Mississippi

This week in politics: Legislators honor, reflect on legacy of Robert Clark

Published

3 months ago

March 9, 2025

Press Room

This week in politics: Legislators honor, reflect on legacy of Robert Clark

Updates on what happened on committee deadline last week, what legislative priorities are now dead

As the past week’s legislative business came and went, several House and Senate lawmakers made speeches and posts on social media on the life and legacy of former House Speaker Pro Tempore Robert Clark.

Clark, who died on March 4 at the age of 96, was the first Black man elected to the Mississippi Legislature since 1894, and had served as a symbol of progressiveness in the legislature, his colleagues said several times throughout the week.

At first, when Clark was elected in 1967, he was remanded to a one-person desk and put in the corner of the House chamber, not being recognized to speak or make motions on the House floor or even to sit alongside his colleagues.

That, however, did not stop him from inspiring other Black politicians to run for office and serve in the state’s legislature. Nor did it stop him from his significant rise to prominence in the House.

Clark in his time would rise to chair the House Education Committee, a powerful panel of lawmakers overseeing funding, structures of and reforms to Mississippi’s education system.

After that in 1992, he became the House Speaker Pro Tempore, the second-highest position in the House with the responsibility of overseeing the chamber when the speaker was away. He would serve in that position until his retirement in 2004.

“His leadership paved the way for greater representation of African Americans in Mississippi politics, inspiring generations of public servants to follow in his footsteps,” said Cheikh Taylor, D-Starkville, Mississippi Democratic Party chairman. “Representative Clark’s legacy is one of courage, perseverance, and unwavering commitment to justice.”

When Clark’s death was announced, both Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and House Speaker Jason White, who is also from Holmes County, like Clark, honored his memory.

“He was a trailblazer and icon for sure,” White said to the House chamber on Tuesday. “He was always mighty good to me when I was elected to office.”

Clark served as the only Black lawmaker for nearly a decade. Today, there are more than 50 Black legislators in Mississippi.

What happened in the capitol last week?

As lawmakers considered bills in committee by Tuesday’s legislative deadline, many pieces of legislation were left on the chopping block.

By the end of the day, both Senate and House lawmakers had killed about 100 bills that previously passed the Senate and House chamber, respectively, according to Mississippi Statewatch, a legislative intelligence service.

Notably, the legislature’s only vehicle to make reforms to the Public Employment Retirement System of Mississippi was abruptly killed by the House Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee.

When asked why the committee didn’t take up the legislation that would have established a new retirement benefits package for government employees, Chairman Kevin Ford, R-Vicksburg, said he simply needed more time to consider the legislation.

“The failure to pass SB2439, despite countless hours of work in collaboration with the PERS Board and others, is devastating for Mississippi,” Hosemann told the Clarion Ledger in a written response. “Gov. Barbour warned of this crisis in 2009, and it has only worsened. SB2439 ensures funds for our retirees and state employees, including teachers, while providing an increased competitive benefit for future hires. This is a disaster.”

The committee had originally been scheduled to take up the bill, but the committee never did, and it was not on the final agenda.

Ford’s House committee was not the only one to do that after Senate committees killed House priorities by not bringing them up, raising questions of whether House and Senate lawmakers were at that point trading blows.

Tuesday morning, the Senate Education Committee let a flurry of House school choice bills die without consideration. Similarly, the Senate Gaming Committee did not bring up a House-approved bill to establish mobile sports betting in Mississippi.

Later that day, several House committees killed Senate bills and changed others. For example, when the House Education Committee met at 1:30 p.m., it quickly recessed so Chairman Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, could meet with House leadership to figure out what to do next.

When the committee re-met hours later, it killed many Senate education bills, passing only one with an amendment inserting a portability bill into the legislation, which would allow students to move between school districts more easily.

House Gaming Chairman Casey Eure, R-Saucier, also inserted his mobile sports betting bill into a Senate bill to reform the Tidelands Act, a law that creates a boundary between private and public land on the coast.

As for Hosemann and White’s legislative priorities for the year, some such as income tax cuts are very much still alive, some hang by a thread, like school choice, and others are at this point dead.

Those that are totally dead are state retirement system benefits reforms, ballot initiative restoration and suffrage restoration for some nonviolent felony holders.

Grant McLaughlin covers the Legislature and state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.

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Mississippi

Trump, FEMA approve disaster declaration from deadly March storms in MS

Published

12 hours ago

May 24, 2025

Press Room

Trump, FEMA approve disaster declaration from deadly March storms in MS

Staff Reports
| Mississippi Clarion Ledger

Federal disaster assistance has been approved for Mississippi following severe storms and tornadoes in March 2025.
Funding will be available to individuals and businesses in several counties for housing repairs, temporary housing, and other recovery needs.
Residents are encouraged to file insurance claims and then register for assistance online, by phone, or through the FEMA app.
Former Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant was recently appointed to a FEMA review panel, while President Trump has considered eliminating the agency.

Disaster assistance is available to Mississippi after FEMA announced May 23 that it had approved a disaster declaration made by Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves in the wake of severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding from March 14-15, 2025.

At least seven died in tornadoes that hit Covington, Jeff Davis and Walthall counties. In that same stretch, an earthquake was also recorded near Magee.

The White House announced in a release: “The President’s action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Covington, Grenada, Issaquena, Itawamba, Jefferson Davis, Leflore, Marion, Montgomery, Pike, Smith and Walthall counties. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.”

E. Craig Levy, Sr. has been named the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in those areas.

“Federal funding is also available to state and eligible local governments and certain nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding in Calhoun, Carroll, Covington, Grenada, Humphreys, Issaquena, Itawamba, Jefferson Davis, Lee, Leflore, Marion, Pike, Prentiss, Sharkey, Smith, Walthall and Washington counties.”

President Donald Trump has discussed the possibility of eliminating FEMA and pushing that work down to the states.

The president said he would reconsider “the whole concept of FEMA” and states with regular natural disasters like Florida hurricanes and Oklahoma tornadoes are efficiently handling the process.

In late April, the president added former Mississippi governor Phil Bryant to a FEMA review panel.

FEMA encouraged individuals and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas to first first file claims with their insurance providers and then apply for assistance by registering online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-3362 or by using the FEMA app.

Staff Writer Bonnie Bolden contributed to this report.

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Mississippi

Whooping cough cases rise in Mississippi. Where are most cases reported? What are symptoms?

Published

1 day ago

May 23, 2025

Press Room

Whooping cough cases rise in Mississippi. Where are most cases reported? What are symptoms?

Mississippi has seen a rise in whooping cough cases in 2025, exceeding the total from the previous year.
District 2 leads the state in reported cases, while other districts also report infections.
Infants under one year old are most vulnerable to severe complications from whooping cough.
Vaccination is considered the most effective preventive measure against the disease.

Whooping cough cases in Mississippi are on the rise, already surpassing the total number reported for all of last year, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health.

Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a highly contagious respiratory illness that can cause serious breathing problems and even life-threatening complications. This bacterial infection can affect both children and adults, though it is more critical in infants and toddlers.

The state Department of Health said 60 whooping cough cases have been reported between Jan. 1 and Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

District 2 — which includes Lee, Tishomingo and Benton counties — reported the highest number of whooping cough cases, with 25 as of Tuesday.

District 5, which includes Hinds, Rankin and Madison counties, has reported eight cases. District 8, which includes Forrest, Lamar and Jones counties, has reported fewer than five cases.

Theresa Kittle, epidemiology program director at the Mississippi State Department of Health, said in 2024, “there were 49 pertussis cases reported to MSDH. This includes both confirmed and probable cases.”

Have whooping cough cases increased in Mississippi since 2017?

According to the state Department of Health, an average of 44 whooping cough cases between 2017 and 2019 were reported to MSDH each year.

Kittle stated from 2020 to 2023, the average number of reported cases dropped to five per year, reflecting a nationwide trend.

Kittle said, however, reported cases of pertussis increased across the United States and Mississippi in 2024, “indicating a return to more typical trends.”

In 2025, reported pertussis cases have varied weekly, ranging from zero to seven, with an average of three cases reported per week.

Kittle said there are peaks in reported cases of whooping cough every few years. Kittle said whooping cough is a common disease in the state and country.

“Pertussis cases can occur year-round,” Kittle said.

According to the American Lung Association, the illness is typically at its peak in the summer and fall months.

What are symptoms of whooping cough?

Whooping cough presents as the common cold initially, the according to the CDC, so watching for signs is important. If it’s whooping cough, symptoms tend to play out in three stages.

Stage 1: For a week or two, whooping cough presents as a cold. Those symptoms include:

A runny or stuffy nose
A low-grade fever under 100.4°F
A mild cough could be present
A more serious symptom that could appear early in babies is apnea (life-threatening pauses in breathing) that could result in cyanosis (when the skin turns blue or purple)

Stage 2: One to two weeks after becoming sick, coughing fits may develop. Some coughs will turn into paroxysms, which the CDC defines as “rapid, violent, and uncontrolled coughing fits.” This can last up to 10 weeks but is less likely to be severe or long-lasting the older you get, unless an individual is unvaccinated, the CDC states.

What to identify during coughing fits:

A high-pitched “whoop” sound at the end of each coughing fit
Vomiting due to excessive coughing
Fatigue after coughing spells
Breathing struggles

Stage 3: Recovery can last for up to three weeks. An individual’s cough will begin to diminish but may flare up again if another infection or illness is contracted.

Keep in mind that “coughing fits can return many months after the whooping cough illness started,” the CDC states.

Deaths due to whooping cough are “rare,” according to the Mayor Clinic.

Who is most at-risk of contracting whooping cough?

Age and underlying medical conditions can increase someone’s risk for getting a severe case of whooping cough.

Kittle said infants under 1-year-old are at the “greatest risk” for whooping cough and severe complications due to their immune systems still developing. Kittle said this age group “continues to have the highest reported rate of pertussis.”

Kittle noted that individuals with pre-existing conditions, such as immunocompromising conditions or moderate to severe asthma, are also at high risk for severe whooping cough infections.

“It’s especially important to prevent these people from getting sick,” Kittle said.

How to prevent whooping cough?

Good hygiene practices are recommended to help prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses that cause many respiratory illnesses.

Preventive antibiotics may be administered to individuals exposed to whooping cough to reduce the risk of illness.

The best way to prevent whooping cough is through “vaccination,” Kittle said, adding that the CDC recommends whooping cough vaccination for everyone.

Pam Dankins is the breaking news reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Have a tip? Email her at pdankins@gannett.com.

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Mississippi

Mississippi woman puts fentanyl in 84-year-old man’s soda then robs him

Published

2 days ago

May 22, 2025

Press Room

Mississippi woman puts fentanyl in 84-year-old man’s soda then robs him

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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