pg01.indd

+$33i]xUv

2

ALL STADIUM SEATINGListings for Fri. 5/29 Thurs. 6/4

Online Tickets, Birthday Parties, Group& Corporate Events @ www.malco.com

Movieline: 355-9311

DAILY BARGAINS UNTIL 6PM

San Andreas PG13

3-D San Andreas PG13

Aloha PG13

Tomorrowland PG

Poltergeist(2015) PG13

3-D Poltergeist (2015) PG13

Far From the Madding Crowd PG13

Mad Max: Fury Road R

Pitch Perfect 2 PG13

Hot Pursuit PG13

Avengers: Age of Ultron PG13

The Age of Adaline PG13

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 PG

Furious 7 PG13

Home PG

Opens Wed. 6/3: Entourage R

GIFT CARDSAVAILABLE

7ZRORFDWLRQVWRVHUYH\RX

+LEDFKL&KLFNHQIRU

0RQGD\WKURXJK)ULGD\'LQH,Q2QO\

(/^`4HKPZVU

)LOPUK[OL4J+VUHSKZ

PU4HKPZVU:[H[PVU

;YLL[VW)S]K-SV^VVK

)LOPUK[OL(WWSLILLZVU3HRLSHUK

/81&+63(&,$/

4(!.+3 &/2 6/4).')LQDOLVW

"%34 !3)!.2%34!52!.4%HVWRI-DFNVRQ

Join the JFP Chick Ball in celebrating 11 years of helping metro families break the cycle of domestic abuse.

Become a Sponsor!*NQFSJBM)JHIOFTTt&NQSFTT&NQFSPS

2VFFO,JOHt1SJODFTT1SJODFt%VDIFTT%VLF$PVOUFTT$PVOUt$IJDL3PPTUFS

Make checks payable to Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence or use your credit card at mcadv.org

1SPDFFET CFOFG J U .JTT J T T JQQJ $PBM J U JPO"HBJOT U %PNFTU J D 7 JP MFODF BOE UIFTFSW J DFT J U QSPW JEFT UP IFMQ CSFBL UIF DZD MF P G W JP MFODF

Write natalie@jacksonfreepress.com or call 601-362-6121 ext. 16 to get involved.

+'1$IJDL#BMM]4BUVSEBZ+VMZ]QNUPNJEOJHIU])BM.BMT

IMA

NI K

HAY

YAM

JACKSONIAN JERRELL JONES

H ip-hop has been part of Jackson native and rapper Jerrell Jones culture since he was born. Jones, known to fans as Jrell Rainman, began listening to the genre when rappers such as Nas and Shades of Gray were at the peak of their popularity in the 90s. He also became infatuated with words. Words can be powerfulhow (they) can hurt, how (they) can heal, Jones says. Jones music is often centered on real-life topics. He says that many contemporary artists fall short of the honesty that he heard from his favorite rappers when he was younger. A lot thats going on the industry right now, I feel that it lacks that, he says. I want to bring back (that) sound to the music indus-try. One way Jones is doing that is to highlight peoples ordinary, day-to-day struggles. If youre working a 9-to-5 (job), trying to make ends meet, and you feel like nobody has your back, I want to be that inspirator in your ear that (says), Keep moving; stay strong. Gods got you. Everything is a passover. If youre tak-ing that test, and youre only a couple of points away, and you failed and now you want to just give up I want to just be that inspirator, that motivator to keep you going, he says. Jones, 27, has received a number of ac-colades and recognitions, including a nomina-tion for New York music production company Forbes Music Inc.s 2014 Artist of the Year. His single, Dope Status, which features Florida rapper Papa Duck, reached No. 1 on the IBFU

Radio Live-XM independent hip-hop station chart in January 2014. Jones released his debut single, Never Forget, under music-industry promotion company, Inner-G Promotions, which he owns with Brandon Hardwell and Eddie Pugh IV, a former senior vice president of black music at Columbia Records. But Jones doesnt intend to be a one-trick pony. He is studying public relations at Hol-mes Community College and plans to transfer to Jackson State University when he completes his studies at the community college. He wants to earn a bachelors degree in public relations. It adds to my rsum, and it also aligns with the career path and choice that I plan on pursuing, which is my music, he says. Also, it teaches me to market myself correctly and to market others correctly. His education also helps his work with his clothing company, Grind Heavy Academy. Jones, Hardwell and Pugh launched the brand in August 2014. The line includes T-shirts, backpacks, and snapback and fitted hats with the Grind Heavy logo. Right now, the clothing is only available for direct purchase, but Jones, Hardwell and Pugh are in the process of find-ing local vendors to sell their products. It means, Without faith or work ethic, your works are dead, Jones says of the cloth-ing lines name. Visit inner-gpromotions.com for more infor-mation. Amber Helsel

MAY 27 - JUNE 2 , 2015 | VOL. 13 NO. 38

4 ....................... PUBLISHERS NOTE6 ............................................ TALKS12 ................................ EDITORIAL13 .................................... OPINION14 ............................ COVER STORY20 ......................................... FOOD22 .......................................... ARTS24 ....................................... 8 DAYS25 ...................................... EVENTS27 ....................................... MUSIC27 ....................... MUSIC LISTINGS28 ..................................... SPORTS31 .................................... PUZZLES33 ....................................... ASTRO

Photo illustrationby Kristin BrenemenC O N T E N T S

)/,&.5.(,7+$//,621,0$1,.+$i]xUv

13

Blues was the music of poor

people.

Editor-in-Chief Donna LaddPublisher Todd Stauffer

EDITORIAL

News Editor R.L. NaveAssistant Editor Amber HelselJFP Daily Editor Dustin Cardon

Music Editor Micah Smith Events Listings Editor Latasha WillisMusic Listings Editor Tommy Burton

Editorial Assistant Adria WalkerNews Intern Zachary Oren Smith

Editorial Interns Jordan Morrow, Guy King, Miles Thomas, Alexis Ware, Nia Wilson

Writers Bryan Flynn, Shameka Hamilton, Genevieve Legacy, LaTonya Miller,

Maya Miller, Ronni Mott, Greg Pigott, Julie Skipper, Jon Wiener

Consulting Editor JoAnne Prichard Morris

ART AND PHOTOGRAPHYArt Director Kristin Brenemen

Advertising Designer Zilpha YoungStaff Photographer

Imani KhayyamContributing Photographer

Tate K. NationsDesign Intern Joshua Sheriff

ADVERTISING SALES

Advertising Director Kimberly GriffinAccount Managers Gina Haug, Brandi Stodard

BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS

Distribution Manager Richard Laswell Distribution Raymond Carmeans, Avery Cahee,

Clint Dear, Michael McDonald, Ruby ParksBookkeeper Melanie Collins

Marketing Assistant Natalie WestAssistant to the CEO Inga-Lill SjostromOperations Consultant David Joseph

ONLINE

Web Editor Dustin CardonWeb Designer Montroe Headd

CONTACT US:

Letters letters@jacksonfreepress.comEditorial editor@jacksonfreepress.comQueries submissions@jacksonfreepress.comListings events@jacksonfreepress.comAdvertising ads@jacksonfreepress.comPublisher todd@jacksonfreepress.comNews tips news@jacksonfreepress.comFashion style@jacksonfreepress.com

Jackson Free Press125 South Congress Street, Suite 1324

Jackson, Mississippi 39201Editorial (601) 362-6121Sales (601) 362-6121Fax (601) 510-9019

Daily updates at jacksonfreepress.com

The Jackson Free Press is the citys award-win-ning, locally owned newsweekly, with 17,000 copies distributed in and around the Jackson metropolitan area every Wednesday. The Jackson Free Press is free for pick-up by readers; one copy per person, please. First-class subscriptions are available for $100 per year for postage and handling. The Jackson Free Press welcomes thoughtful opinions. The views expressed in this newspaper are not necessarily those of the publisher or management of Jackson Free Press Inc.

Copyright 2015 Jackson Free Press Inc. All Rights Reserved

Happy Hour

3pm-7pm mon-friHapp

y Hour Happy Hour

1149 Old Fannin Rd. Brandon(769) 251- 0692

2pm - 12 am Mon - Thurs11 am - 12 am Fri - Sun

Thursdays

Pub Poll 7PM

Fridays

Liue Music8pm

Saturdays

Liue Music8pm

Tuesdays

Trivia Night7PM FREE!

Sponsored By

DWWKH2OG)DUPHUV0DUNHW

:RRGURZ:LOVRQ-DFNVRQ

& 2 % 3 (6EGETABLES:HVHOOIUHVKEXWWHUEHDQVDQGSHDVE\WKHEXVKHO

DONT MISS OUT!on the really

$$ BIG BUCKS $$ to be made

Telesales! Start at $12.00/hr

PLUS BONUS and 4 DAY work weekCall today:

601-957-3841L.D. OMire Financial Services

>i]xUv

14

CARROLLTON, Miss. In the weeks leading up to Mississippis new third-grade literacy test this past April, Zanysha Amos, age 9, was a bundle of anxi-ety. She couldnt eat; she couldnt sleep. Ever-present

worry furrowed her little brow. When Zanysha sat down in front of the computer screen to answer the 50 questions on the statewide test, she knew that she could be held back if her score wasnt deemed ad-equate. The thought was too painful to bear: another year in the same grade, a year older than everybody else, going over the same stuff for 10 agonizing months? Her mother said Zanysha also had a nagging question she needed answered: What was the point of the As and Bs she pushed herself to get on her report cards, of coming home every day after school and unfailingly diving into her homework, if an uninspired performance on a two-hour test could wipe away a years worth of effort? She told me, if she was studying and doing good work during the school year, then she shouldnt have to pass a test to go to the next grade, said her mother, Ztear-reyo Amos, an assistant teacher at Zanyshas school in this north central town just off U.S. Highway 82. Amos had a hard time arguing with her daughters logic. Zanyshas questions illustrate the wor-ries that many parents and educators in Mis-sissippi have expressed since Gov. Phil Bryant signed legislation two years ago that declared third-graders could not be promoted with-out passing a test to prove they were adequate readers. Is such a high-stakes trial appropriate for 8- and 9-year-olds, so tenderly lacking in emotional maturity? Arent they too young to confront two make-or-break hours on a single test that could keep them from mov-ing up a grade with their classmates? Bryant believes he is doing the children of Mississippi a favor. He reasons students have little chance of academic success if they cant read by fourth grade and predicts such students run a much higher risk of dropping

out later on. The argument is personal to the governor, who recalls the many benefits he derived from being held back when he was a struggling reader in third grade.

Yet, in a state that has historically come up dramatically short in adequate funding for schools, popular sentiment among parents isnt with the governor. Per-pupil spending here is always among the lowest in the na-tion, while students are some of the poorest in the U.S. In recent interviews, more than a dozen Mississippi parents and educators said they believe Bryants plan is particularly un-fair and will punish 9-year-olds for the results of decades of funding shortfalls.

Just not fair A system of school funding under which districts in richer areas receive more funding than districts in poor areas com-pounds the problem. Karen King, whose son Trey is a third-grader at Marshall Elementary School in Carrollton, said she is stunned by how many more resources children have at a better-funded school about 30 miles down the road, where she teaches sixth grade. Those kids have access to so much

more, she said. These kids here at Marshall dont even all have books in the classroom. The difference between what Marshall has and what they have down the road is com-

pletely unrealistic. And its just not fair. In 1997 the state Legislature established a formulathe Mississippi Adequate Edu-cation Program (MAEP)for determining how much money is required to adequately fund public schools. In the past 18 years, Mississippis public schools have only been adequately funded twice. The shortfall since 2009 has totaled more than $1.5 billion. Bryants initiative comes at a time when state voters will have a chance to demand better financing of the states school system via a constitutional amendment. Voters in November will be asked to choose between two competing ballot initiatives. Initiative 42 mandates that the state Legislature increase funding for Mississippi schools over the next seven years to reach the level deemed ad-equate, with the courts enforcing the man-date. The Legislature added an additional initiative, 42A, to the ballot. It will ask voters to decide if the Legislature should establish and support effective public schools, but not

provide a mechanism to enforce that right. Supporters of Initiative 42 say the Legislature added 42A in an attempt to confuse voters. Many parents believe better-funded

schools will lead to better test scores. The Parents Campaign Research and Education Fund collected numbers that show state-wide reading scores for fourth-graders rose in 2008, a year after the Legislature fully funded schools in 2007.

Kids get bad news On May 7, the Mississippi Board of Education decided what the passing score would be for the reading test third-grade stu-dents took in April, and schools began the delicate task of delivering bad news to thou-sands of parents and students. Statewide, 14.83 percent of third grad-ers5,612 studentsfailed to reach the minimum score needed for entrance into fourth grade on the first test. Those 5,612 students took the test again May 18 to 22, and the computer notified them immedi-ately whether they passed or not, said Patrice Guilfoyle, communications director for the Mississippi Department of Education.

As Mississippi delivers bad news to thousands of third-graders, stressed-out parents say there must be a better wayby Nick Chiles, The Hechinger Report

NIC

K C

HILES

Carroll County Superintendent Billy Joe Fergusons district had a 19 percent failure rate on the third-grade reading test.

Tests on Trial

>i]xUv

15

Those who failed a second time will be scheduled to attend summer school starting in June and will get a final chance to pass the test in late June or early July. If they fail a third time, theyll have to repeat third grade. Some districts said they would also in-vite students who barely passed the test to attend summer school, so they will be better positioned to do well in fourth grade. The state Department of Education stressed that the cutoff score on the test, referred to as the 3rd Grade Reading Summative Assessment, indicates the point at which a student has acquired the minimum reading skills needed to learn properly in fourth grade. When the scores were first delivered, the failure rateas everyone expectedwas much higher in high-poverty districts, where many children start school behind and stay behind. In Greenville, a district abutting the Mississippi River in the heart of the Delta, in which nearly all the students at the el-ementary schools qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, the overall failure rate was 37 percentwith several schools showing rates over 40 percent and one school, Webb El-ementary, over 50 percent. Goodman Pickens Elementary School in Central Mississippis Holmes County saw a whopping failure rate of 59 percent, while two other Holmes County schools had failure rates of 46 and 52 percent. Holmes County has a median income of $22,325 and the lowest life expectancy of any county in the United States, largely due to its abnor-mally high obesity rates. Jacksonthe states largest city with 30,000 public-school students and 34 el-ementary schoolshad a failure rate of 28 percent. And at Carroll Countys Marshall Elementary, where Zanysha attends school and where more than 90 percent of the stu-dents qualify for free or reduced lunch, the failure rate was 19 percentfar lower than Carroll County officials had anticipated. The day the scores came out was a good one for Zanysha Amos and her mother, de-spite their many questions and concerns. Zanysha passed.

The Florida model Many education experts look at Mis-sissippi and claim its academic failures are directly connected to a dilemma with which America has long struggled: how to educate the poor. To Gov. Bryant, the answer is to get tough with the little ones and impose what might seem like severe sanctions if they dont measure up. The governor views the get-tough policy as an act of compassion, linking it nostalgically to the extra help and caring instruction he received when he was held back, and noting that holding the line now will help students in the long run. Bryants case had a happy ending: His fourth-grade teacher discovered his reading difficulties were a result of dyslexia, and with additional help, the young Bryant was able to overcome his disability. Repeating the third grade was the best thing that could have happened to me, the

governor said in February 2015, according to media reportsthough in 2012 he had recounted that being retained was a diffi-cult, horrible experience. Bryant said he modeled Mississippis third-grade gate after the success of a similar program in Florida, the 2003 brain-child of former Gov. Jeb Bush. A 2012 report by Mar-tin West of the Harvard Graduate School of Education revealed that Florida third-graders who were retained actually outperformed

their peers who just barely surpassed the cutoff score over the next few years, though the difference between the groups eventually disappeared in later grades. But there are at least two key differ-ences between Florida and Mississippi. Florida pumped about $1 billion into the education system to boost litera-cy in the early grades, including placing a literacy coach in every school, while Mis-sissippi thus far has added less than $25 millionthough Bryant has pointed out that Florida only put in $10 million in the programs first year. For Mississippi, the money meant less than 100 literacy coaches for the states 426 elementary schools. Bryant has been defen-sive when asked why the effort was so small. We knew we couldnt put reading coaches in every school, he said. The ques-tion is, Why do we put a reading coach into schools? Are the teachers we have now not prepared to teach children to read? Though Bryant seemed to dismiss the necessity of reading coaches, the bill he signed in 2013 mandates intensive reading instruction and support for students who repeat the third grade, including smaller classes and a high-performing teacher with a demonstrated record of student im-provement in reading. In the Florida study, author West noted that test-based promotion policies are most likely to be successful if they are accompanied by specific requirements that retained students be provided with additional, research-based instruction in

reading and adequate funding to imple-ment those requirements. Another key difference between Florida and Mississippi, as West notes, is that Florida allowed an exemption from retention based on a students portfolio of workand that in the first six years of the program slightly more than half of the students who failed the test received an exemption. Mississippi allows exemptions: special-education students, students still learning

English and those who have already been retained once. Yet the state doesnt give educators any discretion in promoting a student based on his or her portfolio of worktotally remov-ing the classroom teacher, who knows the student best, from the equation. Thats an enormous difference in the eyes of students and parents. Many of Mississippis poor districts, like Carroll County, struggle to get enough books for every student. Educators won-der where the cash-strapped districts will find the money to hire the additional teachers needed to reduce class sizes, as the governors legislation mandates. And where will the districts find these high performing teachers, especially if there is no extra money to entice them?

Does retention help or hurt? For the past three decades, states have been using standardized tests to make a whole lot of extremely important deci-sions about teachers and students. Which teachers are inadequate? Which teachers are exceptional? Which students should be placed in remedial settings? Which students should be primed for long-term success? The answers generally come from the stu-dents standardized test scores. There are now 14 states that require third-graders to pass a statewide reading exam to be promoted to fourth grade. But eight of these states accept a portfolio exemp-tion or allow the childs teacher or principal to overrule the results of the test. Wests Florida study notwithstand-ing, education experts such as Stanford University professor Linda Darling-Ham-mond, a nationally recognized expert in education policy, claim that retention does more harm than good. Darling-Hammond said that 30 years of research have told us precisely what will happen in Mississippi: The increased focus on reading in the early grades will lead to a negligible increase in reading test scores in the first few years of the program, but in the long term, the dropout rate will increase as those third-graders who were held back be-come further disconnected from school. We have had dozens and dozens of studies on this topic, Darling-Hammond said. The findings are about as consistent as any findings are in education research: The use of testing is counterproductive, it does not improve achievement over the long run, but it does dramatically increase dropout rates. Almost every place that has put this kind of policy in place since the 1970s has eventually found it counterproductive and has eliminated the policy. Unfortunately, policy makers often are not aware of the re-search, and they come along years later and reintroduce the same policies that were done away with previously because of negative consequences and lack of success. Examples of the studies Darling-Ham-mond refers to are not hard to find. For instance, a 2005 report from the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University found that grade retention can in-crease the risk of dropping out by 20 percent to 50 percent. Supporters of Bryants approach point to their own studies, which indicate that students are much more likely to drop out if they are unable to read by fourth grade. Nicole Webb, communications di-rector for the governor, said that Missis-sippis Literacy Based Promotion Act was developed in close coordination with a host of national and in-state education experts and advocates. If districts really want to meet the needs of third-graders, Darling-Hammond said, they would pass struggling readers along to fourth grade and connect them with a

PRUH7(67,1*VHHSDJH

NIC

K C

HILES

School sign outside Marshall Elementary in Carroll County, Miss., which is desperately in need of funding.

The children have to have books to read, so thats what I have to do. I have book glue,

I have tape. I can get two or three more years out of

them before I have to order some more.Librarian Ruby Burkhead, Marshall

Elementary School.

>i]xUv

16

IS ALWAYS IN SEASON

MAY

Annual members get 10% OFF | Member Owners get 20% OFF(Excludes Member Staples, Member Specials, & Beer)

MEMBER DAYS EVERY FRI-SUN IN MAY

HALF-OFF MEMBERSHIPS every day in May!

Bright Arrows FarmTERRY, MS

Pennington FarmPEARL, MS

Farmer DonCOLLINS, MS

Holmes County ASAPGOODMAN, MS

Beason Family FarmsPHILADELPHIA, MS

T&R DairyLIBERTYVILLE, MS

Salad DaysFLORA, MS

Beaverdam FarmsCEDAR HILL, MS

Meet some of our local sourcesof produce!

&UHDWLYH3HUIRUPLQJ$UWV&DPSJuly 6 - 18, 2015Monday - Friday

Performances on July 16, 17, & 18Kindergarten - 6th Grade

9am - 5pm DailyDiscounts available for families with multiple children.

Full and partial scholarships available.Lunch and snacks provided.

Participants will spend their days in class rotations of singing, PRYHPHQWDFWLQJDUW\RJDDQGUHHFWLRQ$WWKHHQGRIWKHWZR

weeks, they will show all they have learned in a production of Disneys The Jungle Book Kids.

For further information, please call:JAMES MARTIN - (601) 212-0063

Minister of Music & Creative Arts MinistriesWells UMC

%DLOH\$YHQXH-DFNVRQ06

&UHDWLYH 3HUIRUPLQJ $UWV &DPSJuly 6 - 18, 20153HUIRUPLQJ

Wells United Methodist Church

2@9FC7GM$GJ

4GLAF?3KL@=

=KL!GFKA?FE

=FL1LGJ=

242 Hwy 51, Ridgeland | 601.605.9393Facebook: Repeat Street Metro Jackson Twitter: @RepeatSt | www.repeatstreet.net

STYL I S T S :Nikki Henry, Brock Freeman, Lori Scroggins, Liz Torres, & Claire

Kinsey Mayronne

574 Hwy 51 N. Suite H, Ridgeland, MS 39157

601-856-4330 Like Us on Facebook Like Us on Facebook Like Us on Facebook

teacher trained in a program like Reading Recovery, which has been reliably shown to improve the skills of youngsters who find reading difficult. Critics might describe Darling-Ham-monds suggestions as social promotion, protecting students self-esteem by moving them along to the next grade, even if they arent academically ready. But Darling-Ham-mond says the dichotomy is a false one. People often present this as if there are only two choiceschoice one is hold the kids back, and the other is socially promote them without any additional resources or strategies, Darling-Hammond said. But the third way, the right response, is one in which you identify the resources they must have and ensure they are getting them im-mediately. They also should look at whether if you sit them down with a book, can they read? Because a lot of kids perform poorly on multiple-choice standardized tests who actu-ally know the material if you present it in a more authentic way. Darling-Hammond and others also point out that grade retention is extremely expensive, a fact that cannot be ignored in cash-strapped Mississippi. Holding a child back adds an entire year of instruction for that child to the budget. Most of the other responses to help kids who are behind cost significantly less than that, Darling-Hammond added.

Who gets held back? Disturbingly, the pain that a retention policy inflicts is not shared equally. The majority of the kids retained we know will be poor and largely African American, and also new immigrants, be-cause thats happening everywhere else, said Robert Schaeffer, public education director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing (also known as FairTest), the advocacy group that has long fought against the widespread use of standardized tests. Schools should do better, but they cant do magic. When you have kids coming to school years behind at the starting line be-cause of poverty, because their parents arent educated, because they dont speak English, its ludicrous to expect them to catch up by third grade without lots of extra help. In Mississippi, many children start school at a disadvantage. Until recently, Mississippi was the only state in the south without a publicly funded pre-K program. The program that exists now is tiny: just 6 percent of 4-year-olds in Mississippi attend a state-funded program. By comparison, Florida provides pre-K to more than 74 percent of its 4-year-olds. A reported two-thirds of students in Mis-sissippi start kindergarten unprepared.

What districts already knew Parents and teachers argue that not only does the test punish kids who are al-

ready disadvantaged, but it also doesnt provide teachers with any new information about their students. Billy Joe Ferguson, Carroll Countys outspoken longtime superintendent, said when he dug into the scores, he saw that the 13 third-graders from his districts only elementary school (Marshall Elementary, where Zanysha Amos goes to school) who fell below the cutoff score were all students his teachers had long ago identified as strug-gling readers who would likely have difficulty doing fourth-grade work. In other words, after all the time, ex-

pense and stress of an additional state test, the district didnt find out anything it didnt already know. So what purpose did the test serve? The teachers in that classroom give tests all the time, said Ferguson, 67, whoexcept for four yearshas been Carroll Countys superintendent since 1996. They work with the kids, and they pretty well know that youre going to have some who wont pass to the next grade with or without a test because they couldnt do the work. Maybe theyre a little slow, need a little more time, maybe the kid didnt apply himself. Sometimes you can have a split home. You can have so many things happen in a childs life that could impact that one test. Hope-fully, with the makeup test, you can filter that out. But to me its just needlessly spending a lot of money. Ferguson said his $10 million district budget has been cut every year since 2009, when the recession devastated everyone, set-ting the district back a total of about $3.5 million, money that was desperately needed to help students reach their potential Teacher assistants, literacy coachesthings like that I dont have money for. I

would love to have a literacy coach, said Ferguson, who made headlines in 2009 when he decided to retire early and start taking his pension although he continued to run the district. Fergusons retirement saved the district about $100,000 a year for his salary and benefits. Without Fergusons move, the district was in danger of being unable to meet its expenses. Ferguson now earns a salary of just $18,000, which he mainly uses for travel and expenses. In the district he runs, most of the buses are 15 years old, the elementary schools 25-

year-old roof could give out at any moment, and aging window units are used to cool the elementary school because it doesnt have central air. The walls are cracking so much in one first-grade classroom that its possible to see through them to the outside. In addition, the elementary school of 500 students has no assistant principal, no guidance counselor and only a handful of assistant teachers, who all the early-grade classrooms share. When schools are strong and well-funded, a child struggling with reading in first grade is more likely to be put on a conveyor built of special services and in-terventionsreading coaches, reading re-covery specialists, tutors, mentorsso that the child is proficient by the time he or she reaches third grade. At poorly funded schools like Marshall, a child is often left to struggle alone, with very few of these needed interventions. So by the time a test comes at the end of third grade, the student is already far behind. Rana Mitchell, Fergusons assistant superintendent, said if the state is going to hold back students who cant read, it should be done in first grade when students are still trying to acquire the skills.

`I have book glue To see a picture of scarcity and depri-vation, walk into the library at Marshall El-ementary, where librarian Ruby Burkhead has set aside a special drawer in her desk for her book-repair materials. Burkhead said she received just $900 this year to buy new books for the library. Anyone who has spent an hour in Barnes & Noble book shopping with one child knows how painful on the wallet it can be. Nine hundred dollars doesnt come close to getting the job done for 500 children. In a state focusing on early reading skills, Burkheads library is ground zerothe place where fledgling readers can discover the world of books and become skilled and enthusiastic readers. Since she cant buy new books, Burk-head has taught herself how to be a book restorer. Thats what I do on SaturdaysI come in here and repair my books, she said. The children have to have books to read, so thats what I have to do. I have book glue, I have tape. I can get two or three more years out of them before I have to order some more.

Treys bad day On a recent spring day, Karen King stood in the main office at Marshall with her shoulders slumped. The schools principal, Fletcher Harges, had just told her that her son Trey had not passed the third-grade test. After all the sleepless nights and upset stom-achs, he still got bad news. The morning of the test was actually the worst part. He was nauseated, sick, be-cause he had to take the test, King said. It was terrible, one of the worst feelings I ever felt in my life, because there was nothing I could do about it. Its something he has to do. Mr. Harges just told me he is going to have to retake it. Thinking of him going through all of that again just sucks. Since Trey is already in special educa-tion because of learning disabilities and has already been held back once, he will likely receive an exemption and be promoted to the fourth grade anyway. But the damage has already been done. Hes overcome a lot of his issues, but what does this do to him long term? his mother asked. To his self-esteem, his social development, everything? Even if he does pull through it, I think it has had negative effects on him. King paused and looked out the win-dow. There must be a better way to as-sess childrens knowledge than put them through this kind of stress, she said. Its just absolutely not fair.

This story was produced by The Hech-inger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education.

>i]xUv

17

TESTINGIURPSDJH

NIC

K C

HILES

Librarian Ruby Burkhead has worked at Marshall Elementary for 19 years.

>i]xUv

18

2481 Lakeland Drive Flowood | 601.932.4070

%20 off Gift Cards!Try our Tres Leches

Best Barbecue in Jackson&DQWRQ0DUW5G-DFNVRQ

Come try our AWARD WINNING BBQand see why we

keep getting voted for Best BBQ not only in

Jackson but in the State!

Check out Our Catering Menu and PARTY TRAYS at www.salandphils.com

Check out Our Catering Menu and PARTY TRAYS at

Check out Our Catering Menu and PARTY TRAYS at

CRAWFISH ARE BACK!

Live & Boiled

SEAFOOD RESTAURANT & LOUNGE

WELCOME TO

Local Events, Sales and Specials for iPhone and Android.

WELCOME TO JACKTOWN.Local Events, Sales and Specials for iPhone and Android!

JACKTOWN is the JFPs new iPhone and Android app focusing on entertainment and events in the Jackson Metro area.

Best Bets recommended listings in a variety of categories Bookmarks to remember events you want to attend Invite Your Friends via the app or SMS text Group chat about upcoming events with invited friends Users can easily map to venues and buy tickets Access to full music, events and headlines of Jackson Free Press Sponsored Listings and Venue Channels

Download JACKTOWN now! Text JACKSON to 77948 to get links to the iPhone and Android download pages.

Or search for Jackson Jacktown in the iTunes and Google Play stores!

Type to enter text

BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS: Call 601-362-6121 x11 now to learn how you can get your events listed and promoted on Jacktown!

FREE! TEXTJACKSON TO 77948 TO GET

DOWNLOAD LINKS OR VISIT JFP.MS/JACKTOWN

>i]xUv

19

The Shack (601) 926-4793

941 Highway 80 East l Clinton, MSHours: T-Th: 12pm-8pm,

Fri-Sat: 11am-9pm, Sun: 12pm-6pm www.facebook.com/tbeauxscraw! sh

The Swamp ( 769) 230-3855

5752-B Terry Rd. l Byram , MSHours: T-Th: 11am-8pm,

Fri-Sat: 11am-9pm, Sun: 12pm-6pm www.facebook.com/tbeauxsbyram

CrawfishLive & Boiled

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

1220 E. Northside Dr. 601-366-5676

www.mcdadeswineandspirits.comPlease Drink ResponsiblyDownload

our new app!

A FRESH NEW

O N W I NE

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

Come check out Flowoods Newest and Only Greek

Restaurant!

We have a great

variety of gyros,

hummus, craft beers,

and gluten free menu

options.

132 Lakeland Heights Suite P, Flowood, MS 6 0 1 . 9 9 2 . 9 4 9 8 www.zeekzhouseofgyros.com

Vacation Never Ends at Islander Oyster House!

Daily Lunch SpecialsNew Orleans Style Sunday Brunch

Best Gambino Bread PoBoys!

How to Not Waste Foodby Amber Helsel

LIFE&STYLE | food

I m really good at wasting food. I go to the grocery store and drop a fairly decent sum of money on healthy grocer-ies, and then, somehow, I find a reason not to eat any of it. I go out to eat, or I wait so long to cook that it goes bad. But about a month ago, I had a revelation. One day, I had a really bad craving for wings. It happens about once a week, and for the brief period of time that Sonic Drive-In had boneless wings, Id go and get thosedefinitely not the most healthy habit, but they were cheap, and I just really needed them. I think what I find most appealing about the dish is its diversity. Each flavor transports you to a differ-ent place, whether it be Korea (my personal favorite) or the Deep South or just a bar with really good wings. As I was thinking about what to do about my dilem-ma, I remembered the time I made peanut butter-and-jelly wings. They were good. And I thought to myself, why not just cook a huge batch of regular wings and toss them in a different sauce each time I eat them? I know exactly whats going into my food, frankly, homemade tastes better, and its not that boring. You just buy a pack of chicken wings from the store (I do frozen ones), toss them in seasoned flour and bake them. Toss them in a sauce, and there you go. You can even put celery on the side like youd get them at a bar or restaurant. That, to me, is one of the most satisfying parts of the meal. This idea can actually translate to a lot of things. The last time I did this, I decided that, instead of wings, Id do Asian

tacos. Theyre simple, portable and have endless possibilities. I bought some chicken tenders, tossed them in rice-wine vine-gar, soy sauce, and some seasonings, placed them on a greased pan and cooked them in the oven for about 20 minutes. I also bought some chopped red cabbage and carrots, and then sliced some green onions to make a simple slaw. For the tacos, I just chopped up the chicken, tossed it in a Korean barbecue sauce or Asian chili sauce, or even Sriracha when I was feeling really adventurous, put the chicken in a small corn tortilla, added the slaw and voilaan easy week-night meal that took me years to discover.

AM

BER H

ELSEL

Sometimes not wasting food means have a ready-made meal at home that you actually want to eat.

>i]xUv

20

iV Line a large baking pan with foil and coat it with non-stick cooking spray. Combine the flour, paprika, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper in a large bowl and mix. Toss the wings in it and place about 12-24 on the pan, ensuring that none are touching. Refrigerate the wings uncovered for 30 minutes.

About halfway through refrigeration, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. After 30 minutes, put the pan in the oven and cook for 45 to 55 minutes. About halfway through cooking time, take the wings out of the oven, and, using a pair of tongs, flip them over so the other side can cook. The wings are done when the juices run clear. Once they finish, let them cool on a wire rack. Then, toss them in your sauce and eat. Its actually fairly easy to make your own sauces. At its most basic level, a buffalo sauce is just hot sauce and butter, and barbecue sauces, even Asian ones, are fairly easy to make.

Easy Tacos

Chicken>VVii`i>LiViii}>>Li`>Vii>}}i>Li}>V`i>Li`ii>>i>ii VV}>

>->Vi `V>LL>}i]Vi`VV>]i``i`V}ii]Vi`

/>V1 corn tortilla{V>1 chicken tender{Viii>L>LiVi]/>i>ii>>Vi

iV Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking pan with foil and grease it with non-stick cooking spray. Toss the chicken in the vinegar, soy sauce and seasonings. Place the chicken ten-ders on the pan, ensuring none are touching. My pan holds about 12-14. Cook them for about 20 minutes, or until the meat in the middle is white. While the chicken is cooking, chop the green onions, cabbage and carrots (I usu-ally buy my cabbage and carrots already chopped) and toss them in a large bowl. Once the chicken is done cooking, let it cool for about 10-15 minutes. To make the taco, chop a chicken ten-der and place it in a small bowl with 1/4 cup slaw. Toss the mixture in a sauce of your choice and then place into a corn tortilla.

Weeknight Wings{VVi}]viV>iyi>>>i>>i>ii

i>V>iiii VV}>VLvv>]L>LiVii>Vi

707 N Congress St., Jackson | 601-353-1180\>U-\>

Spring Has Sprung!Join Us On Our Patio

Best Fried Chicken in Town & Best Fried Chicken in the Country

-Best of Jackson 2003-2015--Food & Wine Magazine-

VASILIOSAUTHENTIC GREEK DINING

MON-FRI 11A-2P,5-10P SAT 5-10P828 HWY 51, MADISON

Where Do You Start, When Everything Tastes Delicious?

>i]xUv

21

(Not valid on charity taco nights) Technology Free TuesdayGive your server your phone for a 15% discount.

1200 N STATE ST #100, JACKSON, MS 39202(601) 398-4562

T he South is the birthplace of the blues, and Public Broadcasting Sta-tions Blues Road Trip describes the Mississippi Delta as the genres emo-

tional heart. So, inherently, a certain amount of pressure goes along with producing a mu-sical revue about the blues in the Magnolia State. New Stage Theatre is gearing up to tackle that tough number this month. It Aint Nothin But the Blues is a melding of music that culminates in what we now identify as the blues. Peppy Biddy, director of New Stages revue, describes the show as part concert, (part) chronological telling of the history of the blues. The revue begins with African chants, which are the essential roots of blues music,

and moves musically through the Mississippi Delta, ending up in Chicago. Because the blues evolution also influenced country mu-sic, that link plays out on stage, too.

The fact that (It Aint Nothin But the Blues) has a lot of ties to Mississippi gives us an obligation to work even harder on it, Biddy says. You cant get away with any-thing inauthentic. That, coupled with the fact that the re-vue made it to Broadway in 1999 and earned four Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical, pushes the stakes even higher. Yeah, well, theres always that, Biddy says with a laugh. Actor, singer and songwriter Ron Tay-lors original idea for the revue was to perform

songs showing the evolution of the genre, and Taylor, along with director Randal Myler, art-ist, actor, singer and composer Mississippi Charles Bevel, singer/songwriter and actress Lita Gaithers, and actor Danny Wheetman wrote the script. The Denver Center The-atre Company originally produced the re-vue; then the Crossroads Theatre Company, with the San Diego Repertory and Alabama Shakespeare Festival, presented it for the first time in New York at the New Victory

Theater. Crossroads, the San Diego Reper-tory and Alabama Shakespeare Festival, in association with the Lincoln Center Theater, produced the play at the Vivian Beaumont. In its Broadway iteration, seven performers cover around 35 songs within two hours, all to the accompaniment of a six-piece band. Of the original shows writers, Taylor, Bevel and Wheetman were also part of the Broadway show, along with actors Gretha Boston and Carter Calvert, singer Eloise Laws, and jazz singer, songwriter and actor Gregory Porter.

As a jukebox musical revue, It Aint Nothin But the Blues is not plot driven. Most of the dialogue serves to inform the au-dience where the music has been and where its going. For New Stage, it means that the production relies heavily on the vocal chops of its seven performers to successfully deliver more than 35 songs over two acts. And it has no character roles as you might expect in a traditional book musical. Instead, the per-formers go by their own names. New Stage cast three Jackson actorsJames Martin, Kimberly Morgan Myles and Mandy Kate Myersand also Sharon Miles from Hattiesburg. A New York casting call brought three more to the stage: Chris Blis-set, Randall Holloway and Tony Perry. Musical director Sheilah Walker the musical director for Aint Misbehaven at New Stage 11 years ago who also has Broad-way and London theater creditsand the cast put a lot of stock in thorough prepara-tion. Miles, who sings Someone Else Is Steppin In and I Put a Spell On You, among other tunes, puts it this way: The more you practice it, as opposed to shying away from it, the more you can stretch the vocal cords, and it really does help. So by the time the show opens, you will have worked that muscle enough so that youre mentally not getting in the way (and) that you can ac-tually hit that note comfortably. Among other songs the audience will hear are Patsy Clines Walkin After Midnight, Peggy Lees Fever, and a Roy Hawkins tune that B.B. King made famous: The Thrill is Gone. The revue also includes the Don Gibson song I Cant Stop Loving You, which was a hit for Ray Charles, Billie Holidays Strange Fruit, Muddy Waters Im Your Hoochie Coochie Man and Rob-ert Johnsons Come On In My Kitchen. It Aint Nothin But the Blues runs May 26 through June 7 at New Stage Theatre (1100 Carlisle St., 601-948-3533). The play begins at 7:30 p.m., May 27-30 and June 2-6. Sun-day matinees begin at 2 p.m. on May 30 and June 7. Tickets are $28 general admission and $22 for students and seniors. For more infor-mation, visit newstagetheatre.com.

8 DAYS p 24 | MUSIC p 27 | SPORTS pp 28-30

Aint Nothing But the Birthplace of the Bluesby LaTonya Miller

CO

URT

ESY N

EW STA

GE T

HEAT

RE

>i]xUv

22

Sharon Miles, Kimberly Morgan Myles and Mandy Kate Myers star in New Stage Theatres production of It Aint Nothin But the Blues, which runs from May 26 to June 7.

>i]xUv

23

Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and ParksMuseum of Natural Science

2148 Riverside Drive Jackson, MS ZZZPVQDWXUDOVFLHQFHRUJ

This project sponsored in part by the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau

VISIT THE NEWEST EXHIBIT AT THE SOUTHEASTS BEST ATTRACTION!

THERES A LITTLE WOLF IN EVERY DOGTHE LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE TRAVELING EXHIBITION

EVER CREATED TO EXPLORE THE HISTORY OF DOGS

OPENS

MAY 30

380 SOUTH LAMAR STREET JACKSON,MISSISSIPPI 39201 601.960.1515 1.866.VIEWART @MSMUSEUMART

GEORGE WARDLAW: RECENT WORKSAlso on view at Fischer Galleries 736 President Street Downtown Jackson

George Wardlaw (born 1927), Seeding (detail), 1969. acrylic on canvas. 96 x 48 in. Copyright the artist.

Support for George Wardlaw, A Life in Art: Works from 1954 to 2014 is provided by The Bernice Flowers Hederman Fund and through the Meyer and Genevieve Falk

Endowment Fund for Culture and Arts of the

ON VIEW MAY 29 AUGUST 30, 2015

OPENING WEEKEND

MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM of ARTCost: $10 adults, $8 seniors, $5 students. FREE children 5 and under, ADMISSION IS ALWAYS FREE FOR MUSEUM MEMBERS

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT GEORGE WARDLAW AND MUSEUM MEMBERSHIP VISIT WWW.MSMUSEUMART.ORG

Hinds Community College o!ers equal education and employment opportunities and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability or veteran status in its programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Dr. Debra Mays-Jackson, Vice President for the Utica and Vicksburg-Warren Campuses and Administrative Services, 34175 Hwy. 18, Utica, MS 39175; 601.885.7002.

MilitaryAppreciation Day

MilitaryAppreciation Day

Saturday, June 610 am 2 pm

The Muse Center, Rankin Campus

Hinds Community College will honor current and past service members and their families with

+,1'6&&hub.hindscc.edu/militaryday

Free hamburgers, childrens activities & door prizes

Education and other support services

>i]xUv

24

WEDNESDAY 5/27 It Aint Nothin But the Blues is 7:30 p.m. at New Stage Theatre (1100 Carlisle St.). The production is a ret-rospective of classic blues songs. Additional shows May 28-30, 7:30 p.m., May 31, 2 p.m., June 2-6, 7:30 p.m., and June 7, 2 p.m. $28, $22 students; call 601-948-3533, ext. 222; newstagetheatre.com.

THURSDAY 5/28 The Capture the Spirit of Ramadan International Exhibition opens 10 a.m. at the International Museum of Muslim Cultures (Arts Center of Mississippi, 201 E. Pascagoula St.). The exhibit includes photographs from more than 3,500 photographers from more than 60 countries. Show hangs through July 31. $5, $3 seniors and children, free on Wednesdays; call 601-960-0440; email ealturk@bell-south.net; muslimmuseum.org.

FRIDAY 5/29 A Midsummers Eve Fashion Extravaganza & Hair Explosion is 6 p.m. at the Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). Laces by Lexi and Thomas by De-sign are the presenters, and Selena Johnson of Lifetimes Bring It is the host. The red carpet event is at 6 p.m.,

and the fashion and hair show is at 7 p.m. $25, $40 VIP; call 601-506-7545; email lacesbylexi@gmail.com or thomasbydesign@comcast.net; lacesbylexi.com.

SATURDAY 5/30 Art Is Word: The Art of Storytelling is 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Gallery1 (One University Place, 1100 John R. Lynch St., Suite 4). Includes the Writing for Performance Workshop with playwright and poet Lashunda Thomas from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. (registration required), a Q&A with filmmaker Thabi Moyo from 2-5 p.m. and open mic at 6 p.m. Free; call 404-536-1793; email inspire.ajack-son@gmail.com; follow Inspire Jackson on Facebook. Gin Class 101 is 3 p.m. at BRAVO! Italian Restaurant & Bar (Highland Village, 4500 Inter-state 55 N.). RSVP. $35 per per-son; call 982-8111; email jeffg@bravobuzz.com; bravobuzz.com. The Forever Charlie Tour is 7 p.m. at the Mississippi Coliseum (1207 Mississippi St.). Performers include Charlie Wilson, Kem and Joe. Doors open at 6 p.m. $47.5-$85; call 800-745-3000.

SUNDAY 5/31 The Dream Cult Homecoming Dance is 7 p.m. at Offbeat (151 Wesley Ave.). The Jackson-based indie-rock band celebrates its return from a national tour with a spe-cial homecoming dance featuring awkward dance photos and a king and queen selection. Performers include Dream Cult, Light Beam Rider, Living Together and DJ Stepdad. $5; email dreamcultband@gmail.com; offbeatjxn.com.

MONDAY 6/1 The Margaret Walker Centennial Lecture is 10 a.m. at the Charles Tisdale Library (807 E. Northside Drive). Poet and performer Katrina Byrd hosts Jubi-lee for My People: Writing Workshop for Children. This event includes a performance reading of Margaret Walkers works. Free; call 601-366-0021.

TUESDAY 6/2 Author Jeffery Lent signs copies of his book, A Slant of Light, at 5 p.m. at Lemuria Books (Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 N., Suite 202). Jeffery Lent signs books. Read-ing at 5:30 p.m. $27 book; call 601-366-7619; email info@lemuriabooks.com; lemuriabooks.com. Murder in Tights Dinner Theater is 7 p.m. at Mint (Renaissance, 1000 Highland Colony Parkway, Suite 5002, Ridgeland). Missis-sippi Murder Mysteries presents the family-friendly show set in a senior day care center for superheroes. Includes a three-course dinner. RSVP. $47; call 601-850-2318; email fringed-innertheatre@gmail.com; fringedinnertheatre.com.

WEDNESDAY 6/3 The Filling Station Cooking Class is 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Farmers Table Cooking School (Town of Livingston, 129 Mannsdale Road, Madison). Recipes include barbecue pork sandwiches, potato chips and ice cream sandwiches. Registration required. $59; call 601-506-6821; farmerstab-leinlivingston.com. History Is Lunch is noon at the Wil-liam F. Winter Archives and History Building (200 North St.). Author Janice Tracy discusses her book, Mississippi Moonshine Politics. Sales and signing to follow. Free; call 601-576-6998; mdah.state.ms.us.

FRIDAY 5/29Art Is Word: A Hissy and Prissy Event is at Offbeat.

THURSDAY 5/28The May Opening Reception II is at Fischer Galleries.

SATURDAY 5/30Old School Throwdown is at One Block East.

GEO

FF H

AN

SEN

BESTBETSMAY. 27

- JUNE 3,

2015

XK

WA

KU

ALSTO

N

R&B vocalist Charlie Wilson of The Gap Band fame performs Saturday, May 30, at the Mississippi Coliseum.

BY MICAH SMITH

EVENTS@JACKSONFREEPRESS.COM

FAX: 601-510-9019DAILY UPDATES AT

JFPEVENTS.COM

Author Jeffrey Lent signs copies and reads from his new novel, A Slant of Light, Tuesday, June 2, at Lemuria Books.

*&030/.3/2%$Write to Change the World June 6, at Jackson Free Press (125 S. Congress St., Suite 1324). Learn to write sparkling stories that can change your life and the world in Donna Ladds non-fiction classes. Meets six Saturdays 12:30-3 p.m. Classes recorded if you need to miss. $350 ($280 if you mention this lising), includes snacks, mate-rials; call 362-6121 ext. 15; email class@writingtochange.com; writingtochange.com.

11th Annual JFP Chick Ball July 18, at Hal & Mals (200 S. Commerce St.). The annual event to combat domestic violence includes food, door prizes, a silent auction, poetry and live music. Currently seeking sponsors, auction donations and volunteers now. Stay tuned for updates. Proceeds benefit the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence. For ages 18 and up. $5; call 601-362-6121 ext. 16; email natalie@jacksonfreepress.com; jfpchickball.com.

#/--5.)49Mississippi State Conference NAACP State Meeting and Mother of the Year Lun-cheon May 30, 10 a.m., at College Hill M.B. Church (1600 Florence Ave.). The luncheon immediately follows. Free meeting, $15 luncheon; call 601-353-8452; email info@msnaacp.org.

Big Hat Brunch May 30, noon-2 p.m., at Arts Center of Mississippi (201 E. Pascagoula St.). Southern Voices and The Fabulous Life Min-istries are the presenters, and Tambra Cherie of HOT 97.7 FM is the host. Dr. Johnetta McSwain is the guest speaker. Akami Graham and the Purple Diamonds perform. The event is a fundraiser for Camp Fabulous. $50, $100 VIP; call 601-500-3106; campfabulous.com.

Two Rivers Gala and Tougaloo Honors May 30, 7 p.m., at Jackson Convention Complex (105 E. Pascagoula St.). The theme is Celebrating Women of Distinction. Honorees include bank executive Veranda Dickens, jazz artist Cassandra Wilson, attorney Martha Bergmark and Irigrid Saunders Jones of the Coca-Cola Foundation. Chante Moore and Howard Hewitt perform. $200; call 601-977-7871; tougaloo.edu.

+)$3Girls That Wear Crowns May 30, noon-3 p.m., at Restoration Christian Church (328 Boling St.). The character-building workshop for girls ages 9-17 includes entertainment, guest speakers, a fashion show, vendors and refreshments. Free; call 826-7243; email kenisha_mason@saksinc.com.

Know to Grow Saturdays, 10 a.m. through Aug. 22, at Mississippi Childrens Museum (2145 Highland Drive). In the Literacy Gar-den. Children and their families listen to a story and participate in a garden activity. Held Saturdays through Aug. 22. Included with admission ($10, free for children under 12 months and members); call 601-981-5469; mississippichildrensmuseum.com.

&//$ $2).+Firkin Friday May 29, 5-8 p.m., at Saltine Oyster Bar (622 Duling Ave., Suite 201). Enjoy a signa-ture beer from Yazoo Brewery. Beer for sale; call 601-982-2899; saltinerestaurant.com.

Gin Class 101 May 30, 3 p.m., at BRAVO! Ital-ian Restaurant & Bar (Highland Village, 4500 Interstate 55 N.). Chris Robertson is the facili-tator. RSVP. $35 per person; call 601-982-8111; email jeffg@bravobuzz.com; bravobuzz.com.

34!'% 3#2%%.It Aint Nothin But the Blues May 27-30, 7:30 p.m., May 31, 2 p.m., June 2-6, 7:30 p.m., June 7, 2 p.m., at New Stage Theatre (1100 Carlisle St.). The production is a retrospective of classic blues songs. $28, $22 students; call 601-948-3533, ext. 222; newstagetheatre.com.

Its Time for a Change May 28, 7 p.m., at Thalia Mara Hall (255 E. Pascagoula St.). The Tabernacle of Grace A.M.E. Zion Church Urgen-cy Project is the host. Recording artist Lannie Spann McBride and Pastor Kathy McFadden star in the musical. $15; call 800-745-3000.

Art Is Word: A Hissy and Prissy Premiere May 29, 8-11 p.m., at Offbeat (151 Wesley Ave.). Includes presentations from the Color Pencil Comix Collective, a screening of the film Letters from a Transient and music from Victoria Cross. Free; call 404-536-1793; email inspire.jackson@gmail.com; follow Inspire Jackson on Facebook.

#/.#%243 &%34)6!,3Little Texas May 29, 8 p.m., at Duling Hall (622 Duling Ave.). The country band is known for songs such as God Blessed Texas. $25 in advance, $30 at the door; call 601-292-7121; email jordan@ardenland.net; dulinghall.com.

Old School Throwdown May 30, 9 p.m., at One Block East (642 Tombigbee St.). This years deejays include Jayce Powell, Charles Faulk, Scott Swanner, Andy Haynes and Darryl Mowers. $10; call 601-944-0203; oneblockeast.com.

,)4%2!29 3)'.).'3Events at Lemuria Books (Banner Hall, 4465 Interstate 55 N., Suite 202)U->v} June 2, 5 p.m. Jeffery Lent

signs books. Reading at 5:30 p.m. $27 book; call 601-366-7619; email info@lemuriabooks.com; lemuriabooks.com.U,`}ii June 3, 5 p.m. Bill

Hancock signs books. Reading at 5:30 p.m. $17.95 book; call 601-366-7619; email info@lemuriabooks.com; lemuriabooks.com.

#2%!4)6% #,!33%3Art Is Word: The Art of Storytelling May 30, 9 a.m.-8:30 p.m., at Gallery1 (One University Place, 1100 John R. Lynch St., Suite 4). Perfor-mance writing workshop from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. (registration required), filmmaking Q&A from 2-5 p.m. and open mic at 6 p.m. Free; call 404-536-1793; email inspire.ajackson@gmail.com.

%8()")4 /0%.).'3May Opening Reception II May 28, 5-8 p.m., at Fischer Galleries (Dickies Building, 736 S. President St., fourth floor). See George Wardlaws abstracts. Free; call 291-9115; fischergalleries.com.

Opening of George Wardlaw, A Life in Art: Works from 1954 to 2014 May 29, 10 a.m., at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). See 34 of the Mississippi natives contemporary works in the Barksdale Galleries through Aug. 30. $10, $8 seniors, $5 students, free for ages 0-5 and members; call 601-960-1515; msmuseumart.org.

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.

>i]xUv

25

Interested in interviewing musicians, reviewing albums and networking within

Jacksons music community?The Jackson Free Press is looking for freelance

writers interested in covering the citys music scene.

Music Writing

Please e-mail inquiries to micah@jacksonfreepress.com

>i]xUv

26

Call To Book your Private Party!

Open Mon-Fri 11am-2am Sat 4pm-2am 601-960-2700

facebook.com/Ole Tavern 416 George St, Jackson, MS

Call To Book your Private Party!

1 2am Sat 4pm 2am 601-960-2700

Wednesday 5/27

Karaoke w/DJ Stache @ 9pm

Thursday 5/28Ladies Nightw/ DJ Glenn Rogers

LADIES DRINK FREE!9pm - Close

Friday 5/29

DJ REIGN

Saturday 5/30

THE WHISKEY BARRELS

Monday 6/1

Pub Quizw/Daniel Keys @ 8pm

Tuesday 6/2

BYOG(Bring Your Own Guitar)

w/ Adam Goreline

HAPPY HOUR Daily 4-7pm $2 Domestic & 2 For 1 On All Drink

s Including Wine

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

Best of Jackson Winner 2012-2014

LIVE MUSICEvery

Thursday -Saturday

Voted one of the Best Restaurants and Bars

In Metro Jackson Best of Jackson 2014

Plate Lunch Starting At $10 Includes Tea!

Minutes from Downtown!

>i]xUv

27

B randon, Miss., singer-songwriter Tommy Ray and I have crossed paths on more than a few occasions, usually with me catching the tail end of his sets at Bonny Blairs Irish Pub open-mic nights. But his debut EP, Crossroads, released March 21, was my first real inter-action with his pop-infused country tunes. While the album passes over plenty of famil-iar territory, Rays confident vocals and de-fined musical style, along with solid studio work, made for a pleasant journey. As with a proper Mississippi intro-duction, the customary Where are you from? usually comes at the front end of a conversation. Ray keeps that rule of south-ern etiquette intact with the opening track, Zama, named after the small town in At-tala County where he grew up. The opener also foreshadows what listeners can expect from the five-song EP. Your personal feelings toward homegrown ballads will likely deter-mine whether youll stick with Crossroads throughout its 16-minute runtime. Many of the songs are clearly a prod-uct of their location, complete with imagery of dirt roads, croaking frogs and cornbread. Deeper themes and lyrical nuances are most-ly absent, but even a lyrics purist can see that isnt the point here. Where Ray excels is in knowledge of his voice. Like Glenn Camp-bell or Johnny Cash, Ray knows where his vocals are strongest and doesnt stray far from that spot. He also has the ability to sell the words he sings, a rare find on a first release. Rays husky singing is one of the more instantly likeable elements on Crossroads. He doesnt drown listeners in a southern drawl like some country artists, which makes it an easier listen for fans of other genres. And you can certainly expect other genres here. Though Rays music falls under the umbrel-la of country, his influences vary. Musically, Zama and Angel are along similar soft-rock lines, while the title track and Passing of the Storm, steer into Jimmy Buffett ter-ritory. These make for an interesting contrast to the alternative-rock closer, Escape.

Its easy to see that Ray wanted Cross-roads to feel diverse, and through that, he avoids many of the major pitfalls that hit first-time releases, such as holding only one key, tempo or style on sustain over the course of an album. But closer observation reveals one area for Ray to be aware of his next time around: lyrical delivery. Sure, words dont always matter, but the way in which an artist presents them makes a world of difference. Without dig-ging too deep into music theory, every song on Crossroads is in 4/4 time signature, also called common time, and almost every verse and chorus carries the same lyrical pat-tern: rest, quarter note, quarter note, quar-ter note. On paper, that doesnt sound like much, but in practice, it makes Crossroads feel monotonous at times. The good news is that a songwriter simply being aware of that problem is usually enough to fix it. One of the EPs most commendable features is the quality that Ray and producer and multi-instrumentalist Jimm Mosher achieved at Hit Music Studios in Spencer, N.C. Every instrument on Crossroads has a crisp, natural sound, from the clean keys of Zama to the opening lead-guitar riff of the title track. Its impressive that these songs can fit right alongside hits from bands like The Eagles and Jackson Browne, feeling classic but not aged. The presence of organs and clean guitars goes a long way toward that, as well. At the same time, it was a wise decision to have his acoustic guitar and vocals front and center, since Ray is a solo artist at heart. As far as first studio projects go, Rays Crossroads is a win overall, indicating a few areas that need attention and offering plenty of solid ground to build on. Its like driving a vintage truck down a country road. There are some small scratches that need buffing out later and a few minor parts that could always use some tinkering, but for fans of the classics, Crossroads is a ride that might be worth taking. For more information or to order a copy of Crossroads, visit tommy-ray-music.com.

DIVERSIONS | music

A Closer Look at Crossroads by Micah Smith

'HVSLWHDIHZPLQRULVVXHV%UDQGRQVLQJHUVRQJZULWHU7RPP\5D\V&URVVURDGV(3LVDVROLGGHEXWWIRUFRXQWU\DQGVRIWURFNIDQV

,0$1,.+$`iv>iivi i>`

HOME COOKIN CAPSULE

by Jon Wiener

Jon Wiener is the host and producer of Home Cookin on ESPN 105.9 FM The Zone. He has a bachelors degree in English and masters degree in broadcast journalism.

>i]xUv

29

THE

GREEN RO

OM

-Pool Is Cool-

Were still #1!Best Place to

Play PoolBest of Jackson 2015

INDUSTRY HAPPY HOUR Dai ly 1 1pm -2am

DAILY BEER SPECIALS12pm - 7pm

POOL LEAGUE Mon - Fri Night

DRINK SPECIALSBURGERSINGSULL BAR

GATED PARKINGBIG SCREEN TVS

LEAGUE AND TEAM PLAYBEGINNERS TO ADVANCED INSTRUCTORS AVAILABLE

444 Bounds St. Jackson MS601-718-7665

HAPPY HOUR 1/2 Off Beer And Drinks

Weekdays 4-7pm

LIVE MUSIC EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 7PM $3 FIREBALL SHOT S AND

$5 APPETIZERS ALL NIGHT

THIRSTY THURSDAY@ 7PM LIVE TRIVIA $1 Bud Light Draft ALL NIGHT

FRI 5/29 Burnham RoadSAT 5/30 Lynam

5 1 0 0 I - 5 5 N J a c k s o n , M S 769-208-8283

HAPPY HOUR$1 off all Cocktails, Wine, and BeerMONDAY - SATURDAY

4PM - 7 PM

4PM-2AM MON-SATNEVER A COVER!

901 E FORTIFICATION STREET601-948-0055WWW.FENIANSPUB.COM

4PM-2AM MON-SAT4PM-2AM MON-SAT4PM-2AM MON-SAT

WEDNESDAY 5/27

Pub QuizWITH ANDREW MCLARTY

THURSDAY 5/28

SPIRITS OF THE HOUSE FRIDAY 5/29

JON ALEXANDERSATURDAY 5/30

SHERMAN LEE &

ANDREW DILLON

MONDAY 6/1

KARAOKE WITH MATT COLLETTE

TUESDAY 6/2

OPEN MIC WITH BROCK BAILEY

Visit HalandMals.com for a full menu and

concert schedule601.948.0888

200 S. Commerce St. Downtown Jackson, MS

HalandMals.comfor a full menu and

concert scheduleVisit for a full menu and

concert scheduleHalandMals.com

for a full menu and concert schedule

OFFICIAL HOUSE VODKAOFFICIAL HOUSE VODKA

COMING UPWEDNESDAY 5/27

NEW BOURBON ST. JAZZ BAND

Restaurant

THURSDAY 5/28Restaurant Open As Usual

FRIDAY 5/29

CROOKED CREEKRestaurant

UNDERHILL FAMILY ORCHESTRA & STOOP KIDS

Red Room - $5 door 9/show 1058*_QTTJMTUQVOTQ^M

SATURDAY 5/30

BRUNCH 11-2:30Patio

BARRY LEACHRestaurant

MONDAY 6/1

CENTRAL MS BLUES SOCIETY PRESENTS:

BLUE MONDAY

Restaurant - 7pm - $5

TUESDAY 6/2

PUB QUIZW/ TAYLOR & WEBB

Restaurant

dulinghall.com

,&+'"& $),+#

/* $),105,.!'+" 2'00 . /*1/

,1+% ))$31.,-$ +&$ 0.$

Tuesday, June 2

Friday, May 29

Friday, June 5

')0'/ +#$./

Saturday, August 8

,+ 0& +'+%& *

Friday, July 31

Tuesday, June 9

)$ .) /0'" /(/

&$$#& +%/

Wednesday, June 10

.3++))',00

Saturday, June 13

Saturday, July 18

Friday, June 12

4

Saturday, August 22

>i]xUv

30

T he quiet time of the NFL offseason means you sometimes miss stories, unless they concern another player being arrested. But last week, two interesting things hap-pened: First, the NFL moved extra points from being snapped from the two-yard line to the 15-yard line, and second, the New Orleans Saints cut kicker Shayne Graham. Now, extra points in the NFL will be be-tween 32 or 33 yards, depending how the kicker lines up, instead of a 20-yard kick. Also, the extra point is a live play, meaning if the defense blocks an extra point, it can return it back to the opposite end zone for two points. The idea behind the rule change was to add some drama to the game. Extra point at-tempts had become nearly automatic for a long time in the NFL, so if teams want to go for two points, the ball will still be at the two-yard line. The Saints deciding to part ways with place kicker Graham about the same time of the rule change was a surprising move for the team. That leaves them with two unproven kickers on the roster: Zach Hocker and Dustin Hopkins. Neither has kicked in a regular season game. Graham stumbled at the end of last season, finishing two for four in field goal attempts last December and made 19 out of 22 field goal attempts over the season. Even with the slump, the Saints had resigned Gra-ham as a free agent. The new kicking change should re-ally show up when the weather starts to turn bad in the later part of the season. Heres some good news for New Orleans Saints fans, though: The team doesnt play a potential bad weather game after a Nov. 15 trip to Washington. After the Washington game, New

Orleans finishes with trips to Houston, Tampa Bay and Atlanta. The only other potential bad weather game is an Octo-ber 11 trip to Philadelphia.

Of course, the Saints shouldnt have any problems kicking at home in the dome, and four of their road games are in domes. The outdoor ones at Carolina, Philadelphia, Washington and Tampa Bay add a degree of difficulty for a new kicker. The team will need the winner of the Hocker-Hopkins competition to make the new extra point automatic again. I have a feeling some teams will miss the playoff because of a missed extra point or two next season. Lets hope it isnt the Saints who miss the playoffs after they change from a veteran kicker to two unknown kickers. New Orleans needs to get things right to make the most of the last couple of cham-pionship years still available with quarter-back Drew Brees.

DIVERSIONS | jfp sports

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

Saints Must Get Kicker Rightby Bryan Flynn

FLICK

R_K

EITH

ALLISO

N

The New Orleans Saints cut kicker Shayne Graham, which coincided with a NFL rule change regarding extra points.

>LKULZKH `4H`[O

(/7!2$ */.%3J A Z Z

!74

;O\YZKH`4H`[O

1 ,::,2 / " ) . 3 / . ")24($!9 "!3(

74

-YPKH`4H` [O

*/90:.033 4(% 3/5, 3(!+%23

74

:H[\YKH`4H`[O

-)33)33)00): ;647

74

;\LZKH `1\ULUK

1,::,2 / " ) . 3 / .

HUKOPZ

,%'%.$!29 &2)%.$3!74

:7YLZPKLU[:[YLL[

^^ ^i]xUv

33+RPHZRUN