Mississippi
Jerry Lee Lewis estate battle: Feud over late rock legend’s Mississippi ranch leaves family in legal limbo
![Jerry Lee Lewis estate battle: Feud over late rock legend’s Mississippi ranch leaves family in legal limbo Jerry Lee Lewis estate battle: Feud over late rock legend’s Mississippi ranch leaves family in legal limbo](https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/02/jerry-lee-lewis-estate.jpg)
Rock ‘n’ roll icon Jerry Lee Lewis was a pioneer within the music trade and left behind a larger-than-life legacy when he died in 2022 on the age of 87.
Also called “The Killer” for his wild persona, Lewis had an equally distinctive life-style, and at one level within the ’70s, he signed over 2/3 possession rights to his Mississippi ranch to his greatest buddy and tour supervisor, Cecil Harrelson Sr. The opposite third was secured by a regulation agency.
Harrelson Sr. died in 2012, and in his remaining will, he granted his three kids proceeds from the sale of the ranch on the situation that the property can solely be bought when Lewis died. The “Nice Balls of Fireplace” singer died in October.
A authorized battle over the 30-acre property seems to be simply starting, although, as Lewis’ son, Jerry “Lee” Lewis III, who at the moment lives on the ranch along with his sons, was served an eviction discover and ordered to depart the property because the Harrelson household launched plans to promote the Nesbit, Mississippi, land.
JERRY LEE LEWIS, ‘GREAT BALLS OF FIRE’ SINGER, DEAD AT 87
Jerry Lee Lewis’ household is in authorized dispute over his property. His son, Jerry Lee Lewis III, was served eviction paperwork in January.
“My dad advised me a number of issues about what would occur when he handed away,” Lee solely advised Fox Information Digital. “I really feel like he advised me that for dang close to my whole life, and I nonetheless do not feel like he ready me for what I am going by proper now.”
“The folks which are coming at me vs. the folks he advised me would come at me – it is not the identical in any respect. That really surprises me quite a bit,” he added.
JERRY LEE LEWIS’ FORMER TEEN BRIDE REFLECTS ON THE STAR’S DEATH, THEIR SHOCKING MARRIAGE: ‘I WAS THE ADULT’
The late nation musician lived a controversial life and was married seven instances and had six kids. At one level, he was married to his cousin, Myra Gale Brown.
Cecil additionally grew to become household when he married Jerry’s youthful sister, Linda Gail Lewis. Linda and Cecil had three kids – Cecil Harrelson Jr., MaryJean Ferguson and Annie Marie Dolan.
Shortly after Lewis’ dying, a web site was created that includes photos of the property, saying the “Jerry Lee Lewis ranch can be bought” as a “improvement alternative or fan’s dream residence.”
![A sign outside the Mississippi home of entertainer Jerry Lee Lewis pays homage to the late musician.](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/01/640/320/Jerry-Lee-Lewis-Ranch08.jpeg?ve=1&tl=1)
An indication outdoors the Mississippi residence of entertainer Jerry Lee Lewis pays homage to the late musician.
(Karen Pulfer Focht)
![The front gate outside the Mississippi home of late entertainer Jerry Lee Lewis features a massive piano.](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/01/640/320/Jerry-Lee-Lewis-Ranch07.jpeg?ve=1&tl=1)
The entrance gate outdoors the Mississippi residence of late entertainer Jerry Lee Lewis contains a huge piano.
(Karen Pulfer Focht)
The itemizing boasts a “stocked lake, two ponds, outbuildings, a self-contained residence and swimming pool,” along with the house of the late pianist. Potential consumers might select a “hybrid improvement choice” through which the land can be used to construct a gated group or vacation resort, billed as a “as soon as in a lifetime alternative.”
Lee believed the ranch can be protected and that he would preserve the Lewis household residence after his father’s dying. He was shocked to search out out that his cousins felt otherwise.
“From my understanding, the web site went up Nov. 25,” Lee stated. “That is not even a full month after he handed away.”
JERRY LEE LEWIS AND KEITH WHITLEY INDUCTED INTO THE COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME
Lee came upon concerning the web site on social media whereas he was at work and claimed that Harrelson Jr. tried to drag a “quick one” by trying to kick Lee out of the Lewis household residence.
“It is not their legacy and historical past,” he stated.
Lee insisted that Harrelson Jr.’s needs to show the ranch right into a Jerry Lee Lewis museum and music vacation spot shouldn’t be how his father would have “needed issues proper now.”
![Signs around the Lewis ranch give a little history into Jerry Lee's life.](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/01/640/320/Jerry-Lee-Lewis-Ranch09.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Indicators across the Lewis ranch give slightly historical past into Jerry Lee’s life.
(Karen Pulfer Focht)
![Jerry Lee Lewis had dozens of top 20 country hits through his decades-long career.](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/01/640/320/Jerry-Lee-Lewis015.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Jerry Lee Lewis had dozens of prime 20 nation hits by his decades-long profession.
(Karen Pulfer for Fox Information Digital )
![Jerry Lee Lewis lll speaks with mourners outside the funeral home as fans wait to pay final respects to Jerry Lee Lewis in Hernando, Mississippi, in November.](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/01/640/320/Jerry-Lee-Lewis-Son.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Jerry Lee Lewis lll speaks with mourners outdoors the funeral residence as followers wait to pay remaining respects to Jerry Lee Lewis in Hernando, Mississippi, in November.
(Karen Pulfer for Fox Information Digital)
“You’d have to take action a lot work,” he stated. “We had it open for excursions on a couple of event. Possibly sooner or later we’ll do this once more as a result of I do know it is one thing he all the time loved, having bands round the home. However proper now we have to maintain it to have the ability to shield it.”
Lee’s confusion started when he assumed he was taking up the property when his father died. In Lewis’ remaining will, he said Lee ought to take over the household property, however Lewis had no authorized possession rights to the ranch.
“When it comes all the way down to it, my dad would not have willed me my household residence pondering that it was not going to be ours. That is mindless.”
Nonetheless, Lee is optimistic about staying within the residence along with his sons and persevering with the legacy that his father labored so exhausting to construct. He is created a crowdfunding marketing campaign in hopes of with the ability to buy the property as soon as it goes up on the market.
“In additional discussions between our attorneys, it appears they’ve agreed to allow us to keep till the property is bought,” Lee wrote on the marketing campaign.
He wrote that his father “hoped that the Ranch would keep within the household regardless of monetary struggles, divorces and tragedies.”
![Jerry Lee Lewis was once married to cousin Myra Lewis. They are pictured with newborn son Steve Allen Lewis on Feb. 28, 1959, in Ferriday, Louisiana.](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2022/10/640/320/Getty_MyraLewisWilliams_JerryLeeLewis_Children.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Jerry Lee Lewis was as soon as married to cousin Myra Lewis. They’re pictured with new child son Steve Allen Lewis on Feb. 28, 1959, in Ferriday, Louisiana.
(Michael Ochs Archives)
![Jerry Lee Lewis found fame when he signed with Sun Records in 1956 and released a cover of Ray Price’s "Crazy Arms."](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2022/10/640/320/GettyImages-73908981.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Jerry Lee Lewis discovered fame when he signed with Solar Information in 1956 and launched a canopy of Ray Worth’s “Loopy Arms.”
(Michael Ochs Archives)
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
“He enlisted the assistance of his buddy and one-time brother-in-law Cecil Harrelson to take action – opting to place the Ranch in a life property with the rest to Uncle Cecil to guard it. Regardless of accounts on the contrary, my Father by no means meant the property to be handed on to Cecil and his heirs.”
Lee emphasised, “In line with my father’s needs, he left the ranch to me in his final will and testomony.”
The Harrelson household contested the marketing campaign in a press release printed on their very own web site, they usually have additionally claimed {that a} civil lawsuit is within the works.
“Lee (and others near him) selected to misrepresent the details again and again,” they wrote. “The makes an attempt to disparage our father and to break the sale of the property by making false statements, and to mislead officers of the courtroom with false data has led to protracted and expensive authorized processes to take possession. This has led us to hunt restitution within the type of a civil lawsuit. ALL events concerned can be named on this motion. With overwhelming documentation, we’re assured that the case can be determined in our favor.”
![Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash as "The Million Dollar Quartet" Dec. 4, 1956, in Memphis, Tennessee. This was a one-night jam session at Sun Studios.](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2022/10/640/320/Jerry_Lee_Lewis_Elvis.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley and Johnny Money as “The Million Greenback Quartet” Dec. 4, 1956, in Memphis, Tennessee. This was a one-night jam session at Solar Studios.
(Michael Ochs Archives)
![Jerry Lee Lewis greets fans with seventh wife Judith Brown during a parade down Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 27, 2013.](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/01/640/320/Jerry-Lee-Lewis08.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Jerry Lee Lewis greets followers with seventh spouse Judith Brown throughout a parade down Beale Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 27, 2013.
(Karen Pulfer for Fox Information Digital )
The Harrelsons didn’t instantly return Fox Information Digital’s request for remark.
Lewis, a three-time Grammy Award winner, was inducted into the Nation Music Corridor of Fame on Oct. 16. He had 34 High 20 nation hits between 1968 and 1981, in keeping with the Nation Music Affiliation.
“He is my dad, and on the core of that, my dad can also be Jerry Lee Lewis,” Lee stated.
“It is the wildest factor you would ever consider. You already know, once you’re a child, you assume, ‘That is simply my dad. He is an important musician.’ Then you definately get slightly older, and you are like, ‘Nicely, this man made an artwork type and altered the world.’”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
![](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/np-logo.png)
Mississippi
How Mississippi State football is preparing for Arizona State weather, late kickoff
![How Mississippi State football is preparing for Arizona State weather, late kickoff How Mississippi State football is preparing for Arizona State weather, late kickoff](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/09/03/PNAS/75060541007-usatsi-24129028.jpg?auto=webp&crop=5472,3078,x0,y0&format=pjpg&width=1200)
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football is preparing to play a team that, at least through one game, looks vastly improved from last season.
Coach Jeff Lebby admitted on Monday, and Bulldog players have noticed it too after Arizona State (1-0) thumped Wyoming 48-7 in its opener.
MSU (1-0) must also factor in the late kickoff that is scheduled Saturday (9:30 p.m. CT, ESPN) at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Mississippi is hot, but so is Arizona — a different kind of hot, too.
Modifications and remedies are being made, such as the team leaving Starkville on Thursday instead of how it normally would on a Friday for a Saturday game.
“For our guys, just knowing exactly what we are getting into,” Lebby said. “We continue to talk about that through yesterday and this morning and (are) having those conversations to understand what it’s going to look like late in the week. We got to do a great job from a preparation standpoint of how we are hydrating, how we are eating and how we are resting to give us the ability to go on the road on this flight and be able to be at our best Saturday night.”
Just this week, Phoenix broke a record with its 100th straight day of 100-degree temperatures. According to AccuWeather, the high on Saturday in Tempe will be 107 degrees with a low of 86. The temperature should dip to around 91 near kickoff with a humidity of 24%.
“Coach Lebby has already been harping on that,” tight end Justin Ball said. “We’ve already been hydrating and making sure we are getting rest every single day. We leave on Thursday, so we already talked about the plan to make sure we are hydrating the entire plane ride there, making sure when we get there we get acclimated as quickly as you can and just staying together. Making sure we’re focused, make sure we keep the goal first and then execute the game plan.”
MORE: Jeff Lebby says Mississippi State football didn’t put on a good enough show. Here’s how he’s wrong
Mississippi State played well the last time it played in Arizona
The Bulldogs played Arizona in Tucson two seasons ago. They squandered a pedestrian Wildcats team 39-17. Kickoff for that game was at 8 p.m. PST though the temperature was 84 degrees at game time.
Not many players remain on Mississippi State’s roster from that 2022 season. But the ones who are, like linebacker Nic Mitchell, can benefit from the experience and also share it with teammates.
“We know it’s going to be a long flight, so we know we got to be hydrated,” Mitchell said. “It gives people experience that have done it before and they can tell the young guys how it’s going to be in the flight, how you got to hydrate and stuff like that.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Mississippi
Playing for Mississippi State not an option for Arizona State back Kyson ‘Sipp’ Brown
Arizona State forces 3 turnovers in win over Wyoming to start 2024
All offseason, coach Kenny Dillingham preached getting turnovers. Forty seconds into the season’s first game, the defense produced its first one.
Sophomore running back Kyson Brown is one of the faster players on the Arizona State football team. But Brown seems to have a little more pep in his step this week. Why? Well, the Sun Devils (1-0) are set to take on Mississippi State (1-0) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Mountain America Stadium.
Sure an SEC opponent is enough to get any athlete fired up. But the 6-foot, 200-pounder hails from Tupelo, Mississippi, which is where he got his nickname, Sipp. Tupelo is 67 miles north of the Mississippi State campus in Starkville that Sipp has visited a handful of times.
“I have family, growing up they were all Mississipp State fans and some Ole Miss fans,” he said. “Some of my family are debating whether they want to cheer for me or not. It’s going to be good. A lot of hometown friends. Got a couple guys I went to high school with there. It’s going to be good seeing those guys and hopefully, we compete at a good level and get the W.”
Brown, a mechanical engineering major, is enrolled in ASU’s Barret honors program, He emerged as one of the team’s most improved players. He saw some time on special teams as a true freshman in 2023 and has set himself up for a bigger role, although the ASU backfield has a lot of depth.
In the last week’s 48-7 win over Wyoming, Brown pitched in with six rushing attempts for 25 yards and two receptions for 73 yards. His 68-yard touchdown reception was the longest play from scrimmage that ASU had on the night.
“It felt amazing just to get back in the end zone again,” Brown said. “You come out of high school, you know I’m used to being in the end zone every game, all the time. That play, I knew — once I made the first guy miss — I knew I wasn’t going to let anybody catch me.”
Brown lived in Mississippi until moving to Lancaster, Texas, outside of Dallas, after his sophomore year of high school. He sat out junior year after the transfer. As a senior he averaged 9.5 yards per carry, finishing with 707 yards and 11 touchdowns on 74 carries while adding 14 receptions for 168 yards and two touchdowns.
Sitting out his junior year hurt his recruiting, but he still had notable offers from Purdue, Missouri and Houston. The balance of his options were lower-profile schools. Mississippi State didn’t offer.
He is happy with the end result. A place on the ASU football roster. In the offseason, he worked on his agility, flexibility and catching the ball, which was evident in his recent scoring play.
“We all have the big-play potential,” he said of his fellow running backs. “I feel my role is to make plays, wherever they put me be able to perform.”
Mississippi
Report shows Mississippi Legislature retirement reforms this year aren’t effective. See why
![Report shows Mississippi Legislature retirement reforms this year aren’t effective. See why Report shows Mississippi Legislature retirement reforms this year aren’t effective. See why](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/04/30/PJAM/73515915007-tcl-legislature-06.jpg?auto=webp&crop=2999,1687,x0,y100&format=pjpg&width=1200)
Lawmakers, PERS director agree they must work together in the future
How to plan for retirement using an online calculator
Retirement calculators can give you an idea of when you’ll financially be able to retire.
Problem Solved
State lawmakers will need to readdress concerns about the Public Employment Retirement System of Mississippi in 2025 if it is to remain viable long term, according to a July study.
Legislative actions in the 2024 Session to reduce public employer contribution rate hikes and increase state funding are not enough to address billions in unfunded future benefits to retirees, according to a report released by the Legislature’s third-party watchdog group, the Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review Committee.
Projections show the state’s retirement plan being less than 50% fully funded by 2047 and having $25 billion in liabilities. According to several municipal leaders who spoke to the Clarion Ledger earlier this year, the legislative move from lawmakers in the past session should save public employers from cutting positions and raising taxes to keep and hire more public employees.
“Change in approach for increasing the employer contribution rate, in addition to the one-time funds transfer, reduces the plan’s projected future funded ratio from 65.5% to 49.9%,” the report reads. “…The PERS plan is currently expected to be at a lower-funded level in the future than it currently is today.”
PERS Executive Director Ray Higgins told the Clarion Ledger he wasn’t surprised by the report’s findings.
“The PEER analysis seems to be an accurate report and generally reconciles with our information,” Higgins said. “Also, the legislative action from last session appears to be a short-term solution.”
While the report does not list out any specific recommendations for lawmakers this coming year, it says continued work will be necessary to fix the retirement system that has 118,000 retirees receiving benefits and 147,000 active members paying into the system.
In 2023, the PERS governing board, made up of mostly elected members, as advised by financial actuaries who watch over the state’s retirement plan, passed a rate increase on public employers, such as cities, counties and school districts from 17.40% to 19.90% that was to take effect July 1. The rate would have continued to increase to 22.4% by 2027.
In the 2024 Session, the Legislature passed two bills. Senate 3231, prohibits the PERS Board’s plan to gradually increase the employer contribution rate and replaces it with a plan to increase to 19.90% over the next five years in 0.5% annual increases. SB 3231 also takes the board’s only regulatory power to increase rates and puts it in the hands of the Legislature.
SB 2468 enacts a one-time transfer of $110 million of capital expense funds into the PERS trust.
More on PERS bill MS Legislature passes bill restricting state retirement board’s authority
Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann’s Deputy Chief of Staff Leah Rupp Smith told the Clarion Ledger efforts Hosemann helped push forward that resulted in those bills’ passage led to a potentially more stable retirement system.
“To avoid this calamity while developing a future solution, the Legislature adopted a less-aggressive employer increase,” Smith wrote via email. “We are now informed the plan has a projected future funding ratio of 65.5% as of 2047, as compared to 48.6% projected one year ago.”
Republican House Speaker Jason White’s Communications Director Taylor Spillman did not reply to several emails requesting White’s comments on the report.
What are the big problems?
Higgins previously said the ratio of retirees to active members has seen a reverse trend since 2013, when there were 93,000 retirees and 162,000 active members. This increases the unfunded liability of the system as fewer people take jobs in government, reducing active members and more people retire, increasing the funding obligation of PERS.
The other issue lies with projections for the retirement plan’s future if state lawmakers decide not to take action in the years to come.
“While the ($110 million) funding for the first year is comparable, each year in the future could potentially see a greater deviation in expected employer contribution revenues for the PERS plan,” the report reads. “This deviation does not immediately constitute a problem for the PERS plan; however, careful evaluation of the plan’s future liabilities and funding needs will be necessary to ensure the sustainability of the PERS plan.”
Are there any solutions?
Higgins and Smith both said future work on PERS is still a top priority.
Higgins specifically mentioned a new retirement benefits package that could be offered to new public sector employees, which the PERS board has called tier 5.
“The Board has previously recommended a tier 5 for new employees to help better sustain PERS in the future and is currently considering what may be included or resubmitted in next year’s legislative package,” Higgins said.
Read about new Medicaid program Mississippi Medicaid prenatal care access program still awaiting federal approval. Why?
Earlier this year, Hosemann told the Clarion Ledger he wanted to see evidence that a new tier of benefits could help maintain the retirement system long term. Smith did not confirm whether Hosemann’s office is currently studying that idea in the legislative off season, but she did say the Legislature is looking at several ideas.
“The Legislature is exploring any option for a more viable plan,” Smith said. “The Lt. Governor continues to be committed to fulfilling current employee and retiree benefits, including the cost-of-living adjustment for these individuals.”
Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.
-
Politics1 week ago
Trump sets intense pace with campaign events as questions swirl about Harris' policy positions
-
World1 week ago
Who is Telegram CEO Pavel Durov? What to know about his arrest in France
-
Science1 week ago
How much more water and power does AI computing demand? Tech firms don't want you to know
-
World1 week ago
Commission mandarin flags convergence of digital with industry
-
World1 week ago
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 915
-
World1 week ago
Swiss court convicts two executives of embezzling $1.8bn from 1MDB
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago
Slingshot (2024) – Movie Review
-
News1 week ago
Trump Vs Harris: The Battle Over Hot Mics Heats Up Ahead Of Key Debate