The Mississippi Department of Education urges all education stakeholders to recognize Attendance Awareness Month in September. Schools, districts and local organizations are encouraged to promote the benefits of students maintaining regular attendance at school and reducing chronic absenteeism. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% (18 days) of the school year for any reason, including excused and unexcused absences and suspensions. Students who miss two days of school each month of a school year are considered chronically absent. Research shows that students who are absent 2-4 days in September go on to miss nearly a month of school. Anyone interested in raising awareness about the importance of regular school attendance may utilize MDE's online Attendance Awareness Toolkit, which includes resources from the agency's Every School Day Counts – Attend to Achieve campaign. "We all have a role in combatting chronic absenteeism in schools and preventing students from dropping out," said Dr. Lance Evans, state superintendent of education. "MDE offers professional training and resources to districts, but we ask that local communities and service organizations join in as well. Regular attendance is essential for a student's success in school." Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann is supporting MDE's attendance awareness efforts. His office has created resource materials available to the public that have been added to MDE's Attendance Awareness Toolkit. "Students' attendance is a key indicator for success not only in the classroom but in life," Hosemann said. "It is imperative for the long-term success of our children and our state that our communities focus on keeping our students in the classroom." MDE began reporting chronic absence data in 2016. The lowest rate of 13% was in 2018-19. The COVID-19 pandemic is believed to be the major factor that led to higher state and national rates in 2021-22 when Mississippi's was 28%. The state's 2023-24 rate was 24.4%. MDE will soon release the 2024-25 Chronic Absenteeism Report. MDE's Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement and Dropout Prevention is tasked with ensuring all Mississippi public school students attend school. School attendance officers work out of this office to connect with families and help them eliminate barriers to school attendance. The office collaborated with the North Mississippi Education Consortium earlier this year to offer Attendance Improvement Institutes for school districts from Feb. 24 – May 16 across the state. The professional development event helped school teams create research-based and effective attendance improvement strategies to increase attendance rates. MDE will host the Statewide Chronic Absenteeism and Dropout Prevention Conference Sept. 8–9, at the Hilton Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi. The conference will offer expert-led presentations and breakout sessions focused on innovative strategies to boost student engagement and reduce dropout rates. Additionally, it will provide a platform for sharing best practices and deepening understanding of how to effectively address chronic absenteeism. Find all MDE news releases at mdek12.org/news .

L to R: Pictured (L) Socks for Heroes President Cathy Stroud also serves as legion auxiliary sergeant of arms, district 7 vice president, and Collins VA rep, Sharon Langley (R), unit chaplain Members of the Wesson American Legion Auxiliary Unit #79 and Socks for Heroes recently hosted a booth at the annual Brookhaven Exchange Club Fair to educate the community. Ladies manned the speedball booth at the annual fair on July 31. The organization felt this was an excellent storytelling, community-service opportunity to make more people aware of the work done and the work needed. The auxiliary passed out poppies that this was an excellent storytelling and community-service opportunity to raise awareness about the work done and the work still to explain its mission of supporting veterans, active-duty military personnel and their families with medical and financial needs. The red poppy is a nationally recognized symbol of sacrifice worn by Americans since World War I to honor those who served and died for our country in all wars. It reminds Americans of the sacrifices made by our veterans while protecting our freedoms.  Poppy Day is celebrated in countries around the world. The American Legion Family brought National Poppy Day® to the United States by asking Congress to designate the Friday before Memorial Day, as National Poppy Day. The community is encouraged to wear a red poppy to honor the fallen and support the living who have worn our nation's uniform. “I want to thank our two unit members, Cathy and Sharon, for participating in this event. It’s near and dear to my heart. My husband was retired from the Air Force. The work these two do daily astounds me. People like these two are what makes our auxiliary and our unit great. It’s what makes communities that much better,” said Kim Whittington, unit president.

Special to Wesson News Top: Dr. Jonathan Bines, Nancy Fisher, Nick Herring Bottom: Burrell Kyzar, Col. Forrest C. Wentworth, Rebecca Thames Wilson The Co-Lin Foundation has elected six new members to its board of directors: Dr. Jonathan Bines  of New Hebron, received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1998, a Master of Arts in Education from William Carey University in 2001, certification as an Education Specialist in 2008, and a PhD in 2013, both from Jackson State University. He currently works as the executive director of the Five County Child Development Program, Inc.  Bines has received several Administrator of the Year awards and is a past president for both the Region IV and the Mississippi Head Start Association boards. He is a member of Oak Ridge Lodge No. 426/33rd Degree and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. He has two children: Jarane and Jonathan.    Nancy Fisher  of Brookhaven is a 1980 Co-Lin graduate and a 1982 graduate of Mississippi College, where she received a bachelor’s degree. She also received a master’s degree from Arkansas State University. She enjoyed a long career as an administrator in the Brookhaven School District before her recent retirement.  She and her husband, Rob, have two children: Kayla Fisher and Abby Fisher Downing; and one grandchild.    Nick Herring  of Vidalia received an associate’s degree from Co-Lin at Natchez, where he studied Automation and Control Technology. He works as a design supervisor for Entergy in Natchez. Herring is president of Concordia Diamond Youth Baseball. He and his wife, Joan, have two children: Lyle and Grant.    Burrell Kyzar  of Sumrall is a 1964 graduate of Co-Lin and a 1967 graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, where he received a bachelor’s degree in marketing. He retired from Kyzar and Company, P.A.  Kyzar is a member of the Foundation Hall of Fame and is a previous member of the University of Southern Mississippi Foundation Board. He has one son, Frank.   Col. Forrest C. Wentworth  of Meadville is a 1979 graduate of Co-Lin and a 1981 graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, where he received a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice. He received a Master of Science in human resources management from Troy University in 1999.   Before retirement, Wentworth had 30-year career in the U.S. Army, where he served as a logistician for 25 years. He commanded for eight years at company, battalion, and brigade levels. He served overseas in Germany, Southwest Asia and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He served as the Chief of Support with the Multinational Force and Observers in Sinai, Egypt.  He and his wife, Denise, have two children, Cliff and Brandon, and five grandchildren.  Rebecca Thames Wilson  of Wesson is a 1987 graduate of Co-Lin, a 1989 graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, and a 1992 graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law. She currently serves as the legal counsel to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce following 26 years with the Mississippi Attorney General’s office.   Wilson is a member of Madison Methodist Church, where she teaches Sunday school. She is admitted to practice in all Mississippi state and federal courts. She is a member of the Mississippi Bar, the Mississippi Prosecutors Association, and the American Agricultural Law Association. She is an alumna of the National District Attorney’s Career Prosecutor Course, a sustainer in the Junior League of Jackson, a member of the Kappa Delta Sorority Alumnae Association, and a volunteer for several ministries including Connections and Soul City Church.  She and her husband, Brent, have two children, Emma and Mary Thames.  “I am excited to add these new members to our board,” Angela Furr, executive director of the Co-Lin Foundation, said. “Each one brings a unique skill set and network to the table that I look forward to utilizing in our efforts to support the college.”  The Co-Lin Foundation is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization which serves as the fundraising arm of the college. The Foundation is governed by a 26-member board of directors whose goal is to raise private monies to support the mission of the college.

The Mississippi Secretary of State's Office has been alerted the Voter Participation Center, a private organization, plans to send voter registration mailers to Mississippi residents. The Mississippi Secretary of State's Office and county Circuit Clerks have received numerous calls about mailers from the Voter Participation Center in past years. The forthcoming mailers will provide that, according to review, someone at the address may not be registered to vote and encourages completion and submission of a voter registration form. This is not official correspondence from the Mississippi Secretary of State's Office or county Circuit Clerks and is not an indication of a change in anyone's voter registration status. Click here to view an image of The Voter Participation Center mailer It is critically important to remember you should get your election information from trusted sources, such as your local election officials and the Mississippi Secretary of State's Office. Further, entities like The Voter Participation Center may obtain physical mailing address information through Freedom of Information Act requests. If you have questions about your voter registration status, please visit  YallVote.ms  to verify, or contact your county Circuit Clerk. Mississippians can find the contact information for their county Circuit Clerk  here . For additional questions, please contact the Elections Hotline at 1-800-829-6786 or email  ElectionsAnswers@sos.ms.gov .

By Misty Strieff Prine “Pray hardest when it is hardest to pray.” – Just a true-life lesson. I’ve heard of this my whole life and to be honest, I STRUGGLE with this. I’m human and when life gets hard, the enemy does everything he can to distract you from what you KNOW you need to be doing. Each day, you and I as Christians fight a spiritual battle no matter where we are, we truly do. The enemy lies in wait and seeks to find ways to target an area of weakness in your life that will trigger you. You may or may not act on it, but it may catch you off guard one day and you be at your breaking point mentally and it be just too much that day…BUT that’s when something needs to click in. That fight or flight mode, emphasis being on the fight mode of PRAYER! Here it goes. The Holy Spirit begins to move in your life. In that volatile moment, the Lord will be with you and He will give you the strength, Godly strength that you know you didn’t have before. Out of nowhere, just you may find yourself praying. You may at first start crying out of anger, desperation and exhaustion. In that moment, like you’ve never done before, like you are on autopilot, you found yourself asking God to forgive you for being so angry. You start praying for the people that made you feel that way and for whatever they may be dealing with to make them feel that way. Believe it or not, that’s an extremely hard prayer to pray. You begin to thank God that you had the sense enough to think about all this in your thoughts and not act outwardly how you were truly feeling in the beginning (because you were afraid you were going to). That’s what the enemy wanted you to do and would have hurt your testimony. You see? That’s why we must pray when it’s HARDEST to pray. Until you truly experience this, it’s hard to even wrap your head around. The enemy can literally bring you SO close to ruining everything you stand for. Don’t give him the satisfaction. Give GOD the glory! **For daily devotionals, you can follow me on Facebook at The Upward Way or on Instagram at the_upward_way.

Special to Wesson News Co-Lin President Dewayne Middleton congratulates Scarlett Hart on completing Mississippi Community College Fellowship Program. Scarlett Hart, Director of Communications and Special Assistant to the President at Copiah-Lincoln Community College, has completed the prestigious Mississippi Community College Policy Fellowship Program --a year-long program focused on advocacy, legislation, leadership, and policy development in higher education. The program culminated with a trip to Washington, D.C., where fellows met with national leaders and Mississippi’s Congressional delegation to advocate for initiatives that strengthen the state’s community college system.  Sponsored by the Mississippi Community College Board in partnership with AdvocacyBuild, a Washington, D.C.-based organization, the program has produced more than 120 alumni since its founding in 2012. Hart has been employed at the college since 2016. In her current role, she oversees all areas of college communications including public relations, sports information, and marketing affairs for the college’s three campuses. Additionally, she works with the college president concerning legislative affairs and legislative priorities, special projects, and cultivating internal and external relationships to move the college’s initiatives forward. She earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from The University of Southern Mississippi and a master’s degree in community development from Delta State University. She is a graduate of the Mississippi Community College Leadership Academy and the Leadership Co-Lin program. She is a member of the College Public Relations Association of Mississippi (CPRAM) where her campaigns and photography have earned numerous awards including the Grand Award for Digital Media Campaigns. Hart was named Outstanding Staff Member of the Year in 2022. She and her husband Matthew have three daughters, Nora (7), and twins Mamie Frances and Myla Wren (4). They are members of First Baptist Church of Brookhaven.

By: Ben Milam, courtesy of SuperTalk Mississippi News Tommy Rice has been named the ISSA 2024 Songwriter of the Year. (Tommy Rice Music) A Mississippi musician who got an unorthodox start to a late career in the entertainment industry has experienced an even rarer rise to prominence. Tommy Rice lost his wife Deborah in 2020 to glioblastoma – a rare form of brain cancer. She would outlive the initial prognosis by nearly 2 and a half years, with much of the fight occurring at St. Dominic’s Hospital in Jackson. As Rice describes, her death spun him to a place he had never been. "She changed my whole life. Watching somebody you love so much, seeing her leaving. It was tough,” Rice said on Good Things with Rebecca Turner . “When she passed, it was devastating. I was grieving myself to death.” After losing his wife of 20 years, friends encouraged Rice to attend grief counseling. It was there that he was told to put his pain to paper – something he had never done. But when he read aloud the short story about Deborah’s battle and death to his group the next week, a new life in music was born. Rice was spurred to turn the writing into song by those who heard it. It became his first single – “Miss Her More Today Than Yesterday.” Four years and about 400 songs later, Rice is among the premiere songwriters in the world. He was recently named the 2024 International Singer-Songwriters Association Songwriter of the Year. Though the journey was unexpected and began with the visceral grief of losing a loved one, Rice says the music has helped him heal. In a way, it’s also kept Deborah alive. “Life was an adventure with her. Now I’ve got a new adventure, but she’s still alive to me,” Rice said. “I feel her presence all the time. It’s become a passion for me now.” The Magnolia State native had never so much as penned a poem before becoming a nearly overnight songwriting sensation. But he’s become a well-known force in Nashville and the global music industry for his heartfelt, soul-wrenching lyrics. “Debby would be happy with it. She loved music,” Rice said. “We just started doing it and one thing led to another. The music has been heard in 119 countries now. We had 10 million views last year. I’m so humbled by that.” Rice has hewn his own corner of the music universe and doesn’t plan to slow down any time soon. He’s also using the success to help those who have been through the same path he and Deborah walked down, donating the proceeds from his songs to help those with terminal illnesses and those fighting alongside them. For those who hear his songs, Rice wants them to come away with one clear message. “Take your life one day at a time,” Rice concluded. “Be thankful you have people to love. It’s not money, what your net worth is, how big a car you drive, how big your house is – that’s all temporary. But the love is forever. Love is the key to life.” Those interested in learning more about Rice’s music can c lick here .

By: Bob Garver   Poster credit IMDB            In a weekend that I could have sworn would be dominated by family-friendly franchise fare “Freakier Friday,” it was R-rated horror movie “Weapons” pulling off the upset. What happened here? I know stars Julia Garner and Josh Brolin have important roles in the MCU, but were they such draws without Garner in silver polymer or Brolin with an oversized chin? Did horror fans flock to the film because of writer/director Zach Cregger? His last film, 2022’s “Barbarian,” has already had its entire domestic box office run eclipsed by “Weapons” in its first weekend alone. An inundation of advertising? I knew the film was coming, but I’d had “Freakier Friday” shoved down my throat for months thanks to the Disney promotional machine.             I think it all just came down to early reviews and word-of-mouth. The film held a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score in the days leading up to its release, and late-stage advertisements wrang every last drop of ketchup out of that (it has since dropped to a still-very-impressive 95%). By the time it opened, the film had a reputation as a surefire future classic. So maybe it’s not a huge surprise that by the time I saw it, the bar might have been set a little too high for the movie to clear it by much.             The advertising didn’t give away much about the film, other than that it’s about missing children. One night, 17 elementary-aged students from a single class of 18 all run away from home, their arms outstretched in the “airplane” pose (which the movie makes very creepy, so get ready for months of references and imitations). The next day, teacher Justine Gandy (Garner) comes to class to find only Alex (Cary Christopher) at his desk and everyone else missing. What happened to the other kids?             The community wants answers, and as days turn into weeks, uncertainty turns into anger, especially among the parents. The police have a battery of questions for both Justine and Alex, but neither know anything. The town doesn’t want to go too hard on little Alex, but they’re not letting Justine off the hook. She becomes a local pariah, even though everyone knows from camera footage that the kids ran away on their own while they were in the care of their parents. If this wasn’t technically an abduction, then what was it? And how can the kids be brought back?             The film switches between several points of view. The film starts out with Justine as the main character, trying to solve the mystery herself and clear her name. But after a while, it starts following frustrated parent Archer (Brolin), who wants to confront Justine. Then it switches to cop Paul (Alden Ehrenreich) and follows him for a while. Same with principal Andrew (Benedict Wong), drifter James (Austin Abrahms), and of course, Alex. Every character gets the viewer a little bit closer to the answers they crave, before the film backtracks to follow someone new with their own story to tell and their own part to play in the mystery.             Part of the appeal of “Weapons” is how tightly the film can intertwine these characters, so by the end the audience will hopefully feel like they’ve rightly untied a particularly difficult knot. But the movie isn’t as tight as it thinks it is. Sometimes it relies on cheap dream sequences and jump scares, in case people get so wrapped up in the grounded mystery that they forget this is a horror movie. Other times characters have to make stupid or inexplicable decisions to hold off the resolution. Also, sometimes its child narrator (Scarlett Sher) flat-out lies. Those quibbles keep the film from achieving greatness for me. But the film still easily achieves goodness, with some memorable performances, an unsettling atmosphere, some great payoffs, and even a well-earned laugh or two (can’t forget that Cregger was mostly known for sketch comedy prior to “Barbarian”). If my heart is an armory, there’s just enough room for “Weapons.” Grade: B- “Weapons” is rated R for strong bloody violence and grisly images, language throughout, some sexual content and drug use. Its running time is 128 minutes. Contact Bob Garver at  rrg251@nyu.edu .

Special to Wesson News With the cost of family vacations away from home busting budgets, many locals are rediscovering Lake Lincoln State Park as an alternative to travel outside the area, say park officials.   Park manager Cindy Durr says increasing numbers of people from the surrounding area are coming back with their families to what was once a playground for them growing up, but long since forgotten.   “More and more, we’re hearing people say ‘I forgot about this place,’ ‘I haven’t been here for 30 years,’ or ‘I didn’t think we could afford a family vacation this year,’” says Durr.   This year, Lake Lincoln State Park is expecting to draw up to 16,000 visitors to the Wesson area.   Lake Lincoln State Park, if you don’t recall, is nestled in the shade of towering hardwood trees in the northeast corner of Lincoln County in close proximity to Interstate 55, U.S. Highway 51 and State Highway 27.   Lincoln County opened the 1000-acre facility in 1984 as a watershed lake area to control flooding of streams in its northeastern sector, and the State of Mississippi took it over in 1996.  It is now the third most used park in the state system, and it ranks in the top 25 among 4,000 parks and campgrounds nationally for water recreation, picnic areas, beaches, fishing, bird-watching, camping, and being “kid-friendly,” according to a Reserve America  survey a few years ago.   The park’s major feature is its 550-acre lake stocked with bream, large-mouth and striped bass, crappie, white perch, and catfish for fishermen who come year-round, and which offers a 1 ½-acre swimming beach and sections for boating and water and jet skiing.  There are also nature trails for hiking, volleyball sand courts, playgrounds with swings and other equipment for kids, a 200-foot walk bridge where fishermen cast their lines, picnic areas with grills, tables, shelters and two group pavilions; two rebuilt fishing piers, a water skiing pier, a boat dock, laundry facilities, bath houses and the Magnolia Arbor chapel for worship services and weddings, as well as camping and lodging options.  There is even an 18-hole disk golf course where players hurl frisbees towards baskets, rather than hit small balls towards holes.   A few miles away on the Co-Lin campus in Wesson, people into real golf can find an 18-hole public course, and within a few minutes drive, there are hunting grounds at wildlife management areas, antique shopping and a variety of restaurants.   Since the park sits in a valley, it has promoted itself as a great place to unplug because cell phone and internet service is problematic,. but connecting with civilization, if you really want to do it, is one of another off-premises amenity,  At Uncle Ray’s, just across from the park’s entrance on Sunset Road, you can find a good cellular phone signal and set up a computer to get email, while picking up needed camping supplies, including food and snacks; buying bait for fishing adventures, taking out meals or sitting down for lunches and dinners.    The park has, increasingly, produced special events for visitors, with a new Friends of the Park (FOP) group helping develop and implement new ones.  On July 4, when the park has traditionally encouraged celebrations, FOP this year sold hamburgers and hot dogs to picnickers.  New events on the park calendar are a fall fest carnival, BINGO nights and planting Christmas memory trees.  A Mardi Gras parade, Halloween trick-or-treat for children and an Easter egg hunt are  special events that have become a tradition in recent years, and an antique car show and flea market are future possibilities.   Visitors can stay in a one bedroom cabin ($86.50 per day) or three cottages – a pair with two bedrooms ($101.65 per day on weekends) and one with three bedrooms ($111.35 per day on weekends), and camp on 150 sites with electricity ($23 per night/$33 per night on weekends and holidays), 90 sites with no power ($16 per night/$22 per nights on weekends and holidays) and 31 primitive sites for tents ($12 per night).  Weekday rates for the cottages are 40 percent less.   Other park rates are:   Day use : $2 per person per day (under five years old no charge).  $6 for special events.  Fishing:  $5 per person per day (16–64 years old)/$7 with skiing boat, $3 per person per day for disabled and seniors/$6 with skiing boat. Disk golf:  $3 per person per day. Small pavilions suitable for 60 persons: $48.15 per day plus entrance fee. Large pavilions for 100-150 persons:  $58.85 per day plus entrance fee.

Send responses to: andybowman839@gmail.com Alex suddenly realized he was  starving , according to his standards. Of course, that standard set low, as his stomach pretty much governed his life. Forty-five minutes without something going into his mouth seemed like forever to that growing teenager. Flinging aside his American History homework, he leaped off his bed and made a beeline for the kitchen. Mom was working a double shift tonight as a nurse at the hospital so he was on his own, but there had to be something in the fridge that he could microwave. A deep dive into the depths of his mom’s refrigerator yielded…not much. Some fruit, ugh, definitely not his favorite. A forgotten small container of leftover tuna casserole from a few nights ago….nope, ain’t happening! Hmmmm, lettuce, cornmeal…  peanut butter , oh yeah, that’s it! All he had to do now was toast about eight slices of bread and smear them with peanut butter and jelly. Then began the search for the jelly. But that was diverted when his eye hit upon something tucked up high on one of the refrigerator door shelves. Something oblong and enclosed in a Hershey chocolate bar wrapper.   His love of anything chocolate, combined with his elephant-sized appetite made this decision a complete no-brainer. Abandoning the peanut butter jar and opened bread loaf on the counter, without a second glance he ripped off the wrapper and began scarfing down the candy bar while reluctantly returning to his bedroom to study. Quickly giving up, he spent the rest of the evening on his laptop, reasoning that reading three pages was enough to be able to honestly tell his teacher that he had  tried  to prepare. It really wasn’t his fault that history had to be the dumbest, most mind-numbing class in the whole school. About 8:30 he looked up and remembered that with mom gone, it was up to him to make sure that Adrian got in bed. School mornings came bright and early, and ten-year-old Adrian was no natural-born early bird. And if that kid was late getting out the door tomorrow, Alex knew who would automatically get blamed. Adrian wasn’t really much trouble to kid sit. After supper he usually just sat in front of the boring TV kid shows until bedtime. He was easy to ignore, and Alex was an expert at it. Even when his little brother picked at him to get his attention. Which did happen a lot. After a short argument with plenty of sharply worded insults exchanged, he finally got the kid in his room, lights out. Alex went back to the kitchen, fixed the abandoned sandwiches and returned to his own bedroom with his hands full. About midnight, it began. An uncomfortable gurgling in the region of his normally bottomless pit. Then the cramping began. Followed by an uncontrollable urge to find the closest bathroom. The next few hours involved clutching his stomach and running urgently. The next morning after complaining shakily to his mom, the truth came out. That suspicious lady looked at the now suspect wrapper in the trash, and immediately shouted for her youngest. A giggling Adrian appeared in the doorway and yelled “Gotcha!” at his brother. The subsequent punishment for substituting chocolate-flavored Ex Lax in a candy bar wrapper was swift. But in Adrian’s eyes…totally worth it. He definitely had Alex’s attention.

Special to Wesson News   Budding young artists from throughout Mississippi come to Brookhaven every summer to hone their nascent talents and gain inspiration to continue their pursuits. Back in June, 85 of them came to the Mississippi School of the Arts Foundation  (MSAF) eleventh annual summer camp for arts students in the eighth through 10 th  grades. The young campers from across the state participated in an intensive arts experience, selecting two arts disciplines to study throughout the week-long event and learn foundational techniques. They engaged directly with the award winning arts faculty at Mississippi School of the Arts, which teaches high school students in their junior and senior years.  The MSA faculty members provided hands-on, intensive instruction during three-hour class sessions daily. In the evenings, the campers enjoyed a variety of residential life activities, including a dance, talent show, water games, mystery dinner theatre, carnival, dance showcase, and a movie night.  The week concludes with culminating performances, a literary journal presentation, and an art exhibition for camper’s families. Alumni of MSA served as camp interns, assisting students as they navigated campus life and creative challenges. Some campers chose to stay overnight in a campus residence hall and others commuted daily. The annual camp is the first full week of June. Scholarships are available by application.  The camp is supported in part by a project grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission. MSA is an eleventh and twelfth grade visual and performing arts residential, public high school located in Brookhaven, MS. Students not only meet and exceed the traditional Mississippi high school curriculum, but they also receive special instruction in visual arts, vocal music, dance, writing/literary arts, filmmaking/media arts and theatre. MSA also has a “Collegiate Academy” program where qualified students can earn their high school diploma and an associate degree at the same time at no cost. In addition to MSA students winning awards for their work on the state, regional and national levels, the school consistently has one of the highest ACT averages in the state. Students interested in MSA apply by February 1 of their sophomore year in high school.  For more information contact us at admissions@msabrookhaven.org visit our website www.msabrookhaven.org or call 601-823-1300.

By: Kara Kimbrough Hearty egg muffins filled with spinach and cheese (or favorite protein like bacon or ham) are easy to eat on the go and are a healthy breakfast option.     Whether you’re getting kids off to school, hurrying out the door to work or simply not in the mood to spend a lot of time cooking in the morning, finding easy-to-make, grab-and-go breakfast items are an ongoing dilemma for many. Don't get me wrong, a stack of fluffy pancakes or crispy waffles covered in maple syrup or homemade biscuits served with bacon or sausage sound appealing. But who actually has the time – or energy – to make a hearty morning meal on a regular basis? Instead, try these quick and easy (but still delicious) breakfast items that can be made the night before, wrapped and refrigerated and grabbed on the way out the door. If you’re like me, drinking coffee and eating breakfast during my morning commute is about the only way to insure I’ll get any nourishment in the morning. Making sure everything is easy to pick up and here’s the important part – can be eaten without causing a mess while traveling - is a basic requirement of my early morning meals. Here are three of my favorite breakfast items, with the first doubling as an afternoon snack or simple dessert when needed. Favorite Apple Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread 5 tablespoons butter, melted, divided ½ cup white sugar 1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg 1 medium apple - peeled, cored, and minced 2 (17.5 ounce) cans refrigerated cinnamon roll dough with icing ½ cup walnuts, chopped and toasted Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush the inside of a fluted Bundt pan with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Mix sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Combine 1/4 cup of the spiced sugar mixture with minced apples and stir until coated. Separate cinnamon roll dough rounds and cut into quarters. Set aside the icing. Spoon 1/2 of the apple mixture and 1/2 of the walnuts into the bottom of the prepared pan. Roll 1/2 of the cinnamon roll quarters in the remaining spiced sugar and place on top of the apples and walnuts. Spoon 1/2 of the remaining butter over dough. Repeat with remaining apples, walnuts, dough, and butter. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a plate. Cool for 5 more minutes before coating with icing. Slice and serve. Miniature Egg and Spinach Muffins 6 large eggs1 cup fresh spinach, chopped (can substitute chopped ham or bacon) 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled 1/2 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with muffin liners.   In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper and garlic powder until well combined. Fold in the chopped spinach (and protein, if using) and crumbled feta cheese, mixing until well distributed. Pour the egg mixture into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about 2/3 full.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the muffins are set and lightly golden on top. Apple Pie Overnight Oats For the apples: 1 medium apple, chopped 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup, or sugar-free maple syrup For the oats: 1 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk, or milk of your choice 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg ½ tablespoon pure maple syrup, or sugar-free maple syrup 1 cup old fashioned oats, or gluten-free oats 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, for topping For the apples: Add the apples, cinnamon and maple syrup to small sauce pan over low heat. Mix to combine then cover and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender. Remove the lid, increase the heat to medium and cook an additional 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly and coats the apples and excess liquid evaporates. Remove from the heat and set aside while you make the oats. For the oats: In a small bowl, add the milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and maple syrup. Add the oats and mix to combine. Pour into Mason jars or a large airtight container. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Kara Kimbrough is a food and travel writer from Mississippi. Email her at  kkprco@yahoo.com .