Feb. 4, 2016

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oxfordcitizen.com

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Inside 2 On The Beat

Serving the community key for Oxford Police officer D. Giddens.

10 Lifestyle

PETRE THOMAS

Mario Weekley of the Oxford Police Department tries to be a role model for the community and Black History Month, which started Monday, is a time he really enjoys helping educate others.

Leading by example

Jim Dees’ Tales of the Town: Putting play into play.

15 Sports

Weekley's goal is to help Oxford community

help people. It doesn't matter if it's a child, a senior citizen, or an adult, the main goal for If there is one thing Mario him is to make life better.

Weekley wants to get out of Weekley, a member of the Oxhis job on a daily basis it's to ford Police Department, is

BY JOHN DAVIS OXFORD CITIZEN

“I try to lead by example, now working in the housing from church, to my home life, division unit.

He is a prominent member to my job, I try to lead by exof the black community lo- ample,” Weekley said. “I try to cally, a role model to the many he comes in contact with.

TURN TO LEADING PAGE 5

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JOHN DAVIS

D. Giddens is an officer with the Oxford Police Department. He travels through Beat 1 during the his shift, helping as many people as he can.

Serving the community key for officer Giddens

BY JOHN DAVIS

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Law enforcement has been a part of D. Giddens life the past five years. It's seemingly been in his blood his whole life. Protect and serve are two things that Giddens, a patrol officer with the Oxford Police Department, has based his career on.

He has been with the OPD since Oct. 1, 2015. He came to Oxford from Aberdeen where he worked four years. He's been in law enforcement since 2011.

Giddens heard great things about Oxford force from others, and he said that it has been a pleasure to be in the community.

“There are great people in Aberdeen, it's a great agency. I've had multiple friends that work here and I've always heard good things about the Oxford Police Department,” he said. “I heard it was a very on-therise agency, and very progressive. I love community.

What's funny is I saw some things with the community that I saw and that's when I started to really get interested in the Oxford Police Department.”

Major Jeff McCutchen instructed Giddens at the police academy in Pearl.

Giddens grew to respect McCutchen a lot when he was there and he said if the agency was representative of how he is, Giddens knew

D. Giddens it would be a great place to work.

“It's been spot on. It's been a mirror image of what I thought it would be,” he added. “One thing is with everything that has been going on with law enforcement and the ideas they have of getting in the community, I think it has helped tremendously. I agree that it starts young. If you get to young people at an early age, as they get older, they will make better decisions. If you start in elementary school, start in Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and you follow that individual in through middle school and sports, they will remember that when it comes time to make a good decision in life. I think that's pretty awesome how we get involved in the community.”

Chicago was Giddens' home growing up. Raised as a Baptist, he attended a Catholic high school in the suburbs. He called it good preparation. Giddens was involved in athletics at an early age. Discipline was stressed in Giddens' school, which was located in Bol-

ingbrook, Illinois. Football was the sport he ended up sticking with. After high school, Giddens found his way into the U.S. Army. His father was a military police officer for the Air Force. His best friend Joe also had a father that was in the military.

“We always said that when we grow up, we were going into the military. We held up to it,” Giddens said.

“At first I was going into the Marines. I ended up talking with an Army recruiter that said he could get me and Joe into the same basic training and on the same program.

So we went to basic in Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.”

Giddens' brother was the one that got him down to Mississippi, and really into law enforcement. His brother worked in Jackson, and Giddens moved to the Tupelo area, working for the Lee County Sheriff's Department at the jail.

“I started to understand what law enforcement really involved by watching the other deputies. It's more than just writing tickets,” TURN TO SERVING PAGE 6

OXFORD CITIZEN

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016

PAGE 3

Joe Young provides spiritual counsel to those in need

BY CHANING GREEN NEWS WRITER

of two chaplains the hospital keeps on staff. During the day, I typically respond to emergencies like deaths and situations where families are facing life-altering decisions. We make routine visits as requested by patients and staff. We visit with the different departments here at the hospital and lead devotions as requested.

Because we are a faith-based organization, we begin some of our monthly meetings with prayer.

This is part of how we do things.

Outside of the hospital, once a month I facilitate a grief support group. This grief support group is open to anyone; they don’t have to be affiliated with the hospital.

Some people that attend don’t even live in the area. We have some that come down from Batesville occasionally. A lot of these people just need to talk with people who understand what it’s like to lose someone, loss of a child, parent, or spouse. Whatever it may be.

Joe Young is the head chaplain at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford. He has worked as a minister in different parts of the South and even spent a couple years in Liberia doing mission work. His current job is to be there for patients when they or their families need it most. People that come to the hospital seek out his counsel for a variety of reasons. Sometimes someone’s pastor is unavailable but very often, these are just people looking for someone to talk to in their time of need.

Young has encountered people of many different religious faiths in his work with the hospital and sometimes works with local Muslim or Jewish faith leaders in order to provide the best spiritual care possible for those who seek it. In addition to his work with patients, Young, along with his colleges, provide counsel to the hospital staff when requested as well as in GREEN: How long have you certain facets of the community. been here and what had you been doing before that?

CHANING GREEN: What do you YOUNG: I’ll have been here six do at the hospital? years in March. Before, I severed JOE YOUNG: I’m the Service Di- two different Baptist hospitals for rector of Pastoral Care. I am one 11 years. I served one in New Al-

scendent of freed slaves that had settled Liberia in the 1800s. While it was happening, we just laid low for a while until we were eventually able to return to work, this time under military regime. I was able to finish my work there and left in June of 1981.

PETRE THOMAS

Chaplain Joe Young stands in the small chapel in Baptist Memorial Hospital. bany and one in Booneville. For a short stint, I was on with the downtown hospital in Memphis in ’98 when I first came on with Baptist. Before that I was associate pastor of a church in Knoxville, Tennessee. I was there fromm the mid-80s to mid-90s. I started in ‘86 so I’ve been in full-time ministry for about 30 years now. Prior to that, right out of college, I went

overseas to Liberia for two years.

I was in Liberia in 1979, 1980, and some of 1981, and in 1980, the country had its first successful coup. We hunkered down and laid low. Basically, the president of the country that was assassinated by the military coup was also the president of the Baptist organization we were working with there.

He was Liberian by birth, the de-

GREEN: What did you study in college?

YOUNG: I went to college in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where I was grew up. I majored in civil engineering. West Kentucky University, my alma mater, their engineering course was actually a hybrid of physics and engineering. I love science. I always did well in science. I hated math, but I had to study it. During my time in college, I had the opportunity to work in summer camps.

Through the years, I worked in Florida doing vacation Bible schools and camp activities, and I had a real interest in that. My senior year, I looked into the Journeymen program. It’s a Southern Baptist, two-year foreign mission assignment program for college graduates. I was still single at the time so I went to West Africa. I TURN TO YOUNG PAGE 6

OXFORD CITIZEN

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016

OBITUARIES James Edward Shollenberger Dr. James “Jim” Edward Shollenberger, 72, passed away Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016 at Baptist Memorial Hospital?-North Mississippi. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Waller Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions in Dr. Shollenberger’s memory may be made to: 9 Lives Cat Rescue, P.O. Box 2006, Oxford, MS 38655 – www.9livescatrescue.org ; The Pantry, 713 Molly Barr, Oxford, MS 38655 or FURR - Feral University Rebel Rescuers, 2607 Sterling Dr., Oxford, MS 38655.

In honor of Dr. Shollenberger’s service to our country, the flag of the United States Air Force will be flown at Waller Funeral Home.

Evelyn Nichols True WATER VALLEY – Evelyn Nichols True, 84, passed away Saturday, Jan 30, 2016 at Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi. Visitation was held Tuesday, Feb. 2, at Seven Oaks Funeral Home in Water Valley. Graveside services were held on Wednesday, Feb. 3 in the Oak Hill Cemetery in Water Valley, with Bro. Fred Eakes officiating.

COURTESY OF THE OLE MISS SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

Maikhail Miller Memorial services for former Ole Miss quarterback Maikhail Miller will be held at his former high school in Fulton. The visitation for Miller will be Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. His funeral will be Saturday at IAHS at 1 p.m.Miller was killed in an car accident Saturday night near Holly Springs while traveling on Highway 78. Miller was recruited to Ole Miss by Houston Nutt and then played under Hugh Freeze before leaving Oxford to finish his playing career at Murray State.

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Dorothy Henderson was an instructor in elementary education at the University of Mississippi from 1978 to 1998..

Ole Miss to honor first African-American full-time faculty member in education

BY ANDREW M. ABERNATHY SPECIAL TO THE CITIZEN

Members of the LafayetteOxford-University community are working to establish a new endowment to honor the legacy of the late Dorothy “Dot” Henderson, the University of Mississippi's first faculty African-American member in education.

Henderson, who passed away in December, was an instructor in elementary education at UM from 1978 to 1998.

She was the first African-American to hold a full-time faculty position in the School of Education, where she influenced a vast number of students, faculty and staff through her intellect, knowledge and enduring commitment to education in and out of the classroom.

An endowment in Henderson's name is in the early stages and will provide scholarships for future education students.

"We never knew that (our mother) was the first, because she was never the type of woman to put herself before anyone else," said Deborah Gipson, Henderson's eldest daughter and one of six chil-

dren. "I remember that people always smiled everywhere she went. She encouraged people to find their 'spirit of strength.' I think that was one of her greatest qualities – bringing out the best in people."

In January, the UM School of Education opened the Dorothy Henderson Memorial Scholarship Fund. A total of $25,000 is needed to finalize the legacy endowment, which will benefit future Ole Miss education students. Nearly $24,000 is needed to achieve this goal, which many community members hope to accomplish in the near future.

"Dorothy Henderson's imprint is seen and felt throughout our community," said David Rock, UM education dean. "Those who knew her best are inspired by her life. Her pioneering leadership role deserves a permanent remembrance for her contribution to Ole Miss, Oxford and her passion for the education of children."

For more than half a century, Henderson was a beloved and respected figure in the LOU community. She was an active member of many local and

state organizations including the Second Baptist Church, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, the Oxford School District Board of Trustees, the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council, the Mississippi Early Childhood Association, Head Start, the Mississippi Humanities Council, the YWCA, Church Women United, the League of Women Voters and numerous others.

A native of De Kalb, Henderson moved to Oxford in 1963 when she and her husband, Robert Lee Henderson, who was also an educator, took faculty positions in local schools.

The Hendersons raised six children in Oxford. Over the decades, their family grew to also include 15 grandchildren, 11 great grandchildren and one great great grandchild.

"Her presence could change the whole atmosphere of a room," said the Rev. Andrew Robinson, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Oxford, where Henderson was a dedicated member of the congregation. "She was always full of wisdom and worked with our mission faithfully. She was the type of person who could always see beyond the challenges

in front of you. She saw the positive and the good in all people."

At Second Baptist, Henderson held multiple leadership positions, including serving on the church's board of trustees and missionary board. She also taught Sunday school, sang in the choir and more.

Before joining the LOU community, Henderson held teaching positions at elementary schools in Heidelberg, Meridian, Lexington and in Memphis, Tennessee. She also served as director of education at the Institute of Community Services in Holly Springs before joining the UM faculty. Her community service with Head Start and young children would continue throughout her university career, as well.

"Dot was always a real gogetter," recalled Fannye Love, a longtime colleague of Henderson and UM's first AfricanAmerican to obtain the rank of tenured, full professor at the School of Education. "We presented multiple papers and attended multiple conferences together and I remember that TURN TO HENDERSON PAGE 9

OXFORD CITIZEN

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016

Leading FROM PAGE 1

treat people the way I wanted to be treated and that's just me as a human being. I'm a firm believer that if I treat people the way I deserved to be treated, then I get respect. If people, black or white, see me doing things the right way, then hopefully they can be something like me. I'm not saying I'm better than the next man, but I do try to do things the right way. And I hope people see that as an example of how to live.”

Monday was the start of Black History Month across the nation. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month for discussion about prominent black historians. Weekley said it was an important time to learn.

“I think the month is good for people to know and understand the cultural history, from the slavery days to the Civil Rights Movement all the way up until today,” he said. “That's the main reason it's so important for me. For people to be informed and for people to be educated about the black culture and for the black culture to understand its history as well.”

Weekley started his law enforcement career in Water Valley working an officer in the schools. He moved to the OPD in 2011 and was most recently working in the schools and a resource officer. Young adults are very important to the Water Valley native, and he has tried to make sure they are going the right direction.

“A lot of our kids are getting into a lot of trouble. A lot of them are misguided and a lot of them don't know the struggle that a lot of people like Martin Luther King and so forth had to go through in order to do the things they were able to do,” Weekley said.

“A lot of them don't understand the struggle and I think if they knew that struggle, then a lot of them wouldn't do some of the things that they're doing in the community or in the world. I think us, black and white, need to be educated on America's past.”

There was a conversation had between a young man and Weekley not long after he went into the high school. Weekley remembers telling him: “You're running fast nowhere.”

“I told him that he needed to straighten up and the things he needs to do in order to be a productive citizen in the

world,” Weekley added. “This past December, maybe a week prior to Christmas, my wife and I were in Wal-Mart shopping.

That same kid walked up to me and he's in the Air Force and about to get married and that his was expecting his first child.

He told me that he wanted to thank me for that day, what I told him in the hallway. He said that it absolutely changed his life. He said if I hadn't told him that, I know would be in jail right now. That's what the SRO guys are there for, to bridge that gap between law enforcement and the schools. If you can reach one child, you've done your job.”

When it comes to his new role, Weekley said he is unsure how much he can help all the problems. The kids that live in the facility, Weekley wants them to see that there is more to life than just what they see everyday.

“If they work hard and they do the things the right way, get their grades in school, they can go to college,” Weekley said.

“They can get out of this situation. A lot of the cases down there, it's a revolving door.

That's a mentality that I want to break. I want people to see that you can do anything that you want to do in life if you put

PAGE 5

forth the effort.”

Dr. King was a big role model for Weekley growing up. To Weekley, he lived a life that was outlined by doing things the right way.

“Right is right and wrong is wrong. I'm more of that type of person. Every day, I put on this uniform and I go to work, and my No. 1 goal is to help as many people as I possibly can,” he said. “That's rich, white, poor, black. Boy or girl. If I take you to jail, you've taken yourself to jail. That's the way I look at it.

That's how I think. I feel like Martin Luther King did that.

Several other people did it that

way as well. I just believe that if I do it the right way, a certain way, other people will see my actions and try to do it the way I did it.”

There weren't any events Weekley had planned to take part in currently for Black History Month, but he has attended others in the past.

“I try to speak at churches and at schools as much as I can,” he said. “I do try and go to them if the school district puts on a Black History program. I try to attend as much as I can.” john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

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OXFORD CITIZEN

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016

Serving FROM PAGE 2

Giddens said. “People look at us as ruining their day. I am a public servant and you are sworn to protect. I love that idea and I guess it just fit, that it matched the Army hand in hand.”

Work in the jail made a difference for Giddens. It got him used to dealing with inmates, and people in general.

“You learn to keep your cool and stay calm under pressure. I would recommend people working in the jail so you can understand that direct contact with individuals,” he said. “They will have a reason why they are upset. Something might be bad back home and their moods change. You have to know how to adapt to their mood swings. When you're dealing with an individual on the street, it's the same thing. A lot of times, they will try to get you off what you're trying to do or give you a reason why this happened or this happened. It's a good pre for law enforcement.”

Right now, Giddens is on the D shift. There are also A, B an C shifts at the department, Giddens said. He generally starts his day at 6 in the morning. He works until 6 that evening. Of course, that doesn't count the extra 15 minutes he comes in early before to get messages passed along or to

Young FROM PAGE 3

had never really left home before so when I cut the apron strings, I cut them by several thousand miles.

That was a good experience. Well, outside of the coup. But I’m sure my folks were a bit more scared about that than I was. I have one now that was my age when I went over there and I still worry about her.

GREEN: Was it in Liberia that you decided that you wanted to be a Chaplain?

YOUNG: While I was there, I felt the call to go into fulltime Christian ministry. I really thought that I would always be doing camp. I loved camp work, it was what I really enjoyed doing.

I loved the outdoors, loved canoeing, stuff like that.

find out about the previous shift.

There is a rotation for each of the officers. Two months on days, two months on nights. Giddens loves the idea because he came from an agency where every month things changed.

“You never got adjusted.

So your pattern was kind of off, so I think the two month is perfect,” he said. “We have different beats and I'm in Beat 1. I have the northeast, Molly Barr, South Lamar, North Lamar, University, Sisk Avenue. Lots of traffic. School is in right now and the first thing you want to make sure that people are obeying the stop signs because you have a lot of traffic flowing at different areas.

University is very busy in the mornings.

“The school buses are trying to get the kids dropped off and sometimes when you have parents or someone dropping their kids off, and they got to go to work, they will start rushing a little more. So I make sure I can get everyone calm in the morning even if that's turn on the lights on and sitting in the area for a minute, making sure everyone is taking their time in order to get where they are going safely.”

Giddens is also keen on where the Ole Miss students live, and he keeps up with them in the morning as they head out to campus. He also makes sure to patrol the areas where they live in

order to spot any suspicious activity.

“I like to meet and greet,” said Giddens, who laughed when asked if he had a favorite place to get a coffee and a biscuit. “We try to get everybody. If we got to one place one day, we try to go to another place the next day. We go to Lindsey's.

We'll go to the Mobil on University. Sometimes we'll to the Shell out on Sisk.

Sometimes Handy Andy. In the morning time, generally everyone drinks coffee on my shift. It's good for all of us to talk. We talk about the day or the weekend we've had. We usually let each other know what we're going to do and then we go watch our areas and deal with whatever happens.”

Traffic and wrecks are two of the biggest calls. There is a lot of residents, and always a lot of visitors.

“Night or day, the population can jump,” Giddens said. “Football is interesting because when I came here, I literally didn't take any days off. During football season, it's all hands on deck. We were on nights which meant even when we were off, we were still going to be working. You need everyone working on the Square. It's interesting, you see interesting things happen. It's good training. If you're not good at dealing with crowds, you'll find out. It's been a pleasure.”

Well, I met with one of the camp directors I had previously worked with and figured out that my next step was a master’s degree of divinity and Christian education. I went to Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky and graduated from there in 1985. My last year there, I served part time as the minister of education for a small church in Louisville, did a summer of camp work and then ended up in Knoxville, Tennessee in full-time ministry.

It was during those 10 years I was there that began to receive some chaplain’s training. I was between jobs when I spent the summer of ’97 working at the University of Tennessee’s trauma hospital and finished up my chaplain’s training there. That was when I figured out that maybe God had something else in store for me besides

the local church. My chaplain’s training really helped me to understand the importance of listening to people. In ’98 I joined Baptist Hospitals in Memphis and have been with them ever since.

john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

GREEN: What do you enjoy most about your job?

YOUNG: In the work that I do, I get the most fulfillment out of working with patients and families. Most often it’s in a time of crisis so it is not fun. But they’re reaching out in a time of crisis, in a time of need, and a lot of times, it’s just listening. There’s not a lot doctors or anyone else can do. So I know there’s nothing I can do in terms of making them better, but to be there with them and offer a listening ear, that’s what I can do. chaning.green@journalinc.com Twitter: chaningthegreen

OXFORD CITIZEN

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016

PAGE 7

Magnolia Montessori to hold inaugural School Dance for Grown-Ups

BY CHANING GREEN NEWS WRITER

Magnolia Montessori School will be hosting its first ever School Dance for Grown-ups fundraiser this Saturday from 7-9 p.m. at the Powerhouse.

The school has hosted a silent auction as it’s fund raiser nearly every since its opening. This year, Director Stacey Sanford decided to go with the school dance theme to shake things up a bit. Sanford said they had a lot to celebrate this year and therefore the school’s leadership wanted the fundraiser to have a bit more of a celebratory feel this year.

“We’re planning this so that it will be all the things you loved and/or hated about the school dance in high school, just grown up,” Sanford said. “We will have song dedications and music that makes you go, ‘oh that’s my jam!’

There’ll even be spiked punch.

The theme is Madi Gras because what’s a high school dances with out an overzealous theme.”

According to Sanford, enrollment as well community involvement is rising. Last fall, the school was also selected to receive a grant form the nationally circulated

KIWI magazine.

KIWI is a magazine headquartered in New York City that aims to help parents provide a healthy and organic diet for their kids. The magazine recognized Magnolia Montessori for the school’s healthy lunch menu, the kids’ involvement in preparing their own meals and a garden that students tend to and use to learn about sustainable food growth. The grant that accompanied the recognition will go to fund greenhouses, dehydrators to help preserve food and even will help supply the students with cage-free eggs from chickens the school with hatch later this spring.

Blake Summers of Hinge Dance Company was recruited for the event to help produce a choreographed dance to accompany Whitney Houston’s iconic song “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”

Teachers, school officials and community members learned the dance so they could perform the musical number at the fundraiser.

There is a video Magnolia Montessori’s Facebook page for those who plan on attending and are interested in learning the steps.

There will also be three quilts auctioned off at the dance. Each

COURTESY OF MAGNOLIA MONTESSORI

class at the school worked on a quilt. The youngest class painted one and the two older classes assembled their quilts as a school project. Each child sewed on a square until the quilt was big enough to cover a full-size bed.

The sewing lessons required for this feat fit into the curriculum of practical life skills Montessori ed-

ucation emphasizes.

Sanford said that this dance is a real opportunity for more of the community to get to know the people at Magnolia Montessori and better understand the work they do there, but mostly, to come out and have a good time.

“We want the community to come out and get to know our par-

ents and our families,” she said.

“We are such a family here at this school and this will give everyone a chance to get out, dance and have a good time as opposed to walking around bidding on items.” chaning.green@journalinc.com Twitter: chaningthegreen

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 8

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016

Taste of Oxford set for next Wednesday OXFORD CITIZEN

The Taste of Oxford is about food, fun and raising funds for St. Jude’s Children. The seventh annual event is set to take place next Wednesday at the Library Bar & Grill. According to Elizabeth Randall, this year’s committee chairperson, the goal this year is to raise $275,000 but would love to get closer to $300,000. After this year, the event will have raised well over $1 Million for St Jude in under 10 years.

Each year, the event has grown leaps and bounds over the years.

“The Taste of Oxford has grown substantially in recent years, approximately 25 percent to 40 percent each year and it has been one of St. Jude’s fastest growing events in the country for several years now,” Randall said. “This is a testament to the amazing generosity of our community, to the life-saving work

“

The Taste of Oxford has grown substantially in recent years, approximately 25 percent to 40 percent each year and it has been one of St. Jude’s fastest growing events in the country for several years.

“

BY JOHN DAVIS

Elizabeth Randall, 2016 Taste of Oxford committee chairperson that St Jude is doing, and to our creative and hard working committee. We are very proud of the top line growth but equally as proud that Taste of Oxford runs at about a 98 percent profit margin which is in the very top of that category as well. It is such a fun party and we all enjoy being a part of it, but at the end of the day, it is all about

how much money is raised for St. Jude. That’s what matters.

Richard Cross, the cohost of the Head to Head Radio Show, will be the emcee of the event this year. Party Planet is the band, while Peter Costa, a CNBC market analyst and NYSE Board of Governors member, will be the host.

“He has been coming

down to do the event with use for several years and is committed to marking this event grow,” Randall said.

“The events highlight is the live auction, where some creativity meets generosity.

Our items are not only very valuable but also unique and often items or experiences that cannot be purchased.”

There is an action to bid on, and some of the items include a dinner for 40 people in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium the Friday night before the Georgia game.

Food will be provided by Oxford restaurant legend Dan Latham. There is also a 12-person guided dove hunt and dinner at Heathman Plantation, a trip to New York to tour the floor of the stock exchange, paintings from wonderful artists including Bradley Gordon and Charlie Buckley, jewelry, four Chalet Tickets for Thursday-Sunday of the PGA Championship at Baltusrol, Breeders Cup tickets, in-

cluding two days in the grandstand with VIP viewing access. A full week of fly fishing at the renowned Unalakleet River Lodge in Alaska and a limited edition Eli Manning Citizen watch.

As for the food, Randall credited the restaurants for doing a phenomenal job preparing, and serving.

“This is an opportunity for the guests to experience unique samplings from the talented restaurant teams around Oxford. It is certainly a highlight of the event,” she said. “We’ll have a wide array of foods and desserts including late night pizza provided towards the end of the event.”

For the past five months, the committee has been heavily planning for the night, but talk about improving the event is all year long.

“I was part of the original group that started the fundraiser so have been involved since the inception in 2008,” Randall said. “One

of the guests’ favorite items is the bottomless wine glasses painted and decorated by the patients and their families at St. Jude and sold the night of the event. This is an item that is unique to our event and it is a special reminder of why we support this outstanding charity.

“St. Jude touches lives around the world through its incredible, industry leading research and treatment of catastrophic childhood diseases, but St. Jude is also actively treating children in our community,” she added. “We are very thankful for the tremendous generosity that our community exhibits year after year in its support of St. Jude and the Taste of Oxford – this event has largely grown due to loyalty and generosity from our community. Further evidence of what a special place Oxford is.” john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

Proposed sign ordinance discussed by city board

BY CHANING GREEN NEWS WRITER

Voting at the Board of Aldermen meeting at City Hall Tuesday night continued despite the absence of a representative of Ward I, pending the special election between Rick Addy and Jordan Bankhead set for Feb. 16. This seat is vacant due to the resignation of J.P. “Jay” Hughes Jr. after winning the District 12 seat in the Mississippi House of

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Representatives.

Issues raised that night included the hotly contested sign ordinance that would forbid Oxford residents from posting a sign on their property for more than 365 days and having to wait 365 additional days before posting another sign.

The proposed ordinance has received sharp criticism from many community residents, especially realtors in Oxford. Mayor Pat Patterson help up a large stack of papers that he said consisted entirely of letters of concern regarding proposed ordinance. Patterson said that he intended to make sure every alderman receives the letters and has the opportunity to read through them.

Ward III Alderman Janice Antonow expressed the board’s intention of rewriting the ordinance.

Antonow stated intentions

of removing the time constraints of the ordinance as well altering the overall number of signs the ordinance would allow residents to post on their property.

She said that the ordinance came out of concern with residents leaving signs in front of their houses year-round advertising weekend and one-night rentals. The alderman also made specific reference to a “giant sign on South Lamar that disturbed” many residents.

Voting on the ordinance has been postponed until the next meeting due to the high volume of letters of concern from the public that the board has received.

Antonow said that this would not be the end of the ordinance.

“It’ll come back,” she stated. “You’ll see it again.” chaning.green@journalinc.com Twitter: chaningthegreen

OXFORD CITIZEN

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016

Slaughter & Associates hired by county to create new plan

PAGE 9

Henderson FROM PAGE 4

BY JOHN DAVIS OXFORD CITIZEN

Slaughter & Associates, owned and operated by Mike Slaughter of Oxford, was the planning firm the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors decided to help with its comprehensive plan on Monday morning.

Nine days after holding a special meeting to hear a final pitch from the firms, the supervisors approved Slaughter & Associates.

“My firm is now a 100percent planning firm and has been for 15 years, but I do have that background in civil engineering,” Slaughter told the board in that meeting.

Slaughter & Associates was praised by supervisor Chad McLarty, saying the firm was more than qualified to help with whatever was needed.

There was a questioned raised about Slaughter being involved with the city on its annexation study.

Those concerns were looked into by Board of Su-

pervisors attorney David O’Donnell and it was decided that there was no conflict. Board President Jeff Busby said he even talked with the city about the annexation plan to clarify the matter and eight subdivisions that were in question are not part of that plan. Slaughter addressed those concerns, saying there was no issue and then if the supervisors as a whole was, he would have respected that.

“In reality, it’s not an issue. If I were being hired by the county to oppose Oxford’s annexation, then that would be a conflict because I am working for Oxford on their annexation,” Slaughter said. “It’s a totally separate issue on comprehensive planning. There is not a conflict there.”

Slaughter is originally from Batesville and is a graduate of The University of Mississippi, earning a degree in civil engineering.

He has lived in Oxford since 1990. Slaughter works all over the state of Mississippi on comprehensive proj-

ects, planning, zoning. Any type of ordinances or regulations that county or city governments need, he can help.

Slaughter worked on engineering design in Memphis and in Shelby County, Tennessee in the mid and late 1980s. He got more into the planning profession once he moved back to Oxford and in the mid 1990s, he went back to graduate school to obtain his degree in city and regional planning. By the time 2000 rolled around, Slaughter was performing urban planning.

The contract needs to be finalized between the county and Slaughter, but he is already working towards their request of a plan. He felt like it would take six months to complete, so by August or the first part of September, he felt like the plan could be presented.

In other matters Monday, the board • Approved a request of $1,200 for video cameras to be installed in the public li-

brary to deter any unnecessary activity on the first floor. There are cameras currently located on the second floor, and they have helped cut down on various behavior.

• Kenneth Drewrey, the solid waste manager for the county, updated the board on trash picked off the side of roads and highways locally. With the help of the justice court, trash that escaped from pick-up trucks or vehicles overall were routinely taken care of.

• A request from The Jefferson, located at 365 Highway 6 East, to receive qualified resort status was denied.

• Travel for three employees in the tax accessor/collector office to attend education and certification programs in Verona were approved at a cost of $250, plus travel.

• Two new jailers to work at the Lafayette County Detention Center at a rate of $12 per hour. john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

she had a great knowledge based of how teachers should be prepared to work with children. She was always involved with so many people across the campus and community."

Henderson was a published scholar in her field and received many awards and honors for her teaching and service during her Ole Miss tenure. She was her high school salutatorian and held a bachelor's degree from Jackson State University, a master's degree from UM and an education specialist degree from Mississippi State University.

"Dorothy always

brought a unique perspective to any situation," said Jean Shaw, UM professor emerita of elementary education.

"I remember that her philosophy was that you need to know the children that you teach. They each have significance as individuals and have different backgrounds, likes and dislikes.

"It's easy to say that children are our future, but she really believed it and lived life as she taught."

Contributions to the Henderson endowment can be made online or via check to the University of Mississippi Foundation, 401 University Ave., Oxford, MS 38655, and designated for the Dorothy Henderson Memorial Scholarship Fund.

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OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 10

Putting play in play

A

Jan. 30 Oxford Citizen story by Errol Castens reported that many students in the Oxford School District no longer have recess. One parent was quoted as saying, “There’s basically just no recess for this age group, [grades 5 through 8]. The kids, even when they get to school, aren’t allowed to talk – they have to sit – at least at our school.

“Free time at even younger grades is being taken away to complete assignments and do work.”

I don’t have children in school - or anywhere else - but I am familiar with play and child-like behavior, I’ve exhibited both recently. While school isn’t a social hour it seems a little harsh to herd kids around like mute cattle. Are we raising citizens or inmates? Even murder trials have recess. Taking a break is as old as daydreaming. All work and no play makes Jack an online sociopath.

I’m sure educators who believe in little or no recess and a ban on talking have studied school behavior and believe they know best. (One imagines for teachers there are times when the ‘no talking’ edict is a God-

was forced to watch anti-bullying videos. Just who is the bully here?

Jim Dees I suppose times have changed since I was recess-loving-lad Tales of the Town back in the Ozzie and Harriet days of yester-century. But kids haven’t changed that much.

They still have buzzing energy send.). But studies also show the that is either harnessed or will importance of recess. A chance explode in unwanted ways. A to be a monkey on the bars bechild needs to run and, yes, fall fore committing the adult verdown, and get back up and run sion of it.

According to Castens’s story, a COURTESY even faster. Children, like adults, group of concerned parents ad- "A chance to be a monkey on the bars before committing the adult version need to go crazy or it will drive them nuts. dressed last week’s meeting of of it. " Anything that gets our youth the Oxford School Board to ask outside around trees and grass for recess for the 5-8 grades. One school board meeting, and there playground unchecked. Armed can only be helpful. It would be guard towers might be a tough are about 10 of us in here.” even quoted a National Public cool if they had to leave their sell but what about drones There’s a reason for that. I Radio story: ‘If you want a child phones inside. This locked in, worked the school board beat as equipped with Tasers? to be attentive and stay on task, The New York Times reports in sealed-tight generation will be and also if you want them to en- a cub reporter and I can tell you running the country soon some cities recess has been cut code the information you’re giv- watching paint dry is the Super enough. I’d much prefer their back to avoid injuries and to Bowl compared to a school ing them in their memory, board meeting. But it works: Ox- allow more time to improve test frame of reference include a love you’ve got to give them regular scores. Scholastic magazine the- of outdoors and burning off ford schools are continuously breaks.’ (That was always my steam than that of an informaorizes “under No Child Left Beproblem in school, encoding in- among the highest rated in the tion-encoding zombie. state and those board members hind districts were under formation in my memory.) The Childhood is fleeting enough. pressure to show academic are getting the job done. But board took in the group’s conLet little persons enjoy these back to recess- Lack of a fence at progress. Others eliminated recerns. Board President Whitney years of free rent and new cess because of concerns about the school was also cited as a Byars told them the board was clothes with some shred of open to discussion on the topic, reason for no recess. Presumably safety, lack of supervision, and the students might get a whiff of subpar playground equipment.” abandon before the cruel reality and thanked them for coming. freedom – like being able to talk The Times reported one student of bill-paying adulthood puts “Sometimes I get discourcomplained that as punishment, the hammer down.

- and make a run for it. Or, John aged,” the story quoted Byars, Ring that recess bell. her recess was revoked and she “because a lot of times we have a Q. Weirdo could stroll onto the

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016

PAGE 15

John Davis Sports Editor

Ole Miss teammates are best friends, too

B

est friends only partially describes Marijan Milutinovic and Mai El Kamash. The two Ole Miss senior tennis players live together. They train together. They travel and play together.

They laugh after each other's jokes, funny or not. In short, they know exactly what the other is doing. To Kamash, Milutinovic is Chip, the nickname she has gone by since she arrived in Oxford.

“She came in before me by a semester. I came in and starting rooming together and it's been going on since then,” El Kamash said. “We have a lot of fun together.”

The connection was instant, said Milutinovic, who almost never answers to her given first name any longer.

“I've clicked with other people back home, but she is one of the few. You do have other people from the team, but Mai, for some reason, it just matched,” Milutinovic said. “We're from different cultures and different countries, but it just matched. I'm lucky I have her. It's been nice for the last four years.”

Ole Miss just defeated No. 8 Stanford last week in Nashville to gain some early-season momentum. It was Milutinovic who closed the match out. El Kamash watched from the sidelines, cheering her on like crazy.

“It was great. I clinched it. To be honest, when we went into the match, I didn't know what to expect. When the actual singles started going, you kind of started go 'Hold on, we can actually beat these girls,'” Milutinovic said. “You started to look around and said it was possible. When I went into my match, for me, last semester, I didn't play as much. So I was trying to play as best as I can for myself. Winning my match was just a bonus. Winning over Stanford was amazing. Clinching it 4-3, we haven't done this in years.”

El Kamesh agreed, adding that “it was a really cool way to start senior year.”

“We were going in just being the underdog. No one expected anything from us. All coach was saying was to have fun and to try to get as much momentum as possible and to keep going in the match no matter what the scoreboard said,” El Kamesh said.

“That's what we did and I guess the mentality worked. When you see that it's starting to go your way, the other team starts panicing and wonders what is going on. It was a momentum shift and it was just so TURN TO FRIENDS PAGE 20

JOHN DAVIS | OXFORD CITIZEN

Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze was very pleased with the 24 players he signed Wednesday. The class finished in the top 10, and as high as No. 4 by ESPN.

Nationally ranked Rebels garner standout signing class

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

A loud cheer that could have been in Taylor erupted at the Oxford Conference Center Wednesday morning.

Starkville wide receiver AJ Brown brought the capacity crowd at the Ole Miss Quarterback Club to their feet with joy after he picked the Rebels over Alabama and Mississippi State.

Then, not more than a minute after the 6-foot-1 Brown, rated as one of the nation’s best wideouts in the nation, made his decision, Oxford’s DK Metcalf walked through the door. His cheers were just as loud, especially when the Charger hit the stage to address the crowd.

“I’ve been around Oxford my whole life. My dad played here and I’ve been around Ole Miss my whole life, it’s

just a blessing,” Metcalf said wearing a red Ole Miss hat.

“I’m excited about what is about to come for the next three or four years. With the best fans in America, I can’t to see what happens.”

Metcalf and Brown, the coMVPs of the annual Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Classic, are just two of the many offensive threats that signed on with coach Hugh Freeze. Shea Patterson, the nation’s top-rated quarterback, is already in school and will go through spring drills.

“If you’re going to build a championship team, you always start at quarterback,” Freeze said. “Obviously we feel like we have the best one in the nation in Shea Patterson. I love everything about that kid. I’ve loved everything about him as a leader in getting this class together and now that he has enrolled and

going through workouts, everything he does continues to evaluate my opinion of him.”

Greg Little, the nation’s top-ranked offensive tackle, is one of five offensive linemen who signed to play for the Rebels. Eli Johnson, who anchored the front line for the Lafayette Commodores locally, is already enrolled in school and set to play center.

He came back to LHS Wednesday morning, before a class at Ole Miss, in order to sign on the dotted line.

“It’s great because there is a lot of talent coming in and you need talent. It’s great and I think the future is looking really good,” said Johnson, who is one of eight players already enrolled. “It’s good to get to know those guys that are already in. You get a lot of time with them individually.

We’re close as a class you

could say.”

Ole Miss finished with 24 signees, or at least that was the number Wednesday afternoon. The Rebels picked up the nation’s top safety in Deontay Anderson and one of the nation’s top tight ends in Jacob Mathis in the morning, but were unable to garCounty ner Noxubee defensive end Jeffery Simmons and the nation’s top junior college prospect, Jonathan Kongbo, who picked Tennessee. Despite a few misses, and a flip from linebacker David Luafatasaga to Utah, Hugh Freeze ended up signing a class another nationally ranked class that ranked No. 5 in the 24/7Sports Composite rankings.

“It’s a testament to everything that we are doing here TURN TO SIGNING PAGE 23

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 16

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016

Lafayette’s Houghton is officially a Rebel

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

When Alley Houghton committed to play for the Ole Miss soccer program 28 months ago, she was unaware that she could make things official on her birthday. Wednesday was going to be a great day for the senior, but her best present was signing on to play for the Rebels and coach Matt Mott. Oh yeah, the Lady Commodores also played in the MHSAA Class 4A north state title match. That was pretty good as well.

The state's leading goal scorer is now an Ole Miss Rebel, fulfilling a dream she has had for years.

“Coach (Melinda Scruggs) actually signed on her birthday, too. I actually found out about a month ago. I was looking up signing day. It was the first week of February but I didn't know what day. When I found out, I told my family and friends,” Houghton said. “They were just ec-

static and happy for me. It made it that much cooler on my birthday.”

Ever since Houghton committed to Mott in September of 2013, time has flown by.

“I've been busy with soccer all the time,” Houghton said when asked if had taken a long time to get to sign. “It will make it that much more real when I sign. I'm just excited to experience college soccer. I've been playing travel and high school, so it will be a different experience for me.”

Mott has told Houghton that he likes the way she finds a way to score during matches.

“I'm going to try and get a goal that game. It doesn't matter how. I'll figure out a way whether it's a header, dribbling, a long shot. Usually I can just make something happen if I need to,” Houghton said. “I fight really hard and you're going to have to fight a lot harder to try and stop me.”

The goal is to start at Ole

Miss as a freshman, Houghton said. After the season, she will be working more on her self and things she needs to improve.

“It's really how much work I put in. I really want to start but if not, just be the second one in,” she said.

If Ole Miss wasn't an option, Houghton said she would have looked at other schools. Her main goal was to be a Rebel. Like baseball recruiting, once a player commits, schools back off.

She did say that Mississippi State's coach wanted her to switch.

“He would come to a couple of our practices and tell coach that. When Steve Holeman was the coach at Georgia, he was interested in me and calling a few years back, but my heart was always set on Ole Miss,” she said. “I had a bunch of D-2 and D-3 schools e-mail a lot over the summer but I never got back to them.”

Houghton's sister, Maddy, is a verbal pledge of the Rebels, committing a

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“That will be exciting for us because we have always played together,” Houghton said of re-joining her sister on the soccer field after this week.

Scruggs played soccer for Ole Miss, and she was very excited to see her play in the future at her alma mater.

“She is so happy she gets to sign on her birthday. You can tell how happy she is for the opportunity. She has been thinking about playing at Ole Miss since I met her at 10,” Scruggs said. “It's fun for me as a coach to see her develop. To have her dreams come true of where she wanted to play. I think she is absolutely going to do a phenomenal job with them, too. She is going to have to work hard and continue to do what she does, but she has that drive and passion for the game. I don't see why she wouldn't be successful there.”

PETRE THOMAS

john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

Lafayette soccer standout Alley Houghton is headed to play soccer for Ole Miss and head coach Matt Mott.

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OXFORD CITIZEN

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016

PAGE 17

Scoring leader Buford’s all-around ability makes LHS better

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

Shaniyah Buford felt really good after she scored 43 points in a game last month. And it wasn't because of the big night on offense, her effort came in a win for the Lafayette Lady Commodores. Buford may still just be a junior, but she has really come into her own as a player. She has been a member of the varsity squad since she was in middle school.

Her new coach, Shayne Linzy, has pushed Buford to new heights, adding that he pushes hard in practice to always go harder. The end result has been a lot more wins for Lafayette on the court this season.

A year ago, Buford wasn't sure if she should be a scorer or not. She has the ability to pass the ball and set others up, but it's clear that scoring is the top thing from a role standpoint.

“I just took what (former coach John Sherman) told me last year. I actually thought about it the other day. I was telling my team-

mates if they remembered when Coach Sherman was talking to us and he pulled me to the side before we played Ripley or Senatobia?” Buford said. “They all said yes. I said 'Well, it's not going to be like that this time.' I told them to have faith in me, that I had their back.”

This past summer, Buford worked very hard on shooting the ball better. She got into the gym and made herself better through reps.

“I actually had some Ole Miss players complement me on how I played. Coach Sherman told me before that I was still playing like I was in the eighth grade,” Buford said. “I took that in and just worked hard.”

Buford is a leader, and she is one of the two most experienced players on the roster. She said the team listens to Linzy, but if they don't feel comfortable talking to him, the others come to her about a play.

Linzy and Sherman are similar, which equates to a comfort factor.

TURN TO BUFORD PAGE 23

PETRE THOMAS

Lafayette junior guard Shaniyah Buford is scoring at a greater pace this season, a key for the success of the Lady Commodores.

Fresh start ’Dores Jamison headed to play for UAB SPORTS EDITOR

A lot of hard work, and some excellent size, has paid off for Lafayette offensive tackle Jordan Jamison.

The Commodore signed on to play for the University of Alabama-Birmingham, better known as UAB, Wednesday morning. UAB will not play football this coming fall as the school is in the process of reorganizing the sport, but the Blazers will be back in Conference USA in 2017.

That's just fine with Jamison, who is essentially making history as a member of the first class since it

dropped the sport in 2014.

“It's an honorable thing.

To be able to start from here and to be able to play at the college level is really an honor, I feel blessed,” said the 6-foot-7 Jamison adding he made his choice after his official visit two weeks ago. “Their program went down a couple of years ago and just the demand for it to come back by the town, I just really thought it was amazing.”

The extra year to get acclimated to college will only help, Jamison said.

“When the first year is ready to come around, I'll be more ready for the college level. I will be able to

“

It's an honorable thing. To be able to start from here and to be able to play at the college level is really an honor, I feel blessed,

“

BY JOHN DAVIS

Jordan Jamison hopefully succeed,” Jamison said, who also had a scholarship to Samford located in metro Birmingham. “Right now, I stand No. 1 on their lineman board. UAB felt the best.”

Jamison's goal is to major in psychology when he gets to school. He will be there in July to start workouts.

The Blazers are able to practice even if they can't play. Jamison did say that the team can scrimmage all next fall. A large part of the UAB class will be made up of junior college players.

Jamison said he got to know some offensive linemen and a running back during his visit. Jamison talked

about the plan to sign players from all over the Southeast, and branch out from there.

Lafayette coach Eric Robertson called playing for UAB “a great opportunity” for Jamison.

“They have a great coaching staff over there led

by Coach Clark. They're starting fresh and they have an extra year to get things together,” Robertson said.

“It's great to start with that class. The excitement of getting football back at UAB, I'm glad he's going to get to be a part of it. I think he's going to play a big role there eventually. I think the fact that he could get his

master's degree done in five years is a big part factoring in him going there. Then when you go there, it's a nice facility and they're doing things at UAB and that was attractive to him.”

Cody Stubblefield saw Jamison blossom as an offensive lineman the past few seasons, and felt that he would get better and better.

“I'm super excited for Jordan. I think that's a great move for him. I think UAB got a great kid and a great player,” Stubblefield said. “I think he will do well. I think he's got a lot of upside.” john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 18

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016

Giant killer Williams has played key role for Chargers

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

It's never easy to change schools midway through a high school career, especially when you're athlete.

Terry Williams left South Panola to begin his career with the Oxford Chargers this summer. Williams said it was tough, but then added that head coach Drew Tyler made it easy on him.

“And the players, they welcomed me with open arms so that made it easy on me,” Williams said. “It was a big deal to get here in the summer. I got in, got into the program and by the time the season came around, I felt like I had been here forever.”

Williams has played like a veteran member of the Chargers instead of a newcomer. He's been a steady second scoring option behind Jarkel Joiner, and a dependable ball handler.

Williams credited Tyler with making him a better overall player in a short time.

“He brought me in and he got me physically ready to be a point guard and I feel like I'm way more developed and much more mature here,” he said. “I'm

in a better program. At South Panola, I was averaging 3 points per game.”

That's scoring average has increased dramatically for Williams, who has consistently been in double figures. It's makes Williams feel good to contribute, but he added that staying humble was the key.

“I just want to win. That's my main goal,” said Williams, who moved with his father when he got a job in Oxford. “My dad asked me if I wanted to play basketball for Oxford and I said sure. I thought they were pretty good and really didn't think anything of it. I knew how successful they had been and watching them for a while. I went to Oxford in my second grade year. It's a basketball school, but it's academics first. They brought me in and taught me everything that I needed to do to get to a university, which is my goal.”

The Chargers have shown the ability to be a complete team on the court some nights. There have been other nights when the Chargers haven't played as well. Williams felt like the team could do big

PETRE THOMAS

TURN TO WILLIAMS PAGE 23

Oxford combo guard Terry Williams is called a "giant killer" by his coach Drew Tyler.

Price, Jones headed to play for EMCC Lions Chargers OG Gatlin picks MC

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

Quin Jones made the toughest decision of his life Wednesday morning.

The Lafayette High linebacker picked East Mississippi over Northwest in the battle of junior college national champions. In the end, Jones just felt like playing for head coach Buddy Stephens was the right call.

“In a way, it was 51 percent East and 49 percent Northwest. They were a close second to me,” Jones said. “It was either Northwest or East for me.

When I went down to East Mississippi, it felt like

home. It seemed like the coaches really wanted to coach me. It was just an enjoyable process being down there. It felt like family down there.”

Running back Tyrell Price will join Jones at EMCC. Jones actually thought they wouldn't play together, that Price was going to choose to play for the Rangers, who won the NJCAA national championship.

“I thought we were going to end up playing against each other but it's a blessing to be playing with Tyrell,” Jones said.

“To play one more year with him, it's a blessing. I want to get out in a se-

mester, but if I end up playing with him another year or two, it will be good to have him there. It's going to be like Lafayette again, making plays.”

The Lions will run a 4-25 scheme, and Jones will play an outside linebacker/safety role that will allow him to cover wide receivers and tight ends.

“I feel like I played in the box for so long that I wanted to play out in space,” he said. “I want to show my athleticism and that I can cover those slot guys.”

Price, who set the single-season touchdowns scored record this fall, started to get noticed by

the Lions when Lafayette played at Louisville.

“East was my second offer after Northeast. I said they must really take me seriously and I got with them right after that,” Price said. “Coaches compete to get players and knowing that they were one of my first offers, I felt like they really thought good of me. I have a good relationship with the coaches. They stay in contact with me, seem really concerned.

They call me and text me.

I like the fact that they do that. It makes feel good about the relationship I have with the coaches.”

Price added that he was

stressed about his decision about choosing EMCC over Northwest.

“I really didn't want to be so close to home and I feel like I can have the same opportunity there and at East,” Price said. “You're going to have to work hard anywhere you go. I'm still going to have to work hard to keep that position. It's going to be work everywhere you go, so I picked the school that I liked. Me and Quin are close. We're neighbors, we're together all the time. Just having a teammate like that is going to be real fun.” john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

A final decision for Oxford offensive lineman Tag Gatlin came to him just a few days ago. His choice, Mississippi College in Clinton. Gatlin’s decision came on Sunday, and that’s where he plays the next four years.

“I like it down there. It’s a small, Christian environment TURN TO GATLIN PAGE 19

OXFORD CITIZEN

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016

PAGE 19

Lafayette’s Kesler ready ICC checks off all boxes to start career at ICC for Lafayette’s Branch

BY JOHN DAVIS

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

Nikki Kesler is headed to Itawamba Community College to play soccer for the Lady Indians. She is following in the footsteps of his sister Kelsey, who plays softball for ICC. Kesler said ICC soccer coach David Strother was very interested in her and his style is how she plays currently.

“They want to attack in numbers and defend in numbers,” she said. “It’s a nice campus. I want to major in BSM with is a bachelors of science in nursing. It’s a great school overall. They’re more concerned about your academics than sports. That’s

Gatlin FROM PAGE 18

and I love that,” Gatlin said.

“I love having the small school feel. I feel like I’m more at home there. Most of my family has been to MC. It’s just home.”

Gatlin has been a mainstay on the offensive line for the Chargers for the past three seasons. He was instrumental in protecting for quarterback Jack Abraham and opening holes for the likes of running backs Hiram Wadlington and Kenzie Phillips. Both tailbacks had over 1,000 yards on the ground, while Abraham set all the school records from a passing standpoint.

Guard, and maybe center,

another positive thing.”

Kesler said she will probably be living with f e l l o w Kesler Lafayette teammate, Ana Branch, when she gets to Fulton. At first, Kesler said she wanted to be out of state, but then she realized that she wouldn’t be able to come home like she wanted to.

The Lady Commodores advanced to the MHSAA Class 4A north state title match, and Kesler seemed pleased with the season.

“I would say that I have played pretty well but I wouldn’t say that I’ve

reached my max,” she said.

“I feel like I can always do better. That’s just the type of person that I am. I would rather criticize myself and get better that way.”

Melinda Scruggs said that Strother came to the Corinth playoff match to check up on Kesler.

“He was so excited to see what they were doing.

Nikki was able to put her outside mid role out there and he was able to see how versatile she is as a player,” Scruggs said. “She can play in the back, she can play in the midfield. Obviously that’s a strong point for her.”

is what Gatlin will play at Mississippi College. He played some center this past season for the Chargers. And he has played the tackle spot as well.

“But I’m mainly a guard,” he said. “They have four seniors returning on their offensive line. I feel like it’s a good time to learn, but also, after one year, I feel like I could be in a starting position. I feel like I will be happy there all four years and that I can play there and be successful in what I do.”

John Bland is the head coach of the Choctaws, who play in the Gulf South Conference.

“I like the coaching staff and I’ve known a lot of them since I started my recruiting

about two years ago,” he said. “I love the staff and they’re really hospitable and really nice people. I’m looking forward to being with them for four years.”

Gatlin said that process of recruiting was stressful, but that the actually committing part wasn’t as stressful.

“The process of looking for schools and not knowing where you’re are going was stressful. A lot of people made their decision earlier this year,” Gatlin said. “In the recruiting process, you don’t know where you are going for so long, so that can be kind of stressful. I’m glad to get it out of the way, and I’m happy with my choice.”

john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

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Ana Branch wanted to get away from home without getting too far. And she wanted to meet new people and play soccer at the same time. Itawamba Community College checked all those boxes and then some.

“The coach is really awesome, first of all. He was really encouraging and the facilities were more updated the other school I looked at,” said the senior Lafayette goalie on why she picked the Lady Indians. “I feel like there were a bunch of people going to the other place I got an offer from versus ICC. I want to meet new people.”

The soccer program was one win away from making the MACJC playoffs, a fact Branch thought was a good sign of things to come.

“There will only be two goalies and we're both seniors right now. Her name is

Alexus Dunaway, she's at Saltillo, and she got selected for the All-Star team so Branch that makes me want to step up my game so I can get some more playing time,” Branch said. “I know two of the managers and they said that whole team is really awesome and that they bond well together. There is little to no drama, which is good because I don't like drama.”

Nikki Kesler, Branch's teammate at LHS, will also be at ICC playing soccer, so there will be some familiarity there as well.

As for her senior season, Branch said it's been great overall and happy with her contribution.

“I can't win the games because I can't score, but I

can definitely save them,” Branch said. “The defense is awesome. When they do miscommunicate, those are really the only shots I get. I know they're coming, they're not random.”

Lafayette coach Melinda Scruggs, a former goalie herself, liked how Branch progressed in her first year to start.

“She is new in the position and the way she has stepped up, obviously ICC has seen that,” Scruggs said. “She's been able to capitalize in the different opportunities in games that we've played. She has really become more consistent in goal. And that's the key. You have to be consistent and making sure you're getting the simple saves and the some big-time saves. She really stepped up and has been doing that.” john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

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OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 20

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016

Short ready to see Rebels rebound in 2016 Wyatt Short was one of the most reliable closers in the SEC last season, garnering 10 saves. The Ole Miss junior, who stands 5foot-8, is set to preserve wins again this season, and lead the Rebels back to the top of the college baseball ranks.

JOHN DAVIS: What do you attribute your success to? Last year you really stood out. What was the key for your success?

WYATT SHORT: Just trying to stay focused the whole time. I focused more on the process rather than the outcome. Like don't worry yourself with the results but just work hard and try to get to where you want to be rather than look at what you did last outing or in an outing last year.

SHORT: Hopefully the same thing. If I have another year like I did last year, I'll be very happy with it. I'm more focused on the team this year. As long as we do well as a team, a lot better than last year, like more my freshman year, I'll be happy with whatever outcome I have. Even if I didn't have a great year, as long as our team had one, I would be happy.

DAVIS: Last year, team wise, you got to the regionals but really didn't make a lot of noise. It DAVIS: Did you know that you was really like you took two steps forward and then a step would have success at the start back. of the 2015 season? Did you have a good fall and winter pracSHORT: That's exactly how it tice going into last February? was.

SHORT: Yes. I did. I felt very confident last year after the fall.

DAVIS: Do you think that this It kind of helped through the year will be different? spring, especially going up SHORT: I do. I have a lot of against the older guys and seeconfidence in our team this ing what they had to and I how I year. handled them.

DAVIS: What makes you feel that? What is different about it?

DAVIS: What was the game SHORT: The older guys are takthat stood out to you as a big ing them under their wing, one last year. What was your showing them, teaching them moment?

SHORT: Mississippi State. Hon- the ropes. The younger guys are estly, the whole three games. I've buying into the program. A lot of never done that before. I threw guys are working hard, harder the hardest then, the best. I was than last year at least. Another locked in. I was very focused big thing was team chemistry.

We didn't have much last year as and I wanted to win more than opposed to this year. Everyone anything that game for sure. gets along. Even if somebody doesn't like somebody else, DAVIS: Beating Mississippi State as a Mississippi native had they'll still get along. to have been huge.

SHORT: It was. I always grew DAVIS: Why was there no team up being an Ole Miss fan. So chemistry, or very little of it last that's always been the other year? school.

SHORT: I think it was some of the older guys didn't want to DAVIS: What are you expecting of yourself this year?

TURN TO SHORT PAGE 23

Friends

looked like the chipmunks, or squirrels, that FROM PAGE 15 run around campus.

“She started calling me much fun to cheer on chipmunk. Then it evolved Chip in that last match. We to Chip, chippy and Chipwere standing there like per the Great,” she said we were on the court and adding that her parents playing every point. It was just laugh when they hear a lot of fun.” it.

So back to the nickname “It's been Chip ever Chip. Milutinovic likes since. When we call her chocolate chip cookies.

Marijan, she doesn't anBig fan. There was also a swer,” El Kamesh said. previous teammate that “Chip just fits here.”

Confidence is what the thought Milutinovic had Rebels gained with the win so much energy, that she

JOSH MCCOY/OLE MISS ATHLETICS

Ole Miss junior Wyatt Short saved 10 games last season and is looking to have even better success in 2016. His biggest goal is to help the team win games.

over Stanford, Milutinovic said.

“We knew that we had good players and would have a good year, but a win like this makes you actually believe it,” she added. “It all makes it tangible in front of you. When we go in and play Alabama, Texas A&M and all these top 10 teams, we've already beaten a top 10 team. It doesn't really matter now. We can do it again and again. I think we just needed that one top

10 team to make us believe. I just want it to be a fun senior year and try to make the most of it. Just have fun and see what can happen.”

El Kamesh said that the team never had a win like Stanford.

“I don't think in years past that we had that belief. This will help us against teams like Bama, Vandy, everybody else,” El Kamesh said. “We were always one step away. So many good matches, we

woul lose 4-3. Against Bama sophomore year, we lost 4-3. Against Texas A&M, we lost 4-3. Both years. All these teams were top 10 teams. We were always one step away, and I think this one could push us to the end.”

For the first time this year, team will be at home with two matches. It's good to be home, the duo said.

“I like playing at home because it's home. It feels different. It feels like you

belong,” Milutinovic said.

“I don't feel the pressure of people watching. In fact, I feel like they're supporting you, they're behind you. If you're down, they're still going to support you. It's a lot of fun playing at home.”

“It's comforting. Even when you're under pressure, you still know that you have all these fans with me,” El Kamesh said.

John.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

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OXFORD CITIZEN

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016

Short

under them and teach them new things and teach them how the team FROM PAGE 20 works and how this works and this works. Just walk help anybody out almost. them through the It seemed like. process. Rather than shun them or say that's wrong DAVIS: Was there a relaxed feel to it after you got and then not try to help them, they would say this back from the College is what you're doing World Series? Was it hard wrong and this is what to get back to work? you need to do. I don't SHORT: I wouldn't say that. Coach (Ben) Fleming think we had that much definitely pushes us in the last year. weight room, on and off DAVIS: Did Coach the field. It was more (Mike) Bianco pick up on player to player. I feel that last year? that's a very important thing when it comes to SHORT: I'm sure he did. teams.

He didn't really come out and say it, but I'm sure he did. You can tell with a DAVIS: It didn't seem team and their team like there were a lot of chemistry and how they seniors either.

SHORT: There weren't. It don't work together. just didn't feel like it did my freshman year. All of DAVIS: What do you the seniors my freshman think is your best pitch year would take everyone and what do you like to

Buford FROM PAGE 17

“I didn't get real close to Coach Sherman but over the summer, I got close to Coach Linzy. And I already knew him,” Buford said.

Lafayette is the No. 2 seed in 2-4A play after losing to Byhalia last week. New Albany is the only division game left. The goal was to meet up with Byhalia in the championship game, which would be played on Byhalia's home court. Buford said that Orianna Shaw has grown up in a big way.

“I remember her first year playing and she was straight defense and rebounding.

Williams FROM PAGE 18

things if they didn't beat themselves with too many turnovers or missed free throws.

“It's a great team. Everyone is so loving. We don't have any distant players, everybody is so close,” Williams said. “We have a close bond. Everybody cares about each other. I'm pretty quiet for the most part, but I'm close with everyone.

When I go to hanging out, I hang out with everybody.”

Tyler called Williams “a giant killer” because he brought opposing players down to his 6-foot stature.

Now she has brought offense and stepped up a lot,” Buford said. “She has become a go-to person for us in a lot of ways.”

As for the 43-point effort against Tunica-Rosa Fort, Buford was actually sick heading into the game with a sinus infection.

“The doctor asked me if I wanted to play and I said that I couldn't let my team down,” she said. “I had to play. At warmups, I was knocking down shots and feeling real comfortable.”

Central Arkansas has offered Buford a scholarship and more should be on the way considering her play.

“Coach Linzy brought me into his office and told me it was something bad.

throw to get somebody out?

SHORT: My most consistent and best would be the fastball. That's my go to every single time.

Whether it's outside, inside, I'm not scared to throw it.

DAVIS: And what is your next best pitch?

SHORT: My strikeout pitch would probably be my slider.

DAVIS: You have to throw a slider here. Coach Bianco likes those sliders.

SHORT: He does. He likes those hard breaking balls.

DAVIS: Growing up, where you a power pitcher for your size or where you more of a finesse/control guy?

SHORT: I've always been a power pitcher, even at

PAGE 23

my size. I've always thrown hard.

DAVIS: What do you top out at?

SHORT: I threw 95 last year against Mississippi State.

DAVIS: What do you normally throw?

SHORT: Around 89-91.

That's probably my average.

DAVIS: Are people amazed that you throw that hard at your size?

SHORT: Some people are. Others that have seen it before not as much. I have people come up to me and ask me how is it even possible. They have a son who is 6-foot-5 and he barely throws 80. I'm like 'It's all in the legs.' I know to incorporate my legs. I would say a lot of pitchers don't know to incorporate their legs into pitching.

They use a lot of upper body and arm strength.

It's the push off, the follow through. It's core to legs.

son ends or preseason, you don't see it much.

And then when the season starts, pretty much everybody, especially if I pitch that night.

DAVIS: Social media.

Are you big on social media?

DAVIS: What is your faSHORT: To be honest, no vorite thing about Ole not really. I will post every Miss baseball? month or so.

SHORT: I would have to say the fans. I love the DAVIS: What is bigger fans. They always seem to for you? Twitter? Facebe pretty supportive of us. book? Instagram?

They've always got something good to say. I feel like SHORT: Probably Instawe're in the best atmosgram. That's probably where I will post the most. phere for college baseball.

I like to post pictures of DAVIS: What is an ideal me playing baseball or the season? Getting back to team or something like the College World Series that. If I go Twitter, it's would just make it, right? usually a re-tweet from SHORT: I would love, abOle Miss baseball or somesolutely love it. I had thing related to sports. more fun. It was so awesome. I love it.

DAVIS: Do you get a lot of fans tweeting at you?

SHORT: When the seajohn.davis@journalinc.com son starts. When the seaTwitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

He looked at me and then he gave me the paperwork and said they would get into contact with me,” Buford said with a smile about how Linzy had her going.

Defense was something Buford felt she needed to work on. That was the input she received from college recruiters who have evaluated her game.

“They tell me to get a little quicker and I still work on defense outside of practice so that I can get scholarships,” she said. “It's footwork. They look for me to score and I just try to do that every night. I just had to do it.” john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

JOEY BRENT

Brad Logan of the Ole Miss Quarterback Club talks during the Signing Day party held at the Oxford Conference Center.

“He will quietly get a double double. He is teasing at triple doubles and has been there twice this year,” Tyler said. “He's a 6 foot guard/big man. He shows up all across the stat book on rebounds on the offensive and defensive end, on putbacks on the offensive and defensive end. He's averaging 12, 13 points per game. I think his love for basketball and his desire to just compete and to do everything to help his teammates win has just really catapulted him in this program to tapping his potential. He's one of the most coachable players I've had.

He allows us to love on him and tell him good play and

then he allows us to really challenge him and chew on him a little because we expect even better play.”

Williams was key in the Chargers' home win over Saltillo at home. That could have been a loss for the Chargers, who were able to pull it out in overtime.

“We really didn't play well as a team the first two quarters and we were only down two and Terry Williams had two of his best quarters, the first and second, in the Saltillo game,” Tyler said.

“He picks up other people and he holds his own. He picks up their slack.” john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

Signing FROM PAGE 15

and the relationships that we have built over the last 18 to 24 months that allowed us to bring home arguably a top five class,” Freeze said. “We feel like it is, top to bottom, the best class that we’ve had and we’ve had some good ones. That’s just potential.

It doesn’t mean a whole lot until you get them here and see how their work ethic is and their chemistry.”

As for Brown, Freeze got a call from him two weeks ago, after the visit at home,

that revolved around him coming to Oxford. His intentions were kept quiet until Wednesday.

Freeze credited Metcalf for staying committed to the Rebels for over two years.

“The ones that stay the course and are loyal and recruit for you and never waiver are the ones that you have an extra appreciation for,” Freeze said. “He was that way and I’m honored to have him and his family join us here. Tre Nixon, you’re talking about a speedy dude, a 10.7 100 meter, 4.3 40 type guy. I think he gives us a different dimension in

that wide receiver room that I don’t think we have.

And then topping it off today with getting AJ Brown, who I compare to Laquon Treadwell. I really enjoyed the building of that relationship with he and his father Arthur. Our assistant did a phenomenal job in that. I’m really excited about that wide receivers class.”

Ole Miss finished with three tight ends, five offensive linemen, two running backs, five defensive backs, two linebackers and two defensive linemen. john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

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PAGE 24

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