Brock Campbell is new Wesson Court Prosecutor. Mayor Alton Shaw presented Campbell's resume to the town's Board of Aldermen, who approved the hiring of the new Court Prosecutor at $500 per month at their July meeting. At the meeting, Aldermen also re-appointed. Mayor Pro Tempore Billy Ellison City Clerk/Court Clerk Angela Hester Public Works Director Brad Turner Police Chief Chad O’Quinn, who resigned at the August meeting and was replaced by Michael Stogner (see story elsewhere in this issue) Municipal Judge and City Attorney Jeff Varas In other actions in July in August, the Aldermen agreed to: Send Wesson Police Officer Brandon Williams to attend a criminal investigation class from July to October; Send Municipal Clerk Angela Hester to the September 22-24 Mississippi Court Clerks Association Conference at Philadelphia, Mississippi, for a comprehensive review of new state laws related to the service of Clerks; Raise the pay of newly trained police officers from $11 per hour to $13 per hour and to increase pay to part-time Officer Arnett to $12 per hour from $11 per hour; Install a stop sign on Church Street coming out of the municipal park to improve safety; Study private alternatives pickup of garbage and limbs currently done by Waste Management under contract with Copiah County; Forward the 2021-22 Town budget without a millage hike and tax increase to the September meeting for final review and approval.

The Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum will host American scientist and activist Temple Grandin as she speaks to the public as part of the 6th annual Mississippi Science Fest (MSF) on Friday, September 17, beginning at 11:00 a.m. The Mississippi Science Fest is the LeFleur Museum District’s signature event, and will take place Thursday, September 16, through Saturday, September 18. This annual festival celebrates careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields and demonstrates the wide variety of STEM concepts and industries available in Mississippi to children of all ages. Visit www.mssciencefest.org online to learn more about the 2021 MSF, purchase tickets and view the full schedule. This year’s event will include a special oration by Dr. Temple Grandin on her experience with science, agriculture, and autism awareness. Grandin will speak at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum’s Sparkman Auditorium at 11:00 a.m. Grandin will also be available for a book signing from 1:00 until 2:00 p.m. In addition, the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum will provide guests with interactive activities and demonstrations. These include blacksmithing and train exhibitions, robotics presentations and more throughout the three-day event. The Children’s Barnyard and Small Town, Mississippi, will also be open to the public. Lunch will be available for purchase on Friday and Saturday inside the General Store. The Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum, located at 1150 Lakeland Drive in Jackson, is open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For more information, call 601-432-4500 or 1-800-844-8687, visit www.msagmuseum.org or visit the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum’s page on Facebook. The LeFleur Museum District will be holding a press conference at 10:15 a.m. prior to Dr. Temple Grandin’s presentation. Dr. Grandin and LeFleur Museum District representatives will be available 15 minutes before and after the press conference for interviews. Media contact: Angela Mitchell, Director of External Affairs for the Mississippi Children’s Museum; angela@mcm.ms; 601-709-8354.

Britney Berch of Wesson (39191) has been named to Southern New Hampshire University's summer 2021 President's List. Eligibility for the President's List requires that a student accumulate an academic grade point average (GPA) of 3.7-4.0 and earn 12 credits for the term. Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) is a private, nonprofit institution with an 89-year history of educating traditional-aged students and working adults. Now serving more than 150,000 learners worldwide, SNHU offers approximately 200 accredited undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs, available online and on its 300-acre campus in Manchester, NH. Recognized as the "Most Innovative" regional university by U.S. News & World Report and one of the fastest-growing universities in the country, SNHU is committed to expanding access to high quality, affordable pathways that meet the needs of each learner. Learn more at www.snhu.edu.

Michael Stogner, a Wesson police officer since December 2007, has become the town's Police Chief following the resignation of Chad O'Quinn. O'Quinn, Wesson Police Chief since 2008, is moving to the private sector to work for O'Quinn Trucking, a local long-haul cross-country transport company with refrigeration vehicles operated by his mother and father, Daniel and Shirley O'Quinn. Stogner, a Natchez native, has worked in law enforcement since 2001, starting his career with the Hazlehurst Police Department. A graduate of Wilkinson County Christian Academy, Woodville, Mississippi, he worked in a variety of private sector positions before joining the staff at the Copiah County jail. He became a Wesson police officer in December 2007 and also served the Copiah County Sheriff's Office and Co-Lin police force. He and his wife Misty have two children -- Laila and Zachery. The former Police Chief started his law enforcement career in 1999 when he was 23 years old as a shift sergeant and deputy at the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office after previously working briefly for his family's trucking company. O'Quinn came to Wesson by way of Brookhaven in 1990, started going to Wesson Attendance Center in the ninth grade, and graduated from Wesson High School in 1993 before serving in the U.S. Army from 1994-1998 as a supply specialist. In his initial Army stint, O'Quinn served one year at Camp Casey in South Korea and two years at Fort Polk, Louisiana. He went back into active service in the military in 2009-2010 as a supply specialist for the Clinton, Mississippi, based National Guard 114th Military Police Company at FOB Marez, Mosul Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom), during Iraqi Enduring Freedom. Until his honorable discharge from the National Guard in 2012, O'Quinn's law enforcement career evolved simultaneously. He joined the Wesson Police Department in 2002, while continuing to work at the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office until 2004 and then moving to the Copiah County Sheriff's Office, where he was the canine interdiction officers as a patrol captain enforcing drug laws along Interstate 55. During his Iraqi service, he was on staff at the Copiah County Sheriff's Office, reporting to Sheriff Harold Jones, while reporting to First Sergeant John Goza of Wesson, who had been a Jones opponent in local elections for sheriff. Just before his deployment to Iraq with the National Guard, O'Quinn's biological father, with whom he was developing a relationship, was murdered while working in the Wesson pawn shop he owned and operated. O'Quinn married his wife Michelle in 1998, and they have two grown children -- Deanna and Brandon, both Wesson High School graduates. O'Quinn has Associate's Art Degree in criminal justice from Co-Lin.

Now more than ever, it is important that Mississippians be there for one another. Having thoughts of suicide is a secret no one should keep, but you can’t always tell what someone is thinking just by looking at them. That’s why it is vital to break down barriers and have open, honest and serious conversations about suicide. This month, Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, provides us the perfect opportunity to do just that. Today, we are seeing more Mississippians calling to simply talk to someone or seek help and resources: the Mississippi Call Center for National Suicide Prevention Lifeline experienced a 33 percent increase in calls from last year, and the Department of Mental Health Helpline experienced a 30 percent increase in calls. In Mississippi, the latest figures from the Mississippi State Department of Health show an increase in the number of deaths by suicide from 422 in 2018 to 436 to 2019. Each death by suicide is one too many. These numbers send a very strong message, and one we cannot afford to ignore: people want and need to talk to someone who can offer them hope and help. Hope is a powerful thing. It is a strength and a protective factor we all need. As a famous philosopher once said, “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness.” What if someone close to you is thinking about suicide? Something as simple as a conversation to encourage them to get help could be the very reason they chose to live. I encourage all Mississippians to check in on your loved ones and have that conversation. You just may save a life. When speaking with someone who is having thoughts of suicide, it is easy to jump to immediately wanting to protect the person, but by failing to understand the why, we have only temporarily prevented a suicide attempt. If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, don’t take it lightly or dismiss it. Thinking it will go away, keeping it a secret, thinking nothing can be done, or thinking you can fix it all by yourself – these are the things that should be avoided at all costs. Instead, be honest and express your concern, listen and offer support, take your loved one seriously, or offer to accompany them to seek help. By being a friend who is understanding, accepting and compassionate, you can make a difference. We can only effectively intervene when we truly understand a person’s reasons for wanting to end their life. That is how we can get them the necessary help, and to prevent death by suicide in the long term. We must not only hear someone’s story, but deeply understand what they are trying to say. Asking someone if they need help, and truly listening to them and their story can provide hope. It can move them from focusing on the past to engaging in the present moment. Some warning signs to look for include: talking about feeling worthless or hopeless, losing interest in activities, using or increasing use of drugs or alcohol, changes in eating and sleeping habits, and changes from typical behavior. Everyone can play a role in suicide prevention, not just mental health professionals or organizations. The Mississippi Department of Mental Health raises awareness of suicide prevention through our Shatter the Silence campaign to remember those affected by suicide, educate about warning signs and symptoms, and focus on efforts that direct treatment to those who need it most. Contact us today for more information and remember we should talk about this topic throughout the year, not just Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, there is help available 24 hours, seven days a week. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK), text “HOME” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741, or download the Shatter the Silence app on Google Play or Apple iTunes store. As always, you can also visit www.mentalhealthms.com to find resources close to you.

“Everything in this newspaper is important to someone.” It’s become something of a mantra for me, in recent years. Weekly community newspapers are eclectic, to say the least. We publish photos of ribbons being cut at bakeries, and donations being dropped off at local food pantries. We print the school honor roll, the court report, and in-depth stories on decisions made by planning commissions and town boards. Sometimes we cover murders, abuse, and horrific car crashes, and when we do our community journalists often experience these tragedies as both reporters and neighbors — as both professionals and human beings. We cover the referendum that will determine whether a new school is built and our readers’ taxes will rise. We publish birth announcements, obituaries, and the various things that, when wedged between those two bookends, make up the lives that make up our communities. I’ve learned more than I ever wanted to know about sewage, in order to cover the approval and construction of a new treatment plant. I interviewed a survivor of the Iran hostage crisis about what it’s like to be held prisoner in a foreign land while the world looks on. I’ve interviewed grandmothers about their favorite holiday recipes. Perhaps most importantly, I’ve interviewed little kids about what they want to be when they grow up, and what type of world they hope to inhabit. I’ve even eaten lutefisk — a type of gelatinous Scandinavian fish that is usually only consumed as part of a dare — in the warm hum of a local church’s kitchen. (I even liked it, which I think qualifies as a kind of small-town gonzo journalism.) People sometimes ask me why community newspapers are important. My reply is always the same. It’s because everything in those pages is important to someone. Maybe the ribbon cutting isn’t flashy enough to go viral, and the Thanksgiving turkey recipe is not going to change culinary trends across the nation. But these things, these small things in communities across the county and across the world, are what give meaning and purpose to all of our lives. The ribbon cutting is the culmination of a childhood dream. The donations at the food pantry will allow a family to gather around their table without worrying if there is enough to fill each plate. The honor roll goes on the fridge, of course, because it’s a reminder to a young student that she can flourish when she applies herself. The birth announcement marks the proudest, greatest moment of a mother and father’s life together. The face looking out from the obituary is one that a wife, and children, and grandchildren, will never kiss again. The new school being paid for with the referendum is where a young student might develop an interest in science, growing up and developing a treatment for cancer or Alzheimer’s, allowing millions of people to live a little longer, and have their faces kissed by those who love them a few more times. Journalism matters, now more than ever, because people matter. Community journalism matters, now more than ever, because roughly half the world’s population lives in small communities, and in the pages of their newspapers, they see themselves and the ones they love. EDITOR’S NOTE: Matt Geiger is the executive editor of News Publishing Co. in Black Earth, Wisconsin. His editorial is published in recognition of National Newspaper Week, October 7-13, 2018.

Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann’s efforts to increase access to voting for overseas servicemembers have earned national recognition by the National Guard Association of the United States. Hosemann recently received the Major General Charles Dick Medal of Merit in Las Vegas, Nevada, amid 4,000 active and retired soldiers from across the country. The prestigious award recognizes state and national elected officials who have demonstrated significant support which has a “lasting effect” on the National Guard. “In recent days, we have again been reminded of the significant sacrifices our soldiers make every day for our freedoms,” Hosemann said. “The Mississippi National Guard are our American heroes.” “Lt. Governor Hosemann has been a champion for the National Guard at home and abroad throughout his entire time in office,” Major General Janson “Durr” Boyles said. “We are thankful for his efforts to our brave men and women serving in the Mississippi National Guard.” During his terms as Mississippi Secretary of State from 2012 to 2020, Hosemann advocated for legislation to streamline absentee voting for deployed servicemembers and created an online clearinghouse of Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) information. He also traveled to numerous armories, hospitals, and bases—including active combat zones in Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan—to provide information to and receive feedback from soldiers about UOCAVA voting. Since he became Lieutenant Governor in 2020, Hosemann has been on the ground after tornadoes and flooding disasters, and at bases and vaccination sites, to visit with soldiers, understand their missions, and determine whether the Legislature can further assist in operations. For more information about Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann, visit www.ltgovhosemann.ms.gov. For more information about the Charles Dick Medal of Merit, visit www.ngaus.org/about-ngaus/awards/charles-dick-medal-merit.

The number of daily appointments available at the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s monoclonal antibodies clinic has been increased from 60 to 80. The clinic is set up on the lower level of Garage B, across from the Adult Emergency Department, and is open seven days a week, starting at 7 a.m. and ending with the last appointments starting at 6 p.m. The antibodies are given in shots or IVs, and the treatment process takes roughly two hours. Visit covidmabtreatment.umc.edu to see if you qualify and to make an appointment at the clinic. Appointments are required. Learn more about monoclonal antibodies and how they work by clicking here. As a reminder, the clinic is open through the long holiday weekend, including on Monday, Labor Day. UMMC providers recommend the treatment for those with mild to moderate COVID-19. When started early in the virus, treatment with monoclonal antibodies may help keep people from getting worse. It’s not approved for those who have advanced past the mild to moderate stage, so it’s important to begin treatment as soon as possible.

Mississippians claimed more than $3.6 million in 2020 using the Life Insurance Policy Locator. This free tool, maintained by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), has helped about 1,600 Mississippi consumers claim more than $34.8 million in benefits since its inception in November 2016. Each year, millions of dollars in life insurance benefits go unclaimed by beneficiaries who can’t find their loved ones’ policies or in some cases may not even know the policies exist. That’s where the Life Insurance Policy Locator comes in. “Anyone can use this service for free,” said Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney. “The tool helps us meet our goal of protecting consumers and connecting them with lost policies and money that they’re owed.” If you need help locating a lost policy, call the Mississippi Insurance Department at 601-359-2453 or email consumer@mid.ms.gov

Secretary of State Michael Watson joins fellow members of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) in observing September as National Voter Registration Month. During the month of September, our office, along with government agencies and organizations across the country, will promote the importance of voting and the significance of keeping your voter registration information up-to-date. “The right to vote is one of the greatest liberties in our country,” said Secretary Michael Watson. “In 2020 alone, more than 113,000 Mississippians registered to vote. As of today, the Statewide Election Management System (SEMS) reported roughly 31,000 newly registered voters since January 1, 2021. As the state's Chief Elections Officer, it's my responsibility to ensure ALL eligible Mississippians exercise their right to vote. That’s why we are more than excited to participate in this national initiative to promote educational resources and build an informed voting population.” NASS members established September as National Voter Registration Month in 2002 as a non-partisan means of encouraging voter participation and increasing awareness about state requirements and deadlines for voting. This year, September 28, 2021, will be highlighted by NASS and other voter outreach groups as National Voter Registration Day. In 2020, over 1.5 million people used National Voter Registration Day to register or update their registration, making it the largest NVRD in history! U.S. Census data shows that 66.8% of eligible citizens over 18 voted in the 2020 presidential election, making last year’s turnout the highest of the 21st century. For the 2018 midterm elections, 53.4% of eligible citizens over 18 voted—a historic high for a midterm year. As a reminder, to register to vote in Mississippi, you must be: A resident of Mississippi and the county, city, or town for 30 days prior to the election; At least 18 years old (or will be 18 by the date of the next General Election); Not declared mentally incompetent by a court; and Not convicted of a disenfranchising crime as defined by Section 241 of the Mississippi Constitution or by Attorney General Opinion, unless pardoned, rights of citizenship restored by the Governor or suffrage rights restored by the Legislature. The Secretary of State's Office serves as the primary, trusted source for election information. Visit our Y'all Vote website (yallvote.ms) to download a voter registration application and learn more about the overall voting process. The website features a variety of helpful resources, such as a step-by-step guide to absentee voting and contact information for county election officials. For questions regarding voter registration or elections, please contact our Elections Division at ElectionsAnswers@sos.ms.gov or call our Elections Hotline at 1-800-829-6786.

The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) invites nominations and applications for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). The award is the highest honor the United States gives to teachers of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and computer science. Two Mississippi kindergarten through grade 6 teachers will be selected for the 2021-22 PAEMST award cycle. National honorees receive a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation, recognition at a White House ceremony, and the opportunity provide input on policies to improve science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and computer science education. Parents, students, fellow educators, or members of the public can nominate a K-6 teacher who teaches science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or computer science as part of their teaching responsibilities. Teachers may also nominate themselves. Nominations will be accepted until January 7, 2022. Teachers must complete the application process by February 6, 2022. “There are countless Mississippi teachers who are worthy of this national recognition,” said Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education. “I encourage families and colleagues to nominate any teacher with a passion for teaching and learning. Teachers who have made a positive impact on student achievement and the professional learning environment in their schools can also nominate themselves.” Congress established the PAEMST Awards in 1983. The award recognizes teachers with deep content knowledge of the subjects they teach and the ability to motivate and enable students to be successful in those areas. Awardees reflect the expertise and dedication of the nation’s teaching corps, and they demonstrate the positive impact of excellent teachers on student achievement. The National Science Foundation administers PAEMST on behalf of The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Each year PAEMST alternates between recognizing K-6 and 7-12 grade teachers. The 2022-23 PAEMST cycle will award the nation’s top teachers who teach science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and computer science in grades 7-12. To nominate a teacher or apply, visit: paemst.org. Resources: PAEMST webinars to support applicants throughout the application process Video from previous awardees MDE PAEMST State Coordinators: Science, Dr. Kevin Gaylor, kgaylor@mdek12.org Mathematics, Tommisha Johnson, tjohnson@mdek12.org Tammy Crosetti, tcrosetti@mdek12.org

In anticipation of Hurricane Ida, all COVID-19 vaccinations and testing in Central and South Mississippi at Mississippi State Department of Health county health departments will be cancelled for at least Monday, August 30th and Tuesday, August 31st. Further cancellations are possible. Appointments for testing and vaccinations through covidvcaccine.umc.edu will be available beginning Thursday – weather permitting.