Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson will hold a press conference on Monday, November 1, at 1:30 p.m. at the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce building to announce the inaugural Standing for American Freedom, a patriotic event in recognition of Pearl Harbor Day, which will be held Sunday, December 5, in the Coliseum at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds. Commissioner Gipson will be joined by Stacey Pickering, Executive Director of the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board. At this time, Commissioner Gipson will announce a partnership with the non-profit organization, Friends of Mississippi Veterans, for this event. Travis Tritt and Lee Greenwood will also be announced as the entertainment line-up for Standing for American Freedom.

Even as parents and caregivers continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, Halloween is still one of the most exciting nights of the year. This year’s festivities will look a little different and call for creative alternatives that are both fun and follow local COVID-19 guidelines and recommendations. But regardless of how you choose to celebrate this Halloween, here are a few ways to make safety a part of your planning. Planning your costume When selecting a costume, make sure it is the right size to prevent trips and falls, whether around the house or on the street. For greater visibility, decorate costumes and bags with reflective tape or stickers and, if possible, choose light colored clothing. Choose non-toxic face paint and make-up whenever possible to ensure kids can see because a full-face Halloween masks can obstruct a child’s vision. Facemasks to protect from COVID should not be decorated with paint or magic markers as they can be toxic. When Halloween activities take you outside the home Tips for kids: Have kids carry glow sticks or flashlights to help them see and be seen by drivers. Cross the street at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks. Look left, right and left again when crossing and keep looking as you cross. Put electronic devices down, keep heads up and walk, don’t run, across the street. Watch for cars that are turning or backing up. Teach children to never dart out into the street or cross between parked cars and be especially careful around driveways and alleys. Join kids under age 12 for trick-or-treating. If kids are mature enough to be out without supervision, tell them to stick to familiar areas that are well lit, stay on sidewalks if available, and trick-or-treat in small groups. Tips for drivers: Be especially alert and take extra time to look for kids at intersections, on medians and on curbs. Children are excited on Halloween and may move in unpredictable ways. Slow down in residential neighborhoods. Remember that popular trick-or-treating hours are 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Reduce any distractions inside your car, such as talking on the phone or eating, so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings. When you’re planning Halloween activities at home Use glow sticks to light up jack-o-lanterns instead of candles. This will help prevent burns from open flames. Keep decorations away from open flames, light bulbs and heaters. Paper decorations and things like cornstalks can catch fire easily. Double check to make sure smoke alarms are working correctly and review your fire escape plan with your family in case there is a fire. Store household cleaning products out of children’s reach and sight. We all have additional cleaning products and disinfectants in the home right now and young kids are often eye-level with items on counters and under kitchen and bathroom sinks. So, remember to keep cleaning supplies and hand sanitizers where children can’t reach them and save the Poison Help number in your phone in case there is an emergency: 1-800-222-1222. For more tips and resources to keep kids safe from injuries during the pandemic – including this Parents Guide – visit our Coronavirus Resources page. For additional Halloween ideas, guidelines and recommendations, visit the Centers For Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Opera Mississippi announces the next concert in the Duling Hall Series, sponsored by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi. Be My Love, A Tribute to the Mario Lanza Centennial, features the nationally renowned singer Peter Lake, a tenor whose voice has been compared to many opera giants. This concert will be on Monday, November 8, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. at Duling Hall in Jackson, MS. Tickets may be ordered online at operams.org for $30. Any remaining tickets, will be on sale at the door for $35. In a night of song celebrating one of the greatest tenors of all time, Lake, accompanied by Jackson pianist Tyler Kemp, brings the music of Mario Lanza from the movies to the stage. Lanza dominated the silver screen and defined operatic singing for an entire generation. The program includes Grenada, Vesti la giubba, and Be My Love as well as a catalogue of hits in a cabaret celebrating the life and centennial of an unforgettable talent. “Mario Lanza was one of the greatest singers of the 20th century. We are delighted to be able to celebrate his musical legacy,” said Dr. Jay Dean, artistic director of Opera Mississippi. “Hearing Peter Lake sing the songs that made Lanza famous such as “Be My Love,” “Granada,” and “O Solo Mio,” is going to truly make for a memorable evening. There’s nothing like hearing these iconic tunes sung live.” Peter Lake, a Southern Miss alum, returns home to Mississippi for this one-night-only event. He is an internationally performing lyric-tenor who made his role debut as Alfredo in Mobile Opera’s La Traviata in October 2019. In April 2019 Peter made his house and role debuts with Pacific Opera Project and Opera in the Heights! as Pinkerton in their ground-breaking English-Japanese production of Madame Butterfly. In May of 2019 Peter made is role debut as Rodolfo in Natchez Music Festival’s production of La bohème, and in the spring of 2020 Peter made his house debut with Gulfshore Opera in his second Rodolfo in La bohème. This year Peter will be making another role debut with Opera in the Heights! as Lensky in their production of Eugene Onegin, and returning to Mobile Opera to sing Don José in Carmen. For more information on tickets to this and the entire Opera Mississippi season, visit operams.org or call 601.960.2300. NOTE: Duling Hall’s Updated COVID-19 Safety Protocol: Effective August 30, 2021, for the health and safety of our patrons, staff, and artists, entry to Duling Hall will require either proof of a full course COVID-19 vaccination, with their final dose at least fourteen days prior to the event or proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken in the prior 72 hours. Accommodating this temporary policy will allow artists to earn a living, our staff to be employed, and live music to have a place in society again. We will keep everyone posted on any changes moving forward.

National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week is October 24-October 30, 2021. The Institute for the Advancement of Minority Health is committed to raising awareness regarding lead poisoning and encourages families to prevent lead exposure among young children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: lead poisoning is 100% preventable; a lead test is the only way to know if your child has lead poisoning; most children get lead poisoning from paint in homes built before 1978; and being exposed to lead can cause learning and behavior problems in children. For more information on lead prevention and/or to receive a lead assessment form from the Institute, contact us at: iamh@advancingminorityhealth.org or at 769-572-5263

As we enter the fourth quarter of the year, 2021 is shaping up as another one for the books. While life for many is getting back to a pre-pandemic “normal,” Americans continue to endure the many impacts of COVID-19 - especially the government’s response to the pandemic. The “Delta variant” reminded everyone that this virus (like all viruses) does mutate and can easily rear its ugly head again. But right now, the problems we face are the direct result of a combination of federal government policies resulting in serious challenges to commerce in Mississippi and nationwide. Labor shortages are causing significant problems for many industries, including agriculture, food service, trucking, shipping, healthcare, and retail to name a few. Federal government policies have made it more profitable for the American workforce to stay home rather than providing an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. From manufacturing to food service, industries across the board are faced with the task of producing more products with significantly less labor. Farmers - large and small - are feeling the impacts too. For instance, our catfish and meat processors are having trouble finding enough employees, not to mention the challenge of finding steady, reliable on-farm labor which has been an issue for decades. For example, it’s been a greater challenge this fall to obtain adequate labor to help harvest and then haul crops to the elevators. These are just a few examples resulting in fewer products on the shelves, longer wait times for services and higher prices due to inflation. Persistent labor shortages have intensified the logistical challenges being felt across most industries. The growing backlog at ports is causing greater supply chain bottlenecks. Americans had become accustomed to getting what we want at the drop of a hat, but that is no longer the case even for Amazon Prime customers. Now, container ships are sitting at ports for weeks waiting to be unloaded. As evidence, we were told back in September to begin Christmas shopping early to ensure gifts may be delivered on time. Due to the major shortage of truckers, rail and port workers, supply chains have been severely disrupted at ports nationwide with too few port and rail workers to unload and reload cargo. In recent reports, it was noted that these labor shortages and supply chain disruptions are making it difficult for even our school systems to get cafeteria food products. But Mississippians understand the food and grocery challenges go beyond school cafeterias. We are all feeling this in our homes, budgets and kitchens as we feed our families right here in Mississippi. Food prices continue to increase, and these price increases should not be interpreted as putting more money back into the pockets of farmers. In fact, our farmers are experiencing much higher input costs in 2021 as they continue to work producing American food, fiber and shelter. There are significant increased production costs, such as higher feed, fuel and fertilizer costs that are all reflected in higher grocery prices. And rising fuel prices are affecting not only farmers, but every single American at our gas pumps with average prices now topping $3.00 a gallon in Mississippi. To add insult to injury, the Biden Administration recently announced an unprecedented nationwide federal vaccine mandate threatening millions of American jobs and potentially eliminating the livelihoods of millions of working Americans, even those employed in healthcare, our first responders and the private sector. There is a coming crisis in American commerce fueled by an idle workforce, supply chain shortages, inflation, and federal mandates. But there is a solution, and the crisis can be averted. It’s a common sense solution: workers must keep working, and those not working must get back to work. To reach this goal, federal and state governments must reverse their anti-work policies and encourage more people and the next generation to enter the workforce. We need more people working, not less. Americans should take a lesson from our farmers and loggers who have always continued to work hard from “sun up ‘til sun down” to put food on our plates, clothes on our backs and a roof over our heads. Americans, it’s time to get back to work! Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson

BankPlus is the Presenting Sponsor for a Virtual Cooking School benefitting Stewpot led by two of Mississippi’s most awarded Chefs, Derek Emerson and Connor Wolf. The class will be livestreamed from The Farmer’s Table Cooking School in Livingston on Thursday, November 11, 2021, at 6:00 p.m. Those who purchase tickets can join our chefs and cook with them live from their own kitchen! Everyone who purchases a ticket will receive a meal kit filled with all the ingredients you need to create Chef Emerson & Wolf's famous Red Beans & Rice recipe. Participating with your friends and family is encouraged, as each recipe feeds up to 10 people. Tickets are $150.00 and can be purchased by visiting www.redbeansandrice.org. Meal kits will be available for pick up on 11/9 at CAET in Ridgeland between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m., and on 11/10 at Walker’s Drive-In in Jackson between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. Two pick-up locations and times are offered to try and accommodate the schedules of all those who purchase tickets. A Zoom link will be sent out in advance of the event to join, and a recording will be sent shortly after the class ends if you are unable to attend live. 100% of the proceeds from this event will be used to help support the ministries of Stewpot, your favorite Mississippi Homegrown Charity. Stewpot Community Services provides compassionate assistance, at no charge, to people in need of physical and spiritual nourishment. Through their ministries, they serve people who are hungry, poor, and homeless, offering food, shelter, clothing, mentoring, care, and concern.

When we get into the fall of the year, many gardeners get tunnel vision and only look for cool-season color, but fall is also for planting. Fall is a great time to plan for colorful shrubs and then plant them for next year and beyond. Hamelia patens, also commonly called firebush, is a tough plant for our summer and fall seasons. This is a vigorously growing plant that is native to Florida and suited for many of our Mississippi garden spaces. The attractive evergreen foliage is arranged in combinations of three. The flowers are displayed in groups of three to seven whorled clusters of gorgeous reddish-orange blooms. The tubular flowers are produced all summer and well into the fall. Though hamelia selections tolerate pruning, I don’t recommend it during the summer growing season, as this will remove and reduce the current season’s flower development. I recommend pruning in late winter before the spring growth begins. A fantastic newer selection is Lime Sizzler hamelia. This is a vigorous but compact-growing plant that reaches about 3 to 4 feet tall and wide. The foliage is a variegated mixture of chartreuse yellow and lime green highlighted by bright-red veins. The flowers of Lime Sizzler are arranged in whorled clusters of gorgeous, hot reddish-orange flowers. The tubular flowers are produced all summer and into the fall. For the best flower production and foliage color, plant Lime sizzler in full sun. Known botanically as Galphimia glauca, Golden thryallis is another must-have favorite that starts flowering early in the summer. The flowers are a bright, cheery yellow and are arranged in clusters up to six inches long at the ends of branches. The rusty reddish-brown branches add attractiveness to Golden thryallis. The light-green leaves are oblong shaped and about one to two inches long. Plant in the full sun for best flowering performance. Golden thryallis is very pruning tolerant, so don’t be afraid to shape the plant. I love growing it as a container plant. Golden thryallis is native to Mexico and Central America, and it is evergreen in U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 9B to 11. In coastal Mississippi, temperatures in the mid to low 20s will most likely kill the plant back to the ground. In north Mississippi, prune it to the ground after the first frost and mulch heavily with pine straw, even using a whole bale for winter protection. In our Mississippi landscapes, where the plant is exposed to regular cold in the winter, we can fully expect to enjoy the plant to reach 3 to 4 foot tall and 2 to 2 1/2 feet wide. You can’t go wrong adding any of these bright and colorful plants to your landscape. See you at the garden center this weekend. EDITOR’S NOTE: Dr. Gary Bachman is an Extension and research professor of horticulture at the Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi. He is also the host of the popular Southern Gardening television and radio programs. Contact him at southerngardening@msstate.edu. Locate Southern Gardening products online at http://extension.msstate.edu/shows/southern-gardening.]

The Brookhaven Animal Rescue League (BARL) kicks off their 2nd Annual Barks & Bids Online Auction on October 24, with the event ending on October 31. The auction link will be promoted on their website at barl.net. Auction items will be available for pick up at the Brookhaven Building on November 1. “The quantity and quality of auction items we have received is unbelievable. It looks like we have something for everyone. Our businesses have been so supportive, as have many individuals who have donated items. We have numerous handcrafted items that are part of the auction,” said Rusty Adcock, BARL president. BARL's mission is to humanely care for shelter animals while contributing to community activities that reduce pet overpopulation, encourage responsible pet ownership, protect public health and safety, and promote the human-animal bond. BARL is a nonprofit, volunteer-based animal welfare organization serving Copiah, Franklin and Lincoln counties. BARL provides food, shelter and veterinary services for homeless animals until they are adopted. All BARL animals are vaccinated and spayed/neutered. Dogs are also micro-chipped. Many adoptable BARL cats are located at PetSense in Brookhaven. Potential adopters of dogs and cats may also visit BARL’s Adoption Center Wednesday-Sunday, 12:00-3:00 p.m., or by appointment. Anyone interested in adopting, contributing, or volunteering should contact BARL at 601-757-4367 or info@barl.net. Donations are tax deductible and may be mailed to BARL, P.O. Box 3477, Brookhaven, MS 39603. A few of BARL’s adoptable animals may be viewed online at www.barl.net or on their Facebook page.

Keep your trick-or-treaters safe from injury and contagious illness this Halloween by following the advice of paramedics at AMR. Some risks of trick-or-treating have been with us many years, and some are new. As researchers have shown, more youngsters are struck by cars on Halloween than on any other day of the year. Injuries from falls are also common. We all must work together to thwart the continuing threat of COVID-19. Also, remember, flu season is creeping up on us. Paramedics at AMR give these 13 Halloween safety tips to make sure this year’s trick-or-treating is scary and fun, not scary and dangerous. 1. Due to COVID-19, avoid Halloween parties unless everyone there is from the same immediate household. If folks from different households party together, outdoors is safer and social distancing is a must. 2. Whether trick or treating door to door or attending a party, children and adults alike should wear pandemic masks. If a costume comes with a mask, put a medical mask over it. The costume mask by itself is not protective enough. Paint the kids’ faces instead of letting them wear a costume mask that is hard to see and breathe through. Be sure everyone wears a pandemic mask over the face paint. 3. Go out in small groups. Everyone in the group should live together or interact frequently. Decide on a definite route and timetable before leaving your house. Finish your trip before dark. Take plenty of hand sanitizer and some extra masks. Use the sanitizer between homes you visit. 4. Costumes should be flame retardant, brightly-colored and reflect light. Stripe reflective tape across the front and back of the costume including the shoes. Avoid hats, helmets, wigs and beards. 5. Costumes should fit well, not so loosely as to trip over or snag on things. Wear flat shoes with closed toes that are the right size for the child. Avoid over-sized shoes such a clown would wear. 6. Keep at least one of each child’s hands free. Instead of letting a child carry a candy bag by hand, add a strap to the bag and drape the bag over the child’s shoulder. Do not wear monster gloves. Be sure the bag doesn’t drag on the ground. 7. Stay on sidewalks, walk facing traffic, cross streets only at intersections, don’t run across lawns and don’t jump ditches. 8. Approach only those houses with outside lights on. 10. Trick-or-treaters should not enter any candy-giver’s home. Even if you are friends, COVID-19 could be lurking inside. 11. Treat givers at higher risk of catching COVID-19 can put the candy in a bowl on their porch and interact with the kids through a window. Treat givers who are not at high risk might choose to sit on their porch with a container of candy. They should wear a pandemic mask, stay six feet from the trick-or-treaters and use tongs to put the candy in the goblins’ bags. They should wash their hands frequently. 12. Do not allow the kids to eat any treats until the group returns home and an adult examines each bag. Eat nothing that is even slightly suspicious. Look for items that appear to have been unwrapped and then re-wrapped. Before the kids dip their hands into their candy bags, direct them to wash their hands thoroughly. 13. Dress warmly, stay alert and keep handy a small first aid kit for scraped knees and other little injuries. If a serious injury happens, dial 911 immediately. AMR says, “Boo!” to you, too! Serving 16 Mississippi counties, the AMR family of companies is the state’s busiest ambulance service. About American Medical Response (AMR) American Medical Response, Inc., America’s leading provider of medical transportation, provides services in 40-plus states and the District of Columbia. More than 28,000 AMR paramedics, EMTs, RNs and other professionals work together to transport more than 4.8 million patients nationwide each year in critical, emergency and non-emergency situations. AMR also provides fire services through Rural Metro Fire Department, www.ruralmetrofire.com. For more information about AMR, visit www.amr.net and follow American Medical Response on Facebook @AMR_Social on Twitter and Instagram. AMR is part of the Global Medical Response family of companies. Global Medical Response, Inc. is the industry-leading air, ground, specialty and residential fire services, and managed medical transportation organization. With more than 38,000 employees, GMR delivers compassionate, quality medical care, primarily in the areas of emergency and patient relocation services in the United States and around the world. For more information, visit www.globalmedicalresponse.com.

Folks around Wesson know Angela Furr as Co-Lin's money lady, but she admits asking for dollars doesn't come naturally. As Executive Director of the Co-Lin Foundation and Alumni Relations, Furr solicits funds to help the college provide and sustain community and student learning opportunities, cultural enrichment for students and their communities, academic and athletic programs, student and faculty scholarships, and computer technology, among other things. The Co-Lin Foundation, Inc., is the fundraising arm of the college. It is a nonprofit corporation that serves as a clearinghouse for private sector monies given to Co-Lin. The Foundation is governed by a 25-member board of directors, and its goal is to raise private monies to support the mission of the college. "Raising money does not come naturally for me, but I have loved Co-Lin since my student years and enjoy the relationships I develop and cultivate with others who love it as well," Furr says. “Most people are willing to give back to the college when they’re asked, so that makes it easy to do what I do. I’m happy I can serve Co-Lin in this way.” For Co-Lin's board members, other officers and staff members, the feeling is mutual. Furr grew up in New Hebron in Lawrence County in a family in which she was the oldest of four children, including two brothers and a sister. As a child, she remembers liking school, being a good student, and particularly enjoying English and the humanities. When she was 15 years old, she started working after school at the Super Value grocery store in Monticello, and she remained employed there throughout high school. At Lawrence County High School from which she graduated in 2000, Furr was a student leader, enjoyed service roles in its Beta Club, performed in plays as a member of the drama club and was editor of the school newspaper. "I liked writing poetry and short stories, but preferred technical writing like news stories and, strangely enough, term papers," she recalls. In 2002, Furr received in Associate in Arts degree from Co-Lin, where she was involved in numerous student organizations and served as editor of The Wolf Tales, the student newspaper. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with an emphasis in public relations and a Master of Science in Mass Communication from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg in 2004 and 2005. In 2005, she also married her husband Cliff Furr, who she met in a journalism class at Co-Lin. She and Cliff, who teaches high school English and is sports editor of The Daily Leader, live in Brookhaven with their two children -- Amelia, 13, and Graham, 9. Furr has spent her entire professional career so far at Co-Lin, coming to the college in 2005 as the College Recruiter, becoming Associate Director of Alumni Affairs in 2009 and moving into the executive role at the Co-Lin Foundation and Alumni Relations office in 2018 as interim director before being named Executive Director in July 2019. In her current job, she oversees all Co-Lin foundation and alumni relations of the college, with a primary focus on fundraising. She has also served as an adjunct instructor in the humanities division of Co-Lin for more than 10 years. She was the recipient of Co-Lin's Howell C. Garner High Performance Award in 2009. What are your hobbies? I support whatever my children are participating in and that takes up most of my free time. Graham plays soccer and Amelia runs cross country. I am fortunate to work in a job I enjoy and be a mom at the same time. I’m involved in community organizations like the Brookhaven/Lincoln County Rotary Club, in which I served as president. I am also a member of the United Way of Lincoln County Board of Directors, the Mississippi Community College Inter-Alumni Association, and Heucks Retreat Baptist Church, where I volunteer in the children’s and youth ministries. I am into exercise and enjoy running and spin (indoor cycling). Are you a reader? I used to read everything I could get my hands on -- fiction, non-fiction, memoirs. My all-time favorites are classics like Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice. I have less time to read than I would like today. Are you into music? I love music. My husband and I enjoy seeing live shows any chance we get. We recently attended a Jason Isbell concert; he’s an Americana singer/songwriter. Personally, I am not a musician, although I make a joyful noise in the pews at my church. Do you enjoy movies or theater? I am super into pop culture and entertainment. I love prestige TV shows and going to the movies. I’m excited to finally get to see Hamilton on stage in a few months with some girlfriends. What would you do with lottery winnings if you were so lucky? I would donate to charities like the Co-Lin Foundation, put money into the renovation of my 100-year-old house and take a trip to Hawaii. How would you change the world? The world would be much better if we all followed the Golden Rule -- in politics, faith and everyday life.

Governor Tate Reeves declared October 18-22, 2021, as Fall Severe Weather Preparedness Week in Mississippi. The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) reminds residents of the free resources offered to ensure everyone stays safe on the road during severe weather. “Mississippians are no stranger to severe weather; this year alone residents throughout the state have battled a historic ice storm, tornadoes, hurricanes, flash flooding and more,” said Brad White, MDOT Executive Director. “MDOT offers free travel resources so that everyone can keep themselves and their families safe before, during and after severe weather events.” When hazardous weather conditions arise drivers can use the free MDOT Traffic mobile app to get real-time access to tools that show road conditions and traffic alerts. The alert pins are interactive, providing users with more information at the touch of a finger. The public can also access this same travel information by visiting MDOTtraffic.com. Drivers can find tips on safe driving during severe weather by visiting GoMDOT.com/drivesmart. There you will also find information on how to prepare for hurricanes, tropical systems and winter weather. To stay up to date on road conditions, follow @MississippiDOT on Facebook and Twitter.

Lincoln County Airport in Brookhaven is receiving more than $2.2 million in funding to rehabilitate runway lighting, taxiway lighting, airport beacons and runways through two Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants. Representative Michael Guest lauded services provided by rural airports, saying "I am grateful to the FAA and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for their help in securing these grants to improve Mississippi airports, which will drive Mississippi's rural economy."