Volunteer Mississippi, the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service, recently implemented new features to support Mississippi organizations and projects needing volunteers or support. Volunteer Mississippi exists to engage and support all Mississippians in service to their communities, and it works to find innovative ways to accomplish this mission. To help connect volunteers with opportunities, the agency recently relaunched its website to better help volunteers and organizations fill their needs. One of the new website features is a free-to-use volunteer calendar. Any organization seeking volunteers for its events, whether recurring or a special event, can fill out a simple form describing its need for volunteers. From there, the event is posted to the Volunteer Mississippi calendar. Those seeking an opportunity to volunteer can view the calendar to find an upcoming service opportunity. Mississippi organizations have benefitted greatly from this service, and well over 100 organizations have had their need for volunteers filled through the volunteer calendar. Corie Jones, deputy director, public relations at Volunteer Mississippi, designed the volunteer opportunity system, and she is thrilled with the success of the system. "It can be difficult to find volunteers or a place to serve, so our goal was to simplify the process," said Jones, "and we were able to accomplish that. I'm proud of the positive response we've had to our calendar. From disaster relief to food distribution and everything in between. Volunteer Mississippi is truly connecting volunteers with opportunities." Along with the volunteer opportunity platform, Volunteer Mississippi's website contains new funding opportunities available to Mississippi organizations. Along with existing AmeriCorps grants, Volunteer Mississippi has opened applications for Volunteer and Civic Engagement Mini-Grants. These mini-grants are available to registered 501(c)(3) nonprofits in the state of Mississippi seeking assistance to offset costs involved with a project or event that engages Mississippians of all ages and backgrounds inservice to their communities. These mini-grants are the second round offered to Mississippi organizations, and each applicant could receive up to $10,000 of reimbursement. Eligible projects must take place between July 1, 20­­23 and December 31, 2023and must engage at least 10 volunteers within the grant period. Suzanne Scales-Rutherford, interim co-executive director and AmeriCorps grant officer at Volunteer Mississippi, says that these mini-grants are a chance for non-profits to experience financial relief. "These mini-grants give us the opportunity to assist the organizations that are the backbone of Mississippi," Rutherford said. "Volunteer Mississippi understands the hard work that goes into civic engagement, and we want to recognize the organizations that make a difference in their communities. Our goal for the Volunteer and Civic Engagement Mini-Grants is to positively impact organizations and in turn, positively impact Mississippi." These two opportunities are not the only new features available on Volunteer Mississippi's redesigned website. Visitors can find information on events hosted by the agency, AmeriCorps grant information and a new "About Us" page that clearly articulates the mission and vision of Volunteer Mississippi. The mission of Volunteer Mississippi is to engage and support Mississippians of all ages and backgrounds in service to their communities. Volunteer Mississippi works to connect volunteers with opportunities to serve around the state of Mississippi. The agency houses AmeriCorps Mississippi and partners with Mississippi service organizations to promote volunteerism to all Mississippi residents. To learn more about Volunteer Mississippi or get involved, visit volunteermississippi.org.

Wesson High School cheerleader Emma Thaxton (front row center) inks scholarship agreement to continue cheering at Southwest Community College for the Bears next year. At her signing were her parents Maggie and Scotty Thaxton (flanking her left and right), (left to right back row) Southwest Cheer Coach Cory Boyd, WHS Cheer Coach Michell Berch and Wesson Principal and Athletic Director Tommy Clopton.

Co-Lin Workforce Education welding students have completed the 10-month long, non-credit evening welding course and secured the National Center for Construction Education & Research (NCCER) Welding CONTREN Level I and II certifications under the guidance of Don Blandon, Co-Lin welding instructor. The program introduces participants to introductory craft skills (Core), Gas Metal Arc Welding (MIG), and Flux Core Arc Welding (FCAW). Upon successful completion of the Welding Contren Learning Series, students can earn Level I and II certification through NCCER. In addition to welding skills, students earn their 10-hour Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) General Industry. With welders in high demand in the manufacturing, agriculture, and oil industries, Co-Lin’s Workforce Education Division is currently offering evening classes at three locations in the College’s district. At graduation ceremonies, instructor Don Blandon addressed the graduates, family, and friends: “This group has worked hard to get where they are today, and I hope that they leave with welding skills and work knowledge that will help them in their future jobs. I try to teach valuable life lessons along with welding skills in my classes. This is my tenth group of night class welding graduates, and they are a special group.” Upcoming fall non-credit welding training courses start August 8 with a registration deadline of July 29. Classes are available at the Wesson Campus in Wesson, the Natchez Campus in Natchez, and at Simpson County Center in Mendenhall. Additional information about registration is available at our website www.colin.edu/workforcwelding or may be asked by calling 601.643.8707. Enrollment requirements include taking the ACT Work Keys Assessment and earning a bronze level or greater National Career Readiness Certificate. Funding assistance may be available through the WIN Job Center. Interested individuals should visit the Brookhaven WIN Center or call 601-823-9709.

A user friendly website that is updated weekly throughout the school year tracks events, schedules, and topics of interest for Wesson Attendance Center (WAC) teachers, students and parents and facilitates communication among WAC stakeholders. Online visitors can access the website through the Copiah County School District website at www.copiah.ms. On the School District website, which provides information about the Copiah County School District board and its policies, visitors can select "Wesson Attendance Center" from a dropdown menu to go to the component of the site dedicated to WAC. The WAC homepage includes photos and stories, notices of upcoming events with access to the full WAC calendar, links to student handbooks and click-on menu items that link to detailed information about WAC in general, specifics about its elementary and secondary schools, special interest topics geared to teachers, students and parents and news about athletic events. WAC staff and teachers are listed on the site with email addresses through which they can be reached. Cobra Chatters -- a weekly newsletter that covers what is happening at WAC and spotlights dates -- is also accessible on the homepage. Through the WAC website, parents can download an Active Parent application form to access information related to their students -- attendance, schedules and grades -- and school news. WAC verifies completed forms and assigns a login name and password to use the Active Parent website. The WAC website is maintained and updated from the start of the school year in August through May, when it ends.

Do this one. (If your spouse is a bit squeamish, then best accomplish this without them being in the kitchen) Catch a live toad. Fill a large pan with cool water and place the pan on the stove. Put the toad in the pan and then turn the burner on to low heat. The innocent soon-to-be-in-danger toad will sit contentedly in that water, never dreaming that his nice, personal paradise will begin to heat up and his lovely new home will steadily turn into a personal pit of death. He will sit there enjoying his little pond, not recognizing that is getting warmer, then entirely too warm, and then eventually will cook him to death. Reminiscent of us contented humans. We have sat in a slowly-heating pan of tolerance and acceptance, where ‘anything goes’ and where absolutely nothing is deemed as wrong anymore. While we have been blissfully swimming in the nice warm water and enjoying ourselves, our play water has been steadily warming, and now seems to be reaching the cook-you-while-you-laugh point. So many do not sense the coming danger. Have we reached the point-of-no-return? Is our consciences and our moral compass so damaged by the play water that we as a nation can no longer grasp that there is a wrong and a right in the eyes of our Creator? We definitely need a bucket of ice thrown in our pan. And some have been trying, but unfortunately, we can’t seem to throw in enough ice to cool things off. Sermons have been preached, parents lecture and discipline, concerned teachers attempt to guide, and speeches have been shouted by conservative political men and women in our government system, all clearly alarmed at the direction we have taken. The result? Absolutely no change in our downward spiral. No, that sentence is incomplete. It should read, ‘Absolutely no change in our headlong dive, it’s as if we are now being pushed downward by a twelve-million-ton locomotive.’ But why? Why do we no longer heed words of caution – words that earlier generations regarded as valuable wisdom? Today most people have the defiant attitude, “You ain’t the boss of me, and I’m free to do as I please!” Well, yes, to a degree, I would agree with them. No person holds any more worth than another, worth which would give them authority over another in this world of humanity. Not one of us is God. So in that sense, they are free to rebel against society and do as they please. But human worth is not the issue when it comes to ‘Who is Boss around here.’ The only issue is this: There really is a God. A God who is the Creator of everything that exists. And that makes Him the Boss. A Boss who wrote a Letter a long time ago, telling us how to behave and what He wanted. And allowing that twelve-million-ton locomotive to destroy us is not what He wanted.

Wesson Attendance Center (WAC) anticipates enrollment to jump slightly in the coming 2023-24 school term. The new school year begins in Wesson on Friday, August 4. At a time when schools throughout the state have more jobs to fill than people to fill them, WAC will add ten new teachers: Trace Abdul-Hadi, a secondary school teacher and basketball coach; Tomeka Brice, a secondary school teacher in special education; Tiffany Brooks, a secondary school teacher in science; Anyana Dumomore, an elementary school teacher in special education; Jessica Farnham, a third grade elementary school teacher; Nic Kleppinger, a music teacher and assistant band director; Angie Neely, and elementary school teacher in special education; Ryan Neely, a secondary school teacher in social studies and physical education, and a coach; Joseph Shummaker. a sixth grad elementary school teacher; Amer Hall, a secondary assistant. WAC athletic teams will continue to play in 3A regional competition as the number of classes throughout the state is up to seven. "We expect about 880 students to enroll," says WAC principal Tommy Clopton. "All students attending WAC must reside within its district or have been released by their local school board and approved by the Copiah County School Board," Clopton says. "Otherwise, law requires students to attend school in the districts where they live. "Residency means a student resides full time, days and nights throughout the week and on weekends, within the limits of the school district. Students must reside full time at the address used for registration and live with a natural parent or have legal documentation on file with WAC that shows they are under the guardianship of someone." To enroll in classes at WAC, four documents for each incoming student, who did not attend the school last year, must be provided: Birth certificate Social Security Card Original copy of Mississippi Immunization Form 121 The final report card from the previous school All students planning to attend WAC, even if they were enrolled last year, must show residency proof, including one document from each of three groups with the name of the registrant's parent or legal guardian: Real estate documentation. Mortgage papers or property deed, original apartment rental agreement or home lease (receipts will not be accepted) of a filed homestead exemption form; Utility bill or deposit receipt (lights, water, gas) dated within the last two months (cell phone bills will not be accepted); Other proof. Driver’s license, voter registration card or automobile registration. If documents of legal guardians are used to prove residency, the registrant must provide a copy of the court order appointing the guardian or the filed petition for a pending guardianship decree. Children or youth living with an adult other than parents or legal guardians in the district may be enrolled at WAC in cases of death or serious illnesses of the parents or legal guardians, abandonment, abuse or neglect; unstable or detrimental family relationships or living conditions, or if they are exchange students with host families. In such cases, the district resident housing the students must provide an affidavit stating the relationship to them and documentation fully explaining the circumstances. WAC may also require temporary placement and custody orders from courts. Call WAC for dates, times, and place for open registration in which parents or guardians can enroll prospective new students or returning students if they do not want to take advantage of online registration. WAC, however, encourages parents or guardians of returning students to register online at www.copiah.ms, where they will need to sign in as an ActiveParent. If they have forgotten login information, it is available at WACEnroll@copiah.ms or at 601-643-2221 Monday through Thursday 7:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. and Friday 7:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Once logged in as an ActiveParent, a drop-down menu guides users through student selection and the registration process. Registrants should be prepared to download copies of required documents -- the same ones required for new students. New students include those who have been home schooled or attended other schools. SIDEBAR WAC staff and personnel are accessible by telephone, fax and email: Principal Tommy Clopton. tommy.clopton@copiah.ms. High School Principal Principal Dr. Barbara Roberson. barbara.roberson@copiah.ms. Assistant Principal Vanda Brister. vanda.brister@copiah.ms. Guidance Counselor Taylor Burke. Elementary Counselor Ginger Heard, High School Secretary Gwen Shannon. Elementary Secretary Aretha Butler. Nurse Michelle Berch. Bookkeeper/Secretary Telisha Sanders and Jacque McCormick (also Records Clerk). High School telephone: (601) 643-2221/2222 Elementary telephone: (601) 643-2295 Fax: (601) 643-2458 or (601) 643-5838

By Kara Kimbrough It’s summer, which in the south means one thing: it’s hot. Very hot. Even so, last week I was excited to find an easy way to make one of my favorite dishes, vegetable beef soup/stew. Yes, soup can be enjoyed in the summer. It’s all in how you prepare it. Nor does it have to be served piping hot. Lukewarm will suffice in many instances. The recipe emerged from the passing of a long-time family friend who loved God and her church, First Baptist of Jackson, her family, friends and the soup made by her niece. Almost every sad event has a silver lining and this one contained several. The passing of Canton native and long Jacksonian Mary Ann Hatten was met with sadness throughout several parts of the state. As a beloved teacher early in her career at Columbia High School, she taught and impacted the lives of hundreds, maybe thousands of students. Many still kept in touch and visited her decades later. A move to Jackson Public Schools to serve as history and civics teacher and guidance counselor at Chastain Junior - now Middle - School allowed hundreds more to benefit from her instruction, care and concern for “my kids.” In Columbia, Mary Ann served as a teacher under my uncle, principal of CHS. He worked alongside my aunt, the school secretary, a partnership that likely wouldn’t be permitted today. A decades-long friendship continued after they all relocated to Jackson; my uncle at Mississippi Department of Education, my aunt to Peeples Middle School and Mary Ann at Chastain. Several years ago, I reconnected with her and was able to visit her cozy apartment on Old Canton Road, where she’d resided for decades. Hearing about her frequent visits to “the Kroger” located directly behind her home, frequent stops by Gridley’s Barbecue to pick up barbecue and homemade pies to take to church and family dinners and weekly Friday night dinners to area restaurants with her friends never failed to entertain. Mary Ann was truly happy and content living there. As she explained it to me, “I have everything I need right here in the neighborhood!" During the pandemic, she uncovered another favorite restaurant. Staff at Honey Baked Ham on Northside Drive brought food orders to her car and placed them on her back seat, a kindness she rewarded with a big tip. As a long-time subscriber to The Clarion-Ledger, Mary Ann read my columns each week, calling to check on me if one failed to make it in that week’s food section. After reading the newspapers from cover to cover, she faithfully donated them to area animal shelters to use as cage liners. But back to the soup recipe. I heard many stories of how her beloved niece, Janet, traveled often from Clinton to take her out to eat and drop off her favorite soup. Janet made it without tomatoes due to Mary Ann’s food allergy. I always meant to ask her for the recipe since she called it, “the best soup you’ve ever tasted.” Sadly, I never asked and due to both ladies’ passing, feel certain I’ll never know the exact ingredients. Not to be deterred, I searched through cookbooks and my online group, Soup Lovers, to look for a recipe that met Mary Ann’s description. I received several suggestions and selected one that looked similar to Janet’s version. I loved that the recipe called for chuck roast instead of stew meat. Having to brown chunks of meat, only to have them shrivel up to half the size in the soup was always a problem. This version is full of flavor, large chunks of beef and best of all, easy to make courtesy of the Crockpot. And here’s a lesson to remember: if you plan “one day” to ask a friend for a recipe or even more important, want to pass on favorite family dishes to others – do it now. While it may not be the original, I feel blessed to have found a close replica of the original “best soup ever.” It’s now one of my favorite soup recipes – just one of the many blessings that resulted from the long, productive life of Mary Ann. Mary Ann’s Vegetable Beef Soup 2-3 pounds beef chuck roast 1 cup diced onions 16 ounce bag baby carrots, left whole 1-1/2 pounds baby red potatoes, peeled and quartered (or one cup country-style hash browns) 2 cups celery, diced 1 packet Lipton Onion Soup Mix 32-ounce low-sodium beef broth 2 beef bouillon cubes (or Better than Bouillon, dissolved in water) 1 bag frozen English peas 2 teaspoons garlic powder 2 teaspoons dried thyme 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper Optional: 6-ounce tomato paste if you prefer Slurry: 2 tablespoons corn starch 3 tablespoons cold water Place all ingredients in lined Crockpot set to high. Cook 8-10 hours. If possible, add potatoes and carrots 4 hours into cooking time. If that’s not possible, place them on top of the meat to cook slower. Fifteen minutes before end of cooking, combine cornstarch and cold water and stir into soup. Let cook 15 minutes, then serve. Kara Kimbrough is a food and travel writer and travel agent from Mississippi. Email her at kkprco@yahoo.com.

By Bob Arnold On a visit to his parents back in the mid-1970s when he was working on his B.A. in English at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, was startled to find that his mom and dad had packed up their belongings at their Greenville, South Carolina, home and were moving to Tupelo, Mississippi, where his father planned to operate an old furniture factory. It was an unlikely beginning of a journey for Varas that has encompassed 42 years of legal service in Copiah County, including City Attorney and Municipal Court Judge for Wesson. “The house was empty,” Varas recalls. “The furniture was in the moving van outside the house. I wondered what was going on.” If the surprise was a little bit annoying, it nevertheless introduced him to Mississippi and led him to Ole Miss to study law from 1976 to 1979 and earn a J.D. that prepared him for a private law practice in Copiah and Lincoln counties, local judgeships and legal work for area municipalities. Last month, Wesson government officials and town folk honored him at a special reception for his service to Wesson. A native of Inglewood, California, Varas spent his early childhood in the Golden State at San Mateo on the San Francisco Peninsula and San Marino, where he fondly remembers bike-riding days when he could travel throughout the interconnected Southern California neighborhoods to special places, like The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, in Los Angeles County and in the Pasadena area. Varas first came to the South when his father, who worked in sales and marketing for varied companies that transferred their personnel around the country, moved his family to Greenville, South Carolina, briefly before returning to California at San Marino and then going to the South again to Atlanta, where, he says “I thought I had died and gone to hell.” His family resettled in Greenville, where Varas graduated from high school in 1971 and then headed off to Wofford, graduating in 1975. With his family now in Tupelo, Varas chose to go to Ole Miss Law School. He launched his career as an attorney with a law firm in Columbia, South Carolina, after passing a bar exam and becoming licensed to practice his profession in South Carolina and Mississippi. Ironically, going to Columbia brought Varas back to Mississippi after meeting and marrying the former Kate Walker (now Kate Hampton) from Wesson there. She suggested they return to her hometown, where she had just inherited the Victorian house on Highway 51 that would later become the venue of Porches Restaurant for many years. Varas lived there for eight to 10 years before his marriage ended, and swears that it is a haunted house with “good ghosts.” By then, Varas had made Copiah County his permanent home, establishing his own law practice -- first at Brookhaven in the early 1980s, and then moving it to Hazlehurst in 1985 – when he discovered there were no big law firms in the area looking to hire young attorneys. “When I came to Wesson, the old hotel was standing, the Post Office was where the new dental office is and there were no Dollar General or Family Dollar stores,” Varas recalls. Always drawn to community service because “I believe in giving back to the world,” Varas took on multiple appointed roles as an attorney and judge for Copiah County and its municipalities while maintaining a multi-faceted law firm. There were no public defenders in those days, so Varas often found himself in criminal defense, appointed by judges when someone could not afford a lawyer. His first judgeship was not an easy one in Georgetown where its Chief of Police at the time was “the epitome of the old-time image of a Mississippi lawman” to whom rights of prisoners meant nothing, Varas recalls. In addition to serving Wesson for the past 13 years as Municipal Judge and as City Attorney on and off since the 1980s, Varas has worked in similar capacities at Crystal Springs and Hazlehurst, and has been Copiah Country prosecutor, Copiah County Youth Court Judge and Special Master for hearings on committing mentally ill persons to institutions. In his early years as a judge, Varas says he was “crusader,” seeking to bring values of equal justice for all and compassion to his decisions, while seeking to “make law and order” in communities – the fundamental job of municipal courts. “I was reared by parents with an American Dream view of life that all people are created equal,” he explains. “They weren’t church people, but they were religious in trying to practice love and compassion. That’s the personal background I bring to the court. I don’t understand the racism that I see in a society in which people have been indoctrinated to hate others.” Over the years, as he has watched the same people coming back to his courts “over and over again” on the same offenses, and “increasing numbers of people coming to the courts because they have no sense of personal responsibility,” Varas says his focus has shifted to “public protection.” Varas says he believes strongly in the justice system and upholding its rules and laws, but “one of the reasons I’ve decided to retire now is I think I’ve lost at least some of the sense of humor and compassion I once had. “You expect upwards of ten percent of the people that come before you to return to court because they can’t change their behavior, but I have become frustrated by the growing numbers who never learned to accept personal responsibility for their actions, and blame others when they do wrong or make a mistake,” he explains. What satisfaction has he realized as a judge? “The best part of the job is working with top notch people, and the hardest part is dealing with the public,” Varas notes. “But the satisfaction, which occurs only rarely, happens when a stranger walks up to you on the street or in a store to thank you – for ‘hearing my case fairly and finding me not guilty,’ ‘giving me a break, although I was guilty,’ or even “sending me to prison, where I straightened out my life.” What are your hobbies? I’ve given up a lot of hobbies over the years – long distance running, scuba diving, hunting, fishing, golf. I was an active Episcopalian in Brookhaven’s Redeemer Church, but I am now married to a Roman Catholic woman. So I relax in my yard and garden, growing things. I continue to exercise, but not as vigorously, by taking walks around town, picking up litter while I’m at it to keep the town clean. I like to travel, and now enjoy the sites around Mississippi particular Are you a reader? As a lawyer, reading is a requirement that, over the years, turned me away from the from the variety of reading that I once enjoyed. As a lawyer, I came home not for a good book, but to watch television. As an English major in college, I became a fan of Jack Kerouac, the beat generation writer; and Jerzy Kosinski, who wrote about the dark side of life. From childhood, I still remember Caddie Woodlawn, an historical novel by Carol Ryrie Brink, that nurtured my love of reading. Do you follow movies or theater? I didn’t like him in The Green Berets, but I enjoy John Wayne in Searchers. I like the songs in Scrooge with Albert Brooks, with its classic story of redemption. I attend local theater productions, and you can take me to an art museum any day. Are you into music? I’m a listener. I don’t sing or play an instrument, but The Who plays my kind of rock ‘n roll. What would you do with the winnings if you won the lottery? I’d pay off my debts, take a vacation, give to charity, help friends in need and bank anything that is left so I’d never have to worry about paying bills again. How would you change the world? Above all, we need to make better citizens by investing in education and mental health. We need to walk the walk and quit talking about it. Parents need to rear their children to assume responsibility and not blame others when they make a mistake or do something wrong. With 40 people dying every day due to gun violence, we also need to enact stricter, but sensible control of firearms. AR-15s shouldn’t be available to people outside the military

WHO: The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT). WHAT: Temporary lane closure. WHEN: Monday, July 10, 2023. WHERE: The I-55 north frontage road ramp to I-55 south frontage road in Jackson. WHY: The inside lane of the frontage road bridge over Hanging Moss Creek near the Canton Mart overpass has been temporarily closed following a fire incident that took place early Monday. The safety of the public and need for structural assessment necessitated the lane closure. HOW: “Fires like this that result in bridge damage are why must we do all we can to protect the integrity of these vital structures in our communities,” said MDOT Executive Director Brad White. “Motorists are advised to plan their routes accordingly. Commuters are encouraged to use caution, slow down and stay alert for roadside workers.” MDOT will keep the public informed on the repair as details are determined. In the meantime, stay updated on this project and others by downloading the MDOT Traffic mobile app, visiting MDOTtraffic.com, and following @MississippiDOT on Facebook and Twitter.

The 2023 Mississippi Legislature revised laws requiring language interpreters for people of limited English proficiency in court proceedings to provide broader access to assistance for people who don’t understand English. The new law, which went into effect July 1, mandates court appointment of a qualified interpreter in criminal cases at no cost to the defendant, with the cost borne by the county or municipality. Changes in the criminal statute are in Miss. Code Ann. Section 99-17-7. New legislation also requires court interpreters to be paid by the county or municipality in civil cases, so limited English proficient individuals will no longer have to pay for a court interpreter. In the past there has been confusion as to when LEP individuals are entitled to use a court interpreter. Revisions to the statutes clarified that LEP individuals are entitled to use an interpreter in any instance arising out of or pertaining to the individual’s involvement in litigation. See Miss. Code Ann. Section 9-21-73 (4). This provision ensures that LEP individuals have a right to an interpreter during all phases of litigation, including hearings and depositions. This provision applies not only to litigants, but also to witnesses, said Deenie Miller, director of language access for the Administrative Office of Courts. “The new law ensures that limited English proficient individuals receive assistance from qualified court interpreters from the beginning of a case until the end of a trial, no matter what their involvement is regarding the litigation. This includes a plaintiff filing a lawsuit in the Clerk’s Office, a defendant appearing in court responding to a summons, or a witness testifying at a trial. The cost of the interpreter can no longer be assessed to the LEP individual,” Miller said. The Administrative Office of Courts is seeking bilingual speakers willing to train to become credentialed court interpreters. An Ethics and Skill Building Seminar will be held Aug. 3-4 at the Gartin Justice Building, 450 High Street in Jackson. The seminar registration deadline is July 24. Advance registration is required. The $125 registration fee includes the seminar and a box lunch both days. The registration form is at this link: https://courts.ms.gov/aoc/courtinterpreter/forms/Ethics%20and%20Skill%20Building%20Registration%20Form.pdf. Participation in the Ethics and Skill Building Seminar is the first step in the Mississippi Court Interpreter Credentialing Program which trains, tests and certifies individuals who wish to serve as court interpreters. The seminar will introduce the candidates to requirements for foreign language interpreting in court settings. The seminar will cover the role of the court foreign language interpreter, ethical requirements, modes of interpretation and credentialing requirements. Candidates to become court interpreters must already be fluent in English and a second language and must develop an understanding of legal terms and court proceedings. The AOC developed the Mississippi Court Interpreter Credentialing Program to assist state courts in providing equal access to justice for people of limited English proficiency. AOC provides all state courts with a roster of credentialed foreign language interpreters. The AOC requested legislative changes earlier this year to make sure that people of limited English proficiency receive all of the protections required by federal law. The legislation expanded the definition of who is a person of limited English proficiency, or LEP, beyond the former definition of simply a party or witness who cannot readily understand or communicate in spoken English. New language in the statute adds “or who does not speak English as his or her primary language” and “has a limited ability to read, speak, write or understand English.” Miller said, “There have been differing opinions as to who has the right to a court interpreter. Now it is clear that appointing a court interpreter is proper for individuals who may speak some English but are not fluent. The new definition further strengthens access to justice to our LEP population.” The Legislature this year revised definitions of the previously established three categories of court interpreters: certified, registered and non-credentialed. The legislation also adopted an order of preference, with certified interpreters first, then registered, then non-credentialed. “This will ensure that every LEP individual has the right to the most qualified interpreter available,” Miller said. “We want to encourage anyone who meets the qualifications for pursuing our Court Interpreter Program to attend the seminar so we can expand our court interpreter roster. We often are forced to utilize court interpreters from other states because we do not have enough interpreters to meet the demand. As more people learn about the new legislation, the demand will continue to increase.” House Bill 1217 was introduced by House Judiciary A and Judiciary En Banc Chair Angela Cockerham of Magnolia, Judiciary A Vice-Chair Rep. Thomas U. Reynolds of Charleston and Rep. Otis Anthony of Indianola. Gov. Tate Reeves approved the legislation on March 13. The Legislature also appropriated $150,000 to the AOC’s language access budget. The funds will help efforts to make LEP individuals aware of their right to an interpreter. Miller said, “One of our first big projects will be providing signs in clerk’s offices and courtrooms translated into multiple languages so that people who are limited English proficient know they are entitled to an interpreter.” The Director of Language Access assists the courts in meeting the needs of people with limited English proficiency. The Director is charged with educating judges, court staff and attorneys about the requirements for providing court interpreters for people of limited English proficiency to conform with federal and state laws and regulations. The Director is also in charge of recruiting foreign language interpreters. For more information, contact Deenie Miller at 601-359-4469 or deenie.miller@courts.ms.gov.

By Bob Garver A quick explanation about this week’s movies: with an estimated $40 million at the domestic box office, “Sound of Freedom” had the most money at the end of the weekend. But because it made it a point of opening on Tuesday, July 4, instead of the usual Friday, it had a three-day head start over “Insidious: The Red Door,” which finished with $32 million. I’ve decided to give attention to both movies. I’m also throwing in “Elemental,” which I would have reviewed two weeks ago had I not been on vacation. “Elemantal” After the streak-breaking disaster that was last year’s “Lightyear,” Pixar is back to making decent movies. Not great movies - this one isn’t on the level of “Toy Story” or “Up” – but solid, enjoyable movies. Fire-person Ember (Leah Lewis) lives in Element City with her immigrant parents. She meets water-person Wade (Mamoudou Athie), and the two work toward a shared goal of saving her parents’ store. The two become friends and eventually fall in love, but for various reasons, fire-people and water-people are forbidden from touching. The clunky metaphor sometimes gets in the way of the message of racial and cultural harmony (because yeah, fire and water shouldn’t mix if the goal is anything other than extinguishment), but the movie still serves up an imaginative, funny world and heartfelt performances. It’s familiar (occasionally predictable) territory for Pixar, but “Elemental” represents a welcome return to the familiar. Grade: B- “Elemental” is rated PG for some peril, thematic elements and brief language. Its running time is 101 minutes. “Insidious: The Red Door” I’ll be honest, I had retained very little about the “Insidious” series going into “The Red Door.” That’s partly because this franchise has been dormant for over five years, and partly because it’s easy to confuse it with similar supernatural horrors from the “Conjuring” universe, which also stars Patrick Wilson, who here serves as director. Returning characters Josh Lambert (Wilson) and his son Dalton (Ty Simpkins) underwent hypnosis to forget the events of the first two films. Nine years later, as Dalton is entering college, the two have a strained relationship to go with their shared foggy past. The two characters, in their own ways, are forced to confront their pasts and their connection to the world known as “The Further” and the demons and spirits that live within. Aside from one admirably claustrophobic sequence in an MRI machine, “Insidious: The Red Door” is content to settle for startles when it should be striving for scares. I’ll no doubt be back to forgetting all about this series in no time. Grade: C- “Insidious: The Red Door” is rated PG-13 for violence, terror, frightening images, strong language and suggestive references. Its running time is 107 minutes. “Sound of Freedom” The depraved world of child trafficking is the setting for “Sound of Freedom,” a film that is disturbing to its core, yet manages to stay within the confines of the PG-13 rating. Jim Caviezel (no stranger to challenging subject matter since taking on the ultimate high-pressure role in “The Passion of the Christ”) stars as Homeland Security agent Tim Ballard, who switches his career aspirations from merely catching child predators to actually rescuing children. The story follows him on both a well-backed sting operation and a rogue lone mission as he attempts to reunite a family whose two children have been taken. Flaws like a noticeably low budget and poor pacing are balanced out by the dedicated performance by Caviezel and film’s obvious good intentions in raising awareness of an uncomfortable, yet important issue. That is, until a mid-credits “special message” where Caviezel directly implores the audience to encourage others to spend money on the film. Surely this spot could have been used to promote an anti-trafficking organization of some kind instead of the film itself. It undermines the selfless tone of the film that preceded it and frankly makes the whole project come off as greedy. Grade: C- “Sound of Freedom” is rated PG-13 for thematic content involving sex trafficking, violence, language, sexual references, some drug content and smoking throughout. Its running time is 131 minutes. Contact Bob Garver at rrg251@nyu.edu.

Wesson is one of two Mississippi towns to be honored as a “Healthy Hometown” by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation (BCBSMF) recognition of exemplary community health and wellness. The other 2023 Healthy Hometown Award winner announced at the Mississippi Municipal League Annual Conference in Biloxi, was Baldwyn, Mississippi. Both Wesson and Baldwyn will receive $100,000 grants from BCBSMF to assist in continued efforts to ensure the communities are healthy places to live, work and play. BCBSMF established the Healthy Hometown Awards Program in 2010 to encourage and reward cities that have made the most progress and displayed the highest level of commitment in creating a healthy community culture. The Healthy Hometown Awards Program encourage varied approaches shown to be effective in creating healthy community: demonstrating municipal leadership and involvement, adopting environmental ordinances and policies, providing access to healthier foods, promoting physical fitness activities, reducing tobacco use and ensuring healthy school environments. Regardless of the municipality’s population or the number of town or cities honored Healthy Hometown Awards are $100,000 for each winner in the annual program. “The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation celebrates the achievements of Baldwyn and Wesson city leaders and Healthy Hometown committee members for creating and sustaining opportunities for residents to make healthy decisions,” said BCBSMF Director Eugenia King. “Adopting health and wellness as a key community initiative improves well-being and sets a positive example for building healthy hometowns across Mississippi.” BCBSMF promotes its vision for a healthy Mississippi through leadership and targeted grant funding for sustainable initiatives and programs to improve the overall health and well-being of Mississippians. Learn more about the Healthy Hometown Awards Program and the Foundation at www.healthiermississippi.org.