A Wesson family -- Josh, Derryn and Jayden Hamilton -- is performing in Paramount+ Network's "1883," which premieres on the Paramount Cable Network December 19. They will be regular extras in the prequel series to "Yellowstone" and stars Faith Hill and Tim McGraw as the heads of the original Dutton family. Josh and Derryn's daughter Jayden first landed an extras role in Lifetime's "Teacher's Watching" filmed in Clinton and has been on a contact for extras in other films since then. Her film credits include "Home Team" with Morgan Freeman, "Paradise Highway" filmed in Brookhaven and "Platform." On set, directors have also used Jayden's mom and dad.

Town Clerk Angela Hester has been recertified for her duties as Wesson Court Clerk. Hester attended week-long recertification training last month at the Pearl River Resort at Choctaw, Mississippi, near Philadelphia, conducted by the University of Mississippi Judicial College (MJC). More than 400 persons participated, including over 200 on site and 200 online virtually through Zoom. Court Clerk recertification based on the training is required every two years. At the Municipal Court Clerks Continuing Education Conference, Hester and her colleagues heard speakers and panels discuss legal research and resources, the Mississippi Alcohol Safety Education Program (MASEP), public safety, the Mississippi Public Records Act, media and access to court records, the appeals process to Circuit Courts, ethics and judicial performance and access to justice. Featured speakers included municipal clerks, judges, attorneys, journalists, state agency executives and college instructors. The conference sponsored by the Municipal Court Clerks Association also included the MCCA business meeting. MJC covered expenses of attendees.

Donna Beliech, Area Horticulturist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, discussed the importance of wildflowers last month at the Wesson Garden Club meeting Beliech's comments were a product of deep experience. Growing up on a dairy and soybean farm in the Mississippi Delta and working in the family’s garden, she developed an interest in plants which led her to obtaining degrees in both Forestry and Horticulture. In 1996, she joined the MSU Extension Service and currently serves an eight-county area in Central Mississippi presenting educational programs pertaining to plant problems and possible solutions, gardening trends, and plant availability. Following the formal meeting, Garden Club members made pink bows to be used in October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Club met at the American Legion Building. Attendees were Marilyn Britt, Sherri Carty, Sonya Cowen, Robin Furr, Debbie Hoaglin, Denise Jackson, Pam McLemore, JoAnn Miller, June Owens, Pam Owens, Jennifer Peets, Joy Phillips, Jean Ricks, Meghan Shepherd, Debbie Smith, Lisa Smith, Nancy Sullivan, Dixie Thornton, Cathy Warren and Joy Wesbrooks. Also present were prospective Club members Lori Dougherty and Linda Toten. The Wesson Garden Club is a member of The Garden Clubs of Mississippi, Inc. and The National Garden Clubs, Inc.

The best sweet potatoes grown anywhere in the world will be available throughout the area over the next few weeks thanks to the Wesson Lions Club. For the ninth consecutive year, the club has brought a truckload of Landreth Farms-produced sweet potatoes from the Vardaman area in north central Mississippi -- the "Sweet Potato Capital of the World" -- to sell at a bargain basement prices and raise funds, in the process, for the international and local charities it helps support. Wesson Lions Club members will sell them and continue to offer them until their supply runs out through October. This year, the Lions Club's inventory includes 350 forty-pound boxes of regular sweet potatoes, which it will sell for $20 per box, or 50 cents per pound. In addition to individuals, area restaurants look forward to stocking up on the quality sweet potatoes during the Lions Club's annual fundraising effort. Landreth Farms officials say it's the loamy soil – along with timely early rains – in the Vardaman area that make their potato crops sweet and special. Landreth plants sweet potatoes on 750 acres, among Mississippi farmers, who raise sweet potatoes on more than 18,400 acres across the state. The farm sells commercially to national food stores, such as Kroger and Wal-Mart; and canners, like Gerber; and produces a line of pre-wrapped sweet potatoes for microwave cooking. The annual sweet potato sale is among three major fundraising activities of the Wesson Lions Club. The Club also has an annual pancake breakfast, sells peanuts at Co-Lin football games and collects money on Highway 51 from motorists to support sight charities. It disburses some $10,000 every year to assist deaf and blind persons through the International Lions Club and to support local organizations and causes related to community improvement, children and youth, veterans, hospice care and other issues and concerns. For information and to order sweet potatoes, contact Randy Davis (601-754-4832) or Hubert Greer (601-757-8973).

Governor Tate Reeves has declared October 18-22, 2021, as Fall Severe Weather Preparedness Week in Mississippi. “Mississippi is no stranger to severe weather,” said Governor Tate Reeves. “By preparing in advance of a storm, Mississippians can ensure they stay safe. I encourage you to dedicate time this week to getting your family ready.” Eighty-two tornadoes were confirmed during 2020 in Mississippi, which was the fifth most on record. Additionally, nearly 25% of all recorded Mississippi tornadoes occur during the State’s secondary severe weather in the fall that typically runs from November through December. “Mississippi experiences active weather most months of the year, including late fall, which is why it’s important always to be prepared for potential severe weather. We urge residents to get ready for the upcoming secondary severe weather season by checking up on insurance policies, organizing a disaster supply kit and reviewing safety tips with your family,” says MEMA Executive Director Stephen McCraney. To promote severe weather preparedness, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency is partnering with the National Weather Service and the Mississippi Department of Transportation to highlight different types of hazards and ways to prepare ahead of the upcoming secondary severe weather season. Here is the list of this year’s featured topics: Monday, October 18 Warning Reception Methods Tuesday, October 19 Severe Thunderstorms Wednesday, October 20 Tornado Safety – A statewide tornado drill will be conducted at 9:15 AM weather pending Thursday, October 21 Flash Flooding Friday, October 22 Snow and Ice Every day throughout the week, MEMA will share short videos and infographics on each of these topics on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Your National Weather Service offices will also share additional severe weather information. Four National Weather Service offices cover Mississippi: Jackson, Memphis, New Orleans and Mobile. More severe weather preparedness tips can be found on our website: www.msema.org.

Wesson American Legion Post 79 members, including (left to right) David Fore, Sr., Post 79 Commander; Deborah Fielder, American Legion Mississippi Department Adjutant; Bobby Thornton, Post 79 Adjutant, helped lead a ceremony on National Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Day last month at Wesson Cemetery that dedicated a memorial for two World War II Wesson POWs. The memorial honors Brigadier General Luther Rea Stevens and wife, Lula Turnbow Stevens, who served in the Philippines. General Steven was captured and held prisoner in China and his wife was held in a POW camp for civilians in the Philippines. They were released in 1945.

Wesson Chamber of Commerce is continuing a popular promotion for the second year to help local merchants, eateries and other local consumer-oriented enterprises rebuilding their businesses as the COVID-19 pandemic fades into their rearview mirrors. "The Eat and Shop Where You Live" promotion, which started October 1 and runs thru November 1, features special raffle boxes at participating businesses where customers and patrons complete entry forms and place them for a November 2 drawing to win a gift card they can use for purchases. The Chamber gave each participating business $100 to cover the gift card purchases of the winners and provided specially-decorated raffle boxes for promotional displays. "We were thrilled with the success of last year's promotion, and are continuing the tradition again to stimulate business and to encourage shopping local," said Chamber president Marilyn Britt. "The Chamber launched the promotion last year when the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to cancel the annual Founders Day celebration, which is a focal point for local businesses to both enjoy a one-day sales boost and cultivate ongoing customers. The idea of the drawbox promotion is to help local businesses in a similar way, stimulate the economy and lift the spirits of townspeople still worried about COVID-19." Businesses participating in the promotion are Another Time Another Place, Ashley's 51 Stop and Z&Z's Seafood, Copiah Nutrition, Deb's All Tangled Up, Dollar General, Dumps BBQ, East End Quick Stop, Family Dollar Store, Fil-Am Oriental Market & Produce, Milltown Mall Antiques & Flea Market, Mill Town Salon & Day Spa, Nan Drane Massage Therapy, Nena Smith School of Dance, P&R Package, Park Place Ice Cream, Runyan Automotive, Salon 51, Serendipity Salon, Stop-N-Wash, Skeet Burger Snack Shop, The Carpenter Shop, Wesson Ace Hardware and Wolf Hollow Golf Course. The Chamber is publicizing the promotion on its Facebook page and sending out materials that spotlight the participating businesses and encourage customers to visit and patronize them.

As many as 200 vendors -- individuals, church groups, clubs and civic organization and businesses -- will line the streets of downtown Wesson in their special tents to offer arts and crafts items, fleas, clothing, food, snacks and refreshments, among other things, to thousands of browsers and shoppers expected to flood into town on Saturday, October 16, for the fiftieth annual Flea Market and Outdoor Arts and Crafts Show. Wesson Volunteer Fire Department (WVFD) Chief Ken Carraway, who is coordinating the Flea Market for WVFD, the managing organization, predicts a big crowd will be browsing, shopping and munching on the concessions. The Flea Market will start at 8 a.m. on Highway 51, Factory and Spring Streets and run until 5 p.m. Vendors from throughout Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Texas and Tennessee will be on hand to help visitors with their shopping lists for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years with decorations, dolls, clothing and pets, wood and iron work, candlesticks, jellies and jams, bath products, jewelry and leather crafts, plants and flowers. A special feature this year will be a raffle with a special handmade turkey call donated by Primos Hunting as the award. Local artisans will offer a variety of hand-crafted items. Local civic clubs and church groups and other not-for-profit organizations will serve an array of foods and snacks, including pork skins -- a special Flea Market treat -- to raise money for their groups and their projects and causes. The Wesson Lions Club will again be selling sweet potatoes. Friends of the Library will hold its annual book sale in the building next to the Wesson public library pavilion. The Doll's House and Wesson Baptist, Smyrna Baptist and Mount Moriah Baptist Churches will be on hand. Town Hall staff will be in a special tent, where residents can get to know government officials. Started by a local merchants association, WVFD turned the event, better known today as the "Wesson Flea Market," into a major fundraiser held annually on the third Saturday in October. The volunteer fire fighters generate some $5000 each year on sales of the 10-foot-by-10-foot display areas at $45 each to purchase equipment for the fire department, Carraway says. Vendors and exhibitors can still reserve display areas.They must furnish their own tables, chairs, and other display equipment and may sell from tents, booths or their cars and trucks. Set-up for the Flea Market is after 5 p.m. on Friday, October 15, and before 8 a.m. on Saturday. Get information at 601-265-1694 or wessonfd@gmail.com.

I started an ambulance company in Oxford Mississippi about five years ago to help fill a need in the community. At CareMed, we love taking care of people and helping them get the medical care they need, but the availability of emergency ambulance response is in a crisis. Just imagine you or your family needing an ambulance and calling 911 and there is not one available to send. The pandemic has caused major challenges to an already fragile emergency health care system. Most likely, you’ve heard about issues facing nurses, doctors, hospitals, police, firefighters, and of course patients, but have you heard much about the challenges with ambulances? We are the front-line responders. Many times, our ambulances in Mississippi wait for hours in a hospital parking lot or emergency department hallway before the paramedics can take their patient inside the already full hospital. In the meantime, EMTs keep the patient in stable condition until the hospital can admit them. All this time, they are not available to respond to 911 emergencies. Unfortunately, this is all too common. There’s a domino effect at work here. Hospitals are crowded and short-staffed, so it can take hours to admit patients arriving by ambulance. This creates a backlog of ambulances stuck in hospital parking lots or hallways, waiting and waiting and unable to respond to new emergencies back in the community. This is especially a problem in rural areas where 911 callers are at greater risk of having to wait for an ambulance when precious minutes can be the difference between life and death. To make matters worse, ambulance providers are facing historically high shortages of trained personnel – just like hospitals, doctors’ offices and nurses. Too few people have entered our field in recent years, so while EMTs and paramedics were already in short supply prior to the pandemic, now this fragile system is struggling to keep up with the needs and demands of the public. Just like the public depends on police and firefighters in their time of need, our communities cannot make it without paramedics and EMTs. They are the forgotten first responders – highly trained medical professionals who operate what amounts to an extraordinarily expensive Intensive Care Unit on wheels. And they are on call 24-7. Compounding all of this, medical costs are skyrocketing since the pandemic, and ambulance providers are often reimbursed for significantly less than their actual costs. These reimbursement rates are set by insurance providers and the government for Medicare and Medicaid, which both contribute to the vast majority of 911 calls. Reimbursements are not keeping up with the costs, which is putting ambulance companies like ours at risk, just like rural hospitals. Unlike most health care providers, ambulance operators serve everyone – whether or not they have insurance. Every day, we pick up patients who are unable to pay. Additionally, we do not get paid by the insurance company until the patient is delivered. And we get paid nothing extra for sitting in a hospital parking lot for hours on end, waiting to deliver their patient. Nor do we get paid a dime if we respond to a 911 call, administer care and then the patient decides not to go to the hospital – a frequent occurrence during this pandemic when patients are afraid to go to hospitals packed with Covid patients. This is a medical emergency that affects citizens across the state. Rural Mississippians who may not have a hospital in their town are particularly at risk. The ambulance industry is filled with trained people who love to serve the public, but just like other segments of the healthcare industry, we are struggling to keep up with the demands amplified by COVID-19. We are pleased the nurse shortage is a major concern and topic of many news outlets, advocacy groups and elected officials. We applaud Mississippi hospitals for creatively meeting the overwhelming medical needs demanded of them. It’s inspiring, but let’s not forget the medical professionals who get the patients to the hospital in the first place. The Mississippi ambulance industry is facing a critical crisis just like the rest of healthcare providers. And there is one more difference. The federal government has sent necessary funds to the other parts of the healthcare industry to help keep the system operating in these difficult times, but ambulance providers have not received similar direct federal support. We appreciate Mississippi lawmakers and the state’s political leadership who directed a share of the first round of Covid 19 relief dollars to help cover a small portion of our early soaring costs. As we go forward, we ask everyone to continue to remember the challenges facing your community-based front-line Covid first-responders – the ambulance providers. We are doing everything we can to meet every 911 call, but we are sounding the alarm that we need help. We are hopeful our state and federal officials will respond accordingly. David Grayson is the founder and chief executive officer of CareMed EMS in Oxford, MS.

Kilolo Kijakazi, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, today introduced a new look and feel to the Social Security Statement, available online through the my Social Security portal at www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount and by mail. The Statement is one of the most effective tools people can use to learn about their earnings and future Social Security benefits. This fresh look will allow millions of people to see their earnings information and estimates of future benefits quickly and securely. “One of my top priorities is to provide information to people in clear and plain terms about Social Security’s programs and services,” said Acting Commissioner Kijakazi. “The streamlined Social Security Statement contains clear messaging and makes it easier to find information at a glance, helping to simplify our complex programs for the public.” The agency conducted extensive research, review, and testing to make the updated Statement easy to understand. The new Statement is shorter, uses visuals and plain language, and includes fact sheets tailored to a person’s age and earnings history. It also includes important information people have come to expect from the Statement, such as how much a worker and family members could expect to receive in Social Security benefits and a personalized earnings history, in a clear, concise manner. Examples of the new Statement and fact sheets are available at www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount/statement.html. More than 61 million people have already created my Social Security accounts. U.S. citizens age 18 or older can easily view their redesigned Social Security Statement online by creating a my Social Security account. People age 60 or older who do not receive benefits and do not have a my Social Security account will receive their Statement by mail three months before their birthday. Workers should check their Statement at least once a year for accuracy. People can check information and conduct most Social Security business through their personal my Social Security account. If they already receive Social Security benefits, they can start or change direct deposit online, request a replacement SSA-1099, and if they need proof of their benefits, they can print or download a current Benefit Verification Letter from their account. In addition to obtaining their personalized Social Security Statement, people not yet receiving benefits can use their account to request a replacement Social Security card online if they meet certain requirements. The portal also includes a retirement calculator and links to information about other online services, such as applications for retirement, disability, and Medicare benefits. Many Social Security services are also conveniently available by dialing toll-free, 1-800-772-1213. People who are deaf or hard of hearing may call Social Security’s TTY number, 1-800-325-0778.

Lately, there has been a renewed interest in our area's art history. Markers, recognizing our blues and country artists. Writers and actors are now dotting the state, speaking to their accomplishments. With that in mind, from time to time, I am going to write about these trailblazers, starting this month Wesson's Houston Stackhouse. Honestly, I had never heard of Stackhouse until his Blues Trail Marker was erected at the Old Wesson School Community Center. Some research was required, but I just skimmed the surface. For this article, I went down several rabbit holes to get everything I needed to know. Stackhouse was born Houston Goff in Wesson in 1910, but was reared by James Wade Stackhouse. As a teenager, his family moved to Crystal Springs, where he started listening to the music of local musician Tommy Johnson and other blues artists. His first instrument was the harmonica, but he soon moved to the guitar. By the 1930s , he had played all through the Mississippi delta with the likes of The Mississippi Sheiks, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Robert Johnson. But it wasn’t until 1946 that he got his first big break when he moved to Helena, Arkansas to be near Cary “Ditty” Mason, his cousin, known professionally as Robert Nighthawk. While Stackhouse was not the type guitarist who could front a band, he was well respected by other musicians. His fundamentals, by all accounts, were spot on, and he tutored Nighthawk and others, including Jimmy Rogers, on guitar. Stackhouse joined Nighthawk’s band and started playing gigs and appearing on Nighthawk's weekly radio show sponsored by Mothers Best Flour. A year later, he split from Nighthawk and formed his own band with other renowned Mississippi artists, including pianist Pinetop Perkins from Belzoni, and started his own radio show sponsored by King Biscuit. During the 1940s, the blues was of great interest in Europe (in fact, it still is today). Most “big named” artists toured Europe to great success, more so than at home, but Stackhouse preferred to stay in Helena and play small clubs in Memphis and the delta area. In 1970, Stackhouse moved to Memphis and joined The King Biscuits Boys, which included Sonny Boy Williams. He also toured with the Memphis Blues Caravan and made his only trip to Europe, where he performed at the Vienna Blues Festival. All through this period he made records with Perkins, Williams and others as their side man, but he made a few of his own records in 1972 that have since been included in many compilations. You can find them at Fat Possum Records in Oxford. In the summer of 1967, blues archivist George Mitchell moved from the University of Minnesota to the Mississippi delta to record blues musicians, and was able to record Stackhouse, Nighthawk and Williams as the Blues Rhythm Boys. He also recorded Fred McDowell and then unknowns R.L. Burnside and Otha Turner. Mitchell turned the recordings, photos and interviews into a thesis and eventually a book. The recordings became historic and are still studied today. After returning from Vienna, Stackhouse basically retired, playing only selected shows, including the first two Greenville (MS) Blues Festivals. He moved from Memphis to Crystal Springs briefly and eventually back Helena, where he died in 1980. While he may may never have achieved the same fame and recognition as others of his era, his story remains in the recordings he made both as a sideman and principal artist and the many blues guitarist he influenced. That’s it for this month. I’ve thrown a number of names at you in this column. If you are interested, look them up. You may find a rabbit hole of your own. Support the arts, my friend. EDITOR'S NOTE: Shaw Furlow is a local composer, musician and arts promoter. He produces an internet-based video show -- From the Shadyside -- that spotlights area musical talent and is a consultant to school bands in the region.

With October and Halloween, the holiday season has dawned. If you don't believe it, the Wesson Chamber of Commerce has parked a 1957 Chevy pickup truck on the southeast corner lot at Highway 51 and Spring to remind folk that, indeed, the holiday season is here and to spark the spirit that makes this time of year special. Lights and decorations on the truck will change over the next three months to reflect the autumn and Halloween season this month, fall and the Thanksgiving season in November and winter and the Christmas season in December. Chamber officials say it's all about "Cruisin' Through the Holidays," and is urging townspeople and Wesson visitors to buy a special t-shirt to declare that's what they're doing, capture themselves and their families pictorially posed by the truck and to begin cruisin' to the events that are happening this month during Halloween season. You can start cruisin' to: Fear -- the Wesson haunted house that is a magnet for those who enjoy scary experiences throughout the state. The haunted house occupies the former Sunflower grocery store on Highway 5 and has been especially renovated for the new Halloween season, with ghosts, vampires, zombies, wicked witches and monsters who lurk in new settings among some 25 rooms in the old building. For $10, you can enter and roam through Fear on Fridays and Saturdays throughout October and on Friday, Saturday and Sunday Halloween weekend. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Wesson Chamber of Commerce started Fear, but Wanda Westbrook, who purchased the Sunflower building, has made it an ongoing part of the community, with friends, in honor of her late husband, whose seasonal pastime was helping to transform the old Sunflower building into a venue that has been a source of enjoyment of her children and many others -- both kids and adults. Wesson Flea Market on October 16, where a wide array of arts and crafts, fleas and food will be available. The Chamber of Commerce will also be selling its "Cruisin' Through the Holidays" t-shirts for $20 each and Wesson Lions Club will have the world's best sweet potatoes on sale, among arts and crafts and fleas vendors. A handmade turkey call will be raffled off (see stories elsewhere in this issue). Co-Lin Homecoming Week October 25-29, with events geared not only to the college's alumni, but to the wider Wesson community as well. A community movie night on Monday, October 25, kicks off events, which will also include a 5K glow run, brunch for retirees and golf tournament through Friday. The homecoming football matchup with Co-Lin and Jones is Thursday, October 28 at 6:30 p.m. (see stories elsewhere in this issue). Trick-or-treating venues. Halloween officially begins in Wesson on Friday morning, October 29, when children from Precious Moments day care center, the Wesson Baptist Church pre-school program, and the kindergarten at WAC will go to local merchants and businesses for candy and special treats in the annual Trick or Treat Downtown. Door-to-door trick-or-treating begins late Saturday afternoon (October 30) and will go into the evening hours. Wesson police expect the usual calm night of street trick-or-treating, but will have officers on patrol in cars and on foot. There are no rigid rules for the evening, but police urge people to use common sense, and they affirm that vandalism will not be tolerated. Children should be supervised by their parents, with everyone traffic-conscious, walking on sidewalks or beside roadways. Trick-or-treaters should go only to homes with porch lights on and respect residents of neighborhoods who do not want to participate in the door-to-door Halloween tradition. The Old School Community Center, which has haunted house stories associated with it, and Wesson Cemetery will be off limits. Older youth and adults should be aware of where they are wearing masks and not alarm owners, clerks, and patrons at local businesses. Due to COVID-19 safety issues, Wesson Attendance Center will not have its Fall Festival and the Town of Wesson will not host a community Halloween party in the municipal park.