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Volume 2 | Issue 69

Thursday, December 17 2015

Herrington named OSD Administrator of the Year

Inside 3 News

BY ERROL CASTENS OXFORD CITIZEN

Oxford High School Assistant Principal Marni Herrington is the 2015-2016 Oxford School District Administrator of the Year. The recognition was presented Monday at the district’s regular School Board meeting.

“Each year the Administrator of the Year is selected by peers – the 28 administrators in the district,” said Assistant Superintendent Bill Hamilton.

Not only is Herrington serving her third year as assistant principal at OHS, but she spent 11 years prior as a classroom teacher and coach at the school, having begun her career in 2002 straight out of college. She taught biology and advanced placement biology, along with being the head volleyball coach for five years and assistant girls’ basketball coach for eight years.

Her familiarity with Oxford High began long before her tenure as an educator, though.

“As a matter of fact, (Herrington) attended Oxford High School and graduated in 1998 as an outstanding student-athlete and Hall of Famer with a 4.0 (grade-point average),” Hamilton said.

Herrington, who was chosen in back-to-back years by STAR (Student-Teacher Achievement Recognition) Students as their STAR Teacher in the statewide program that recog-

Counties and municipalities across Northeast Mississippi are updating hazard mitigation plans. Residents have a few more weeks to offer input about emergency preparations in their locales.

4 News

Campus construction creates new parking woes OXFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT

Oxford High School Assistant Principal Marni Herrington, an Oxford High School alum, was named the 2015-2016 Oxford School District Administrator of the Year this week. nizes each high school’s highest scorers on the ACT college entry exam. In addition, she sponsored the Oxford High Broad Journalism program and was named the Mississippi School Press Association’s Broadcast Advisor of the Year.

Herrington earned her undergraduate degree at Mississippi State University and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction at the University of Mississippi.

“Everyone who has come into contact with Marni knows that she is a very versatile individual,” Hamilton said. “She’s taken over as testing coordinator there at the school, and that’s a big job. That’s just one of many things she does, and she handles her job professionally. She always has a helpful, pleasant manner, and we’re just really proud of her being from Oxford.”

School Board President

13 Sports

Whitney Byars thanked Herrington for her dedication to education and said, “I’m always excited to see someone who’s an excellent classroom teacher move on to administration. I think that gives you so much credibility with teachers when you’re doing supervising, but also when you’re working with the parents.” errol.castens@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenec

Chad Kelly says that hard work will decide the outcome of the Rebels in the Sugar Bowl.

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 2

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17 2015

BRIEFING The Shelter to host YAC solstice benefit

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sidered armed and dangerous, was still not in custody.

Anyone with any information related to the robbery is asked to contact Oxford Police Department at (662) 232-2400 or CrimeStoppers at (662) 234-8477.

cancer at the young age of 52, her memory and dedication to education will live through a gift from her sons, Ken Ray and Van Ray, in the form of the Martha Lee Bowie, owner of Nell Flaherty Ray ScholarCups in Oxford and The ship Endowment at the Shelter on Van Buren, is University of Mississippi. hosting the annual Winter “Our goal in establishing Solstice Celebration on UM Prof named this scholarship is to reflect Sunday from 4-9 p.m. with and model the nurture, the proceeds to support the national Top 10 support, value for educaYoknapatawpha Arts Coun- faculty member tion and community recil.

Rosemary Oliphant-Ing- sponsibility that our The event features live ham, a professor of second- parents and the Pontotoc music, holiday readings community provided to us ary education at the and special guests who during and after our share stories about the holi- University of Mississippi, mother’s illness, and to asday season. Oxford’s obser- has been honored by the sist deserving students, national Kappa Alpha vance of the shortest day particularly those from Theta Fraternity as one of and longest night of the Mississippi, who face chalyear was created as a com- the nation’s Top-10 Outstanding Faculty Members. lenges similar to those Van munity celebration which and I faced when we were Oliphant-Ingham has gave everyone a chance to pursuing our degrees,” said been a member of the UM share their favorite part of the season from Christmas School of Education faculty Ken Ray of Long Valley, New Jersey. since 1998 and is the coorstories, ballads and tradiThis new scholarship has tional songs that date back dinator of secondary edubeen created with an initial cation in the Department to solstice celebrations. $25,000 gift and is earof Teacher Education. She The celebration offers a marked to help Ole Miss chance for the community was among 10 educators students whose parents selected from 110 nomito come together, share, nees nationwide to receive have fallen victim to cancer. and celebrate. The event is Martha Nell passed away the honor. free with complimentary in June 1981, a year after “I knew that I had been coffee and beer provided by The Shelter and Yalobusha nominated by the Ole Miss Van Ray received an undergraduate degree in busichapter of Theta, but I had Brewery. The event will be ness from Ole Miss, and no idea it was for national an opening of sorts for the recognition,” Oliphant-Ing- just before Ken Ray entered new restaurant located the university as a freshham said. “I was quite surunder Neilson’s Departman. While the loss of their prised when I found out ment Store on Van Buren. mother presented hurdles that I had been selected. It to completing their college really was quite nice.”

Armed robbery studies, Van and Ken both Recipients are considsuspect sought ered for the award based on earned bachelor’s and graduate degrees from Ole nominations provided by At approximately 6:15 Miss and went on to sucPM Tuesday, Oxford Police students within the fratercessful careers.

Department officers took a nity. Gabby Vogt, a sopho“Our parents modeled walk-in report of an armed more English education the values of leadership major at Ole Miss, nomirobbery from the victim and service in the communated Oliphant-Ingham. and a witness. nity and did so simply beThey reported pulling up Vogt is a fellow in the Miscause it is the right thing to to the Regions Bank at 1800 sissippi Excellence in do,” said Van, who lives in Jackson Avenue West to use Teaching Program, where she has worked closely with Yazoo City. “Despite losing the ATM when they were our mother early in life, the Oliphant-Ingham. approached by a black values Martha Nell gave us Established in 1870, male wearing a red banKappa Alpha Theta was the prepared us to be indedanna over his face. The pendent and successful, suspect pulled a gun and nation’s first Greek-letter demanded that the victim fraternity for women. Since despite the inevitable challenges we face in life.” give him money, they said, 2011, the organization has The Martha Nell Flaherty and the victim took money selected 10 outstanding Ray Scholarship will be from the ATM and gave it to college faculty members available to incoming the him, after which the annually to receive this freshmen from Mississippi, suspect fled on foot behind prestigious award. with preference being given the bank.

As part of this recogniWhen officers went to the tion, Oliphant-Ingham and to those from Pontotoc her work at UM will be fea- County. bank they discovered that Anyone interested in tured in the winter edition the suspect had also atmaking a gift to the Ray of the Kappa Alpha Theta tempted to rob another Scholarship Endowment Magazine. person just prior to the can send a check with the above mentioned robbery. fund noted in the memo Officers and investigators Ray Brothers line to the University of began checking the area for scholarship Mississippi Foundation, the suspect as well as at406 University Ave., Oxford, tempting to locate potenhonors mother MS 38655, or online at tial witnesses.

As of Wednesday mornThough Martha Nell Fla- www.umfoundation.com/ makeagift. ing the suspect, who is con- herty Ray lost her battle to

OXFORD CITIZEN

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17 2015

PAGE 3

MEMA taking mitigation input

BY ERROL CASTENS OXFORD CITIZEN

Residents in 11 counties of Northeast Mississippi, including Lafayette County, and the municipalities within them have a few more weeks to offer input about emergency preparations in their locales.

Alcorn, Benton, Itawamba, Lafayette, Lee, Marshall, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Tippah, Tishomingo, and Union counties and nearly 50 towns and cities are currently engaged in a planning process to become less vulnerable to disasters.

“Every county has adopted a hazard mitigation plan, and this is our five-year revision of that plan. It’s actually statewide, but they’re doing it in MEMA districts,” said David Shaw, director of emergency management for Lafayette County. “Each jurisdiction is required to have this plan to be eligible for certain hazard mitiga-

PETRE THOMAS

This water detention structure at Avent Park is one example of hazard mitigation. Hazard mitigation plans are being updated for Oxford, Lafayette County and other local governments in Northeast Mississippi. tion grants and Homeland Security grants.

The counties, local jurisdictions and other participating partners such as the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are now working to prepare a multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan to identify and assess each commu-

nity's hazard risks and determine how to best minimize or manage those risks in the 11-county region.

“We’re still in the draft stage of the plan, so we’re still open to responses,” said Ryan Wiedenman of Carolina-based North Atkins Global, the project’s planning consultant. “We wanted to keep giving people a chance to respond.

OSD to expand electronic transactions

BY ERROL CASTENS OXFORD CITIZEN

Under rules recommended by the Mississippi Department of Education’s Commission on School District Efficiency, Oxford School District Superintendent Brian Harvey said Monday that the district is moving toward more paperless financial transactions.

Most transactions utilize “electronic funds transfers through an existing accounting system for vendor payments and remittances,” he said.

“Rather than districts cutting checks and mailing checks, this creates a process where districts can pay those bills electronically and eliminate the paper process,” Harvey said. “We’ll be looking at it moving forward (along with) acceptance of electronic payments from parents and others for fee payments.

“Handling money is problematic, especially at the school level, with kids of

various ages,” he said. “We already have a process in place that allows parents to pay things online, whether it be lunch balances or fees or after-school programs or whatever it is. It’s a much more efficient process, and what they’ve pointed out here is the audit is much easier, because the paper trail is automatically created. It takes a lot of human error out.”

Another facet of an expanded electronic payment system would be centralizing school activity funds under the administration of the district’s central office.

“Schools would only receive and deposit money; expenditure of that would be through the central office, on a timeframe to be determined,” Harvey said.

“It’s more efficient, there are more internal controls, it reduces the number of bank accounts, and it centralizes disbursements.”

Electronic payments to umpires, referees and other

game officials is a great improvement, he said.

“If you looked at the number of checks printed at the middle and high schools, most of those are for game officials, and many of those have to be reprinted, because the person who’s scheduled to come couldn’t come. It’s just a duplication,” Harvey said.

“This year is the first year we’ve implemented a system, basically, that allows and creates an account for each of the officials or whoever they’re paying. When they come, they sign the form, and the next morning the office manager basically pushes the money into their account, so it eliminates the inefficiency of the paper process of purchase orders, checks and those kinds of things.

“I’m happy to say we’re moving in this direction, but it’s taking some time to get there.” errol.castens@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenec

We hadn’t gotten quite as many responses as we needed, so it’ll be available at least until the New Year and probably up through Jan. 15.”

Among the survey’s questions, respondents are asked to rank the potential hazard that is the highest threat to their neighborhood, from human threats such as active shooters,

civil unrest, cyberterrorism and human trafficking to ground-based dangers such as dam failure, earthquake, erosion and sinkholes. The list also includes weather phenomena such as extreme heat, flood, hurricane, tornado and ice storm, among others, along with utility and transportation problems including chemical spills, water supply failures, and pipeline incidents.

In more targeted questions, survey respondents are asked if and how they have been impacted by disaster, whether they live in a floodplain and whether they have flood insurance, and how they have acted to increase their home’s or neighborhood’s resistance to disaster. They are also asked to rate the importance of county or municipal disaster preventive actions, property protection, natural resource protection, structural projects, emergency services and public awareness efforts.

After MEMA and FEMA

officials have completed their reviews to ascertain that the plan meets state and federal standards, each participating county and municipality will have 365 days to have the plan adopted, Wiedenman said.

“Local entities will have public hearings on the draft plans before they adopt them,” he said.

“Some will do it within the first month, and some will take six or eight months.”

Shaw added, “Once the firm and FEMA and MEMA are finished, we’ll be putting it before the Board of Supervisors. It’ll be a permanent part of our overall plan for the county.”

Oxford and Lafayette County have the survey linked on their websites, but any resident in the 11county region can access it at www.surveygizmo.com/s3/2145397/P ublic-Participation-Survey-for-Hazard-Mitigation-Planning-MEMA-2. errol.castens@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenec

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 4

OBITUARIES

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17 2015

Campus construction creates new parking woes

FRED CARTER Fred Carter, Jr, 86, passed away Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015, at his home. A graveside service was held Wednesday, Dec. 16, at Kingdom Cemetery with Elder Grady Camp officiating. Waller Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Carter served in the United States Navy achieving the rank of Boatswain Mate Second Class. Memorial contributions in Carter’s memory may be made to Kingdom Cemetery Fund, 41 CR 443, Oxford, MS 38655 or the Ronald McDonald House, 2524 North State Street, Jackson, MS 39216. In honor of Mr. Carter’s service to our country, the flag of the United States Navy will be flown at Waller Funeral Home.

DORIS PARKS RICAHRD Doris Parks Richard, 86, passed away Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015, at Oxford Health and Rehab. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Waller Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Memorial contributions in Mrs. Richard’s memory may be made to New Prospect Baptist Church, 823 Highway 334, Oxford, MS 38655.

ANNIE LUCILLE CARTER KILGORE Annie Lucille Carter Kilgore, 82, passed away Monday, Dec 14, 2015 at Baptist Memorial Hospital North Mississippi. Visitation will be held Thursday, Dec 17, from 5 until 7 p.m., at Seven Oaks Funeral Home in Water Valley. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 18 in the Henry Chapel of Seven Oaks with Bro. Raymond Aven and Bro. Larry Kilgore officiating. Burial will be in the New Hope Cemetery in Yalobusha County.

BONNIE SUE SPARKS NELSON Bonnie Sue Sparks Nelson, 56, died Sunday, Dec. 14, 2015 at North MS Medical Center in Tupelo. Nelson served in the U.S. Army, was a member of the Eastern Star and worked for several years at Oxford-Lafayette County Hospital as an LPN. Visitation was held Wednesday, Dec. 16 at Seven Oaks Funeral Home in Water Valley. Funeral services were held Thursday, Dec. 17 at Seven Oaks with Bro. Bobby Jones officiating. Burial followed in the Sand Hill Cemetery.

VALERIA POLE STARKS-SYKES Valeria Polk Starks-Skyes, 55, passed away Monday, Dec 14, 2015 while she was in Baptist Hospital in Memphis.

Arrangements are incomplete at this time.

DONALD HOMER CARDER Donald Homer Carder of Sandford, FL, 83, passed Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015, at the Mississippi State Veterans Home in Oxford. Waller Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

BY ERROL CASTENS OXFORD CITIZEN

Mike Harris, director of transportation and parking at the University of Mississippi, has bad news and good news regarding parking, especially for residential students.

Room for cars on campus is going to get even harder to come by – but relief is on the way.

The fast-growing university has a host of construction projects either under way or in planning, from the expansion of the north end zone at VaughtHemingway Stadium to the construction of a massive new Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics building to additional housing for both Greek and independent students.

The building footprints, material lay-down, worker parking and other space needs of nearly all of those construction projects and others devour parking spaces, further squeezing the already constrained room for cars on the Ole Miss campus.

The bottom line, said Harris, is those who can get by without cars need to do so.

“When you’re coming here, parking’s not even on your radar. I’m a new student, I’m excited, I want to come here, I want to talk about football, I want to talk about the fall coming up, I want to talk about the organizations I can get in, what my classes are going to be,” he said. “If it’s not important to you today, though, it’s going to be important to you when we’re midway through the fall semester and you’ve got 10 citations, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I didn’t even know about this.’”

Harris wants to “beat the drum” among incoming freshmen and their families that until a 1,500space residential garage is completed in 2017, a car is a liability for on-campus students, with a likelihood that 1,000 or so residential students next fall will have to leave their cars in longterm parking at the Whirlpool site, a distant ride from the main campus.

PETRE THOMAS | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM

Parking lots may be empty at The University of Mississippi currently with the fall semester over, but spots are in very high demand and harder to come by.

“We’ve got to have Admissions say, ‘If you’re going to bring a car, this is what you need to do,’” Harris told other members of the university’s Parking and Transportation committee. “It’s not going to be as big an issue once we get the garage built for residential, but when you’re telling 800 to 1,000 kids, ‘You’re going to be parking two miles away,’ that’s a big deal. I say, ‘Look, it’s fenced, it’s secured, we have 24/7 security guard, and we’ve got transportation day and night, but none of that matters” to parents.

Christian said, “It’s as though, ‘You expect my girl to park there? It’s rather remote.’”

Harris answered, “It is, but as I told those over me, ‘Give me an option.’ It’s either I tell them, ‘You can’t bring a car,’ or ‘This is where you’ve got to go. I have no other place to put you.’”

The fence will be going up in a few weeks around the STEM building construction site, . We will lose that faculty-staff parking in there. It’s not a lot of spaces, but at this point we need every space we can get, because we’ve already lost some from the North End Zone expansion.”

When construction workers clear out from the Pavilion at Ole Miss after it opens in a few weeks,

from 150 to 175 several staff-faculty parking spaces will be vacated, but most will remain unusable until they can be repaved and restriped – probably in March.

Continuing construction on the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College will close off part of a semicircle lot on Sorority Row during the holidays, but Linda Christian, manager of parking services, said the Jan. 26 projected completion date and the Jan. 25 start of the spring semester mean only a couple of days of serious traffic and parking problems before the connected driveway and lot are reopened completely.

“Right now you can get in it, but you can’t go through the semicircle,” she said.

Johnson Commons East is due for renovation next semester, which will take over a small lot on the corner of Dormitory Row North and Dormitory Row West for materials staging.

“I think it starts the latter part of the spring semester (when they put the fence up). The more latter is what I’m jockeying for,” Harris joked.

Scott Oliver, assistant director of student housing, suggested having that lot restriped until it is taken over for construction.

“People park in there

whatever way they please.

It is frustrating,” he said, noting the chaos wastes parking spaces. Harris noted it is on a list for restriping during the ongoing Christmas break.

The renovation of former dormitories Garland Huddleston and Mayes (GHM) into office space for the School of Applied Sciences will absorb 22 faculty-staff parking spaces until its July 2017 completion, but those will be offset by a new lot near the Data Center.

Several fraternities and sororities are either in expansion or new construction – on Fraternity Row, Sorority Row and Rebel Drive, with each impacting nearby parking.

The relocation of Ole Miss’ Division of Outreach and Continuing Education to the Jackson Avenue Center will free up some central-campus parking, but it will create new constraints at the JAC, which takes up the east end of Oxford Mall.

“That’s a pretty big renovation,” Harris said.

“We’re moving all of Outreach over there. Some of them currently are in Yerby, and some are in Kinard. It will give us a little bit of ease in faculty/staff parking behind Kinard, but we’ve got to accommodate them at the JAC.” The Jackson Avenue Center is a Park and Ride location for buses going

onto campus. With Park and Ride commuters already taking up much of the parking at the mall location – including some overflowing into areas designated for mall patrons – more shuttle riders will have to begin using the South Lot off Highway 6 and Old Taylor Road, Harris said.

The good news regarding the JAC space renovation, he said, is that “construction parking and laydown area are at the rear of the building, so they’re not going to take any parking at the front during this construction period.”

Another bit of good news is the opening soon of a new parking lot on Hill Drive.

“They dug back into that hill, and that’s going to be 32 new commuter spaces. They won’t be parking on the street; it’s an actual pull-in lot,” Harris said. “We’re not going to do any (new parking) on the street anymore; we’re trying to get all the vehicles off the streets on campus. That’s the whole goal – get them in a lot, get them off the street.”

That plan, however, does not extend to Old Taylor Road/University Place, which the City of Oxford claims it owns.

“We’re not planning to do anything on Old Taylor Road. I wouldn’t want to do anything there without consulting the city and those above my pay grade,” Harris said. “But those streets that we do control, we’re going to try to relocate (streetside parking) into additional surface lots.”

One positive development that commuting students and employees will notice when they return in January is the completion of the transit hub at Kennon Observatory. Electronic gates now block access to the semicircular drive, with only buses allowed to enter.

During the school hiatus, buses are absent, so improvements are being added to make the hub more user-friendly.

“They’re putting up glass roofs on the shelters.

TURN TO PARKING PAGE 7

OXFORD CITIZEN

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17 2015

PAGE 5

Lovepacks doubles up for the holidays

BY ERROL CASTENS OXFORD CITIZEN

Lovepacks, the local outreach that provides non-perishable foods for Oxford and Lafayette County schoolchildren who appear not to have enough food at home, is doubling up for the holidays.

Helpers in Kristin Busby’s Superiors Class at Oxford Middle School are packing twice the usual 150 or so packs of canned pastas, soups, granola bars, peanut butter and other kid-friendly food, which teachers and counselors discreetly slip into the backpacks of children thought to be at risk of not having enough to eat at home.

“Last week and this week, we’re giving out double packs,” said Mary Leary, one of the charity’s founders and organizers. “Normally we give out one pack a week, but this week to prepare for Christmas we started giving out packs on different days for them to take home.

“When we give the extra packs, the bonus pack will have a little more substantial things – a jar of peanut butter, for instance. Unfortunately, we’re constrained by the fact that these little baby kids are small,” Leary said.

“We’re coming up on our sixth year, and we’re still tweaking it. We started with Pop-Tarts and things, and we’re trying to make our menu as healthy as we can.”

“It’s fulfilling because it helps kids,” said Jennifer Yancy, another longtime Lovepacks and Lafayette Schools volunteer. “It affects their education. Kids who are hungry can’t focus, can’t learn, and have behavioral issues.

“I had one child who came in every morning and

just had a lot of behavioral issues,” she said. “Once we started giving Lovepacks and getting them food on a regular basis, that would calm him down. He was just hungry. He was nonverbal, unable to tell people, ‘I’m hungry.’ That was a need we were able to fill.”

Yancy said children with the most significant special needs are particularly vulnerable to hunger issues.

“When you’re nonverbal and you can’t express what’s going on with you, and we’re able to fill that need and see the difference it makes in that child, that’s very fulfilling to see that. With a lot of the children, it makes them feel special.”

While older students from homes where food might be always available sometimes are hesitant to ask for help because of embarrassment, Yancy said, “These younger children are hungry, and they’re not embarrassed by it. They feel special, and they’re excited to get their packs every week. I don’t actually put them in their backpacks, but they know I bring them, and they’ll come up and say, ‘Mrs. Yancy, is my pack here? Is my pack here?

Thank you, Mrs. Yancy.”

The challenge, Yancy said, is trying the kids in true need.

“It’s not just finding somebody who doesn’t have as much as everybody else does,” she said. “It’s finding the children who often really don’t have food at home and making sure that it gets to those children and stays with those children – not getting taken away from them by other people. That, and making sure we have enough to feed the ones that need it.”

One challenge to getting donations and volunteers is

the perception that hunger isn’t a problem in the Oxford area.

“When we started this at Lafayette, I actually had a person say, ‘We don’t have hungry children in our community,’ and I was like, ‘Open your eyes!’” Yancy said. “If the parents aren’t washing their clothes, if the parents aren’t helping them with schoolwork, they’re not making sure they get fed, either. And there are kids that are coming every day the school doors are open to get their breakfast and lunch, because those are the only meals they’re getting that day. That’s heartbreaking to me. It’s a sad situation, but it’s reality. Even if we only have them for a short time, maybe we can show them it how life can be and give them something to strive for.”

Leary added, “I was talking to someone who helps at Oxford Elementary, and they were telling me about a new child there who was picking food out of the garbage. He’s so precious, but it’s heartbreaking to see how he’s had to live.”

Kids in the Superiors class at Oxford Middle School feel their own sense of fulfillment from their responsibilities with Lovepacks, from keeping inventory of the foods to filling the individual packs.

“It’s nice to help somebody else who has a need,” Clayton Dabbs said.

“Some people haven’t got nothing in their house, and I don’t want them to starve,” added Cecil Turner. “I want them to have what everyone else has.”

Kimble Keshanda summed it up succinctly: “We get to help people.”

Inia Jamison likes not only getting to volunteer for the benefit of others but also

BRIEFING Ole Miss to host baseball winter camps A hitting speciality camp will be Jan. 16-17 and open for grades 1-12.

Cost is $240. Parents can save $20.00 per sibling.

Contact sahead@go.olemiss.edu prior to registering to receive your promo

code. All of the camps will be hosted at Oxford-University Stadium. Check in will between 8 and 8:30 a.m.

Campers will need to provide a glove, cleats or spikes, cap, tennis shoes for indoor workouts. A bat and baseball pants are optional. Spending money is also needed for concessions or souvenirs. Lunch

will be provided for campers at the 1810 Grille at the Manning Center.

A pitching speciality camp will be held Jan. 2324 also at a cost of $240. It is also open for grades 112.

For more information on the camps, visit http://collegebaseballcamps.com/rebelbaseball.

ERROL CASTENS | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM

A cache of foods from granola bars and peanut butter to canned pastas and soups stands ready for students and volunteers who fill "Lovepacks" for hungry schoolchildren in Oxford and Lafayette County schools. “getting to see the Lovepacks ladies.”

Superiors teacher Kristin Busby said the benefits go both ways for her special education class.

“This is a great project that the students learn from and

give back to their schools,” she said.

Lovepacks co-founder Cammie Bianco added kudos to Oxford Schools.

“We really appreciate the school district providing the space rent-free,” she said,

noting Lovepacks has its own room behind “The Store” inside OMS. “It lets us spend all the money on food.” errol.castens@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenec

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 6

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17 2015

Oxford Showcase packed with fantastic soccer action

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

Just before the Christmas break, Oxford’s Jonathan Branch wanted his Chargers to get in some good work, against a wide variety of teams.

The annual Oxford Showcase at FNC Park, Oxford and Lafayette allows soccer teams to garner several games, while also giving teams a chance to see how the other side prepares.

“I want our guys to be exposed to something other than just seeing our practice all the time. I’m excited about them being out there.

They certainly won’t watch every game, but it’s going to be a great couple days of soccer,” Branch said. “I want our guys to come out there and I hope the city begins to realize just how big it is. This is a premiere soccer event around the state. There is nothing else like this around.”

Bigger means better in the case of the two-day tournament. This year’s slate is how

Branch first envisioned things going from an organizational standpoint.

“It’s shaping up to be rather large and be one of the premiere events. We have room for 83 games and we have 81 games being played in the two days,” Branch said. “We’re using our field and Lafayette as well as all the fields at FNC Park. To make it great for everybody, I’ve come up with some sponsors to come on board. Cornerstone Rehab is helping us out.

Hudl. The Graduate Hotel.”

Maxx South Sports is a sponsor and they will set up a camera to have the games on TV, Branch said.

“They will be filming from one field on Friday and the majority of Saturday so that’s an added bonus to it,” he added.

Oxford will be back to full strength on the field, and Branch said this is the last time to get in action before the break.

“This is a great time for teams to come in and play really, really hard because

next week they’re not going to have a game,” Branch said. “This is a time to give everything and have your legs tired and then you get to rest up all the way until the new year. We thought it was a great time to host a tournament and I’m happy with the teams that we’re playing.

“We’re playing one of the premier private schools in Jackson Academy. We’re going to play two of the top 6A teams in Oak Grove and Starkville,” Branch continued. “You never find out everything about your team until February, but this will give us a good measuring stick on where we stack up with teams from around the state. I didn’t pick out any easy wins or make our schedule look great. We have one goal and that’s to win in February. We didn’t get the outcomes that we wanted this past weekend, but we saw what we need to do to get to that level.”

The thing the Chargers have done the most consistently since the start of the year is keeping shape defen-

PETRE THOMAS | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM

FNC Park was quiet earlier this week. On Friday and Saturday, that peace will change as soccer teams from all over the state meet up in the Oxford Showcase. sively, Branch said.

“We haven’t given up that many goals and a couple of them we scored on our own,” Branch said. “Ultimately, we’ve played pretty well on defense. We are breaking in two new center backs. We’ve moved them from other positions and

they’ve played really well for us. We keep our time of possession against the other teams. Even though we have lost to other teams, we still won the possession margin in every game we’ve played.

We also defend pretty well.

The problem is we haven’t gotten comfortable with

each other in order to transition into our attack. I’ve put emphasis on that with some drills and I’m hoping that we get a lot better with that and get to where we need to be.” john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

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Harvey lauds new education law Oxford Superintendent of Education Brian Harvey told trustees Monday the new federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) will eliminate one major burden imposed by its predecessor, the No Child Left Behind Act. “There will be no more AYP,” he said, referring to Adequate Yearly Progress, the comprehensive testing process often described as burdensome, which determines progress toward the goal of 100 percent of students achieving to state academic standards in at least reading/language arts, science and math.

“I believe that’s a positive step, but the state still has to interpret it,” Harvey said.

Harvey presented a written summary of several key provisions in the law.

“There will likely be changes to the state’s accountability system and new state legislation and changes to current MDE board policies,” he said in introducing his notes.

In addition to the elimination of AYP, he said, states will adopt their own accountability systems.

“In elementary and middle school, the system must contain the following three indicators – proficiency on state tests, English language proficiency and one

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Oliver suggested the increased use of transit could reduce the need for commuter parking on campus, freeing it up instead for oncampus students, most of whom are freshmen.

“Once we build the garage, I think residential students are taken care of – unless y’all build some more residential halls, and then we’ll have to look at that,” Harris said.

During the upcoming semester, a road serving the garage will be built from Rebel Drive/Guyton Extended northward past Kinard Hall and eastward back to Rebel Drive between Kincannon Hall and The Ridges.

“There’s an alternate that will connect that road from there to Stockard-Martin.

That’s all being done over this next spring semester, and we start in May actually building the garage. August

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2017 is when we hope to have the garage open for residential students,” Harris said.

The seven-story garage will have three ground-level entrances.

“You can drive in on Level 1 on the east side; you can drive on Level 2 on the north side; you can drive into Level 3 on the west side,” he said.

“You’ll have three different levels from three different sides, which is good for egress. It’s almost 1,500 spaces, with a net gain of a little over 1,300. That will take care, hopefully, of all the residential students, and we won’t have to keep putting them out at Whirlpool.

“We’re going to hear this next year from a lot of people who are not going to be happy with that out there.”

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They should be installing the (Estimated Time of Arrival) signs, which will list all the routes going through there and the times they’re coming. Our gates are about to be installed – one on the entry side and one on the exit side,” Harris said.

“Benches are going in under the shelters. It’ll be a nice little sit-down-and-wait-forthe-bus area.”

More routes aimed at student commuters are already in development.

“We’re going to be adding some more bus routes (at the Kennon hub),” Harris said. “Probably five or six routes will go in eventually.

Right now we have three, and at least two more are adding in the next two years.”

States and local school districts have to determine what happens to those that are affected by low test participation,” Harvey said. ameis – “The intentMbehind onths Sthat 2 1 .

W A.C. and I agreeCwith s ash it – you A don’t want to be able to say to your students who aren’t going to be able to score very well, ‘You don’t take the test.’ The intent is that you’re assessing everybody and using that data to get better.”

He added that next year the state will require that sitting for the tests represents one-quarter of a student’s grade in the subject being testing, and failure to sit for the exam eliminates credit for the class.

Under the new law, School Improvement Grants are consolidated into Title I. “However, Congress is forming a study group to look at the issues of number and percentage weighting, and its impact on small, large, urban and rural schools,” Harvey said.

Finally, he said, ESSA eliminates the “highly qualified teachers” federal designation and allows states to evaluate teachers according to their own systems, with no federal standard for student performance dictated within those systems.

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OXFORD CITIZEN

additional indicator,” he said, noting that school climate, school safety, postsecondary readiness, educator engagement, student engagement, etc., are among the possibilities.

High schools’ accountability systems must contain four measures of success – graduation rate, proficiency on state tests, English language proficiency and one additional academic factor.

“The state must identify high schools that graduate less than 67% of their students and the bottom 5% of schools (both overall and in each subgroup),” Harvey wrote. “Districts would first be allowed to adopt their own evidence-based intervention. However, states would be allowed to intervene in these schools after a certain time period if the local district did not show signs of improvement.

Both local and state intervention systems must be evidence-based.”

Annual assessments will still be required under ESSA, with every child in grades 3-8 to be tested in math and English language arts. In high school, there will be a three-grade-span assessment in science.

“School districts still have to test 95 percent of their students. However, not reaching that 95-percent threshold does not automatically fail a district.

n Alig

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BY ERROL CASTENS

PAGE 7

PAGE 8

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17 2015

Hey 19 half way through college and your mind is still a malleable piece of putty, or in my case, still a work Jim Dees (dork?) in progress. One is still Tales of the Town susceptible to peer pressure and desperately caring what people think. Unfortunately, the latter lasts until about age 40 when the f you could somehow reach last of the give-a-damns miracuback through the years, what advice would you give to your lously melts away.

At age 19, there is still time to get 19 year-old-self? News reports your ya-yas out before career and this week quoted actress Reese Witherspoon, speaking to gradu- family set the trap. Go ahead and act foolish. Get out there and ates at her former girl’s school in dance. Ride a bike without a helNashville. One of her first pieces met. Stay up late and don’t eat your of wisdom was, “Don’t get bangs vegetables. The time will come just because your friend Ashley when you realize the jig is up and did.” Fairly sage, I guess, for that it’s time to roll back the fun and crowd. Still, the notion set me to thinking (I know, pace it). It’s been begin digging the hole. No one several centuries – I mean, years – wants regret as a roommate, since I was 19 but I do remember though regret will take up residence soon enough. the age: More hair than brains; a And while we’re time-tripping, flat stomach and round-eyed what would your 19 year-old-self wonder at the world. At that tender juncture, still a teen but peak- say about where you are now as opposed to where you had hoped ing over into the cusp of young adulthood, you’re formulating ex- to be at your current age? My guess actly what kind of person you will is the hopeful speculative and the cold reality would collide like two become. For many, you’re only

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To my 19 year-old-self: "Regret will take up residence soon enough." atom particles resulting in the Big Bang of your life. The great John Lennon wrote, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” There’s no question that with age comes knowledge but us Old Fogeys will never be mistaken for a wisdom-spouting Yoda coming down from the mountain with a tablet of dos and donts. A friend related the conversation he had with his 95 year-olddad on his death bed. He

motioned to his son to lean down.

My buddy thought, ‘This is it, he’s about to put the real word on me.

I’m about to shower in a century of hard-earned wisdom.’ My buddy said his dad told him, “I wish I had something to tell you but I don’t. I guess all I can say is, ‘Don’t make mistakes.”

My friend said he’d gotten more profundity from a pithy aphorism on a sugar packet.

To my 19 year-old-self I might say, free your mind while making more time for your parents. Remember you’re not as smart as you think you are and probably dumber. People aren’t as happy as they act. Don’t be afraid to fail, in fact, make it a point to. Don’t be so judgmental. You never know what battles the other person is fighting.

I might also point out to my thirsty 19 year-old-hellion, there really isn’t a cure for hangovers, except making it through to two days later.

To dig a little deeper, I would turn to favored literature. At the end of the great John Cheever’s

1954 novel, “The Wapshot Chronicle,” he includes written words of advice from father Leander to his sons, Moses and Coverly: “Never put whisky into hot water bottle crossing borders of dry counties or states. Rubber will spoil taste.

Never make love with pants on…

Never sleep in moonlight… Never hold cigar at right angles to fingers.

Hayseed. Never wear red necktie.

Provide light snorts for ladies if entertaining. Effects of harder stuff on frail sex sometimes disastrous.

Bathe in cold water every morning.

Painful but exhilarating. Also reduces horniness… Wear dark clothes after 6 pm. Eat fresh fish for breakfast when available. Avoid kneeling in unheated stone churches. Ecclesiastical dampness causes prematurely gray hair. Fear tastes like a rusty knife and do not let her into your house. Courage tastes of blood. Stand up straight.

Admire the world. Relish the love of a gentle woman. Trust in the Lord.”

Not exactly Reese Witherspoon, but it works for me.

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OXFORD CITIZEN

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17 2015

Weesie Biedenharn

Nicole Cain Wright

Email: weesie@tmhomes.com

Email: nicolec@tmhomes.com

Oxford Cell: 662.638.5332 Office: 662.234.5344

Oxford Cell: 662.617.5744 Office: 662.234.5344

Blake Thompson Oxford Cell: 662.801.7014 Office: 662.234.5344

Email: blake@tmhomes.com 120 Oxford Creek Drive

Thaddeus Hooper Oxford Cell: 601.934.0572 Office: 662.234.5344

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MLS#134205

Oxford - You gotta see 120 Oxford Creek Dr – You will love this gorgeous two level home very close to Oxford Public Schools, The Oxford Square, and Ole Miss located in beautiful Oxford Creek Subdivision.

This 2850 sq ft home has four bedrooms and three bathrooms. A marvelous study upstairs with two of the bedrooms, and the other two bedrooms are downstairs in the walkout basement with a living room and small kitchenette. You must take a look.

Why are you still reading this? $350,000. Call Blake Thompson now – 662-801-7014

960 Frank Smith

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Batesville - Two homes for the price of one, Cottage style home located on 27 acres between Oxford and Batesville. Great location, First home has a wide porch over looking the large yard and woods. The second home is approx. 2300 SQFT nd has a barn. Property also features a pond. Live in one house and rent the other. Call agent for more details. $225,000. Call Blake Thompson – 662-801-7014

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Oxford Cell: 662.701.7789 Office: 662.234.5344

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OXFORD CITIZEN

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17 2015

PAGE 11

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Great for hunting, or view the great outdoors from your own front porch. Your own piece of country living just 15 minutes from Oxford. $150,000. Call Eileen Saunders – 662-404-0816.

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Oxford - Steeplechase is a great place to be a homeowner. It's the only gated development in Oxford where you can get 1.5-3 acre lots, a brand new home in a great subdivision on the west side of town. The lot sits on top of a hill on a wooded lot in a private area. The home features granite countertops, walk in closets, stainless steel appliances, tall ceilings, and a concrete driveway. The majority of the living space is on the ground floor with a bonus room located on upper floor. The professionally landscaped property features an outdoor wood burning fireplace that will truly make you feel at home. $399,900.

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OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 12

Brant & Jodi Garner Tupelo/Oxford Brant: 662.297.6168 Jodi: 662.419.3420

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17 2015

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17 2015

PAGE 13

John Davis Sports Editor

Twists and turns all part of college football recruiting ootball players have been committing to schools, and coaches, for decades. Recruiting may not have been as popular and trendy as it is now, but high school athletes were dazzled and pressured just the same.

When Johnny Vaught was the head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels, he sent assistant coaches out to scoop up the top players and hide them from other teams in the SEC like Alabama or Mississippi State. One of the best stories ever told to me came from Mike Dennis two summers ago. Dennis grew up in Jackson, and he was a standout tailback. He and Jackie Sherrill drove Bear Bryant’s Cadillac around Tuscaloosa in the summer of 1961.

Those were the days before the NCAA had much of a say on anything. Anyway, Dennis signed with Ole Miss. He was taken out of his high school by Ole Miss and stashed away at the King Edward hotel in Jackson. (Dennis attended Murrah High for the record). Mississippi State was unable to find Dennis that day, and he was kept on ice until Vaught could reach him, just after midnight, to get his signature on the official paperwork linking him to Ole Miss.

There was no social media, no Internet to cover his signing. If any media actually reported on things like that, it was a day, or two, later. Dennis told me he never did call Bryant to let him know that he was signing with Ole Miss. Dennis said Bryant found out, he thought, through a newspaper report.

Things have changed tremendously in 55 years. Under statement of the past decade, I know, but how else do you say it?

We’ve gone from Dennis driving Bear Bryant’s vehicle and staying at his house and being tucked away in a hotel to players committing via Twitter and coaches messaging them on Facebook. Or posing for pictures with players and families on visits to their house.

What a player does or doesn’t do is news. Figuring out what a player is thinking has become a full-time job. And some make a very, very good living off it.

With so much money being doled out to coaches, there is a tremendous amount of turnover in the coaching profession. There were over a dozen coaching vacancies before we even hit December. Tulane was one of the schools that experienced a change, and Curtis Johnson’s dismissal ultimately was felt here, in Oxford. Jack Abraham, who led the Chargers to three straight appearances in the Class 5A state title game, was committed to play for

F

TURN TO RECRUITING PAGE 17

THOMAS WELLS | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM

Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly is looking forward to leading the Rebels against Oklahoma State in the annual Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Hard work will decide outcome for Rebels, Kelly says

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

There was no suit worn by Chad Kelly when he entered the team meeting room to talk with the media Monday night. Kelly’s first public comments since the Egg Bowl were done with him in practice attire. The Rebels opened up work for the Allstate Sugar Bowl Monday, and the focus was about winning, rather than having a good time in New Orleans.

“I think it’s great for this conference, for both conferences really,” Kelly said about playing Oklahoma State on Jan. 1, 2016 in the Mercedes Benz Superdome.

“It will be a good test for both of us. I know that we’re both excited to get out there and play one another. We’re not really familiar with each other’s playing styles and this and that, but I think it will be good to get out there and try something different.”

Last season, the Rebels were blown out by TCU in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl. A repeat performance is not wanted by Kelly, who said it would be

“huge” to earn a win over the 10-2 Cowboys.

“It’s always big to get a win, but this one being the Sugar Bowl, a place we haven’t been in 40 something years, it would be huge for the program,” Kelly said. “I know talking with people that formerly went here and that have been here for a long time, this is the real deal.

I know we’re going to put in all the hard work we can to get ready for this game.”

There will be a break of five weeks in between the Rebels’ win at Mississippi State and the Sugar Bowl. Kelly said it was better to keep playing when things were going well, but positive thinking that the rhythm could stay intact.

“All the guys are playing great, from Kickoff: Jan. 1,2016 at 7:30 p.m. top to bottom, so we’re excited to have TV: ESPN this opportunity to go play in the Sugar Bowl,” Kelly said adding the first practice back was intense. “I think everybody was has to capitalize on every opportunity.

“That goes back to the Arkansas game. glad to be back out there and start workYou can’t take one possession lightly. You ing hard again.”

A shootout is what a lot of people be- have to score on every possession, you lieve will happen when the Rebels (9-3) and Cowboys meet up. Kelly said that he TURN TO REBELS PAGE 16

VS.

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 14

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17 2015

Cutler's versatility, experience key for Chargers

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

A bond amongst the senior class is the intangible that will decide just how successful the Oxford Chargers are on the soccer field this season. James Cutler is one the seven seniors who understands how important experience really is.

“We have a lot more seniors than we have in the past few years and I think we’re stronger than what we’ve been. I think that will contribute to a stronger team,” Cutler said. “I think our starting lineup is really strong.”

Cutler said that head coach Jonathan Branch being in his third season was another key to everything from a wins and losses standpoint.

“I think things are a lot more organized. He is starting to get to know his players a lot better than when he first got here. We’re not new to him,” he said.

The thing the Chargers (7-1-1 overall) have done

the best during the season is posses the ball. The thing that Cutler, and Branch, felt like had to improve was finishing and shooting.

“I think that once we get that down, we’ll be a really solid team,” Cutler said.

This past summer was a busy one for the Chargers.

Nobody in the state could have done any more than what Branch put them through as far as a game and training schedule.

“Our summer was very rigorous. We practiced five days a week, in the morning and then at dusk and it was really hot,” Cutler said.

“We did a ton of running. It was all in order to get ready for the season and I think Coach Branch did a really good job in preparing us for the start of the season.

Coach Garner Shivers also has us run a bunch. Just a bunch of sprints at the end of every practice. We run basically the last 10 or 15 minutes.”

The Chargers won a state title in soccer when Cutler was just getting into high school. He called the feel-

PETRE THOMAS | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM

Oxford senior James Cutler is the most versatile player on the team, according to head coach Jonathan Branch. Cutler and the Chargers return to action this weekend in the Oxford Showcase. ing of a championship “unreal” with the way it felt.

“I was on the team but I didn’t play in the state championship game,” Cutler said. “I just want to know what it feels like to be physically on the field and

win a championship.”

Malek Daghestani, Cole Calhoon and Neil Chandler are the other Chargers Cutler has been playing soccer with the longest.

“We pretty much play soccer year round to-

gether,” said Cutler, who plays center forward up top for Branch. “I have to distribute the ball well and not get bumped off. I have to be good about shielding the other defenders off the outside wingers that are

making their runs inside. I also have to be able to finish. That’s a big part of what the position does.”

Branch said he can put the entire team through Cutler. If he was placed at forward, he would be the best forward.

“And if I put him at midfield, he would be our best midfielder,” Branch said.

“He would also be our best defender. He’s a great utility guy. I can trust him. Not only is he super skillful, he’s soccer smart. His IQ is just off the charts. He always knows when we need to be somewhere. He’s helped me when I didn’t catch something and he asked if we needed to do a certain thing. He actually is a coach out there for us. About my only regret with him is he doesn’t vocalize that as much as he should. He is a great coach on the field, an extension of me out there.

If we ever get into a bad situation, he can fix us. He can see the whole field.” john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

Ole Miss Rebels has everything Elko was looking for

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

When it came time to make a decision on where to play college baseball, Tim Elko felt like Ole Miss had everything he needed. The Lutz, Florida native, who plays third base at Hillsborough High, chose the Rebels over the University of Miami and Auburn on Dec. 6.

“I honestly thought that the coaches were really great and they’ve proven that they can win and that they can coach kids really well,” said Elko, who will graduate in 2017. “I also love the environment, the crowd that Ole Miss is able to draw. I think it’s one of the best environments in the country to play at. It was close all the way until the end. All three schools had their pros and cons, I just felt like Ole Miss was the most comfortable for me and I could really see myself living there for the next three or four years.”

Elko, who is listed at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds by Perfect Game, started to learn about Ole Miss just this fall when pitching coach Carl Lafferty started to recruit him.

“Right when I started talking to him, I knew that he was a good guy

KNOW YOUR

recruit Tim Elko just to start with,” Elko said. “I learned about their coaching and just how well they had been doing.”

The past two or three years is when Elko really started to keep up with college baseball overall.

“Having the SEC Network now to where I can watch a lot of SEC games has allowed me to watch a lot of college games and get used to what it’s like,” Elko said. “I know Ole Miss had a really good 2014 season and I watched them in Omaha a little. I liked them even then, too.”

First base is another spot that Elko could play for the Rebels. He prefers third base because that’s the one he has played the most.

“In high school, they put me at first because they had a spot open up there and they already had a third baseman, but I really play

third base,” said Elko, who hit .412 during the 2015 high school season as a sophomore clean-up hitter. “I would say that I’m a power hitter, and gap to gap. Lots of doubles. I think they want me to keep getting better and keep doing what I’m doing.”

Elko visited Oxford when the Rebels played Arkansas in football on Nov. 7. He said he was blown away with Oxford-University Stadium.

“I was very impressed by the field and also the environment of the football game was very nice, too,” Elko said. “It was a crazy ending.”

And like a lot of the Rebels who have come to Oxford from Florida, Elko plays for the Scorpions from a travel ball standpoint.

OCTAVIO JONES | TIMES

Hillsborough first baseman Tim Elko picked the Ole Miss Rebels over offers from Miami and Auburn.

“It nothing else, it definitely you’re with other players with lots brought a lot of college attention of talent, it helps you grow as well. and even MLB attention just from I think that’s a big part of it, too.” their reputation,” Elko said. “I think being able to play on team like that, john.davis@journalinc.com it’s like iron sharpens iron. When Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

OXFORD CITIZEN

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17 2015

PAGE 15

Chargers continue to be a work in progress

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

Two wins in the annual “O” Town Showdown weren’t the only things the Oxford Chargers gained this past weekend. Coach Drew Tyler said there were areas he and his players knew they had to shore up as a result of the two contests.

“Definitely on the defensive end,” Tyler said as the thing his team had to improve on heading into the matchup with Lafayette Friday and other games before division play started. “I think we got some minutes out of some kids coming from football that have been very advantageous to get in and look at different lineups.”

DK Metcalf is back from football, and ready to play for the first time. The 6foot-4 high jumper brings a different dynamic to the table when he is on the court, especially on the defensive side of things.

“We instantly get second and third shots when he is on offense just because he

can keep the ball alive and then on defense, when he’s not blocking a shot, he’s altering a shot,” Tyler said.

“Teams aren’t as quick to attack the goal with Metcalf’s length in there. Whenever he enters the court, we gain from his stature. He also has a lot of varsity minutes under his belt, which helps as well.”

Outside of Jarkel Joiner, there isn’t another player on the Chargers’ roster that has more experience than Metcalf.

“As far as Oxford basketball and what we do, he is next in line. The reality is we have a lot of new faces that are playing our varsity minutes,” Tyler said. “They do have seven games under their belt and they are 6-1, but for some of them, this will be their first cross-town rival game, basketball edition.”

Tyler felt like his Chargers and the Commodores were even heading into the matchup on Friday from an experience standpoint. He didn’t want his team to get

JOHN DAVIS | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM

The Chargers are coming off two wins in the annual "O" Town Showdown and coach Drew Tyler is upbeat about what the addition of DK Metcalf will do for his lineup. too high, even though he knows that they could have butterflies before the contest gets going.

“It’s a bigger crowd, a bigger atmosphere,” Tyler said.

“Then again, it’s the same game they’ve always played. Between the lines it is. The team that approaches it as another

game, and calms down, and starts to execute their game plan, is the one that will have success. We know our strengths. We know our weaknesses, too. Your opponent is the one that is trying to exploit your weaknesses, so we have to make sure we’re doing what we do. The 2015-16 Charg-

ers are a work in progress.

We will continue to get better if we eliminate and minimize our mistakes. Our non block outs, our turnovers. As we weed that out of our game, we’ll get better.”

Tyler added that when his team isn’t having to hit home runs every other play,

or even triples and doubles, and can consistently hit singles, they will be a better team.

“We can’t strikeout and we will take a bunch of singles. If we consistently do that night in and night out, we’ll become a better team,” Tyler said.

Joiner scored 43 points in the Chargers’ latest victory.

Tyler said Joiner some of his bigger plays were on the defensive end late in the game.

“He was able to block a shot and get a deflection.

He actually had to pick up what we get from Metcalf and Hiram Wadlington,” Tyler said. “We were having to guard some of their guards with some of our longer bodies and that is not what we strategically want to do on defense. Now that we have a semi healthy Hiram Wadlington and a Metcalf back, it will take a little of the defensive load off Jarkel.”

John.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

Ormon, Lady Chargers ready for rivalry challenge

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

Grit and toughness are the two things that Cliff Ormon saw his Oxford Lady Chargers display in their two most recent wins. Oxford heads into Friday night’s game with Lafayette having won both of its games in the annual “O” Town Showdown.

Ormon saw a couple of his players step up from a scoring standpoint when a few others got into foul trouble.

“I’m definitely pleased with how we came out of the last weekend heading into this game Lafayette,” Ormon said.

Lafayette is a team that is familiar to Ormon, who coached against the Lady Commodores most recently when he was at Ripley.

“The rivalry has a lot to do with it. You know that you’re going to get their best shot and we plan on playing our game,” Ormon said. “It’s a big game because it’s the next game. We know they’re a good team and that’s who you want to play in your pre-season schedule. You want to test yourself and see where you are. We know Lafayette is going to be tough.

JOHN DAVIS | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM

Oxford's Cliff Ormon is looking for his team to play well and earn a win at Lafayette after the Lady Commodores earned a win at Oxford last year.

Everyone of those games is a tough one. They play hard and always been well coached. They will be well coached again this year with Coach (Shayne) Linzy moving over there.”

Oxford didn’t play during the week due to exams. Ormon made sure that his players were staying on top their grades. His

team was healthy heading into the matchup with Lafayette, saying that his team had been “blessed” in that area.

Heading into the week, the thing that the Lady Chargers have done the best is hold teams down on offense.

“I was very pleased with our team, players stepping up to

make plays in tough, competitive games in that O Town Showdown. Both of the teams we played were undefeated and very well coached and very disciplined,” Ormon said. “We found a way to win those games, even if they were by just one point. They could have gone either way, but I would have been

pleased regardless of the outcome just seeing how hard my team competed and how they executed at the end of the games in order for us to win.”

The Lady Chargers dove for loose balls in the two wins, and did the little things in order to get the victories. Ormon was hoping that his team didn’t get too excited to play their rival.

“It’s a big game, but we want to play competitive teams and we need to make sure they stay even keel and focused on the game plan,” Ormon said. “Going in as a coach, you just hope that your team knocks down shots. I think we’re going to guard people and get after it on both ends of the floor. We’ve been fortunate to get one or two players to step up every game to give us that go-to scorer. I’m hoping that we can put it all together for this one. We know they’re going to know a lot about our personnel going in. We’re going to play hard because they beat us on our home floor last year. So we’re planning on going over there and spoiling their home floor this year.” john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 16

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17 2015

Sherman wants his ‘Dores to be more defensive

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

John Sherman wasn’t very happy with where his Lafayette Commodores were as a team heading into the week, and the Oxford Chargers on the horizon. His team didn’t play well in a loss to South Panola last Friday. Sherman said it’s taken some time to blend in the football players with the team that has been out the entire time.

“That’s always a tricky situation,” Sherman said.

“I’m just not real happy with the way we’re playing. We don’t make plays.

Our defense is OK, but not great.”

Sherman said that his team had to play good defense on Oxford’s best player, Jarkel Joiner, when the two teams meet this Friday night in the LHS gym.

“You can’t stop a player like Jarkel Joiner. It doesn’t really matter who we have on Friday, it’s kind of time to start getting people in and playing basketball,” Sherman said. “It’s time to compete and start doing the things it takes to win basketball games.

That’s the thing you have to overcome with half of this team. Half of this team didn’t win any ballgames last year. Like it or not. You can blame whoever you want to blame,

Oxford at Lafayette Tipoff: 7:30 p.m.

do get so hung up on defensive fundamentals that running an offense takes a backseat. So we’re not where we need to be offensively. But we were so bad defensively that if we didn’t get that corrected, we were not going to outscore anyone. We have to be a lot better defensive team and good offensive team. That’s what I’ve tried to stress and work and it just takes some time.”

A packed house is expected at LHS for the PETRE THOMAS | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM matchup, per usual.

“It will be be electric in Lafayette Commodore coach John Sherman is looking for here,” Sherman said. more defense from his team.

but the players are the ones out there playing.

And players have to make plays when it’s time to make a play.”

The thing Lafayette has done the best this season, according to Sherman, is to develop a core group of players that doesn’t play “Their chemistry. They and their bond and work football. came to practice everyday ethic,” Sherman said. “I

john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

Linzy likes what he's seen from his LHS Lady 'Dores

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

A one-sided win over Bruce on Tuesday night is just another step in the right direction for the Lafayette Lady Commodores on the basketball court. Shayne Linzy, in his first season as head coach, has been happy with where his team is after the first month a week.

“Are we shutting people out? No, but I don't know too many schools that can do something like that,” Linzy said. “Offensively, we're pretty good. We still have moments where we still struggle to put the ball in the hole. We're scoring, but we still have some lapses. We go into a lull and just struggle putting the ball in the hoop. It's frustrating as a coach and I think it's frustrating for the girls, which is a good thing to see. I don't want them to be nonchalant about it.”

Lafayette is 6-3 heading into Friday night's matchup with the Lady Chargers. Two of the three losses have been to Class 6A teams. Linzy felt like the more his team played, the better they would be. And he felt his team had been tested to know where they stand and what he needs to help them improve on.

The next test will be in a big rivalry situation.

“It's Lafayette and Oxford and I think the girls knew we were going to worry about Bruce and then worry about Oxford,” Linzy said. “It's not another game. I would like to say that and not have the pressure and things of that nature, but the bottom line is this is the city-county rivalry. It's always been a big game. It was a big game even before I got involved in it and it's still a big game today. I don't expect anything to change.”

And just like Oxford,

read more online oxfordcitizen.com

Oxford at Lafayette Tipoff: Friday, 6 p.m.

Lafayette has games to play after Friday night's meeting. Win or lose, the Lady Commodores have to move on.

“If this is the game that everybody is playing for, we've got other issues. This is a big game. You want to win for pride, for your county and city bragging rights but you can't make this the be all and end all,” Linzy said. “It's good because it does come at the end of the first semester of basketball so to speak. You can see where you are, where you need to build

Rebels FROM PAGE 13

just never know it may be the deciding factor in the game,” Kelly said. “I know both teams are great and both have to come out and play our A game. I have confidence in our defense that they can make stops. We

imagine how much bigger of a game it was. Now it's a good test and a good rivalry game.”

The Lady Commodores have been the most consistent on defense, Linzy said.

“We've given up some more points in some games than we probably should have, but I've liked the intensity, I've liked the effort,” Linzy said. “The game we just played last weekend against Jim Hill where they have 6-1 and 62 down in the post and I've got 5-9 and 5-9, we battled.

We're doing it the right way. We're blocking out instead of trying to out jump everyone all the time.

We're starting to do things more fundamentally corPETRE THOMAS | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM rect. They're starting to see Lafayette girls basketball coach Shayne Linzy has seen his that doing it that way is going to be better in the team progress through the first part of the season. end.” on after this game because two different classificaboth of us go into division tions. Back when they were john.davis@journalinc.com play come January. And in in the same class, I can Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

play against a great defense every single day. That’s what gets us prepared, too.”

Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said he was going to stress the importance of preparing for this year’s game better than what the Rebels did against TCU. “We want to go out with a bang and start the offseason off right and we we’re going

to keep putting in the work in order to win this game,” Kelly said. “We have to stay focused the entire time, that week. That starts now until we go home for Christmas break and then when we get back for the bowl game. We have to understand why we are there. We’re going to win the Sugar Bowl and not hang around. This isn’t a va-

cation. It’s to win this game.

It’s a football game and this means everything to this university, our players and our coaches. We have to make sure we’re going out and executing every day in practice so it relates to the game field.” john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

OXFORD CITIZEN

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17 2015

PAGE 17

sippi. Abraham threw for over 5,000 yards just this season, and 57 touchdowns. It may take three Tulane quarterbacks six years to put up those kinds of stats under Fritz.

The phone call allowed Abraham to know exactly where he stood, even though he and his father Michael already knew. The marriage between Johnson and Abraham wasn’t going to be fostered by the new coach. It just didn’t fit.

That’s the negative side of recruiting, the side that Dennis didn’t really have to deal with. Every coach has their way of doing things. Every one seems to run something different. No matter the scheme, every offense starts with a quarterback. Abraham didn’t fit the new one at Tulane, so he’s left to find a new home.

Where Abraham ends up remains to be seen. He had a great senior year, so that’s a big plus for sure. Some coaches don’t think he’s tall enough to get a chance, but he’s as big as Drew Brees.

He’s a winner. Abraham can spin a ball. He works at his craft. And he’s very, v

Recruiting FROM PAGE 13

Johnson, and the Green Wave. When Johnson was let go, Abraham remained loyal.

He and his family were patient, waiting to see who would be hired. They hoped for the best because there was a genuine love for the school, for the city of New Orleans. Jack Abraham didn’t grow up a Tulane fan, but he and his family were all about the Green Wave. That’s the kind of people they are.

So this past Friday, when Tulane announced that Willie Fritz was the new head coach, hope turned into disappointment. For those that may not know Fritz, he runs the triple option. He has been successful at his different stops, but success for Fritz involves controlling the game on the ground. Playing conservative, rather than being aggressive through the passing game, is his style.

That’s not Abraham’s cup of tea. He is not a signal caller that should run more than he throws.

Needless to say, it took two days for Fritz to call Abraham, this year’s Gatorade Player of the Year in Missis-

SPORTS IN DEPTH LAFAYETTE BASKETBALL TUESDAY'S RESULT Lafayette (G) 90, Bruce 29 26 18 33 13 90 Lafayette 14 7 2 6 29 Bruce Leading scorers: Lafayette – Shaniyah Buford 35, Chelsea Allen 13, Shanquisha Jenkins 12.

Records: Lafayette 6-3.

TUESDAY'S RESULT Ole Miss (M) 99, La. Tech 80 40 40 80 La. Tech Ole Miss 52 47 99 Leading scorers: La. Tech – Eric McCree 20, Alex Hamilton 16, Jacobi Boykins 13, Derric Jean 12. Ole Miss – Stefan Moody 29, Rasheed Brooks 20, Marcanvis Hymon 14, Tomasz Gielo 13. Rebounds – La. Tech 31, Ole Miss 36. Assits – La. Tech 14, Ole Miss 17. Total Fouls – La. Tech 17, Ole Miss 20.

Records: La. Tech 8-2, Ole Miss 8-2.

OXFORD BASKETBALL "O" TOWN SHOWDOWN RESULTS Oxford (G) 47, Jackson Prep 46 9 11 8 18 46 Jackson Prep Oxford 12 10 12 13 47 Leading Scorers: OXF – Aliyah Herod 16, Jordan Freeze 15 Prep - Haley Litchliter 13, Beth Graeber 12, Kristina Zouboukos 10 Records: Oxford 7-1, Jackson Prep 10-1.

Oxford (B) 53, Prep 39 Jackson Prep 7 14 6 12 39 14 10 10 19 53 Oxford Leading Scorers: OXF – Jarkel Joiner 31 Prep – Healy Vise 10 Records: Oxford 5-1, Jackson Prep 5-4

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF

College Football Playoff National Championship Clemson-Oklahoma winner vs. AlabamaMichigan State winner – Jan. 11, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Houston vs. Florida State – Dec. 31, 11 a.m. (ESPN) Fiesta Bowl Notre Dame vs. Ohio State – Jan. 1, Noon (ESPN) Rose Bowl Stanford vs. Iowa – Jan. 1, 3 p.m. (ESPN) Sugar Bowl Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss – Jan. 1, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

OTHER GAMES Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl Alcorn State vs. North Carolina A&T – Dec. 19, 11 a.m. (ABC) Cure Bowl San Jose State vs. Georgia State – Dec. 19, noon (CBS Sports Network) Gildan New Mexico Bowl Arizona vs. New Mexico – Dec. 19, 1 p.m.

(ESPN) Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl BYU vs. Utah – Dec. 19, 2:30 p.m. (ABC) Raycom Media Camellia Bowl Ohio vs. Appalachian State – Dec. 19, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN) R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Arkansas State vs. Louisiana Tech – Dec. 19, 8 p.m. (ESPN)

Capital One Orange Bowl Clemson vs. Oklahoma – Dec. 31, 3 p.m.

(ESPN)

Miami Beach Bowl USF vs. Western Kentucky – Dec. 21, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic Alabama vs. Michigan State – Dec. 31, 7 p.m. (ESPN)

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Akron vs. Utah State – Dec. 22, 2:30 p.m.

(ESPN)

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