Nov. 19, 2015

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Volume 2 | Issue 61

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Inside 7 News

Unified Rebels win Unified Egg Bowl, bragging rights.

11 Business

PETRE THOMAS | OXFORD CITIZEN

Fans attending Saturday's Ole Miss-LSU football game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium need to be extra patient as security officials deal with searches. This will be the biggest turnout for a game, and in the wake of the terrorist attack in Paris, checks may be a little longer.

Focused festivities

‘McCafe for a Cause’ donates part of coffee proceeds

17 Sports

Law enforcement agents stress patience for fans

BY JOHN DAVIS OXFORD CITIZEN

If patience truly is a virtue, then Ole Miss and LSU fans who attend Saturday’s game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium need to be virtuous. The SEC West battle between the long-

time rivals should bring in the largest crowd of the season.

Ole Miss has had capacity, or near capacity, attendance all season long, so a large crowd isn’t new. Still, when people wearing purple and gold roll into town, there is a different feel, in the stadium,

on campus and around town.

Fans need to understand that with more people around, there will be more waiting time to get into the stadium. And just eight days after the massive terrorist attack in Paris, local law enforcement officials want to make sure that fans arrive a

little earlier than normal, and to be patient with increased security checks.

“For me, being my first year here, everything has been new.

That’s been a challenge from the get go,” said University of TURN TO PATIENCE PAGE 10

Off week helps Rebels regain focus, prep for LSU.

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 2

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

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Last week’s relocation of the Skipwith Cottage gave city officials room to go ahead with a badly needed renovation of the platform on which it sat and possibly the building beneath it.

The Oxford Board of Aldermen voted Tuesday to award a $48,450 contract to G&G Sheet Metal and Roofing LLC to waterproof the concrete roof of the building, which parallels City Hall’s basement level.

“We’ll take the existing tile off, take it all the way back to the concrete slab top, go back with one of the flat roofing films to underlay the surface and put concrete pavers on top of that,” City Engineer Bart Robinson said in advance of Tuesday’s meeting. “I feel confident we can keep the roof from leaking. If the walls and sides are leaking, I can’t make any guarantees, but we can make the roof stop leaking.”

Faced with the bids and the necessity for repairs, Mayor George “Pat” Patterson said after entertaining a motion and second, “We need to get this done.”

The building was constructed in 1976 to serve as Oxford’s Senior Citizens Center. With an east-facing wall of mostly glass, it

“

We’ll take the existing tile off, take it all the way back to the concrete slab top, go back with one of the flat roofing films to underlay the surface and put concrete pavers on top of that.

“

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Bart Robinson, Oxford city engineer about the leaking roof on the platform located next to Oxford City Hall was provided both a bright area for recreation and socializing as well as the stage above, from which many a concert, dedication, announcement and other public ceremony has been performed. A year after the center’s construction, the aforementioned Skipwith Cottage was placed on part of the stage, where it became a visitor center for some 35 years.

The edifice later morphed into office space for the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), which eventually saw a staff of three – and an additional two members of Volunteer Oxford – crammed into 1,400 square feet that includes one executive office, the open area that formerly constituted recreational

space, along with a kitchen and restroom facilities.

The building shows water damage leading to rust-related failure of some steel trim on the back, along with mold in several spots on the inside.

“It has leaks in the roof and wall that need repairing,” said Arledia Bennett, director of RSVP for the City of Oxford, who just moved out last year with her staff to larger and presumably healthier quarters on South 16th Street.

Bennett and RSVP coordinator Jamie Briscoe visited the building Tuesday afternoon to make a last sweep of the rooms they vacated more than a year ago to pick up a few items left behind.

TURN TO RSVP PAGE 10

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 3

The Pantry helping families in need at Thanksgiving

BY JOHN DAVIS OXFORD CITIZEN

A handful of fire fighters from Oxford joined almost two handful of volunteers Tuesday morning to stock dry goods, milk and other food items at The Pantry.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and facility is in the process of providing for local families in need of its food and overall resources. Deborah Bone is managing the volunteers this month. She and other members of the Church of Christ of Oxford have worked diligently to make sure the shelves are stocked for the holiday geared around spending time with family. Bone said the biggest need, from a food standpoint, is canned cranberry sauce.

“We are also always in need of canned meats like tuna fish and chicken,” Bone said. “Pasta, spaghetti noodles. Canned pumpkin for Thanksgiving to make a pie is also a big need. We don’t have any of that right now.”

Canned fruits are also welcomed for anyone who would like to donate. Bone said peaches in a can are very popular.

“It seems like folks always bring green beans and corn, peas and carrots,” she said. “We have plenty of the basic vegetables. It’s the canned soups, fruit, meat, tomatoes that we need right now.”

Last week, a normal one Bone said, there were 38 families that came through the Pantry on one of the days it was open for service.

This week, Bone was expecting to help serve as

PETRE THOMAS | OXFORD CITIZEN

Volunteers stock shelves with a variety of items for families to choose from at the Oxford food pantry. many as 200 families. The Pantry is closed on Thanksgiving, but it will be open the day before.

“The folks that normally get their food on Thursday, they can come on Wednesday or they can come this week. This is probably the biggest week of the year for the Pantry,” said Bone, who has been volunteering for years. “Last week Regents School came and helped. A journalism class at Ole Miss collected 304 canned goods. (Monday) night, we had a great night with the Cub Scouts, Pack 146. They brought their own cans and stocked the shelves for us.”

Sigma Chi was scheduled to help this week, as well as drop off canned goods.

Bone said that Mother Goose Day Care was collecting for the Pantry.

“I had several parents at the Boy Scouts meeting

Volunteers divide fresh vegetables from the community gardens to pass out at the pantry.

Volunteers unload boxes of milk and oil on Tuesday morning. that said they didn’t know there was that big of a need, especially when I mentioned we were out of cranberry sauce,” Bone said. “I had one that just came up to me and told me they were going to buy a couple of cases and bringing them up here. This part of the year is the most popular

time for fundraisers and food drives. It’s definitely the biggest time of the year, but it’s not the only time we need food. Our shelves tend to look a lot more bare during the spring and the summer months when Ole Miss is gone and schools are out.”

There are income re-

quirements for those that use facility, and Bone said that it’s based on the size of the house. All of it is on a chart that has been determined by the federal government.

“We do receive free food from the USDA. We do have general standards as to the income required to receive that food from the government,” Bone said. “We also receive food from Walmart and Kroger. They’re a great help to us. Panera Bread, we get a lot of our donations from them. Sanderson Farms also donates all of our chicken.”

Milk and other refrigerated items like bread are stored in four different refrigerators located inside the building. A shipment of herbs and fresh vegetables were delivered Tuesday

morning from the community garden.

Bone is at the facility four days a week during her month of managing, and sometimes from 8 until 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Volunteers are welcomed, as are cash donations. About the only thing the Pantry won’t take are out-of-date items.

“This has been the biggest year since I’ve been involved from community involvement. We’ve got church groups, Boy Scouts and fraternities and sororities,” Bone said. “I’ve gotten someone every night all the way up until Thanksgiving just wanting to volunteer.

It’s been a great, great outpouring of support. We’ve been blessed.” john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

PAGE 4

OXFORD CITIZEN

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

OBITUARIES TAYLOR HOLCOMB MCELROY Taylor Holcomb McElroy, passed away Friday, Nov. 13, 2015 in Tupelo at Sanctuary Hospice. A mem o r i a l service was held Tuesday, Nov. 17. in the Chapel of Waller Funeral Home with The Reverend Ann Whitaker officiating. Burial followed in Oxford Memorial Cemetery. The family request that in lieu of flowers memorial contributions be sent to Sanctuary Hospice House, 5159 Main Street, Tupelo, MS 38801, in Taylor’s memory.?In honor of Taylor’s service to his country, the flag of the United States Navy will be flown at Waller Funeral Home.

SHELBI NICOLE FORSYTH

was the oldest living member of the First Presbyterian Church of Shelbi Nicole Forsyth, 26, died Oxford before her death.

Friday, Nov. 13, 2015 near her home in Oxford.

PAULETTE QUARLES Visitation was held Sunday, SERRA TOMARAS Nov. 15, at Coleman Funeral Paulette Quarles Serra Home. Funeral services were held Tomaras, 73, died Saturday, Nov. Monday, Nov. 16 at Coleman Fu- 14, 2015 at Baptist Memorial neral Home. Interment followed in Hospital North Mississippi.

Kingdom Cemetery. Coleman FuFuneral services were held in neral Home is in charge of the Henry Chapel of Seven Oaks, arrangements. with Bro. Lynn Jones officiating.

Memorials may be made to Burial will be in the Oak Hill Kingdom Cemetery Fund, c/o Cemetery in Water Valley.

Bobbie Clark, 41 CR 443, Oxford, MS 38655.

DOROTHY HENDERSON Dorothy Henderson, 82, passed EMMIE ELLEN WADE away Tuesday, Nov. 17th, 2015 at Emmie Ellen (Dem) Wade, 98, Baptist Memorial Hospital North passed away Sunday, Nov. 15, Mississippi. Arrangements will be 2015.A graveside service at Saint posted upon scheduling. Hodges Peter’s Cemetery will be held Funeral Home is in charge of arMonday, Nov. 23, at 2 p.m. She rangments.

State Health Department urges flu shots According to the Mississippi State Department of Health, the rate of influenza-like illnesses remains very low in Mississippi and nationwide as of a Nov. 7 survey. While no flu cases have been confirmed in Mississippi, nationally 18 flu-related deaths have been reported.

Health authorities warn against complacency regarding this year’s flu virus, however.

“Flu and flu-like illnesses typically rise quickly at the end of November, and flu vaccinations can take up to two weeks to produce maximum immunity,” MSDH reports. “Now is the best

time to be protected with a flu shot or flu nasal spray.”

Those with the most urgent need for flu vaccination are children over six months of age, adults age 50 and older, women who will be pregnant during the flu season, and chronically ill people regardless of age.

OXFORD CITIZEN

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

PAGE 5

Thanksgiving going ‘international’ with university students

BY JOHN DAVIS OXFORD CITIZEN

Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, yams, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie. Some of the staples of an annual Thanksgiving feast in America are lost in translation to people from other countries.

Various international students who attend the University of Mississippi, who may have grown to understand or at least experience SEC football, will be exposed to Thanksgiving this year.

Jeff Holeman, the missions pastor at First Baptist Church helped come up with the idea of International Thanksgiving. Holeman has served on missions in Mexico, so he knows about being a stranger in a different land. This coming Tuesday, students will share a traditional Thanksgiving meal with a local family.

“As we have come back to Oxford for a few months, we see things a little differently than the way we saw things before we went overseas,” Holeman said. “Our church has always had an interest in

PETRE THOMAS | OXFORD CITIZEN

Mike Tomes, Liesa and Jeff Holemen start to plan out how to divide the 40 international student among the over 200 families from First Bapist Church of Oxford that have signed up to participate in sharing their Thanksgiving traditions with these students. international students. We have an international bible study on Sunday mornings and have a good group there. We began to investigate how international students there are at Ole Miss and was there anything we could do to maybe make an impact, or at least show some hospitality.”

Holeman met a professor from China and that led to discussions on international students, and how many there actually were from an enrollment standpoint.

“There are 1,140 international students and they are from 95 countries. So we began to think if there was something we could offer

‘Forward Together’ campaign reaches goal OXFORD CITIZEN REPORTS

Thanks to the generous support of Rebel Nation, the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation has surpassed its $150 million goal for the Forward Together campaign. With the help of 3,425 donors, the Forward Together campaign achieved its goal in just over a four-year span, raising $155 million.

“On behalf of Ole Miss Athletics, I want to thank everyone in the Ole Miss family and beyond who have made a contribution towards the Forward Together campaign and helping us not only reach our $150 million goal, but surpass it sooner than expected,” Ole Miss Director of Athletics Ross Bjork said in a release Wednesday. “When I arrived, I stated that we must ‘pull the rope in the same direction because you love our student-athletes,’ so I appreciate everyone who has become a follower of this approach.

“In addition, we have the best fund raising staff in the country and their hard work has not gone unnoticed throughout our campaign. The generosity by Rebel Nation allows us to keep improving our athletics facilities and enhance the student-athlete and fan experience at Ole Miss. We will all be challenged with our new goal of $200 million, but we will continue to work with maximum effort to achieve goals on and off the field and move forward together as family.”

The Forward Together campaign started in August of 2011 and raised $25 million in its first month. One year into the process,

the campaign reached $75 million in gifts before surpassing $110 million in May 2014. Today’s total of $155 million is the result of $56 million in philanthropic giving and $99 million in donations related to priority seating. Three hundred of the Vaught Society’s 375 active members have contributed to the Forward Together campaign, including 13 philanthropic gifts at the $1 million-and-above level.

“We are always amazed to see how generous Rebel Nation can be, and we look forward to seeing this excitement continue as we move ahead to reach our new goal,” said Keith Carter, Ole Miss senior associate athletics director for development/Athletics Foundation executive director.

As part of the Forward Together campaign, multiple projects have either been completed or are underway. The Manning Center, the spectacular indoor practice facility, finished renovation in the spring of 2014. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium is in the midst of a facelift that will provide Rebel fans with an even greater gameday atmosphere along with additional seating.

Thirty luxury suites and 870 club seats were added to the south end zone, and the west skyboxes were renovated before the 2015 season.

As part of the next phase, $35 million of the $200 million goal will go towards current capital project costs and $15 million toward a capital investment fund to continuously maintain and improve all Ole Miss athletics facilities.

besides a bible study class or inviting them to different activities here at the church,” Holeman said. “We felt like students could get in on a big tradition in this country that no other country really has. We wanted to find a way to connect students with family. We asked our church members if they

would be willing to open their homes to the international students.”

A couple of organizations on campus have helped to find students who would like to participate.

“We’re excited about the opportunity to fellowship and to get to know folks from other countries and let them get in on an American tradition,” Holeman said.

Dr. Eric Hankins, the lead pastor at First Baptist, said he talked with an international student didn’t know why turkey was the preferred meat to serve at the meal.

“It just seems like we would have done this before now,” Hankins said talking about the event.

Those who have already signed up will meet at the student union before the families from the church will pick them up at 6:30 this coming Tuesday night.

Holeman is hoping to serve up to 200 students. He originally thought there would be space for 50 students, but the idea caught on very well.

“We still need students to

sign up,” he added. “We’re hoping that this will grow and that we can maybe do this several times in a year with traditions that we have in the South and the in the U.S. Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, maybe something at Christmas although most students are gone during that time. We’re just looking for opportunities for us to make a connection. I read somewhere that over 60 percent of the international students that come never step foot in an American house.

We want to be hospitable.

There is just a lot of ways for us to help them and adjust.”

Most of the students will return to their country of origin, Holeman said, and he wants them to take advantage of the time they are here.

“We want to love them, help them and just reach out to them anyway we can,” he added.

Grace Bible Church and The Orchard is also involved with the meals. john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 6

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

Groups gear up for community dinner OXFORD CITIZEN

Maybe it’s less miraculous than the feeding of the 5,000 with five loaves and two fishes, but when OxfordUniversity United Methodist Church opens its doors next Thursday, people will see a small miracle.

It’s not just that food will appear in great quantity from all over Oxford and parts of the surrounding county but that people from a wide variety of backgrounds will sit down and give thanks together, break bread together and learn a little more about each other’s hopes and humanity.

The occasion will be OU UMC’s annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner, which is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Everyone is welcome without price.

“Our goal for this is just that we have a community meal. It’s not specifically about helping low-income people or those who are by themselves on the holiday,”

said Ashley Allen, the church’s hospitality chair, who will coordinate the kitchen that day. “It’s about bringing the community together.”

One frequently heard concern that keeps people from attending the meal is that they don’t want to take away from those who might ‘need’ the meal more.

“This is for everyone,” Allen said. “It’s not just for people without family in town. It may be people who are surrounded by their families but just don’t want to cook a big meal. It’s not that we’re serving some ‘needy’ group: We’re all needy, and we all need community.”

“We do have people who are kind of in dire straits.

Some are lonely, some come in regularly just to be a part of the community,” said Pat Forrester, the church’s missions and outreach coordinator. Some guests are on-duty emergency and medical personnel and other workers who can’t enjoy the day at home.

“

Our goal for this is just that we have a community meal. …

It’s about bringing the community together.

“

BY ERROL CASTENS

Ashley Allen, Oxford-University United Methodist Church hospitality chair The communitywide Thanksgiving Dinner started when some OU members decided several years ago that Oxford needed such an open event.

“We’ve been doing this for several years,” Forrester said.

“I think we had some seed money from a family at OU who wanted to do something like this to reach out to the community.”

Each year, a small army of volunteers from OU and partner churches cook a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner, set up tables and chairs on the basketball court, throw open the doors and spend three hours

greeting, serving and seating and visiting with 200 or more area residents and visitors.

“It’s an awesome experience,” Allen said. “All these different people who have never worked together just mesh so well. It’s wonderful watching it all come together.”

Allen said one of the benefits of being a volunteer at the dinner is getting to visit with the guests and other volunteers, who range from her kitchen crew to greeters/waiters and busboys.

“I’m real bad about staying in the kitchen, but gen-

erally we try to mingle and get to know some of the guests,” she said.

This year, congregations co-hosting include neighboring First Presbyterian Church and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, along with St. Andrew’s UMC in northeast Oxford, and Taylor UMC and Pine Flat UMC in south Lafayette County.

“It’s not the same churches that help every year,” Forrester said. “Sometimes churches that have partnered with us before have other missions they’re concentrating on, and that changes the involvement to some other churches.

“They prepare the food – lots of food. We send out big pans, and they bring them back that morning with dressing, sweet potato casserole, squash casserole, macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole,” she added, along with tables full of desserts from pecan and pumpkin pies to cakes and hand-decorated cookies.

“We have a gentleman in town who probably would-

n’t want his name mentioned, who buys all the turkeys for the dinner, and Larson’s (Cash Saver Grocery) cooks them for us.”

Volunteering is sometimes so popular that OU members call early to make sure they have a spot on the roster.

“People who belong to OU just call in and start asking me, ‘How can I help?’”

Forrester said.

And when it’s over, leftovers find their way out to people who welcome them, too.

“Last year we boxed up meals and took them anywhere we could think of – the hospital waiting rooms, the police and fire stations of course, and then we took some to a mobile home park and some public housing complexes,” Allen said.

“Some of our youths made turkey sandwiches and just found anybody who was working who might enjoy them. It all finds a home.” errol.castens@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenec

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 7

Taking home the trophy Unified Rebels win Unified Egg Bowl, bragging rights

BY JOHN DAVIS OXFORD CITIZEN

Just before he ran on to the field to join his teammates huddled up late in Monday’s Unified Egg Bowl, Bill Holden pointed at Hugh Freeze and told the Ole Miss football coach he was going to make a play.

Holden didn’t end up playing the role of hero in the flag-football contest, but his Unified Rebels nipped the Unified Bulldogs, 25-24, to retain possession of the trophy. This year’s game was hosted at the intramural fields on campus. The game is hosted in the city not having the actual football game between the two schools. The Unified Rebels won last year’s game 23-17, while the Rebels defeated the Bulldogs 31-17 at Va u g h t - He m i n g w a y Stadium.

Freeze, who stood on top of a metal bench during most of the game, was a main attraction for the players.

Students from both Ole Miss and Mississippi State shape the rosters. They are joined by Special Olympic athletes, who revel in the excitement, and competition of the event.

Holden, who lives in Oxford, posed for several pictures with Freeze, and his teammates, following the victory.

“I’ve always grown up an Ole Miss fan, they are my No. 1 team,” Holden said as tears formed in his eyes. “I just want to say that I’m glad that I chose the right team this year. I love being with the Rebels. I loved playing with the Rebels tonight. And I’m glad that we took home the Egg Bowl this year. I want everybody to be proud.”

Meeting Freeze was a first for Holden, and for several of those who took part in the game. Freeze helped the Rebels garner the win by donating $1,000, which put

THOMAS GRANING

Ole Miss football head coach Hugh Freeze and players join the Unified Ole Miss team for a photo after the Special Olympics Unified Egg Bowl against Mississippi State on Monday.

Ole Miss’ Mary Evelyn Webb hugs Jesse Roach after the Ole Miss’ Jesse Wims runs past State’s James Wilson.

Unified Rebels won.

Last year, the event pep talk, and they had a 3 points on the scoreboard raised $12,000 and this year blast. We were out chilling when the Rebels were be- more than $4,000 had been with them the other day, hind early. In a game that tallied prior to the game. getting them ready for the was decided by one point All proceeds go toward big game,” Engram said. and won by the Rebels on a starting a Special Olympics “Now they’re actually out fade pass with 17 seconds college program. Bahou in the game and having left in the contest, the dona- added that it was neat to fun. To see them fly get students from both around, it’s really a good tion was crucial.

Tony Bahou, the CEO schools to interact with the experience. Just seeing the smile on their face when and President of Special special athletes.

Ole Miss tight end Evan you walk up, they know Olympics Mississippi, said the participants talk about Engram was one of four who you are and exactly the game for an entire year, Rebels on the sideline of what you do. It’s a very, not just days or weeks after. Monday’s game. He helped very humbling experience.

“And the State fans will be coach the team, both dur- It’s a blessing. It’s a great mad for the next 364 days ing the game, and in the privilege to hang out with these kids and to share the until they get to play next practices beforehand.

Engram said taking part sport of football with year,” Bahou said. “They take this seriously.They take in the event gives him a them.” a lot of pride in it. They love great perspective of how playing it. This is the state lucky he is. john.davis@journalinc.com “We gave them a little championship to them.”

Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

Mississippi State’s DeMarcus Pippens looks to avoid Ole Miss’ James Robinson during the game.

Ole Miss football players Evan Engram and Laremy Tunsil join the Unified Ole Miss team in a huddle during halftime.

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 8

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

Sewer, hirings, high school football on city agenda OXFORD CITIZEN

The Oxford Board of Aldermen dispatched a varied agenda Tuesday night, dealing with issues from a sewer upgrade that will create several days of noise, to several new public safety hires, to a review of plans for the Mississippi high school football championships next month.

Residents in southeast Oxford should prepare for a few days of noise, said City Engineer Bart Robinson, as contractors employ diesel pumps to keep sewer flow intact while rerouting sewer lines in connection with the eventual expansion of Highway 7 South.

“The majority of the work to relocate the sewer is done. The last section is to make two connections on the large crossing under Highway 7,” Robinson said.

“To do that we have to close the sewer and bypasspump around. The only issue is the noise from the diesel pumps. They’re going to be running 24

“

The majority of the work to relocate the sewer is done.

The last section is to make two connections … under Highway 7.

“

BY ERROL CASTENS

Bart Robinson, Oxford city engineer hours a day for 4-5 days, although it could be a shorter time than that.”

Robinson said the pumps may not generate any complaints, as the noise from Highway 7 is

probably more invasive to the nearby Notting Hill neighborhood, but that there is no less intrusive way to accomplish the new connection.

Alderman Jay Hughes suggested building a sound barrier of hay bales, an idea that Mayor George “Pat” Patterson endorsed.

Robinson noted that the line being changed channels nearly the entire city’s sewage load to the wastewater treatment plant on Highway 7 South. While timing for the change is not yet determined, he said, “Starting the Monday after Thanksgiving would be ideal.”

FOOTBALL CENTRAL Oxford will be football central for the state of Mississippi on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 4-5, when Vaught-Hemingway Stadium is the site for the Mississippi High School Activities Association state football championship games. For many years the games had been played in Jackson, but two years ago

the MHSAA contracted for them to switch every other year between Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi.

Each day will see three games – at 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. – to determine a state champion in each of six categories based on school size.

Brad Freeman and Clay Brownlee, the director and assistant director of FNC Park, respectively, are Oxford’s organizers for the event.

“It’s going to be a great thing for the city, during a slow time, especially,” Freeman said, noting that up to 45,000 fans are expected to attend one or more of the games, many of them patronizing Oxford’s hotels, restaurants and shops while here.

Brownlee said a website – www.oxfordmsgridiron.co m – has been set up as a comprehensive source of information for teams, media and fans.

“It’s been up since the first game of the season, and we’ll be able to person-

alize this as the teams advance through the playoffs.

It’s going to have information about parking, tickets, gates, seating, whatever you can think of,” he said.

Cannon Motors has provided a $5,000 sponsorship of the event to help with Oxford’s organizing costs.

LAUNDRY LIST Among other items approved by the Board of Aldermen were the following: • an ordinance to allow stormwater detention ponds to be placed in front yards where the City Engineer deems it advisable; • employment of three firefighters and four fulltime police officers; • purchase of two used buses for Oxford-University Transit at $4,800 each; • police training ranging from crime scene investigation and instructor development to law enforcement recruiting and behavioral analysis; • approval for OPD to apply for FY 2017 grants totaling nearly $200,000; • $1,750 to the Lions Club

toward costs for the Christmas Parade on Dec. 7 starting at 6:30; • acceptance of an Urban Forest Challenge Grant • approval to advertise and bid installation of remotely read AMI meters for Oxford Electric Department; • acceptance of OED’s annual audit report and the TVA annual report, which found “no internal control issues” and “no exceptions”; • approval for off-duty uniformed officers to work security detail at Walmart during the holiday shopping season; • approval of health insurance premiums, which will see a 10-percent cost decrease in 2016; and • permission to apply for a Go Greenfields grant for $25,000 in exercise equipment to supplement purchases from the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Healthy Hometown Grant awarded to Oxford this year. errol.castens@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenec

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 9

Lafayette starts comprehensive plan update

BY ERROL CASTENS OXFORD CITIZEN

Something’s got to give.

That was the consensus at a forum for public input on updating Lafayette County’s comprehensive plan. The current plan was adopted in 2008 and has been under review by planner Bob Barber of the Orion Group – the same group leading the “Vision 2037” update of Oxford’s comprehensive plan.

In just over 100 pages, the 2008 plan aimed at such overall goals as “to promote the orderly, efficient development of Lafayette County … to make Lafayette County a healthy, safe, and convenient place, and to provide a pleasant and attractive atmosphere for living, shopping, recreation, civic, cultural and service functions.”

“Community planning does not attempt to replace market forces of supply, demand and price but to shape and channel those forces by establishing certain rules for development and conservation,” the plan states.

The county sent out a request for proposals this week, aiming it at professionals who could oversee the plan update process over the next several months. Responses are due Dec. 1.

Board President Jeff Busby opened the forum with an acknowledgement that “20 years ago we probably wouldn’t have been having this discussion.

“I don’t think anyone in this room who lived in the county then wanted restrictions, and we assure you we hear you and understand,” he said. “We’re going to limit that as much as possible, but we also have a duty to protect the property owners as well.

With so much growth in this county today, we have to do something, whether any of us like that or not.”

District 4 Supervisor Chad McLarty also acknowledged rural residents’ concerns about regulations.

“People live in the county for a reason, but at the same time, the people who are close to the limits of an incorporated municipality,

PETRE THOMAS | OXFORD CITIZEN

The Lafayette County courthouse is one of the most recognizable buildings locally.A comprehensive plan that would affect residents is currently being discussed by supervisors and other county leaders. and even people farther out at times have asked for some kind of protection,” he said. “It’s 15-year-old data we’re talking about.

The county, the city and the university have all changed greatly in the last 15 years.”

County Engineer Larry Britt noted the area surrounding Oxford needs some form of development regulation.

“You’d be amazed at how many building permits we’ve issued this year. ...

The City of Oxford is filling up. They’ve got some vacant land left, but it’s gradually disappearing, and those people are going to go just on the outskirts of town to do development, and we need to be prepared,” Britt said. “We made some changes here earlier in the year that I think helped some, but we need some advice on which way to go.”

Board Attorney David O’Donnell explained the legalities.

“The process of the comprehensive plan serves as a platform to receive concerns that citizens have in regard to land use; zoning is obviously one of the things that will be discussed,” he said. “A lot of things have happened in the county developmentwise so that the comprehensive plan really does need updating, so if we do decide to adopt revisions to our subdivision regulations or adopt additional land use regulations, we’ll have a good comprehensive plan on which to base it.”

Lafayette County Planning Commission chair T.J.

Ray urged the board to adopt more helpful regulations.

“It is a very uncomfortable feeling to be sitting here, being asked to approve a development, and you are 100-percent opposed to that development for all sorts of reasons, but the regulations in front of you give you no authority to turn it down,” he said.

Ray cited several recent examples of inadequate planning, including an equipment dealership that shed runoff into a subdivision and a shooting range located near homes. One ongoing concern is a church building constructed with second-story seating for 150 people and only one exit after churches were inadvertently left out of the last comprehensive plan update.

“I’m not interfering with religion in any way, but it’s this kind of situation where we don’t necessarily want to approve something, but (currently) we can’t turn it down,” Ray said.

STRONG SUPPORT Of those few non-officials who spoke, not one urged against either comprehensive planning or land use regulations.

Southpointe homeowner Monica Hern said she didn’t locate outside the city to avoid regulation.

“I’m one who just blundered down from Memphis and found a house I liked, and there were sidewalks and yards and street lights and stop signs, and I just naively thought, this is kind of like Memphis, and it

never even dawned on me that we didn’t have building regulations,” she said.

“That never even dawned on me, and when I found that out, I did not feel protected, so I applaud your efforts to do that.”

Hern said she understands the need for different levels of regulations.

“I do realize that a whole

lot of this county is big farm property, and they don’t have the same needs that we do,” she said. “That’s a tricky thing for you guys to deal with, but you must because there are different needs in a subdivision like mine that’s going to have 75 or 80 houses in it that has streets and sidewalks and fences and little children riding their bicycles than somebody who lives on a farm.”

Engineer Jeff Williams, who frequently represents developers, noted the fine line the board will have to draw in considering new regulations.

“I think the challenge you guys are burdened with right now is a doubleedged sword,” he said.

“You’re going to have a battle to fight based on what’s coming from the city. The city has a big plan coming, and if you look at that plan, there are some large pieces of land that are targeted for annexation.”

Williams noted the most pressured areas for devel-

opment are those just outside the City of Oxford where municipal sewer service can be the deciding factor in whether a particular project is feasible.

“You guys are going to have to figure out how to soften that edge, because that’s where everybody’s trying to get to – to get to city utilities,” he said.

Several observers said a useful update of Lafayette County’s comprehensive plan and resulting ordinance changes will require an accompanying process of informing the public.

“It becomes more important for the property owners in the county to realize that a little bit of … what would be the best plan for those areas, not what you can and can’t, is not a control but it’s a protective device,” Williams said.

“People don’t want to be told what they can do with their land, but at some point in time we’ve got to soften that edge, because TURN TO PLAN PAGE 10

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 10

Patience FROM PAGE 1

Mississippi Police Chief Tim Potts, who came to Oxford from Purdue University. “We have been fortunate to have been able to open an emergency operations center inside the stadium this year. We have dedicated personnel from the city, the highway patrol, from MDOT. Baptist hospital, the FBI, Ole Miss athletics and Whelan security. We have dedicated people to help us staff the position. If we’re ever confronted with anything, we can turn to somebody face to face and handle the problem.”

Potts said that a K-9 unit is at the stadium for more than just a sweep of things.

Video cameras are able to monitor the different gates that fans enter through.

“I don’t think anyone who works large scale events, when you heard what happened in Paris, if that didn’t rock you, it made you step back and reassess what you’re doing,” Potts said.

“We’re certainly no different than anyone else in the United States where we

Plan FROM PAGE 6

it’s growing.”

Busby noted that state law does not allow land use planning in one area of a county without such definitions for all unincorporated parts.

“If we had an option, Tula, Paris, Yocona and a lot of these areas wouldn’t be zoned at all. We’d draw a line within an eight- or 10-mile radius and say this is where we’re going to do that,” he said. “Unfortunately, that’s not an option for us. We have to zone the whole county before we can come back in and put more restrictions in a small area. I want as few restrictions in the outlying areas of the Tulas and the Parises in the county as we can possibly put in there.”

Landscape architect Matthew Copp said Lafayette County and Oxford have a joint reputation among planners and developers nationwide.

“My background and training is as a landscape architect and land planner. My fear of whatever comes out of Vision 2037

take a step back. We feel like we’re doing a pretty good job, but can we do something better? We will continue to monitor that and making some adjustments throughout the week. I would encourage fans that if the wait to get into games is a little bit longer because of the security, the best thing to do is to come earlier. If you come 30 minutes before, come 45 minutes earlier for this game.”

Potts reminded fans that RebText can be used to help deal with a nearby fan that is not acting accordingly in the stands.

“You don’t have to confront that fan. You can send a text and an usher or a security person will get down there and deal with the situation,” Potts said. “We think that our fans are learning that there are no backpacks allowed in. And that is any type of a bag that can be worn on the back.

That is going to be considered a backpack. Even those sling packs that can be cinched in at the top, those aren’t going to be allowed in. We don’t let people drop those by the gate so to keep people going for the city is, if the city clamps down and makes it more stringent for developments to come through, it’s going to push developers who don’t want to play by the city’s rules out into the county, and that’s what we need to protect,” Copp said.

“Last week I was in Chicago, Illinois, at a national conference, and quite frankly Lafayette County and Oxford are on everybody’s radar screen,” he said. “I have friends who are planners elsewhere, and I’ve had them comment to me that when a developer who comes to their town doesn’t get approval, they say, ‘Well, we’ll just go to Oxford, because Oxford’s easy to get development approved.’”

Copp suggested that the effort to both inform and hear from the public not be limited to courthouse forums.

“If the county is going to go through this process, it needs to be transparent,” he said.

“There will be opposition to this, without a doubt, but I think the key to allowing this to be successful is to educate people

back to their cars to drop that off, we suggest that you leave that in your vehicle from the beginning.”

Just because Oxford isn’t considered a major city in the world like Paris, Potts doesn’t want his officers or others that are involved in game management, to get complacent in regards to things.

“That’s a dangerous frame of mind to be in even if this isn’t Paris,” Potts said.

“We have sent stuff out again to inform our officers about what has been taking place in Paris and things they continue to do help make our campus safe. If you see something, say something. That’s really what the government is pushing out again as well.”

Scott Mills is the chief deputy with the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department. He and Alan Wilburn, who helps with investigations as well as with search and rescue operations, said meetings about attacks are held prior to each season. Sheriff deputies are heavily involved in the security on Saturdays, both in and out of the stadium. more than anything about the process and the terminology – what zoning means. It’s not just about what you can’t do; it’s about protecting.

“Some of these unincorporated areas – Harmontown, Paris, Yocona, Philadelphia, down the list - they don’t have the luxury of Abbeville or Taylor that they’re incorporated, so it’s going to be a balancing act to make this land use plan to help those individuals in those areas as well if development begins in those areas for whatever reason,” Copp said. “It may be prudent, when this process starts, to almost do a ‘land use road show’ and reach out to these communities rather than asking them to come to town. They may be hesitant to come up here. Take it to them and be on their turf rather than asking them to come up here and be on the defensive and oppose it.”

Ruth Johnson, a College Hill area resident, supported any regulations that could stop an intended trailer park from going in next to her home and farm.

“The university has put things in place this past year to help identify people and things Mills like that in conjunction with the federal authorities,” Mills said.

“As far as the crowds, we have as many people as we’ve got and that’s it. We’re doing everything we can from a manpower standpoint. Communication is a big thing that we have worked on this year.”

There is a movement to get everyone on the same page as it relates to communication. Sheriff deputies have converted over to the Mississippi Wireless Integrated Network which is a cell tower based system. All the state agencies use the system, Mills said. Special events, like an Ole Miss football game, can be created and only used by those agencies.

“If we need to talk to each other in the field, it’s a lot quicker,” Mills said, who added that the 2015 season has been like normal. “Some games are just Johnson noted the property was occupied by a single woman who rented space for her own mobile home. The new owner, she reported, “bought the property and told her, ‘You can stay, because I’m going to put in four more (trailers) in here.’”

With only one rehabbed rental already in place, disturbances to the neighborhood have already begun, Johnson said, noting concern that more disturbances, more litter and serious criminal activity could result from a growth of a transient population in an established neighborhood.

“It’s difficult to get the law out there. You either get your gun ready, or you’re going to get shot, because response time out there is not good,” she said. “We have little children around there. …

How do I know sex offenders won’t go in there for $250 a month?

“I’ll go house to house if I have to, to get zoning.

Somebody just tell me,” Johnson said. errol.castens@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenec

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015 worse than others and bad behavior comes with this game. A few years ago, we almost Wilburn had a really bad incident on the Square. It’s scary. Again, there are only so many officers to take care of that.

We wish that our people will do their part to be on their best behavior.”

And with what happened in Paris still fresh on the minds of authorities, bad behavior won’t be tolerated as much as some other weeks. Two bombers tried to cause damage at a soccer match involving France and Germany, but security personnel were able to keep the bombers out of the stadium, and away from the masses.

“Everybody’s fear has been that. Any big sporting events on a Saturday has been something we’ve talked about,” Mills said.

“Fans don’t want to be inconvenienced at the gate, but it may take a little longer to get in. People are

going to have to be patient and on good behavior. We want them to come and enjoy the festivities, but be aware. We don’t need a lot of extra attention away from something that really could be horrendous that is boiling over here that we don’t know about.”

Even though officers train for hostage situations or situations that involve weapons being drawn, the unknown of the person causing the chaos is toughest part to deal with.

“The scenario is familiar because we train to it, but you never know what a person has in their mind and if they already have it in their mind that it doesn’t bother them if they lose their life, it makes things even more difficult,” Mills said. “When it gets down to it, most people don’t want to lose their own life. But the zealots and others like that, it takes things to a different level. We have to be prepared and sharp and be ready to do what we have to do to reconcile the situation.”

RSVP

the Square that aren’t either street or sidewalk (the other being Faulkner’s Alley), the former RSVP building’s footprint has been frequently mentioned as a potential plaza to connect the shopping and commercial area surrounding the Lafayette County with a proposed parking garage behind City Hall and Neilson’s Department Store.

“In no scenarios that I’ve seen would that building remain,” Robinson said. “Everything we have discussed is the removal of that building and then that plaza opening up into it. Now it’s very possible you could go back with office space above the plaza or beside it to get some more office space there.”

Robinson said the mold in the building won’t take an involved process to mitigate.

“There’s some mold in it, but it’s just mold like you’d have in your basement,” he said. “As it stays closed up without any air circulating, that’ll grow.

You’re 90 to 120 days from the building’s being habitable again.

FROM PAGE 2

“This has got to come out by Monday,” Bennett said. “The Park Commission (RSVP’s parent department) has to be completed moved out.”

The future of the building is a mystery.

“They haven’t told me anything other than that, as I understand, we’re not coming back here,” Bennett said. Noting the cramped quarters for five people and a parade of volunteers, she added, “I appreciate them moving us out of here.”

City Clerk Lisa Carwyle’s office has been mentioned informally as a candidate for expanding into the building after its renovation, but she said she hadn’t heard that particular theory.

“All I know is everybody in City Hall needs more space,” she said.

Robinson said, “Future uses? I don’t know what they’ll be. We just want to get it back in inventory now for space.”

Whatever use is made of the building, it may be a temporary one. One of only two openings onto

john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

errol.castens@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenec

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

PAGE 11

‘McCafe for a Cause’ donates part of coffee proceeds

BY ERROL CASTENS OXFORD CITIZEN

Every Monday, hundreds of people start their workweek at one of the two local McDonald’s franchises, whether that’s sitting inside enjoying a leisurely breakfast or catching it on the run in a drive-through lane.

A fair number of them will opt for coffee with their biscuit, pancakes or other breakfast choice. A handful of folks come in during the morning, after the commuter rush, just to have coffee with friends. And all day long, from midnight to midnight, customers enjoy mochas, lattes, hot chocolate, ice mochas as well coffee drunk the more traditional way.

And every Monday, every cup of that brown magic offers the chance to do some good for the Lafayette-Oxford-University community through “McCafe for a Cause,” a program launched by Betsy and Andrew Smith when they were about to start the rebuild of one of their two Oxford locations.

McCafe for a Cause donates half the price of every cup of coffee sold each Monday to a specified charitable or educational organization in the Lafayette-Oxford-University community – one charity per month.

Halfway through the first year, the program has brewed up more than $6,800 to support local organizations that enhance the quality of life for local residents.

“It had partly to do with rebuilding the new restaurant,” Betsy Smith said, referring to the University Avenue location that reopened in May after being demolished late last year. “We’d been planning this rebuild for 10 years, so we were considering anything that we had in mind with kids’ activities and birthday parties and spirit night. Our grand opening gave us an opportunity to have a facility we were proud to invite people into, so we’d been thinking of things for a very long time.”

“We’ve always supported local causes, just on a different level, so we were sitting in a McDonald’s conference last fall, and we had the rebuild on our minds. Some operators out of Florida do McCafe for a Cause, but they do all national causes, and they make a donation based off of profits,” Smith said. “Andrew and I looked at each other and thought, ‘Let’s do this, but bring it down a level.’

“We’re involved in a lot of community groups, and we have kids

PETRE THOMAS | OXFORD CITIZEN

LaQuita Miles pours a cup of coffee at the newly rebuilt McDonald's on University Avenue. in public schools, and we see all the good that they do, so we looked at each other and were kind of like, ‘We can do this, but we can make it better,’” she said.

“We want all the money to stay in Oxford, and we wanted to up the donation, so we donate based off of sales instead of profits.”

A different cause was picked for each month, beginning in May, when the new University Avenue store reopened, with the Lafayette County Literacy Council targeted for the donation and the accompanying promotions.

In August, when the school year opened, the featured organization was LovePacks.

“Betsy Smith is familiar with our program, just because she has children in the Oxford School District,” said Mary Leary, president of the organization.

“LovePacks provides food to children in need in the Oxford and Lafayette County School Districts. The counselors and teachers identify the kids that need help.

“They get food during the week

with breakfast and lunch at school,” Leary said. “Some of the kids may not have food available at home over the weekend, and LovePacks helps fill that need.

The teacher discretely slips the pack into the kids’ backpacks as they leave on Fridays.”

As August’s partner organization, LovePacks received a check for $1,333.51, and Leary said the extra publicity was valuable in its own right.

“It’s been really well-received,” she said.

Smith said some of the organizations chosen for the first year of McCafe with a Cause were those which her family was already familiar.

“A lot of the causes are the ones that we commit our time to and that we’re passionate about,” she said. “We picked some causes, too, where we thought about who needed the awareness brought to the group. We’re so lucky; there are so many amazing nonprofits, so we tried to pick some that I didn’t know about, like Doors of Hope and 21 United.

“It’s a two-fold approach,” Smith said. “We do raise the money, but we work with local media to promote the groups and what they do, how they affect the community and how to get involved. It’s about more than just donating the money. All nonprofits always need money, but it’s also to promote what these groups are doing in the community, because it’s pretty amazing.”

The first year’s organizations are a cross-section of the L-O-U nonprofit community: • May 2015 – Lafayette County Literacy Council (literacy education for all ages) • June 2015 – Oxford Lafayette Humane Society (animal rescue) • July 2015 – Interfaith Compassion Ministry (financial and material helps to homeless, nearhomeless and others in dire needs) • August 2015 – Love Packs (non-perishable foods sent home on weekends for schoolchildren in homes where food might not be consistently available)

• September 2015 – More Than A Meal (Tuesday suppers, tutoring sessions and material helps at the Stone Center) • October 2015 – 21 United (awareness, advocacy, parent helps and camp scholarships for individuals and families affected

by Down Syndrome) • November 2015 – Leap Frog (after school tutoring, mentoring and enrichment for at-risk first-, second- and third-graders in Oxford and Lafayette schools) • December 2015 – Boys & Girls Club of North Mississippi (afterschool and summer tutoring, mentoring and enrichment programs for school-age kids) • January 2016 – Lafayette Endowment Fund for Education (supplementing funds to meet specific needs within the Lafayette County School District) • February 2016 – Oxford School District Foundation (supplementing funds to meet specific needs within the Oxford School District) • March 2016 – Doors of Hope Transition Ministries (life-skills training, mentoring, and supportive housing for families with minor children in Lafayette County) • April 2016 – Exchange Club Family Center (breaking cycles of child abuse and neglect through prevention, intervention, and educational services) Smith said both Oxford McDonald’s locations will continue McCafe with a Cause beyond the current list of partner organizations.

“Some of the groups may vary.

Obviously since it started we’ve been approached by tons of folks who’d like to have their group as a part of it,” she said. “We also own some other McDonald’s restaurants in Mississippi. We’ve started it in Ripley, and one of our restaurants is in Eupora, and we’re working with that community to get it going there as well.”

After www.mcdonalds.com featured McCafe for a Cause on its home page earlier this week, Smith hopes to see the program started in locations across the country.

“Hopefully, more McDonald’s will see it and do the same thing in their communities. That would be great to get going in any town. I’ve gotten two calls already today,” she said. “I’m really passionate about giving back – Andrew and I both are.” errol.castens@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenec

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 12

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

Wind Ensemble playing tonight at Nutt Auditorium

T

he Pride of the South.” Not a bad name for the University’s marching band. Every Grove goer is familiar with this band, with high octane stand performances and the new traditional “grove routine.” There is one thing about the Pride of the South that many might not be familiar with and that is the University’s premier wind band, the Wind Ensemble. Consisting of 50 to 60 performers and directed by “the band director’s band director” David Willson, the Wind Ensemble performs the very highest level of wind band literature. The Wind Ensemble consists of graduate students, music majors and non majors and annually tours high schools in Mississippi. The Wind Ensemble hosted and performed at the College Band Directors Southern Regional Conference in February, 2010.

Professor Willson has always put a strong emphasis on training students fundamentally and has been equally concerned in developing students as well-rounded citizens through his philosophy of being all superior “Every Day in Every Way”. Willson has shown his commitment to his students, not only through his outstanding teaching, but also by his determination to leave behind a $2 million scholarship endowment for current, and future students. This goal has almost been met. Mr. Willson had help, namely Nancy Frohn who spear-

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He is most proud of his former students that are successful band directors.

Willson has been most notable in his striving to teach not only his students, but mentor all band directors, fostering a community of band directors all across the state of Mississippi. He is a regular clinician and civic speaker throughout Mississippi.

The University of Mississippi Wind Ensemble will be perform tonight at Nutt Auditorium at 7:30. Cost of admission for general audiences is $10, while students may enter for $8. Children are admitted for only $5. I hope to see you there.

THIS WEEKEND: • The Soul Rebels with Riverside Voodoo, Thursday, 9pm at Proud Larry’s • The Randy Rogers Band with Wade Bowen, Thursday, 8pm at the Lyric • Kudzu Kings, Friday, 9pm at Proud Larry’s Tyler Daniels writes an occasional entertainment colunm for the Oxford Citizen.

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tient safety watchdog group.

The latest “A” rating is an The Oxford School District will improvement from the previous “B” rating, placing the hospital expand its Good Food for Oxford in the top five percent of hospiSchools program with an impletals graded across the United mentation grant from the USDA, States. announced on Tuesday by U.S. The Leapfrog Group grades Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

The district will take part in a more than 2,500 hospitals across city-wide food hub collaboration the United States for safety twice with the Oxford City Market and each year. Hospitals are given a letter grade of “A” through “D” turn garden projects into selfand “F”. Of the 33 hospitals in sustaining educational proMississippi submitting data for grams. the fall reporting period, only five “Farm to school programs received an “A” rating. work – for schools, for producThe safety score reflects how ers, and for communities,” Vilsack said. “By serving nutritious well the hospital protects paand locally grown foods, engag- tients from preventable medical errors, injuries and infections ing students in hands-on lessons, and involving parents and within the hospital and is calcucommunity members, these pro- lated based on several core measures, including safe pracgrams provide children with a tice measures, surgical care imholistic experience that sets them up for a lifetime of healthy provement project measures and patient safety indicators. eating.”

“One of our top priorities is patient safety, and I’m exTop grade for tremely proud of each and every Baptist Hospital one of our employees, physiBaptist Memorial Hospitalcians, and clinicians who conNorth Mississippi has been tinue to uphold this as a very awarded an “A” patient safety high standard throughout our rating in the Fall 2015 Hospital facility,” said Bill Henning, CEO Safety Score by a national pa-

and Administrator of Baptist North Mississippi.

Christmas Parade set for Dec. 7 The Oxford Lions Club Christmas Parade will be Monday night, Dec. 7. Taking its traditional route, the parade will start at 6:30 p.m. at Mid-Town Shopping Center, moving down North Lamar to the Square and down South Lamar to Four Corners before turning west toward the Ole Miss campus on University Avenue. The parade will end at the Gertrude C. Ford Center parking lot.

This year’s theme is a particularly Southern one: “Merry Christmas, Y’all!” Entries are invited in any of five categories pedestrian, band, float, vehicle and equestrian. The top five floats will be awarded trophies.

Applications can be found at http://lionsofms.org/docs/2015 %20City%20of%20Oxford%20C hristmas%20Parade.pdf Oxford’s Board of Aldermen voted to provide $750 in support for the parade, which brings visitors and residents alike to downtown Oxford to view the event.

OXFORD CITIZEN

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

PAGE 13

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OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 14

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

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OXFORD CITIZEN

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PAGE 15

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OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 16

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

TO P L I S T E R S

Paula Crum

Blake Thompson

Nicole Cain Wright

Eileen Saunders

Weesie Biedenharn

Andrew Richardson

Heather Richardson

TO P S E L L E R S

Blake Thompson

T O P P RO D U C E R S

Blake Thompson

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Kaye Ladd, Managing Broker

210 East Main St., Tupelo Tommy Morgan, Broker/Owner

662-234-5344

tmhomes.com

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

PAGE 17

John Davis Sports Editor

OPC’s Gaines getting used to everything, everyone EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of a two-part series talking with Seth Gaines, the executive director of the Oxford Park Commission.

t’s been six weeks since Seth Gaines started his new role with the Oxford Park Commission. He’s met with everyone for an hour, with the exception of two employees, who had other city meetings pop up. He’s been busy getting his work schedule organized, ready to assist his staff with anything that they need.

As for the programs, Gaines said the public couldn’t ask for better people to be running things.

“We seem to have everybody in an actual interest to them, so I don’t think we have anybody out of place that doesn’t have a strong desire for a certain sport,” Gaines said. “I think we have everyone matched up really well for the most part.”

For the past week or so, Gaines’ focus has been on the parks. He’s been making notes, keeping a checklist if you will of things he would like to see happen.

“It’s basically a master plan for each park,” he added. “That does not include FNC Park. That’s something Brad (Freeman) handles. It also doesn’t include Pat Lamar Park. That’s a building and grounds facility.”

There are a handful of actual parks that fall under Gaines’ direction, and he wants to make sure things are in order. Bailey Branch, located across from FNC Park, is going to be changed due to the expansion of Highway 7.

“I would like to see in some of the parks, if not all, a lit walking trail. We don’t have that now,” Gaines said. “When (Ole Miss) gets rid of the Tad Pad, that’s where people walk indoors. As we go forward with the activity center, we need to keep that in mind, too, to have somewhere people can go and walk.”

Gaines said that the OPC is in definite need of space. The basketball program for youth increased by almost 100 kids, he said. The hoops season gets underway Dec. 7 and it will go through January and into February.

I

TURN TO GAINES PAGE 24

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY PETRE THOMAS

Ole Miss defensive back Tony Conner

Refreshed Rebels Off week helps OM regain focus, prep for LSU

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

Even when he didn’t have to play football on a Saturday, Trae Elston was watching the sport he loves during the team’s off week. Of course Elston made sure to do it casually.

“I really tried to stay focused on football, concentrate on the little things, and watch a couple of games,” Elston said. “It feels good to relax sometimes and just watch football. I watched the Mississippi State-Alabama game and the Arkansas-LSU game. Mississippi State showed great defense. I thought they were going to come out with the win. They played pretty hard, they just gave up big plays. You can’t

VS.

Kickoff: 2:30 p.m.

Radio: WQLJ-FM 93.7 TV: CBS Series: LSU leads 59-40-4 give up big plays and win the game. That’s what you got to limit.”

The senior, who will play his final game in VaughtHemingway Stadium this coming Saturday, said the off week was good for the team, from a rest and focus stand-

point. Ole Miss gave up way too many big plays in the overtime loss to the Razorbacks. The Rebels yielded over 600 total yards and 53 points, the second most under Hugh Freeze.

“It felt pretty bad to give up all those points and yards. It would have felt better if we got the W, so we have to improve from it,” Elston said.

“We can’t look at it as a downfall. It creates bad chemistry with the team, so you have to be positive. We have to get the best 11 on the field.”

Communication was a word Elston used to describe one of the problems in the Arkansas loss.

“We have to get everybody that knows what they’re doing out there on the field

and we’ll be good,” he said. “I think it’s pretty good that we had the off week just to get away from the loss and to try and regroup and to figure out the techniques and all of that. We were able to learn (LSU’s) tendencies and start to work on the game plan.”

The No. 25 Rebels (7-3 overall, 4-2 in the SEC) lost 10-7 to No. 17 LSU (7-2, 4-2) last season in Tiger Stadium.

Elston said last year was one of the best defensive efforts he had been around.

“We were tackling well and creating turnovers. The secondary played one of their best games,” Elston recalled.

“At the end, they had a long drive to beat us. I think that came from fatigue and TURN TO LSU PAGE 24

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 18

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

SPORTS IN DEPTH DIVISION 1-5A FOOTBALL Overall MVP: DK Metcalf, Oxford Co-Offensive MVP: Jack Abraham, Oxford Co-Offensive MVP: Dan Ellington, Center Hill Quarterback • First team: Jake Harville, Lewisburg • Second team: Marcus Murphy, West Point • Honorable mention: Will Guest, Lake Cormorant, Troy Johnson, Clarksdale, Thomas Stevens, New Hope.

Running back • First team: Ben Hoffman, Lewisburg, Daveyon Hill, Clarksdale.

• Second team: Chris Calvert, West Point, Anthony Hayes, Lake Cormorant • Honorable mention: Malcom Curry, Clarksdale, Hiram Wadlington, Oxford, Josh Patton, Oxford Fullback • First team: Benny Benson, Lake Cormorant • Second team: Archie Jones, West Point • Honorable mention: Chester King, Lewisburg Tight end • First team: Zack Cousar, Oxford • Second team: Thomas Williams, West Point • Honorable mention: Davis Lott, Lewisburg, TJ Stephens, New Hope Center • First team: Colton Skidmore, Oxford • Second team: Larry Wimms, Lake Cormorant • Honorable mention: Tamarcus Myers, West Point, Alex Hernandez, Center Hill, JB Frierson, Clarksdale.

Offensive guard • First team: Devin Morton, West Point, Ashton Stewart, Oxford • Second team: Seth Johnson, Lewisburg, Treyvion Shannon, Clarksdale • Honorable mention: Rudis Flores, Center Hill, Noah Stem, Lake Cormorant, Tag Gatlin, Oxford, Quen Bolden, Oxford.

Offensive tackle • First team: Will Swindoll, Oxford, Scott Lashley, West Point.

• Second team: Preston Haynes, Lewisburg, Kenny Done, Lake Cormorant, Takion Reed, New Hope.

• Honorable mention: Stone Threlkeld, Oxford.

Wide receiver • First team: Jonathan Weeks, Center Hill, Brandon Smith, Lake Cormorant, Jimmy Greaser, Oxford, Terryonte Thomas, New Hope, Ken Presley, Oxford.

• Second team: Andre Erby, New Hope, Carlos Hicks, Lake Cormorant, Demario Edwards, West Point.

• Honorable mention: Sirmarcus Evans, Saltillo, Jeremy Dodson, Center Hill, Brian Blocker, Lake Cormorant, Kaelen O’Neil, West Point.

DEFENSE MVP: Ladarrius Rule, Lake Cormorant Inside linebacker • First team: Jaylon Ewing, West Point, Jack Turner, Oxford.

• Second team: Jumal Hawkins, Lake Cormorant, Joseph Furdge, Clarksdale • Honorable mention: Brandon McKay, New Hope, Dee Fair, Oxford, Michael Crestman, Center Hill.

Outside linebacker • First team: Korbin Harmon, Oxford, Nick Melton, West Point.

• Second team: Davonte Street, Center Hill, Mack Smith, Lewisburg, Tae Hampton, West Point.

Defensive tackle • First team: Jaquez Nelson, Oxford, Terrance Cherry, West Point.

• Second team: Ben Baltimore, Clarksdale, Tadarrius Bean, Center Hill • Honorable mention: Tyan Jones, Lake Cormorant, William Ivy, West Point.

Nose Guard • First team: Anthony Keys, Lake Cormorant • Second team: Nick Sisk, Oxford Defensive end • First team: Ken Hickinbottom, Oxford, Tony Rush, West Point.

• Second team: Everette Cunningham, West Point, Carter Wardlow, Center Hill.

• Honorable mention: Tre Samuel, New Hope, Hunter Gross, Center Hill, Julian Hawkins, Lake Cormorant.

Cornerback • First team: Juwanz Frazier, Clarksdale, Jeffrey Drake, West Point, Devin Rockette, Oxford.

• Second team: Bryce Evans, Center Hill, Tadarri Jordan, Lake Cormorant.

Free Safety • First team: Stephon Jones, Clarksdale.

• Second team: DQ Thomas, Oxford.

• Honorable mention: Tray Brownlee, West Point.

Strong safety • First team: Tias Hilliard, Oxford Second team: James Washup, Clarksdale Honorable mention: CJ Terrell, Oxford SPECIAL TEAMS Kicker • First team: Connell Yoste, Oxford • Second team: Jose Garcia, West Point • Honorable mention: Houston Coyle, Lake Cormorant Punter • First team: Drake McCarter, Saltillo • Second team: Liam Cooper, Oxford • Honorable mention: Marshall Gaines, Center Hill Long Snapper • First team: Giles Lamar, Oxford • Second team: Burry Yanowski, Lewisburg • Honorable mention: Logan Day, Center Hill Return specialist • First team: Zac Furdge, Clarksdale • Second team: Jalen Jordan, Lake Cormorant Coach of the Year: Johnny Hill, Oxford Most Improved: Nick Nester, Lake Cormorant

DIVISION 2-4A FOOTBALL Player of the Year: Tyrell Price, Lafayette Offensive Player of the Year: Kevin Perkins, Rosa Fort Co-Defensive Player of the Year: Quin Jones, Lafayette, Stone Parrish, Senatobia OFFENSE QB • First team: Tucker Childers, Ripley • Second team: Cooper Stevens, Senatobia • Honorable mention: Will Ard, Lafayette RB • First team: Jamal Jones, Rosa Fort, Maurice Toney, Senatobia • Second team: Jamarcus Quarles, Lafayette, Deante Sipp, Senatobia Wide receiver • First team: Rashaun Rockette, Lafayette, Brandique Boyd, New Albany, Travis Tucker, Senatobia, Steve Burdette, Senatobia.

• Second team: Sam Cagle, New Albany, Josh Hamilton, Lafayette, Tavion Prather,

Ripley, Javarrius McKinnley, Rosa Fort.

• Honorable mention: Juwan Kinds, Lafayette.

Tight end • Honorable mention: Nick Onsby, Lafayette.

Offensive line • First team: Eli Johnson, Lafayette, Jordan Jamison, Lafayette, Matt Toles, Lafayette, Jawashi Webb, Senatobia, Elbert Watson, Rosa Fort.

• Second team: Keonte Booker, Lafayette, Elliot Dean, Byhalia, Ladarius Jackson, Senatobia, Ben Holcomb, Ripley, Payton Hopkins, New Albany.

• Honorable mention: Drew Tapp, Lafayette DEFENSE Defensive Line • First team: Vincent Lewis, Lafayette, Hal Northern, Rosa Fort, Twon Taylor, Senatobia, Tony Bowman, Rosa Fort.

• Second team: Amani Johnson, Lafayette, Davis Rakestraw, Senatobia, Mason Clemmer, Ripley, Corbin Barnes, Senatobia.

• Honorable mention: Hunter Chance, Lafayette, Jarod Tolbert, Lafayette Linebacker • First team: Keontre Toles, Lafayette, Zeke Liggins, Lafayette, Ronald Ladd, Rosa Fort, D’ante Ellis, Senatobia.

• Second team: Dillon Woods, Lafayette, Tay Reed, Lafayette, Eddie Leverson, Senatobia, Chauncey Lucas, Byhalia, Joe Rainey, New Albany.

Defensive back • First team: Bydarius Knigthen, Rosa Fort, Dacorian Richmond, Byhalia, Allen Mathis, Lafayette, Tyler Williams, Lafayette.

• Second team: JC Miller, Senatobia, Rodnerious Lewis, Rosa Fort, Xavier Martin, Lafayette, Stephen Foote, Ripley.

SPECIAL TEAMS Kicker • First team: Robbie Langley, Lafayette • Second team: Joaquin Hernandez, Byhalia Punter • First team: Robbie Langley, Lafayette • Second team: Joaquin Hernandez, Byhalia Long snapper • First team: Luke Gossett, Lafayette • Second team: Michael Mays, Byhalia Returner • First team: Tay Tay Owens, Lafayette • Second team: D’Angelo Biggs, New Albany Coaching Staff of the Year: Senatobia.

LAST WEEK’S FOOTBALL RESULTS Noxubee County 20, Lafayette 13 Lafayette 0 6 0 7 13 Noxubee 0 0 7 13 20 Second Quarter LAF – Josh Hamilton 26 pass from Will Ard (kick failed), 10:15.

Third Quarter NC – Jeffrey Simmons 1 run (Samuel Lowery kick) 0:47.

Fourth Quarter NC – Deveon Bell 35 interception return (kick failed) 6:48.

LAF – Tyler Williams 6 pass from Ard (Langley kick) 3:03.

NC – Kymbrotic Mason 37 pass from Timmorrius Conner (Lowery kick) 0:04.

Records: Noxubee County 9-4, Lafayette 10-3.

Oxford 35, Vicksburg 21 Vicksburg 14 7 0 0 21 Oxford 7 14 7 7 35 First Quarter VIC - Te’Darius Brown 3 run (Antonio Brown kick), 9:07 OXF - Ken Presley 27 pass from Jack Abraham (Connell Yoste kick), 8:17 VIC - Brown 4 pass from Joe Johnson (Brown kick), 4:50 Second Quarter VIC - Rheem Moore 22 pass from Johnson (Brown kick), 10:36 OXF - Zach Cousar 1 run (Yoste kick), 6:22 OXF - DK Metcalf 6 pass from Abraham (Yoste kick), 0:44 Third Quarter OXF - Hiram Wadlington 1 run (Yoste kick), 1:40 Fourth Quarter OXF - Wadlington 3 run (Yoste kick), 11:03 Records: Oxford 10-2; Vicksburg 6-6.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS

CLASS 6A First round • Warren Central 45, Tupelo 20 • Starkville 46, Olive Branch 24 • Clinton 56, Columbus 42 • Madison Central 14, South Panola 8

• Brandon 41, D’Iberville 7 • Petal 40, Harrison Central 21 • Meridian 42, Gulfport 6 • Oak Grove 31, Ocean Springs 20 CLASS 5A • Oxford 35, Vicksburg 21 • Germantown 27, Lake Cormorant 7 • Grenada 31, Clarksdale 6 • West Point 46, Ridgeland 7 • Laurel 34, Hattiesburg 10 • Pascagoula 36, Brookhaven Aca. 8 • Pearl River Central 52, Natchez 7 • Wayne County 58, Picayune 28 CLASS 4A Second round • Houston 20, Rosa Fort 6 • Noxubee County 20, Lafayette 13 • Greenwood 13, Louisville 12 • Kosciusko 34, Senatobia 22 • Moss Point 62, North Pike 51 • St. Stanislaus 33, Poplarville 21 • Vancleave 20, Purvis 17 • Lawrence County 26, East Central 20 CLASS 3A Second round • East Side 38, Kossuth 32 • Aberdeen 42, Water Valley 13 • Yazoo County 20, Booneville 3 • Charleston 49, North Pontotoc 15 • Kemper County 26, Franklin County 7 • Collins 46, Wilkinson County 36 • Hazlehurst 12, Forest 0 • West Marion 36, Raleigh 30 CLASS 2A Second round • Calhoun City 35, Strayhorn 7 • Baldwyn 31, J.Z. George 0 • O’Bannon 26, Winona 14 • East Webster 43, South Delta 22 • Bay Springs 52, Amite County 0 • Lake 39, Heidelberg 14 • Bassfield 47, Union 8 • Taylorsville 27, Puckett 24 CLASS 1A First round • Smithville 28, Mound Bayou JFK 0 • Shaw 39, Falkner 6 • Simmons 42, Coldwater 0 • West Lowndes 30, Brooks 6 • Nanih Waiya 27, Salem 7 • Lumberton 28, French Camp 13 • Resurrection 35, Sebastopol 0 • Stringer 21, Noxapater 0

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OXFORD CITIZEN

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

PAGE 19

PETRE THOMAS | OXFORD CITIZEN

The Lafayette Middle School cheerleaders won the state competition in Ocean Springs this past Saturday. The team is composed of 20 members, and coached by Tracie Riddle and Avery Tunstill.

Lafayette takes home middle school cheer title

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

A five hour trip to Ocean Springs ended up providing a lot of success for the Lafayette Middle School cheerleaders this past weekend. The group took first place in the state competition that featured other schools in Class 1-4A. Coach Tracie Riddle said her cheerleaders spent four hours a week since the start of school learning the routine.

“They have worked very hard and we have a lot of girls who are very devoted. They had talent coming in,” Riddle said adding that the team also had some extra practices on Saturdays that Ole Miss didn’t play at home. “I have

an assistant, Avery Tunstill, who has donated her time and she helped develop a program that would fit the requirements of the rules. She has been so great to work with. She is my new best friend. We were hoping that what we created is exactly what they wanted. It worked out that way.

We had zero deductions and it worked out in our favor.”

Riddle said the routine was 2 minutes and 22 seconds long overall. It was two sections, with a chant and cheer in the middle.

It also involved tumbling and step progressions.

“They hit things with precision. We had a couple of bobbles here and there, but nobody fell.

Everyone did everything to the

best of their abilities,” Riddle said. “It was probably the best performance of the routine that we have had all year.”

Once the scores were announced, Riddle said her cheerleaders demonstrated a broad range of emotions.

“We had tears, we had shock.

We have a lot of girls who compete or they’re involved in dance programs and go to dance competitions,” Riddle said. “We had several of them say that they had never been that nervous for anything else in their lives and they had never been completely overwhelmed with excitement.

We knew we were talented and we knew we had a lot to show but by no means did we think

we were going to go in there and beat out everyone in the state.”

This is Riddle’s first season back with the cheer program.

Before she had children, she spent five years with the middle school program where the team competed in a regional competition, not at a state level.

“It was something that I loved to do, to put a routine together and polish it and perfect it and perform it and to help these girls learn responsibility as well,” she said. “Last year was my first back after having kids and last spring I was approached about taking over the junior high program over again. After a lot of thought, talking with my husband who said sure, go ahead, I did. When I took

the position, I said I wanted to give 100 percent and I wanted us to get back to competing and for making a name for ourselves out there. I did and apparently we did.”

Members of the team include: Makyah Harris, Macie Childers, Emma Cain, Anna Claire Anglin, Haley Russell, Leslie Ann Nail, Kylee Walls, Amanda Fortner, Anna Stone, Ally Bryan, Ella Armstrong, Amber Chandler, Abbey Burns, Emma Hayes Roberts, Emma Kate Bennett, Lucy Wilson, Reese Carwile, Rylee Ingram, Katelin Johnson, Niyounce Brand. john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 20

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

Friday Night Previews: Week 14

PETRE THOMAS | OXFORD CITIZEN

Oxford safety DQ Thomas creates a fumble during last week's game with Vicksburg. The Chargers return to action Friday night at home against Germantown.

Chargers host talented, tough-minded Mavericks

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

It only took a few minutes of Johnny Hill watching film to know that Germantown was a very good football team. Oxford hosts the Mavericks in the semifinals of the MHSAA Class 5A playoffs Friday night at Bobby Holcomb Field.

Hill said Germantown has all the things needed to be successful in the playoffs, like being well coached and having a lot of talent.

“They have no weaknesses on special teams, offense or defense,” Hill said. “They play hard.

That’s probably one of the biggest traits they show, they just play so hard. They’re going to play for four quarters. There’s not going to be any quit in them. They play with a lot of excitement out there.

It’s fun to watch them play. It’s not fun to prepare for them.”

Germantown likes to use a lot of different formations on of-

Oxford vs. Germantown Kickoff: 7 p.m.

Radio: WOXD-FM 95.5 fense, and defense for that matter. The Mavericks also have the ability to run five or six plays out of one formation, Hill said.

“What they want you to do is to misalign to a formation and then exploit a weakness,” he added.

“They run a Power O scheme and then they run a sweep scheme.

They pull both guards and they have a really good H-back that’s good and does a lot of good blocking. They have one of the best linemen, No. 75 (Arvin Fletcher) I have seen all season.

He runs well. They will run a bub-

ble screen out to a receiver and he’s leading the way and rolling.

They run behind him a lot, so we’re going to have to deal with him.”

Oxford fans should also expect the Mavericks (9-3 overall) to run the Veer, a formation that hasn’t widely been used in decades.

“That’s not his main offense, but he will get in it so you have to prepare for it,” Hill said. “They throw different screens at you and then they will throw it deep.

They have really good speed. I thought Vicksburg was fast, but these guys are legit fast. They’re dangerous whether they return a punt or a kickoff. They can get behind you and it’s hard to get behind them. They just have a lot of weapons. They have a tailback that isn’t quite as big as Lafayette’s, but he’s that same style of runner. He’s a slasher. He has a lot of power and a lot of cuts to him.”

Because the Mavericks have two really good corners, they will

play man in the backfield and bring pressure with linebackers rather than them drop back in coverage.

“Usually they will bring the outside backers. Then they run this Joe Lee Dunn defense that I call mad and bad,” Hill said.

“They will bring two off the weak side edge and you better get it out of your hands quick. I like their middle linebacker. He’s not very big, but he will throw his body in the barbed wire in a heartbeat.

He’s a playmaker. It’s one of those things where we will have to execute.”

Oxford (10-2) defeated the Gators of Vicksburg in the first 5A playoff game. The Chargers trailed 21-7 at one point in the first half, but rallied with 28 unanswered points. The thing Hill was most pleased with is that even though his kids didn’t play well early, they never quit.

“They never blinked and just kept on fighting. It was a credit to them,” Hill said. “We made some

adjustments at halftime. I thought our defense made some great adjustments and they didn’t have but 50 yards in the second half.”

The Chargers didn’t click as well on offense, and Hill said there were several different reasons for that.

“We missed some balls. We fumbled for the first time in a lot of games. We dropped some passes and off with some passes,” Hill said. “I was pleased with our special teams play. We blocked a punt and that got us into scoring position. Then they had a bad snap when we were putting pressure on them so I was pleased with that. The fact that we survived the letdown is remarkable.

We didn’t play our best game and still won. At this point, it’s all about getting to the next game. A 1-0 ugly win is OK. A pretty loss isn’t any fun.” john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

OXFORD CITIZEN

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

PAGE 21

Sports, cheer have gone hand-in-hand in Tyler’s life

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

Sports has been a huge part of McKenzie Tyler’s life. And huge may be an understatement. When your father is the head coach of the Oxford High Charger basketball team, and your mother and sister were both cheerleaders, Tyler’s future in sports was cemented early for sure.

“I’ve been cheering for the past five years, but I’ve grown up cheering. I’ve been at all my dad’s basketball games and my mom has had me in cheerleader outfits since I was little,” said Tyler, who is a junior. “I love football games, but I probably get into basketball because of my dad.”

Basketball is the sport that the cheerleaders can watch better compared to football. When it comes to a crowd, atmosphere and energy, there is nothing like a football game, Tyler said.

Katie Parker, a sophomore, and Ansley Byars, a junior, are two cheerleaders that Tyler is close with on the team. Parker is Tyler’s base and they ride with each other every day. Byars and Tyler have grown up together as well. Tyler has been influenced by all the senior cheerleaders during her varsity career and she is looking for the unity to continue moving forward.

The thing that Tyler does the best is tumble. She has taken several tumbling classes and her sister, Mary Madison, is known for her backhand springs.

“My mom and sister were both cheerleaders and I enjoyed getting to cheer with the other cheerleaders at basketball games,” Tyler said. “I’ve always enjoyed it and I tried to copy it. I always tried to do what they did.

Mary Madison and I took tumbling classes together and we always ended up competing against each other. She thought

PETRE THOMAS | OXFORD CITIZEN

Junior McKenzie Tyler has been around sports, and cheer, her entire life. about trying out for Ole Miss cheer but she didn’t. She still comes to all the games and watches me cheer.”

Senior defensive end Korbin Harmon is the Charger that Tyler gets snacks for. For the record, Harmon likes Chick-Fil-A and chocolate chip cookies. He also likes to wash everything down with a red Gatorade.

“We had each other in some classes so it was good to know who my football brother was since we don’t get first pick,” Tyler said adding she was excited about the competition portions of cheerleading coming up after football

comes to an end. “We’ve improved a lot from our first competition.

We know that it’s a big deal since we’re going to Disney. We’re trying to step our game up.”

The state competition is in December, and Tyler felt if the team did well there that it should springboard them into the competition at Disney World.

“We’re practicing a lot, trying to get our difficulty level up,” she said. “Some of those squads have been practicing for a while, so this is new for us.” john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

Meet your cheerleader sponsored by

Proudly Serving Oxford & Lafayette County Since 1938

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OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 22

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

Houghton’s two goals lift Lafayette past Oxford

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

When Lafayette’s soccer team needed a play, Alley Houghton was there to deliver just like she has so many times in her career.

An early-season matchup with the Oxford Lady Chargers went the way of the Lady Commodores Tuesday evening at William L. Buford Stadium. Houghton scored both goals in the 2-1 win, including the decisive winner with just over six minutes left.

Houghton, who is headed to play at Ole Miss, had been bottled up fairly well by the Lady Chargers. Outside of an early goal in the first few minutes of the match, Houghton had little chance to score. Her final goal came on a penalty kick, and from 11 yards out, it’s tough to stop the state’s best player. At least that’s the way Oxford coach Hunter Crane saw it.

“She is one of the best in the state, probably the best in the player in the state and we knew that coming in,” Crane said adding his players lost her twice all night. “We were a little on edge. The weather conditions messed us up a little bit. We wanted to go against the wind in the first half. We thought that would give us an advantage in the second. Obviously we battled back in the second half. It was a tale of two halves. Whoever had the wind had the advantage for the entire half.”

In advance of heavy rain, the wind was ferocious. Lafayette coach Melinda Scruggs felt the weather affected both teams. Of course playing a rival, in the second match of the season, is just as tough on both teams.

“There team has work to do just like our team has work to do, so that was interesting,” Scruggs said. “The wind and weather had an effect the entire game. I just think we were playing on this side of the field in both the second and first half. I thought that was a big factor. Oxford can challenge us in ways other teams can’t and that’s why we love playing them.

Just being able to expose us and to see where our weaknesses are, I think we’re going to go back and keep working.”

As for Houghton leading the Lady Commodores to victory, Scruggs said the match doesn’t have to be decided by her.

“There were times where she would get down the flanks and she would put the ball across the middle. She was able to find some other people, too, so it’s not all about her,” Scruggs said. “She just wants to win and she doesn’t care if it’s her putting it in the

PETRE THOMAS | OXFORD CITIZEN

Lafayette's Alley Houghton (3) is pursued by Oxford's Anna Dennis during Tuesday's match at William L. Buford Stadium. Houghton scored two goals in the Lady Commodores' 2-1 win.

Lafayette goalie Ana Branch makes a diving stop during the second half. back of the net, or anybody else. I ping up,” Scruggs said. “She is think everyone is out for the able to make the everyday, rousame goal.” tine saves and then the occasional big-time save and that’s what you got to do.”

COURAGE UNDER FIRE There was a communication In just her second match as goalie, Lafayette Ana Branch did issue between Branch and one of a good job under pressure, the defenders that aided Oxford’s Madisyn Longnecker in her score.

Scruggs said.

“It was like one said ‘Hey, you’re “I give it to that kid. She is just so young in terms of the position. going to get it’ and the other said This is only her second season ‘Hey, you’re going to get it,’” playing in goal, so I’m really Scruggs said adding she was glad proud of her and how she is step- to come away with the win. “We

Oxford's Faridah Salau (12) heads the ball as Lafayette's Maddy Houghton defends. will face Oxford again and it’s going to be a match. They’re going to come out fighting so we’re going to have to be ready.”

Crane felt like his team was a little hyped up about the game.

The idea for such an early meeting revolved around seeing where each team was at.

“Coach Scruggs and I actually talked about having both of our

games a little later in the season,” he said. “Maybe we’ll have a little more practice, a little more underneath us. We filmed the game and we’ll be able to watch it. We know the mistakes that we made and we know we have to correct those.

We’ll get better moving forward.” john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 23

Merritt has been a wall for Rebels this season

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

There are a lot of reasons the Ole Miss Rebels are headed to play at Clemson in the NCAA Tournament.

Six seniors, or experience overall, is a huge reason the Rebels have won 14 matches and most recently defeated Murray State to start the NCAAs. The talented legs of junior Addie Forbus, and freshman CeCe Kizer are two other great reasons for the overall success.

Still, if an opposing team can’t score, the Rebels can’t lose. Goalie Marnie Merritt has been phenomenal for the Rebels this fall. She has recorded seven shutouts, most recently in the win over Murray State, and only allowed 24 goals in 21 matches. In short, she has been a wall for coach Matt Mott and his Rebels.

Merritt, a native of Huntersville, North Carolina, redshirted last season as the Rebels had a veteran goalie in Kelly McCormick, who left Oxford as the career leader in wins. Sitting out a season, to get her bearings, turned out to be very beneficial for Merritt.

“I definitely learned a lot from Kelly my redshirt year.

I got to see how the SEC game was played. She had done so much for Ole Miss soccer and I know we definitely wouldn’t be where we are today without her,” Merritt said after the team wrapped up work for Clemson. “It was exciting to just have the opportunity to come in and make an impact. It’s been an awesome season so far.”

The focus of how well Merritt played was quickly deflected to the play of her teammates, the defenders that she says make her job easy.

“We came in with a goal of going to the NCAA Tournament and the SEC Tournament and we’ve done a great job so far this season.

I think our new formation has been a huge help for us and I think the coaches have prepared us for each game,” Merritt said. “I think we’re just excited to play in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. I think it’s going to be an awesome night, an awesome experience for us. I’ve had a lot of help from a lot of upper

JOSH MCCOY | OLE MISS ATHLETICS

Ole Miss freshman goalie Marnie Merritt has been a huge reason that the Rebels are still playing in the NCAA Tournament this weekend. classmen. They’ve been teaching me about how much different the SEC is from high school. When I’m getting three to four shots against South Carolina or Auburn, I think that speaks volumes to our team.”

Even on the road, facing a very quality team, Merritt was upbeat about what the Rebels could accomplish on Friday night. Mott made sure to give his players a change of scenery by taking them to practice in Birmingham, Alabama on Wednesday.

“I think that will help and I think it will be a great game. We scouted them very well, just like I’m sure they scouted us very well,”

Merritt said. “Overall, I think we’re excited and we’re ready to play. I think we’re ready to get the ball rolling for Ole Miss soccer and put us on the map.”

Merritt said she has been playing soccer since she was 4 or 5. She wasn’t the best on the field, but her coaches noticed that she was tough and willing to stick her nose in on defense.

“That’s how it happened,” Merritt said about becoming a goalie. “And it just kind of stuck. I definitely think I’m in the right position. I stared playing goalie when I was 11 or 12 and that is a younger age to start. I love the position and

I love the sport. I love being that back line of defense. I have to give a lot of credit to Sam Sanders. She taught me how the back line is supposed to play and how things work for Ole Miss soccer. We have done a very great job defensively.”

Jessica Hiskey, Maddie Friedemann, Courtney Caroll and Melissa Capocaccia were the defenders Merritt credited for the way they have played this season.

“I couldn’t ask for any more and I don’t think they could do any more. They have all done such a great job this year,” she said.

Friday’s game at No. 7 Clemson begins at 6 p.m.

Merritt said the key to earning a road win revolved playing like they did earlier the season against Texas A&M on the road and against Auburn and South Carolina.

“It’s been a special season. We had a lot of goals and aspirations at the start of the season. Everyone has done a fantastic job and bought in and everyone knows what this team is capable of,” Merritt said.

“We want to continue on the journey in the second round. I think we have to get back to playing Ole Miss soccer, back to when we did a great job of doing the fundamentals that we’ve talked about this

season like keeping the ball on the ground and tackling. Doing the little things is what is hopefully going to win us the game.”

“Marnie started the season well and has gotten better and more confident as the season has gone on,” Ole Miss coach Matthew Mott said. “She has made some great saves at key moments that have kept us in certain games.

She brings a lot of energy and has really earned the trust of her teammates who feel comfortable knowing she is behind them.” john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 24

Gaines

Orders have already been placed for the larger softballs. The league will FROM PAGE 17 start this spring, and Gaines felt like it would “That was running a catch on because of the league that was 380 kids rules. last year and right now it’s “It’s a fun game. We did at near 480. You’re still trysome of this in Tupelo. It ing to stay on the same wasn’t exactly the same schedule because we’re in format we’re going to do that time crunch,” Gaines here, but we did a free said. “How do you fit in all play night,” Gaines said. these games? Well, now “What we’re going to do we’re going to five days a now is have actual team week programming for names on the schedule. If basketball just to get the games in. We’re going to JOHN DAVIS | OXFORD CITIZEN my team of 12 people have to be more creative Seth Gaines, the new executive director of the Oxford Park don’t show up, if anyin how offer our seasons.

Commission, has enjoyed his first six weeks on the job since body’s out there, you can go throw a team together We don’t want kids to have coming in from Tupelo. and go play. It will basito choose to play just this cally be free play for an sport because they’re play- that we have before. There that the game is big up in hour. It’s a little faster are going to be ways we ing this sport. We want very large cities. Three paced, but at the same can gain some time, where fields have been desigthem open to all of them we may have to ask parand be more creative in nated for the adult softball time, it’s new here and nobody is going to know all how we offer, and how we ents to go to the fields two program at FNC Park. A the nuisances of the game play those sports. Can they times in a week for eight or fourth field has been be played concurrently in- 10 weeks as opposed to added, so Gaines felt good like they do softball and once a week for 14 weeks. I about running the regular baseball because we are stead of waiting for one so used to it.” think once parents get season to be over to start league, and then adding If everything goes will used to it, they will like it, the next one.” the new-look softball.

Fall soccer and flag foot- because they will have “There aren’t going to be with the league, Gaines ball aren’t played together, some down time.” officials. It’s going to be out has been reassured that officials will be certified so Gaines is building a wall there to have fun. This pobut that may happen in where every program that tentially could a fall softball that the league could be the future, Gaines said. run just like they are in “I think there is going to the organization offers will league that we would run be a way for us to play flag be placed. It will be filled as a 16-inch league,” Gaines theses other parts of the country. with everything for 2016 football on Mondays and said. “This is played in “Once you’re an ASA ofso that it can be put onthen soccer on Tuesdays urban areas where they ficial, you’re an ASA offiline, and then updated. and Thursdays,” Gaines don’t have a whole bunch said. “They will be played of field space. If you hit the cial, so that’s going to be in the same time frame, 16-inch ball 200 feet, you’ve our goal,” Gaines said.

NEW SPORT but it’s going to offer basdone something. Really the Two things that Gaines John Davis is the Oxford Citizen ketball then to get an extra is going to offer to Oxford only people on the field week. Or extra two weeks. are adult kickball and 16that use a glove are the first sports editor. He can be reached We may not be playing flag inch softball. The pilot baseman and the pitcher. at john.davis@journalinc.com. football and soccer but 10 program will be free, You can watch all kinds of Follow him on Twitter at @oxweeks instead of the 14 games on You Tube.”

Gaines said, who added fordcitizenjd.

LSU FROM PAGE 17

depth. We didn’t have a lot of depth last year, but we did have experienced players. I do think we have a lot of depth that we can rotate, so that should help us a little bit. We have to tackle.

That’s something we struggle with this year, we don’t tackle. And we give up big plays. We didn’t give up big plays and tackled well last year.”

AMAZING PLAYER LSU running back Leonard Fournette made an impression on Elston during last season’s game.

The 2015 season has been one to remember for the sophomore native of New Orleans even though he’s been much less potent the past two games. Fournette comes into Saturday’s game with 1,474 yards on 214 carries, good for a 6.9

yards per carry average. He had been considered the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy before the Tigers lost their footing against Alabama and Arkansas.

Award winner or not, Elston only had respect for the bruising runner.

“He was an amazing player last year and we just have to limit his big plays, and I think we’ll be succeeding in the game,” Elston said adding that injuries have limited the running game. “Those injuries really cost the team.

If we have an injury on our team, losing players like Tony Conner, it hurts us. I think they lost their fullback, tackle and starting tight end. That’s a big key in the run game.”

RETURN OF O Former Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron will be on the sidelines Saturday as the defensive line coach of the Tigers. He has coached

on that side of the field when he was an assistant at Tennessee back in 2009.

Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze was an assistant to Orgeron between 2005 and 2007. Freeze said Orgeron was a great defensive mind, and that some of the defensive schemes were the same when they were together.

“The offenses are a bit different than what we faced then. So there are some differences too. There isn’t a lot that you can build upon, even if you know his whole scheme,” Freeze said. “You don’t know when he’s going to call it and when they are going to move and all of those things. Some of that is overrated sometimes when people have been together for some time. You may have a tendency to know whether he likes to go man here or zone here. There is more than just him making those calls with that staff.

There’s more than him on

the defensive staff making those calls, so that would be kind of risky to bank on some of that, too. He is an excellent coach that will have his defensive line ready.”

EXTRA POINTS Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly leads the SEC in passing, averaging 322.4 yards per game. He is top 11 nationally in passing, total offense, passing touchdowns and points responsible for with 180 …

Wide receiver Laquon Treadwell was named a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist Tuesday, given annually to the nation’s best wide receiver. Treadwell leads the SEC in receptions per game (6.8) and yards per game (100.2). He needs 10 more catches and 134 yards to break the singleseason receiving records. john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

Sandroni, Joiner pacing Chargers in wins

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

Drew Tyler obviously knows how to use a rabbit’s foot. The Oxford Chargers are off to a 3-0 start after earning wins over Calhoun City, Hillcrest Christian and most recently, Hernando. Jarkel Joiner hasn’t disappointed on the court as the junior has been the catalyst offensively. Joiner, however, isn’t the only Charger that has shined, and stepped up from that standpoint.

“When you look at the stat sheet and the scorebook, we’ve had a number of guys in double digits.

We’re scoring points from inside and outside the 3point line,” Tyler said. “We our team mating our way to wins, which is a good thing. We’re sharing the ball and we’re getting it to guys that can score at their best. It’s really stretching the defense to where they can’t really double team Jarkel.”

The one-on-one matchups that the Chargers have seen early only helps a player with the talent of Joiner. Senior Christopher Sandroni shot the lights out in the gym the first two games, making 12 3-pointers.

“He’s refined his game and his duties for us,” Tyler said. “We’ve taken some of the responsibilities as far as securing the ball and getting it out front and for him to have to handle it. I’ve got other guards to do that. We’re trying to get him open behind the 3-point line. And we’re getting it to him when he is open. I think the timing of the passes to him, and the location, have a lot to do with it.”

Tyler added that Sandroni has also taken good shots, which has led to more makes. He also has confidence.

“Some people don’t average six attempts in a game and he is averaging six makes,” Tyler said of Sandroni, who made five

in the win over Hernando.

“He’s also making them at a high percentage, shooting over 50 percent. He has gotten a lot stronger in the last year. He has come to the playing floor ready through preseason work. He’s put a lot of shots up. It’s proven that he’s ready for game time.

He will be tested, and have some growing pains, but he and his teammates will come through those highs and lows that happen in a long season.”

Joiner scored 30 points against Hernando and he had 35 in the previous game. Tyler said he is living up to the talk about being a top player, and student.

“You can look at the scorebook and his report card and you can tell he has his act together,” Tyler said. “I don’t know anybody in the state that can guard him man on man, one on one.”

Terry Williams was another Charger that has shown a willingness to do whatever Tyler has asked.

Williams played at South Panola last season.

“He is so unselfish that his teammates put him first,” Tyler said. “He is really come in and really learned all our sets, all of our plays. He is actually way of where I thought a transfer student would be at this time.”

LADY CHARGERS

Oxford defeated Hernando 66-42 to improve to 3-0 under coach Cliff Ormon. Aliyah Herod led the Lady Chargers with 15 points in the latest victory, while Kyla Malone had 13.

Emma Schultz and Maggee Hobson each had nine points. In a 56-30 win over Hillcrest this past Saturday, Herod had 14, while Malone had 13. The Lady Chargers will return to action Monday night at home against Ridgeland in the first game of the OHS Charger Shootout. john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

OXFORD CITIZEN

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015

PAGE 25

Oxford Citizen Pick ’Em GAME 1 LSU at Ole Miss

GAME 2 Miss. State at Arkansas

GAME 3 TCU at Oklahoma

GAME 4 Michigan State at Ohio State

GAME 5 Memphis at Temple

GAME 6 UCLA at Utah

GAME 7 Baylor at Oklahoma State

GAME 8 Cal at Stanford

GAME 9 Northwestern at Wisconsin

GAME 10 Tennessee at Missouri

JOHN DAVIS

PARRISH ALFORD

CHRIS KIEFFER

PATRICK OCHS

STEVE THRELKELD

Oxford Citizen Sports Editor Record: 66-24

Daily Journal Ole Miss Reporter Record: 68-22

Daily Journal Multimedia Editor Record: 68-22

Sun Herald General Assignment Reporter Record: 60-30

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PAGE 26

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Sporting Goods

KNIFE USA made Browning fold out black label knife $85.00 Houston • (662)456-8688

FISHING RODS 2 Off shore heavy duty fishing rods with reels (662)542-9568

LEAD BULLETS 175 count 41 cal. $85.00 Houston (662)456-8688

RECREATION

Laredo Men’s Cowboy Boots 9.5 extra wide, Classic wing tip. Paid $130 asking $50. 662-598-5727

New 40’ x 60’ tarp Cost $100 Sale for $60 (662)542-9568

Motorcycles

NEW GAP Jacket (L) $20 (662)231-3226

Used parts for 1984-1987 Honda GL1200 Gold Wing, 2 CB Radios, 1 CB Antenna, 1 Set of running lights, 2 sets of Mirrors, 1 Set new brake pads and other misc. parts all for $75. Call 662542-9568

Rock Band Drum Set for XBOX 360 with 2 Guitars $30 CALL 662-598-5727

AUTO

Portable back massager Works good $50 Call 662-542-9568

STERLING SILVER KIDS RING Houston $60 (662)456-8688

Tom Tom 1XL 4.3 inch monitor, windshield mount, in original box, with car charger and USB cable. $75 (662)231-3226

Musical

GUITAR

For sale: Gretsch 6120 pro series guitar Brian Setzer model. Serious inquiries only.

Guitar is in like new condition with Grets. Call Tim or text at 662-401-3050.

Auto Accessories Aluminum diamond print tool box for pick up. $150 Call (662)542-9568 Like new set of tow bar brackets. Fits 2007-2009 GMC & Chevrolet 1500 pickup trucks and may fit later models.

Cost $500 new, Sale for $200 Call (662)542-9568 Never used brake kit for towed vehicle behind any vehicle with air brake system. Cost new $1,250 Sale for $300 (662)542-9568

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OXFORD CITIZEN

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015