Mississippi

Largest MS Bat Working Group nets dozen bats in Adams County, surrounding area – Mississippi's Best Community Newspaper

Published

2 years ago

August 10, 2024

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Largest MS Bat Working Group nets dozen bats in Adams County, surrounding area

Published 10:00 am Saturday, August 10, 2024

NATCHEZ — The largest group of bat surveyors in Mississippi’s Bat Working Group in 21 years recently paid a visit to Adams County and the surrounding area to document, learn and share information about the various bat species living here.

The 21st annual event brought 50 participants here on July 25 and 26 from eight states and featured a training focused on the identification of Mississippi’s bat species and guidance on listed species and the survey guidelines provided by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

The first night, nets were set up on the Natchez Trace Parkway and Canemount Wildlife Management Area in Port Gibson. On night two, surveyors netted at the Homochitto National Forest and participants toured St. Catherine’s Creek National Wildlife Refuge, visiting artificial roosts with Rafinesque’s big-eared bats and birding around the refuge’s wetlands.

Participants also took a field trip to a culvert roost in Claiborne County, north of Natchez, to see over a dozen northern long-eared bats.

Bats have an unfortunate un-earned bad reputation for carrying rabies, which is carried in less than 1 percent of the population but is “a serious, fatal disease so you definitely don’t want to pick them up,” said Alison McCartney of the U.S. Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks and Chair of Mississippi Bat Working Group.

But a large surveying team recently visited Adams County and the surrounding area to learn and educate people on the various species and learn the helpful benefits of having them.

“People are just now beginning to realize the benefits,” McCartney said. “All Mississippi bats are insectivores and eat mosquitoes and agricultural pests. Organic farmers will sometimes put up bat houses to attract bats as a natural pesticide. Vampire bats in Texas have an anticoagulant protein in their saliva used in medicine to help heart and stroke patients. Fruit-eating bats in Asia and Australia act as seed dispersers and help to reforest. Their diet alone provides a lot of benefits to us.”

This year brought a diverse team to Natchez that included private organizations, consultants, government agencies and a few students interested in learning about bats.

“It’s the biggest event that we’ve had in the 21 years we’ve been doing it and the most states represented. We were able to visit 11 sites in two nights, which would take a lot longer without a group as big,” McCartney said.

The surveying lasted from around 6 p.m. to midnight each night. “It wasn’t quite as fruitful as we were hoping” but not a total loss either, McCartney said.

The group managed to capture four red bats and five evening bats — both of which are common species here — as well as one Seminole bat, one big brown bat and one tri-colored bat for a total of 12 captured. All were released safely and unharmed.

The tri-colored bat is proposed for federal listing as endangered, McCartney said.

“The more information we can get on all bat species, the better we can protect them and educate others about them,” McCartney said. “The main goal of these events is to create and outreach educational opportunity and also to collect data. … We invited everyone to come, including folks new to bat work, as a teaching opportunity.”

The Bat Working Group visits a different part of the state every year but were particularly interested in surveying the Natchez-Adams County area this year because of the possibility of finding a northern long-eared bat, which was recently listed as endangered because of the deadly white-nose syndrome.

While native to the northeastern United States, these bats were documented further south and thought to be migrating here, which could hypothetically give them a better chance of survival with a shorter hibernation period than their northern relatives.

“White-nose syndrome has decimated populations in cold climates where they go into true hibernation,” McCartney said. “There has been a 99 percent decline.”

While they didn’t find or document any northern long-ear roosts this time, more of these bats were documented in last year with extensive surveying efforts, McCartney said.

“From the 1930s to last August, we only had three records. Last August, we found two new roosts. We started doing intensive survey efforts around that area and came up with 32 new records.”

McCartney encouraged anyone interested to participate in future bat surveying and conservation efforts of the Mississippi Bat Working Group.

“You don’’ have to be a bat person to get involved,” she said, adding anyone interested can contact the MDWFP Jackson Field office at 601-432-2400 or email msbats@hotmail.com.

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Mississippi

Carpenter Pole and Piling invests $5M in Mississippi, creating 10 jobs

Published

25 minutes ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Carpenter Pole and Piling invests M in Mississippi, creating 10 jobs

Staff
| Mississippi Clarion Ledger

A Mississippi wood products manufacturer is investing nearly $5 million in an expansion.
Carpenter Pole and Piling’s project is expected to create 10 new jobs in Wiggins.
The expansion includes a new treatment plant and an additional 20 acres for storage.
Construction is anticipated to be completed by September 2026.

A wood products manufacturer is set to create new jobs as part of a major expansion.

Carpenter Pole and Piling is investing nearly $5 million into its Wiggins, Mississippi, operation.

The expansion will add 10 new positions and support long-term growth in the region.

“Carpenter Pole and Piling is a true Mississippi success story, and we’re proud to see the company continue investing right here at home,” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said.

“This expansion in Stone County is creating new opportunities for hardworking Mississippians while strengthening a company that has long contributed to our state’s economy,” Reeves said. “When Mississippi businesses grow, our communities grow with them, and we remain committed to fostering a business environment where companies can thrive.”

Carpenter Pole and Piling produces utility poles and pilings for marine and foundation use.

The project includes construction of a new treatment plant, investment in a 2,600-cubic-foot autoclave and an alternative treatment option to improve production capacity.

The company is also clearing and preparing an additional 20 acres for a new pole storage yard.

Stone County is also contributing to the project.

The company expects to complete construction by September 2026.

The new roles are expected to be filled by January 2027.

Carpenter Pole and Piling specializes in the production of utility poles. It also manufactures foundation and marine pilings.

The new autoclave will increase production and add an alternative treatment option.

This story was created by business and development writer Ross Reily, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more.

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Mississippi

CBSB: Southern Miss sweeps again, Mississippi State shines in Texas, Ole Miss struggles – SuperTalk Mississippi

Published

13 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

CBSB: Southern Miss sweeps again, Mississippi State shines in Texas, Ole Miss struggles – SuperTalk Mississippi

Southern Miss earned its second consecutive sweep, rounding out a mostly successful weekend of college baseball for Mississippi’s major programs.

The No. 12 Golden Eagles (10-1), fresh off a mercy-rule victory over Alabama, exited a hostile Louisiana Tech environment with three straight wins versus a former conference counterpart. Christian Ostrander’s crew won 8-3 on Friday, cruised to an 11-0 run-rule victory through seven innings on Saturday, and was on the good side of a 6-2 scoreboard in Sunday’s finale.

A three-run bomb by Kyle Morrison in the top of the fourth of Friday’s game put the black and gold up 5-3, and solid pitching carried the team the rest of the way. A six-run top of the fourth of Saturday’s game, in part due to a Matthew Russo 2 RBI single, broke a scoring stalemate and fueled Southern Miss to a win in a shortened matchup. A two-run long ball by Joey Urban in the top of the ninth of Sunday’s battle gave the Golden Eagles a buffer that would not be eclipsed.

Kros Sivley (2-0) was Friday’s winning pitcher after logging a pair of strikeouts in 1.2 innings. Grayden Harris (2-0) got the win on Saturday after fanning five batters and surrendering no runs through six complete innings. Camden Sunstrom (1-0) closed out the finale with the win after striking out two batters and not giving up a hit or a run in the final two frames.

Mississippi State wins two in Texas

The No. 4 Bulldogs (11-1) had a solid weekend in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series. Brian O’Connor’s club handled the weekend test with an 8-4 win over Arizona State, a 15-8 victory over Virginia Tech, and a heartbreaking 8-7 extra-innings loss to No. 1 UCLA.

Mississippi State broke a scoring hiatus on Friday with a strong bottom of the fifth. A Bryce Chance RBI single scored the game’s first run, then a Gehrig Frei homer put the Bulldogs up 4-0. Three insurance runs were added in the next offensive frame, and Mississippi State did not look back. On Saturday, an Ace Reece longball gave the maroon and white a 4-0 lead in the top of the second. Virginia Tech chipped away, cutting the deficit to two runs, until a five-run top of the seventh put things out of reach.

Sunday’s finale was a battle between two teams vying for bragging rights as the nation’s best. The Bruins took an early 3-0 lead, but Mississippi State quickly countered. A two-run bomb by Reed Stallman and an RBI double by Ryder Woodson knotted things up 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth. The Bulldogs added a run in the bottom of the seventh and eighth innings to lead 5-3.

A two-out home run by UCLA’s Roch Cholowsky tied the ballgame in the top of the ninth. Mississippi State, with runners on second and third and no outs in the bottom of the ninth, could not send a runner home. A wild pitch and a 2 RBI triple scored three Bruins in the top of the 10th. Stallman hit his second home run of the day to inch the Bulldogs within one run of their foe, but it was not followed up with more scoring.

Winning pitchers for Mississippi State this weekend were Ryan McPherson (2-0) and Tomas Valincius (3-0), while Ben Davis (0-1) was tabbed with the lone loss.

Ole Miss struggles in neutral-site tournament

In its first set of tests versus power conference opponents, the Rebels (10-2) struggled mightily, dropping two of three outings in the BRUCE BOLT College Classic. Mike Bianco’s club fell to Baylor 6-5 in extra innings on Friday before bouncing back on Saturday in an 8-0 win over Ohio State and suffering a 9-2 loss to Coastal Carolina in Sunday’s finale. Ole Miss was a combined 0-18 at the plate with runners in scoring position in the two losses.

Though the weekend didn’t play to the Rebels’ advantage, a few individual performers stood out. Murray State transfer Dom Decker, who entered his junior campaign without hitting a home run, hit three balls over the outfield wall at the Houston Astros’ Daikin Park. Hunter Elliott had a career-high 11 strikeouts on Friday, while Cade Townsend and Taylor Rabe collectively fanned 16 batters in Saturday’s shutout.

Next up

Southern Miss will play a pair of home midweek games, the first being against Mississippi State on Tuesday at 6 p.m. and the second versus Nicholls on Wednesday at 6 p.m., before hosting North Alabama over the weekend.

Mississippi State will host Lipscomb over the weekend after facing the Golden Eagles.

Ole Miss will host Memphis on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. and North Alabama on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., before welcoming Evansville for a weekend series.

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Mississippi

Mississippi State women’s basketball vs LSU, Kim Mulkey score, live updates, start time, TV

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Mississippi State women’s basketball vs LSU, Kim Mulkey score, live updates, start time, TV

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State women’s basketball is playing its final regular season game against No. 6 LSU at Humphrey Coliseum on March 1 (3 p.m., SEC Network).

The Bulldogs (18-11, 5-10 SEC) enter the game on the NCAA Tournament bubble after losing three consecutive games, so an upset win could secure an at-large bid.

The Tigers (25-4, 11-4) and coach Kim Mulkey have won three straight games. Their only losses of the season are to Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Texas and South Carolina.

The Clarion Ledger is bringing you live updates from the game. Follow along.

Watch Mississippi State vs LSU