Byram Banner July 2017

ECR WSS ** RR CAR-RT SORT POSTAL CUSTOMER

Byram Banner 5632 Terry Road Byram, MS 39272

Vol. 24  No. 7

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID JACKSON, MS PERMIT NO. 249

Philippians 4:13

JULY 2017

2017-2021 Mayor and Board of Aldermen Byram, MS Janice G. Moser, Ward 1; Diandra Hosey, Ward 2; Charlie Campbell, Ward 3; Richard White, Mayor; Teresa Mack, Ward 4 Wanda Smith, Ward 5; David Moore, Ward 6 and Richard Cook, Alderman At Large

Byram Chamber of Commerce

L-R Rodney Romines, Commander David Errington, Officer Timothy Ford

The Byram Chamber of Commerce had their monthly luncheon on Tuesday, June 20, 2017. Thirty-six were in attendance with several who visited for the first time. Officer of the Quarter Award was presented to Officer

Timothy Ford. One of the things that Mr. Ford has done to earn this honor is his courage to step in where he is needed most. Within the past six months he was able to save the life of someone who was about to commit suicide.

Upon entering the home, the gentleman did have a gun; however, with Mr. Ford’s years of experience he was able to talk the man into surrendering the weapon. No one was injured and the man was able to get the help he needed.

After the presentation of the officer of the quarter award, each business present was able to briefly tell about what their business does and to tell about any promotions their business was having or a new service they would offer in the near future. Much excitement was generated with presentations. The Byram Chamber of Commerce is optimistic about the future growth of the Byram community and increasing presence to offer current membership more meeting opportunities to promote their businesses.

Mr. Lidell Howell opened with a word of prayer.

The next monthly meeting will be Tuesday, July 18, 2017.

CITY OF BYRAM

FORTH OF JULY

BOARD MEETINGS

All Administrative Offices will be closed

7:00pm Byram City Hall 5901 Terry Road Thursday, July 13th and 27th

PLANNING AND ZONING MEETING 6:00pm Byram City Hall 5901 Terry Road Thursday, July 13th

Monday, July 3rd Tuesday, July 4th Have A Safe and Happy Fourth of July

Current Members: A & L Enterprises, Americas Best Value Inn, Back Yard Burgers, BancorpSouth, Barnett’s Body Shop Inc., Barnett’s Body Shop Inc, Blue Sky Exxon, Byram Banner, Byram Business Ctr, Calton & Associates, Center Point Energy, Chancellor Funeral Home, City of Byram(Title Sponsor), Country Woods Baptist Church, David Blount, Econo Mobile Billing, Elite Physical Therapy, Eyeology Eye Care LLC, F Morgan Hartzog CPA, PC, Factory Connection, Grace Presbyterian Church, Hal Lusk State Farm Agency LLC, Hinds County News, Howell & Romines LLP, Jackson Area Federal Credit Union (Silver Sponsor), Jaime Moser, Johnson & Son Ent LLC, Kaleidoscope of Learning, Law Office of Diandra Hosey, Lindsey Claire Dance Company, McAlister’s Deli, MEA Medical Clinic, Members Exchange Credit Union(Silver Sponsor), New York Life, Platinum Plus Realty LP, Raworth and Harvel LLC, Raworth Real Estate, Regie Networking Systems Inc, Revel Ace Hardware, Richard’s Front Wheel Drive, Shanna Kay Stringer, Signature Touch Salon, Storage Max Byram, The Nowell Agency, Trustmark Bank, Wanda Smith – Alderman Ward 5, Ward Finance Inc,

PUBLIC NOTICE The City of Byram, Mississippi hereby gives notice that its annual audited financial report for the year ended September 30, 2016 has been completed. Copies are available to the public at 5901 Terry Road, Byram, Mississippi and the Beverly J. Brown Library, 7395 Siwell Road, Byram, Mississippi as well as our website www.byram-ms.us .

S/Angela Richburg City Clerk

Whit’s Copy Center, Wood Spring Suites.

Door Prize Provided $25 Gift Certificate to Monte’s Steak and Seafood $25 Starbucks Gift Card Whither’s Florist Can Koozies A special thanks to Monte’s Steak and Seafood for hosting the monthly luncheon, our dedicated Byram Chamber of Commerce Members, and The Byram Banner for their continued services to the Byram Chamber of Commerce and Community.

If you would like to be a part of the Byram Chamber of Commerce, please visit our website listed below and click on applications. If you have additional questions, please contact Rodney Romines, Byram Chamber of Commerce President (2017-2018) at 601-373-5188. www.byramchamber.com

LIVE, WORK, WORSHIP, SHOP, & PLAY IN BYRAM

Stuff the Bus for Healthy Classrooms Junior Auxiliary of Byram-Terry is sponsoring a Germ-Free Class School Supply Drive Saturday, July 29, 2017 9:00 a.m. – 12 noon Donations will be collected at Krogers • Vowell’s Marketplace All donations benefit Byram & Terry Schools.

Items Needed: Hand Sanitizer • Kleenex Paper Towels • Disinfectant Spray Antibacterial Soap • Band-Aids For more information contact us at byramterryja@gmail.com.

2  THE BYRAM BANNER  JULY 2017

THE BYRAM BANNER 5632 Terry Road •Byram, MS 39272 Office: 601-372-7235 Fax: 601-372-7235 E-mail: arnoldprinting@comcast.net

Est. 1993 Donna Arnold Owner/Publisher/Editor Published Monthly/Direct Mail

Circulation 15,000 Deadline for ads and information is the 20th of the month for the next month’s issue.

Send comments, articles, weddings, engagements, birth and community information to the above address.

Any erroneous reflection upon character, integrity, or reputation of any person will be corrected when called to the attention of the publisher. The right is reserved to refuse publication of any advertisement or other matter at the election of the publisher

BYRAM OFFICES City Hall:

601-372-7746

Police Dept:

601-372-7747

Non Emergency 601-372-2327 Zoning:

601-372-7791

Fire Dept.:

601-351-9700

www.byram-ms.us

FLAG REPOSITORY If you have a worn out, faded, tattered American flag that needs to be retired, there is a flag repository at Central Fire Station located at 200 Byram Parkway (across the road from Wee Care Day Care Center). Bring your old flag to the fire station and place it in the box which is located in the front lobby. The flags will be transferred to a boy scout troop to be retired properly in an official flag burning ceremony.

CITY OF BYRAM BURN PERMITS

The City of Byram Fire Department will allow residential burning of natural materials by permit only. The permit is FREE , is GOOD FOR ONE YEAR from the date of issuance and can be completed at the fire station at 200 Byram Parkway.

Please bring your picture ID with you

CITY OF BYRAM SPECIALTY BANNERS

City of Byram is seeking to replace the hanging banners currently displayed throughout the city. Banners are sold in a set of 4, each having a different theme. Anyone interested in purchasing these banners are asked to call Deputy City Clerk Linda White at 601-3727746 or email lwhite@byram-ms.us. For a minimal fee, banners are a great way to advertise your business and beautify our city simultaneously.

CITY OF BYRAM RECYCLE INFORMATION Byram Public Works, 550 Executive Boulevard Hours: Monday – Friday from 9am-2pm, every other Saturday from 8am-12pm

P.O. Box 720222 Byram, MS 39272

NOW YOU CAN READ THE BYRAM BANNER ANYTIME CHECK OUT THE DIGITAL EDITION LET YOUR FRIENDS KNOW….. PASS IT ON

Terry Grove Missionary Baptist Church Dance Ministry Presents Its Annual Youth Praise Program Terry Grove Missionary Baptist Church Dance Ministry presents its annual Youth Praise Program. Please join us for an evening of praise and rhythmical celebration. Dance and mime ministries, praise and step teams, theatrics, and the like, are invited to showcase their talents for the Lord on July 15, 2017, at 3:00 p.m. Our theme this year is “God Will Work it Out” and the theme scripture is, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose,” Roman 8:28. Terry Grove M.B. Church is located at 323 Raymond Street in Terry, MS. and is pastored by Dr. Dion F. Porter. To R.S.V.P., or for more information, please contact601.951.9325

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MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM OF ART 380 South Lamar Street , Jackson, MS 601.960.1515 (toll-free) 1.866.VIEWART www.msmuseumart.org

Little Masters (ages 5 – 7) C Monday, July 10, 2017 to Friday, July 14, 2017 - 9 AM - noon During the week of Little Masters, children explore the visual arts through various practices to gain experience in collage and watercolor techniques, as well as the fundamentals of expressive abstraction. While gaining knowledge of the arts through hands-on experiences, students are introduced to the works in the Museum’s permanent collection. This fun-filled week will have your child bringing home wonderful works of art to share with you. Cost: $175. Register at

www.msmuseumart.org Teacher: Lesley Collins is the Assistant Director of Children’s Services at Stewpot Community Services. Collins has been with that program for the last 17 years, and in the capacity of Assistant Director for the last two.

She received her bachelor’s degree in studio art in 2011 from Jackson State University.

Since then, she has been involved in several art projects in the Jackson area, including the Mississippi Museum of Art’s first participatory art project, “Cocoon.”

Music in the City

Tuesday, July 11, 2017 5:15 PM cash bar; 5:45 PM program Trustmark Grand Hall Music in the City takes advantage of the presence of two outstanding Irish artists in Jackson. Virginia Kerr is among the finest of European sopranos and Dr. Colman Pearce really needs no introduction to Mississippians having been the eminent conductor of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra for many years. Both artists have fine international reputations and we are lucky to once again find them among us to share their gifts. This event is sponsored by Wise Carter Child & Caraway, P.A. Cost: Free, donations welcome.

Internal Narratives: Printmaking & Painting (ages 11 – 14) Monday, July 17, 2017 to Friday, July 21, 2017 9 AM – 4 PM Students spend a week investigating the connections between art and nature through the mediums of sculpture, drawing, painting, and installation art as well as through the close interpretation of works in the Museum’s collection. In this Young Artists class, each lesson is based on works from the permanent collection that lead us to find how nature effects artists, how artists depict nature, and how our creative voices can be expressed through nature!

Cost: $250.

Register www.mmsmuseumart.org Introduction to Printmaking Practices (ages 11-14) Monday, July 17, 2017 to Friday, July 21, 2017 - 9 AM – 4 PM Students will learn what exactly “printmaking” is and why it may be an artist’s medium of choice. Three basic printmaking techniques will be introduced, including monoprints, linocuts, and collagraphs. Over the course of the week, students will use drawing as a tool to explore sources of inspiration and to practice effectively planning prints. At the end of the course, students will have produced a mini portfolio of prints, which demonstrates their knowledge in each technique.

Teacher: Born and raised in Jackson, MS, Anna Nations graduated from Millsaps College in 2014 and completed her Master of Art degree in studio art in 2015. Nations spent a year teaching as an adjunct professor before returning to Mississippi College to continue her Master of Fine Arts degree. While an M.F.A. student, she continued to teach as a graduate assistant in the areas of painting and design Painting was Nation’s first love in art, but gradually, her art has become more and more interdisciplinary. Nowadays, she works primarily in assemblages which incorporate paintings, drawings, and printmaking techniques. Nation’s work is highly contentdriven, and she encourages her students to incorporate a similar level of creative thought, meaning, and self-expression in their works.

‘sipp Sourced with Chef Nick Wallace Thursday, July 20, 2017 Lunch served daily 11 AM – 2 PM, Dinner Thursday night, 5:30 PM until The Palette Café Each month, for a limited time, Culinary Curator and Executive Chef Nick Wallace of the Mississippi Museum of Art creates a three-day pop up menu highlighting product from Mississippi purveyors. These menus are inspired by seasonal ingredients and rooted in Mississippi artistic and culinary stories and traditions. ‘sipp Sourced is sponsored by Capital City Beverages Museum After Hours Thursday, July 20, 2017 - 5:30 PM - until Every third Thursday we host Museum After Hours, when we open the doors after hours to partner with and embrace Mississippi's creative community. These family-friendly events feature one-night pop up exhibitions, pop up dining experiences, and combinations of live music, outdoor movies, games, and more.

Each month has a new theme and a new story.

The Museum Store and exhibition galleries remain open until 8 PM for shopping and exploring. Sponsored by Capital City Beverages.

Cost: Free to the public.

Look and Learn with Hoot Friday, July 21, 2017 - 10:30 AM – noon Trustmark Grand Hall and BancorpSouth Classroom This educational opportunity for children up to five years of age with their parents emphasizes creative play and literacy through a hands-on art activity and story time. (Hoot, a friendly owl, is the Museum’s education mascot.)

Please dress for mess! Sponsored by Children’s Medical Group, P.A. Cost: Free to the public Art in Mind Wednesday, July 26, 2017 -10:30 AM – noon Bancorp South Classroom Everyone wants to strengthen their memory. As we get older, it’s not just about strengthening it, but also about maintaining it.

Art in Mind uses art exploration in the galleries to stimulate observation and recall, followed by hands-on engagement in the studio.

Art Therapist Susan Anand creates fun and comfortable experiences inspired by artworks in the Museum’s collection that stimulate

cognition. No previous experience is needed to enjoy this creative opportunity. Free to the public; registration required. To reserve your spot or for additional information, call Andi Agnew at 601-987-0020 or email aagnew@alzms.org. (Space is limited.) Art in Mind is presented in partnership with Alzheimer’s Mississippi and is sponsored by The Mind Center at UMMC. Little Masters (ages 5 – 7) D Monday, July 31, 2017 to Friday, August 4, 2017 - 9 AM - noon During the week of Little Masters, children explore the visual arts through various practices to gain experience in collage and watercolor techniques, as well as the fundamentals of expressive abstraction. While gaining knowledge of the arts through hands-on experiences, students are introduced to the works in the Museum’s permanent collection. This fun-filled week will have your child bringing home wonderful works of art to share with you.

Cost: $175.

Register

www.msmuseumart.org

Teacher: Lesley Collins is the Assistant Director of Children’s Services at Stewpot Community Services. Collins has been with that program for the last 17 years, and in the capacity of Assistant Director for the last two.

She received her bachelor’s degree in studio art in 2011 from Jackson State University.

Since then, she has been involved in several art projects in the Jackson area, including the Mississippi Museum of Art’s first participatory art project, “Cocoon.”

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Concert Lineup Announced for Levitt AMP Hattiesburg Music Series

The countdown to an unforgettable season of live music under the stars in Hattiesburg is underway. The Levitt AMP Hattiesburg Music Series’ lineup of artists will perform at Chain Park each Friday at 7 p.m. from July 7 to Sep. 8. The free, family-friendly outdoor concerts will showcase musical talents while also celebrating Mississippi’s bicentennial.

The series is sponsored in part by the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, a national funder of creative placemaking that empowers communities to inject new life into underused public spaces through free, outdoor concerts. It will feature a diverse lineup of high caliber talent spanning genres from blues to brass to Americana funk.

The lineup features artists who are exceptional in their own right, including Grammy nominated artists and those who have been featured internationally as well as on late night television,” said Jonathan Pluskota, assistant professor in the School of Mass Communication and Journalism at The University of Southern Mississippi and producer of the Levitt AMP Hattiesburg Music Series.

In addition we will have opening acts that feature local talent making it a fun-filled night every Friday for 10 weeks. This will be an excellent way to celebrate community and the music that makes Mississippi.”

Last January, Hattiesburg was named one of 15 small to mid-sized towns and cities across America to win a Levitt AMP grant award of $25,000 in matching funds to present a free concert series at Chain Park in 2017.

Pluskota partnered with the City of Hattiesburg and the Hattiesburg Arts Council to submit the Levitt AMP proposal and present the concert series. In an effort to inspire and engage communities across the country around the power of creative placemaking, the Levitt Foundation invited the public to choose the top 25 finalists through online voting.

Kicking off the series at 7 p.m. Friday, July 7 is Teneia, a soul/folk artist. Herman Snell of the Jackson Free Press said Teneia is “A cross between Ani DiFranco and Aretha Franklin.”

Also scheduled to perform are Vasti Jackson on July 14, playing blues; Roadkill Ghost Choir on July 21, playing alternative rock; Blue Mother Tupelo on July 28, playing roots rock; Brass band Southern Comfort on Aug. 4; Cedric Burnside Project Aug. 11, playing

blues; Los PoBoyCitos on Aug. 18, playing Latin funk; Bronwynne Brent on Aug. 25, with Americana folk; Alvin Youngblood Hart on Sept. 1, playing rock blues; and Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires celebrating Southern rock on Sept. 8.

The public is invited to bring their own blankets and lawn chairs to the concerts in Chain Park, which has an open lawn setting.

There will be food and drink vendors on site.

The Levitt AMP concert series is located at Chain Park at Twin Forks, with entrances off either 8th Street or Old Highway 42. Admission is free.

Visit http://levittamp.org/Hattiesburg for a full schedule of concerts, directions and information on parking and wheelchair accessibility, as well as to learn more about the winners of the 150 free Levitt AMP concerts across the U.S. In addition, information on each band and details of the Levitt AMP Hattiesburg Music Series will be featured in the July issue of Signature magazine.

F. MORGAN HARTZOG, CPA,PC CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT

TAX RETURN PREPARATION

Individual and Business Tax Return Preparation and Tax Planning Estate Tax Preparation and Planning Representation before IRS -Audits, Installment Agreement, Offers-In-Compromise Accounting and Bookkeeping Services 25 Years Experience 102 Southpointe Drive • Byram, MS 39272

601- 373-3329

MISSISSIPPI STATE HOSPITAL HONORS PARKER FOR 25 YEARS OF SERVICE WHITFIELD—Mississippi State Hospital recently honored employees with June anniversary dates for their years of service. Bruce Parker of Byram was recognized for providing 25 years of service to the hospital.

Bruce Parker, a Leesburg native, is a

Registered Nurse who works in Inpatient Services.

Service Awards are given to employees in the month of their date of hire, beginning with one year and followed by every fifth anniversary year. Employees receive a Certificate of Appreciation and a Service Award Pin. The program is sponsored by Friends of Mississippi State Hospital Inc.

WE ENDORSE AND SUPPORT WHAT WE ARE WE WILL NOT SUPPORT

SIN OR SINNERS SUCH AS

BABY MOLESTING SAME SEX MARRIAGE ABORTION ALCOHOL DRUGS THIEVES LIARS ABORTION IS NOT BIRTH CONTROL IT IS

MURDER

NO QUEERS IN HEAVEN Paid for by Tom Fuller 769-226-8387

JULY 2017  THE BYRAM BANNER  7

SPEAKING of MTK

By Mary Kitchens A few weeks ago I had the privilege of watching about 90 children enjoying the outdoors. It was Camp Rainbow week at Twin Lakes Conference Center in Florence. All the campers have or have had cancer but this week was not about having cancer, it was about exploring, discovering, making friends, being outside and just plain having fun.

Everyone liked canoeing but it seems the boys, especially one named Benjamin, loved to fish. My son Dan was sending him home with a cooler full of the fish he had caught.

All campers enjoy crafts and the evening activities: a dance, movie night, smores, talent show, and this year’s special treasure hunt.

Swimming is always popular as well as shooting bow and arrows. Each year the great folks from Mississippi Bowhunters volunteer to spend a day at camp helping every camper try to pop balloons or shoot the side of a Styrofoam deer. Thanks!

Not everyone goes to the ropes course but many do. The course consists of a wire stretched over a gulley. At about waist level are ropes to hold on to as campers attempt to walk the length of the wire. The camper climbs steps to a platform where they are hooked to an overhead safety line. There’s one platform at the half way mark and one at the end of the line. From that point, they zipline to the ground close to where they started.

I saw a few campers start but then change their mind which was perfectly OK, the counselors cheered them for trying. But I saw one amazing camper doing what most of us wouldn’t even try. This brave little boy has only one arm and he walked the high rope TWICE! He did it by walking sideways, moving his arm down the one rope he could use. One of the fun things about going to camp is being able to do things your mama would never let you do at home! The grin on his face told exactly how he was feeling and what that experience meant to him.

Kamiya Watkins, from Hazlehurst, is 11 yrs. old and this was her first time to attend Camp Rainbow. Her mother Tina told me that Kamiya was diagnosed just 8 months ago so they are still trying to grasp everything that has now changed in their lives. I had the privilege of taking her and a young man from Crystal Springs, Damien Alexandria, to camp on Wednesday. It was a little chilly that morning so I didn’t think anything about Kamiya having on a light jacket with a hood.

In the car riding to camp I noticed she kept the hood and jacket on all the way. We got their things (suitcase, pillow, medicine, etc.) unloaded and Kamiya still had on her jacket and hood. She was also holding on tight to Pinkie, her much loved and much worn stuffed puppy dog.

Once inside several campers were already there and I noticed that only then did Kamiya remove her hood. I didn’t ask her why but there for the first time she saw several little girls who, like her, didn’t have hair. There were campers with only one arm, campers who were blind, campers with no hair, campers who were very weak, but all were having fun, trying new things, making friends, and talking about coming back next year.

Mississippi’s Toughest Kids Foundation (MTK) is building a camp facility for children and adults with all kinds of special needs. It will be a place of total acceptance.

Until next time, let’s keep speaking of MTK. (PO Box 520, Crystal Springs, 39059; 601892-1117; mtk@mtkfound.com; mtkfound.com)

Melissa Langham, of Byram, Receives Master's Degree From Georgia State University ATLANTA, GA (05/30/2017)-- Melissa Langham of Byram (39272) was awarded a master's degree from Georgia State University in Atlanta during the week of May 8, 2017.

More than 4,300 students received certificates and degrees across numerous disciplines of study, including undergraduate- and graduatelevel certificates, and degrees at the associate's, bachelor's, master's, specialist and doctoral levels.

BEAT THE SUMMER HEAT

COME EXERCISE INDOORS WITH US!

*UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT*

Located in Byram’s Swinging Bridge Market, Off East Frontage Road,

Thank You I wish to thank God for giving me the opportunity to serve as Alderman of Ward 5.

Thank you to all the voters of Ward 5 who voted to re-elect me to the position of Alderman.

I am looking forward to the next 4 years of serving the citizens of Ward 5 and the City of Byram.

I want to say a very special Thank You to Cherry Mosley who did an awesome job on my campaign promos and signs and keeping me grounded during the hectic days of the campaign.

Shirley McMullen who was there to do what ever needed to be done.

Tim Bentley who keep my name out on face book.

Darlene Dukes who helped put out door hangers.

Thank you to my family for supporting me one more time.

Wanda Smith

BURNING ISSUES Fire Chief Marshall C. Robinson City of Byram Fire Department

Well Byram, as the thermometer indicates, it’s summer again. Kids out of school, summer vacations, fun on the water, and fireworks.

Did I say fireworks? I sure did. No the sale of and use of consumer grade fireworks is not illegal in Byram. But as a responsible member of the community, proper use is important to avoid injury.

When do these injuries happen? Typically, 60% of injuries from fireworks in the United States occur in the month surrounding the July 4th holiday (Greene & Joholske 2006).

What types of fireworks cause injuries? Between June 18 and July 18, 2005, firecrackers (26%), sparklers (17%), and rockets (17%) accounted for most of the injuries seen in emergency departments. Sparklers were associated with over half of the estimated injuries among children under 5 years, during the same time period (Greene & Joholske 2006).

Who is likely to be injured? During the month around Independence Day (July 4th), children 14 years and younger sustained about 45% of injuries related to fireworks (Greene & Joholske 2006).

What kinds of injuries occur? Injuries from fireworks most often affect the hands, eyes, and the head, face, and ears (Greene & Joholske 2006).

THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT FIREWORKS: •Always read and follow label directions •Have an adult present.

•Buy from reliable sellers. Buy only legal fireworks (legal fireworks have a label with the manufacturer's name and directions

•Use outdoors only.

•Never re-light a "dud" firework (wait 15 to 20 minutes and then soak it in a bucket •Never give fireworks to small children.

•Dispose of fireworks properly by soaking them in water and then disposing of them in your trashcan.

•Never throw or point fireworks at other people.

•Never carry fireworks in your pocket.

•Never shoot fireworks in metal or glass containers.

•The shooter should always wear eye protection and never have any part of the body over the firework.

•Stay away from illegal explosives.

•If you give kids sparklers, make sure they keep them outside and away from the face, clothing, and hair. Sparklers can reach 1,800° Fahrenheit (982° Celsius) — hot enough to melt gold.

Many fireworks vendors provide a wide variety of legal fireworks for your enjoyment.

As the fire department we have requirements set out to insure our vendors do their part in protecting your safety while shopping with them.

By ordinance, Byram requires the purchaser of fireworks to be at least16 years of age. This ordinance was introduced by the fire department to protect our youth. Our belief is that if an adult should be present during use, an adult should be present to help insure that appropriate fireworks are purchased.

Your local vendors appreciate you and actually belong to such organizations as; National Council on Fireworks Safety http://www.fireworksafety.com/home.htm American Pyrotechnics Association http://www.americanpyro.com/index.html National Fireworks Association http://nationalfireworks.org/ The mission of the consumer fireworks vendor is to provide quality, legal fireworks for your use. Your mission is to follow the manufactures instructions so that you have great time.

Your Humble Servants, City of Byram Fire Department

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

8  THE BYRAM BANNER  JULY 2017 Veterinary Clinic next door to the Shelter, and from CAS Volunteers. GALA Tickets are also available on the website. The GALA, a western theme "Shelter Shindig" is set for Saturday, August 5, 2017, 6pm, at the Storm Safe Room in Gallman. Please check the website or phone for more details. Yeehaw, y'all come!

Byram CERT News

July 2017 Pet of the Month "Gia" Copiah Animal Shelter GIA. So she's not the prettiest girl at the Shelter, some say kinda plain.

Abandoned and starving when CAS took her in, she's healthy now, but gets overlooked again and again.

Her pretty eyes tell a story that you can complete… there's love out there somewhere for GIA, a family she still needs to meet!

She can get along with other dogs, but prefers to be Queen Bee. And cats, she does not like 'em - no sir-ee.

Gia is a sweet lab mix, about 18 months old. Come meet her at Copiah Animal Shelter and see if your heart has plenty of love to provide a home for this girl! Our $80 dog adoption donation includes age-appropriate shots and spay/neuter. Copiah Animal Shelter is located at 27084 Highway 51 (at Hwy. 27) in Crystal Springs, Mississippi. Open Monday -Friday, 9-5, Saturday by appointment. See more adoptable animals on the CAS website www.copiahanimalshelter.net and facebook.com/copiahanimalshelter. Phone: 601954-6447. Mailing address: P.O. Box 366, Crystal Springs, MS 39059.

Tickets for a Kamado Joe Grill Raffle and for the CAS 2017 GALA Fundraiser are now available for purchase at All About Animals

WE NEED YOU! Following a major disaster, first responders who provide fire and medical services will not be able to meet the demand for these services.

Factors such as number of victims, communication failures and road blockages will prevent people from accessing emergency services they have come to expect at a moment's notice through 911. People will have to rely on each other for help in order to meet their immediate life saving and life sustaining needs.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=D2pFPeiM2qU The Byram CERT team (s) is looking for new members. If you would like to volunteer to serve your city and community, CERT is an excellent way to do it. We are trying to establish a team in each of the city wards. This is free training and you will get a beginning response kit upon completion.

The basic training includes: basic first-aid, basic firefighting, light search, disaster psychology and a few other areas.

More information at http://www.fema.gov/communityemergency-response-teams. If you are interested you can contact Carl Mangum at cmangum@byram-ms.us or LeaAnn Warren at lwarren@byram-ms.us (601)351-9700

To simply say “THANK YOU” in capitol letters doesn’t seem adequate enough to express my feeling to the voters of Ward 6 for voting for me on June 6, 2017 to be your alderman. But if there is a better word or phrase that says it better, that’s what I mean.

Ward 6 is a beautiful area of Byram on the extreme east side that I’m so proud to be a part of. Now I’m so honored to be your representative on the Board of Alderman. I will endeavor to fulfill all of your aspirations representing you. So thankful of the confidence you placed in me. I will always remember this and never do anything dishonest and never leave my integrity outside the board room.

Thanks also for the many endorsements. Also, the many that worked for me in the background. One in particular is my dear friend and neighbor, Robert Mack, who helped me in the “African American” Community. I pledge to represent all people in Ward 6 equally.

My wife, Rita, and I will always be available to you. We live in the Willow Bay subdivision and my cell phone number is 601-613-2700.

Thanks so much Your servant

The Terry High School Cheerleaders traveled to Mississippi State University June 15-19 for cheer camp.

The cheerleaders learned several new cheers, chants, jumps, stunts and dance routines. While there they received many great recognition like the Spirit Stick and superior ratings. They also received 1st place for sideline chants and 2nd place overall for game day performance. 6 Varsity cheerleaders: Christina Hicks, Caitlyn McLin, Alea Jones, Janessa Kersh, Morgan Gill, and Jerbrea' Powell were selected as All American Cheerleaders. Pictured below is the Varsity and JV squad for 2017-2018. Not pictured are THS mascots Timberland Smith and a Taylor McField.

Let's go Bulldogs!!!

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

Martin Luther King Jr.

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FRONT PORCH RAMBLINGS

BY JOE WOODS

Whew!!! The spring and early summer rains have finally eased up. The 7 plus inches

ahead of average rainfall has caused me to keep the lawn mower motor hot. Seems like by the time I make a round in my yard it is time to start over. But in spite of such an early wet growing season, Mary Anne's garden has done well. After consecutive heavy and strong winds, she thought the tomatoes wouldn't survive. But luckily she had staked them well when the plants were small. She lost only 2 plants. The pepper, okra, cucumbers, potatoes, turnip greens and squash flourished with a great abundance of blooms and now are producing a bumper crop. I hope this year doesn't suffer a drought, if so my water bill will go out the window again.

A while back I read an interesting article in one of our local daily newspapers. The writer had apparently visited Nita Yuma, a small community about sixty miles north of Vicksburg on Highway 61. Since I grew up near this once thriving community, I read the article with great interest. The writer captured my attention with his first sentence and I became mesmerized as I read on. The current residents are descendants of the Phelps family, Mr. Henry Phelps, the Patriarch. My father and Mr. Phelps spent quite a bit of time in the Phelps' machine shop. They were both very interested in farm equipment and making tools.

But back to the article. The writer wrote that the Phelps' descendants want to establish a museum in honor of their father. Their plan is to display some of Mr. Henry's inventions and introduce visitors to a way of living back in the early part of the 20th century. So I contacted Carolyn and arranged to visit Nitta Yuma. Carolyn and her brother Henry III, met me, Mary Anne and my older brother, Edwin, at the Onward Store Restaurant. We had a delightful meeting and enjoyed a great lunch.

My brother, about 6 decades ago, was working for the Bell Telephone Company. He installed a phone for Mr. Henry. Mr. Henry didn't like the number assigned to his phone and asked my brother if he could find a replacement number. My brother returned to Rolling Fork where the switch board was located and picked out a new number, a single digit and 3 zeros. The next day he assigned the new number and Mr. Henry was very pleased, saying this number looked like “an executive's” number and was very satisfied. That number is still in existence today.

Wanting to be part of the museum's development, my brother and I donated an old boat, made of cypress lumber from a tree cut near our home place. Our father built the boat post the Great Flood of '27. He built the boat as insurance in the event another disastrous flood came. At the age of seventeen, when the Mississippi River breached the levee near Greenville, our father and his brothers and sisters were trapped by the rapidly rising water and had to wade chest-deep water to find higher ground. As some of you may be aware, finding higher ground in the flat Mississippi Delta is difficult. Our father and family members were able to reach the two-story school

house in Delta City. They joined other residents and awaited rescue. Adding to this tragedy, one of my father's brothers fell from a second story window and drowned. His body was never recovered. So our daddy made a promise to build a big boat that was large enough for the whole family. That boat was

built and used by our father as a fishing boat for many years in the Sunflower River. It was never necessary to use it again to escape a flood. Prior to my brother and I taking it to Nitta Yuma, it had been stored in one of our father's out buildings. Henry Phelps III is restoring and preserving the boat and plans to

display it in the museum one of these days.

Mary Anne, my brother and I are looking forward to assisting in the development of the “Nitta Yuma Museum”.

As always, I'm available to meet with your social, service clubs to discuss my 5 mysterythriller novels. Contact me at 601-529-5300 or j1woods@att.net

FAMILY AND FRIENDS DAY

On behalf of Pastor Dion and First Lady Porter, and the entire Terry Grove M.B. Church Family, we would like to cordially invite you to our 7th Annual Family and Friends Day. The event will take place on July 16th, 2017 at 10;15 a,m, at Terry Grove M.B. Church, located at 323 Raymond Street in Terry, MS. This year's program theme is Family and Friends Standing Together In Christ.

The Speaker will be Rev. Samuel Marquis Smith. A Terry, MS. Native. The associate minister of Terry Grove M.B. Church. He is a 10 year veteran of the U.S. Navy, and currently employed as a director at Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center. So please come and join us for what we expect to be a very joyous and uplifting celebration in the Lord.

...let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him...

Hebrews 10:22 (NLT)

10  THE BYRAM BANNER  JULY 2017

Frank and Virginia Williams of Rhode Island gift extraordinary Lincoln and Civil War Collection to Mississippi State University

STARKVILLE, Miss.—An unparalleled private Lincoln and Civil War collection amassed over the past 50 years by former Rhode Island Chief Justice—and nationally known Abraham Lincoln authority—Frank J. Williams will be donated to Mississippi State University.

MSU President Mark E. Keenum and Judge Williams today [June 20] announced the extraordinary gift that Keenum said will transform MSU into one the nation’s leading destinations for scholars and students of the American Civil War. Williams, the longtime president of the Ulysses S. Grant Association, was previously instrumental in relocating that group and its own archives—now the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library—to MSU nine years ago.

By donating his extraordinary Lincoln collection, Williams has also helped elevate MSU into a presidential research center of national prominence.

Considered the nation’s largest privately owned holding of Lincoln research and display material, as well as the country’s most comprehensive privately owned Lincoln and Civil War library, the Frank J. and Virginia Williams Collection boasts rare historical memorabilia; priceless artifacts; original, signed documents; ephemera; books published over a span of 150 years; and both original one -of-a-kind, and early mass-produced, artwork relating to Lincoln and the Civil War era.

The collection, which Judge and Mrs. Williams will officially gift to the Mississippi State University Libraries, has been valued at nearly $3 million.

Committing themselves to providing perpetual support to maintain, study and publicly display highlights from the collection, the Williamses have also offered a promised gift of $500,000 for the creation of the Frank J. and Virginia Williams Research Fund—an endowment to Mississippi State to curate the material in the years to come.

Additionally, the Williamses have pledged to fund a new, annual Frank and Virginia Williams Lecture in Lincoln and Civil War Studies at Mississippi State. And in an extraordinary gesture, they will continue to make acquisitions to add to the collection at MSU. “Mississippi State University is immensely proud to receive the Frank and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana, a truly unique and comprehensive collection that provides unprecedented insight into the life and times of our 16th president and the Civil War era,” Keenum said. “With this incredibly generous donation and their guiding hand in bringing what has become the U.S. Grant Presidential Library to our campus, the Williamses have made MSU one of the nation’s foremost repositories for research into this pivotal period in our nation’s history.”

Williams said, “As a longtime supporter of the Ulysses S. Grant Association—which I am so proud to say is now permanently housed at MSU—I believe the college is the perfect repository for the material that my wife and I have spent a lifetime gathering, preserving, studying and making available on request to

research scholars among our countless friends in the Lincoln world. MSU’s commitment to the study of Grant, the Civil War—and, now, Abraham Lincoln—in the heart of the Deep South takes us a giant step forward in our ever -challenging quest for civility, common purpose and national unity.

“When we brought Grant to Mississippi, some doubters scoffed that neither Civil War scholars nor a Southern campus would welcome the change. But the reverse has been true. I feel privileged to have the opportunity now to invite Grant’s commander-in-chief to join his most famous general on a campus that is so manifestly committed to scholarship, research and interpretation of this historical period and its greatest figures,” he said.

Williams has notched a long and acclaimed career in Lincoln studies and organizational leadership. He has served as president of the Lincoln Group of Boston, the Abraham Lincoln Association, and for the past 21 years, as founding chairman of The Lincoln Forum, a national organization that hosts an annual November symposium at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. As president of the Grant Association, Williams spearheaded the successful negotiation to bring the Grant papers to MSU in 2008 from their former home at Southern Illinois University. In 2012, the Ulysses S. Grant Association designated the holdings at MSU as the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library.

The Frank and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana comprises more than 17,000 items, including artifacts, photographs, statues, paintings, popular prints, broadsides, philately, collectibles and miniatures, as well as numismatics. Nearly 100 original manuscripts and the entire, legendary Claude Simmons collection, which consists of a dozen bankers’ boxes of Lincoln-related materials and scrapbooks, also is included. In addition, the gift includes some 12,000 published volumes (many of them exceptionally rare), separated into two collections: the Lincoln Book

and Pamphlet Collection and the Civil War/ Collateral Book and Pamphlet Collection, comprehensively covering historical writing on the Civil War era from 1860 to the present, and including nearly every title ever published on Lincoln.

Williams, 76, said he began his Lincolniana collection as a sixth-grade student in his native Rhode Island. “I used my lunch money—all 25 cents a day—to buy used Lincoln books. That’s how I started collecting,” Williams said. “With the encouragement and help of Virginia, this passion has never abated.”

His early interest in Lincoln, sparked by daily exposure to a portrait of the 16th president hanging in his Rhode Island classroom, evolved into a deep admiration of the 19th century’s most prominent historical figure and also inspired Williams to follow in Lincoln’s footsteps and pursue a career in law. Lincoln’s legacy remains inspirational, he said, “because of his exemplary character, his strong leadership in crisis, his unwavering political courage, and the fact that he trusted his own judgment, even after he made mistakes, which we all do. Lincoln continues to be ranked by historians as our greatest-ever president, and he should continue to be studied and appreciated in the future.”

Asked to name his best-loved Lincoln artifact, Williams emphasized that while he has been able over time to acquire more and more precious items, “it’s really difficult to put a finger on one particular favorite, when you are entrusted with, and love, so many of them.”

He said that among his most treasured pieces are a first edition, first printing of the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates, signed by Lincoln as President in 1863, as well as a fulllength Lincoln portrait by James Montgomery Flagg, creator of the iconic Uncle Sam “I Want You” military recruiting posters for both World Wars. Also among the most prized items is an early copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, printed in miniature for distri-

bution by Union soldiers in the South. Williams said that although many copies were printed during the Civil War, very few have survived. Single copies are valued at up to $20,000. Among the statuary to be donated are superb early casts of the Lincoln busts from life by Leonard Wells Volk (1860) and Thomas Dow Jones (1861).

Williams is a graduate of Boston University and Boston University Law School, and earned a Master of Taxation degree from Bryant University. A longtime jurist in the Rhode Island court system, he served on the state’s Superior Court beginning in 1995 before ascending to the Supreme Court bench in 2001, serving as chief justice until his retirement in 2009. A veteran of the U.S. Army, he served three years in Germany and one year in Vietnam, for which he was highly decorated by both the U.S. and the Republic of Vietnam. He was appointed by President George W. Bush to the U. S. Court of Military Commission Review, the military appeals court responsible for adjudicating detainment cases in Guantanamo, and served as its Chief Judge from 2007 to 2009.

Virginia Williams is a Texas native and graduate of North Texas State University. She served as a teacher overseas for the U.S. Department of Defense, and met her husband during their mutual time in military service.

She was a kindergarten teacher in the Cranston, Rhode Island, public schools for nearly three decades, and has been deeply involved with The Lincoln Forum since is inception.

Frank J. Williams is also an acclaimed author whose books include “The Emancipation Proclamation: Three Views” (with Edna Greene Medford and Harold Holzer; Louisiana State University Press, 2006); “Judging Lincoln” (Southern Illinois University Press, 2007); and, with William D. Pederson and featuring a chapter by MSU Giles Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History John F. Marszalek, “Lincoln Lessons: Reflections on America’s Greatest Leaders” (Southern Illinois University Press, 2009). His most recent book is “Lincoln as Hero” (Southern Illinois University Press, 2012), and he is currently at work on a companion volume, “Grant as Hero.”

A popular lecturer, Williams not only speaks semi-annually at The Lincoln Forum, but appears as well at Civil War Round Tables, Lincoln Groups, college campuses, and other organizations, writes often for magazines and newspapers, and teaches at both the Roger Williams School of Law and the U. S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

In 2006, MSU’s Pre-Law Society awarded Williams its prestigious Distinguished Jurist Award, and in 2011, Williams gave Mississippi State’s fall commencement address. He told graduates that young leaders of America, “are charged with an important duty – the preservation of democracy.” He is also the winner of the Illinois Order of Lincoln, that state’s highest honor, presented during the bicentennial year of 2009. Williams served as well on both the national U. S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission (appointed by then-Mississippi Senator Trent Lott in his role as Senate Majority Leader), and as a board member of its successor organization, the Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation.

Continued on page 11

JULY 2017  THE BYRAM BANNER  11 At MSU, the Frank and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana will be housed in the new $10 million addition to Mitchell Memorial Library, scheduled to open later this year. More than 100 items from the collection will be showcased in a nearly 1,200-squarefoot gallery, organized around themes such as family, politics, the law, the presidency, the Civil War, slavery, assassination, and Lincoln in popular culture. The new space will be designated as the gallery for “The Frank and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana.” The library addition will also house the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, the Ulysses S. Grant Association, and the Congressional and Political Research Center.

“The Mississippi State University Library is indebted to Frank and Virginia Williams for entrusting this unique and precious collection of Lincolniana to our care,” said MSU Dean of Libraries Frances Coleman. “Our goal is to display its great treasures on a rotating basis while making the entire archive available to researchers throughout the world by cataloging each piece, digitizing the unique materials, and developing a website for the collection.”

John Marszalek, who in addition to being an MSU professor emeritus serves as executive director and managing editor for the Ulysses S. Grant Association and the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, said Williams is one of the nation’s leading Lincoln scholars and his collection is the best private collection in the nation.

Marszalek emphasized, “This donation of this priceless material to MSU, when linked to our marvelous Ulysses .S. Grant collection, will make MSU and the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library a true national center for the study of the American Civil War.” MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation Grants Promote MC Wellness

Mississippi College’s nine-hole disc golf course, the installation of outdoor fitness equipment, and free exercise classes are some of the amazing highlights.

The Farmer’s Market on the Clinton campus, free grab and go healthy breakfasts for employees, and water aerobics classes at Alumni Pool are part of the long list, too.

MC Wellness for Life’s vision for employees, students and the Clinton community to enjoy healthier lives received a powerful boost from Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation grants.

“MC Wellness for Life has grown tremendously over the past two years thanks to the wonderful support from the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation,” says wellness coordinator Piper Walters.

“This health and wellness initiative has enabled the addition of several opportunities for physical activity on campus,” Walters added.

MC employees, students, and Clintonians all see the benefits.

The 2017 opening of the disc golf course attracted dozens of MC supporters for ribboncutting ceremonies. President Lee Royce, Kinesiology Department Chairman Chris Washam, and Walters joined Mayor Phil Fisher and Clinton Chamber of Commerce leaders for the event in late March.

Players signed up for the inaugural Clock Tower Disc Golf Tournament drawing 20 teams on a windy day. The disc golf course is located on green space near the University Place residence halls. It’s another major step as MC wellness programs get bigger.

There’s more to come. Mississippi College officials are making plans to host the second Clock Tower Disc Golf Tournament on April 12, 2018. Players toss a plastic disc off a tee, and eventually try to land it in a chain-

catching metal basket. Disc golf mirrors traditional golf as far as rules go. Courses are popping up across Mississippi cities like Jackson, Pearl, Starkville and Hattiesburg as well as communities across the nation.

Mississippi College wellness programs don’t take a vacation during the summer. The Clinton campus hosted a recent Farmer’s Market featuring fresh fruits and vegetables on sale for faculty and staff. In June and July, hundreds of MC campers in the cafeteria will be given free bracelets in a promotion of healthy food choices and drinking water.

In 2016, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation grants created MC’s walking track and fitness course near the Longabaugh soccer field.

Since day one, Piper Walters has trumpeted Blue Cross & Blue Shield Foundation of Mississippi grants that make a difference for so many people.

MC Wellness initiatives enable folks of all ages to “make healthy choices in their daily lives by providing information, resources, programs and more,” says Walters, a kinesiology instructor from Clinton. The Mississippi foundation’s generous financial support “has allowed us to do just that.”

Yoga classes, kickboxing, a rigorous bootcamp, individual fitness testing equipment, and nutrition awareness programs are pieces of a strong package to benefit the Mississippi College family year-round.

Washam is thankful to the Blue Cross & Blue

Shield Foundation of Mississippi for making campus wellness programs click. He’s happy to have Walters serving as wellness director.

“I have been very impressed with the variety and scope of the activities Piper instituted on campus and in the community.”

This Fall, the 2017 Hap Hudson Homecoming Road Race on Saturday October 21 remains one of the key dates in Clinton as MC supporters step up their fitness levels.

For more information, contact MC Wellness Coordinator Piper Walters at 601-925-7752 or pwalters@mc.edu

Members of JABT L-R Front: Chelsea Crittle (Ex-Officio), Chiquita Chanay (President), Tosha Garner (VicePresident) ack row L-R: Jaclyn Buford, Patrease Edwards, Audrey Hall, Bererenda Pendleton, Tonya Tate, Diane Pendleton, Diandra Hosey, Natarsha Lindsey, Tracy Purvis, and Rashunda Allen (not pictured) Cathy Braboy, Dawn Magee, Demetra Foster, and Joyce Paris

12 THE BYRAM BANNER  JULY 2017

Time to Go! Rev. Roger Collins Grace Presbyterian Church roger@gracepcabyram.net We are often, as believers, inclined to think of the significant span of time that has transpired since our Lord’s ascension into heaven and assume he is a very patient King.

Even Peter reminded believers of that first New Testament generation that God is not slow in keeping his promises, but patient. Yet the account in Acts of the spread of the early church from Judea to Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the world suggests that our Lord is not patient at all.

Read Acts 8 again and notice how verse four points to the method that the Lord used to fulfill his purposes for the spread of the gospel. He drove the church out of Jerusalem and into Samaria within what was probably only a few months at most of his ascension into heaven. The great commission is recorded by Luke in Acts 1.8: “But you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Now in chapter 8 the believers are doing what was promised. They are witnessing as they flee into Samaria, bold with the good news of Christ.

The swift work of the Lord to see his eternal purposes fulfilled is striking. He pushed believers out of their comfort zone where they had enjoyed the sweet fellowship of the Apostles and the tender care of the first Deacons.

An old song that I remember an evangelist singing spoke of the way the Lord used hornets to drive out the Canaanites from the promised land: “When the Canaanites hardened their hearts against God, And grieved Him because of their sin, God sent along hornets to bring them to time, And help His own people to win. // The hornets persuaded them that it was best, To go quickly, and not to go slow; God did not compel them to go 'gainst their will, But He just made them willing to go.” How about that? God, in the persecution of Stephen’s time made his people willing to do the work that he expected them to do.

In this case, God didn’t drive the inhabitants away, but drew them near. He sent his newly converted people to seek their despised neighbors and give them joy and life (v.8) through faith in Christ. Philip, in particular, went to Samaria preaching Christ and performing miracles and signs to testify to the power of Jesus. Evidently, the Spirit of God brought about a great transformation in that Samaritan society. Luke wrote: “there was

much joy in that city!”

If we had heard those first reports about the Samaritans we would probably have joined the Jewish believers in their scepticism. Perhaps we would have asked, “What is the story behind these amazing accounts of conversions in Samaria.” That would have led to the reply “Have you heard about Simon, the magician?”

Of course, you have heard about this story, but do you see in it all that it conveys?

First, Simon was a significant figure in Samaria. He represented not simply the entertainment industry with his skill in the realm of illusion and magic. He represented power and wealth at the expense of those who were deceived by his tricks. There is a contrast between the profitable works of Simon which depended upon deception and the freely offered deliverance openly announced by Christ’s follows. At first, even Simon chose to join those happy men and women and believed the message of Philip. He too was baptized as a convert to the good news. There was no denying the difference between his own act and the mighty works which Philip did in the name of Jesus. So Simon got on the bandwagon.

But with the arrival of the Apostles and the manifest deeds of the Holy Spirit through them, Simon abandoned all pretense and could not but offer money to acquire the power of those holy men. Perhaps he wanted the prestige. More likely, he sought a tool to regain his own prominence as a deceiver.

Now the rebuke of Peter and the clarity with which he called out Simon’s duplicity is truly powerful. The Holy Spirit is never to be toyed with! The Spirit of Christ does not depend upon messengers to do his bidding or deliver his judgments. Peter was gracious to rebuke Simon! To seek to use the Spirit for personal gain is to ignore the power and purpose of the Spirit. It is to put oneself in a very precarious place. Simon illustrates not only his own wickedness, but the evil of all who resist the holy resolve of the Spirit of God to glorify Christ!

This story serves to show the genuine work that the Spirit did among the Samaritan people and is still doing in our day. Simon is singled out for his rebellion and wickedness. But in this story, he is alone in his perversion. Many Samaritans heard the preaching of Christ, received the Lord Jesus and became children of God. Simon’s story is what frames the whole amazing gospel work. Samaritans believed and great joy was known throughout!

This reminds you of the work of Jonah. Tradition tells us that Jonah was loved by the Ninevites for his prophetic work among them!

Don’t you know that Luke’s account was prized by the Samaritans. It represented the love of Jesus in sending them the gospel. Not only did he send men and women to witness to Christ, but he sent them quickly! Perhaps the Lord is not as patient as we are inclined to believe. Are you ready and willing to go?

Byram Business Center Dr. (behinds Mazzio’s on Siwell Road)

601-346-9099

My Brothers Keeper interns at the Center for Research, Evaluation, Environmental Policy and Change, (CREEP), from the central Mississippi area visited the Capitol on Friday, June 16, 2017 My Brothers Keeper interns at the Center for Research, Evaluation, Environmental Policy and Change, (CREEP), from the central Mississippi area visited the Capitol on Friday, June 16, 2017, for a tour and held discussions with Senator John Horhn about their community work.

Standing left to right are: Jackson State University student Jasmine Grays of Jackson, Mississippi College student Neha Dhaliwal of Madison, Joanna Stevens of Byram, who attends Hinds Community College and Aironese James of Crystal Spings and Wayneisha Williams of Belzoni, both of whom attend Alcorn State University.

JULY 2017  THE BYRAM BANNER  13

Containers allow year-round variety By Dr. Gary R. Bachman Once we get into the summer months, it can be hard to plant and be successful with inground landscape beds. But I've found that putting together container plantings gives me a way to add variety to my garden and land-

scape, even when it's really hot.

Once you start gardening in containers, you’ll find it's never too late in the season to try something new. You may even join me in doing most of your gardening in containers all year.

But let's just start with one container and see how it goes.

Since I’m the Southern Gardener, I get the opportunity to try plant varieties before they’re released to the general gardening public. This spring, Proven Winners sent me some outstanding plants that you need to look for next spring. I planted them all together in an interesting combination container.

Salvia Playin’ the Blues produces beautiful blue flowers all summer long. It’s interesting that the calyx remains blue after the flower falls off, making it look like flowers are lasting longer.

My affection for Supertunias is well

known, and Supertunia Bordeaux doesn’t disappoint. The flowers are attractive, with their soft, plummy pink and deep, rich plumpurple veins. This selection spreads to about 30 inches by the end of the season.

The other Supertunia I put in this combo is Lovie Dovie, a great pink and white bicolor that spreads up to 24 inches in diameter. I’m impressed with Gaura Karalee Petite Pink.

This selection produces loads of pink flowers all summer on wand-like stalks that quiver in the slightest breeze. They resemble small butterflies flitting above the dark-green to burgundy foliage.

This grouping provides everything needed for a nice combination container.

I’ve started planting into larger containers, and in this case, I’m using a 15-gallon nursery container. Larger containers give the root systems plenty of room to spread out, and they maintain a more consistent root zone moisture for optimum summer growth.

When you’re putting your containers together, never, ever fill them with native soil. I use commercially available potting mixes comprised of peat moss, bark and forest byproducts.

You must maintain an adequate level of fertilization for best flowering performance. I use a controlled-release fertilizer at planting.

These formulations release their nutrients over a three- to nine-month time period. To feed your combination containers, I suggest using a three-month fertilizer variety, but you must supplement these every couple of weeks with liquid fertilizer as part of your normal watering.

Although the weather has heated up, it’s not too late to get your summer combination containers planted. The key is selecting plants that will tolerate our hot and mostly dry summer conditions.

Containers can be planted at any time of year. This summer combination has tall Salvia Playin’ the Blues in the back, Gaura Karalee Petite Pink providing interest in the front, and Supertunia Bordeaux filling in all the extra space. (Photo by MSU Extension/Gary Bachman)

BYRAM TAX SERVICE LLC

7402 Siwell Rd. Byram MS. Between Walgreens & MOBIL

Mon-Tues – Wed: 9:00-3:00 Thur-Fri- Sat:

By Appointments

601-371-0005

Charlana Donald Former Terry track athlete Charlana Donald competed as a freshman for William Carey at the NAIA national championships. Donald and her teammates earned NAIA All American Honors with a 4th place finish in the 4x100 relay.

14  THE BYRAM BANNER  JULY 2017

Copiah Animal Shelter GALA 2017 - A Shelter Shindig

Yippee-Ki-Yay!! Dust off your hats, shine those boots, and join Copiah Animal Shelter for the 7th Annual GALA Fundraiser - A Shelter Shindig, with a western theme this year! The GALA is set for Saturday, August 5, 2017, 6pm, at the Storm Safe Room in Gallman, MS. Featuring: Great Grub, Live DJ, Line Dancing, Silent Auction, Fun Games, and show off your skill Riding a Mechanical Bull!

GALA Tickets: $20/Adult and $10/Kid (Ages 10 and under) or Sponsor/Reserve Tables: $250 (8 Tickets) GALA Tickets are available at All About Animals Veterinary Clinic in Crystal Springs next door to the Shelter, from CAS Volunteers, and on the website. Please call or email CAS if you have silent auction items you would like to donate! This is Copiah Animal Shelter's largest fundraiser of the year. The winning Raffle ticket for the Kamado Joe Grill Fundraiser will be drawn at the GALA, and you do NOT have to be present to win. KJ Grill Tickets are 1 for $3, or 2 for $5, and are available at All About Animals and from CAS Volunteers. All proceeds benefit Copiah Animal Shelter.

Since the first pet adoptions in late 2011, Copiah Animal Shelter has cared for and adopted out more than 980 animals! Please help CAS continue to Make a Positive Difference for local homeless animals. Look for event details and updates on the CAS website: copiahanimalshelter.net or Phone: 601954-6447.

Copiah Animal Shelter is a nonprofit, volunteer-based, limited-intake animal welfare organization supporting Copiah County, Mississippi (MS) and surrounding communities. CAS provides shelter and care to lost and abandoned animals until permanent placement in loving homes can be made through pet adoption.

Yee Haw! See y'all at the GALA!

Palestine Homemakers May 25, 2017

Members of the Palestine Homemakers' Club took a trip back in time during their May meeting, when they toured a National Registry listing, Chapel of the Cross, in Madison, MS. Parish member Becky Herrin was well versed in her knowledge of the history surrounding the current 4th largest Episcopal parish in the state, where four services are held each Sunday. She very carefully carried us back in time to the early 1800's when the Scottish family of Johnstone purchased hundreds of wooded acres which lay between two rivers, the Pearl and the Big Black. In 1841, Mr. Johnstone brought his family to his log cabin/ plantation home, Annandale. After an early demise, in 1848, John Johnstone was buried in the flower garden and his widow, Margaret, began to build the dream they shared, the Chapel of the Cross. Well known architect, A. Hayes Town, uses this description of the

Chapel, " (a) Gothic gem appears to have grown out of the ground." After surviving the Civil War, the Chapel started to decline steadily and in the very early 1900's was declared extinct. in 1911, the Chapel became a House of Worship once more. And after many, many years of restoration and hard work from the church members and the local community, the Chapel regained its Parish recognition, making it self-sustaining, in 1985.

Becky reminded us of the first Saturday in October which is locally known as "Day in the Country". During this fall day, the community at large is invited to tour the Chapel grounds and participate in fun-filled activities, complete with artisans, craft and food vendors, and live music. Many of us will want to take advantage of this opportunity to return to this quaint place, jam-packed with history.

Our morning activities for the day concluded with a wonderful lunch at The Gathering located in Livingston, where we enjoyed fellowship by catching up on "family" news and missing those members who were unable to attend. Some of our members brought their filled Blessing Bags which were collected and turned over to President Robin Simmons for further dispersion.

Our club will resume its monthly meetings in September when we meet to participate in the County Fair.

Members present: Karen Crawford, Kathy Kammer, Belle Powell, Robin Simmons, Betty Jo Smathers, Dawn Spellman, and Nancy Williams

A RETURN TO DECENCY

On June 9, 1954, Senator Joe McCarthy’s constant personal attacks and character assassination of many good Americans was brought to a screeching halt when Mr. Joseph Welch asked him a single question: Have you left no sense of decency?

Unfortunately, the tactics used by McCarthy in the 1950’s have come roaring back in 2017, by both sides. The Internet, cable TV, and talk radio, in an effort to sell ads and increase profits, have unleashed a similar pattern of personal attacks and character assassination. This has led to keyboard cowboys and call-in guests on radio shows who will say anything, no matter how untrue and hurtful, to argue that those who do not agree with everything that they believe are the enemy. We have begun to type and say things online and on air that we would never say to another person’s face, or to someone at work or church. So I ask, just as Mr. Welch asked Sen. McCarthy, Have we left no sense of decency?

As a husband, father, neighbor, legislator, American and proud Mississippian, I wish for a return to civility. It requires both sharing and listening. So I would begin this civil journey by sharing what I believe is best for our beloved State of Mississippi instead of relying on personal attacks, or hollow party sound

bites. These beliefs guides my votes: Foremost, the future of Mississippi definitely starts with a great education for all of our children, equally, and that a quality public school system is the biggest economic driver of any state. When we embrace that reality, Mississippi will move up from last place in all categories.

I believe it is far cheaper to educate a child for 13 years from K-12 than it is to pay for the incarceration of an adult for 20 or 30 years.

I believe Mississippi has great potential to be amazing in public education. However, we must understand that being 50th is what happens when we pay our teachers less than 48 other states, and spend less per student than 46 other states.

I believe that critical government services, such as mental health, public health, public safety, and roads and bridges are tremendous benefits to society and should be fully funded before we give tax cuts to foreign corporations and large campaign donors.

I believe that every law we pass should embrace that all men and women are created equal. Period.

I believe that the people and local businesses are far more important to the function of Mississippi government than political parties, foreign corporations, and political action committees.

I believe that no child gets to pick its parents, zip code, or their mental or physical health.

I believe our elected officials should be true public servants and 100% transparent at all times. There should be no room in our government for self-serving politicians who put themselves before the people. It is wrong that the highest campaign donors control our state government. Public service should never be for private gain.

I believe we must live within our means.

But I also believe we must stop giving away our means to the highest campaign contributors and then shifting the tax burden to the poor and working class.

I believe in being fiscally responsible instead of fiscally conservative. Fiscally responsible means spending all money efficiently. Fiscally conservative means spending

on programs you like.

I know that many of you reading this agree with me, regardless of political party affiliation, or whether you are from the Coast, Hills, Delta, Pine Belt or Jackson area. Let’s remember that there is far more that unites us than divides us. Let’s begin to focus on common bonds and goals, instead of tearing down our fellow Mississippians. My simple hope is that we return to a sense of common decency and treat everyone with basic respect, even those with whom we disagree.

Now I’m ready to listen.

Jay Hughes State Representative District 12 - Lafayette County 662-816-2888

JULY 2017  THE BYRAM BANNER  15 “…so in Christ we who are many form one body and each member belongs to all the others..”

Romans 12:5 Greeting in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, For many years, I practiced architecture.

Through all those years, I never saw a house or a hospital constructed of only one wall or a single door. It t a ke s ma ny architectural elements and various structural components along with concrete and steel, bricks and mortar, walls, doors and ceilings to make a building. What is true in the physical world is also true in the spiritual realm.

As individual believers, we are one with Christ through faith and trust in Him. Peter (1 Pet. 2:5) refers to individual members of the church as ‘living stones being built up as a spiritual house.” The Apostle Paul refers to the church as the body of Christ. He says there are many members, but one body (1 Cor. 12:20). Because individual believers are one with Christ and Christ belongs to God and God is one, then those who are joined by faith to Christ are one with Him and one with one another. This is Paul’s point. If you are ONE, why, then are you divided? Why are there contentions among you? Why are so many striving to maintain their own personal Christian liberties at the expense of unity and peace? For those of you who look for the “bottom line,” this is it: truth joins, error divides. Where there is division, there must be some form of error. It may be error in the doctrine that is taught from the pulpit. It may be error in the way we think about ourselves.

It may be error in the way we think about “church.” If the error is in the doctrine taught, then I highly recommend that you start searching for another church. If the error is found to be within ourselves, we had each better start searching our own hearts and our own motives.

If you have the wrong concept of "church,” then maybe you should sit back and

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re-evaluate your motivation for joining yourself to a particular body of believers. Unfortunately, the worldly wisdom that says "anything goes" has filtered over into the church so that many churches have inculcated a marketplace mentality. The church growth movement has created churches with no firm doctrinal standards. The emphasis in these churches is "felt-needs.” The sad by-product of this movement is as Mike Beates, associate editor of Tabletalk, wrote in an article a few years ago, the "revolving door syndrome of most Evangelical churches. People come and go with no commitment to a creed and or to other people -- the commitment is first to the self. The felt needs are met through programs." He attributes this sad situation to two problems, the fear of community and the fear of accountability.

"Flimsy” commitment to the local church is an issue of discipline -- poor discipline by the professed believer as well as by the local church...Church for many does not exist ultimately for God and service to His kingdom; it is there to meet personal needs and help people with the struggles of life. Such a perspec-

tive is lamentably selfish and undisciplined. If Romans 12:5 is true, "so in Christ we who are many form one body and each member belongs to all the others," then we really don't belong to ourselves, we belong to the community we have joined ourselves to. When we so quickly walk away from church commitments and relationships or just pick and choose within the church the activities we want to attend, excluding corporate worship, but attending social events, rather than honestly working through whatever conflicts and disagreements may arise; we are admitting we have a wrong concept of doctrine and a wrong view of the church. Truth joins, error divides!

David Wells, in his books No Place for Truth and God in the Wasteland, says that our culture has created a consumer mentality even regarding the church. "It is my choice after all.

I'll choose whatever church suits my needs right now" we tell ourselves. Says Wells in Wasteland, "We all have needs...But God does not want us to interpret the meaning of these needs ourselves because, being sinners, we resist seeing such needs in terms of our broken and violated relationship with Him. Christ’s Gospel calls sinners to surrender their selfcenteredness, to stop granting sovereignty to their own needs and to recognize His claim of sovereignty over their lives: When the church is not meeting "perceived needs," people leave for inconsequential reasons with no biblical or ecclesiological defense. Other churches receive them and welcome them without asking any questions thereby contributing to people's propensity for church hopping and shopping.

This is the fear of community. There is also a fear of accountability. Some drift from church to church to avoid confrontation with their sin. Looking for a place where they are never really confronted by their sinful patterns of behavior, they shop around. Rather than admit that there is a problem, submit to the church and work through the problem, they leave to find another church. Beates says in his TableTalk article, "In our culturallyhandicapped thinking the church carries no authority. Yet Augustine likened the church to a mother -- one that nurtures, corrects and trains. When we leave because of correction, it is like a child rebelling against his mother, deciding instead to go live with an aunt. We move on again when the aunt also exercises discipline.” If believers are living stones in the

Temple of God (1 Peter 2:5) and members of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12), then the local church is not just some social organization. It is a living organism. Leaving to go to another church leaves a hole in the wall and a wound in the body.

To build the Temple and strengthen the Body, we must carefully choose where we can best serve Christ and then commit ourselves to submit humbly to that body. Part of this submission is working to build and maintain fellowship. One key ingredient often missing is the necessity of keeping short accounts. We are prone to avoid even the smallest conflicts in our evangelical politeness. But the sum total of year’s worth of minor frustrations, conflicts, and unresolved disappointment over time amount to substantial hurt - often to the point where people are beyond reconciliation.

Church commitment should not be based on where your needs are met, or where you like the music, or where your kids have a 'happening' youth group, and certainly not on where the church leaves you to live in your sin. Rather be committed to a church that exhibits biblical fidelity to the marks of a true church: the faithful preaching of the Word, administration of the Sacraments, and the exercise of church discipline – training in righteousness. It might not keep you comfortable, but it will keep you growing in Christ and in service to his body.

0 God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Take away all pride and prejudice, and whatsoever else may hinder us from godly union and concord; that as there Is but one Body and one Spirit, and one hope of our calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all of one heart and of one soul, united In one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify you our God, through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen (from The Book of Common Worship, 1946) Grace and Peace to you all, Pastor Mark Dr. Mark Spellman Wynndale Presbyterian Church 6600 Terry Rd. Terry, MS 39170 www.wynndalepca.org https://www.facebook.com/wynndalepca

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16  THE BYRAM BANNER  JULY 2017

SEN. DAVID BLOUNT BRIEF SPECIAL SESSION COMPLETES WORK ON STATE BUDGET The regular session of the Legislature for 2017 ended in late March with the state budget incomplete. As a result, Gov. Phil Bryant called a special session for Monday, June 5.

The work of the special session was completed in one day. The Legislature passed a budget for the Attorney General’s office. It is critical that we fund the state’s top law enforcement official. We also passed bills to fund the Mississippi Department of Transportation and the State Aid Road fund.

Although the Department of Transportation will be funded next year, Republican legislative leaders are unable to agree a plan to deal with the looming infrastructure crisis facing our state highways, roads, and bridges. The simple fact is that repairing and maintaining roads costs money (as the streets of Jackson prove). The first and best way to fund this needed work is to repeal the irresponsible tax cut law passed last year. The cost of this single bill over the next twenty years is $6.6 billion dollars. Dedicating a portion of this lost revenue to infrastructure and passing a conservative bonding program can solve our infrastructure problems without raising current taxes. This issue is not going away and I expect this issue again be at the forefront of the next legislative session.

The Legislature passed bills to protect key functions of the Secretary of State’s Office. One important program reimburses cities and counties for the sale of properties that were transferred to the state for nonpayment of taxes. This provision makes sure that cities and counties get the property taxes they are owed. I have been working for years to help the Secretary of State’s Office get these properties back in private ownership more quickly. This puts the property back on the tax rolls and helps clean up neighborhoods and reduce crime.

I authored a bill during the regular legislative session to give the citizens of Byram the right to vote on a proposed Byram hotel tax. Voters overwhelmingly approved the new hotel tax (which is paid only by people who spend the night in Byram hotels) in the recent municipal election. This is expected to generate more than $50,000 a year for Byram to improve “tourism, parks, and recreation” for tourists and all Byram residents. This will improve the quality of life in Byram and I appreciate Mayor White and the Byram Board of Aldermen for their work on this effort.

I have been very active the past few weeks visiting with neighborhood associations to provide updates on the legislative session. I am always happy to meet with groups and

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Thank you for the opportunity to work for you in the State Senate. If I can help you in any way, please contact me by email (dblount@senate.ms.gov) or by calling my office at the Capitol (601-359-3232). I am also on Facebook and Twitter (@sendavidblount).

Teaching with a Christian Based A Beka Curriculum

America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination. Harry S. Truman

Junior Auxiliary of Byram/Terry Provisional Class Members 2017-18 Left to right LaShaunda Davenport Kauvonda Amos Victoria Jenkins Gloria Taylor LaMonica Sampson Gardner. Not pictured: Farrah Nicholson and Angela Noble

JULY 2017  THE BYRAM BANNER  17

At Home with Real Estate

by Barry Clemmer Nationwide Raw Count of Home Sales

April 2017 Existing-home sales dropped 2.3 percent in April from one month prior while new home sales decreased 11.4 percent. These headline figures are seasonally adjusted figures and are reported in the news.

Specifically, 449,000 existing-homes were sold in April while new home sales totaled 54,000.

These raw counts represent a 1 percent decrease for existing-home sales from one month prior while new home sales decreased 11 percent. What was the trend in recent years? Sales from March to April increased by 14 percent on average in the prior three years for existing-homes and rose by 5 percent for new homes. So this year, both existing and new home sales underperformed compared to their recent normal.

Why are seasonally adjusted figures reported in the news? To assess the overall trending direction of the economy, nearly all economic data – from GDP and employment to consumer price inflation and industrial production – are seasonally adjusted to account for regular events we can anticipate that have an effect on data around the same time each year. For example, if December raw retail sales rise by, say, 20 percent, we should not celebrate this higher figure if it is generally the case that December retail sales rise by 35 percent because of holiday gift buying activity. Similarly, we should not say that the labor market is crashing when the raw count on employment declines in September just as the summer vacation season ends. That is why economic figures are seasonally adjusted with special algorithms to account for the normal seasonal swings in figures and whether there were more business days (Monday to Friday) during the month. When seasonally adjusted data say an increase, then this is implying a truly strengthening condition.

What to expect about home sales in the upcoming months in terms of raw counts? Independent of headline seasonally adjusted figures, expect busier activity in May and even better in June. For example, in the past 3 years, May sales rose by 10 to 12 percent from April while June sales rose by 7 to 16 percent from May. For the new home sales market, the raw sales activity in May is hard to predict while activity will diminish in June. For example, in the past 3 years, sales in May dropped by 2 to 4 percent in 2015 and 2016 while they increased 10 percent in 2014.

However, in the past three years, June sales dropped by 6 to 12 percent from May.

Interest Rates Per REALTOR.COM, on average, as of June 19,2017, the 30 year fixed rate mortgages in Mississippi are as follows: FHA 3.51%, VA - 3.45%, MS Veteran's Home Purchase Board - 3% Conventional - 3.93% Have a real estate need or question? Call Barry for a private professional consultation t o d a y .

Barry Clemmer is a professional licensed REALTOR® in the State of Mississippi with Century 21 Maselle & Associates. His views and opinions may not necessarily reflect the opinions & views of Century 21 M a s e l l e & Associates.

Barry may be reached at BarryClemmer@FrontDoorKey.com; or 601-214-2018, Mobile.

ARE YOU READY?

By Carl Mangum, PhD, PMHNP-BC, RN, CHS, CHEP

It is Hurricane Season: here is some information What to do when a hurricane is 36 hours from arriving



Turn on your TV or radio in order to get the latest weather updates and emergency instructions.



Build or restock your emergency preparedness kit. Include a flashlight, batteries, cash, and first aid supplies.



Plan how to communicate with family members if you lose power. For example, you can call, text, email or use social media. Remember that during disasters, sending text messages is usually reliable and faster than making phone calls because phone lines are often overloaded.

 It is the love of country that has lighted and that keeps glowing the holy fire patriotism. ~J. Horace McFarland

Review your evacuation plan with your family. You may have to leave quickly so plan ahead.

Keep your car in good working condition, and keep the gas tank full; stock your vehicle with emergency supplies and a change of

clothes.

Source: https://www.ready.gov/hurricanes For more information refer to www.ready.gov.

Remember being prepared is a responsibility for all of us.

Carl Mangum, PhD, PMHNP-BC, RN, CHS, CHEP is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He serves as the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for the School of Nursing. He also serves as a Lieutenant on the Byram Volunteer Fire Department and Special Projects Officer for the City

of Byram Fire Department.

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18  THE BYRAM BANNER  JULY 2017

USM Makes History with First Graduating Class of Unmanned Maritime Systems Course

The University of Southern Mississippi made history on June 1 with 15 students completing a first-of-its-kind certification in Unmanned Maritime Systems (UMS).

“This is akin to what NASA first did with spaceflight,” Rear Admiral Timothy Gallaudet said. “This class should be mighty proud because the national impact of this certification and the skills taught throughout the course will be felt for decades.”

The UMS program spanned over an intensive five weeks with students studying nautical science, 3-D positioning, ocean policy, and autonomous systems.

“This program was designed to provide a rigorous, hands-on academic program to introduce the students to unmanned maritime sys-

tems and the decision processes needed to operate them, “ said Monty Graham, Director of USM’s School of Ocean Science and Technology (SOST). “Students developed skills in disciplines such as electronics, programming, policy and application.”

The 15 students were made up of civilian and military personnel from the Naval Oceanographic Office, Fleet Survey Team and Naval Oceanography Mine Warfare Center based at the John C. Stennis Space Center; Submarine Development Squadron 5 based in Bangor, Washington; Naval Oceanography Special Warfare Center based in San Diego; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in based in Norfolk, Virginia; and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center based in Newport, Rhode Island.

The class’s instructor, SOST’s Dr. Vernon Asper, was challenged with packing 10 semester hours of teaching into just five weeks of

class time.

“Scheduling was crucial because of how intensive the nature of the class is,” Asper said. “Seeing how quickly the students began to grasp the concepts and truly grow their understanding of the unmanned systems was incredibly gratifying as their teacher.”

In the five weeks, students learned core fundamentals of using gliders, powered unmanned underwater vehicles, and autonomous surface vehicles. Not only were students responsible for learning how to chart and pilot these vessels, but they also learned how to build them.

“Building the glider really brought a lot of the topics together for the class,” Asper said.

“Seeing how the vehicle you’re using is made from inside to out put everything into perspective for them.”

Graham applauded the graduates as they received their certificates from USM President

Rodney D. Bennett and Rear Admiral Gallaudet.

“In a normal academic world, 18 hours takes about 15 weeks,” Graham said. “These graduates worked every day, all day, for five weeks.

Each of you should be very proud of the hard work you’ve put in to earn these certificates.

The UMS class is the first tier in a 3-tier program. Students going through the entire tier structure will graduate with a full graduate degree.

“Look around the room at your fellow graduates,” Gallaudet said. “Each of you has embarked on a journey no one else has attempted.

The work you have put in for the last few weeks has advanced the defense of the United States immensely and we can’t wait to see what you do next.”

Janice Carter

Congratulations to Janice Carter on obtaining her bachelor’s Degree in Engineering from the University of Southern Mississippi. She is the daughter of Pressie and Emma Carter of Terry, MS

JULY 2017  THE BYRAM BANNER  19

COOKIN WITH HONEY AND FRIENDS GOOD

MORNING BEAUTIFUL MISSISSIPPI AND TO ALL OF OUR WONDERFUL FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD "What better way to get your day started then with some delicious homemade pancakes here's one of my favorite recipes!"

Honey's Recipe Banana Almond Pancakes For this recipe you need 2 bowls one for your dry goods the other for your wet ingredients And a large spoon ( LOL you can use a hand mixer but stirring with a spoon is just so much fun) Let's get started Ingredients •1 ripened banana 1/4 cup Golden raisins • 1/4 cup sliced almonds • 1 egg at room temperature •1 teaspoon of vanilla extract •1 teaspoon of nutmeg or cinnamon ( are used • 1- cup milk •1 Cup of flour +3 tablespoons •1/2 teaspoon of baking soda 1/2 salt *In your first bowl add your flower salt baking powder and set to the side * in your second bowl smash your ripe and banana until creamy add egg stir until smooth now add vanilla extract and nutmeg make sure you stir well so there's no streaking from your egg now fold in 1 cup flour stir mixture until it has a dough consistency now add your milk 1/2 at a time stir until mixture is completely creamy add almonds and raisins +3 tablespoons of flour stir with a spoon until your mixture is completely folded together Add oil or butter to your cast iron skillet on medium high heat make sure that you don't overheat the oil scope in equal amounts of batter into your cast iron skillet allow better to lightly brown on the bottom you'll notice bubbles in your batter as a signed that is time to flip those pancakes *once your pancakes are done my secret is to slightly dust them with powdered sugar immediately ( by adding the powdered sugar these pancakes are perfect without syrup or only use a small amount Try adding extra almonds or golden raisins to the top of your pancakes for that decadent appeal____ ENJOY * A HONEY TIP Try using a large ice cream scooper for those perfectly sized pancakes every time Follow_Us on FACEBOOK @ COOKING WITH HONEY AND FRIENDS

JSU Byram-Terry Alumni Chapter Jackson State University National Alumni Association, Incorporated’s Byram-Terry Chapter cordially invites you to our Student Send-Off and Meet & Greet for Jackson State University's President, Dr. William B. Bynum, Jr. This event will be held on Sunday, July 23,

2017 at 5:30 p.m. at Crossroads of Life Church, 6775 S. Siwell Rd., Byram, MS 39272. This event is open to incoming freshman, current students, supporters, and alumni of Jackson State University. Please RSVP at bit.ly/JSUNAA_BTC. For more information or to join our chapter, contact Patrease Edwards at 601-454-2435 or Aleesha Hudson at 601-750-7474.

...you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father."

- Romans 8:15 (NLT

Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abraham Lincoln Griffith Memorial celebrated VBS the week of June 5-9. There were 230 participants for the week’s events.

20  THE BYRAM BANNER  JULY 2017

WORTHY OF RESPECT

By Carol L. Kohan “Why should I live like this being less than perfect?”

Striving for perfection in body mind and spirit is a way of life, and the cult of endless self-improvement.

The world defines humility as a lowering of oneself in relation to others, a freedom of pride and arrogance, and having a modest opinion of one’s own worth. James 4:6 says, “God is in battle against the proud but gives grace to the humble.” The fact is that until a person humbles themselves they can never receive the grace of God which is a gift that He only gives to those who are of a humble and contrite nature.

Read 2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sins and will heal their land. Otherwise, judgment may be coming to this nation and to every person who refuses to humble themselves, ben the need, repent, and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our society seems to be facing many problems. I believe that respect for one another is a big social issue in our generation of tomorrow. For example, in our school system there is a lack of respect for students from other fellow students. In the home, there is a lack of respect from the children of this generation to honor and respect their parents. There is also a lack of respect from young adults to the most authoritative public figures.

Logically assuming students’ classes last for 50 minutes, however, teachers spend 10 percent teaching and 40 percent disciplining.

The Washington Post clarifies Midyear teacher resignations are disrupting D.C. classrooms. At Ballou High School in Southeast Washington, a number of problems drove them to leave, from student behavior and attendance issues plus a lack of support from the administration.

Washington Post reports a story about an Algebra teacher at Ballou High who had 33 students who were very far behind in math plus lacked the foundation needed to be successful. She says, a lot of the students felt really discouraged about math and used other methods to lash out. “I couldn’t address those problems they were having on my own,” she said. Upon asking the administrators for help with behavior problems; nothing changed; she decided to quit.

Richard Ingersoll, a professor of education and sociology at the University of Pennsylvania research shows that teachers resign because they do not feel supported by their administration. His research showed that some teachers leave if they do not feel safe in schools where there are fights. Ingersoll believes If teachers leave in the middle of the year, that suggests disruptions are so bad teachers can’t wait until the end of the year.

The kids are not taught respect in their own homes. They come to school with the attitude of “You cannot tell me what to do.”

The following story is from Martin Luther King Middle School in Richmond VA. Teachers voiced their frustrations to CBS 6.

Apparently, they could not handle teaching

there anymore and left in the middle of the school year. Primarily, the school administration did not provide enough support nor did they do a good job disciplining students.

(Chelsea Rarrick, journalist for CBS 6) According to the dictionary: Respect is a feeling of admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements. When a person shows respect for someone, it means that the person has value.

The most apparent sign of lack of respect is in the school with students who do not respect their teachers.

Another factor posing a problem in the school system is lack of respect with students who do not respect their peers. Most students fail to recognize each other because of differing economic status, race, and religious beliefs.

Lack of respect provides an environment of retaliation, until one group goes too far. Most high schools across the nation have been plagued with fights, shootings and violent crimes due to the lack of respect toward each other.

The missing link is self-respect. Selfrespect is essential to every human life. No one can teach this trait. Self-respect comes from within a person’s soul. Each person has to learn it for themselves.

Alfred Whitney Griswold said, “Selfrespect cannot be hunted. It cannot be purchased. It is not for sale. It can never be fabricated out of public relations. It comes to us when we are alone, in quiet moments, in quiet places, when we suddenly realize that, knowing the good, we have done it; knowing the beautiful, we have served it; knowing the truth, we have spoken it.”

To respect everyone, believers must be conscious that God has created all people in His image, regardless of whether they believe in Christ. We should show them proper respect and honor because their souls are of more value than all the wealth in the world (Luke 10:33–34; 1 Corinthians 10:33).

Growing up, I never would have thought to disregard or disrespect authority, especially law enforcement. Evidence proves we live in a world now where this generation has lost respect for authority in general. Many children talk back to their parents, think rules don’t apply to them and they are entitled to everything.

Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. (Romans 13:1–7).

Such respect must be given whether we agree with them or not. Those in authority are God’s instruments for carrying out the purpose of governing and worthy of the respect God mandates. When we obey the principles of this passage, we give genuine credibility to our faith. As believers, we are to honor our governing authorities and their rights as such. But we may not give to the government those rights that belong to God alone (Luke 20:25). (gotquestions.org/Bible-respect) Download the guide “Protecting Communities Serving the Public” a five-session discussion guide designed to build trust and respect between community-police relationships.

(E-mail scrc@studycircles.org) (Website: www.studycircles.org) (Telephone 860-9282616)

Junior Auxiliary of Byram/Terry Executive Board:

L-R front row, Chelsea Crittle (Ex-Officio), Chiquita Chanay (President), Tosha Garner (Vice President), Back L-R: Patrease Edwards (Recording Secretary), Berenda Pendleton (Treasurer), Diane Pendleton (Asst. Treasurer), and Tonya Tate (Corresponding Secretary)

Jesus said, A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-35) Try to remember what it felt like to love someone and be separated from them. After the death of their 17-year-old daughter Clare Emily Wood, the Wood family discovered that Clare had been having trouble with girls at school and was a victim of cyberbullying.

Clare valued friendship and faith. She loved the Lord and wrote little notes to herself that said things like, “Make God loved.” An exboyfriend of a fellow volleyball teammate was romantically interested in Clare. They were seen kissing on the dance floor; even though Clare wanted to call her teammates and apologize but news spreads quickly in a small town.

Hence, Clare was unable to handle the cyberbullying.

A sharp “pop” echoed throughout the family cattle ranch. Thinking it was weather related no one responded but Clare had taken her own life. Minutes later, Grampa Woods rushed to the house screaming. “Clare shot herself!

Clare’s dead!”

The talented, beautiful and fun-loving Clare left a note in her car that read. “I love you guys very much. Please forgive me. I’m sorry.”

The mother of Clare said, “I never saw anything in Clare that I thought was unusual, she was a typical teenager. But the day Clare died, she was going through the ‘perfect storm’ in her mind to cause her to take her own life.” Excerpts from Melanie Williams ‘I LEAVE IT IN HIS HANDS’ “One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.” Lucius Annaeus Seneca Students who attended the funeral emphasized Clare’s loyalty and shared that Clare has protected them from bullying and helped them in times of depression.

For all you know, your life has collapsed and God has left you. You are, in poet Andre Gide's striking image, like a moth inside a cocoon trying to know itself. The moth that tries this will never become a butterfly. All it can do is let the transformational process hap-

pen. So is the soul caught in the midst of the dark night, in the Experience of No Self. God begins to take over. You begin to change and the old "you" is no more. You dread every minute of it.

This true story of Clare Emily Wood; a moth inside a cocoon; born October 7, 1996, attained eternal memories August 10, 2014 presents lessons of true friendship: A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities. William Arthur Ward Everyone that has ever lived was created uniquely by God and He know everything about each person. How would your life be different if…You stopped making judgmental assumptions about people you encounter? Pray to God that you may see people the way He sees them so that even when you meet people who are difficult, you can RESPECT their journey. Humanity is ‘Worthy of Respect’ because as Confucius writes, “Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?”

FATHER – FORGIVE The hatred which divides Nations from Nations, Race from Race, Class from Class.

FATHER - FORGIVE The covetous desires of men and nations to possess what is not their own.

FATHER - FORGIVE The greed which exploits the labors of men and lays waste the earth.

FATHER FORGIVE Our indifference to the plight of the homeless and refugees.

FATHER – FORGIVE The lust which uses for ignoble ends the bodies of men and women.

FATHER – FORGIVE The pride which leads us to trust in ourselves and not in God. FATHER - FORGIVE Be Kind to one another - Tenderhearted – Forgiving to one another as God in Christ forgave you.

(Coventry Litany of Reconciliation)

JULY 2017  THE BYRAM BANNER  21

HCSD Host Summer STEM Camp for Grades 3rd – 6th A one-week summer camp for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) was held at Gary Road Intermediate School June 5th – 9th and at Raymond Elementary School June 12th -16th. The camps were designed to: 1.) Help students learn the basics of programming with Scratch, a visual coding tool. With Scratch, students were able to make interactive stories, games and animations and 2.) Teach students how to look at basic engineering problems such as reaching, lifting, launching, crossing, and detection. Students will create solutions to these problems by building machines and programming simple circuits. At the end of the week, students will have experienced the worlds of Mechanical, Civil, Electrical and Computer Engineering. events.

Meet the Camp Instructors and Organizer

Willette Jacobs, Mathematics Teacher - UEMS

Margaret Levitt, Computer Lab Instructor - RES

Demetric Williams, PLTW: Design Modeling Teacher - BEEMS

Lisa Jones, Director of Technology, Camp Organizer - HCSD

Students that attending the Camp at Gary Road Intermediate School

CHANCELLOR FUNERAL HOME BYRAM

Gary Dorman Utica

Students that attending the Camp at Raymond Elementary School

Expires 7/31/2017

Gary Lynn Dorman, 65, passed away Sunday, June 18, 2017 in Byram. Visitation was 5:30-8pm Tuesday, June 20, 2017 and 9am until the 10am funeral service Wednesday, June 21, 2017, all at Chancellor Funeral Home in Byram. Interment followed at Faith Baptist Church Cemetery in Utica.

Gary was a lifelong resident of the Utica/Byram area and a member of Hillcrest Baptist Church. He attended Wingfield High School, enjoyed fishing and loved the water. Gary was a self employed, excellent painter, a kind hearted man with a gentle soul who loved Jesus.

He is preceded in death by his parents Fred L. Dorman and Betty Mills Rogers; and his brother Ricky Dorman. Survivors include his companion and soul mate of 10 years Cathy Edwards of Byram; daughters, Jessica Dorman of Jackson and Jodye (Andrew) Sabatini of Richland; brother, Victor (Sharon) Dorman of Jackson; grandchildren, Caden, Harrison and Lucca.

On line guest book available at www.chancellorfuneeralhome.com.

May the sun in his course visit no land more free, more happy, more lovely, than this our own country! ~Daniel Webster

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.

Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Philippians 4:6 (NLT)

EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD Established 1858 Member of American Anglican Council

109 West Claiborne Street P.O. Box 325 Terry, MS 39170 601- 878-5612 Senior Warden - 601-850-9402.

SUNDAY SERVICES

BIBLE STUDY 7:45 A.M. HOLY EUCHARIST 8:30 A.M. (1st, 2nd & 4th Sunday) MORNING PRAYER 8:30 A.M. (3rd & 5th Sunday) NURSERY PROVIDED

22  THE BYRAM BANNER  JULY 2017

Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art’s July 2017 Programming

I. Mission The Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art’s mission is to promote and preserve the unique legacy of Biloxi potter George E. Ohr and the diverse cultural heritage of the Mississippi Gulf Coast; and to exhibit works which exemplify the independent, innovative, and creative spirit of George Ohr, emancipated craftsman Pleasant Reed, and Ohr-O’Keefe Museum architect Frank Gehry. This mission is served through compelling exhibitions and educational experiences viewed from a fresh perspective relevant to our community, the region, and the nation with a strong focus on ceramic arts.

386 Beach Blvd • Biloxi, MS 39530 | 228.374.5547 | www.georgeohr.org | facebook.com/OhrOKeefeMuseumOfArt II. Exhibitions and ExhibitionRelated Programs A. Current Avalon by Greg Moran IP Casino Resort & Spa Exhibitions Gallery - June 6 – August 12 Greg Moran received a MFA in Sculpture from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and has taught sculpture and drawing for many years at various universities. He runs Amberglow Forge, a sculpture studio in South Mississippi. Moran has had over 300 individual bronze pours since opening the foundry.

HIs high profile clientele has included the Mississippi Department of Transportation and the Army Corps of Engineers. Moran considers his sculpture to be a matter of problem solving and looks forward to custom commissions.

Thinking Art Into Being: Ruther Miller’s Contemporary Embroidery The Beau Rivage Resort & Casino Gallery of African American Art June 13 – August 19 Ruth Miller’s embroidery paintings begin as drawings derived from photographs. Working with only hand-held needles and completing all the stitching herself, Miller creates embroidered works that appear to be drawings.

She likes the succinctness of drawing; the fact that the “blank” areas are alive with suggestions of what isn’t made explicit. Miller prefers life-size figures despite the extended production time. She utilizes the larger format to accommodate a greater amount of detail, using the texture of the wool to enhance and not overwhelm the characters and objects portrayed.

B. Permanent The Native Guard: A Photographic History of Ship Island’s African American Regiment Pleasant Reed Interpretive Center Gallery Dates: (Ongoing) Photographs from the collection of C. P. (“Kitty”) Weaver of Massachusetts from the diary of Colonel Nathan W. Daniels, supplemented by photographs provided by Isiah Edwards of Long Beach, Mississippi, record the history of the 2nd Regiment of Louisiana Native Guards that served for the Union at Ship Island in the Mississippi Sound. Passages from the poetry of Pulitzer Prize winner Natasha Trethewey were inspired by the history of the Native Guards. Excerpts from Colonel Nathan W. Daniels Diary were reprinted from C.P. Weaver. Thank God My Regiment an African One: The Civil War Diary of Colonel Nathan W. Daniels. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1998.

My House: The Pleasant Reed Story

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VETERINARY HOSPITAL Michael R. Randall. D.V.M. Andres Gibbs, D.V.M. Patrick Hyde D.V.M. 5919 Terry Road Byram, MS 39272 • 601-371-0895

Appointments, Walk-ins and Drop Offs

Small and Exotic Animal Medicine and Surgery

Have Safe & Happy 4 of July Grooming and Boarding … Call for an Appointment Heartworm Prevention: Proheart 6 , Advantage Multi, Advantix ▪ Trifexis Flea Prevention: Nexgard, Bravecto (3 months), Comfortis, Advantix

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Senior Citizen Discount Office Hours: Monday-Friday: 7:30-5:30 • Saturday: 8:00-12:00 Pleasant Reed Interpretive Center Dates: (Ongoing) The Pleasant Reed Interpretive Center is a reconstruction of the original house built

by Pleasant Reed in the late 19th century that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A visit to the Pleasant Reed Interpretive Center provides a rare opportunity to see how an African American born into slavery persevered in spite of daunting circumstances. Pleasant Reed was not the only individual born a slave who later built his family a house with funds earned in the post-Civil War economy, but his home is one of the few that that can be identified with a particular African American builder and homeowner. Authentic items that were used by the Reed family in the late 19th and early 20th century are also on display.

George Edgar Ohr: I am the Potter Who Was Beau Rivage Resort & Casino Gallery of African American Art, Star Gallery Dates: (Ongoing) George Edgar Ohr: I am the Potter Who Was provides a history of Ohr’s life from the beginnings of his career through the early 1900s when he decided to leave his pottery in its bisque form to accentuate its shape rather than its color. A tour of the gallery includes photographs, archives, videos, and a history of

the phases of Ohr’s career. George Edgar Ohr, “The Mad Potter of Biloxi”, was active from 1883 to 1910, creating innovative ceramics that are a central part of the artistic heritage of the Gulf South and the broader canon of American Art. Today, 100 years after he ended his pottery-making career, George Edgar Ohr is considered an early leader in the American modernist movement.

Katrina +10 Beau Rivage Resort & Casino Gallery / John S. & James L. Knight Pod Pavilion Dates: (Ongoing) Originally on display in 2015 and covering multiple gallery spaces, Katrina +10 focused on media, volunteer and infrastructure efforts.

It was attended by 40,000 people over a six month period (mostly visitors to the Gulf Coast). The new Katrina exhibition is a condensed version of the original, but still aims at being as impactful. The Museum describes it as “an examination of the catastrophic destruction, immediate relief, sustained recovery, shared experience of Hurricane Katrina striking south Mississippi.” According to executive director, Kevin O’Brien, “The new Katrina exhibit continues to attract visitors interested to learn more about this monumental storm and connecting with the people of the Gulf Coast area.”

Additional Programs Free Museum Day – Happy Birthday George Ohr! Join OOMA in celebrating George Ohr’s birthday with free museum admission!

Date: Wednesday, July 12 Time: 10:00am – 5:00pm Cost: Free and open to the public Oil Painting with Frank Janca Come learn the basic fundamentals or explore advanced techniques of oil painting. Classes will focus on a variety of subject matter including still life and floral composition.

Date: Thursdays, July 6 – August 10 Time: 9:30am – 12:00pm Place: Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art, 4th Floor of Ceramics Building Instructor: Frank Janca Cost: $235 per person Level: All experience levels welcome Art in Mind In conjunction with Alzheimer’s Mississippi, the Art in Mind program is designed to pro-

vide meaningful social engagement for individuals with early-to mid-stage dementia and their caregivers. Join us for an art activity and discussion followed by lunch.

Date: Monday, July 10 Time: 9:00am – 11:00am Place: Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art, 2nd Floor of Ceramics Building Cost: FREE Contact Carol Messer at assistantdirector@georgeohr.org for registration or call 228-374-5547.

Coffee Club with Cree Cantrell Spend an hour learning about financial markets and investing while discussing current economic events.

Date: Wednesday, July 5 Time: 10:00am – 11:00am Cost: Free and open to the public Location: Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art, 2nd Floor of the Biloxi Center for Ceramics *OOMA Members receive 10% discount toward class registration

SAVE THE DATE 39 ANNUAL FALL FLOWER & GARDEN FEST The 2017 Fall Flower & Garden Fest will be October 13 & 14 at the Truck Crops Experiment Station in Crystal Springs, Mississippi.

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JULY 2017  THE BYRAMBANNER  23

Reihle's Write

Charter Schools or School Choice

Education can be defined as a formal process to develop mentally, morally, or aesthetically by instruction or to develop a skill or trade.

There is a debate going on in Mississippi and in the nation about Charter Schools and School Choice. Mississippi is one of 41 states that have charter schools in their system.

There are pros and cons and some are very adamant in their beliefs.

Some of the informational issues that we can look at are; 1) where does our school systems stand in the international community, 2) what is the cost per student, 3) and what kind of results to we get? One measuring tool that is used is 'The Program for International Student Assessment' (PISA), an international assessment that measures 15-year-old students' reading, mathematics, and science literacy every three years. The data comes from 70 industrial countries and include almost all of Europe and such countries as Algeria, Australia, Indonesia, Israel ,Jordan, China, Qatar, Tunisia, Turkey, and Vietnam. North America is also part of the testing system. The United States' standings for the three year cycle of 2015 are, Math 40th, Reading 24th, and Science 25th. Of course, this is only one tool in the judging criteria.

Now comes the cost per student. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) at least four countries (Austria, Luxembourg, Norway, Switzerland) spend more per student than the US at $15,171 and as compared to Mexico's around $3,000. Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau’s education report released this summer show Mississippi spent $8,263 per stu-

dent, below the national average of $11,009 in the 2014 fiscal year. At $20,610, New York spent the highest amount per pupil in the nation. In comparison, Mississippi spent about a fourth as much. New York’s cost-of-living — the highest in the nation, according to the Bureau of Economics — is perhaps the biggest factor for the wide variation. Just the money factor is not always accurate either because you must look at where the money goes. In the US for example, a portion of that money goes to security and other government mandated regulations. So far we have tried to answer at least two of the questions of our educational system; the International standing of the US, and the cost per student. Question three can be really subjective - What kind of results do we get or want? America has a long history of innovation and invention. One of the key component for an education is our capitalistic market that allows people with ideas, dreams, and drive to accomplish many things. Here are a few very successful people who did not have the 'formal' education.

Abraham Lincoln, lawyer, U.S. president.

Finished one year of formal schooling, selftaught himself trigonometry, and read Blackstone on his own to become a lawyer. Benjamin Franklin, inventor, scientist, author, entrepreneur. Primarily home-schooled. Charles Culpeper , owner and CEO of Coco Cola.

Dropped out of high school. Walt Disney, founder of the Walt Disney Company.

Dropped out of high school at 16. Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb, phonograph, and more. Primarily home-schooled, then joined the railroad when he was only 12. Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, billionaire.

Did not complete college Simon Cowell, TV producer, music judge, American Idol, The X Factor, and Britains got Talen. High school dropout. Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald's.

Dropped out of high school. Frank Lloyd Wright, the most influential architect of the twentieth century. Never attended high school.

Henry Ford, billionaire founder of Ford Motor Company. Did not attend college.

Before most of you young student decide to 'drop out' of school, remember that those people mentioned above had a unique idea and relentless drive to succeed.

Most of us would agree that our educational system is not up to par and in some

cases just plain broken. Parental involvement in some areas is non-existent, discipline is lacking in some schools, and in some cases the teachers are burdened with too much administrative duties instead of teaching. Most people that are financially able to leave a community for a surrounding area is based on the educational system and culture of the existing system. In my view Education is a great EQUALIZER for all peoples and their financial status. We have some very hard working and dedicated teachers, personnel, and educators in our school system but the culture is just not working. Giving people the choice of schooling their children where they feel will best benefit them will in time benefit all.

Where there is competition there are new ideas and results.

Paul Reihle preihle@bellsouth.net

Scholarship Recipient JABT President Chiquita Chanay and Ex-Officio Chelsea Crittle congratulate the 2017 JABT Scholarship recipient, Alonipse Hayes.

28  THE BYRAM BANNER  JULY 2017