RIDGELAND, Miss. (WLBT) – The Madison and Rankin Counties’ District Attorney Bubba Bramlett announced Thursday that a woman has been sentenced to serve 20 years after poisoning a man by putting fentanyl in a soda.

Dixie Cheyenne White, 31, of Florence, pled guilty to aggravated assault as a habitual offender.

Her sentence will be served in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections without the possibility of parole.

On June 14, 2023, the Ridgeland Police Department received a call for an elderly man who was suffering from a drug overdose.

The man claimed he had been poisoned by a woman named Dixie and that she had stolen his car.

The elderly man stated he met the suspect at the Food Depot in Jackson, and she offered to come back to his house to work on his truck with him.

When he was released from the hospital, investigators met with him again and discovered that his phone, two handguns, and two credit cards were also missing.

Using tag readers throughout the area, investigators were able to find the stolen vehicle back at the Food Depot with several people inside, including Dixie White.

White matched the suspect in the surveillance video from the Food Depot on the day the victim said he had been poisoned.

White was taken into custody and interviewed about the incident.

She confessed to investigators that she had met the man and convinced him she could work on his truck.

She stated that later that night, she poured some fentanyl into a soda drink so he would go to sleep.

When he was asleep, she stole his guns, credit cards, and car.

District Attorney Bramlett stated, “It is a miracle the 84-year-old victim in this case survived unknowingly ingesting fentanyl. The Defendant could have easily killed this elderly man in her attempt to knock him out so she could rob him blind. I want to commend the investigators of the Ridgeland Police Department for all the work they did to ensure his property was located and the person responsible was apprehended.”

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STARKVILLE, Miss. — Josh Hubbard, the dynamic 5-foot-11 guard from Madison-Ridgeland Academy, officially announced on Wednesday that he will return to Mississippi State.

Bulldogs’ fans have been waiting for the news. It ended speculation about his professional future and providing clarity to the Mississippi State’ roster. He didn’t run it to the end with the last day to decide May 28.

The move, while widely anticipated, is a significant boost for coach Chris Jans and a Bulldogs’ team that is navigating a busy offseason of roster changes.

Hubbard’s sophomore campaign was nothing short of historic.

He led the Bulldogs in scoring with 18.1 points per game, starting all 34 contests and ranking among the SEC’s top 15 in seven statistical categories. His impact was felt across the board:

• 3rd in the SEC in points per game
• 2nd in assists-to-turnover ratio (2.49)
• 2nd in three-pointers made per game (3.18)
• 4th in free throw percentage (87.8%)
• 7th in three-point percentage (34.5%)
• 15th in assists (3.15) and field goal percentage (40.2%)

Hubbard’s free throw percentage set a new school record, and he became the first player in Mississippi State history to record at least 600 points and 100 assists in a single season.

He also captured the 2025 Bailey Howell Award, given to Mississippi’s top college basketball player, becoming the first freshman to win the honor since its inception in 2004-05.

In just two seasons, Hubbard has amassed 1,240 points, 168 assists and 55 steals. His combined freshman-sophomore point total is the highest in the SEC since 2000 and ranks fourth all-time in conference history.

As a freshman, Hubbard set school records for three-pointers made (108) and points scored (598), while averaging 17.1 points per game.

Hubbard’s decision to return was rooted in his commitment to the Bulldogs and his belief in the program’s direction.

“I’m blessed to be a Mississippi State Bulldog. I’m blessed to play for one of the best coaches in the country in Chris Jans,” Hubbard said. “I’m blessed to have another opportunity to represent my home state on a national stage. It’s special.”

His leadership will be crucial as Mississippi State navigates a changing roster.

The Bulldogs have seen several players transfer out, including Kanye Clary (Oklahoma State), Michael Nwoko (LSU), and KeShawn Murphy (Auburn), but have also added experienced transfers like Ja’Borri McGhee (UAB) and Jayden Epps (Georgetown).

With Hubbard back in the fold, Mississippi State is poised to remain competitive in the SEC.

His scoring ability, playmaking, and experience will anchor a team looking to build on last season’s NCAA Tournament appearance and ninth-place SEC finish (21-13 overall).

National analysts believe Hubbard’s return gives him a legitimate shot at All-American honors next season, especially as he continues to develop under Coach Jans.

While he tested the NBA Draft waters, Hubbard was not listed on ESPN’s top 100 prospects, making his return to Starkville a logical step for further growth and exposure.

• Mississippi observes Jefferson Davis’ birthday, combined with Memorial Day, as a state holiday.
• This combined holiday is one of three Confederate holidays observed in Mississippi.
• While other states have holidays honoring Davis, Mississippi is the only one to combine it with Memorial Day.
• There have been unsuccessful attempts to remove Confederate holidays from the Mississippi state calendar.

Mississippi will honor Confederate President Jefferson Davis this three-day weekend.

The state isn’t the only one to honor him with a state holiday or local celebration, but it is the only one to combine it with Memorial Day.

It’s the third of three Confederate holidays on the state calendar, starting with a celebration of Robert E. Lee and Martin Luther King Jr. in February and Confederate Memorial Day in April.

Here’s what you need to know about when and why Mississippi celebrates Confederate holidays and what other states still honor them.

Why does Mississippi celebrate Jefferson Davis?

Davis was born in Kentucky on June 3, 1808, but Mississippi pairs it with Memorial Day on the last Monday in May. The president of the Confederacy spent most of his life in the Magnolia State and served it in both houses of the U.S. Congress.

The Davis family moved to the Mississippi Territory in 1812. In 1824, he graduated from West Point, the U.S. Military Academy and served in the U.S. Army, according to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

Davis settled near family near Vicksburg, planted cotton and owned slaves in Warren County.

In 1845, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and resigned in less than a year to fight with the Mississippi Rifles in the Mexican War. In 1847, he was wounded and later was appointed to fill a seat in the U.S. Senate.

In 1851, he resigned to run for governor of Mississippi but did not win. He campaigned for Franklin Pierce and served as the president’s secretary of war.

He was re-elected to the Senate in 1857.

He resigned and announced Mississippi was seceding from the Union four years later.

By October of 1861, he was president of the Confederate States of America.

After Lee surrendered, Davis and his family ran but were later captured. He was held on treason charges for two years. The federal government dropped charges against him in 1869.

By 1877, he moved to Beauvoir in Biloxi and died in New Orleans in 1889.

The Biloxi building now serves as a presidential library. It’s open daily and offers tours. The organization that maintains it will celebrate his 217th birthday on Saturday, May 31, with a showing of Shirley Temple’s “The Littlest Rebel” and a Mississippi Rifles Honor Salute. Admission is $15 per person, and movie tickets cost another $2.

Alabama also has a state holiday for Confederate President Jefferson Davis on the first Monday in June. In Florida, it’s a local observance, according to timeanddate.com, but not an official state holiday that offices and schools or businesses would close for.

Does anyone want Mississippi to drop Confederate holidays from the state calendar?

Yes. There were multiple bills to remove Lee’s birthday and Confederate Memorial Day from the state calendar in the most recent regular session of the Mississippi Legislature.

None were successful.

Mississippi still honors Robert E. Lee on MLK Day

Two U.S. states honor Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on the federal holiday for Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. 

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is always scheduled to take place on the third Monday in January. President Ronald Regan signed the bill creating the holiday into federal law in 1983. It was first observed in 1986.

King was born on Jan. 15, 1929.

When the federal holiday was adopted in the 1980s, Mississippi and Alabama lawmakers opted to add it to an existing holiday honoring Confederate general Robert E. Lee. Many states in the South initially adopted this approach. Most, including Lee’s home state of Virginia, have since dropped celebrating Lee, who was born on Jan. 19, 1807.

Mississippi celebrates Confederate Memorial Day

Mississippi celebrated Confederate Memorial Day on Monday, April 28 this year. Only four states still honor the Civil War dead with a day off for public workers, though others still treat it as a holiday.

The Magnolia State takes it a step further and celebrates April as Confederate Heritage Month.

Confederate Memorial Day was created in Georgia on April 26, 1866. It honored the deaths of Confederate soldiers on the first anniversary of the day that Confederate Gen. Joseph Johnston surrendered the Army of Tennessee to Union Gen. William Sherman at Bennett Place, North Carolina.

Many in the Confederacy felt that negotiation marked the end of the Civil War. Lee had surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant two weeks earlier at Appomattox Court House, but Johnston stayed in the field with almost 90,000 soldiers.

The holiday spread to the other Confederate states. Some changed their celebration dates to something more locally significant.

In Alabama and Florida, it’s on the fourth Monday in April. Alabama treats it as an official holiday.

Texas celebrates it as a state holiday on Jan. 19.

North and South Carolina celebrate on May 10, but state offices close only in South Carolina.

June 3 is when Kentucky and Tennessee honor the dead from the Civil War, and Tennessee calls it Confederate Decoration Day.

Does Mississippi celebrate Juneteenth as a state holiday?

No. Mississippi does not honor Juneteenth, though it is a federal holiday.

Juneteenth is a federal holiday that honors June 19, 1865, when enslaved people in Texas were set free. The order for the state came about two and a half years after the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation.

Civil War reenactors teach living history in Mississippi

When are Mississippi state holidays in 2025?

Many state holidays in Mississippi sync up with federal holidays, but not all of them, according to the list from the Department of Finance and Administration.

• Wednesday, Jan. 1: New Year’s Day.
• Monday, Jan. 20: Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert E. Lee.
• Monday, Feb. 17: Washington’s Birthday.
• Monday, April 28: Confederate Memorial Day.
• Monday, May 26: National Memorial Day and Jefferson Davis’ birthday.
• Friday, July 4: Independence Day.
• Monday, Sept. 1: Labor Day.
• Tuesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day or Armistice Day.
• Thursday, Nov. 27: Thanksgiving Day.
• Thursday, Dec. 25: Christmas Day.

2025 US federal holiday schedule

Here are the federal holidays in 2025, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management:

• Wednesday, Jan. 1: New Year’s Day.
• Monday, Jan. 20: Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. and Inauguration Day.
• Monday, Feb. 17: Washington’s Birthday.
• Monday, May 26: Memorial Day.
• Thursday, June 19: Juneteenth National Independence Day.
• Friday, July 4: Independence Day.
• Monday, Sept. 1: Labor Day.
• Monday, Oct. 13: Columbus Day.
• Tuesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day.
• Thursday, Nov. 27: Thanksgiving Day.
• Thursday, Dec. 25: Christmas Day.

Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with Gannett/USA Today. Email her at bbolden@gannett.com.