Mississippi
SummerSALT Program Helps Young Students Learn to Read
By DAVID PANNELL, Northeast Mississippi Each day Journal
TUPELO, Miss. (AP) — From the car parking zone, it appears fairly quiet on this shiny June morning on the Orchard Church in Tupelo. However up on the second flooring, issues are buzzing.
SummerSALT — the Orchard’s month-long free studying program for struggling early-elementary-age readers — is in full swing, and the 100-or-so Tupelo-area youngsters enrolled are having a lot enjoyable, they don’t even know they’re studying.
“They don’t even know that is college,” stated Merissa Rambo, who’s in her tenth yr as this system’s director. She stated the catchy title got here from one of many Orchard’s pastors.
“Jay Stanley, who’s retired from the Orchard Northside, got here up with it,” she stated. “He loves an excellent acronym. It stands for ‘finding out and studying collectively.’”
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Every year, the Orchard hires 10 licensed lecturers and an equal variety of lecturers’ assistants to guide the SummerSALT program. Together with a crew of volunteers, they spend each Monday via Thursday morning in June serving to struggling readers hone their expertise.
The lecturers, who are inclined to return yr after yr, appear to have as a lot enjoyable as the scholars, Rambo stated.
“We don’t pay in addition to public college, however we take excellent care of our lecturers,” she stated. “We give them what they want, and so they really feel well-loved. Most of them say it’s their favourite time of yr.”
Rambo stated SummerSALT grew out of a want to do “mission work” within the Orchard’s native context.
“We don’t all the time must go elsewhere to make a distinction,” she stated. “We stated, ‘Let’s do one thing the place we reside, for college kids in our personal neighborhood.’”
Rambo stated low childhood literacy charges in Mississippi had been an issue she and others felt they wanted to handle.
“Normally, if there’s a nasty checklist, we’re on the high, and if there’s an excellent checklist, we’re on the backside,” she stated. “In Mississippi, we are usually close to the underside of the literacy charges. We felt like God was calling us to do one thing to assist.”
Issues related to poor studying expertise start early, however they’ve an extended shelf life, Rambo stated.
“Youngsters would relatively be seen as ‘unhealthy’ than ‘dumb,’” she stated. “They act out to maintain you from realizing they aren’t ‘getting it.’ That sample doesn’t change that a lot in adults. When you go to any jail or jail, there’s all the time a excessive stage of illiteracy in that inhabitants.”
SummerSALT’s concentrate on the youngest readers is intentional, Rambo stated.
“Our major focus is struggling readers in kindergarten via third grade,” she stated. “As soon as they’re in higher elementary, they aren’t studying to learn; they’re studying to study. And if they’ll’t learn effectively, they’ll’t study. We need to catch them as early as we will.”
Jail inhabitants and future workforce issues apart, Rambo stated elevated literacy charges have non secular penalties as effectively.
“God is a God of story,” she stated. “We would like these children to have entry to that story and to have the ability to learn it for themselves. We give every child a narrative Bible after they go away as a result of we wish them to know the story of Jesus.”
Jennifer LeSure is a kindergarten trainer at Carver Elementary in Tupelo. This summer season marks her third yr as a trainer at SummerSALT. She stated this system is the spotlight of her instructing yr.
“It’s my favourite time of yr,” she stated. “I like it as a result of we’re allowed to only educate the children and assist them the place they’re struggling.”
LaSure stated this system’s focus and tempo make the training surroundings a pleasing one for lecturers and college students alike.
“It’s enjoyable,” she stated. “They know even when they get it improper, we’re gonna make it proper. We don’t must hurry. We take it sluggish and take so long as we want to ensure it’s solidified.”
LaSure stated although this system solely lasts a month, she and her college students develop a bond.
“On the finish of this system, they’re our new little greatest associates,” she stated. “I get to see them develop over these 4 weeks. They’re so assured after this system; it’s like a brand new youngster.”
LaSure stated the day by day Bible story time is her favourite a part of this system.
“I like the Bible tales,” she stated. “Having the ability to educate and convey God into it’s so particular. You need to have each, for my part. I rely it a pleasure to get to be part of it.”
Copyright 2022 The Related Press. All rights reserved. This materials might not be printed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Miss Mississippi Becky Williams and Miss Mississippi’s Teen Brooke Bumgarner will head to Orlando, Florida Friday for the Miss America competition.
The national competition begins December 31st and Bumgarner hopes to make history by becoming the first national winner for this state in the teen competition. Williams hopes she will be the candidate to win Miss America since the last state winner in 1986 when Susan Aikin won the Miss America Crown.
On New Year’s Eve, the Miss America contestants, including Miss Mississippi Becky Williams will arrive in Orlando. Miss America 2025 will be crowned January 5th. There have been four winners from this state including, Mary Ann Mobley, Lynda Lee Meade, Cheryl Prewitt, and Miss America 1986 Susan Aiken.
Williams said, “The Miss Mississippi Corporation has changed my life. My experience in competing just these three years has been life-changing. I’m not the same person I was when I started and to even have the opportunity to compete at Miss Mississippi is one thing. To win is another and on top of that, I get to represent my entire state. I get to represent the volunteers of Miss Mississippi. I get to represent the state of Mississippi.”
Williams has been preparing for the national competition since she was crowned in June. She has also kept busy promoting her Community Service Initiative Make a Move.
“Preparing for Miss America has been a little different than getting ready for Miss Mississippi because now I am Miss Mississippi and it’s a full-time job. I’m on the road, I’m all across the state throughout my entire year, so these past six months I’ve been every which way but still fitting in time in dance studios across the state. I’m so thankful to my dance families in Meridian, in Hattiesburg, and in Jackson for giving me the space to practice, so that’s been really helpful but you know when it comes to interview prep, when it comes to doing the job of Miss America, I’m getting ready every single day because that’s what I do right now as Miss Mississippi”, said Williams.
The first night of the preliminary competition for Miss America’s Teen is New Year’s Eve. Brooke Bumgarner of Madison has been preparing and is hoping to make history as the first winner for Mississippi.
Bumgarner said, “She will win a $50,000 dollar scholarship which is an incredible blessing and she also wins a year-long of experiences that not everybody gets to take on and that’s such a rare opportunity and it’s been such an honor to watch the new leadership at Miss America really take our program to the next level and allow Miss America’s Teen to go through so many incredible life-changing experiences.”
Preliminary competition for Miss America begins New Year’s Night. The teen winner will be crowned January 4th.
“Only 51 girls a year are going to be able to go to the national pageant and that’s, it’s incredible to think that I am one of those 51 and I have the opportunity to make friends with people from all across the nation”, said Bumgarner.
The New Miss America will be crowned Sunday, January 5th.
Williams said, “You know it’s so humbling to be able to say that I’m the face of Mississippi when it comes to this competition so I get the chance to show everyone what we have to offer.”
The new Miss America will be awarded 60 thousand dollars in scholarships. This will be the 103rd Anniversary for Miss America which is the world’s largest scholarship program for women.
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Copyright 2024 WLBT. All rights reserved.
Mississippi
Natchez man dies after jumping off overpass in Vicksburg – Mississippi's Best Community Newspaper
Natchez man dies after jumping off overpass in Vicksburg
Published 5:05 pm Thursday, December 26, 2024
NATCHEZ — A Natchez man Thursday morning jumped to his death from an overpass in Vicksburg, said Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten.
Patten said the Warren County Sheriff’s Office notified him of the incident this morning.
Gary Wills
“I received a phone call this morning from Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace about the incident that occurred in Vicksburg,” Patten said. “After Sheriff Pace described the incident that took place, we immediately sent deputies out to do a welfare check that turned into a death notification.”
The man, identified by Patten as Gary Wills, 57, had been missing from his family since Wednesday.
“This is not the kind of news you want to deliver to any family, but it has to be done out of necessity, and our hearts go out to his daughter and family,” he said.
Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said his office received a call at about 10 a.m. Thursday.
“We responded to do a welfare check on a white male pacing back and forth on the overpass that crosses over U.S. Highway 61,” Pace said, referring to the Culkin Road overpass “As deputies approached the individual to ask if he was OK, he jumped off the bridge, landing on U.S. 61 below.
“Deputies were able to get to him immediately, and an ambulance arrived within minutes. He was transported to Merit Health River Region Hospital, where he died a short time later,” Pace said.
He said a vehicle was found parked nearby.
“The registration of that vehicle led us to Natchez. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office was able to locate the family and positively identify the victim for us. He had no identification on his person,” Pace said.
Wills was the owner of Creative Exteriors in Natchez.
Mega Millions lottery tickets going up to $5
A new and improved Mega Millions lottery is on the way and the cost of a ticket to the multi-state lotto going up from $2 to $5 starting in April 2025.
Cheddar
Want a really happy new year? The Mega Millions jackpot for Friday, Dec. 27, is an estimated $1.1 billion.
The winning numbers will be drawn just after 10 p.m. Central, and the cash option is $516.1 million.
A $1.1 billion-winning ticket was sold in New Jersey earlier this year, and that prize was just claimed this week, nine months after the drawing. In Mississippi, drawing winners must claim their prize within 180 days, and if you win, you can claim it anonymously.
Here’s what you need to know about top jackpots and how to play Mega Millions in Mississippi, including where you can buy tickets and how to claim the prize if you win.
Where can you buy lottery tickets?
Tickets can be purchased in person at gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores. Some airport terminals may also sell lottery tickets.
How to play the Mega Millions
In order to buy a ticket, you’ll have to visit your local convenience store, gas station or grocery store. In a handful of states, you can purchase tickets online, but Mississippi isn’t one of them.
To play, you will need to pick six numbers. Five numbers will be white balls ranging from 1 to 70. The gold Mega Ball is one number between 1 and 25.
If you believe the odds are against you, ask for a ”Quick Pick” or an ”Easy Pick,” the computer will randomly generate the numbers for you.
Players can add the ”Megaplier” for $1, which can increase non-grand prize winnings by two, three, four or five times. The Megaplier is drawn before the Mega Millions numbers on Tuesday and Friday.
There are 15 Megapiler balls in all:
- 2X, five balls.
- 3X, six balls.
- 4X, three balls.
- 5X, one ball.
What are the top Mega Millions jackpots?
According to the lottery, the following jackpots are the Top 10 jackpots that have been won as of Oct. 4:
- $1.602 billion, Aug. 8, 2023; a Florida player
- $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018; a South Carolina player
- $1.348 billion, Jan.13, 2023; a Maine player
- $1.337 billion, July 29, 2022; an Illinois player
- $1.128 billion, March 26, 2024; a New Jersey payer
- $1.050 billion, Jan. 22, 2021; a Michigan player
- $810 million, Sept. 10, 2024; a Texas player
- $656 million, March 30, 2012; a player from Illinois, Kansas and Maryland
- $648 million, Dec. 17,2013; a player from California and Georgia
- $552 million, June 4, 2024; an Illinois player
I won the lottery in Mississippi! What next?
The Mississippi Lottery advises people to sign the back of their winning ticket immediately.
If your prize is less than $600, you can claim that at any place that sells Mississippi Lottery tickets.
If you win $600-$99,999, you can claim by mail or by going to the Mississippi Lottery Headquarters in Flowood.
All prizes more than $100,000 must be claimed at the Mississippi Lottery Headquarters.
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