LovinNewsWeekly May 31, 2018

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ALLAYSIA WATKINS

Thursday, May 31, 2018 Year: 0 No.: 3

6th Grade Valedictorian Rose Hill Middle School

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FamilyÊ— Jackson Christian School Graduated Santana Bingham is joined by friends and family members as they celebrated his graduation.

PHOTO

COURTESY

PHOTOS BY

OF FACEBOOK

Camden Robertson and Taliya Cawthon Rose Hill School 8th Grade Graduates S. DOUGLAS

Sheffield High School (Memphis) 2018 Graduates

Dyoneysius Robertson with Ms. Ramonda at WDHS Pre-K Graduation

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Thursday, May 31, 2018

You Did It...

Nautica Parker Congratulations Carmen Undria Hudson Class of 2018 North Side High School.

Carmen is the recipient of 36,000 in Scholarships and will be attending College in the fall... She is the daughter of Carlos Hudson and Camille Shavon

LovinNewsWeekly Publisher/CEO

Shanika Douglas Senior Editor

BILL MARABLE

Class of 2018 Sheffield High School (Memphis, TN).

Nautica plans to attand Lane College.

He is the son of Marien Parker and Lakeisha Douglas

Zankia Marable Sabion Sanders Class of 2018 McNairy Central High School Sabion plans to join the Air Force.

He is the son of Erica Poe.

Contact Us:

By Mail P. O. Box 151 Jackson, TN 38302 Email: LovinNewsDaily@gmail.com Phone: 731-300-5047

Class of 2018 Lamar High School (Grand Praire, TX) Zankia plans to attand college in Texas.

She is the daughter of Zanqueta Shanklin and Jermal Marable.

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Thursday, May 31, 2018

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JUDGE BRANDON O. GIBSON OFFERS PRACTICAL WISDOM TO GRADUATING CLASS MARTIN, Tenn. — Chad Danter started college in 2012 at the University of Tennessee at Martin, knowing that a college degree was necessary to move ahead in his career. He realized his dream May 5 as he joined more than 600 graduates who received degrees during spring commencement in the university’s Kathleen and Tom Elam Center. Judge Brandon O. Gibson, one of 12 Tennessee Court of Appeals judges, was commencement speaker.

Danter, of Dyersburg, knows about hard work. He was raised on a New Jersey dairy farm and joined the U.S. Navy following graduation from high school in 1987. He served as an electronics technician at the now-closed Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico until 1992 and then at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Memphis in Millington until he left the military for civilian life in 1995.

He began a career in food manufacturing that same year with Tootsie Roll Industries at Chad Danter (r) receives congratulations for completing his degree from UT Martin Chancellor Keith Carver on May the Charms Company in Covington. Six years later, he joined The Hershey Company in 5 during spring commencement in the Kathleen and Tom Memphis where he was promoted to maintenance supervisor in 2009 before becoming a Elam Center. line leader in gum packaging in 2017. The Memphis plant produces Ice Cubes gum, as well as Ice Breakers and Breath Savers mints in a competitive world market, so workdays are full as the company grows.

The decision to pursue a college degree offered obvious benefits for Danter, but the path to a degree wasn’t easy because of his daunting schedule. Danter commutes a total of four hours daily from his Dyersburg home to the Hershey facility in Memphis, and 60-plus hour workweeks are the norm. Fortunately, his advanced military training earned him 47 hours of credit toward the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies degree, but all other college credit was earned through the UT Martin Ripley Center and UT Martin Online. His reward for years of study and effort was graduating Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0 grade point average.

“I have a restless discontent for the status quo,” Danter said. “So I don’t know how to not do my best at the things that I attempt to do.” Those closest to him fully understand his drive for success. “Well, like I’ve told him a million times, he’s the smartest man I’ve ever met … so anything he puts his head to, he does,” said his wife, Karen, who is a middle school math teacher. “He’s the hardest-working man I’ve ever known,” added his son Benjamin, a photographer for News 2, WKRN-TV in Nashville.

With his new degree in hand, Danter expects career doors to open, and he is grateful to now have extra time for his family and to pursue his passion for golf and flying (he is a pilot). Even though he and his family have sacrificed to reach this moment, he has no regrets about the experience.

“Everything was well worth doing,” he said. “I enjoyed almost every class I did. Every one of them had their challenges. There were some challenging professors who wanted more out of me and pushed me to a higher level.”

University Chancellor Keith Carver welcomed the capacity Elam Center audience that included graduating students from 56 Tennessee counties, 27 states outside of Tennessee and the countries of Australia, China, India, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Following a performance by members of the university’s Department of Music, Carver introduced Gibson, who was appointed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals by Gov. Bill Haslam in December 2013 and sworn in Sept. 1, 2014. She was later retained in a statewide retention election in August 2016 and is currently the only female judge sitting on the court. Gibson holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Mississippi State University and a law degree from Southern Methodist University. Her parents attended UT Martin and met when they were students at the university.

Gibson, who is originally from Dyer County, offered graduates and the audience practical wisdom through a countdown of “the top-10 things I wished someone had emphasized to me when I graduated from college.” She urged graduates to take time to have fun in the midst of busy careers, to remember that “a college degree is not a golden ticket,” and to prepare for failure sometime during their careers.

“Even if you’re graduating at the top of your class, you will fail at some point,” she said. “But failure is necessary for growth – without it, you’d never mature or progress. What matters the most is how you recover from that failure. Learn from it and keep going.”

She urged graduates to never stop learning as a photo of her 74-year-old father taking his first flying lesson was shown on the arena’s digital screen. “Now, consider he’s also still trying to learn how to work his iPhone,” she said as the audience laughed. Gibson also noted the importance of connecting with people in a world of technology.

“Social media is no replacement for true connection. I’ve got a number of my connections that are here in the audience today,” she said. “They’ve completely helped me get where I am. It’s really hard to succeed flying solo – it takes a team. … Make it a mission to truly connect with others from all areas of your life and not just on social media.”

Gibson emphasized the importance of being kind and helping others, making work-life balance a long-term goal and that the best years are ahead for those graduating. “I know a lot of people say that college are the best four or five years of your life, but I promise you that your best days are ahead of you,” she said.

“Your futures are bright, and you will do amazing things.”

She reminded graduates that the degrees they were receiving prepared them to go anywhere to pursue their dreams, and the time to venture out into the world is now rather than later. Gibson closed by urging the graduates to change the world and not be “limited to doing whatever it is your college degree says you ought to be doing.”

“Gracious, I’ve got two degrees in agri-business, and I am not selling farm chemicals these days,” she said. “If you want to go in a different direction, ‘go.’

Jump at opportunities to change your city, your state, your nation and your world. If you see something that needs to be changed, do it. You are your generation’s best hope.

LOCAL RESIDENTS RECEIVE DEGREES FROM UT MARTIN MARTIN, Tenn. - Several Madison County residents were among students who received degrees from the University of Tennessee at Martin during spring commencement held May 5, 2018, in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center on the UT Martin campus.

The students receiving undergraduate degrees were: Beech Bluff - Jillian Elise Bland; Jackson - Jacob Scott Barber, Michael Sheldon Birmingham, Michael James Brown, Bree Anna Buckholtz, Clifford Allen Castleman, Jessica Beth Chandler, Natasha Annette Chatman, Laura Grace Crossett, Benjamin Isaac Davenport, Eliesse Carrielle Davis, Sarah A. Davis, William Tyler Diamond, Jasmine Shuntae Easley, Steven J. Farhat, Stephen C. Harris, Logan JaneMichelle Helton, Olivia Cecilia Kramer, Sarah Elizabeth Langley, Victoria Irene Lansdale, Christopher James Love, Davis Moore, Anna Elizabeth Ross, Skyler Christian Thomas; Pinson - Katherine Harper Lynch; Spring Creek - Melissa Ann Brown.

The student receiving a graduate degree was: Jackson - Amber Michelle Morgan.

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Thursday, May 31, 2018

Lane Tabernacle CME Church’s

Man of the Year

Dr. Janice Epperson, Torrance Buntyn, Jr., Tiwong Nance, Jr., and Eren Brooks

Gamma Psi Recognizes Educator of the Year and Awards Scholarships Gamma Psi Chapter of the National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa, Inc. recognized the “Educator of the Year” and awarded scholarships to youth.

Educator of the Year: Dr. Janice Epperson, Principal of Liberty Technology Magnet High School; Torrance Lamont Buntyn, Jr., graduating senior-North Side High School, $6,000 National PDK Scholarship award, representing the Southeast Region; Cierra S. Williams, graduating seniorHumboldt High School, Female Student of the Karrington Merriweather and Delois Dailey, Year, $500.00 Scholarship Award; Tiwong Lamonte Xinos Advisor; not pictured was Cierra S. Nance Jr., graduating senior-Madison Academic Williams and Alburney Neely.

High School, Male Student of the Year, $500.00 Scholarship Award; Karrington Merriweather, graduating senior-South Side High School, Xinos $500.00 Scholarship Award; Alburney Neely, graduating senior-South Side High School, Xinos $500.00 Scholarship Award; and Eren Brooks, graduating senior-Madison Academic High School, Xinos of the year.

Humboldt High School’s Senior Brunch Jones Family of Companies made an appearance at Humboldt High School’s Senior Brunch hosted by the Tom and O. E. Stigall Museum and Alderman Leon McNeal for the graduating class of 2018.

Representatives from several different companies shared about their work and encouraged the students on the opportunities that await them upon graduation. We were honored to be able to attend and inform our youth of our work at Jones.

Congratulations, Class of 2018! #HumboldtTN

Raymond Cunningham Jr Pastor Amber Jackson Saint Paul Christian Methodist Episcopal Church Southwest District • East Tennessee Region 282 Middleton Street Jackson, Tennessee 38301 731.427.1627 OFFICE | FAX 731.423.8120 Dr. Moses Goldmon, Associate Pastor Rev. Walter L. Brown, Jr. Senior Pastor

The Women of Saint Paul Christian Methodist Episcopal Church Presents Its First:

“Women with Hattitude Luncheon ” Saturday, June 2, 2018 12:30 p.m.

Community friends are cordially invited to join us as we celebrate

“Women and the Church Hat” ..... and strut with an “Attitude” that comes from “Hattitude.” “ A Pre-Women’s Day Celebration ’ For more information, please call: 731.298.6118

Send local news to LovinNewsDaily@gmail.com

Thursday, May 31, 2018

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This is the end of your childhood and the beginning of the rest of your life...

Congratulations and Good Luck!!!

“I’M PROUD TO SALUTE THE CLASS OF 2018!!”

STATE REPRESENTATIVE JIMMY ELDRIDGE

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Thursday, May 31, 2018

JMCSS grad prepares for senior year at U.S. Naval Academy JACKSON, Tenn. – D’vondre Williamson is driven. He is a competitor. He is a Midshipmen in the U.S. Naval Academy and a proud alumnus of the Jackson-Madison County School System. “There are a lot of really great teachers [in JMCSS] who put a lot of time and energy into their students and that goes a long way,” Williamson stated. “Growing up like I did, where I came from, it was great to have that many people put that much time in me to get me where I am.”

This summer, you will find Williamson at Lockheed Martin in New Jersey working on a new missile defense system as an intern. The mechanical engineering major already has his mind set on earning his Ph.D. after completing his five years of required service in either the U.S. Navy or U.S. Marine Corps. “I’m looking at MIT,” he said.

Williamson has excelled at Annapolis. “My junior year, at 20-years-old, I was selected as Battalion Sergeant Major,” he said. “I was in charge of the discipline and accountability of 762 others.” That also came with the responsibilities of giving feedback, finding solutions for problems and reporting directly to the Captain. “The system is designed to where when you graduate and have 40 marines or sailors under your command in a high stress situation, it’s not the first time you’ve done that,” Williamson said.

Along with his rigorous academics and military responsibilities, Williamson is a member of the Midshipmen football team. “My course load with Division I football plus military duties – it’s a lot,” he admits. Williamson plays wide receiver and special teams. Yet he balances it all with precision.

It is a skill he has perfected over time. During his final years at Jackson Central-Merry High School, Williamson not only played football and basketball, but worked 40-plus hours a week at a local restaurant. “After practice, I’d work from 5 to 10 p.m. then pull doubles on Saturdays and Sundays,” he recalled. He would use his paychecks to pay for things he needed or wanted, anything from school field trips to new shoes. He would also help make ends meet at home.

Despite his mom working two jobs or more to provide for him and his younger sister, things were not always easy. “We didn’t really know how bad it was because she worked so hard,” he recalled. “She straight up made stuff happen. We may not have had designer clothes but there was always food to eat.”

Williamson mother also made sure he understood the importance of his education. “Mom always pushed me hard,” he remembered. “We never really had much so she always stressed that knowledge was something that could never be taken from us.”

Where he is now and what could have been is not lost on Williamson. As a 14-year-old freshman he was kicked out of Liberty Technology Magnet High School for selling marijuana. He spent 365 days in Parkview Learning Center, the district’s alternative school. It was a long year where the teen was forced to soul search and where he met Barry Cox with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Cox saw something special in Williamson. “I remember him telling me I was a born leader who was leading the dummies,” Williamson said. Cox invested time and encouragement in Williamson and helped change the course of his life.

As a junior, Williamson left PLC changed. He enrolled at his zoned school, JCM, unable to return to Liberty where he had been admitted as a magnet student.

It was a change that gave Williamson a fresh start and put him face-to-face with educators who would help keep him focused. “There were so many teachers who believed in me like Ms. [Trista] Havner, Ms. [Carol Ann] Williams, Ms. [Celeste] Osgood, Coach [Justin] Woods, Coach [Orentheus] Taylor, Dr. [Eric] Jones, and many others,” Williamson remembered.

Williamson would graduate from JCM the same year that his mom would graduate from college. His diploma came with scholarship offers from Columbia and the United States Naval Academy. He said his JACKSON PET DAYCARE choice to serve combined with a great campus and the appeal of the United States Marine Corps made his & GROOMING decision easy. “I was going on a football scholarship and they have a good program,” he said. “Plus, you’re guaranteed a job when you graduate.”

The transition from Cougar to Plebe was admittedly hard. “I came from JCM, a predominantly black David Jackson, Jr school, and the Naval Academy isn’t that,” Williamson said. “I went from hanging out and screaming, to Owner & Pet Stylist being screamed at, to marching and running everywhere, to asking permission to get a sandwich.” Now, as a senior, Williamson is an established leader who will grant those permissions to freshmen. He will Call 731-217-1094 graduate and be commissioned in May 2019.

The Williamson of today seems a far cry from that ninth grader who some may have seen as a statistic.

Though even the act that sent him to PLC was not exactly what some may have thought. Williamson admits to selling marijuana. But why, he says, was what he thought was out of necessity. “I was 14. I couldn’t work and we needed money,” he conceded. “I felt like it was my responsibility to help my mom.”

Williamson’s younger sister will begin her junior year at Liberty Tech in the fall. When Williamson returns to Annapolis for the new school year, he will have a fellow JMCSS alum under his command.

Madison Academic Magnet High School graduate Wells Johnstone has been accepted into the Naval Academy.

Thursday, May 31, 2018

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2018-19 School Year New Teacher Assignments NORTH SIDE HIGH SCHOOL NAMES NEW DIRECTOR OF BANDS JACKSON, Tenn. – You could say love has brought North Side High School’s new band director to the Jackson-Madison County School System – his love for music, of course, but also his brideto-be. Jared Nobles has been hired by Principal Jason Bridgeman as North Side’s Director of Bands. In December, Nobles will marry Miranda Jackson, a teacher at East Elementary School.

“This position allows us to be closer to one another and allows me to work in a band program that has a long tradition of excellence,” he said.

Nobles comes to North Side from Dyersburg High School, his alma mater, where he has served as Director of Bands for the past four years. “I believe music, band in particular, teaches lessons that extend far beyond the music room,” he stated. “It teaches students how to work together as a unit in pursuit of a common goal, how to cope with anxiety and promotes increased emotional development.”

A product of Harding Academy in Memphis and the Dyersburg City School System, Nobles earned his Bachelor’s from the University of Tennessee at Martin and his Master’s from the University of Kentucky. He is a woodwind specialist, with saxophone as his primary instrument.

Nobles says he doesn’t plan on making any significant changes immediately to the North Side band program. He hopes to use his first year as a time to learn and observe. “I am very excited to work alongside Mr. James Henning, one of the most highly regarded and experienced band directors in our area,” said Nobles. Henning, North Side’s assistant band director, has served as interim leader since February.

Summer break will include a lot of work for Nobles. “Any time you begin work with a new group of students, there is an adjustment and trust-building period,” he said. “I hope to move forward as quickly as possible.” Nobles said his students can expect him to be is fair but relentless in providing opportunities for them. “I can’t wait to begin working with these students and begin striving for excellence, both on the marching field and in the concert hall.”

The North Side Marching Band has four summer rehearsals scheduled in June. Band Camp will be held the week of July 23.

LONGEST TENURED JMCSS TEACHER PREPARES TO RETIRE JACKSON, Tenn. – Iris Shackleford has been commanding a Jackson-Madison County classroom since 1969. She has shaped the minds of countless children and gifted them a love for the English language. On May 22, 2018, she will lock her classroom door for the last time. “Everyone always told me I’d know when it was time to retire,” she said. “Late last fall, I just knew.”

Shackleford has spent her entire 49-year teaching career in the Jackson-Madison County School System, making her the longest tenured teacher currently in the District. She’s also a product of the Jackson public school system, graduating from Jackson High School in 1965. She spent four years in Rome, Georgia, earning her degree from Berry College then came back home and has worked with the District through historic changes like desegregation and consolidation.

If you’ve had the privilege of sitting in one of her classrooms or working alongside her at Parkview Elementary, Washington Douglass Elementary, Jackson Middle, Rose Hill Middle or her current school, West Bemis Middle, you know Ms. Shackleford is tough and tender, never hesitating to speak her mind. “I feel completely at home teaching young people,” she said. “I love my middle schoolers. They know what I expect of them and won’t accept anything less.”

At the front of her classroom, you’ll find a skeleton in a lace dress sitting in a rocking chair. It’s just one example of how Shackleford makes the words printed on pages come alive, makes reading fun and leaves a lasting impression on her students. “I have always loved English,” she said. “Reading is my passion.”

“Mrs. Shackleford has invested her life’s work in educating the children of Jackson,” said David Wicker, West Bemis Middle School principal. “Her dedication and love for her students knows no bounds. She truly embodies what we all should hold close to our hearts as educators.”

When asked who her inspiration is to teach, it’s not a previous educator but her own father. He devoted himself to her and her siblings after losing their mother to illness when Shackleford was young. “He wanted his children to receive the highest quality education possible,” she remembered. “Education and teachers were held in the highest regard by my father.”

Now, it is Shackleford held in the highest regard as she says goodbye to teaching. She says she cherishes most the relationships built with her students over the years. “My greatest hope is that my students remember that I cared for them and hopefully set a good example,” she said.

On her first day of retirement, Shackleford said she wants to start a good book. She also plans to spend her newfound free-time with her husband, son and daughter-in-law.

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Thursday, May 31, 2018

Union, Lane receive second Wabash Center grant for racial reconciliation

By Nathan Handley

Frank Anderson, director for Union’s Center for Racial Reconciliation, speaks in chapel. (PHOTO BY KRISTI WOODY) JACKSON, Tenn. – May 22, 2018 – Union University and Lane College received a second grant from the Wabash Center to promote collaboration and racial reconciliation through a greater understanding of African-American religious history.

The Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion is funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. and located at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

Union and Lane received their first grant from the Wabash Center last year and used it to create a jointly-offered race and reconciliation course taught by faculty members from both campuses. Frank Anderson, director for Union’s Center for Racial Reconciliation, said through that course, leadership on both campuses saw a need for a better awareness of AfricanAmerican religious history.

“We saw that a focus on this would aid us in creating a culture that is more conducive to diversity,” Anderson said.

Both Union and Lane are religious institutions; Union is associated with the Southern Baptist Convention, and Lane is associated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal church.

The Wabash grant will allow each institution to select several faculty members to study African-American religious history intensely and together, Anderson said. The period of study will begin in August and will continue through September 2019. Anderson will be a co-director for the study alongside Daryll Coleman, division chair for liberal studies and education at Lane.

“The more our faculty understands the import of diversity, understands some of the underlying factors that either help us or hinder us where developing a culture of diversity is concerned, the more that those things are understood, the more we can make an environment where students of different ethnic groups will feel more comfortable,” Anderson said.

He said numbers matter when it comes to diversity at a predominantly white institution like Union, but the culture matters much more. He said the collaborative effort between Lane and Union serves as an example to the broader Jackson community, which tends to be divided based on ZIP code.

“I call it the 38305 - 38301 divide,” Anderson said. “When these prominent institutions make substantive efforts to reach across that divide, it is better for both sides of Jackson.”