that are expressly yours. You may be one who socializes easily, able to talk the horns off a billy goat. Or you could be gifted with the ability to effortlessly make and manage money. You may be a tremendously talented artist. Maybe easily having sweet little babies like an assembly line is where you shine. Teaching may your slot. Or you may be able to repair anything that exists. I don’t have any idea who you are – but I do know everyone has gifts. But how are you using yours? Just because you are really good at something doesn’t mean you should be doing it – the way you are doing it. There is the right way and there is ‘abusing what you have been given.’ There are always two ways to go with your talent. And I do mean always. Are you just being friendly with others, or are you gossiping? Simply making money, or cheating at it because you know how? A wonderful artist creating wholesome work or, um...otherwise? Giving strong leadership or all-out bullying? Having babies, but then not truly parenting? If you haven’t yet found your gifting yet, you will at some point in your life. Also at some point, you will be tempted to use it wrongly. Typically, that temptation involves a desire for money, fame, or power. And it takes prayerful determination to doggedly cling to a decision to “Use what I have in a good way.” Want an example extremely close to home for me? I could be writing smut right now, and making money from publishers who are willing to use my words to line both their pockets and mine. I could have wielded a microphone on the sleazy stages of nightclubs, instead of churches across our country. A social expert needs to be constantly self-aware of crossing the gossip line. The financial guru has to back off from crossing the no-no line of ethics. Mechanical geniuses and teachers have their own temptations when it comes to their work. And the artist? You can be a wholesome creator, or you can give in to the temptation of the sensational. A baby-maker on steroids? You better make certain that you provide love, discipline and time for each of those babies. Folks, my point is this. Find your gift of God. Determinedly hone it to where it holds a fine sharp point. Ask your Creator to keep you accountable for how you use it in life. Then use it. Use it well. Use it as a major part of your life, but use it in a way that doesn’t cause you guilt and shame at the end of the day. Make certain your Maker looks at you with pride, because you used His gift to you to make life worthwhile for yourself and others around you.

By Robert Jordan There is a dirty little secret in the healthcare system that most folks are unaware of, and it may impact your ability to go to the pharmacy of your choice. I am speaking of the reimbursement rates for medications that are being paid to pharmacies, mostly independent pharmacies, around the state. That may not seem that important but let me explain. Our society has allowed monopolies to take over the system of delivering drugs to patients in the name of cutting the cost of healthcare. In the pharmacy world, those monopolies are called PBMs, or Pharmacy Benefits Managers. In many cases, the PBM, the chain pharmacy, and the wholesaler are all wrapped into one. This means that a company sells drugs to itself, pays whatever it wants to its own subsidiary and charges patients what they want for needed medications. This has created a situation where a PBM effectively controls all aspects of an industry, apart from manufacturing of drugs. But, why let this get in the way of profits? They simply go to manufacturers, and without regard to safety or efficacy, tell them that if they do not give the wholesaler (owned by them) a deep discount, then their drugs will be nonformulary, or require prior authorization, dampening sales. Independent pharmacies are also a target of these tactics. The PBMs create contracts that require pharmacies to accept minuscule profits, or even losses for medications. They hide behind the fact that pharmacies are under no obligation to sign these contracts, but when 75 percent of the population is covered under insurance, this is akin to suicide for a pharmacy. They have been systematically lowering reimbursements over the last decade and like a frog in slowly warming water, pharmacies have adjusted by lowering staffing and making it up in other services, never quite getting fed up enough to jump out. Unfortunately, the boiling point is getting close. The power of PBMs exploded when the quest to lower healthcare costs came to the forefront of politics. They swooped in and promised to lower costs and to keep the system in check, and to save taxpayers and companies money. What happened was that the cost of healthcare did not go down at all, in fact it exploded. PBMs profits have also exploded. In fact, nationwide, PBMs generated 315 billion dollars in revenue last year. If they were generating this profit by making the system more efficient, or offering better customer service, I would not be writing this. The truth is that they generated much of this profit by forcing others to take losses. If a big box store came to a small town, opened a location, and undercut their competition with the sole purpose of putting them out of business, I might encourage others to shop locally and I would support the small business as much as I could. I would never be in favor of legislation that would keep a company from competing on price. That is unAmerican and antithetical to our principles. What if that same company opened a store in a small town and through some mechanism, not only undercut their prices, but forced their competition to accept even less for the same product? What if they then threatened the small business with retaliation if they complained about the situation? I think that everyone would agree that the company in question would be overstepping its bounds. I think that most folks would support legislation that would prohibit that practice. I recently billed a PBM for a diabetes medication, which is only available in brand name, with a wholesale cost of $948.00 for a 1-month supply. The PBM set the customer’s copay at $125.00 and paid my pharmacy $776.00, for a loss of $47.00 to my pharmacy. This is not only common, its routine. I do not think that most people know that a company has the power to force a business owner to take a loss for a medication. When I explain this practice to people who are not familiar with the situation, they often react with, “isn’t that illegal”? Pharmacists have not been particularly good at communicating about this problem. If you have ever wondered why pharmacies are out of stock more often than they used to be, or your pharmacist may bypass your insurance and give a better deal, or for that matter, Doctor’s do not order labs that used to be routine, it is because of a broken system where middle men have convinced the government and large companies that they can lower costs, haven’t done so, and become incredibly wealthy in the process. In the most recent legislative session, HB1265 failed to make it out of the conference committee and back to the floor for a vote. This bill would have brought transparency, prevented PBMs from paying their own pharmacies more than they pay other pharmacies, and place the State Board of Pharmacy over more regulatory control of PBM practices. Many other states are passing laws that regulate PBMs and have found that they save money while supporting independent pharmacies which are often pillars of their community and sometimes, the only source of life-saving medications for 50 miles. I would encourage everyone to investigate this for themselves. PBMs are exceptionally good at yelling from the rooftops that any threat to their bottom line will cause skyrocketing prices for consumers. It is a shell game. They are the magicians. Think about your local pharmacy owner. Do you think that they have teams of people sitting around thinking up the next way to make themselves rich at the expense of their neighbors? They are most likely figuring out how to make their next payroll, or how to pay the charge backs from the last draconian audit that they received from a PBM, which often results in PBMs taking back money on technicalities which have no bearing on whether the patient got the right medication. The end goal of the PBMs is that you go to their pharmacies, get the drugs that they tell you to, and pay the price that they dictate. If something is not done to reign in the power of these companies, the main street and neighborhood pharmacies who have served the population of Mississippi for, in some cases, a century will cease to exist. What will they do once they do not have any competition? If the history of these companies is any guide, that is when they will really start putting the squeeze on the consumer. You will be the last place for them to pull their increased profits from.

By Kara Kimbrough Mother’s Day may have come and gone, along with a few college graduations, but there are still plenty of special occasions occurring from now until summer. High school graduations, bridal showers and milestone birthdays are just a few of the reasons to celebrate the special people in your life. And it’s a good time overall to switch from winter’s heavy comfort foods and instead, turn to dishes and desserts that are light, refreshing and delicious! If the thought of hosting a special spring celebration creates anxiety when considering the time needed to prepare food for guests, consider mixing quality prepared baked goods from a reputable bakery or supermarket whose products you trust. A brunch or afternoon party table filled with layer cakes, cupcakes, sliced fruit breads and plates of sliced fruit is more than adequate. As long as everything is served on nice platters (just remember to hide or better yet, throw away the bakery’s cardboard box) nobody has to know who prepared the food. Whichever route you choose — homemade or store-bought — the number one rule to remember is to relax, have fun and enjoy the moment. After all, the guests attending your spring celebration will treasure the memories of the special event long after thoughts about the food have faded. Following are three of my favorite spring recipes that will make your event special while allowing you to enjoy your guests. Favorite Strawberry Pie 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened 1 cup confectioner’s sugar 1 8-ounce container whipped topping 2 cups (or more) chopped strawberries 1 shortbread pie crust Mix cream cheese and confectioner’s sugar in mixer; add whipped topping and strawberries, and mix well by hand. Pour into crust and garnish with strawberries. Chill for several hours or freeze slightly before serving. Old-Fashioned Lemon Pound Cake All-vegetable shortening, melted 1 cup salted butter, softened 3 cups granulated sugar 6 large eggs, separated 1½ teaspoons lemon extract ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided 3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon baking soda 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk, divided 2 cups confectioners’ sugar Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 12- to 15-cup Bundt or tube pan with melted vegetable shortening, and dust with flour. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat butter and granulated sugar at medium speed until fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add extract and ¼ cup lemon juice. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with 1 cup milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition. In a medium bowl, beat egg whites with a mixer at high speed until stiff. Fold into batter. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until a wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean, 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack. In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice and remaining 2 tablespoons milk. Gradually whisk in confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Drizzle over cake. Fried Rice, Chicken and Vegetables 4 cups cooked rice 1-2 large chicken breasts ¼ teaspoon salt Vegetable or canola oil 2 eggs 1/2 cup diced white or yellow onion 4-6 cloves garlic, minced 1 cube chicken bouillon 2 teaspoons soy sauce 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 2 cups frozen peas and carrots, thawed 2 tablespoons green onions, sliced Slice chicken into thin strips. Sprinkle with salt and rub it evenly all over chicken. Beat two eggs in a bowl. Heat skillet under medium heat. Add vegetable or canola oil to skillet. Once oil is heated, add eggs to skillet. When the bottom of the egg mixture is cooked, flip and cook the other side. Once eggs are no longer in liquid form, break it into small pieces. Remove from skillet and set aside.  Heat skillet under high heat. Add vegetable or canola oil to skillet. Add chicken pieces. Stir and flip occasionally until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Remove and set aside. Add 1-2 teaspoons vegetable or canola oil to skillet. Once oil is heated, add diced onions and minced garlic. Once onions and garlic are fragrant (do not brown or burn), add cooked rice. Break apart rice if it is in chunks. Stir continuously for 30 seconds, then add chicken bouillon, soy sauce, sesame oil, black pepper. Stir continuously for a minute, or until everything is mixed well. Add frozen mixed vegetables. Stir to combine for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken pieces and egg/omelet pieces previously set aside back into the skillet. Stir to combine. Remove from heat. Garnish with green onions (optional). Kara Kimbrough is a food and travel writer and travel agent from Mississippi. Email her at kkprco@yahoo.com.