Driven by competition among Wesson Garden Club (WGC) members, the town became a venue for picture postcard autumn scenes last month. WGC's Scarecrow Challenge unleashed eight teams of club members throughout Wesson to try to outdo each other in decorating the town for the fall holiday season and, in the process, inspired non-competing residents and business owners to participate in creating autumn displays as well. The donation of 24 scarecrows to WGC prompted the unique fun competition to put them to good use and dress up the town for the fall season. Competing teams received a location for creating their displays in a special drawing and three scarecrows to incorporate into designs; and they were asked to build their displays around one of four themes related to national, regional, state and local garden club program -- "Plant America Plants Outdoors" (National Garden Clubs, Inc.), "Plant Deep South with a Rainbow of Color" (Deep South Garden Clubs, Inc.), "Garden Clubs Make Things Happen" (Garden Clubs of Mississippi, Inc.) and "Making Thing Happen" (Wesson Garden Club). Although teams were allowed to spend money in creating their displays, they were encouraged to use items and materials from their homes and gardens. Teams and their display locations: Team Camilia: Pam Owens, Joy Westbrooks, JoAnn Miller and Sherry Davis. The grassy corner at Vera Boyles' Salon 51. Team Crepe Myrtle: Angie Wade, Cathy Warren, Sonya Cowen and Jane Hulon Sims. Street corner of Mill Town Spa. Team Daffodil: Robin Furr, Nancy Sullivan, Nikki Smith and Jennifer Peets. 51 Diner tractor. Team Daylily: Lisa Smith, Debbie Smith and Rhonda Ishee. Right of the front driveway at Boswell Regional Center. Team Hydrangea: Meghan Shephard, Denise Jackson, Pam McLemore and Jan Mullin Smith. Steel Outdoors. Team Yellow Mums. Marilyn Britt, Joy Phillips, Angela Hester, Linda Toten and Alana Hughes. Front of Wesson Library. Team Sunflower. Ramona Smith, Jean Ricks, June Owens and Debbie Hoaglin. Front of the fountain in the Fountain Garden. Team Violet: Sherri Carty, Dixie Thornton, Lori Doughtry, Emily McKinley and Brittany Warren. High school or elementary side of Wesson Attendance Center. Members of Wesson Chamber of Commerce judged displays and awards will be announced at the November WPG meeting.

Louis Kenner Bizot IV and Shelbi Leann Maxwell, both of Wesson, have been selected as Mr. & Miss Copiah-Lincoln Community College for the Wesson Campus. They were elected during a campus wide vote. Bizot is a graduate of Wesson Attendance Center and is the son of Kenny and Jeni Bizot. He serves as President of both Phi Theta Kappa and Mu Alpha Theta and is a member of the Trailblazers. He is a Pitts Scholar and is a member of the Wolf Pack Baseball team where he was named All-MACCC Honorable Mention in 2021. Maxwell is a graduate of Wesson Attendance Center and is the daughter of Michelle and Jason Berch. She is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, Trailblazers, and serves as Vice President of Communications for Mu Alpha Theta. She is a Taylor Presidential Scholar and a member of the Lady Wolves Softball team where she was named All-MACCC Honorable Mention in 2021.

Co-Lin and Southwest Mississippi Community College (SMCC) are partnering in organizing an economic development commission encompassing the eleven state counties served by the two colleges. Co-Lin President Dr. Jane Hulon Sims announced the initiative at the culmination of an economic development summit last month hosted by her college and SMCC at the Thames Center on the Co-Lin campus. The new commission will include local economic developers, business and community leaders and elected officials from Adams, Amite, Copiah, Franklin, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lincoln, Pike, Simpson, Walthall and Wilkinson Counties -- many of whom were on hand at the Co-Lin event sponsored by Canfor, Dungan Engineering and Rex Lumber. Hulon said she and SMCC President Steven Bishop, along with officials involved in economic development in the 11-county region would work on formulating and implementing strategies to recruit new business, support business expansion and create jobs as part of the commission. Hulon declared that "it was time to act" and go beyond talk. "If not now, when," she implored. At the economic development summit, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves led an assortment of speakers that set the stage for Hulon's announcement: Reeves laid out basic economic development guidelines. Dr. Bill Ashley from the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) cited demographics data facing economic developers in Southwest Mississippi. Cooperative Energy's Mitch Stringer discussed the economic development process. State Workforce Director Ryan Miller spotlighted Accelerate, Mississippi new workforce development program. Reeves cited the "focus on workforce" as the most significant change in economic development in recent years. "We used to emphasize incentives -- tax breaks, for example," he explained. "Now it's labor -- people trained for high-demand jobs." He added that Mississippi has been good at "training workers to the specs" of businesses locating in the state, but "we're doing it backwards." "We need to do the training first to recruit -- to meet the needs of businesses looking to locate somewhere before they make their decisions," he pointed out. The Governor also said economic development must be data-driven, based on the reality of communities and the needs of businesses. "Consider the Return on Investment you want from recruiting a business -- the types of jobs, per capita income," he counseled. "Think through the jobs situation -- jobs available, skills needed." Above all, economic development is about working together, Reeves said. "We create opportunities working together, not by competing," he asserted. MDA's Ashley highlighted key demographic realities that Southwest Mississippi economic developers must factor into their business recruiting strategies in their eleven-county region. Significant data: Total population of 228,665. A workforce of 87,000 with 8.55 percent unemployed. 20,000 workers commute outside to jobs outside the region and 20,000 commute to jobs inside the region. 57,000 work in manufacturing, which produces $774 million annually followed by transportation/warehousing ($766 million), government ($318 million) and agriculture ($124 million). Production workers are predominantly in the 25-44 year old age group. The most concentrated and competitive industries are poultry, plastics, apparel, paper, power generation with the most jobs in production, healthcare and business and financial sectors. The most job posting are for work in transportation/materials moving, installation and repair and production, with 12,530 for truck drivers. Stringer reminded economic developers about the nature of their work. "Your job involves retention and expansion of existing business as well as the slow, often unrewarding work of recruiting," he pointed out. "You are, above all, a project manager. But you have many other concerns: Community development towards improving quality of life that businesses seek in locations. As a subject matter expert, serving information-seekers. Finally, trying to keep a lot of people happy." The economic developer's all-important customer -- the business location decision maker -- has higher expectations and a shorter timeline today -- about six months, with a focus on site elimination and a lot of unknowns, Stringer said. In order of importance, he said site decisions are based on labor skills, highway access, energy sources, overall community quality of life, labor and site occupancy costs, tax rates, tax exemptions and other incentives and shipping costs. Miller, who leads AccelerateMS -- the new Mississippi workforce development program, said his office has launched an "ecosystem approach" in which localized needs of eight distinct regions or ecosystems are identified to build a customized labor pool that drives economic growth. “Our office has the support, encouragement and direction of the full state leadership," he said. "For the first time in state history, this is a coordinated approach to workforce development like we have never seen before." In the wake of COVID-19, the state recognized the need for an office to coordinate workforce development — an office to create new partnerships with industry and recruit and retain talent, Miller pointed out. "We needed to promote a healthy workforce with a strategy that looked at everything from top to bottom, left to right, and stem to stern," he said. We have some new tools that have emerged from COVID-19 -- Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and other virtual learning platforms." Miller added that Mississippi “has a lot of partners with this office who are doing some great things to make sure that our workers receive the training they need to fill skilled jobs and pursue the most rewarding career paths.

When Donna Stigall opened Le Soul restaurant in Hazlehurst two years ago, she had no clue what she was getting into. "I had no experience in the restaurant business," she says. "I never waited on a table, let alone managed a restaurant. This is the hardest work I've ever done. It's not just serving good quality food, but hiring a staff and organizing them to work together well. I have made a lot of mistakes and continue learning. I'm a fighter, though, and am determined to be successful. I am committed to making it work for customers and others who want me to succeed." Folk in the area who love good food and are willing to tolerate the birth pangs and confusion that go with opening and building a restaurant business are rooting her on. Stigall was born and grew up in Natchez, Mississippi, with two sisters and a brother. She recalls riding her bike and playing on the streets in the downtown area near the Roman Catholic cathedral a few blocks from her home. "Small and a safe place to live for a child, it was the perfect place to grow up," she says. At 14 years old, she got her first job there working for her father, who owned and operated a collections agency and tax service with branches throughout Mississippi. She went through school at Natchez until her family moved to Clinton, Mississippi, just before her senior year in high school. Rather than start a new school year there and have to make new friends and start a new life in midst of her senior year studies, Stigall completed her course work during the summer and received her high school diploma from Clinton High School when she was 16 years old. While working at Gayfers, a clothing retailer at a Jackson mall, Stigall attended Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi, and then went on to the University of Mississippi at Oxford, where she decided she preferred beaches to academics after a semester, and relocated to Fort Walton Beach, Florida. In Florida, Stigall maintained a relationship with a long-time sweetheart whom she had met as an eighth grader in Natchez, married him in 1980 and moved with him to Lafayette, Louisiana, where he worked in the oil fields and they started a family. After a divorce, Stigall came back to Mississippi in 1996 to live near her parents, who resided in Brookhaven. She settled in Crystal Springs and started her own business there in 1997 making loans for Pay Day and selling cellular phones. The business, which she calls Stigall Investments & My Mortgage Company. LLC, now specializes in renting properties and brokering mortgage loans, and continues today as a much-needed funding source for her fledgling restaurant. In 1999, when one of her three sons decided he wanted to play high school football at Madison, Mississippi, she moved there, and then relocated to Hazlehurst in 2019 to be near her Crystal Springs business and have an easier drive to her properties and other interests in Lafayette. At Hazlehurst, Stigall purchased a building on the south side of Gallatin Street, to add the "charming apartment" on its second floor to her portfolio of rental properties. "I had fallen in love with it twenty years earlier and never forgotten about it," she says. The first floor of the building had been a lighting and antique store, which the wife of a Hazlehurst government official suggested would make a good restaurant location and that Stigall might want to open one. "Hazlehurst needs a good restaurant," she told Stigall. Le Soul was born, it has been a rocky road. "I enjoyed the design and construction work, shaping a space for a restaurant, but I wasn't prepared for the work of managing it, even though I like business challenges." There have been the challenges of creating business systems, developing a loyal customer base in a venue that allows people to relax and get to know each other and, above all, building a competent, reliable staff with people who function well together and you can trust to operate the business when you want to take time off. Over the short two years she has managed Le Soul, Stigall has employed an estimated ten cooks. For an all too brief time, she unloaded the work on Chris McSwain who transplanted the former Porches restaurant business at Le Soul, but another job took him away and Stigall was again "a prisoner of my restaurant," while getting everything on track. Good quality food with a Louisiana touch and striving to give her customers the best has helped propel Le Soul to a point at which Stigall believes it can successfully hurdle the "third year business hump." Le Soul now has a good, reliable cook, its staff is melding and Stigall continues to work on making its service run smoothly consistently. Tweaking Le Soul's New Orleans style Sunday brunch -- unique to the area -- is high on her current agenda: Adding more breakfast items to the menu that features catfish, steak and Bloody Mary and mimosa specials. Music, perhaps a live jazz trio. Sports on wide flat screens. Stigall is even seeing a future with some time to spend with her three sons -- Braydon, who works for his father's oilfield services business; Arin, a medical technician; and Payton, a mechanic -- and their families, including five grandchildren -- Kannon, who is studying at LSU; Jaleh, 13, Karah, 10, Parker, 8, and Cali, 5. What are your hobbies? I long for the days I can travel again. I'll go anywhere, but I want to spend time with family and enjoy my condo at Destin, Florida. Are you a reader? I do a lot of online reading in connection with business, but sitting down with books in another thing! Do you enjoy movies or theater? I am looking forward to movie theaters reopening in the aftermath of COVID-19. Top Gun is at the top of my list. I enjoy high school plays, little theater and TV movies as well. I have no favorite actors or actresses. Just give me a good script. Are you into music? I enjoy everything except rap. I like Adele. But there are a lot of great artists locally, too. I played the saxophone in high school. So, yes, I really like jazz. But I am not a musician. What would you do with lottery winnings if you were so lucky? I would clear up my debt, invest in Le Soul to make it a big success, take care of family and friends and give to the legitimate charities focused on animals, sick and abused persons and people in need. How would you change the world? The world needs a lot of help. Things are sad today. People need to live like Jesus. How you make that happen, however, is way over my head.

The marching bands will be back and Santa will definitely be coming to town to later meet with kids at the fire house for a bigger Christmas parade than the one nearly cancelled in 2020. Last year, when the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to be the Grinch that would steal Christmas, Ken Carraway, who is the primary parade planner as Chief of Wesson Volunteer Fire Department, which organizes the traditional parade, had to scale back the event. Wesson Attendance Center didn't send its marching band in the midst of the pandemic. Nor did Co-Lin's Show Band, Collette dancers and cheerleading squad make it because of the college's early closing in November. Even Santa Claus was a question mark, although he finally did come to town. And many of the usual participants were also cautious about committing to the parade. All that has changed, according to Carraway. The marching bands will return and Santa will arrive as part of the parade and meet kids from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. with his bag of goodies at the WVFD station, where cookies and punch will also be served. Carraway is still recruiting parade participants, hoping to recruit floats and vehicles that will feature members of the Wesson High School homecoming court and beauty and beau winners, area government officials, business leaders and community service volunteers; trucks from Wesson Volunteer Fire Department, siren-sounding cars from Wesson Police Department and marchers from the America Legion, Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts. Anyone who would like to participate in the parade should contact the fire department through email (wessonfd@gmail.com) or phone (601-265-1694). There will be a registration form on the Wesson Volunteer Fire Department Facebook page. The parade will roll at 4 p.m. on Friday, December 3, at 4 p.m. following its normal route south through town and then back north. Nena Smith dancers will assemble at Wesson Baptist Church, while all other parade participants will line up in the old Sunflower building parking lot. Lights and decorations on Highways 51 and side streets downtown will provide an appropriate Christmas ambiance for the parade. As usual on the Sunday before the parade -- November 28, members of the WVFD will get the town's decorations out of storage and install them on utility polls throughout the area. The Spirit of Christmas Awards program sponsored by Wesson News, the Wesson Chamber of Commerce (C of C) and Wesson Garden Club (WGC) will incentivize businesses to decorate their locations. The C of C presents cash prizes to local businesses in recognition of distinctive Christmas decor and creative displays as judged by WGC, which also recognizes residential decorating through its Yard of the Month program. Several weeks earlier -- on November 17, another traditional Wesson holiday event cancelled last year in the midst of COVID-19, will return to help prepare the community for the season of joy and cheer: Co-Lin's community luncheon at the Thames Conference Center on its Wesson campus. For the eighteenth year, some 300 persons, including Co-Lin employees, members of community social and civic organizations, employees of area businesses, families and individuals will be on hand at the buffet luncheon featuring turkey, ham, country vegetables, salads and a variety of desserts from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The community event evolved from a 2002 marketing showcase of the Thames Conference Center facilities and food service into a venue for food, fun and fellowship involving an increasingly wider community. Reservations are recommended. Contact Brenda Orr (601-643-8671) or Tricia Russell (601-643-8702/tricia.russell@colin.edu).

The 2021 Christmas Season -- the Show starts .... Wednesday, December 1st 5pm-9:30 pm, there will be a soft opening (our testing and fixing period) on November 26-30 (5-8pm). Drive thru Radio Station (106.3) with 100,000 static and synchronized Christmas Light Display, by David Parks in Copiah County, Mississippi. There is always new and changing Christmas fixtures and lights scattered throughout show with in the 1/4-mile drive of lights. We are always looking for ways to change, up the display and improve the show. We added a few new pieces to Elf Land this year. Twice this year we had storm damage, and this took away from the time we would have spent of building new displays. Last year we added the area we call "Snowman's Hill", "Elf Land" (wood cut outs) and our front porch went from blah to wow! The "Mega Tree" area double in size and lots of new fixtures went into that area. We still have the area we call the "the tree farm” (added 2018), "leaping stars” (added 2013), "wall of snowflakes” (added 2019). We are still working out deals for adding "candy land" in the near future. We support Socks for Heroes and provide a collection point for needed items. For more information, contact Cathy Stroud at 601-695-4140 or socksforheroes@yahoo.com. The Socks organization is also on facebook at fb.me.socksforheroes.ms. Santa’s Runway Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/SantasRunwayCopiahCounty Map Location: https://goo.gl/maps/6cFMjnkqeFxfyCcE8 Santa's Runway, 1028 Parks Drive Pattison, MS 39144. We are located off of Hwy 547, in the SW corner Copiah County. Watch for sign.

The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) will begin scheduling COVID-19 vaccinations for children 5 to 11 years old after 7 p.m. today for appointments beginning Monday, November 8. Appointments will be available at https://covidvaccine.umc.edu/ for all county health departments. Appointments can also be made by calling the COVID-19 hotline at 866-498-4948 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week. Vaccinations for all Mississippians 5 and older can also be found from other providers including healthcare providers, FQHC’s, independent and retail pharmacies. “We are pleased this has finally been approved, and we recommend that all children 5 and older in Mississippi be vaccinated against COVID-19,” said MSDH State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers. “If you have questions or concerns, we urge you to please talk with your pediatrician or healthcare provider.” The Mississippi State Department of Health has ordered 51,000 doses of vaccine for this age group, and they are arriving at county health departments and other healthcare providers this week. Children ages 5-11 years will be vaccinated with two 10-microgram doses of the Pfizer vaccine administered 21 days apart. The dosage is one-third of the adolescent and adult dose. For more information, visit https://msdh.ms.gov/c19vaccination.

Beginning November 8, 2021, the Copiah County School District will move from “required” universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to “highly recommended” indoor masking for students and employees. Universal masking protocols will continue to be required for ALL students on school buses for the duration of their route. Due to the difficulty of social distancing on school buses, masks are required to help prevent transmission as much as possible. All campuses will continue to utilize the same sanitization efforts employed under the Return to In-Person Learning Plan initially adopted at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year. The most-current data showing a steady decline in the percentages of both quarantine and positive cases of COVID-19 within the school district guided this decision. Additionally, the number of vaccinated individuals continues to increase as well as vaccination offerings for various age groups. We encourage parents to consider MSDH guidance regarding the vaccine. CCSD is also working with the Mississippi State Department of Health to offer onsite COVID Testing to our students and staff. Once finalized, we will be sending out additional information. The district will continue to monitor COVID data and will adjust accordingly. Although masks are recommended, we may have to make an adjustment in the future.

The Mississippi Children’s Museum’s (MCM) Journey to the North Pole exhibit opens November 22 to kick-off your holiday fun! Based on cherished holiday traditions, Journey to the North Pole transforms MCM’s Gertrude C. Ford Exhibition Hall into a magical winter wonderland of snowy skies, glittering holiday decorations, and invitations for memorable family holiday experiences! Just inside the front door, guests will find our enchanting 45-foot Snowflake Slide, cascading over the central staircase, always a favorite for children (and their adults!) 36” or taller to ride down! Also nearby, children will find hundreds of decorations to build a life-size gingerbread house. An exciting return for everyone is the child-favorite Reindeer Rink for sock skating (children must bring socks for this experience). Santa will be making special visits during Journey to the North Pole, visit our website mschildrensmuseum.org and follow us on social media for a schedule of when Santa plans to stop by. Drawing inspiration from lessons in navigation and geography, along with traditional holiday literature, Journey to the North Pole is a place where children can don a conductor’s cap and find tickets for their next railroad adventure. Santa’s helpers can play in the child-size post office equipped with a package sorting station and conveyor belt for guests to sort and ship packages. An expansive train table, complete with snowy buildings and lots of child-sized train cars, will thrill train enthusiasts with hands-on imaginative play. The interactive clock tower featuring a toddler slide is a fan-favorite for our youngest visitors. The exhibit grand opening will be held on Monday, November 22 and will be open through Sunday, January 2. Wear your favorite holiday pajamas to Jammies at Journey on November 22 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. The museum will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. Museum hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Sunday, 1:00 – 6:00 p.m. MCM will be open for Magic Mondays on November 22 and December 27. Journey to the North Pole provides the perfect outing for family fun, your child’s birthday party, and a magical backdrop for your special family photo. Be sure to visit the Mississippi Children’s Museum between November 22-January 2 for a holiday experience unlike any other in Mississippi! This one-of-a-kind holiday exhibit, was designed by MCM’s in-house creative team in partnership with Davaine Lighting, A Plus Creative & Signs and ADEX International Exhibit Fabrication of Cincinnati, Ohio. About the Mississippi Children’s Museum The Mississippi Children’s Museum (MCM) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides unparalleled experiences that ignite a thirst for discovery, knowledge, and learning in all children. MCM is dedicated to inspiring Mississippi’s children from all backgrounds to discover and achieve their potential. The museum features 40,000 square feet of exhibit space designed around five primary initiatives: Literacy, STEM, Health and Nutrition, Cultural Arts, and Mississippi History. The museum’s exhibits, programs, and outreach opportunities provide engaging, explorative, hands-on educational activities for children of all ages. To learn more about MCM visit www.mschildrensmuseum.org.

Wesson Mayor Alton Shaw and the town's Board of Aldermen have joined a growing support network that advocates for employee participation in the military. The Mayor and Aldermen signed on to the Statement of Support (SOS) that is the cornerstone of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) work to promote cooperation and understanding between Reserve Component Service members and their civilian employers and to assist in the resolution of conflicts arising from an employee's military commitment. ESGR, a Department of Defense program established in 1972, encompasses nearly 3,300 volunteers in 54 committees located across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam-CNMI (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Wesson SOS signees joined hundreds of thousands of employers that have signed ESGR Statements of Support pledging their support to Guard and Reserve employees. During the September 7 Aldermen meeting, Mayor Shaw and each board meeting signed their own separate statements to: Fully recognize, honor, and comply with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act; Provide managers and supervisors with the tools they need to effectively manage employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve; Appreciate the values, leadership, and unique skills Service members bring to the workforce and encourage opportunities to hire Guardsmen, Reservists, and Veterans; Continually recognize and support the nation's Service members and their families, in peace, in crises, and in war. The intent of the SOS program is to increase employer support by encouraging employers to act as advocates for employee participation in the military. Supportive employers are critical to maintaining the strength and readiness of the Nation’s Guard and Reserve units. The first Statement of Support was signed December 13, 1972, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense by the Chairman of the Board of General Motors. President Richard Nixon was the first President to sign a Statement of Support, and in 2005 every Federal Cabinet Secretary and all Federal agencies signed a Statement of Support to signify their continuing efforts to be model employers. ESGR volunteers from small business and industry, government, education, and prior military service bring a vast wealth of experience to assist in serving employers, Service members, and their families. Together with Headquarters ESGR staff and a small cadre of support staff for each State Committee, volunteers work to promote and enhance employer support for military service in the Guard and Reserve.

Weather forecasts predict low temperatures in the 40s for the near future. As the temperature drops, many Mississippians will turn on central heat and plug in space heaters for the first time in months. They should check their heating equipment now to make sure it is safe to use. There have been ten heating-related fire deaths so far in 2021. Of the 69 fire deaths statewide in 2020, eight were heating-related. The State Fire Marshal’s Office recommends the following heating fire safety tips: · Place working smoke alarms in every bedroom of your home. o Test smoke alarms once a month. o Replace smoke alarm units every 10 years. · All heating equipment should be UL® approved and cleaned and inspected by a qualified professional prior to being used each year. · Remember to keep clothes, drapes, and anything else combustible at least 3 feet away from all heating equipment, especially space heaters. · Inspect the space heater’s power cord for damage, fraying or heat. If the cord inspection reveals any of these issues, the heater should be replaced. Proper cleaning is essential and should be done regularly. · Never use space heaters while you sleep or in areas where children may be without adult supervision. · Do not leave space heaters on when you are away from home. · Always unplug space heaters when they are not in use. The heater should also be equipped with a tip over shut-off switch. · Never use a stove or oven to heat living spaces. Kerosene is a poor choice for heating as it will give off poisonous fumes. · Have chimney flues cleaned and inspected by qualified personnel. · Have a spark screen that is age appropriate for all individuals if using a fireplace. · Burn only approved materials in a fireplace or wood-burning stove; never burn paper or trash in a fireplace or wood burning stove. · Should a fire break out in the home, have an emergency evacuation plan for the family to follow and have a designated meeting place for all family members. Once everyone is outside the burning home, call 911 and don’t go back inside the home under any circumstances.

Today, Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson announced that the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC) will begin accepting a new round of applications for its Wild Hog Control Program (WHCP) on Monday, November 1. The application period will close on Monday, November 15. All Mississippi counties are eligible for the application period. In Mississippi alone, wild hogs cause more than $60 million in damages annually. Through the WHCP, MDAC provides “smart” wild hog traps to landowners and managers for the control of wild hogs on private agricultural and forestry lands in Mississippi. MDAC provides the training necessary to use the “smart” traps and technical guidance regarding the most effective methods to trap and control wild hogs on private lands. “We are beginning to enter fall and winter months when wild hog trapping is highly successful,” said Commissioner Gipson. This success is normally due to limited natural food resources during this time of year, and the harvest of most agricultural crops has been completed. This limits food competition for trap sites and increases trapping success. Applications must be completed and submitted online at www.mdac.ms.gov/whcp. Submitted applications will be evaluated based on the number of acres available for trapping, historical agricultural losses caused by wild hogs on the property and current trapping efforts on the property. A cooperative application is encouraged for small acreage (i.e., adjoining land managers of small parcels should work together to submit one application). Traps will be available for one-month intervals, dependent upon use and success. One trap per 1,000 acres is recommended, depending on landscape and land use. Visit www.mdac.ms.gov/whcp for program guidelines, applications and additional information. Submit questions regarding the WHCP to Chris McDonald at chris@mdac.ms.gov.