Mississippi's Primary Election Day is just one week away. The June 7th ballot features candidates for U.S. House of Representatives. Click here to view a Democratic sample ballot. Click here to review a Republican sample ballot. Tuesday, June 7th, is also Board of Mississippi Levee Commissioners General Election Day for Bolivar, Humphreys, Sharkey and Washington Counties. We encourage voters to contact their county Circuit Clerk's Office to view a General Election sample ballot before heading to the polls. Polls for the June 7th Primary and General Elections will open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Any voter in line at 7 p.m. is legally entitled to cast a ballot. Several counties have changed polling places since the 2020 elections, so we strongly recommend voters verify their polling place with their local Circuit Clerk before Election Day. In Mississippi, primary elections are conducted by political parties. However, our office will have observers in precincts across the state. Problems at the polls observed by State observers or otherwise reported to our Elections Division will be referred to the authorities, including the Attorney General’s Office or the appropriate District Attorney’s Office. As a reminder, the Secretary of State’s Office has no enforcement authority over election-related issues. Primary and General Election Day Reminders In-Person Absentee Voting Deadline: The last day to absentee vote in-person is Saturday, June 4th. Circuit Clerk Offices will be open from 8 a.m. to noon. Mail-In Absentee Voting Deadline: All Primary and General Election mail-in absentee ballots must be postmarked by June 7th and received by County Circuit Clerk Offices within five business days of June 7th in order to count. Polling Place Location: Please contact your County Circuit Clerk’s Office or local Election Commissioners to verify your polling place. Voter Photo ID: Voters are required to show photo identification at the polls. A voter without an acceptable form of photo identification is entitled to cast an affidavit ballot. Click here to view a list of acceptable photo IDs. Campaigning: It is unlawful to campaign for any candidate within 150 feet of any entrance to a polling place, unless on private property. Loitering: The polling places should be clear for 30 feet from every entrance of all people except elections officials, voters waiting to vote, or authorized poll watchers. Camera Phones: Voters are prohibited from taking pictures of their marked ballot. For questions regarding Primary or General Election Day, please contact our Elections Division: ElectionsAnswers@sos.ms.gov Hotline: 1-800-829-6786

Richard Diamond of Wesson is among the list of distinguished Northwest Mississippi Community College students to be recognized for making the President's List for their outstanding academic work during the Spring 2022 semester. The President's List includes students who are classified as full-time and completed the semester with a grade point average of 3.75 to 4.0. Northwest Mississippi Community College transforms our students' lives, enriches our communities, and strives for excellence in our educational programs and services. We are an open-access, public, two-year institution primarily serving Benton, Calhoun, DeSoto, Lafayette, Marshall, Panola, Quitman, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tunica, and Yalobusha counties. NWCC is a learning-centered community providing educational opportunities with quality instruction for students from all walks of life. Our college fosters a culture of innovation, collaboration, and student success. We strive for continuous improvement with a standard of excellence in every area of the institution. Our college partners with businesses and industries that seek to grow the economy and the workforce and partners with alumni, friends, and others. Engagement takes place in all communities that the college serves. For more information visit www.northwestms.edu.

Mississippi Boychoir will present its Summer Tour Kickoff Concert on Thursday, June 23 at 6:30 p.m. at Lighthouse Ministries Church, 501 W. County Line Road, Tougaloo, MS 39174. After this concert, the choir will tour beginning on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, across the Panhandle of Florida, on to Orlando, and finish in Hattiesburg on July 2, 2022. The concert is free and open to the public. Donations are appreciated! To sponsor or donate, visit msboychoir.org. Mississippi Boychoir is funded in part by the Mississippi Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.

By Guest Columnist Stephanie Duguid The month of May celebrates Better Sleep Month. In most instances, individuals believe that nutrition and exercise are the main components to a healthy lifestyle. A good night’s sleep, just like a healthy diet and exercise, is also essential to your mental, emotional and physical well-being. According to the Better Sleep Council, many people do not get the 7 to 8 hours of nightly sleep recommended by sleep experts. You need different amount of sleep depending on your age; babies (14-17 hours), children ages 3-18 (10-13 hours), 18-60 (7 hours or more), and over 65 (7-9 hours). Let’s discuss a few more sleep facts. It may be surprising to hear that an individual spends 600 hours a year dreaming. In fact individuals who are blind also see images in their dreams. On the other hand 90 million Americans have sleep disrupted by snoring. Additionally, parents lose about 1000 hours of sleep in the first year of a baby’s life. Sleep is essential to proper health mentally, physically, and emotionally. When you sleep, your brain recharges, your cells repair themselves, and your body releases important hormones. So, how do you sleep? Are you groggy and foggy in the mornings? Like most Americans you’re probably not getting enough sleep. The good news is there are solutions to helping you sneak in more sleep. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that Americans are in the middle of a sleep loss epidemic. Nearly eight in 10 Americans say they would feel better and more prepared for the day if they had just one more hour of sleep. Getting that bit of extra sleep may seem impossible to you as you stumble out of bed every morning, but in fact there are secrets to getting more sleep that can add time to your current habits. Here are several suggestions to assist with getting a good night’ sleep according to the Better Sleep Council: You can make 8 hours of quality sleep a regular part of your life by scheduling it. Make sleep part of your to-do list and plan your bedtime like you would any other appointment. Doing the same things every single night signals to your body that sleep is coming and helps your body and mind relax so sleep comes easily. It’s tempting to hit the snooze button over and over to squeak out just a little more sleep, but this hurts you more than it helps you. Break this bad habit and set your alarm for the time you actually need to get up. What you’re eating and drinking and when you’re enjoying it affects your sleep. Try to finish eating 2 to 3 hours before bedtime so your whole system is ready to relax. Exercise is important to help your body feel ready for sleep, and even just taking a walk can get your blood moving and improve your sleep. It’s best to complete your workouts at least 2 hours before you go to bed so your body is ready to rest. Taking a nap might seem counter-intuitive to good nighttime sleep, but short naps of 10 to 30 minutes actually help you gain extra energy during the day and don’t disrupt your sleep. Even a 10-minute nap can improve your alertness for 2-and-a-half hours if you’re sleep-deprived, and you can feel the benefit for up to 4 hours if you are well-rested. Your environment matters too! If you have ever tried to fall asleep in a hospital or airport, you know that the environment has a tremendous impact. Here are some other helpful hints to a good night’s sleep. If your bedroom is not a comforting and relaxing place, you’re not going to want to spend a lot of time there. Make adjustments to your bedroom so that it is dark, quiet, cool and cozy. A bedroom should have a temperature between 65 and 67 degrees for comfortable sleeping. Turn down the thermostat, plug in an air conditioner or open the window to get your room to the right temperature. Your bed plays one of the biggest roles in determining how long and how well you sleep. Your bed and your body naturally change over time (they’re both aging!), so if your mattress is seven years or older, it’s probably time to replace it. If you’re bringing the stress of your job and daily life to bed with you, you’re not going to sleep well. Most people say that family issues (23%), personal finances (16%) and current events (2%) are reasons why they don’t sleep. Resolve to keep everything that’s stressful out of your bedroom, so don’t bring in work materials, your phone or even allow yourself to think about work while in your bedroom. Keeping a television, smartphone, tablet, laptop or computer in your bedroom makes it harder for you to sleep soundly. The lighting from electronics actually stimulates your brain while you’re trying to sleep and wakes you up. Keep your electronics physically separated from you and in another room. Use a simple alarm clock instead of your phone. Sleep is a necessity and it affects every aspect of your life; from your productivity, to your health, and to your mood. While most of us assume that sleep hours cut into our productive hours, we’re actually more productive when we get sufficient sleep! Most people can feel the consequences of insufficient sleep by being irritable, exhausted, easily distracted or making unsound decisions. However, there are other consequences of poor sleep that aren’t always as obvious. For example, sleep deprivation can negatively affect your immune system which can be evident through weight gain, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, bone loss, and depression. Sleep deprivation also can impair learning, memory, alertness, concentration, judgement, problem solving, and reasoning. But these are only a few of the health issues sleep deprivation creates. According to Eve Van Cauter of the University of Chicago, a “lack of sleep disrupts every physiologic function in the body.” To make matters worse, lack of sleep hinders your ability to realize your own performance is impaired, making you think you’re functioning well when you probably aren’t. Make a commitment now to review your sleep habits. Better sleep can make for a happier, healthier life! Here is to your health! EDITOR'S NOTE: Stephanie Duguid is Dean of Academic Instruction at Co-Lin. She is also an athletic trainer and nutrition specialist and has been teaching courses related to those two areas as well as practicing what she preaches for more than twenty years..

KaDazia Brown of Wesson Named to the Spring 2022 Dean's List at Mississippi College. The Mississippi College Office of Academic Affairs releases the dean's list after the close of fall and spring semesters each academic year. To be eligible for the Dean's List, a student must maintain a 3.5 grade point average, based on a 4.0 system. The student must take a full course load of at least 12 semester hours of undergraduate credit with all academic courses impacting their grade point average. Mississippi College, affiliated with the Mississippi Baptist Convention, is a private, co-educational, Christian university of liberal arts and sciences serving more than 4,100 students from approximately 35 states and more then three dozen countries. Founded in 1826, MC is the oldest institution of higher learning in Mississippi, one of the largest private universities in the state, and America's second-oldest Baptist college. MC offers 84 areas of undergraduate study, 45 degree programs in graduate studies, more than 10 certificate programs, two educational doctoral degrees, a doctor of jurisprudence, and a doctor of professional counseling. MC seeks to be a university recognized for academic excellence and commitment to the cause of Christ.

Olivia Clark of Wesson was named to the Spring 2022 President's List at Mississippi College. The Mississippi College Office of Academic Affairs releases the president's list after the close of fall and spring semesters each academic year. To be eligible for the President's List, a student must maintain a 4.0 grade point average, based on a 4.0 system. The student must take a full course load of at least 12 semester hours of undergraduate credit with all academic courses impacting their grade point average. Mississippi College, affiliated with the Mississippi Baptist Convention, is a private, co-educational, Christian university of liberal arts and sciences serving more than 4,100 students from approximately 35 states and more then three dozen countries. Founded in 1826, MC is the oldest institution of higher learning in Mississippi, one of the largest private universities in the state, and America's second-oldest Baptist college. MC offers 84 areas of undergraduate study, 45 degree programs in graduate studies, more than 10 certificate programs, two educational doctoral degrees, a doctor of jurisprudence, and a doctor of professional counseling. MC seeks to be a university recognized for academic excellence and commitment to the cause of Christ.

In April, Wesson Garden Club recognized landscaping efforts of Mrs. Maurice Jacks on 2119 Highway 51, Nena Smith School of Dance at 1041 Grove Street, Terry and Elise Munn at 7096 Sylvarena Road and Bob and Pam Owens at 1107 Sylvarena Road in its Yard of the Month town residential, organizational, rural residential and Spring Special categories. The Yard of the Month awards, based on 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.

In response to the nationwide shortage of baby formula, Congressman Michael Guest (MS-03) has launched a crowdsourced website to pinpoint businesses that currently have baby-formula in their stock. “We’ve heard from mothers, fathers, and caregivers across our state who have searched for formula but cannot find it in their local store. I know Mississippians, and I know they want to help. This website is a tool that any Mississippian can use to help identify available formula.” The website, Central MS Formula Finder, offers options for Mississippians to enter in the location of businesses that offer formula and what brands they have in stock. The information is then used to populate an interactive map that can be accessed by individuals searching for baby formula. They can click on the location to see the address and brands. Mississippians can also take pictures of baby formula on shelves and email the photos along with the store name and location to mguestnews@gmail.com. The photos will then be uploaded to the website so people can view specific details about the formula in stock at the store. The office of Congressman Guest is also asking local businesses to self-report when they restock their shelves by using the form on the website. Currently, 37 locations have been identified with available formula. Of these, 14 are located inside the Jackson Metro area and 23 are located in other towns and cities across the Third Congressional District.

The Mississippi Armed Forces Museum is hosting a Memorial Day Ceremony Friday, May 27, 2022 beginning at 10:00 a.m. The ceremony will start in the museum’s Grand Gallery with opening remarks by Mr. Tommy Lofton, museum director, and Maj. Gen. Janson D. Boyles, the adjutant general of Mississippi. The 73rd Army Band of the U.S. Virgin Islands is playing the National Anthem and Rep. Manley Barton is providing the Memorial Day address. This year’s Gold Star Honoree is Braxton, Miss. native Pfc. Henry Lee Keen, a Marine who paid the ultimate sacrifice during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. Following the indoor ceremony, there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at the Gold Star Monument next to the museum. At the conclusion of the wreath laying, attendees are invited to visit the museum for self-guided tours and to see the newly installed display honoring Pfc. Keen. SuperTalk Radio will be broadcasting live at the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum starting at 10:00 a.m. for the duration of the events honoring Service Members and their Families for Memorial Day.

The Arts Schools Network (ASN) Board of Directors has designated Mississippi School of the Arts (MSA) as an Exemplary School in recognition of its commitment to excellence. The five-year designation is awarded for 2022-2027. ASN, the nation’s largest professional membership organization of specialized arts schools, awards Exemplary School designations to members that follow A Guide to Assessing Your Arts School in strategically evaluating their school’s purpose, operations, and educational programs. The Guide is a collaborative effort by ASN and the Accrediting Commission for Community and Pre-collegiate Arts Schools (ACCPAS). ASN will honor the school at the Awards Ceremony during the ASN 2022 Annual Conference, in Las Vegas, Nevada. MSA was established by legislation in 1999. The MSA is a public, residential high school for 11th- and 12th-grade Mississippi students specializing in intensive arts training in dance, literary art, media art, theatre, visual art, and vocal music. Students at MSA are selected through a highly selective audition process. Students receive high school academic classes required for graduation and arts classes in selected disciplines of study. On average, approximately 125 students from 51 Mississippi counties are represented in the population of the school. MSA is governed by the Mississippi State Board of Education and funded by the Mississippi legislature. Located in downtown Brookhaven on the historic campus of Whitworth College, MSA provides a centerpiece for activity to the downtown community offering a vibrant environment for youth to create, imagine, and realize. “The Mississippi School of the Arts serves a special population of artistically gifted juniors and seniors from across Mississippi. The school’s success academically and artistically in 18 years is remarkable,” wrote Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education. “Mississippi School of the Arts staff and students have consistently been recognized at state and national levels for exemplary achievements. We see repeatedly some of the highest ACT scores and graduation rates in the state for their students. Internal and external accrediting agencies such as Cognia, have found that the Mississippi School of the Arts is exceeding requirements to create an exceptional environment allowing talented students to grow and thrive.” Dr. R. Scott Allen, Managing Director for ASN, said, “We offer guidance, inspiration and incentives to arts school leaders who strive for excellence in their schools. When they demonstrate outstanding efforts toward this goal, as they do by following A Guide to Assessing Your Arts School, we recognize and reward their achievements with this designation.” Dedicated to excellence and leadership in arts education, Arts Schools Network, a non-profit association founded in 1981, provides arts school leaders, innovative partners and members of arts education institutions with quality resources, support and networking opportunities. Visit www.artsschoolsnetwork.org to learn more. Find all MDE news releases at mdek12.org/news.

Alcorn State University and Copiah-Lincoln Community College have entered into an articulation agreement that will allow students who complete specific associate degree requirements to receive guaranteed admission to Alcorn’s four-year degree programs. The presidents of the two institutions signed a memorandum of understanding Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in the Howell Garner Building on Co-Lin’s campus. The agreement covers the following majors — nursing, social work, education, chemistry, math, computer science, and business with an opportunity for future expansion of program offerings. "We are extremely excited to continue to grow our long-standing relationship with Co-Lin Community College," said Dr. Felecia M. Nave, president of Alcorn State University. "It is important to remove barriers that may hinder students' access to college. This agreement allows our local students to seamlessly transition from a two-year degree to a four-year degree program. We want to make it as easy as possible to ensure students can continue their educational journey." Each institution continues to break barriers of access for anyone who desires a higher education. “This is an incredible opportunity for the Natchez community and the Miss-Lou region as a whole,” said Co-Lin President Dr. Jane Hulon Sims. “We are proud to elevate Co-Lin’s strong partnership with Alcorn in the signing of an agreement that will be mutually beneficial for our student bodies. This area of the state is fortunate to be served by two extremely strong higher education institutions that, when joined together can provide untold opportunities for the students we serve.” The agreement focuses on several areas to ease the transition between the two institutions — ranging from enrollment and transfer, scholarships, and student support. Co-Lin students who complete the program as outlined in the agreement will be awarded their associate’s degree and given the opportunity to finish their bachelor’s degree at Alcorn State University. Scholarship opportunities are available for students participating in the joint program. Students who will transfer from Co-Lin upon completion of the program or earning an associate degree with a 3.00 - 3.20 grade point average will be eligible to apply for an academic scholarship of $3,000, and those with a grade point average of 3.30 or higher will be eligible to apply for an academic scholarship of $5,000. The scholarship is renewable for up to four consecutive semesters. Co-enrolled students are eligible for benefits such as entrance to special activities athletic events, student organizations, library usage, and Career Services.

The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) is bringing back its annual Safety Message Contest for another year! Bring your A game and come up with the punniest, cleverest messages for your chance to win. The contest will run from June 1 to June 15. “MDOT is focused on safety; we want the traveling public as well as our roadside workers to make it home every night. These messages you see along the roadways help remind drivers of easy ways to increase their safety when behind the wheel,” said Brad White MDOT Executive Director. MDOT’s traffic safety messages appear on DMS boards along highways and interstates throughout Mississippi. These messages, which are often related to current events and pop culture, are part of an effort to encourage drivers to change their actions behind the wheel. However, any local emergency messages and traffic updates automatically override scheduled messages on the DMS boards. There is no limit to the number of messages you can submit, but below are some guidelines to remember: The message must relate to traffic safety. Signs can only accommodate three lines and 21 characters per line, including spaces. Hashtags, phone numbers and website addresses are not allowed. No emojis. For this year’s contest, participants are encouraged to focus their messages on the following themes: Speeding Distracted Driving/Texting and Driving Seat Belt Safety Sober Driving Work Zone Safety Turn Signals/Blinkers Left Lane Driving Etiquette Follow @MississippiDOT on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for details on how to submit your messages.