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JACKSONIAN CINDY TOWNSEND

At 9 in the morning on school days, you can find Cindy Townsend with her class of seventh graders at Jackson Preparatory School. As director of the

school’s Global Leadership Institute, she is responsible for providing historical per-spectives of iconic leaders to her students. In the institute, students study how these women and men used their leadership skills to bring their core values to fruition. Townsend says she charges her students to begin by making a statement of “what they stand for and what they stand against.” Since leadership is a broad area of study, Townsend knows she must engage her stu-dents on their level to help them learn how leadership skills can affect their lives. Through Jackson Prep’s Global Lead-ership Institute, she hopes to encourage her students’ potential. “I love every day what I see in the eyes of students,” she says. Townsend develops their leadership skills by having student work with their passions. “I take them on a journey inside themselves to learn their personality, leadership style, their passions—how they are wired up,” she says. “ … I like the way they are wired up; (I) just want to refine it.” The Jackson native went to school in Texas at Baylor University. She came back to Jackson and finished her undergraduate in music and education and her master’s in education at Mississippi College.

She moved to Louisiana in 2002 where she worked as the director of women’s mis-sions and ministry at Louisiana Baptist State-wide Convention for four years. In 2006, she moved back to Texas and worked as the acting executive director for Hope for the Hungry, a nonprofit focused on feeding orphans. In 2008, Townsend’s husband, Bill Townsend, was in talks with about joining Mississippi College as their vice president for advance-ment and legal counsel to the president, and Jackson Prep offered her a position to begin building its new leadership institute. Since returning to Jackson in 2008, Townsend and her husband are interested in promoting community. “We want people to see the good things about Mississippi, our generosity, our hospitality—that we are not in every way back in time,” she says. The skills Townsend teaches in the class-room contribute to her students developing a greater appreciation for their city. “(My students) will have a broader view … about what it is they can do to make it a better place—to find their niche,” she says. It is in finding that niche that Townsend finds her purpose: “I believe … that every person is a leader,” she says. “I don’t think it’s just positional leadership that matters. I think we all lead in some way. … Even the quiet introvert might write the novel that rocks the world in some way.” —Zachary Oren Smith

DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2014 | VOL. 13 NO. 15

4 ....................... PUBLISHER’S NOTE6 ................................................ YOU8 ............................................ TALKS14 ................................ EDITORIAL15 .................................... OPINION17 ............................ COVER STORY25 ......................................... FOOD27 ............................... GIFT GUIDE28 .................. HOLIDAY WELLNESS30 .............................. DIVERSIONS31 ...... BEST OF JACKSON BALLOT33 ....................................... 8 DAYS34 ...................................... EVENTS35 ....................................... MUSIC36 ....................... MUSIC LISTINGS37 ..................................... SPORTS39 .................................... PUZZLES41 ....................................... ASTRO

Cover photo design by Kristin BrenemenC O N T E N T S

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10 Passed OverFederal officials skipped Mississippi when doling out early-education grants due to the state’s lack of planning for its littlest learners.

25 Holiday Party HealthDr. Timothy Quinn gives us advice on how to keep the weight down during the festivities this season.

35 Argiflex’s Aural Tapestry“People don’t really know what to expect when they see the term ‘live electronic,’ and that seems like a bit of a conundrum or paradox to a lot of people. Some people still think I’m just playing pre-recorded tracks and try to get me to play their mixtape. It’s just a lot of people trying to make an assessment.” —Curtis Lehr, “The Aural Tapestry of Argiflex” De

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A s we head into the holidays, I’m struck by two thoughts. First … didn’t we just do this? Time flies … it seems like we were just shopping

for trees the other day. (Donna and I appear to have the distinction of being the last peo-ple to buy a tree from the Fairgrounds this year; they were packing up as we made our purchase. You’re welcome, CARA!) The other observation is this—it’s been a good year for the JFP. In fact, it’s been our best year ever. We’re proud and pleased to be poised above downtown in Capital Towers for our second Christmas with quick access to the Capitol, City Hall, government of-fices—and, as I like to joke, looking down on The Clarion-Ledger. (I’m telling you I’ve got a solution for their woes that’ll work even better than the Groupon they’re running for subscriptions right now: Install a rooftop skating rink and host roller-hockey matches. Think of the young demographic!) Seriously, there are two fundamental reasons for our success at the JFP. One of them is the staff that puts out the newspaper every week—plus JFP Daily every day, the website at all hours, BOOM Jackson every two months, etc.—and does so with gusto, determination and ownership of their jobs. In particular, I’d like to call attention to our managers—Amber Helsel, R.L. Nave, Kimberly Griffin, Richard Laswell and Kristin Brenemen—who are doing a fabulous job pulling their departments to-gether and keeping the trains running on time. With their leadership and the buy-in from our entire team—Gina Haug, Brandi Stodard, Trip Burns, Anna Wolfe, Dustin Cardon, Micah Smith, Zilpha Young, Melanie Collins, Natalie West, Ronni Mott, Latasha Willis, Montroe Headd and Tommy Burton—we’ve been able to produce a great year of reporting, feature writing, Web development, local business

marketing and so much more. The second reason is, quite simply, Donna Ladd. Many of you know her as the Editor-in-Chief of the JFP and the keeper of the paper’s vision for news, feature content and analysis. If you’ve read us for a while, you know that she’s a co-founder and co-owner of this enterprise, as well as an authoritative

and supportive voice on issues that challenge Jackson and Mississippi—and those that set us apart and lift us up. What you may not know is that Don-na took on even more responsibility in the past 18 months that include an addition to her title—CEO. In this role, Donna has set out to do something that has proven to be a strength of hers—get the rest of us orga-nized, engaged, and motivated to reach the high standards that she and the rest of us hold ourselves to daily. In the past year, we’ve had more retreats, meetings, con-fabs, idea sessions, “drink thinks” and follow-up than ever before.

The goal is to turn us into not just a media outlet with a mission, but into a better, sustainable local business. And it’s working. This may sound like inside baseball, but I’m telling you this because I think it speaks fundamentally to the role of the “newspa-per” company in 2015 and beyond. The Jackson Free Press is succeed-ing—but we still have significant challeng-es, like any small business. We fight cash flow and market forces, and ebbs and flows like anyone else. And like other small busi-nesses, we plow everything we make back into the business to try to keep it growing and improving. But being a locally owned, independent business also informs who we are as a news source. I believe that perspective is some-thing that’s sorely missing in today’s local media landscape, and that companies that do have those feet on the ground are more responsible and responsive to the needs of their community—by necessity. I mentioned The Clarion-Ledger run-ning a Groupon for its subscriptions because, well, I still can’t believe I saw that this morn-ing. But there it is … one multinational cor-poration leaning on another multinational corporation to try and sell us something here in Mississippi—because they can’t seem to sell it any other way. Why? I think the C-L falters because they don’t invest in their product—not the local product, anyway—and the corpo-rate overseers don’t have their boots on the ground in this community to truly under-stand what it needs and why what they do—or don’t do—matters. At this point, it’s almost passé to bash the C-L, considering how infrequently you hear something positively said—and I will say that they’ve got some good folks there, and I’m sure many of them are trying to do a good job.

It’s the company I’ve got a problem with. Gannett has gutted the “paper of re-cord” in Mississippi in the name of the sa-cred profit margins required of the publicly traded corporation. And it’s sad. Our ambition at the JFP is to help fill that gap, and we’re plugging away at it given our resources—resources we hope to continue to grow. So far, this year has been a big step in the right direction, and we have plans—and leadership—to take us even fur-ther in 2015. One person left to thank is you, the reader. We’ve learned from Nielsen Local’s Scarborough Research this year that our cumulative readership in print has grown to nearly 130,000 people, making us the largest non-daily publication in the Jackson media market. Along with print, our website has grown to an average of over 110,000 unique users per month and nearly 3.7 million page views in the past year. We thank everyone who picks up the JFP, accesses us online, uses our JACKTOWN app (jfp.ms/jacktown) and reads BOOM Jackson magazine. And we appreciate the letters, com-ments, feedback, encouragement, content and tips that come in every day of the year at jfp.ms/contact. Looking forward to 2015, I encourage you, as always, to find opportunities to shop and spend with local businesses in Jackson and the surrounding communities. Local businesses invest more of their profits back in the local community through jobs, bank-ing, professional services, purchases, invest-ment in human resources and more. We can work together—even through our shopping and end-of-year purchases—to create a prosperous new year for Jackson. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Todd Stauffer is publisher, president and co-founder of the Jackson Free Press.

CONTRIBUTORS

A Media Outlet with a Missionby Todd Stauffer, PublisherPUBLISHER’S note

Investigative Reporter Anna Wolfe, a Tacoma, Wash., native, studied at Mississippi State. In her spare time, she complains about not having enough spare time. Email tips to her at anna@jacksonfreepress.com. She wrote the cover story.

Anna WolfeR.L. Nave, native Missou-rian and news editor, roots for St. Louis (and the Mizzou Tigers)—and for Jackson. Send him news tips at rlnave@jacksonfreepress.com or call him at 601-362-6121 ext. 12. He wrote a news story.

R.L. NaveAssistant Editor Amber Helsel saw “The Hobbit” 12 times. It’s not that she loves the movie. It’s just really deep, man. It has inspired her to transform her home into a proper Hobbit hole with a green sod roof. She wrote an arts story.

Amber Helsel Staff Photographer Trip Burns is a graduate of the Univer-sity of Mississippi, where he studied English and sociology. He enjoys the films of Stanley Kubrick. He photographed the gift guide and a lot of other sec-tions. He’s a photo machine.

Trip Burns Freelance writer Mike McDon-ald attended the University of Montana. He enjoys listening to rap music, writing short sto-ries and reading books about American history. He wrote an arts story.

Mike McDonaldMusic Editor Micah Smith has poor eyesight. Not Mr. Magoo-level poor, but don’t let him shoot an apple off your head. He also plays with the band Empty Atlas. He wrote a music story.

Micah SmithAd Designer Zilpha Young has dabbled in every medium she could get her hands on, from blacksmithing to crocheting. To see some of her extracurricular work (and lots of cephalopods) check out zilphatastic.tumblr.com. She designed many ads.

Zilpha YoungAdvertising Director Kimberly Griffin is a fitness buff and foodie who loves chocolate and her mama. She’s also Michelle Obama’s super secret BFF, which explains the Secret Service detail. She leads our amazing sales team.

Kimberly Griffin

Being a locally owned, independent business also informs who we are as a

news source.

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Write us: letters@jacksonfreepress.comTweet us: @JxnFreePressFacebook: Jackson Free Press

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[YOU & JFP]Name: Patty WatsonAge: 48Occupation: Hairstylist, Capitol Hair Shoppe (Regions Tower)Jxn resident: “My whole life.”Currently resides: “In Fondren.”JFP reader: 10 yearsWisdom: “Everything happens for a reason. Nobody can make you feel bad unless you allow it.Secret to life: “Waking up with a positive attitude.”

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Have you voted, yet? The ballot in this issue and online close on Dec. 21 so hurry! Now that the nominations are in, we need you to help choose the very best in each category! This readers’ choice contest has always been about celebrating what’s unique and special about the Jackson metro area. Best of Jackson rewards the hard work of locals and trumpets the best, unique offerings of this place we call home. This year, we’ve changed a few elements. Unlike in previous years, we won’t offer second place, third place, good showing, etc., but just one winner among the finalists. We believe this best reflects the true value of the reader poll, as being named a finalist is, in and of itself, a significant achievement. Secondly, we’ve formal-ized the eligibility of local businesses that participate in the dining, night-life and retail categories with a more vigorous definition clarifying who is eligible to be a finalist. For more, see jfp.ms/bojlocal for more. So head to bestofjackson.com and vote by Dec. 21. The final win-ners will be announced in the big Best of Jackson issue on Jan. 21, 2015. Just do it.

Open Letter to the Donorby Jed Oppenheim

How does one thank someone who does not want to be thanked, whose name you do not know? Whose geography does not exist, but whose gift has brought life and love? In this open let-

ter, I hope he or she will read this and know it is about him or her. For the last few years. my now-wife, Harriett, has been with-out any kidney function, but that all changed on Sept. 16 when she received a kidney from an anonymous donor at Vanderbilt Univer-sity. Someone somewhere thought enough of Harriett’s “cause” to literally donate life. Maybe it was prayer, maybe it was divine intervention, or maybe it was just someone wanting to do a good deed. This gift will allow Harriett continue her dream to fight for the rights of people and communities. As a civil-rights lawyer, she is actively engaged in the struggle for a fair and just society. But she has not been able to focus on that since she has had to fight for her own life. And it was a struggle. The midnight emergency-room visits, the days at a time in the ER, the mid-day vomiting sessions. A struggle too many people face and, often, face alone. Over the last few years, many people have stood up and offered to donate, but it has not worked out. We are thankful to you, as well. At least three times in the year before Harriett finally received the transplant, she was within 48 hours of receiving a kidney. Each time, it fell through, leading to heartache, anger and confusion. Finally, an anonymous hero showed up. This hero has brought tears of joy into our family; this hero has brought laughter back when it used to be most difficult; this hero has given us a new member of the family to love and care for. With the donation comes a great responsibility to hold up

our end of the bargain: to cherish this new kidney as we would a newborn child, to treat the kidney with respect and adora-tion. Harriett has many scars from years of medical treatment, but beneath this particular scar lies great hope for a future less tainted by tears, frustration and immediate questions of mor-tality. We know there will still be a lifetime of medical issues (which Harriett’s box of daily medicine can attest to). We also have many loved ones who have not been so lucky to receive the gift of life,

and we will continue to fight for them. We know that Harriett’s peers who remain on dialysis are often vic-tim-survivors of a health-care system driven by prof-its for the people who control it, but is broken and bigoted for the people most in need of it. We know that many of Harriett’s peers, who await their own transplants, are dealing with a systemically racist and classist structure that prioritizes those that have means and networks, such as Harriett and myself. To the donor, whomever you are, you will al-ways have a seat at our table (heck, your second kidney already does!) and a place deep in our hearts

and souls. We wish you love, light, joy and many generations of good health. You bring hope and are a reminder that as much as we do not want to trust strangers in our society, some-times there is a reason to believe in the goodness and kindness that may come from the absolute unknown. Thank you, and we love you. Jed Oppenheim is the director of community engagement at the United Way of the Capital Area and a school board member in the Jack-son Public Schools District. He is also the recipient of life vis-à-vis his wife’s anonymous kidney donor.

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Your TurnResponse to “Families of Newtown Victims Sue Rifle Manufacturer” by The Associated Press

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W illiam Skinner, who oversees the Hinds County Youth Court, is mad—again. Skinner recently fired

off a letter to a federal judge in Jackson say-ing that Hinds County officials are trying to usurp his authority over the detention and release of young people in the youth court system. The most recent dust-up goes back to a federal class-action lawsuit that the Southern Poverty Law Center and Disability Rights Mississippi filed in 2011 alleging Henley-Young’s staff members subjected the children to physical and verbal abuse. A March 2012 agreement with the plaintiffs and the county requires children entering the facility are to receive mental-health evaluations, counseling, better rehabilitation op-tions, input from family and advo-cates, and more time outside cells. Under the agreement, a court-appointed monitor makes quarterly visits to the youth jail and updates U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan on whether progress is being made. So far, that progress has been elusive and, earlier this year, Judge Jordan held Hinds County in contempt for the slow rate of progress. So at the regular board meeting of the Hinds County Board of Supervisors, the board adopted a new set of policies for the detention center. The new policies prohibit the detention center from having more than

32 residents at a given time and would not hold residents for more than 21 days. Additionally, once a young person is adjudicated, the detention center is not al-lowed to hold youth more than seven days,

and all youth must receive a hearing within 24 hours of being placed in Henley-Young’s custody. Also, the new policy states that sta-tus offenders—repeat offenses that are not crimes, such as truancy, curfew violations and having or drinking alcohol—should not be housed at the facility for any reason. Pieter Teeuwissen, the Hinds County board attorney, said the board adopted the

policies to comply with the federal consent decree between the county and attorneys for the plaintiffs. “Each policy adopted by the board was recommended by the independent moni-

tor,” Teeuwissen told the Jackson Free Press, referring to Leonard B. Dixon, a juvenile-justice expert from Woodhaven, Mich., that the county hired to perform the independent reviews of the detention center. Adopting the policies, which should help reduce the number of detainees, will help with facility management, he said, which continues to suffer from staff

County Wants Fewer Detained Youthby R.L. Nave

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Changes are coming to the Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center, and a local judge is not pleased about them.

Wednesday, Dec. 10 Top U.N. officials say that all se-nior U.S. officials and CIA agents who authorized or carried out torture like wa-terboarding as part of former President George W. Bush’s national security policy must be prosecuted.

Thursday, Dec. 11 Hong Kong authorities demolish the main protest camp at the heart of the city’s two-and-a-half-month pro-democ-racy movement and arrest 249 people. … Russian President Vladimir Putin moves to strengthen a once-close relationship with India with a plan to help New Delhi build at least 12 nuclear reactors.

Friday, Dec. 12 Ukraine’s president says that a truce between his government’s troops and Russian-backed separatists resulted in the first day free of deaths or injuries for his soldiers since the conflict erupted months ago.

Saturday, Dec.13 Thousands of protesters march across the country to call attention to the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police and urge lawmakers to take action. … The Senate and Congress clear a $1.1 trillion government-wide spending bill for President Obama’s sig-nature.

Sunday, Dec.14 U.N. members make a last-minute deal to prevent climate talks from col-lapsing over an attempted draft deal that would allow rich countries to shirk their responsibilities to fight global warming and pay for its impacts.

Monday, Dec. 15 The families of nine of the 26 vic-tims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting file a lawsuit against the manufacturer, distributor and seller of the rifle used in the shooting. … The Su-preme Court leaves in place a lower court ruling that blocked Arizona rules that would regulate where and how women can take drugs that induce abortion.

Tuesday, Dec. 16 Taliban gunmen storm a military-run school in Pakistan, killing at least 126 people, mostly young students, be-fore Pakistani officials declared a military operation to clear the school over. Breaking news at jfpdaily.com.

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Lighting up the Seasonby Amber Helsel

The best part about the holiday season is all the lights and decorations you see around the area. Here are some of the things to see this season.

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Nativity scene with a pentapus, lobster and an alligator —Poplar Boulevard, Belhaven

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U pon pleading guilty Dec. 12, Sarah Adelia Graves and Shelbie Brooke Richards, both of Brandon, be-came two of the first women con-

victed under a federal hate-crime law passed in 2009. Graves and Richards, who are white, pleaded guilty in federal court in Jack-son to charges associated with the murder of James Craig Anderson, a black man from Jackson, in the summer of 2011. Information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office shows that Richards and Graves each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act for targeting Afri-can Americans for violent assaults over a period of months. Six white men, all from Rankin County, had already pleaded guilty for their roles in the same plan, which ended with the killing of James Craig Anderson outside a Jackson motel in June 2011. “Richards and Graves admitted that on June 26, 2011, they encouraged their co-conspirators to leave Brandon with them to assault “n*ggers” in Jackson. Richards further admitted that she encouraged her co-con-spirator Deryl Paul Dedmon to hit Ander-son with his truck,” a news release from the USAO states. “In addition, Richards admitted that she falsely told law enforcement officers that she did not remember a fight between Ded-mon and Anderson, and that she did not encourage Dedmon to strike Anderson with

his truck.” Deryl Paul Dedmon, who was behind the wheel of the truck that ran over and killed Anderson, along with John Aaron Rice, Dylan Wade Butler, William Kirk Mont-gomery, Jonathan Kyle Gaskamp and Joseph Dominick—all from Brandon—also previ-

ously pleaded guilty. Dedmon also previously pleaded guilty to murder in a state court. Anderson’s death captured widespread attention after it was caught on a hotel sur-veillance camera. The video showed a white Jeep Cherokee leaving a hotel parking lot at 5:05 a.m. Less than 20 seconds later, a Ford truck backed up and then lunged forward. Anderson’s shirt was illuminated in the headlights before he disappeared under the vehicle. The group beat Anderson before running him over to finish him off. Police say that was the last in a series of racially motivated attacks the group of white suburban residents undertook, which also

included the beating of a black man near a Jackson golf course, the beating of another man who tried to sell the suburbanites drugs, attacks on pedestrians using beer bottles and a slingshot, and an attempt to run down an-other black man. Federal prosecutors have said that

during one violent trip, Ded-mon hit an African American man in the back of the head with a beer bottle. On a separate occasion, Dedmon, Rice and Butler kicked another African American man in a west Jackson parking lot until he begged for his life. Dominick and his friends also purchased bottled beer ex-pressly to drink and use as am-munition in the assaults against black pedestrians, whom the group called n*ggers. During one incident, one of the members of the gang threw a beer bottle at a group of African Americans stand-

ing near the street, striking one of the people and knocking the person to the ground. Dominick also carried a handgun for protection and, on one trip, the friends stopped at a sporting-goods store for the sole purpose of buying a slingshot to shoot metal ball bearings at African Americans. With the pleas of Graves and Richards, only two defendants remain in the case. John Louis Blalack and Robert Henry Rice, both of Brandon, have pleaded not guilty and re-main set for a Jan. 26 trial in U.S. District Court. With the two Friday pleas, eight peo-ple have been convicted, and all could take the stand against Blalack and Rice.

2 Women Plead Guilty in Hate Spree by R.L. Nave

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At least eight white men and women have been federally prosecuted for their roles in the 2011 murder of James Craig Anderson, a black man in Jackson. With recent guilty pleas of two Brandon women, only two defendants remain. Both pleaded not guilty.

shortages and leadership changes. The county hired Frank Bluntson, the facility’s former, and controversial, director and a former member of the Jackson City Council, as a consultant to oversee the day-to-day operations for about six months. This came after de-moting Brenda Frelix, who became the center’s director in September 2013 and is the wife of county public-works direc-tor Carl Frelix. “In my discussions with Mr. Bluntson, he explained that he will be working with the facility to assist with organizing and developing systems that would ensure compliance with the provisions of the consent decree,” Dixon wrote in his most recent moni-toring report in August. “However, in my professional opin-ion, the facility is again struggling for a sense of direction. In my interviews with staff, they are confused and apprehensive about the direction the facility is going and wonders if there will be stable leader-ship in place.” For a time, the board of supervi-sors thought Skinner himself might be a solution to its leadership woes, trans-ferring operations of Henley-Young to Skinner’s control, but the courts had previously determined that Skinner could not oversee both the youth court and the detention center. Just before the Nov. 4 election, Skin-ner, who did not return phone messages for this story, made headlines when a video surfaced of him reportedly cursing about Frelix and Bluntson on the tele-phone and in the presence of a juvenile. Comment at www.jfp.ms. Email R.L. Nave at rlnave@jacksonfreepress.com.

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M ississippi’s flawed application and underdeveloped plans to provide preschool for all children is partly to blame

for why the state’s youngest learners were bypassed once again for federal funds that could have provided a boost to early edu-cation, a review found. Last week, Mississippi was passed over for a preschool grant that would have tripled the number of children enrolled in early education classes in four years, increased the number of highly qualified preschool teachers and boosted salaries, according to the state’s application. This year marks the third time that Mississippi’s application, which asked for $60 million in federal preschool funding over the course of four years, has been rejected. The state scored seventh out of nine applicants for a specific preschool de-velopment grant, and is one of the only states in the South to lose out. Eighteen states received a federal pre-school grant ranging from about $2 mil-lion to nearly $25 million to establish or expand existing programs as part of a na-tionwide push to expand access for early childhood education. Just 6 percent of 4-year-olds in Mississippi attend a state-funded program, which has received $3 million each year for two years. A growing body of research has found that high-quality pre-K programs can teach children important classroom skills like how to raise their hands and pay attention, as well as boost reading and math skills. Data released earlier this year found that two-thirds of Mississippi’s stu-dents start kindergarten unprepared and are less likely to be proficient readers by third grade. For years, Mississippi’s stu-dents of all ages have scored at or near the bottom on national standardized reading and math tests. Many educators say that, to improve later outcomes, Mississippi must first im-prove early education. Nationwide, about 28 percent of 4-year-olds attend state-funded preschool programs according to the Na-tional Institute for Early Education Research, although access and quality vary greatly. As of 2013, 10 states did not offer preschool, while states like Oklahoma and Florida provided pre-K to more than 74 percent of their 4-year-olds. Some states have high-quality programs as evidenced

by such traits as ensuring teachers hold bachelor’s degrees and enforcing small class sizes. Other states meet few of these high-quality guidelines. Officials who reviewed Mississippi’s application noted many deficiencies, in-cluding vague statements and an overall lack of evidence and details. The review-ers frequently mentioned that the state did not provide plans to ensure that all stu-dents, including English-language learners and those with disabilities, would receive a high-quality preschool experience. The state was also criticized for its lack of commitment to children in poverty. One reviewer noted that the state-funded pre-school program served only 2 percent of children in poverty in 2014, and only 5 per-cent will be served in 2015. Unlike in states such as Tennessee, low-income children are not prioritized in Mississippi’s program, al-though some funding from the grant would have targeted low-income children. On Thursday, Carey Wright, state superintendent of education, responded to the critiques in a statement. “We are very disappointed that Mississippi was not awarded the federal Preschool Devel-opment Grant but will use the feedback from our proposal to help strengthen our

early childhood education system,” Wright said. “Mississippi is still in the early stages

of offering publicly funded, high-quality early childhood education programming. We remain fully committed to expanding access to these programs for all children.”

Gov. Phil Bryant also issued a state-ment last week in which he called the loss of funds “unfortunate” and lauded the work of current preschool groups in Mississippi, which he said “are already showing positive student outcomes in the state.” The reviewers noted that if Mississippi wants federal funds for preschool, it must first develop the “necessary infrastructure and capacity for scaling up a sustainable pre-K program.” Reviewers also detailed deficiencies in Mississippi’s training and preparation for preschool teachers. Although the state proposed a plan to increase education requirements for pre-school teachers, reviewers noted that the plan “appeared to emphasize the quick-ness of acquiring credentialed individuals” rather than “the quality of the individuals’ preparation for their jobs.” The officials argued that while the state’s small preschool program, which launched in 2013, is promising, “there has been no ad-ditional legislation passed in Mississippi in recent years to better support access and /or improve the quality of preschool programs for young children.” One reviewer empha-sized that Mississippi’s lack of mandatory kindergarten “could be a hindrance” to sus-

taining “the educational and developmental gains of Eligible Children.” In Mississippi, where schools are not required to offer full-day kindergarten

programs and attendance is voluntary, a Hechinger Report analysis of data found that kindergarteners have the lowest aver-age daily attendance rate of any K-8 grade. Danny Spreitler, a member of the state’s Board of Education and executive director of a foundation focused on early childhood, said that before the state ap-plies for more grants, it needs to improve collaboration between state agencies and preschool programs. “I honestly don’t think this is the time for us to be out here trying to figure out money, until we get our ducks in a row,” he said. Spreitler added that he was troubled by the harsh comments from review-ers, which didn’t seem to acknowledge that Mississippi is at a different stage in its program than other states. “We need to take this next year, 2015, and rather than look at massive expansion, we’ve got to get more reliable data on the programs that are working and sit down … look at what’s working,” and then “figure out how to take it statewide.” This story was produced by The Hech-inger Report, a nonprofit, independent news website focused on inequality and innovation in education. Read more about Mississippi.

State Loses Out on Preschool Funding—Againby Jackie Mader, The Hechinger Report

‘I honestly don’t think this is the

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Jennifer Calvert, director of the ABC Pre-School & Nursery Inc. in Aberdeen, Miss., helps a student build a pattern during a morning activity earlier this year. Educators say early education is critical to fix Mississippi’s education deficiencies.

O ne in 40—that’s the likelihood that a person participating in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Programs, a monthly subsidy

program for poor and working-class fami-lies, in Mississippi is a drug user. In August, the state officially rolled out a law the Legislature passed earlier this year that required random drug screening of people applying for TANF benefits. Since then, more than 3,600 people have applied to the program. Of that number, a screening test found about 80 people at risk for possible drug use, which led to two positive drug tests. HB 49 legislation requires anyone caught with drugs in their system while re-ceiving monthly cash benefits to submit to an approved drug-rehabilitation program. During that time, the benefits going to that family are transferred to a conser-vator until treatment is complete. If the beneficiary refuses treatment, the family is stripped of assistance, which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Ser-vices provides and the state administers. A previous version of the law would have stripped families of the assistance immedi-ately upon receiving a negative test. It’s the lack of clarity about what is supposed to come next that has prompted concern among civil-liberties and family advocates. Charles Irvin, the legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, which helped make some amendments to the legislation, points out that the law, House Bill 49, fails to specify who is responsible for paying for drug treatment. The ACLU’s research deter-mined that the average cost of a rehab pro-gram in the Jackson area is approximately $16,000. “The state is saying Medicaid is going to pay, and Medicaid has not backed that up,” Irvin said.

David Noble, state operations direc-tor for field operations at the Mississippi Department of Human Services, which administers TANF and several other pro-

grams for low-income families, explains that most TANF recipients are eligible for Medicaid, the joint state-federal health-care program for poor people. Mental-health and drug-abuse treatment is reim-bursable, according to federal Medicaid guidelines. Even if Medicaid covers the treat-ment, the cost of the treatment can still vary widely. For example, at Hinds Behav-ioral Comprehensive Health Center, costs depend on the nature of the treatment and what type of insurance the patient has, said Marva Clark, the center’s director of substance abuse services. Clark said a physician must evalu-

ate individuals seeking treatment to determine the treatment that will work best, which could be individual or group therapy or outpatient care at a special-

ized facility for the most severe cases. Outpatient care is significantly more costly, and Clark said some rehab cen-ters do not accept Medicaid. Irvin of the ACLU, which has sued in some states that passed laws requiring ev-eryone applying for TANF to be tested, is concerned about the apparent lack of com-munication between the state Division of Medicaid and DHS. Those agencies are the main two state offices involved in en-forcing the drug-testing requirement. When asked if Medicaid would cover the cost of substance-abuse treatment, Medicaid spokesman Matt Westerfield said, “As written, House Bill 49 does

not specify Medicaid involvement in the drug testing for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. .. If an individual is on the TANF program, it does not necessarily mean they are also eli-gible for, or receiving Medicaid benefits.” Noble, of MDHS, said the agency will deal with any payment issues that arise on a one-on-one basis. Irvin said the ACLU is monitoring the implementation of the program in Mississippi. In Florida, which passed a similar law, the ACLU challenged the constitutionality of the law and has won two federal court victo-ries. Most recently, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower federal court’s ruling that the Florida drug test-ing law, passed in 2011 under a cloud of controversy, violates the Constitution. “The state has not demonstrated a more prevalent, unique or different drug problem among TANF applicants than in the general population,” a three-judge panel wrote in its unanimous decision in the Florida case, handed down Dec. 3. Several Mississippi organizations are closely monitoring the law, including the ACLU and the Mississippi Low-Income Childcare Initiative. Cassandra Welchlin, a policy analyst with the initiative, said her organization is also concerned about what will happen to TANF families, whose heads of household typically work low-wage jobs and could be affected by the drug-testing policy. One of the main concerns is whether TANF recipients forced into drug treat-ment can then keep their jobs. And, like the ACLU, Welchlin said she is worried how the treatment will be paid for and what happens if Medicaid doesn’t pay as MDHS claims. “What we’re clear on is that this cost can’t be passed along to families,” she said. Comment at www.jfp.ms.

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Cassandra Welchlin, an analyst for the Mississippi Low-Income Child Care Initiative, is concerned about what will happen to families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families if a beneficiary tests positive in a drug test that state law now mandates.

Future Cloudy for Two Welfare Recipients Testing Dirtyby R.L. Nave

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T he Mississippi Legislature does not officially convene until January, but the two parties are already wran-gling over how to spend the state’s

money. With Republicans controlling both houses and the Governor’s Mansion, not a lot of compromise is necessary for the GOP to get its way in the new session. But Democrats are fighting back, es-pecially on public-education funding. Democratic lawmakers last week called on the state to use the money not yet allocated in the Legislative Budget Office’s state budget recommendation toward edu-cation, state employee pay and state high-ways. Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, told me-dia at the Capitol Thursday morning that making these budget priorities must be a bipartisan effort. Rep. Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, ex-pressed surprise that, while leaders from the Joint Legislative Budget Committee have said they recognize education as a priority, the budget proposal for 2015 includes cuts to all levels of education funding. Though Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves bragged that the Legislature would fund education greater than ever before this year, Brown said the budget proposal still shortchanges public education by hundreds of millions of dollars. Bryan said that Republican leaders claim the state has enjoyed a 3 percent rev-enue growth, which is why he is curious why the budget cuts funding for public K-12 schools, community colleges and uni-versities. “We were just plain shocked to see that,” Bryan said. The first order of the Democratic bud-get proposal is paying for the teacher pay raise—which will cost $40 million—that garnered support from both parties and passed last year. The proposed budget only

provides $32 million to pay for the teacher pay raise, so the Democratic proposal re-quests an additional $8 million to fund the entire raise, which will cost $40 million.

A joint statement released by House Speaker Philip Gunn and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves stated that the state will pay for the teacher pay raise, and blamed the Legisla-tive Budget Office for understating the cost. “We will fund that pay raise. The Legislative Budget Office reported the cost of the pay raise as $32 million to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, and that is the number we used,” Gunn and Reeves said in the statement. Bryan said he plans to find methods to return to full funding of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, which has only happened two out of the 17 years it has existed as part of Mississippi law. MAEP, Bryan clarified, “is the meth-

od of sending money from the state level to the public schools so the public schools can have that money as the basis for their budgets.” He compared MAEP to the

reallocation of sales taxes collected at the state level to municipalities, pointing out that no lawmakers complain about that procedure. “There’s been no discussion that we should somehow cut that (sales-tax) mon-ey that’s going back to the municipalities, nor is there any discussion that we should beat up on municipalities for what they’re doing with that money,” Bryan said. “It is the basis for their budgets. And this is the same way the adequate educa-tion program works.” The MAEP request for 2015 was $2.426 billion, which is an increase of $291 million over what public schools received last year; the Legislature un-

derfunded MAEP last year by allocating about $250 million less than the 2014 request for $2.347 billion. The Joint Legislative Budget Com-mittee recommendation calls for $2.167 billion for MAEP, a $32-million increase over last year’s funding, but still roughly $250 million short of full funding. Gov. Phil Bryant’s MAEP recom-mendation calls for more than the Joint Legislative Budget Committee’s $2.187 billion—but still considerably less than the actual MAEP request. The Democratic budget proposal funds one-third of the $291 million dif-ference between the 2014 actual number and the 2015 MAEP request, $97 mil-lion, and plans to increase by that amount for the following two years. The Joint Legislative Budget Com-mittee proposal cuts community colleges by $3 million and universities $19 million. The Democratic budget proposal takes away these cuts and provides one-third of the budget requests from community colleges and universities for general sup-port, which would be an additional $27 million and $14 million, respectively. Brown and Bryan also spoke to the need for funding for state employees and state highways. They propose a $1,000 in-crease for each employee position that did not receive a pay raise, totaling $17 million. The Democrats also propose return-ing $30 million to the highway depart-ment for new construction. They iden-tified $188 million available in the state budget, and their proposals total $185 million. Brown and Bryan say this pro-posal can garner support across party lines, and it leaves $393 million in the rainy-day fund. Comment at jfp.ms.

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Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, announced the Democratic budget proposal for the 2015 session, which addresses a lack of funding in education and for teacher pay raises, state employee pay and state highways.

Education Funding Center of State Budget Fightby Anna Wolfe

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I’m Here, and I Can’t Breathe

I wanted to write a warmer, fuzzier column. I’m sorry, but my conscience won’t let me. We’re in the midst of a national moment, so warmer and fuzzier can wait; there’s critical work to do. I talk to liberal, white people in person and online all the time. That’s

part of my feminist activist wheelhouse. Interestingly, as black pain around po-lice violence has made its way into the national consciousness, even those con-sidered the most progressive among their peers usually miss the broader point. The solution isn’t body cameras, black voting power, more black police and better training. Those things are great and should be done. But they won’t fix the national disease at the heart of this. Our problem is deep, pervasive, entrenched white supremacist culture. It is woven into every bit of our country, and people are unwilling to uproot it. It is everywhere and affects everyone, full stop, end of story. It is not something “good white people” can exempt themselves by pretending you can. I’m not talking about white supremacists carrying Confederate flags and burning crosses. This is about cultural beliefs that promote whiteness as bet-ter and good but degrade all things considered “other” as bad, wrong, dirty, criminal and ugly. It is the subtle and pronounced belief that whiteness is supremely better. People of color aren’t in a place of power to dismantle this. I’m talking to you white people, yes, you—and specifically white liberals. The ones who keep saying things like, “It’s not like that where I live,” and “My black friends don’t think these things are an issue” and “I’m lucky I’ve never seen anyone be racist.” You have seen it, your friends experience it, and it’s an issue. It’s an issue you don’t have to notice if you don’t want to because you’re white, and that is just plain truth. Think I’m too harsh? That can’t be helped. If we choose to take this oppor-tunity and whitewash racial issues again, it is at our own detriment. If we are to move forward, white people have to be willing to do the heavy lifting. The start is making space for black voices, listening, sharing power and, yes, talking with other white people, even across divisions. People of color can’t be expected to do all the work on anti-racism and ad-dressing anti-blackness as if we created and uphold this problem. Now is not the time to hide behind platitudes about color blindness, how diverse your friend-ships are or how many civil-rights activities you’ve done. I know you can fight back your fear, sit in discomfort and move forward. I’m here, and I can’t breathe. I’m mentally beaten, bruised and tired. I’m fighting back against this deeply entrenched problem. I’m asking for your help. The question is: Will you do it?

Full Funding Would Give All Schools a ‘Choice’

I t can be hard to determine the motives of those who push for “school choice.” After all, it can be difficult to distill what proponents of school choice, a movement

that includes everything from expansion of charter schools to some version of vouchers, even want. On the surface, successes in other states can make charter schools look like a sweet deal in Mississippi, where public education is suffering. And the philosophy behind school vouchers—that parents should be able to decide where to spend their money—is popular among fiscally conservative citizens. But when you look at the history of public education in Mississippi, especially in the years after the collapse of Jim Crow, you can’t help but notice the parallels to today’s push. And when you see the racial demograph-ics of today’s private schools, whose roots reach back to the former “segregation academies” that sprouted up after the state was forced to desegregate its schools, it’s hard not to feel like time is standing still. It’s time to admit that we’ve got a prob-lem. A problem that might not exist today if efforts to keep students segregated by race and socioeconomics hadn’t persisted as they did, and continue today. The incidences of “white flight” continue today in tandem with flight of middle-class African American families. None of this is the fault of parents who are motivated by the desire to provide the best

education for their kids. It is the fault of state policymakers, who consistently claim that pub-lic education is at the top of their priority list, but consistently fail to do anything to fix the systemic problems in public schools. Consider Gov. Phil Bryant’s third-grade reading-gate bill that is so sparsely funded that it would be laughable if it wasn’t tragic. Consider the insistence on not fully funding the state’s own public-education formula, the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, even though state law requires it. Consider the recent effort to pro-vide just enough of a teacher pay raise to quell any real political opposition from Mississippi’s public-school teachers, and the question now of whether the pay raise will be fully funded. Of course, it’s easier for wealthy school districts to cope with such half-solutions. But for historically poorer districts—which tend to be chronically understaffed and have many more maintenance issues to deal with—there’s not only less money to move around but mov-ing money around has a disproportionately harsher impact. If we are going to entertain talk of giving parents more choice, we must also reckon with the fact that we have taken many choices from schools with the failure to provide adequate lev-els of taxpayer support. Rather than rehashing old political tricks, such as reframing school-choice rhetoric, poli-cymakers should take some of their own advice and give all school districts a choice.

Email letters and opinion to letters@jacksonfreepress.com, fax to 601-510-9019 or mail to 125 South Congress St., Suite 1324, Jackson, Mississippi 39201. Include daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for length and clarity, as well as factchecked.

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Why It Stinks: Thigpen is either so gung-ho about pushing the “school choice” agenda that he’d look past the residual racism still alive in the state, or he’s just naïve. Look at the Jackson metro: Jackson Public Schools are 97 percent black, while surrounding private schools are virtually all white. “Those parents who have children in schools now” are the same parents who move out of Jackson each year when their children reach middle-school age. Segregation isn’t as far back in Mississippi’s history as Thigpen would like to make it seem.

‘today’

I ’ve always been a hypocrite when it comes to cutting corners. In one sense, I loathe the idea of taking shortcuts in order to acquire the same result as those

who work their ass off to achieve. However, cutting corners is no stranger to me; I can argue that it has been a friend and ally. Take my third and final year of law school. Throughout the second semester of my third year, criminal procedure was on the back burner of my study hierarchy. I convinced myself that the elements of due process, searches and seizures, plain-view doctrine and other legal jurisprudences that fall under the umbrella of criminal proce-dure shouldn’t be too hard to grasp. However, as the final exam date loomed over my huge head like a dark, ominous cloud, I realized I didn’t know a damn thing about criminal procedure. So I did what any reasonable third-year law student would do. I busted out generic outlines, obtained old exams (because most law professors are lazy and recycle the same questions every year) and binge-watched “Law and Order SVU.” While obtaining a Ph.D in “Law and Order SVU,” I acquired a real-world understanding of how beneficial an individ-ual’s civil liberties are when navigating the criminal-justice system. Civil liber-ties are the fundamental and unalienable rights we as American citizens receive at birth. Liberties such as the right to due process, the freedom of speech and the right to privacy are guaranteed like death and taxes, and stay attached to us until our dying day. Due process is even afforded after death to unfortunate individuals who perish not by natural causes, but by acts the law may or may not deem to be criminal. The recent protest that has swept our nation as a result of racial injustice is labeled as a civil-rights issue, and that is, obviously, an accurate assessment. The protest, rallies and social media hashtags provide individu-als with a platform to bring awareness to the civil-rights violations that plague our nation’s culture like a deadly virus. However, as a constitutional lawyer, I admit that I am equally, if not more, trou-bled by the civil-liberty atrocities that are as-sociated with the recent racial injustices. Most often, we make the mistake of assuming civil rights and civil liberties are the same thing. Yet, they are different, even though they exist together in the realm of intersectionality. Civil rights have tradition-ally revolved around the basic right to be free from unequal treatment based on certain protected characteristics (race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, etc.), while civil lib-

erties are basic rights and freedoms that are guaranteed to all Americans, either explicitly in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, or that have been interpreted through the years by legal doctrine or policy decisions. Civil-liberty violations consume the le-gal cases of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Sure, people are upset and protest over how they were killed. The reason both of these unarmed black men were killed speaks and tugs at our civil-rights heartstrings. Howev-er, the blatant stripping away of due-process liberties in both cases is the scariest notion of all. some even arguing that the selling of individual cigarettes or petty theft of cigars somehow strips away one’s civil liberties. These opinions are so asinine, stupid and fundamentally wrong, not to mention un-American, that I refuse to even entertain them beyond this sentence. Civil liberties must be blind of color, gender, sexual ori-entation and income status, only display-ing absolute loyalty to the American citi-

zen, a citizenship Garner and Brown obtained in birth—and that includes citizens who are accused of a crime or misdemeanor. The lack of grand jury oversight, which denied the basic civil liberties of Garner and Brown, fully displays the conflict of interest between law en-forcement and prosecu-tors. Hell, one can watch a

full season of “Law and Order SVU” and see how such a conflict would arise. The prosecution in both cases exhibited grand-jury practices that are alien to most, if not all, in the legal community. These prac-tices included conflicting witness testimony and allowing both potential defendants to share their side of the story without threat of cross-examination. Solutions to such conflicting interests cannot be fought and won in the protest arena. Focusing our attention solely on the civil-rights aspect of racial injustice and not showing equal attentiveness to civil liberties may prove to be a recipe for failure. Without civil liberties, it is impossible to fight for civ-il-rights equality in the most prudent arenas of litigation and policy. Civil liberties afford us the right to fight against actions a reason-able person would deem to be unequal, es-sentially providing legal standing. I confidently claim that I am right about my assertions. I survived a “Law and Order SVU” binge-watching marathon. Leslie B. McLemore II is a Jackson na-tive, now in Washington, D.C. He is a proud graduate of Jackson State University, North Carolina Central University School of Law (J.D.) and American University Washington College of Law (LL.M.).

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What I Learned from ‘Law and Order SVU’

LESLIE MCLEMORE II

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The blatant stripping away of due-process

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“If you think education is ex-pensive, try ignorance” reads a sign sitting on former Gov. William Winter’s office desk. He keeps it there as a remind-er and points to it when asked about the full funding of the

Mississippi Adequate Education Program, which the state has underfunded almost ev-ery year since its creation in 1997. A painting of a simple cabin surround-ed by trees hangs on Winter’s office wall—that’s where he received his education in the 1930s. One-room, one-teacher schools were not uncommon in rural areas like Grenada, Miss., where Winter is from. His mother was the teacher at this school. “That educational background, limited as it was, I think established in me a special appreciation of the importance of making available to every child the opportunity to get the best education they could—and in most of the cases that would be through a system of strong, public education,” Winter said of his upbringing. Back then, public opinion did not sup-port educating all people, in part because the economy depended on the labor of unskilled workers and due to racism. Winter himself

talks about being a reformed segregationist. Between the 1950s and the end of the century, though, appreciation for a superior system of education increased among Mis-sissippians, Winter says. During most of the

mid-20th century, white Mississippians sup-ported funding quality public education—as long as schools were segregated racially. Before the 1954 Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court found segregation of schools unconstitutional, leaders in Mississippi didn’t have an interest in “school choice.” It wasn’t until segregationists lost the battle to keep white public schools white that the attacks on public schools—and the demand for “school choice”—began in earnest. Avoiding Desegregation “School choice” is a hot-button political phrase, used in some form since the 1960s. At its most generic, it means giving parents an option of where to send their kids to school beyond the traditional public school of the dis-trict in which they live, while still using pub-lic dollars, such as with charter schools. In recent decades, “school choice” was a kinder, gentler way to refer to school vouchers, meaning that a family could get a “voucher” for taxes they paid and use the funds at a private school instead, a failed idea that is regaining political traction. During legal segregation years, it was a ploy called “freedom-of-choice” that Missis-

sippi began to implement after Brown specif-ically to avoid desegregating public schools. After the 1954 Brown decision, the state of Mississippi first ignored the federal mandate to integrate. But when the 1964 Civil Rights

Act passed, Mississippi was at risk of losing its federal funding for public schools if it did not desegregate public schools. In 1965, the state agreed to follow the act, but tried to avoid desegregation in other ways—espe-cially with its “freedom of choice” strategy. School districts allowed parents to cross district lines when determining where to send their kids to school—black children could go to white schools, but most wouldn’t. The African American families who did send their children to white schools were met with the loss of jobs, cross burnings, harassment and eviction. Black families feared for their children’s safety in white schools. “Freedom-of-choice plans left segregat-ed patterns of schooling in Mississippi all but untouched; the reasons had little to do with either freedom or choice,” historian Joseph Crespino writes in his book, “In Search of Another Country: Mississippi and the Con-servative Counterrevolution.” Private “segregation academies”—which only allowed white students—began to pop up across the state after Brown and especially after the 1970 order from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to desegre-gate. The greatest hike in private academies was from 1968-1971, in which they grew from educating just over 5,000 to 40,000 students in the state as the court grew closer to forcing southern schools to desegregate in early 1970. The Citizens Council, a white suprem-acy group of mostly upstanding business-men that launched after the Brown decision and was based in Jackson, opened a series of “Council schools” for the specific purpose of keeping schools segregated—especially in the Delta and in Jackson. The Citizens Council, called the “uptown Ku Klux Klan” by Delta Democrat Times Editor Hodding Carter Jr., spread racist vitriol to incite white people and scare them about integration, along with boycotts of and threats to whites who expressed support of integration. After forced integration in early 1970, funding for public schools started falling out of favor with a large number of whites in the state, many of whom graduated from public schools right here in Jackson.

The effects of this resistance to funding integrated public schools remain today. Dramatic Massive Flight Mississippi currently has school choice—for the economically advantaged, that is. Take the city of Jackson—where 97.2 percent of public-school students are African American, and 1.5 percent are white. Gener-ally, parents who have the means to afford a private school won’t send their children to JPS—a shift that began when white fami-lies pulled their children out of local public schools in the early 1970s here. Many local white students attend Jackson Academy and Jackson Prep, for example, were founded in 1959 and 1970, respectively, or St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, founded in 1947. “White flight has taken almost all the white children out of the Jackson Public Schools,” Winter said. “And you say, ‘Well, that’s choice.’ And we continue to have choice. … It was the result of the dramatic massive flight in the early ’70s ... I wish we had done a better job then of maintaining more of a biracial school system.” The court order forced public schools to desegregate in 1969. It was delayed, as ap-proved by President Richard Nixon in the 1969 school year, but eventually went into effect after the first semester of school that year, creating the most dramatic instance of “white flight” during the Christmas break of 1969-1970. But efforts to keep schools segregat-ed—either by race or economic status—are not as far in Mississippi’s past as one might imagine. In the late 1990s, the Tunica County School District became embroiled in a legal battle when the all-white school board at-tempted to construct a new housing subdivi-sion—in which all of the houses would cost more than most African American families could afford—and a new middle school that would effectively host all white students. The goal was to create a segregated school in a county that was 80 percent Af-rican American where white parents could

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Former Gov. William Winter, who served from 1980 until 1984, believes public schools are essential to the prosperity of Mississippians.

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send their children. A legal team comprised of advocacy groups, civil rights lawyers and legislators fought the construction of the new middle school, eventually winning and getting the school built closer to the black community. Forest Thigpen, president of the Mis-sissippi Center for Public Pol-icy, which advocates school choice, believes those motives aren’t present in today’s argu-ments against public-school funding. “Those are not the parents who have children in schools now. Those argu-ments are old arguments that hopefully would not apply today,” Thigpen said. Civil-rights veteran Rims Barber said simply that Mississippi’s history of “not doing right by public schools” makes it hard for him to be-lieve advocates for “school choice” today. “They keep camouflaging it, I’m afraid, so you can’t tell what’s really going on,” Bar-ber said. When politicians, especially Republi-cans, cite “school choice,” what they prob-ably mean is some form of what David C. Berliner questions in his 1996 book, “The Manufactured Crisis: Myths, Fraud, And The Attack On America’s Public Schools.” “What would happen, for example, if, as some Far Rights critics urge, the federal and state governments gave up all support for education and control over the public schools were ‘returned’ to parents and local communities?” Berliner wrote. Berliner then answered his own ques-tion: The result would be chaos. In a purely community-run educational system, what, he asked, would keep schools in a state like Mississippi from becoming entirely dictated by religion rather than education standards? “American society and industry do not need a population that is ignorant of scien-tific knowledge, including knowledge about evolution, DNA, genetics and the inheri-tance of traits and diseases,” Berliner writes. Not to mention, “giving up govern-mental control”—many public-school op-ponents now derisively refer to “government schools”—would also result in the loss of re-cord-keeping and support of school research to make sure educational policies benefit the overall economic growth of the country.

A Choice for the Few? Today’s “school choice” advocates like Grant Callen, founder of Empower Mis-sissippi, claim they don’t believe in “doing away” with public schools throughout the state. For some kids, public school works just fine, Callen says. “This education choice gets labeled: ‘Well, you just want to privatize the whole

system.’ That’s not true at all. I don’t pretend to think that a private school or a charter school is what’s best for every child. I just think the parent ought to have the choice of a private school or a charter school or a tradi-tional public school,” Callen said. Callen said that while public-school ad-

vocates complain that “school choice” would create a bigger divide between well-funded, high-performing schools and under-funded, low-performing schools, he’s trying to do the opposite. To give “school choice,” he said, is to give students who wouldn’t have the op-portunity to go to the school that best serves them—even if that is a private school—the means to do so. Fran Leber, vice president of admin-istration for the League of Women Voters of the Jackson area, complains that these “school choice” solutions are not really solu-tions, because they only cater to a very small percentage of students, leaving the rest with even fewer resources. “When they say every-body, that’s not true,” Leber said. Callen says taking students out of schools that don’t fit their learning style not only benefits the students who leave, but also the ones who stay. Empower Mississippi uses the Florida model of “special education sav-ings accounts”—a program it adopted this year—to show this. Only 6 percent of special-needs students left the public-school system in Florida when the state adopted a savings account option, the McKay Scholarship Program, for those students. However, all special-needs stu-dents’ achievement, even in public schools, improved in the state. “[T]he positive, but small, improve-ments in public school student achievement related to McKay competition are consistent with earlier research that finds a weak but usually positive relationship between school choice and public school performance,” American Educational Research Association reported. AERA is the nation’s largest profes-sional organization focused on the scientific study of education. Callen says this must be because of the empowerment parents receive when given a

choice, even if their choice is to stay at the public school—and because of a little healthy competition. “Every industry in the world where you have competing service providers and the consumers actually have a choice it makes the quality of the product better,”

Callen said. Leber, as well as most public-school advocates, doesn’t accept this conclu-sion. “I don’t understand their thinking,” Leber said. “I think (students at strug-gling public schools) would have a very difficult time” if students were to leave, taking with them the money for the public-school system, to al-ternative schools. The AERA study notes that “school choice” policies can differ: “[I]t is still un-known whether other choice programs, for disabled or oth-

er students, would produce similar effects.” Mike Sayer, an organizing and training coordinator with Southern Echo, says get-ting educational savings accounts for special needs students passed is a way for people with a privatization agenda to “break the mold” that exists currently against vouchers. “This is the camel’s nose under the tent,” Sayer said.

Giving Public Money to Parents Empower Mississippi’s priority, Cal-len said, is helping students who need help most. The group supports legislation for “educational savings accounts”—the ability for parents to use the money the state spends on their child in public school for other edu-cational expenses like private schooling or tutors—for special-education students. One version of this bill, which is a rehash of the

voucher effort popular in the 1980s after President Ronald Reagan showed his sup-port of vouchers, was struck down during the last legislative session. Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican who favors “school choice,” touted the bill, saying that the “coalition of the status quo” killed the proposal in the House of Representatives last year. He said he will support it again in the 2015 session. “The needs in our special-needs com-munity are great,” Callen said, referring to the especially low achievement of those stu-dents—with a 23 percent graduation rate—in Mississippi. “I think you start somewhere.” Education savings accounts for spe-cial-needs students, then, seem like just the “start” for Callen’s lobbying group. While Empower Mississippi is only currently working on savings-account legis-lation for special-needs students, its overall philosophy—that all students should be able to go to the school that best suits them re-gardless of economic means—sounds like it would be in favor of giving all students this option in the future. Callen is careful to use the term “educa-tion savings account” instead of “voucher,” a word that has fallen out of favor in recent years due to failed voucher efforts. Thigpen said the special-needs bill works differently than a traditional “vouch-er”—which is like a certificate of tuition—because not all the money the parent receives has to be spent on the school. It can be spent in a number of different ways, like on tutor-ing, textbooks, or alternative educational programs and expenses. But Thigpen also said that choice advo-cates avoid using the term “voucher” because of the “negative political connotations that have been attached to that label.” Still, “School Vouchers” appears on the Secretary of State’s website under current ini-tiatives—Initiative 45. It reads: “Should the Constitution be amended to require the Leg-islature to develop a system of issuing vouch-ers for school choice?” The proposal, sponsored by Lucedale’s Josh Hardy, would allow the state to give public-school dollars, in the amount the state spends per child, to the student’s parent for them to use on homeschooling costs or private schooling, including in religious in-stitutions. Many question the constitutionality of such a program or of allowing any public dol-lars to be redirected to a program or school that pushes any particular religion, from Christianity to Islam—the kind of establish-ment of religion that the First Amendment expressly forbids the government to do. “Our Constitution doesn’t even allow that because taxpayers deserve to have over-sight of the entities that receive public dol-

Rep. Chuck Espy, D-Clarksdale, credits his support of charter schools to President Barack Obama, but he believes it is best to use charter schools as a test and then apply their practices to public schools.

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lars,” Nancy Loome, executive director of the Parents’ Campaign, said. Put another way, if the “choice” programs are successful, what kind of government oversight, from school testing to bans on public prayer, would need to follow the tax dollars into private and reli-gion-based institutions? Even the state’s constitution forbids a co-mingling of public-education dollars and religion. Article VIII Section 208 of the Mis-sissippi Constitution reads, “No religious or other sect or sects shall ever control any part of the school or other educational funds of this state.” Callen said educational savings ac-counts don’t violate either constitution, even if the private school is religious, because the money is not going to the school itself; it’s going to the parent, who then chooses where to spend it. The compelling state interest, in this case, is providing students the education that best suits them, he argues. Educators such as Enterprise Atten-dance Center principal Shannon Eubanks worry that this kind of educational policy will not help needy students. “Most voucher plans will not benefit poor students to go to a private school,” Eu-banks said. Instead, he says, the state would be supplementing parents who are already economically advantaged to send their stu-dent to a private school of their choosing. As Sayer from Southern Echo points

out: How would a private school remain ex-clusive if it allowed anyone, of any economic background, into it? He thinks those schools would raise tuition to ensure a certain stu-dent population. Abolish Public Education? Public-school advocates accuse “school choice” proponents of a slippery-slope strat-egy to slowly but steadily defund and dis-mantle public education altogether, a strat-egy that began when white public schools were forced to accept children of color. But progressives aren’t the only ones who are calling foul on the approach. The late conservative columnist Charley Reese wrote in 1993 that “school choice” advo-

cates are tiptoeing around their real intent to privatize education entirely. That, or they’ve asked the wrong question. “The correct question is, ‘Do you want to offer public education to children?’ If the answer is no, then abolish the whole sys-tem,” Reese writes. Mississippi has yet to have a state leader say something this direct about education, so Reese’s conclusion is this: “But if the an-swer is ‘yes, I want to keep a system of pub-lic education,’ then you must reject school choice.” Reese blames neo-conservatives who essentially want to drown government in a bathtub, including public education. “The neo-cons claim that it would inject the benefits of the free market into the public education system. That’s false. It would not because no government program can ever respond like a free-market institu-tion,” Reese writes. “What school choicers really want is the privilege of converting part of the public school system into their own tax-paid private school system.” Voucher advocates don’t acknowledge the connection between today’s “choice” and the “choice” enacted in the 1960s to avoid integrating schools, but the result of the policy they push is eerily similar: a system “in which private schools serve talented and wealthy students and the increasingly poorly financed schools are left to cope as best they can with the poor and disadvantaged,” Ber-liner wrote in “Manufactured Crisis.” And so often, socioeconomics and race intertwine. In Berliner’s analysis, “school choice” in America would lead to greater inequali-ties because public and private schools vary so greatly in resources and quality. Draw-ing on Reese’s reasoning, and paraphrasing American economist Alan Blinder, “market forces generate great inequalities—and one wonders how long America could survive as a society if its schools became even less equal than they are today in their funding, staffing, and offerings,” Berliner writes. Recognizing the history of “freedom-of-choice” in Mississippi is not to say that the current push is racially motivated, at least di-rectly, even if the state’s inadequately funded public schools are overwhelmingly African American, many due to white families pull-ing their children out of them. Rather, those opposed to increased funding for public schools are fine with an education delivery that could result in segregation by class, as well as race as is the case now in resegregated Mississippi public schools. A system that allowed for a small per-centage of students to go to private or low-accountability charter schools, Loome said, would result in a similar kind of divide. “It would be pretty clear pretty quickly that you would have one system that was completely unaccountable that served higher-income children—you would have a class segrega-

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tion. It wouldn’t necessarily be a racial segre-gation like we saw in the past,” Loome said. Yet, considering that poverty in Missis-sippi is more prevalent in black communi-ties, due to historic racism, even a class-based segregation would likely hit families of color harder, even if some black families benefit from it. Still, Callen said this two-tiered system is one that we have now, with ec-onomically disadvantaged parents having no choice but to send their kid to the public school in their district, which may be struggling, while wealthy parents can send their children to private schools or move to an area with a better school district. Loome counters that underfunding is largely to blame for struggling dis-tricts—not helped by the Legislature’s refusal to fol-low the law and fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. She recognizes that resources and efforts that could improve achievement in low-income

areas cost money—money that most white state officials are just not willing to give pub-lic schools. Then there’s the basic math problem: The transfer of students from public schools

to alternative schools would only further de-crease the funds that public schools receive, because the state determines school funding

by how many students each school has. That inevitable outcome thus bolsters the belief of many that the plan is to ultimately cripple the public-school system. Rep. Chuck Espy, D-Clarksdale, a black

supporter of “school choice” through charter schools, said members of the Mississippi Legislature are looking out for the motives of state leaders and will not allow legislation that would take Mississippians back to the educational dispar-ity in the state’s history. “We have so many powerful African American lawmakers. In the state of Mis-sissippi, the Legislative Black Caucus, we are a strong fire-wall for any injustice … trust the process that we will be able to decipher any of those hid-den pieces of legislation that does anything to hinder our children in the state of Missis-sippi. So if it’s a Trojan horse through school choice, we’ll weed it out,” Espy said.

Charter Choice Charter schools—autonomous public

schools that are governed by independent boards—make up a more hotly contested el-ement of the “school choice” argument. They have more bipartisan support. In fact, if done correctly, it would be difficult to find an op-ponent of high-standard, high-performing, free, nonprofit, public charter schools in struggling districts adopted alongside ad-equate funding of existing public schools. The problem is, few public-school ad-vocates have faith that charter schools will be used this way in Mississippi. Plus, state leaders like to use “school choice” as a way to circumvent full funding of MAEP. Instead, public-education advocacy groups like Southern Echo worry that these schools would divert much needed and al-ready lacking funds away from the tradition-al public schools, since the funding follows the student. Two new charter schools in Jackson—Reimagine Prep and Midtown Charter—would pull a combined $24 million out of JPS funding in the first five years, Southern Echo found. When students leave to go to charter schools, “it still costs you the same amount of money to heat the building, to operate the building, to operate the buses, to pay the

Forest Thigpen, president of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, believes “school choice,” not greater funding, is the solution to improving education in the state.

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teachers that you need” at the public schools, Sayer said. Reimagine is an affiliate of the Nashville-based organization Republic Schools, and the Jackson community group Midtown Partners started Midtown Charter. The Legislature finally adopted a work-able charter bill in 2013 after years of consult-ing and revising. Before this bill, the state’s char-ter-school law, enacted in 1997, only allowed for some existing schools to turn into charter schools, but none of them had done so. The 2013 bill stipulates that charter schools must be nonprofit organizations, must not charge tuition and must serve at least 80 percent of the under-served student population of the district. Public-school ad-vocates are generally glad that they were able to help revise about the bill before its approv-al—making sure the schools cannot profit, have a high level of accountability, and that “A,” “B” and “C” districts have the power to refuse a proposed charter school. Charter-school proponents, which in-clude many progressives, recognize issues with the bill. One stipulation of the law, for example, mandates that the only students who can go to a charter school are those within the charter’s district. This makes getting a charter school in a small district, where there are not enough children to pull to the charter from the existing schools, difficult. Mississippi, while late in the game, has a kind of upper hand because there are so many successes and failures in other states to draw lessons from. Rep. Espy said his support of charter schools began after listening to and having conversations with President Barack Obama about them. “He thought that this was an avenue

to give parents a choice for their children,” Espy said about the president. Roughly 12 years ago, Obama inspired Espy with a speech about inner-city and rural students who don’t have the resources to send their children to alternative schools. Espy began comparing the use of char-ter schools against each other to de-termine how they can be best used. In 2007, Espy visited the graduation cer-emony of the KIPP charter school in Helena, Ark., which had an enrollment of 99 percent Afri-can Americans and “look(s) like our Mississippi Delta,” he said. What he saw brought tears to the eyes of the parents in the audience—many of whom had never been to col-lege. Every student who graduated received a scholarship to a four-year institution. KIPP was successful in an area similar to the areas struggling in Mississippi, and Espy wants to test its model in his state. But Espy wants more out of charter schools than just giving the state’s children an alternative option to public schools. “This has always been my hope for char-ter schools in Mississippi: that we only have to open a few charter schools and if they are able to prove what they’ve proven over in Helena, Arkansas, with the KIPP charter school … and

we’re able to have their success … we will begin to craft legislation that will give the same au-tonomy to the public-school system and hope-fully, and this is my hope, that we will never have a need to open another charter school,” Espy said.

Funding vs. Choice With an already underfunded public-school system, implementing school-choice measures could be detrimental to existing districts. “We’re not looking at making those deci-sions on school choice … based on academic reasons solely, but we’re doing it based on privatization,” Eubanks said. He added that he worries alternative schools will open up the op-portunity for organizations to profit from pro-viding a subpar education.

While the Legislature refuses to fully fund MAEP, opponents of greater fund-ing use “school choice,” including charter schools and vouchers, as a smokescreen, claiming “choice” is the solution to the state’s education woes—not money. “We have questions about the for-

mula itself, but our main point would be that there’s no evidence that spending addi-tional money will improve the educational outcomes of the students,” Thigpen said. Thigpen said he believes public schools can be success-ful in Mississippi, but refuses to advocate full funding of MAEP, which is what the Legislature determined is needed for an adequate education. It’s curious to most public school advocates why most proponents of school choice—especially those who say they don’t want to do away with public schools—don’t support adequate funding, as defined by MAEP, for public schools. Students need the resources outlined in MAEP, which is the

formula that determines how much money is necessary for students, especially economically disadvantaged ones, to get an adequate educa-tion. The point is to bring underfunded dis-tricts—many of them majority non-white—up to at least an “adequate” funding level to reverse the inequities left in the districts after white families fled public schools by the 1960s. No amount of school choice, public-school advocates say, will make up for that loss in funding for the public schools that remain. Winter, known as the education governor, said school choice is “not the silver bullet” for public education. Rims Barber, the civil rights veteran, is even more direct. The fact that “school choice” proponents don’t support greater funding for public schools—which are traditionally under-funded—proves that they are ultimately under-mining the public school system, by “talking this other game,” Barber said. “I just don’t believe it.” It seems to Barber that these politicians are driven by something more sinister: “If society is only for those who can grab the most, then it’s really not worth having,” he said. Mississippi has yet to see if “school choice” can coexist with flourishing public schools, but what’s certain to the most esteemed education advocates in the state is that public schools are essential to building ideal communities. “This country is built on democratic values, and I think those values can be best taught and best learned when everybody goes to school together—across all classes and races and religions and the other elements that make us such a diverse country,” Winter said. Comment at jfp.ms. Email Anna Wolfe at anna@jacksonfreepress.com.

Grant Callen, founder of the education choice think-tank Empower Mississippi, says “school choice” gives opportunities to economically disadvantaged students who wouldn’t otherwise have them.

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M adison-Ridgeland Academy opened its doors in 1969. Jackson Preparatory School came a year later, in 1970—the same year that Magnolia Heights Academy

in Senatobia opened, and Pillow Academy in Greenwood gradu-ated its first senior class. That so many private schools opened their doors around the same period is not really a coincidence, although it’s not a history many of the academies, most of which now market to families of color, love to talk about. In January 1970, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals or-dered Mississippi to desegregate—the state had failed to do so in the 16 years since the U.S. Supreme Court case that outlawed segregation, Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education. Private acad-emies, which were sometimes inexpensive, effectively kept white schoolchildren away from black schoolchildren. The greatest hike in private academies, consequently, was from 1968-1971, during which these segregated schools grew from educating just over 5,000 to 40,000 students in the state. In Jackson, most white parents with the economic means overwhelmingly sent their children to private schools or moved out of the city to surrounding, whiter areas.

This trend continued for decades, and the effects have created the reality we have today: 97 percent of the students at Jackson Public Schools are non-white, and 96.5 percent of students at Jackson Prep are white. Today, Prep is loud with its desire for more diversity in hiring and student population. A statement on diversity on the school’s website states, “To achieve the broader educa-tional goal of preparing students to participate in the world community, Prep is committed to diversity in race, color and national origin in the student body, faculty and programs.” Jackson Prep is now located in Flowood, a significantly whiter city than Jackson. Still, Jackson Prep’s 2 percent black stu-dents falls way behind Flowood’s black population, which makes up almost 19 percent of its residents—making the diversity push for traditionally white academies still an uphill climb, although some appear to be trying. Change is coming slowly. In 2013, the Hechinger Report reported that 35 academies in the state were still enrolling black students at a rate below 2 percent. Many have survived in rural Delta communities, where the civil-rights tradition is strong, and where slavery and segregation were strong.

What is a ‘segregation academy’?

When ‘Choice’ Creates A Di vide from page 21

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4760 I-55 North (769) 233-8366

www.featheredcow.com

Fondren Corner 2906 N. State St. (601) 982-2001

www.glennfoods.com

120 North Congress St L1(601) 944-9888Fondren Corner2906 N. State St.(601) 982-2100

www.glennfoods.com

Serving Jackson since 1984

So Many Great Restaurants...DO I HAVE TO CHOOSE JUST ONE!?

Vote for One (Or All!) of these hot spots in Best of Jackson!

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Broad Street Baking Company & Café (4465 Interstate 55 N., 601-362-2900) Broad Street offers a holiday catering menu featuring items such as sugar cook-ies shaped like trees, snowflakes, stars and gingerbread men; a Christmas-wreath king cake on sale Dec. 9 through Christmas Eve that has an apricot-ginger-cream cheese filling; brownies, rice crispy treats, specialty scones, cheesecakes and more. The ordering deadline is Dec. 21.

Crazy Cat Bakers (4500 Interstate 55 N., Suite 173, 601-362-7448) Crazy Cat Bakers will have bread pud-ding with a brandy butter sauce, milky-way pound cake, rustic apple-walnut crostata, classic cream cheese pound cake, sausage and grits casserole, and two choices of quiche—ham and asparagus or spinach and artichoke. Holiday pick-up hours are 9 a.m. to noon Christmas Eve.

For Heaven’s Cakes and Catering (4950 Old Canton Road, 601-991-2253) Cake and dessert offerings include gin-gerbread, pumpkin pie and carrot-cake cup-cakes, and nut tarts. The store will be open until 3 p.m. Christmas Eve for pick up of orders only. Calling ahead is encouraged.

Julep (4500 Interstate 55 N., Suite 105, 601-362-1411) The catering menu includes a 10- to 12-pound turkey, whole stuffed chicken, herb-crusted pork tenderloin and pepper-crusted beef tenderloin. Sides include dress-ing, soups, Julep yeast rolls, angel biscuits, corn muffins and a variety of sides, dips and desserts, including cakes, pies and puddings. Customers will also be able to purchase Julep’s honey butter. Pick up orders between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Christmas Eve.

Grant’s Kitchen (2847 Lakeland Drive, Flowood, 601-665-4764) Grant’s Kitchen will be open for cater-ing order pickup until 3 p.m. Christmas Eve. Grant’s Kitchen will serve its regular menu, including dishes such as turkey and dressing. Customers will be able to pur-chase vegetables and sides in pints, quarts, gallons and half gallons. For pricing, go to grantskitchen.com. Order by Dec. 23 to pick up Dec. 24.

Cookin’ Up a Storm (1491 Canton Mart Road, Suite 1, 601-957-1166) Cookin’ Up a Storm will offer a full holiday menu for carry-out including stuff-ing with sausage, pecans and apples, sweet potato casserole, corn souffle, whole vodka

coffee liqueur chocolate cake, mini cin-namon rolls and scalloped pineapples. The restaurant will accept orders up to the last minute or until it runs out of food. Cookin’ Up a Storm will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Christmas Eve and closed Christmas and the day after.

Sugar Magnolia Takery (5417 Highway 25, Flowood, 601-992-8110) Sugar Magnolia Takery will have a full holiday menu including spinach-artichoke bake, butter beans, turkey, spiral-cut ham, dressing and cranberry salsa. The restaurant will accept carry-out orders until 2 p.m. Christmas Eve. Order by Dec. 19.

McDade’s Market (Multiple locations, mcdadesmarkets.com) Purchase or bring in turkeys or hams, and the store will smoke it for you. For de-tails, call and ask for the meat department. All locations also offer meat trays, dressing, various casseroles such as sweet-potato cas-serole, mashed potatoes, vegetables (collards, turnips, green beans, lima beans and peas), and various baked goods.

The Strawberry Cafe (107 Depot Drive, Madison, 601-856-3822) The catering menu includes spinach

and artichoke dip, hummus and the Straw-berry Picnic, which includes baked Brie, strawberries, salami, strawberry preserves and crackers. Soups include apple and Vida-lia onion and butternut-squash bisque. Cafe sides, entrees and desserts include sweet-potato smash, baked apples, green-bean cas-serole, pork tenderloin, smothered chicken, beef tenderloin, glazed boneless ham, straw-berry mascarpone cake, German chocolate cake and bread pudding. Bread selections include pumpkin, banana, strawberry, blueberry and cinnamon, as well as Missis-sippi spice and lemon poppy-seed muffins. Primos will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Christmas Eve. The menu is online at strawberrycafemadison.com. Orders must be placed by Dec. 22.

CHAR Restaurant (4500 Interstate 55 N., Suite 142, 601-956-9562) The catering menu includes corn-bread dressing, cream spinach, butter-beans, smashed sweet potatoes, green beans and whole pecan pie. You can also purchase regular menu items in bulk; however, no modifications, please. Orders need to be placed 24 hours in advance and picked up by 3 p.m. Christmas Eve. The restaurant will be closed Christmas Day.

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Happy Local Holidays!

by Dustin Cardon

If you don’t want to cook this Christmas season, local restaurants can help you out. Add others at jfp.ms/holiday14.

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JFPmenus.comPaid advertising section. Call 601-362-6121 x11 to list your restaurant

AMERICAN/SOUTHERN CUISINEBasil’s (2906 N State St #104, Jackson, 601-982-2100)Paninis pizza, pasta, soups and salads. They’ve got it all on the menu.Broad Street Bakery (4465 Interstate 55 N. 601-362-2900)Hot breakfast, coffee drinks, fresh breads & pastries, gourmet deli sandwiches.Primos Cafe (2323 Lakeland 601-936-3398/ 515 Lake Harbour 601-898-3400)A Jackson institution for breakfast, blue-plates, catfish, burgers, prime rib, oysters, po-boys & wraps. Famous bakery!Rooster’s (2906 N State St, Jackson, 601-982-2001)You haven’t had a burger until you’ve had a Rooster’s burger. Pair it with their seasoned fries and you’re in heaven.Two Sisters Kitchen (707 N. Congress St. 601-353-1180) Lunch. Mon-Fri, Sun.

PIZZASal & Mookie’s (565 Taylor St. 601-368-1919) Pizzas of all kinds plus pasta, eggplant Parmesan, fried ravioli & ice cream for the kids!Mellow Mushroom (275 Dogwood Blvd, Flowood, 601-992-7499) More than just great pizza and beer. Open Monday - Friday 11-10 and Saturday 11-11.

ITALIANLa Finestra (120 N Congress St #3, Jackson, 601-345-8735) The brainchild of award-winning Chef Tom Ramsey, this downtown Jackson hot-spot offers authentic Italian cuisine in cozy, inviting environment.BRAVO! (4500 Interstate 55 N., Jackson, 601-982-8111) Award-winning wine list, Jackson’s see-and-be-seen casual/upscale dining. Cerami’s (5417 Lakeland Drive, Flowood, 601-919-28298) Southern-style Italian cuisine features their signature Shrimp Cerami.

STEAK, SEAFOOD & FINE DININGThe Islander Seafood and Oyster House (1220 E Northside Drive, Suite 100, 601-366-5441)Oyster bar, seafood, gumbo, po’boys, crawfish and plenty of Gulf Coast delights in a laid-back Buffet-style atmosphere.The Penguin (1100 John R Lynch Street, 769.251.5222) Fine dining at its best.Rocky’s (1046 Warrington Road, Vicksburg 601-634-0100) Enjoy choice steaks, fresh seafood, great salads, hearty sandwiches.Sal and Phil’s Seafood (6600 Old Canton Rd, Ridgeland (601) 957-1188)Great Seafood, Poboys, Lunch Specials, Boiled Seafood, Full Bar, Happy Hour SpecialsShea’s on Lake Harbour (810 Lake Harbour Drive, Ridgeland, MS 39157 (601) 427-5837)Seafood, Steaks and Southern Cuisine! Great Brunch, Full Bar Outdoor and Seating

MEDITERRANEAN/GREEKAladdin Mediterranean Grill (730 Lakeland Drive 601-366-6033)Delicious authentic dishes including lamb dishes, hummus, falafel, kababs, shwarma.Vasilios Greek Cusine (828 Hwy 51, Madison 601-853-0028)Authentic greek cuisine since 1994, specializing in gyros, greek salads, baklava cheesecake & fresh daily seafood.

BARBEQUEPig and Pint (3139 N State St, Jackson, 601-326-6070) Serving up competition style barbecue along with one of the of best beer selections in metro.Hickory Pit Barbeque (1491 Canton Mart Rd. 601-956-7079) The “Best Butts in Town” features BBQ chicken, beef and pork along with burgers and po’boys.

COFFEE HOUSESCups Espresso Café (Multiple Locations, www.cupsespressocafe.com)Jackson’s local group of coffeehouses offer a wide variety of espresso drinks. Wi-fi.

BARS, PUBS & BURGERSCapitol Grill (5050 I-55 North, Deville Plaza 601-899-8845) Best Happy Hour and Sports Bar in Town. Kitchen Open Late pub food and live entertainment.Cherokee Inn (960 Briarfield Rd. 601-362-6388) Jackson’s “Best Hole in the Wall,” has a great jukebox, great bar and a great burger. Fenian’s Pub (901 E. Fortification St. 601-948-0055) Classic Irish pub featuring a menu of traditional food, pub sandwiches & Irish beers on tap.Hal and Mal’s (200 S. Commerce St. 601-948-0888) Pub favorites meet Gulf Coast and Cajun specialties like red beans and rice, the Oyster Platter or daily specials.Martin’s Restaurant and Lounge (214 South State Street 601-354-9712) Lunch specials, pub appetizers or order from the full menu of po-boys and entrees. Full bar, beer selection.Ole Tavern on George Street (416 George St. 601-960-2700) Pub food with a southern flair: beer-battered onion rings, chicken & sausage gumbo, salads, sandwiches.Time Out (6270 Old Canton Road, 601-978-1839) Your neighborhood fun spot! Terrific lunch special and amazing Happy Hour!Underground 119 (119 South President St. 601-352-2322) Pan-seared crabcakes, shrimp and grits, filet mignon, vegetarian sliders. Live music. Opens 4 p.m., Wed-SatWing Stop (952 North State Street, 601-969-6400) Saucing and tossing in a choice of nine flavors, Wing Stop wings are made with care and served up piping hot.

ASIAN AND INDIANCrazy Ninja (2560 Lakeland Dr., Flowood 601-420-4058) Rock-n-roll sushi and cook-in-front-of-you hibachi. Lunch specials, bento boxes, fabulous cocktails.Fusion Japanese and Thai Cuisine (1002 Treetop Blvd, Flowood 601-664-7588)Specializing in fresh Japanese and Thai cuisine, an extensive menu features everything from curries to fresh sushiNagoya Japanese Sushi Bar & Hibachi Grill (6351 I-55 North, Ste. 131, Jackson 601-977-8881)Fresh sushi, delicious noodles & sizzling hibachi from one of jackson’s most well-known japanese restaurants.

VEGETARIANHigh Noon Café (2807 Old Canton Road in Rainbow Plaza 601-366-1513) Fresh, gourmet, tasty and healthy defines the lunch options at Jackson’s own strict vegetarian (and very-vegan-friendly) restaurant adjacent to Rainbow Whole Foods.

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$10 Mug

Swell-o-Phonic

$30 Run JXN Hoodie

Swell-o-Phonic

$24.95 “On the Lamb”

by Len Melvin

LM

$4 Handwash

Rainbow Co-op

$20 Sand n Sun T-Shirt

Swell-o-Phonic

$30 “Assassins,

Eccentrics, Politicians,

and Other Persons

of Interest” by Curtis

Wilkie

University Press of

Mississippi

$22 Apron

Fair Trade

Green

$15 London Eye cards

William Wallace Salon

$.50 Bag of Pins

NUTS Midtown

$27.99 “This Nonviolent

Stuff’ll Get You Killed”

by Charles E. Cobb

Basic Books

Purchase on

Amazon.com.

$19.99 “Church Street:

The Sugar Hill of

Jackson, Mississippi” by

Grace Sweet &

Benjamin Bradley

History Press

$22.95 “Studio

Jackson” by Nell

Knox & Ellen Rogers

Johnson

History Press

$18 Flower garland

Fair Trade Green

Gift certificate for free shave

Fondren Barber Shop

$19.95 “Peeling Back

the Layers” by Lawayne

Childrey

Outskirts Press

Purchase on

Amazon.com.

$20 “Song of My Life” by

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University Press of

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$12.95 “Art History

Paper Dolls” by Kyle

Hilton

Chronicle Books

The holidays are approaching quickly, and it’s time to get those last-minute gifts together. While you’re in a mad rush to fin-ish, why not buy gifts from local places?

by Amber Helsel, Photos by Trip Burns, Editing by Kristin Brenemen

WHERE2SHOP

Fondren Barber Shop (2945 Old Canton Road, 601-826-0707)

Lemuria Books (4465 Interstate 55 N., Suite 202, 601-366-7619)

Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St., 601-960-1515, msmuseumart.org)

NUTS Midtown (114 Millsaps Ave., 601-366-9633, goodsamaritancenter.org)

Rainbow Co-op (2807 Old Canton Road, 601-366-1602, rainbowcoop.org)

Swell-o-Phonic (2906 N. State St., Suite 103, 601-981-3547, chane.com)

William Wallace Salon (2939 Old Canton Road, 601-982-8300)

Fair Trade Green (2807 Old Canton Road, 601-987-0002)

Mississippi Books

$13.95 Perfetto pencils,

Mississippi Museum of Art

$6 Frida Kahlo sticky

notes, Mississippi

Museum of Art$22 Selfie Snap wireless

shutter control,

Mississippi Museum of Art

LIFE&STYLE | wellness

P reparing for a holiday party requires more than the perfect outfit. A few weeks ago, I told a pa-tient that we would reexamine her

weight, blood pressure and glucose levels in three months to determine if she was mak-ing progress. She asked if I knew that it was Thanksgiving week, followed by the Christ-mas season. The patient explained that she had relatives and friends scheduled to come to her home from all over the country. Holiday eating can result in an extra pound or two every year, the National In-stitutes of Health reports, and the holiday season can set the precedent for the upcom-ing year. Holiday parties and gatherings are notorious for providing unhealthy food in excess, and we consume more alcoholic beverages than we intend. With the festivi-ties and changes to our daily routine, it is easy to lose track of our healthy habits. But planning and being prepared can keep us on target during this time of year. I suggest that we all make a plan to maintain our healthy habits at a time of the year when it can be most difficult. Here are a few tips that I have incorporated into my personal holiday-season stay-healthy plan.

Never go to a holiday party or gath-ering hungry. I always eat two hours before arriving to maintain the ability to make good, healthy food decisions and not let myself be overwhelmed by hunger.

Survey the food options, and choose the healthier selections, in-cluding white meats, fruits and veg-etables. Make efforts to avoid sweets and fried foods. If you do indulge in dessert or fried food, only have a small sample.

Increase your exercise routine dur-ing the holiday season to compensate for the increased calorie consumption that is almost unavoidable. Take advantage of the fact that you most likely will get more time off work, and that you’ll have in-house child care when relatives visit.

When consuming alcoholic beverages, always drink two glasses of water for every

cocktail or glass of wine. Limit drinks and avoid embarrassing situations at office par-ties. As always, it is important to avoid driv-ing after consuming alcoholic beverages, so have a designated non-drinking driver if you plan on drinking—or call a cab.

Don’t be afraid to tell Grandma that you don’t want dessert. You can always say that the meal she prepared was so good that you can’t imagine eating anything else.

The website Eatingwell.com has good tips to help formulate a plan during the holi-day season in addition to lots of healthy reci-pes. Search for other websites with similar good advice to help formulate your personal plan. Lastly, remember the reason for the season, and enjoy this time with family and friends.

If you don’t want to gain a bunch of weight this holiday season, try doing things such as drinking water and choosing healthier foods.

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I

Healthy Holiday Gatheringsby Timothy Quinn

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L iven up your holiday décor with lights, a bit of glitz and some colorful blossoms this season. Now is the time to put on your gardening shoes, grab the pruners and get started decorating for the holiday season ahead. Start by gathering greenery from your yard. Use needled evergreens such

as pines and firs, broadleaf evergreens such as boxwood, holly and evergreen magnolia as well as junipers and arborvitaes to create wreaths, swags, centerpieces and garland. And don’t forget to include cones, holly berries, crab apples and the bluish-colored fruit of junipers.

Be selective as you prune your trees and shrubs when collecting these materials. Use sharp bypass pruners that have two sharp blades to make clean cuts that close more quickly. Make your cuts above a healthy bud, where the branches join another branch or connect to the main trunk. Take only a few branches from each tree or shrub to maintain the plants’ beauty. Place freshly cut greens in a cool location away from heaters, fire-places and open flames. Set them on colorful fabric or paper to catch the sap and avoid damaging your wood-work and furnishings. Check your greenery for fresh-ness every few days. The needles, leaves and stems should bend, but not break. Replace dried greens with fresh materials. Brighten up the display with some cool-burning LED lights. Cre-ate a mantle display or centerpiece

with the help of LED pillar lights, or add a string of LEDs to your garland. If you have artificial greens that could use a facelift, add fresh berries, cones and seedpods for a more natural look. Increase the glitz with silver and gold metallic paint or glitter. Paint milkweed, lotus and other pods, and then tuck them into the greens. Paint-ing allium seedheads white will add the appearance of flowery snowflakes in your indoor arrangements and outdoor container gardens. Don’t forget fresh flowers and flowering plants. Poinsettias are a perennial favorite, but you may want to change things up with amaryllis, spring flowering bulbs and lily of the valley. Look for unusual varieties or combinations to increase your enjoyment. Combine large flowered amaryllis with small flowering bulbs such as star of Bethlehem. Or go for a unique size, shape or flower color like that of the honeybee amaryllis with its beautiful yellow flowers that are sure to brighten your days. Add a few flowers to your greenery and houseplants for some instant color. Stick your greenery and flowers in dampened floral foam to create a long-lasting holiday cen-terpiece, or place cut flowers in floral picks and set them in dish gardens and houseplants to brighten things up. Swap out the flowers as they fade. Consider making a few extra planters or centerpieces to give as holiday and hostess gifts this year. Gardening expert, TV and radio host, author and columnist Melinda Myers has a master’s degree in horticulture and has written more than 20 gardening books, includ-ing “Can’t Miss Small Space Gardening” and the “Midwest Gardener’s Handbook.” She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” DVD series and nationally syndicated “Melinda’s Garden Moment” segments. Myers is also a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. Her web site, melindamyers.com, offers gardening videos, podcasts and monthly tips.

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Fun LED lights can brighten up any holiday décor.

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Mon. - Sat., 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. Maywood Mart Shopping Center

1220 E. Northside Dr. 601-366-5676

www.mcdadeswineandspirits.comPlease Drink ResponsiblyDownload

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Thanks for nominating us! Now Time to Vote!• Best Seafood• Best Kids Menu• Craig Noone “Rock It Out” New Chef: Jessica Furches• Best Caterer Finalist Voting12/3 - 12/21

Come in for our Weekend

Brunch!

“Art is the most intense form of individualism the world has known,” said Oscar Wilde, a man who knew a thing or two about exercises in individual expression. That phrase rings true for the 2014

Mississippi Invitational showcase. The Mississippi Invitational, which began in 1997, provides the state’s contemporary artists with a venue for their work. Artists selected for the invitational must be resi-dents of Mississippi, in contrast to the Mississippi Museum of Art’s “Mississippi Story,” a permanent exhibit where art-ists must only have a connection to the state, whether grand or minute. This year, the guest curator is North Carolina-based art-ist Carla Hanzal, who recently served as the curator of mod-

ern and contemporary art at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, N.C., a position she held for 10 years. “It is just astonishing,” Hanzal says about the breadth and talent of the artists around the state interviewed for a spot in the invitational. “Mississippi provides a good place for artists to work,” she says. “I was impressed that the museum took on a labor-intensive project like this one and did a great job. Other mu-seums replicate the type of work shown in Los Angeles, New York or Chicago. Here, visitors will get the chance to support

artists from the state and local area.” Hanzal, along with MMA curator Roger Ward, nar-rowed the list of applicants from 100 to 24 and set out on the roads of Mississippi, traveling from studio to studio and meeting each artist and viewing his or her work firsthand. “I felt like it was important to see the work up close, compared to a photograph,” Hanzal says. “(I got to meet) the artist; allowing them time to explain their work gave me an impression of the level of art in the state. I can also recom-mend them for other shows.” Hanzal and Ward then chose artists based on their in-ventiveness, the quality of their work, and the use of narrative and colors. Each artist was also eligible for the Jane Crater Hiatt

Artist Fellowship, which totals $15,000 for travel and study expenses. The artist receives support for his or her creative development and further creation of adventurous and imagi-native art. The chosen artist is required to donate at least one original work to the museum’s permanent collection and cre-ate five pieces for the collection during the fellowship’s two-year period. As the recipient of the 2014 Hiatt Fellowship, abstract painter Carolyn Busenlener is no stranger to adventurous ideas. Her work is intuitive in the painting “After the Rain.”

Lines and shapes of bright colors punctuate the soft palate of the backdrop, creating vivid contrasts. “The natural environment surrounding my studio in rural Mississippi influences my choice of shapes and mark-making,” she says on MMA’s website. “I see and sense marsh grasses, the movement of bayou waters and the dance of living creatures in their habitats.” Most of her art is abstract, layered with shapes, vivid colors and fuzzy brushstrokes to create her scenes. Busenlener will complete the Hiatt Fellowship in Ire-land, Wales and Great Britain, which she says will allow her to work on mark-making and line work. Jackson-based artists Anne O’Hara, David Jason Press-grove and Gregory Walker are also part of the invitational. In her work, O’Hara creates photo-realistic nature scenes with overlapping elements that create hidden images, such as in her exhibition piece, “Sanctuary,” a tinted charcoal drawing of a leaf-filled puddle Pressgrove’s sculptures, often made of building materials that are not fit for use in construction, center around themes of architecture, place and community. His piece in the invita-tional, “ren4” looks similar to the blueprint of a house and is made of wood, metal and ink. Walker’s art examines past media technology and how we must remember and appreciate it in times of fast-moving technological change. He often incorporates distortion into his pieces, whether it be a gradual distortion of one photo or sound distortion. His piece in the invitational, a still from his “Acoustic Negatives: A Memoir in 4 Parts,” uses sound and image distortion to explore information and how our brain translates it. The video begins with a few seconds of Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock,” then distorts it. It gradually gets lighter and lighter until it transitions to text and then turns darker and darker. Other Mississippi artists in the invitational include Adri-enne Callander and Neil Callander from Starkville; Shawn Lee Dickey from Columbus; Marcus Frazier from Natchez; Lou Haney, Andrew Smith and Milly West from Oxford; Chatham Kemp and Don Norris from Hattiesburg; Ruth Miller from Picayune; and J. Marcus Weekly from Gulfport. “I thought about the influence of place and also about how artists seldom work in isolation. … I thought about language, loss and music; narrative and handicraft; inves-tigating the past; and collecting meaningful fragments,” Hanzal says. “These meandering thoughts informed the shape of this show.” The 2014 Mississippi Invitational shows through Jan. 25, 2015, in the Jim and Donna Barksdale Galleries for Changing Exhibitions at the Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $6 for students. Museum members and children under 5 attend for free. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. on Sunday. For more in-formation, call 601-960 -1515 or visit msmuseumart.com.

8 DAYS p 33 | MUSIC p 35 | SPORTS p 37

The 2014 Mississippi Invitational is at the Mississippi Museum of Art through Jan. 25, 2015.

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An ArtisticInvitationby

Mike McDonald and Amber Helsel

People Community & Culture

Nightlife & Music

Best of Jackson 2015 nominations are over—welcome to the finalist ballot! We’ve tallied the write-in nominations from our first round of balloting and present you with the finalists from those nominations. It’s time to pick the winner in each category.

We must receive your paper finalist ballot by Dec. 19, 2014, or you can submit online by midnight on Dec. 21, 2014. If you opt for the paper ballot, it must be torn from your JFP (no photocopies al-lowed) and mailed in or dropped at our office during business hours. We will announce the winners in the Best of Jackson 2015 issue, which publishes Jan. 21, 2015.

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The 13th Annual

Finalists Ballot

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You can also go to bestofjackson.com

to vote online.

Paper Ballot Due Dec. 19. Voting ends online Dec. 21!

Last Week To Vote

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Urban Living

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Last Week To Vote

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WEDNESDAY 12/17 The Winter Holiday Exhibit is open 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at the William F. Winter Archives and History Building (200 North St.). The exhibit includes Possum Ridge mod-el trains and displays of antique Christmas trees and toys. Free; call 601-576-6800; email info@mdah.state.ms.us. …The Big Easy Three performs at 6:30 p.m. at Under-ground 119 (119 S. President St.). Free; call 601-352-2322; email underground119music@gmail.com.

THURSDAY 12/18 “Peter Pan” is at 7:30 p.m. at New Stage Theatre (1100 Carlisle St.). The play is based on J.M. Barrie’s classic tale about a boy who never grew up and his adventures in Nev-erland. $28, $22 seniors and students; call 601-948-3533; newstagetheatre.com. … Merry Martinis is from 6 p.m.-10 p.m. at Old Capitol Inn (226 N. State St.). The Mississippi Burn Foundation’s annul fundraiser includes refreshments,

a silent auction, live music and specialty martinis. Purchase hand-painted martini glasses for $20 each. Also see the 2015 Mississippi Firefighters Calendar. $40 in advance, $50 at the door (includes two drink tickets), sponsorships available; call 601-540-2995; email afontaine@msburn.org; 2014ms-burnmerrymartinis.eventbrite.com.

FRIDAY 12/19 The Mississippi Chorus Concert is at 7:30 p.m. at St. Richard Catholic Church (1242 Lynwood Drive). The en-semble presents Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Hodie.” Includes performances from the Mississippi Boychoir, Anacrusis and more. Free; call 601-278-3351; mschorus.org. … Flow Tribe performs at 10 p.m. at Martin’s Restaurant & Bar (214 S. State St.). The funk and rock band performs to pro-mote its latest album, “Alligator White.” For ages 21 and up. $5-$10; call 601-354-9712; flowtribe.com.

SATURDAY 12/20 The Second Annual Christmas Bash is 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m. at Cups: An Espresso Café (2757 Old Canton Road). Performers include Slowriter, The Empty Handed Painters, The Tallahatchies, Argiflex and May Queen. $5 cover; call 362-7422; find “2nd Annual Christ-mas Bash” on Facebook. … “Most Incredible Christmas” is at 2 p.m. at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E. Pascagoula St.). Ballet Magnificat! presents the story of a town’s contest to find the most extraordinary thing about Christmas. Free tickets; call 601-977-1001; ballet-magnificat.com. … The Christmas Gala Celebration is at 7 p.m. at Fondren Hall (4330 N. State St.). The Magnolia Chapter of Blacks in Government (BIG) is the host. The event is a fundraiser for the organization’s 2015 scholarship foundation. $30; call 601-316-0648 or 769-572-2433.

SUNDAY 12/21 “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” is at 2 p.m. at Ac-tor’s Playhouse (121 Paul Truitt Lane, Pearl). $10; call 601-664-0930; actorsplayhouse.net. … The Mississippi Opera’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors” is 2:30 p.m.-3:45 p.m. at Madison Square Center for the Arts (2103 Main St., Madi-son). $20, $5 students; call 601-960-2300; msopera.org.

MONDAY 12/22 Blue Monday is at 7 p.m. at Hal & Mal’s (200 W. Commerce St.). The Central Mississippi Blues Society hosts a night of music with light refreshments and a cash bar. $5 admission, $3 for CMBS members; email centralmsbluesso-ciecty@gmail.com; centralmississippibluessociety.com.

TUESDAY 12/23 The Christmas Eve Eve Party is at 9 p.m. at Duling Hall (622 Duling Ave.). The Southern Komfort Brass Band per-forms for this holiday-themed event. All ages show. Persons under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. $5 in advance, $10 at the door;, $3 surcharge for patrons under 21; call 601-292-7999; email arden@ardenland.net; ardenland.net.

WEDNESDAY 12/24 The Christmas Eve Dinner is at 5 p.m. at 1908 Provi-sions (Fairview Inn, 734 Fairview St.). Chefs provide a three-course prix fixe menu with Tanglewood Farms poulet rouge as the main course. Reservations are required. $49 per person; call 601-948-3429; fairviewinn.com/1908provisions.htm.

FRIDAY 12/19Snowflake Science is at theMississippi Museum of Natural Science.

THURSDAY 12/18The After-Hours Pop-Up Exhibit is at the Mississippi Museum of Art.

SATURDAY 12/20“The Story of Land & Sea” Signing is at Lemuria Books.

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New Orleans funk band Flow Tribe brings the raucous blend of sound from its newest album, “Alligator White,” to Martin’s Restaurant and Bar, Friday, Dec. 19.

BY MICAH SMITH

EVENTS@JACKSONFREEPRESS.COM

FAX: 601-510-9019DAILY UPDATES AT

JFPEVENTS.COMThe Southern Komfort Brass band performs for the Christmas Eve Eve Party at Duling Hall, Tuesday, Dec. 23.

Networking at Noon Dec. 17, noon, at Old Capitol Inn (226 N. State St.). The Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership hosts the monthly luncheon to promote and encourage networking among local businesses. Includes a $20 gift card giveaway. Free; call 601-948-7575; email nlow-ery@greaterjacksonpartnership.com.

Hinds County Human Resource Agency Meet-ing Dec. 17, 7 p.m., at Hinds County Human Resource Agency (258 Maddox Road). The Board of Directors meets on third Wednesdays. Open to the public; Hinds County residents encouraged to attend. Free; call 601-923-1838; hchra.org.

All 4 Children Consignment Christmas Event Dec. 18, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Dec. 19, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Dec. 20, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., at 1929 Dunbarton Drive. Shop for gently used fall and winter chil-dren’s clothing, toys and baby equipment. Items for sale; all4childrenconsignment.com.

Pre-Capricorn Affair Dec. 20, 10 p.m., at Mediterranean Fish and Grill (The Med) (6550 Old Canton Road, Ridgeland). The celebra-tion includes performances from Lou Writer, Jameka Franklin, MentalMasterpiece and Sis-taNature. Also includes music from DJ Spre. Doors open at 9 p.m. $10; call 601-956-0082; email energizerent@gmail.com.

Mississippi Blues Marathon Call for Volun-teers Monday-Friday through Jan. 8, statewide. Responsibilities include assisting with runner check-ins at the Jackson Convention Complex to directing runners around the route. Registration required. Free; call 601-624-7882; email info@msbluesmarathon.com; msbluesmarathon.com.

Snowflake Science Dec. 19, 10 a.m.-noon, at Mississippi Museum of Natural Science (2148 Riverside Drive). Experiment with hot snow, make paper snowflakes and more. $4-$6; call 601-576-6000; msnaturalscience.org.

Look and Learn with Hoot Dec. 19, 10:30 a.m., at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). This educational opportunity ages 5 and under and their parents features a hands-on art activity and story time. Please dress for mess. Free; call 601-960-1515; msmuseumart.org.

FIRST LEGO League State Champion-ship Dec. 20, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., at Vicksburg Convention Center (1600 Mulberry St., Vicks-burg). FFL is a robotics tournament for youth to increase their enthusiasm about science and technology. Teams must register. Free for specta-tors, $50 tournament fee for teams; call 601-630-2929; email eddie@456robotics.org.

Bubbly Tasting Dec. 21, 4 p.m., at BRAVO! Ital-ian Restaurant & Bar (Highland Village, 4500 Interstate 55 N.). Sample five sparkling wines from Italy, Spain and France. RSVP. Limited seat-ing. $50 per person; call 601-982-8111; email jeffg@bravobuzz.com; bravobuzz.com.

Healthcare Enrollment Event for Jacksoni-ans Dec. 18, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., at Courtyard by Marriott (6280 Ridgewood Court Drive). My Brother’s Keeper is assisting individuals with enrolling for healthcare coverage in the Health Insurance Marketplace. Free; call 601-898-0000, ext. 101; email trucker@mbk-inc.org.

Holiday Hustle 5K Dec. 18, 6:30 p.m., at down-town Canton. Includes a Reindeer Trot for ages 12 and under, a 5K run/walk and holiday activities. Awards given, including for the Christmas cos-tume contest. $25-$35; call 601-941-1840; email kelleysweat@hotmail.com; racesonline.com.

“Peter Pan” Dec. 18, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 19, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 20, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 21, 2 p.m., at New Stage Theatre (1100 Carlisle St.). The play is based on J.M. Barrie’s classic tale about a boy who never grew up and his adventures in Neverland. $28, $22 seniors and students; call 601-948-3533; newstagetheatre.com.

The Mississippi Chorus Concert Dec. 19, 7:30 p.m., at St. Richard Catholic Church (1242 Lynwood Drive). The ensemble presents Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Hodie.” Includes performanc-es from the Mississippi Boychoir, Anacrusis and more. Free; call 601-278-3351; mschorus.org.

Second Annual Christmas Bash Dec. 20, 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m., at Cups: An Espresso Café (2757 Old Canton Road). Performers include Slowriter, The Empty Handed Painters, The Tallahatchies, Argiflex and May Queen. $5 cover; call 362-7422; find “2ND ANNUAL CHRISTMAS BASH” on Facebook.

Christmas Eve Eve Party Dec. 23, 9 p.m., at Duling Hall (622 Duling Ave.). The Southern Komfort Brass Band performs. All ages show. Persons under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. $5 in advance, $10 at the door;, $3 sur-charge for patrons under 21; call 601-292-7999; email arden@ardenland.net; ardenland.net.

Events at Lemuria Books (Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 N., Suite 202)• "Paint Me!" Dec. 19, 1 p.m. Sarah Frances

Hardy signs books. $14.95 book; call 601-366-7619; email info@lemuriabooks.com; lemuriabooks.com.

• "Mr. Ferris and His Wheel" Dec. 20, 11 a.m. Illustrator Gilbert Ford signs books. $17.99

book; call 601-366-7619; email info@lemuri-abooks.com; lemuriabooks.com.

• "The Story of Land and Sea" Dec. 20, 11 a.m. Katy Simpson Smith signs books. $26.99 book; call 601-366-7619; email info@lemuri-abooks.com; lemuriabooks.com.

• “Paintings of Italy” 2015 Calendar Signing Dec. 20, 1 p.m. Local artist Wyatt Waters signs calendars. $19.95 calendar; call 601-366-7619; email info@lemuriabooks.com; lemuriabooks.com.

• "An Italian Palate" Dec. 20, 1 p.m. Robert St. John and artist Wyatt Waters sign books. $34.95 book; call 601-366-7619; email info@lemuri-abooks.com; lemuriabooks.com.

• "Delta Dogs” Dec. 22, 1 p.m. Maude Schuyler Clay signs books. $35 book; call 601-366-7619; email info@lemuriabooks.com; lemuriabooks.com.

Art Nights Thursdays, 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m. through Dec. 25, at Drip Drop Coffee Shop (1044 Highway 49 S., Suite D, Richland). Roger Leonard Long is the instructor for the drawing class. Topics include proportion, contrast and perspective. Includes materials and coffee. $20 in advance, $25 walk-in fee, $15 per person in groups of four or more; call 601-939-0410; dripdropcs.com.

Shut Up and Write! Saturdays, 12:30-3 p.m., at the JFP in Capital Towers (125 S. Congress St., #1324). Register now for a new “Writing to Change Your World” creative non-fiction series taught by Donna Ladd and Ronni Mott. The six-week series will demystify the writing process for students of any level and teach you to write sparkling true stories, essays and book chapters with weekly feedback. Class series is $350 including workbook and snacks; pay $299 if you register by Jan. 7. Gift certificates are available and credit cards accepted. Hurry: seats limited. Classes meet these dates: Jan. 31, Feb. 7, 21, 28, March 21, 28 (recordings available later if you miss a class). Write class@writingtochange.com or call 601-362-6121 ext. 15 for information.

Museum After Hours Pop-Up Exhibition Dec. 18, 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m., at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). See paintings from Tony Davenport, handcrafted cigar box guitars from Phillip Wooley of Habana Blues, and collaborative pieces between the two artists. Free with cash bar; call 601-960-1515; msmuseumart.org.

Merry Martinis Dec. 18, 6 p.m.-10 p.m., at Old Capitol Inn (226 N. State St.). The Mis-sissippi Burn Foundation’s annul fundraiser includes refreshments, a silent auction, live music and specialty martinis. Purchase hand-painted martini glasses for $20 each. Also see the 2015 Mississippi Firefighters Calendar. $40 in advance, $50 at the door (includes two drink tickets), sponsorships available; call 601-540-2995; email afontaine@msburn.org; 2014msburnmerrymartinis.eventbrite.com.

Check jfpevents.com for updates and more listings, or to add your own events online. You can also email event details to events@jacksonfreepress.com to be added to the calendar. The deadline is noon the Wednesday prior to the week of publication.

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Events at Beau Rivage Resort and Casi-no (875 Beach Blvd., Biloxi)• "Santa & Friends on Ice" Dec. 17, 7 p.m.,

Dec. 18, 7 p.m., Dec. 19, 7 p.m., Dec. 20, 3 p.m., Dec. 20, 7 p.m., Dec. 21, 3 p.m., Dec. 21, 7 p.m., Dec. 23, 7 p.m., Dec. 24, 7 p.m. World-class figure skaters, vocalists and actors present an endearing holiday storyline. Tickets start at $12.95, packages available; call 888-567-6667; beaurivage.com.

Lazy Acres in Lights Dec. 18, 6 p.m.-9 p.m., Dec. 19, 6 p.m.-9 p.m., Dec. 20, 6 p.m.-9 p.m. Dec. 22, 6 p.m.-9 p.m., Dec. 23, 6 p.m.-9 p.m., at Lazy Acres Plantation (596 Lazy Acres Road, Chunky). Includes light dis-plays, hayrides, Christmas stories from Santa and Rudolph, crafting in Santa’s Workshop, and more. $7, $6 person in groups of 15 or more (pay in one transaction), children 2 and under free; call 601-655-8264; email lazy-acresfarm@hotmail.com; lazy-acres.com.

“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” Dec. 18, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 19, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 20, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 21, 2 p.m., at Actor’s Playhouse (121 Paul Truitt Lane, Pearl). The play based on Barbara Robinson’s book is about troublemaking siblings who partici-pate in a Christmas pageant. $10; call 601-664-0930; actorsplayhouse.net.

Events at Mississippi Children’s Muse-um (2145 Highland Drive)• Garden Glow Nights Dec. 19, 6 p.m.-8:30

p.m., Dec. 20, 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Includes a simulated snowfall, a visit from Santa, cookie decorating, entertainment and a light display. $10, free for children under 12 months and museum members; call 601-981-5469; mis-sissippichildrensmuseum.com.

• Santa's Institute Dec. 20, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Learn the science behind Santa Claus and his holiday helpers. $10, children under 1 and members free; call 601-981-5469; mississippichildrensmuseum.com.

Pictures with Santa Dec. 20, 10 a.m.-noon, at Highland Village (4500 Interstate 55 N.). Children can take photos with Santa in Center Court. $40 for four five-by-seven-inch prints or 10 four-by-six-inch prints; call 601-982-5861.

Free Pictures with Santa Dec. 20, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Dec. 21, 1 p.m.-6 p.m., at Metro-center Mall (1395 Metrocenter Drive). At Center Court. Each child can get one photo taken and printed with Santa Claus for free. Free; call 601-969-7633.

“Most Incredible Christmas” Dec. 20, 2 p.m., Dec. 21, 2 p.m., at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E. Pascagoula St.). Ballet Magnificat! presents the story of a town’s contest to find the most extraordinary thing about the Christmas season. Free tickets; call 601-977-1001; balletmagnificat.com.

Teddy Bear Tea Dec. 20, 2 p.m.-4 p.m., Dec. 21, 2 p.m.-4 p.m., Dec. 22, 2 p.m.-4 p.m., at King Edward Hotel (235 W. Capitol St.). The event includes a photo with Santa and his elves, storytelling, treats, a teddy bear and a ticket to the Mississippi Children’s Museum. Reserva-tions required. Adults must accompany chil-dren. $25 per person, free for children under 12 months; call 601-969-8507.

Christmas Concert Dec. 20, 3 p.m.-4 p.m., at Christ United Methodist Church (6000 Old Canton Road). The Mississippi Com-munity Symphonic Band performs. Free; call 769-218-0828; mcsb.us.

Christmas Gala Celebration Dec. 20, 7 p.m., at Fondren Hall (4330 N. State St.). The Magnolia Chapter of Blacks in Gov-ernment (BIG) is the host. The event is a fundraiser for the organization’s 2015 schol-arship foundation. $30; call 601-316-0648, 769-572-2433 or 601-260-0391.

“Amahl and the Night Visitors” Dec. 21, 2:30 p.m.-3:45 p.m., at Madison Square Center for the Arts (2103 Main St., Madi-son). The Mississippi Opera presents Gian Carlo Menotti’s story about a disabled shep-herd boy’s Christmas miracle. $20, $5 stu-dents; call 601-960-2300; msopera.org.

Christmas Eve Dinner Dec. 24, 5 p.m., at 1908 Provisions (Fairview Inn, 734 Fairview St.). Enjoy a three-course prix fixe menu with Tanglewood Farms poulet rouge as the main course. Reservations required. $49 per person; call 601-948-3429.

T he song starts with a wash of soft white noise. It’s like slipping the cover from an old gramophone, blow-ing the dust off the record, and to your surprise, it plays. Instead of the tinny sound of big-band or

swing music, you hear layered sequences of electronic “pings” warping on the gramophone. Even with the melody’s occasional distortions and deviations, it’s strangely beautiful. Don’t get used to it, though. Argiflex isn’t done with you, yet. Argiflex, the stage name of neo-rave elec-tronic artist Curtis Lehr, 21, isn’t about meet-ing expectations or making music that appeals to everyone. Quite the opposite, in fact. For Lehr, Argiflex is a chance to introduce listen-ers to something new, from his confrontational tunes to the way he performs. “People don’t really know what to ex-pect when they see the term ‘live electronic,’ and that seems like a bit of a conundrum or paradox to a lot of people,” Lehr says. “Some people still think I’m just play-ing pre-recorded tracks and try to get me to play their mixtape. It’s just a lot of people trying to make an assessment.” The confusion isn’t hard to pinpoint. Most electronic music is the product of a few button-pushes and a mouse-click here or there, but Lehr is committed to creating every sound live with digital hardware. “It seemed like more fun to me than sitting behind a computer,” he says. With hardware, he can physically change the settings of his gear instead of sliding values on a

two-dimensional display. “Even though that’s totally valid, too, it’s just not what I want to do in front of people.” Argiflex has been a quick progression since its debut in 2008. First, Lehr used synthesizer samples from recording

software, such as Renoise, to create his first album, 2009’s “8367 Solarii.” After his second record, 2010’s “Regolith,” Lehr began to perform with only hardware instruments. He used this method to simultaneously release three EPs in 2013, and in March 2014, he created a split tape, featuring the untitled song mentioned above, with fellow electronic artist Jonathon Hernandez, who releases music as Vexa-

drem. Both attend Delta State University, where Lehr, a se-nior, is double majoring in computer information systems and entertainment-industry studies. Swapping and adding gear increases the scope of his

music, but options are limited during live per-formances. He has to be resourceful. “It’s constricting in a way that … gener-ates creativity,” he says. “You only have a cer-tain amount of sounds that you can deal with, but once you know how to work with them, they can be incredibly expressive.” With only 16 channels, Lehr can deliver about 80 sequences, which he uses to create a variety of subgenres beneath the blanket term “electronic,” including acid-techno, break-beat and house music. Not everything in Argiflex’s music is easily categorized, though. Lehr views his music less as individual songs and more as “time-based aural tapes-tries,” he says. Tracks can shift from entrancing and smooth to chaotic and turbulent in an in-stant. It’s an acquired taste, he says, like scotch. Not everyone will enjoy it, and that’s OK. “I feel like I’m already making some-thing that most people aren’t going to appre-

ciate, so why not take it to a bit more of a conclusion?” Lehr says. “I don’t feel like it’s the logical conclusion, but it’s getting there.” Argiflex performs at Christmas Bash, 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20, at Cups Espresso Café in Fondren (2757 Old Canton Road, 601-362-7422). For more information, visit argiflex.com or find the event on Facebook.

DIVERSIONS | music

I’m a Christmas music junkie. I love when this time of year rolls around because I get to dust off the collection of holiday music I’ve amassed through

the years. What makes this music so unique is that there is pretty much a one-month window to enjoy it. Then, like the tree and lights, it goes back into storage until the next season. There is almost no other music with that limited of a shelf life. Try listening to “Jingle Bells” in July, and you’ll understand what I mean. My love for holiday music knows no boundaries. I will happily listen to an artist I cannot stand on any other occasion sing Christmas songs. Holiday music has a magi-cal quality that overrides any bias I have. Jazz, rock, country or classical—I don’t care when it comes to yuletide tunes. In my years of listening to these songs, I have come to a stunning conclu-sion: The best Christmas classics are sim-ply statements of the obvious. Holiday music leaves no room for interpretation.

Most of them are almost painfully clear. Take the lyrical mastery of “Jingle Bells”: “Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the

way. Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.” Is it fun to ride in a sleigh? I’ll bet it is, but you wouldn’t hear songs about it any other time of the year.

One of my all-time favorites is simply called “The Christmas Song,” commonly known as “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.” The melody is beautiful, but the lyrics aren’t exactly profound. “Chest-nuts roasting on an open fire. Jack Frost nipping at your nose. Yuletide carols be-ing sung by a choir. And folks dressed up like Eskimos.” The timeless lyrics, which jazz composer Mel Tormé co-wrote with six-time Emmy winner Bob Wells, tell us everything we need to know: There’s a fire, it’s cold, and people are singing. Of course, the season’s religious songs are also rife with obvious remarks. “Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head.” “Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright.” Those are not complex thoughts; they are direct and clear. Perhaps this explains the popularity of Christmas music. The simple and heart-warming nature can appeal to all types of audiences. It’s not difficult to wrap your

mind around what these songs are saying, and yet the words convey much of what makes the holiday season unique. To the credit of Christmas song-writers, it’s difficult to write material with such a direct universal connection to audiences. Many people steer clear of music they don’t understand, but noth-ing is easier to understand than Christ-mas music. Whether you’re at church or in a store, the indisputable sounds of the season permeate the air. For many listen-ers, these songs help inspire the cheerful spirit that surrounds the month of De-cember. While it may be straightforward and minimal, Christmas music does what anyone’s favorite music should do: It connects people. I challenge each of you to random-ly pick a Christmas song and analyze the lyrics. You’ll probably discover that it’s mostly simple facts about Christ-mas time, but it will give you a head start on holiday cheer.

While most classic Christmas songs don’t have much to say, they’re great for connecting listeners and spreading holiday spirit.

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in the mixby Tommy Burton

Christmas Music States the Obvious

The Aural Tapestry of Argiflexby Micah Smith

Argiflex’s live electronic music challenges listeners’ expectations of music with shifting dynamics and confrontational climaxes.

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MUSIC | live

Visit HalandMals.comfor a full menu and concert schedule

601.948.0888200 S. Commerce St. Downtown Jackson,

Mississippi

COMING UPWEDNESDAY 12/17

JONATHAN CAPLAN(Restaurant)

THURSDAY 12/18

ASHLEY RAINES(Restaurant)

FRIDAY 12/19I T ’ S A

M U S T A C H ECHRISTMAS

SATURDAY 12/20A Decade of

Tackiness!10th Annual

Tacky Christmas Partybenefiting the Magnolia

Speech School 8PM / $20

MONDAY 12/21

BLUE MONDAY7PM, $5 (Restaurant)

TUESDAY 12/22

P U B Q U I Z W/ ERIN & FRIENDS7PM, $2 TO PLAY! (Restaurant)

DECEMBER 24-26CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS

UPCOMING:Ardenland Presents:12/27 THE WEEKS with

CARDINAL SONS

2/27 LUCERO + RYAN BINGHAM

tickets at Ardenland.net

12/31 Hal & Mal’s

Catfish Dropat Midnight!

OFFICIALHOUSE VODKA

DON’T FORGET TO VOTE FORUS IN BEST OF JACKSON!

119 S. President Street

601.352.2322www.Underground119.com

Wednesday, December 17th

BIG EASY THREE6:30 No Cover

Thursday, December 18th

JODI JAMES6:30 No Cover

Friday, December 19th

TIMETO

MOVE9:00

Saturday, December 20th

JJTHAMES

9:00

DECEMBER 23-25Closed for

Christmas

D E C 2 6 T H

JA REKUS SINGLETON

DEC 27TH

MR. SIPP INTERNATIONAL BLUES CHAMPION

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DIVERSIONS | jfp sports

The college football bowl season starts this weekend. It leads up to the first ever college-football playoff and on Jan. 12, the national championship game. by Bryan Flynn

SLATEthe best in sports over the next seven days

I n a year of really great college foot-ball players, the Heisman voters got it right in realizing that University of Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus

Mariota was the best player this season. Mariota put up some insane stats. He completed nearly 70 percent of his passes as he threw for 38 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He also rushed for 669 yards and 14 more scores. Last year’s Heisman winner, Jameis Winston, didn’t even get invited back to the ceremony this season. For once, it looked like the voters put being a decent person into a count this season. All three finalists—Amari Cooper, wide receiver from the University of Alabama, Melvin Gordon, running back out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Mariota—are three of the good guys in college football. Winston proved time and time again that he isn’t a good guy in the sport. Kudos to Oregon State University. The Ducks’ rival took out an ad to con-gratulate Mariota on his Heisman win. Speaking of doing the right thing, Oklahoma State University-Stillwater dismissed All-Big 12 wide receiver Tyreek Hill over the weekend because of his arrest over domestic violence

against his pregnant girlfriend. I don’t follow the Cowboys closely, but the school and head coach Mike Gundy put out a strong statement. I’m sure attitudes are changing in the wake of the NFL’s domestic-violence problems, but most colleges are tight-knit and don’t change as fast. Just look at the FSU fan-base over Winston. Maybe Oklahoma State and Gundy will lead a change in college football. It doesn’t mean they haven’t made mistakes in the past, but they are doing the right thing now. Finally, as terrible as this season has been at times, the New Orleans Saints are still in the playoff hunt after beating Chicago Dec. 15. If the team beats At-lanta and Tampa Bay, it wins the NFC South and finish with an 8-8 record. A loss to the Bears Monday night wouldn’t have killed the Saints, though. If they lost, they would have had to win their final two games and the Carolina Panthers would have needed to lose one of their final two games. The way the NFC South has been this season, I ex-pect all four teams to find away to muck things up. No division has been as big of a dumpster fire as this one. It is like a train wreck, and I can’t look away.

bryan’s rantThoughts from the Sports World, Again

THURSDAY, DEC 18 College basketball (7-9 p.m., SECN): The Ole Miss Rebels face a tough Coast-al Carolina team in a nonconference test as the conference slate approaches.

FRIDAY, DEC 19 NBA (7-9:30 p.m., ESPN): The de-fending champion San Antonio Spurs host the Portland Trail Blazers, who cur-rently sit above the Spurs in the standings.

SATURDAY, DEC 20 College football (2:30-6 p.m., ABC): When five bowl games kick off the bowl season, the best game could be Colorado State out of the Mountain West against Utah out of the Pac-12.

SUNDAY, DEC 21 NFL (12-3:30 p.m., Fox): The New Orleans Saints look to keep their playoff hopes alive against their biggest rival the Atlanta Falcons.

MONDAY, DEC 22 NFL (7:30-11 p.m., ESPN): The Cin-cinnati Bengals host the Denver Bron-cos in a game that could have big playoff implications for the AFC.

TUESDAY, DEC 23 College football (5-8:30 p.m., ESPN): Two of the best mid-major programs col-lide in a bowl game as Northern Illinois out of the MAC takes on Marshall out of C-USA.

WEDNESDAY, DEC 24 College football (7-10:30 p.m., ESPN): Settle in with some football as you get ready to leave out milk and cookies for Santa as Fresno State out of the Mountain West faces Rice out of C-USA. The first SEC bowl game is after Christmas when South Carolina faces Miami in the Independence Bowl.

Follow Bryan Flynn at jfpsports.com, @jfpsports and at facebook.com/jfpsports.TH

EGR

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1100 John R. Lynch Street | Suite A | Jackson, MS 769.251.5222 | thepenguinms.com

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1046 Warrenton Road • Vicksburg, MS 39180 riverwalkvicksburg.com • 601-634-0100

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