Salon 51/Oh Babies Children Gunter Property Smith Property Clothing In August, Wesson Garden Club recognized the landscaping efforts of Rick and Dana Gunter at 1024 West Street and Steve, Brenda Smith at 9171 Sylvarena Road and Salon 51 and Oh Babies Children’s Clothing Store operated by Vera Boyles at 2064 Highway 51 North in its Yard of the Month town and rural residential and organizational categories. The Club also recognized the Wesson Fountain Garden butterfly sculptures on Highway 51 North with its Special Summer Award. The Yard of the Month awards that recognize maintenance principles and elements of landscape design seek to encourage ongoing beautification and cleanliness of the Wesson area and cultivate a citizenry that values and protects natural resources and assumes responsibility for enhancing the environment. The Garden Club's Yard of the Month awards honor landscapes during the spring, summer and fall.

By Mika Hartman In September, my family went on an amazing vacation. A very needed vacation away from our house remodel, therapy and doctors appointments. When we booked this particular vacation, I knew it would be fun; however, I didn’t know the profound impact we had in store. We took our first Buddy Cruise. Buddy Cruise partners with Royal Caribbean to provide a vacation experience like no other. Whether you have a loved one with a special need or you don’t, this cruise is so full of heart. Buddy Cruise has been sailing to different locations for 15 years. Many cruisers are regulars and have made this cruise a family reunion. The ones (like us) who just took the first one have already booked for 2023. Let me share our week with you and I bet you’ll be ready to join us: CJ, Henley, Hudson and I drove to Florida where we met my in-laws (Larry and Patty Hartman). The port was in Miami and the storms dissipated in time for our journey. Royal Caribbean made our boarding easy and we walked onto the Explorer of the Seas. Our first introduction was at the opening ceremony with all the Buddy Cruisers. There, we learned about all the fun and learning opportunities that were in store for all. We got our Walk & Roll t-shirts for the walk on the ship, we got special Buddy Cruise lanyards with our photos, and we were handed a bag full of goodies. And new this year was Buddy Bucks, too, and I will share more on these fun bucks later. Over 400 people were onboard for the Buddy Cruise. All journeys are welcome. The family who started this (Pam and Jorge Arnoldson) has a child with Down syndrome, but welcome everyone who needs this time of togetherness. Our first full day was at sea. This day was filled with meeting more incredible families. The start of the day was early. At 7am we had morning coffee with Beth. She talked about the importance of early intervention. Her talk was more energizing than the caffeine I consumed. Then, I totally geek’d out with meeting both Zach Gottsagen (“Peanut Butter Falcon”) and David DeSantis (“Where Hope Grows" and Hallmarks “Color My World With Love”) and we attended “Follow Your Heart” with Actor Zach Gottsagen. He talked about dreams and how to achieve your goals. Very well put guidelines for becoming the best version of yourself and how to get there, despite any different ability. Following, we attended a yearbook signing where we got and gave autographs of all the amazing Buddy Cruisers. Buddy Cruise made these adorable books with all the cruisers photos and stories about each person. Remarkable. This one book provided icebreakers, conversations, recognition and so much more. As we made our way around, we connected and had big smiles that hurt. While Hudson isn’t at the signing a book stage, many were and the pride on their faces was beautiful. And for the families that had to help with this, the inclusion and seeing the joy was everything. Later, we got all dressed up for Formal Night and enjoyed a delicious dinner and conversations about our day. Many cruisers approached our table and made us feel special. Huddy even made a new BFF, Mirenna. She was a gift we didn’t know we needed. Her brother was born with Down syndrome and her understanding was peaceful. Our second day of our Buddy Cruise started with morning coffee. Today’s coffee was a talk with Zach Gottsagen’s mom, Shelley. This coffee talk had me rolling… oh, the stories! So much fun, I even stayed behind to keep talking. What people say and do and how we can respond; it a reminder that we aren’t alone and laughter is the best medicine for anything and everything. Each morning also had Zumbuddies with Megan Bell. I had to feed Huddy at this time, but Megan is a Zumba instructor who is married and happens to have an extra chromosome… she’s adorable and inspiring. After Huddy’s breakfast, we headed to the walking track on the ship to attend the “Walk and Roll”. Buddy Cruise does something incredible for this, they actually give shirts to other cruisers (not with Buddy) to come join in. Our shirts were blue and the other participants wore white shirts. The blend was perfect. So many others on vacation came up to walk and support us. That’s how awareness becomes acceptance! Typing this memory brings me happy tears. Think about it, it your vacation and a Buddy invites you to show your support… what would you do? This memory will forever be in all our hearts for all who participated. And my hope is that they go home and continue this support. I pray for this. Hudson was so excited, he skipped his nap and wrestled his daddy for hours afterwards. Henley and I shot some hoops and then went to the Palace Theater for the pre-showing of a new documentary being made for Buddy Cruise. My friend, Denise, came up to me and said, “get ready to ball your eyes out, get tissues”. “Now you tell me”, I said. So queue the waterworks… this documentary perfectly sums up this tie that binds. It’s honest and heartfelt interviews are so touching. Our journeys are not completely mirrored, but it’s all familiar and understood. I cant wait to share this documentary with you all. I even was interviewed by Steve Gatlin for a chance to take you on our journey with Hudson, too. And to finish our wonderful day, we dined and then danced the night away at the 70’s dance party. From groovy outfits, fake mustaches, and super cool dance moves, the night was spectacular. Day three was on land. We toured Bonaire; flamingos, pink lakes and pyramids of salt were a few of our sights. Pina Coladas with local music under rows and rows of umbrellas floating in the sky and shopping galore. One stop was for bracelets that support single moms called Vadavas Bonaire. I, of course, got a yellow and a blue one. Then more families sharing their journeys and fun was onboard to end our day. Day four took us to Curacao. Here is where Huddy and CJ took a trolley with Larry and Patty to tour the island. Henley and I went off to swim with dolphins. A fun day was had by all. We ended this day with my interview for the documentary and good food. Day five was Aruba. Here was our parents day out. CJ and I rode UTV’s all over the island and dove off of cliffs and swam in the crystal clear blue water. We picked up the kids and took our time shopping on the island and hit several market shops by the ship. We got back onboard just in time to get on our “island time” apparel and danced the night away with our favorite new buddies. Our daughter, Henley, had this smile dancing with all the kids that was so pure and real. Joy in this journey is something we all gain. New friends, surprises of commonality and happiness could all be found on this dance floor. Our evening ended with streaming a show we watch and resting with sounds of actual ocean waves, not from a sound machine. Day six returned to our Buddy Cruise schedule, as it was a returned day to sea. Morning coffee with Filmmaker Steve Gatlin was a great start to this day. We heard more about his documentary and the reason he does what he does. You see, Steve has a son with Down syndrome. His name is Adam and he is 11. Adam opened Steve’s eyes to the need to share this beautiful life he’s been blessed with. So Steve has a mission to share his life and others to encourage more people to join in on this journey with us… for the next cruise, yes, but also for each and every day. To show families like his and mine and how we are better people because our lives changed by loving someone with a disability. You don’t have to have someone related to you to experience the change. Actually, I would encourage you to find someone on our journey and make a difference because it feels good and it makes the world better for Hudson and his buddies. Don’t wait. Meetings about education and IEP’s with Pam and Beth provided great information to provide the tools we need when the conversations get hard. You should know that all of school, from Kindergarten to Graduation, the goal is the same: preparing our kids for life after school. It’s not just to get okay with this year, but to give your loved ones their best chance at life beyond school. Don’t allow services to stop to just get okay results, stay the course to give a best chance at mastering a skill. From handwriting to tying shoes to social skills, it’s all relevant and has to be provided as preparation to their futures. Obviously, don’t waste time on repeating the same learning pattern if it doesn’t work, but as for a new approach to the skills that are taking longer. All kids learn differently, but you don’t give up. We, then, had a meeting with Attorney Tom Gallo about wills, trusts and ABLE accounts. All of this information was needed and gave us a clearer understanding to our future and what’s best for Hudson. Many don’t understand all parents and caregivers have to learn on this journey. One mistake or box checked wrong can effect the future and benefits needed to provide what our loved ones need. The benefits of love and happiness way outweigh the challenges, but the challenges shouldn’t be so hard, should they? But a cruise like this is how we learn, how we grow and how we succeed. Now after a long week and a busy schedule, we took the night off after dinner. We binge-watched Cobra Kai with hot tea and a huge plate of cookies. Our final day at sea was filled with more fun. Morning coffee with Attorney Tom Gallo about setting up proper accounts. We met about glasses, screenings and seeing with Optician Maria Dellapina. Maria designed proper glasses for our loved ones with Down syndrome called Specs 4 Us. Glasses designed for cute button noses, smaller ears and light to not hurt sweet faces. See what our beautiful children offer to the world and inspire. Its amazing the people we met and the journeys some have. We also got to spend all our Buddy Bucks. I mentioned these earlier. We collected these bucks all week and it was time to spend them. The shop opened and OMG, it was like Black Friday. We had our arms full of prizes shared. All I could think was, “how did they get all of this on the boat AND how are we getting off with all of this stuff”. So that was fun! Closing ceremony was full of energy; awards for presenters, door decorating contest winners and top teams were all recognized. What a vacation. I’m not sharing all of this to brag about our trip, but to share with you our experience in hopes that you join us or tell someone else how to. Shows, games, karaoke, sports, swimming, rock wall climbing, surfing, shopping, and THE FOOD, all part of our fantastic week on the ship. Now, our trip wasn’t all smooth sailing. Hudson’s tube supplies didn’t all make it on the boat and we had a few days of panic. However, incredible mom’s we met helped provide what we needed. Any other trip, we wouldn’t have had the resources that we did on this ship. They say we are “in the same boat” and, yes, this is true; what I now know is that we are “unsinkable” when we are all together. A vacation is about creating memories that last a lifetime and stories you can share that outlive even us. This cruise had it all; fun, learning, friendships, laughter, tears, strength, similarities, differences, heart and more. I even called it the “love boat” a few times as I saw sweet handholding and kisses being shared. Think about your favorite Christmas in your life; that is this week, it’s better than Christmas to our families. A week of togetherness with people who understand your life. They don’t have to mirror completely to understand. So much love to be shared by all of those who sail. When I was with Henley on our swim with dolphins, a little girl and her mom were in our paired up group. Mom was in a wheelchair with a wrapped foot. I told her mom that I would watch over her daughter and keep her safe. The little girl was chatty and asked what I do for a living. I told her that I am blessed to stay at home and, then, told her about Hudson. I said that my son was born with a disability, that he has Down syndrome. She proudly smiled and said I know something about Down syndrome. She said that it’s just s different ability, not a disability. This little girl was 10. She wasn’t on our cruise, just a vacationer at the same place as me. I grabbed her hand and said that I was so proud of her for knowing this and to thank her mom for raising a kind little girl. Go, Mom! Even if we aren’t “all in the same boat’, kindness is power. Power demands change. Our families deserve changes that make our journeys less heavy. Please check out Buddy Cruise. The next destination is to Coco Cay, St. Maarten and St. Thomas on the Wonder of the Seas with Royal Caribbean. It sails October 2023. All aboard, EXTRA buddies and EXTRA fun! Bon voyage. www.buddycruise.org To book: 1-877-239-2789 Group #:1596641

“It’s A Celebration” October 21 – 23, 2022 “Bringing the Vintage Experience to You” Do you watch home remodeling shows and wonder where they find the unique pieces they put in the homes they remodel or do you have a Pinterest board filled with ideas for your home? Vintage Market Days® brings all of that to you! With numerous of the best vendors in Vintage from across the US – they bring truckloads of repurposed, specialty “finds” that will be unique to your home! Vintage Market Days® of Mississippi owners Chris and Jana Fuss are pleased to announce the Jackson area Vintage Market Days® event. “It’s A Celebration” will be held at the Mississippi Trade Mart at 1200 Mississippi Street in Jackson. The three-day event will take place October 21-23, 2022 and will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of Vintage Market Days®! Vintage Market Days® is excited to bring the Vintage experience back to the Metro Jackson area. “Vintage Market Days® started 10 years ago in Tulsa and has been expanding throughout the country,” said Jana. “We love adding special touches to make it a family friendly Vintage event, we have more vintage vendors than ever and they are bringing their one-of-a-kind finds. Vintage Market Days® vendors are some of the best in the country! Vintage Market Days® also “gives back” at each event. We are honored to partner with the Metropolitan YMCAs of Mississippi, a powerful association of men, women and children committed to bringing about lasting personal and social change. With a focus on nurturing the potential of every child and teen, improving the nation’s health and well-being and providing opportunities to give back and support neighbors, the Y enables youth, adults, families and communities to be healthy, confident, connected and secure. “We are excited to help support the local area, specifically the YMCA’s feeding program,” Fuss added. Tickets can be purchased at the door (Fri - $15 and Sat/Sun $10) or in advance at https://VintageMarketDays.com/market/mississippi/tickets. Free readmission all weekend and children under 12 are FREE. The event is open 10 am - 5 pm Friday and Saturday, and 10 am -4 pm on Sunday. About Vintage Market Days® Vintage Market Days® is an upscale vintage and vintage-inspired indoor/outdoor market featuring original art, antiques, clothing, jewelry, architectural salvage, handmade treasures, home decor, outdoor furnishings, consumable yummies, seasonal plantings and a little more. Vintage Market Days® is a franchised Vintage event that began in Tulsa, OK in 2012. It has grown to 70 markets and/or 150 events a year across the US. For more information, please visit vintagemarketdays.com, facebook.com/vintagemarketdays or emailmississippi@vintagemarketdays.com. Vintage Market Days® is a registered trademark of Vintage Market Days®, LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owner.

Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson and the Mississippi State Fairgrounds invites the public to experience new attractions at the 2022 Mississippi State Fair and reminds fairgoers of several items to "Know Before You Go." The Mississippi State Fair takes place October 6-16 at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds. Fairgoers can continue to expect the best of carnival rides and games, fair food, livestock shows and the Zerbini Family Circus. The Ag Expo featuring the Genuine MS® Store and the MSU Extension Service's FARMtastic exhibit will be located inside of the Trade Mart. Returning to the Equine Center during the first weekend of the State Fair is the X-Treme Bull Riding Fall Nationals taking place October 8 and the Tri State Rodeo taking place October 9. Tickets to the X-Treme Bull Riding Fall Nationals can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or the Coliseum Box Office. The newest attraction, the Great American Wild West Show, will take place daily at 5:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m., with additional performances at 2:00 p.m. during the weekend. The Wild West Show will be located in the Mississippi Frontier Village with the pig races, petting zoo, pony rides, train depot, rattlesnake show and other activities. The Mississippi State Fair Talent Show is making a comeback at the 2022 State Fair. The Talent Show takes place Friday, October 7, and Saturday, October 8, at 6:00 p.m. in the Coliseum. New this year is the 2022 Little Miss Mississippi State Fair beauty pageant taking place Sunday, October 9, at 9:00 a.m. Five nationally recognized artists will perform on the Budweiser Main Stage: Scotty McCreery, David Lee Murphy, B.o.B., Midnight Star and Bobby Rush. Admission to the concerts is free with regular fair admission. Local artists and bands will perform on the Main Stage throughout the duration of the Fair. Commissioner Gipson would like to remind fairgoers of several things to "Know Before You Go." The Mississippi State Fair opens at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 6. The ribbon cutting will be held at Gate 1 at the corner of Jefferson Street and Amite Street. Gate admission is $5.00 per person, and parking is $5.00 per car. Children ages 6 and under will be admitted free of charge. The public can purchase advance admission tickets at the Coliseum Box Office until 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 6. Fair admission is free every weekday from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., except on Monday, October 10, Columbus Day. Beginning at 9:00 p.m., any guest under the age of eighteen (18) seeking admission to the Fairgrounds must be accompanied by a legal adult (21 or older). Any guest may be asked to show official proof of age to be admitted after 9:00 p.m. Guests are encouraged to bring identification. When entering the Midway, all guests will proceed through one (1) of the seven (7) entry security points utilizing a metal detector, and/or be subject to magnetic wanding. All bags are subject to search. The maximum bag size that will be accepted into the Fair is 12"x12"x6". No outside food or beverage allowed. No marketing, soliciting, political, or vending items allowed unless and as authorized under Fairground regulations. Pursuant to state law, the legal carry of firearms by all lawful adults is recognized on the Mississippi Fairgrounds. No animals (other than service animals or as authorized by Fair management for Fair activities), banners, fireworks/explosives, or laser pointers allowed. For additional information, please visit www.msstatefair.com and follow the Mississippi State Fairgrounds on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

By Bob Garver I’ll start off this review with a compliment: the people tasked with advertising the new horror movie “Smile” did a really good job. For months, I had been successfully unnerved by the various posters, commercials, and trailers for this movie that conditioned me to avert my eyes to the slightest hint of a creepy smile. In hindsight, I probably should have known something was wrong when the film’s All Audiences green-band trailer was much scarier than its Restricted red-band. While the red-band trailer showcased the film’s gore and gave away jump scares, the green-band just abruptly cut to a smile and then ended, leaving me with a shock that I didn’t have time to process, yet undeniably stayed with me. The film, of course, could not claim the same brevity, wasting 115 minutes of my time failing to live up to the promise of even its print ads. The story follows Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon, trying as hard as she can to make this flat protagonist memorable). She’s the best psychologist at her hospital, even though she’s a bit of a mess herself, with some unresolved childhood trauma and difficulties navigating the medical bureaucracy embodied by her boss Dr. Desai (Kal Penn, wasted in an insignificant role). The day-to-day hardships are challenging, but she can handle them. The darkness in her past… is best left suppressed. One day, Rose is tasked with attending to the raving Laura (Caitlin Stasey, whose eyes and mouth are skillfully expressive, even before the horror elements kick in). The poor medical student has been seeing haunting smiles everywhere ever since she witnessed a suicide a few days ago, curiously by a person who was also smiling, who had also seen a suicide by a smiling person a few days earlier. Soon it’s Rose that has witnessed a suicide and now she’s seeing unnatural smiles. The condition affects her relationship with her fiancé Trevor (Jessie T. Usher) and her sister Holly (Gillian Zinser) and is basically ruining her life while also threatening to end it. Inconveniently, the only person who believes that Rose isn’t crazy is her ex-boyfriend Joel (Kyle Gallner). Can Rose find a way to break the apparent chain, maybe by confronting her own demons? This movie doesn’t have an original bone in its body. The “chain of victims” element is ripped off from “It Follows” and “The Ring,” and a particularly derivative scare is cribbed from the latter. The emphasis on confronting childhood trauma brings to mind “Hereditary” and “The Night House” without the atmospheric elements that made those movies work. A scene at a birthday party had me muttering, “Oh, just like ‘Fatal Attraction.’” Even the smiling was the basis for scares in “Truth or Dare” from 2018. But the biggest sin of “Smile” is that it just isn’t scary. The movie has to rely on fakeout jump scares like a burglar alarm and even opening a can of cat food because it knows it can’t pull off scenes with actual danger or violence. A bad dream sequence can’t be taken seriously because Rose would never act that way. And the smiling is never handled with the expert timing implied by the film’s advertising. Actually, there is one horror element the movie does do right, and that’s the score. If you stay through the credits, you’ll hear some properly pulse-pounding music. The problem, of course, is that you’d have to spend even more time on this movie that has already wasted so much. My mouth was in a bored frown throughout most of this movie, it wasn’t screaming or laughing and it definitely wasn’t smiling. Grade: D “Smile” is rated R for strong violent content and grisly images, and language. Its running time is 115 minutes. Contact Bob Garver at rrg251@nyu.edu

Wesson police personnel continue to come and go. Ashley McDuffey is the latest officer to resign, and Aaron Love is coming on board as an uncertified full-time officer committed to serve the department for two years after completing the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers Training Academy (MLEOTA). At MLEOTA, Love will learn basic law enforcement in classes that cover: Basic police skills and knowledge and their application. Self-discipline and how to follow society’s rules. Ethical standards, particularly the law enforcement code of ethics. Relating to peers, superiors and the public. MLEOTA provides training and facilities to state, county and municipal law enforcement agencies across Mississippi.

By Bob Arnold Nadia Alexis has joined Mississippi School of the Arts as Literary Arts Instructor for 2022-2023 school year. Alexis comes from Oxford, Mississippi, where she is completing her PhD in English with a Creative Writing concentration at the University of Mississippi. A poet, photographer, educator and organizer, she was born in the Harlem section of New York City to Haitian immigrants. She holds a BA in Political Science from Union College, where she also studied French and focused on Africana Studies. At the University of Mississippi, she also earned her MFA in Creative Writing and taught Black literature and first-year writing courses. During the summers, Alexis serves on the creative writing faculty of the McMullan Young Writers Workshop at Millsaps College, where she teaches poetry and also teaches poetry in the summer youth camps at the University of Mississippi’s Pre-College Program. She served as a 2018-2019 curator of the Trobar Ric Poetry Reading Series based in Oxford, Mississippi. Kweli Journal, Indiana Review, Mixtape, Mud Season Review, Shenandoah and Texas Review have published or will be publishing Alexis' poetry. On She Goes and BLACK STEW have published her prose and personal essay writing, and TORCH Literary Journal’s 2016 Spring/Summer issue, Fields Magazine, Forgotten Lands, Mixtape and Mfon have featured her photography. Primarily a self-taught photographer, Alexis started that aspect of her arts career in 2014. Her "What Endures" series has been viewed at exhibitions in Havana, Cuba, Detroit and Harlem as well as the University of Mississippi Recently, she had her first solo exhibition at the Gammill Gallery in Oxford, Mississippi, which featured all of her "What Endures" works and others from a new series-in-progress -- "My Mother Says I Can Build a New Home form Clouds and I Believe Her." were on view from January 2022 to February 2022. Alexis has received award nominations for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net Anthology, and the 2020 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award in photography. She has received poetry fellowships from the Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop and The Watering Hole, and has been mentored by Carrie Mae Weems in an independent scholars fellowship program. In 2019, she received an honorable mention prize in poetry of the Hurston/Wright Foundation’s Award for College Writers and in 2020 was named a semifinalist for the 2020 92Y Discovery Poetry Contest. Alexis is currently working on her first full-length hybrid manuscript of poems and photographs, building bodies of photographic works and developing a young adult novel-in-verse.

By Bob Arnold Wesson fire and police departments, local streets and the town’s water system are in line to benefit from a variety of state and federal funds that will reduce the burden of local taxpayers. At recent meetings, Wesson Aldermen have been looking at ways to spend money from British Petroleum (BP) funds paid the state for oil spill damages and disbursed to localities, federal government American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) two-for-one matching funds being distributed through the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, state rebate funds from the Municipal Fire Protection Fund (MFPF) and federal Homeland Security funds for emergency preparedness. The most immediate expenditure will be $60,000 BP funds for paving Eighth and Spring Streets. Longer term are expenditures are anticipated for a new fire truck and other fire fighting equipment that will cost more than $400,000 of which $182,000 is now available from the state MFPF rebate funds. The maintenance cost of Wesson Volunteer Fire Department’s primary fire truck are soaring, town officials note. Town Aldermen have also set a motion the process to tap matching funds of more than $400,000 for the town water system from federal ARPA funds that Congress allocated for COVID-19 relief and recovery. They approved the hiring of Brookhaven-based Dungan Engineering to analyze town water system needs with an eye towards purchases of generators and equipment, upgrading stations and replacing meters. The Wesson Police Department also stands to benefit from an $86,000 federal Homeland Security grant, and Police Chief Chad O’Quinn has already told Aldermen he want to equip his officers with five tasers with a five-year life at $2,500 each.

Saw a movie this summer. Titled “Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris.” If you have already seen this film, then you know its premise. If not, then never fear, I don’t intend to spoil it for you by revealing the plot or the ending. But I do want to make an observation. After seeing the movie, I came to the conclusion that this movie is truer to life than we realize. Even with its fluffy and shallow exterior premise of Cinderella-Miracles-In-Paris. My observation? Most of us are living a lie, and yet we can’t even see that we are living a lie. The lie? For some reason (called low self-esteem) we live in fear that, “There are some things that are not good about the real me.” And since we live afraid that fact makes us unacceptable to this world, we try to pull a huge cover-up, to hide that part of us. Because we believe we are “less-than,” we try to show the world we are “more-than.” And in reality, all we need to do is “just be me!” Folks, there was never a person born on this earth who is better than anyone else born on this earth. A baby girl born with a silver spoon in her mouth at birth is not worth more than the unwanted baby who was left in a trash can. God created each one of us as equal in His eyes. And we need to view ourselves from His perspective – not that of the world. Sure would save a lot of heartache and wrong roads. That movie has some pretty good examples of what I am saying. Take a close look at the House of Fashion manager and his assistant, and you will see people who believe, “There is something unacceptable about me, so I will try to live exactly the opposite of that.” Examine the life of the beautiful model, versus what she really wants. See the owner of the company as he attempts to hide what is happening to his company, by attempting to maintain the same exclusive clientele, no matter what. Sounds a lot like many of us…believing something is wrong with the real me. Hiding behind a personality we believe the world will like better. And unfortunately, never realizing that there is a third person, the real you, that no one ever gets to meet. Not perfect, but certainly not garbage. You are the ‘you’ that our Creator wanted on the earth. With all your quirks, faults and weaknesses. But also your strengths. Friends, putting on a false front to cover the real you causes a certain amount of stress. Constantly having to live as a person you are not - that is extremely hard. We need to drop the false belief, so we can drop the cover mask, so the world can see and accept the real person that we are. Be you.

The Women’s Foundation of Mississippi has awarded Co-Lin a Bower Scholars Health Care Grant in the amount of $40,000 for a new initiative to help support students -- the Helping Healthcare Wolves to Workforce Success Program. Helping Healthcare Wolves to Workforce Success Program seeks to help increase access to quality healthcare in the wider community by training and graduating nursing and auxiliary medical program students and, at the same time, and decreasing their educational financial barriers “When faculty, directors and counselors speak with students about challenges for completing a degree/credential the underlying issue is often financial,” notes Co-Lin Dean of Academic Instruction Dr. Stephanie Duguid. The grant funding will be available to assist nursing and auxiliary medical program students on all three Co-Lin campuses who are pursuing Associate Degrees in Nursing, Practical Nursing, Medical Laboratory Technology, EMT/Paramedic, Medical Radiologic Technology and Respiratory Care Technology. The target population for assistance is women in nursing and related auxiliary medical programs, although men can apply for aid as well. Using an application process, Co-Lin will require fund recipients to have valid financial needs, provide supporting documentation, and share how funds will positively impact them. Students must be in good standing with the college to receive financial support. The program will begin in the Fall 2022 semester. Students will be able to apply for financial assistance, such as stipends for program fees, books/supplies, uniforms, exam vouchers and, in some cases, childcare, transportation, gas, and utilities. Within the context of the program and the limited resources it can make available, Co-Lin will also provide financial literacy guidance and encourage recipients to plan, with the long-term goal of preparing them for independence and success.

The Mississippi Farmers Market, in partnership with the Mississippi Peanut Growers Association, will host the second annual Great Mississippi Peanut Boil on Saturday, October 1, from 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. “To kick off the fall season, we want to invite the public to the second annual Great Mississippi Peanut Boil at the Mississippi Farmers Market,” said Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson. “We will again boil several hundred pounds of peanuts for visitors to enjoy, compliments of Rogers Farms in Collins. The Mississippi Peanut Growers Association will also be giving out roasted peanuts. So come out this Saturday and enjoy the Great Peanut Boil with friends and family.” In addition to the usual variety of farm fresh foods and handcrafted items, shoppers will be treated to complimentary popcorn, children’s activities including face painting and games, vendor giveaways and boiled peanuts. The City Limits Café and Genuine MS® Store, both located inside of the Mississippi Farmers Market, will also be open to the public. The Café serves breakfast from 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and lunch from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. every weekday; it is also open from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. every Saturday. The Genuine MS® Store is open Thursday and Friday from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. The Mississippi Farmers Market, a division of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, is open every Saturday from 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. For more information about the Mississippi Farmers Market, visit www.msfarmersmarket.com and follow the Mississippi Farmers Market on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Wesson Assistant Police Chief Tim Stevens has returned to WPD from learning to manage National Crime Information Center (NCIC) data, while Town Clerk Angela Hester packs up for the fall Master Municipal Clerk Academy (MMCA). Stevens comes back to the Wesson Police Department (WPD) following classes August 15-19 that certify that he understands the laws and regulates surrounding use of NCIC data and how to operate the system without compromising confidentiality. As the “lifeline of law enforcement” -- a computerized index of crime information, including criminal histories, personal data of fugitives and sensitive information about missing or murdered people, NCIC requires all NCIC operators and all sworn law enforcement personnel to undergo the NCIC training and certification course. Stevens certification classes covered: NCIC Overview NCIC Policy and Procedures NCIC Files Interstate Identification Index (III) Overview How to Operate Dedicated NCIC Terminals Legal Restrictions on Accessing and Sharing Information At MMCA in Meridian September 28-30, Hester will attend an array of sessions covering technical aspects of her job and the legal and community development knowledge she needs to function effectively in her work. On the agenda at the meeting are sessions on job skills coaching, state withholding taxes and reporting, privilege license, purchase law, the American Rescue Plan Act, modernization funds and bids; developing communities through art and entertainment, employment law, including police and fire payroll issues; and employment security topics related to the unemployment tax, appeals and employer training. Hester will also participate in business meetings as a member of MMCA hospitality, promotion and mentoring committees.